#oh I hear them fighting I guess the magic of the get along box wore off

[the-adventures-of-dave]

I finally got some photos properly showing how small Kepler actually is compared to Dave.

#also they’re cute! #it’s their get along box #cats #catblr #petblr #photo #Dave the cat #Kepler #oh I hear them fighting I guess the magic of the get along box wore off

[yet-another-fan-girl9]

Inhuman (1)

Summary: All beings in the universe have a soulmate except for Midgardians. People can hear their soulmate in their heads. For almost five hundred and fifty years, Loki believed that he had no soulmate until 1513 when a Midgardian princess was born. Will fate be kind to them or will the universe tear them apart?

Warnings: violence, language, hella historical inaccuracies (I tried to do research but then got lazy), maybe some AOS season 2 spoilers(?)

Word Count: ~3400

A/N: Yay! The re-write is here! I changed it so now there are flashbacks and stuff and the chapters are longer! I’m also posting this chapter a day early because of reasons. Anyways, enjoy!

[New York, New York, March 2024]

‘Soulmates?’ You had never heard of the concept.

‘We are destined to be together. The universe made it so.’

You shot up in bed, a light sheen of sweat covered your body. Loki’s words replayed over and over in your head. You hadn’t heard his actual voice in so long but it was still as clear as if he was speaking to you now. It had been twelve years since you had seen him in Germany and he had tried to take over.

‘We are destined to be together.’

The words echoed in your mind. ‘Destined’ huh? Well, if you’d learned anything from the past four hundred and eighty-six years that you were not with Loki, it’s that the universe does a shit job at keeping you together. You ran your fingers through your hair, easily smoothing out the tangled mess. It was too early to think about Loki.

You slipped out of the silk sheets that covered your king-sized bed in your two-level, top floor Upper East Side penthouse. You were very proud of how far you had come. The view was amazing. You could see some of Central Park from one side and the stereotypical New York skyline from another.

As you walked out of your room, you caught your reflection in one of your full-sized mirrors. And that was definitely a nice view. When you came out of Terrigenesis almost five hundred years ago, you quickly discovered that you were now the blueprint for a perfect person. Straight, white teeth, surprisingly tameable hair, and clear, unblemished skin were some of the visually obvious changes. In addition to your perfected looks, you had increased senses, healing, strength, endurance, and your favorite, pain tolerance. Oh, and don’t forget you basically look twenty-five forever.

You checked your phone while you made breakfast in the kitchen downstairs. There were a couple of emails from your employees on their latest jobs. You opened one from Max, your right-hand man. You were reading over some job offers he had handpicked for you when you got a text from the man himself.

Bringing up some donuts!

Max was the only person from work to have access to your penthouse. He was your best friend. The two of you had met when you were at Afterlife nearly fifteen years ago. He was an Inhuman as well. All of your employees were Inhumans, using their specialties to carry out their jobs. Max had the power to change surfaces. It was a strange power, but he had learned to make it very useful. He could cause his pursuers to slip on the suddenly ice-like ground or climb up a glass skyscraper.

“Hello, bitch! I brought donuts!” Max called from the elevator.

“I’m in the kitchen!”

Max walked in holding the goods. He always wore eccentric color-coordinated outfits. Even the times you saw him in stealth mode, he had to have some lace or frill somewhere. Today he wore a mixture of neon green and pink with matching eyeliner.

“Are Cosmo and Wanda disguising themselves as your clothes?” you asked.

“Haha,” he deadpanned. “I knew you were going to say something like that. You’re so fucking funny. Soo…” He plopped the three large donut boxes onto your kitchen counter. “Have you heard of the Avenger’s new quote-unquote recruit?”

“Um, I think it’s your job to keep tabs on heroes.” You opened the nearest box and happily pulled out your favorite donut.

“Okay. Number one: I’m not speaking to you as your right-hand, right now, but as your friend.” He held up his finger. “Number two: it’s not really a job if I do it in my free time anyways. You’re paying me to do something that I do on an hourly basis.”

“You stalk the Avengers on an hourly basis?”

“No? Anyways, number three: it’s Thor’s brother. It’s your Loki.”

“What the fuck?” you choke on your donut. Max was the only person who knew you that you and Loki had a history. And that’s all he knew. Nothing about soulmates or all that shit. “What the fuck, Max? Did you try to use donuts to soften the blow? Stop laughing.”

“I-I wish I had caught that reaction on camera,” he said in between fits of giggles.

“Haha,” it was your turn to deadpan. “Fuck, man. I guess we just have to double our efforts to keep ourselves off of their radar.”

“Do you think they’ve forgiven him for New York?” Max composed himself.

“I mean, they must have if they’re letting him join the team.” You chanced another bite of your donut.

“But lots of people haven’t.”

“Lots of people still haven’t forgiven Barnes,” you pointed out. You didn’t know when or why Loki had attacked New York. That Loki was nothing like the man who you had grown to love back in the 1500s. But you were nothing like that girl either.

 “Have you chosen a new job from the list I sent you?” he changed the subject.

“No, not yet, and you have a little…” you motioned to the corner of your mouth.

Max got the hint and wiped some powder off of his mouth. You noticed the sprinkling of grey that was mixed into his curly black hair. He displayed the last fifteen years proudly while you remained unchanged. Max was the closest you’ve been to someone in a long time, and just like everyone before him, you would outlive him. But you would remember him. You remembered everyone. You remembered everything.

Right now, you thought of Agnes, your first real friend. She was your handmaiden and you had met right before everything went to shit. She had helped you cope after you underwent Terrigenesis, although you hadn’t known what it was back then. She had helped you run away and even died for you. You had only known her for nine years, but you compared everyone to her. Max held second place, right after Agnes.

“I think we should take the Senator’s offer,” Max said, jolting you out of your memories. He pulled up the offer on his iPad. “One million to off his upcoming competition.”

“Damn,” you whistled. “He’s desperate, isn’t he? Is there a deadline?”

“No, but I assume we should get it done quickly.”

“Send over the info.”

🌹

You shoved the flower into Jake Morano’s mouth. Blood from the bullet wound in his forehead trickled down until it turned the perfect, white rose red. You snapped a quick photo on your burner phone to send to the Senator as confirmation. With a huff, you looked around the apartment. Mr. Anderson had put up a fight, although it didn’t do anything to deter you and Max. A few glass awards were in pieces on the hardwood floor, family pictures were shattered, and the wall behind you held a couple of bullets from Anderson’s gun.

“All good?” Max asked from his location by the computer. He was deleting all footage of you being there. And everything else, just to be safe.

“Yep.” You walked over to him, your boots making a satisfying clicking on the ground, and proudly displayed the picture of the dead body. “Got the confirmation picture for the Senator. How’s it coming?”

“Almost… there. We’re good to go.”

The two of you left in your favorite black Lamborghini. Unfortunately, you actually had to drive places now that Gordon was dead. You followed his advice, though, and bought a plane along with four other sports cars, a helicopter, and a couple of motorcycles. You knew how to operate every single one of them. What else were you supposed to do except for establishing your contract killing empire?

🌹

Loki stood in the middle of his assigned room with his hands on his hips. It certainly was much nicer than the last prison the Avengers had kept him in. They may say it wasn’t a prison but the twenty-four-hour surveillance from Stark’s new AI said otherwise. Even though it was nicer than the shitty glass cylinder from twelve years ago, it was empty. Thor had shown Loki the few things in his room: books, photographs, and his own goddamned merchandise. 

Would Loki have his own merchandise one day? Everyone was redeemable as shown by Romanoff and Barnes. Maybe there would be plastic replicas of his helmet? No, Loki thought that was stupid. Only heroes got merchandise and heroes had to show up to events and sponsor health drinks or whatever the fuck they do. Heroes had to be nice.

Nothing good ever came from being on Midgard. Most recently, there was his father dying, although what followed was worse. Before that was the attack he had been forced to make on the city. And the first time he had ever come to Midgard had ended with disappointment and heartbreak.

Loki sighed and waved his hand to conjure green and gold accents, sheets, and blankets. At least there was color in the room now. No doubt the AI had reported that he had used his magic. He hoped it had also told them that all he did was improve the room, he didn’t need anyone talking to him at the moment.

“Good afternoon, Reindeer Games,” the AI echoed through the room. Loki glowered at the sound of Stark’s nickname. “There is a meeting in Conference Room Five that the entire team is required to attend.”

Loki hadn’t the faintest fucking idea where the conference rooms were. He left his room and caught sight of his brother and the Valkyrie. The God of Mischief followed the pair down to where the meeting was taking place. Did he really want to go? If he wanted to be part of the team he would have to. He preferred the Revengers, though. While it had lasted. It was smaller.

Everyone was sitting around the long table. Of course, Loki would be the last to arrive. Stark and Barton both glared at him when he entered. Understandable. Romanoff remained impassive, but Loki knew she would bash his head in the first chance she got. Rogers had to remain positive that Loki could be redeemed because if the Norse God could redeem himself, then so could Barnes. Bruce had warmed up to Loki on the journey to Midgard. None of the newer members of the team outright hated him, but they were still cautious around him.

Loki found himself sitting in between his brother and Bruce. Stark went up to the screen at the front and everyone fell silent.

“This is Jake Morano.” The screen turned on to show a dead man with a rose stuffed in his mouth. “He was going to run for Senator against this guy.” The screen changed. “This guy is William Anderson, a very corrupt Senator. In the last month, Morano began to gain a lot of support including a sponsor from us. Well, a sponsor from me in the name of the Avengers.”

“Are you implying that Anderson killed Morano?” Rogers asked.

“I’m saying that Anderson hired someone to kill Morano.” The screen changed again to display multiple bodies left with a rose in their mouths. “I had F.R.I.D.A.Y. do a quick search of bodies with roses found in their mouths and we found a shocking amount of similar deaths. The first ones dating back to the nineteen twenties. More recently, some of the deaths have happened at the same time on opposite sides of the globe. Deaths include, but are not limited to, shooting, stabbing, poisoning, drowning, burning, missing organs, being found stuck in a wall, and looking like a suicide. They all have a white rose soaked in blood in their mouths.”

“Are you sure it isn’t a serial killer?” Wilson questioned.

“Yeah, it’s probably not the same guy,” Romanoff pointed out. “Especially if it goes back to before Steve looked like that.”

“It’s gotta be an organization,” Barnes guessed. “Been around for a while, a couple of deaths happening at the same time, and one constant MO.”

“Loki?” Everyone looked at the God of Mischief when Stark said his name. “You’re technically a part of this team now. What’s your opinion?”

“Barnes is probably right,” Loki said after a moment’s hesitation. “The locations are all over the place and there are many different ways the victims met their demise.”

They nodded and Loki returned to silence.

“Alright, game plan.” Stark clapped his hands. “We have to get Anderson into an interrogation room. Round one is the good cops: Steve and Sam. When he doesn’t crack, and he won’t, we up the intensity. Nat and the Manchurian Candidate will do some intimidation. If he still doesn’t crack we can send in Wanda, or even Reindeer Games if she’s not comfortable, to search his mind.”

“Are all Midgardian politics like that?” Loki heard the Valkyrie ask Thor after the meeting. Thor only shrugged so she turned to Bruce.

“I mean, I haven't been here in a while but it’s always kinda been fucked up.”

Only an hour after the meeting, Anderson took out one million dollars in cash. Stark tracked him to a small cafe where he was going to, no doubt, pay the assassin. The team rallied, but of course, Loki wasn’t going. Apparently, he wasn’t ‘cleared’ yet. The only other people staying behind were the Valkyrie, Thor, and Barton due to a recent injury. 

Loki went to his room to sulk, although he told everyone he was thinking. He didn’t want to be here. Maybe he wanted to go somewhere that reminded him of home with tall buildings that reached the sky… 

🌹

"Hello, (Y/N)." Loki’s voice was as smooth as it was in your head, but it was different. The only way you could describe it was that it was solid. It felt less intimate. Like he could bless others with his words, but it was more special because he was here. 

"Loki," you breathed.

"You look more beautiful than I ever could imagine." He stepped closer.

You touched your hair self-consciously. There were multiple knots, and it probably looked like one of those bird nests the dogs always knocked out of trees. You had woken up in a hurry and your hair being trapped in the hood of your cloak probably didn't help.

Then it occurred to you that you were wearing only your nightgown, and you tightly wrapped your cloak around yourself. Loki wouldn’t hurt you, but no man has seen you in an outfit so revealing. Still, you took another step closer.

"I do not know what to say." Fortunately, your voice didn’t shake or waver as you had feared, but Loki could probably feel your nervousness.

You both took a final step closer. You reached up and cupped Loki's face in your hand which tingled slightly when you made contact. You admired his sharp features and bright blue-green eyes. Then you shivered in the cold winter air. Loki noticed and pulled you into a hug. You leaned into him and felt a shiver, a different, better shiver, shoot through your body.

“You’re real.” Your soft voice was almost lost in the biting wind. “I was so scared that I was dreaming.”

Another goddamned dream about Loki? You groaned into your pillow and pushed a few damp strands of hair away from your face. Why now, all of a sudden? Was it because he was so close? Just a few hours upstate in the Avenger’s compound.

Pushing the dream aside, you stretched and got ready for the day. You had sent the photo to the Senator, who you had learned was very fucking corrupted, and he replied with a location. That changed your plans a bit, you hadn't physically met a client in decades, but it was for the better for multiple reasons.

The first reason was that the cafe he had chosen was next to a flower shop where you got your supply of roses. The second reason was that it meant his apartment would be empty. While you went to get the money, and eventually kill Senator Anderson, Max was going to rob his house. It wasn’t something you’d usually do, but honestly, the shitty asshole deserved it.

Your lips were painted red and you wore your usual boots and a leather jacket. Your regular hair was hidden behind a pink and green wig, courtesy of Max. A baseball cap and large sunglasses further hid your appearance. Though if somebody knew your face, the hat and glasses did nothing. There were multiple knives hidden on your body as well as a handgun tucked into your waistband and a pocket pistol in your, well, pocket.

As you walked into the cafe, Izzy, the auburn-haired florist, nodded to you. She had Botanokinesis, plant manipulation, so your supply of white roses was never low. Every once in a while, Izzy would take a job but she had told you she was very happy in her shop.

You noticed the Senator immediately. He still wore a suit and the sunglasses did nothing to hide his identity. There were two young women behind the counter and you suspected that the four other ‘customers’ were too buff not to be the Senator’s security. Anderson had his back to the door which meant you would have to get past his security to get out. You zeroed in on the black briefcase on the ground by his feet.

“Senator,” you greeted and sat down across from him.

“You can’t possibly be the one I talked to,” the asshole replied. “You’re just a girl.”

“Well of course I couldn’t be,” you rolled your eyes behind your heavily tinted glasses. “My boss is too busy and smart to meet you in public.” He didn’t notice your sarcasm. You pulled out the burner phone and showed him the messages as proof. “Now, I’m also busy so if we can get this over with?”

“Sure, darling.” He put the briefcase flat on the table and pushed it towards you.

“Open it.” Even though small boobie traps wouldn’t hurt you much, it wasn’t a piece of information you wanted to give him.

Anderson sighed and complied. Then you turned it around to quickly inspect the contents. One thousand one hundred dollar bills. Hello Mr. Franklin. You nodded in satisfaction and comically rubbed your hands together to inconspicuously grab a knife that was hidden up your sleeve.

“Thank you, Senator. That will be all.”

You closed the case, stood up, and plunged your knife deep into his left carotid artery. As his security descended upon you, you pulled the knife out and his neck satisfyingly squirted blood. The Senator collapsed with his hands clutching his wound desperately. The pool of blood rapidly grew underneath him.

The two baristas screamed behind the counter and the Senator’s security drew their guns. You flipped the small table for cover as bullets pierced the cafe’s window behind you. Perfect. Just a bit more.

You pulled out the handgun from your waistband and with practiced ease, shot three of the four goons. The last one got the bloodied knife to the face. You elbowed the already damaged window and it finally broke, raining glass down on you. Ignoring the small cuts, you jumped out of the cafe through the window as a familiar red and gold suit landed in front of you. Why the fuck were the Avengers here? What about Loki?

You darted into Izzy’s shop and she played her part well, screaming that you had run out the back when you had actually gone into the side room. You listened as the Avengers followed her directions. One person, maybe it was the Black Widow, stayed behind to help calm down the seemingly hysterical Izzy. If she wasn’t so happy at her shop and she didn’t want to work directly for you, she could be a great actress.

You rolled back the rug on the ground to reveal a metal trapdoor. You entered the code to unlock it and climbed down into the darkness. Behind you, you heard the trapdoor’s magnetic lock click back into place. Two centuries ago, you had tunnels dug underneath Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens for easy getaways. If you went… that way, you would end up in Sandra’s souvenir shop which was a couple of blocks away from your penthouse.

With a million dollars in one hand and a handgun in the other, you walked down the concrete tunnel.

*

*

*

*

*

Taglist:

@kaithehero @liliannyah​ @andreasworlsboring101 @oatballsoffury​ @aberrant-annie

#inhuman #loki x reader #loki x soulmate reader #loki #mcu #marvel #avengers #Captain america #steve rogers #iron man #tony stark #hawkeye #clint barton #natasha romanoff #black widow #wanda maximoff #scarlet witch

[paradox-psyc-hoe-sis]

Overreaction

Loki x reader, Bruce x reader ,(platonic), avengers x reader (platonic).

Word count: 4.9 k

A/n: Heyo! I didn't actually mean for this to be as long as it was, but it turned out to be quite pleasing. Writers block is a bitch so it's taken me a while to write, but I hope I didn't disappoint! Requested by @marvelloonie, thank you for the request! - Aphrodite

Summary: you and Loki have been secretly meeting without the avengers knowing, and when you realise you've fallen in love, you decide it's time to tell the group. After trying to keep you, the groups little ray of sunshine, away from the mysterious asgardian for a while, the group are shocked to find out that you've been seeing each other.

Warninngs: angst, fluff, that's all! Enjoy x

For your entire life, you were always the 'innocent' one. Sure, you were optimised and generally a happy person, but people seem to take advantage of that a lot. That never dampened your mood, though; you always stayed the same happy-go-lucky little burst of sunlight through childhood to adulthood. That's also the reason that upon meeting new people, they never expect your job to be an avenger. Your work never really phased you; most of the people who you killed deserved it, but every now and again there was an odd time where you felt a slight hint of guilt.

Among the avengers, you were known as the little ray of sunshine, too. Pretty much all of the avengers had dark pasts, but not you. You lived a normal life, excelled at school, went to college, and got a normal job. S.H.I.E.L.D discovered you after you got into an accident and were struck by lightning: after you recovered, you found out that you could control lightning. You quickly joined the avengers, and got on very well with everyone. You knew all of the avengers, and were aware of all possible threats, enemies, blah blah, except one. Thor's brother, Loki, had committed several offences in the past, but redeemed himself by helping the team every now and again. You had never met Loki, but the Avengers made it clear that they wanted to keep it that way.

"Hey Steve!" You walked into the common area after a few hours training in the gym. Steve was in the kitchen, passing him as you got a bottle of water, and you looked over to see Natasha, Sam, Bucky and Thor on the sofas. "Good morning guys, how are you all?" You grinned at them as you walked over to sit next to Nat, a slight spring in your step.

"Why are you always so happy?" Bucky grunted as you sat unbeaten him and Nat. Sam gave Bucky a frown, and turned to you. "Don't mind him, he just found out that his favourite TV show has been cancelled."

"Aww, Heroes of Bruin!?" Bucky gave you a small nod, his arms crossed tightly around his chest. You placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry, Buck. I'm sure you'll find a better series soon! You can always borrow one of my box sets, you know where they are!" Bucky thanked you, and you sat back on the sofa, taking long gulps of your water.

"Seriously though, y/n. What keeps you so positive?" Steve asked, leaning on the kitchen counter. You shrugged, taking one last sip of your water.

"I don't really know, to be honest. I have a roof over my head, a good job, food, clean water, and friends and family who love me!" You stood up, walking over to the kitchen island and sitting opposite Steve. "Besides, what's there to be miserable about? Yeah, work does get hard sometimes, and life isn't easy, but that's just more drive to stay positive. It's not going to get me anywhere by being grumpy and mean like a certain tin man in this building!" You both laughed, thanking God that Tony wasn't in the room to hear what you just said. From the sofa, you heard Nat starting to talk to Bucky and Sam.

"...but there's nothing else we can do about it other than get in contact with some of our aliases and-"

"What's going on?"

Cutting in, you stood up from the island and walked over to the sofa.

Nat turned to look at you while Sam and Bucky continued to read from the iPad she held.

"There was a break in at a Hydra base a few days ago. The person who broke in stole Hydra's files about us, and some files about them. My best guess is that it's somebody who's against Hydra but also against us." Nat took a long deep breath, and turned back to her iPad, still talking to you. "We need to get in contact with non-avengers who have fought with us in the past, see if they have any idea. Steve and I are going to S.H.I.E.L.D. tomorrow, Thor will be returning to Asgard to talk with Loki, I don't know what else we can do."

You perked up at the mention of Loki, and suddenly came up with an idea. "How about I go with Thor? I've always wanted to see Asgard, and it's better than just having one person go." You saw Nat look up and glare at Steve, who did the same, before they both turned to you. Steve sighed, and looked away; clearly, there was something on both of their minds.

"That's a good idea about somebody going, it's better to be safe than sorry. What about Clint? D'you think he'd want to go?" Steve was looking at Natasha when he asked, and you felt a but left out. Instead of becoming angry, you just smiled and turned to face Steve. "What about me?" You asked, still smiling widely.

"Uh, y/n? I don't really think you should go..." Natasha remarked next to you, and you ever so slightly frowned.

"What do you mean?" You kept your voice gentle and upbeat, thinking of reasons why it would be perfect to go.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but there's some bad people on Asgard. We know you could handle it, but people like Loki are...dangerous, and I for one don't think it's in your best interest to make friends with people like him." You could tell by her tone that she felt guilty, but that didn't stop her from speaking her mind anyway. You didn't really understand what she meant; you're around dangerous people all the time, you can easily handle another one.

"If you don't think it's a good idea for me to go, then why is Clint an option?" Like magic, clint walked in at the exact second you said that. Looking up at him, you carried on speaking. "We have the same skill level at fighting, anyway! Besides, I have superpowers too, I can easily protect myself and Thor if need be."

Clint looked at you and Natasha, a puzzle expression plastered on his face. Nat gave him the run down, and he seemed slightly underwhelmed.

"There's no reason why y/n shouldn't be able to go to Asgard."

"Yes, but she's going to asgard to get in contact with Loki." Natasha's expression looked stern, her eyes piercing through Clint's.

"...oh."

"C'mon guys, what're you hiding? I'm sure I can take it, what's the harm in me going to Asgard?" Despite being slightly irritated, you still smiled and laughed a bit at the end of your sentence, making sure the rest of the group knew you were still just as happy as you were after returning from they gym, 10 minutes ago. Clint, Natasha, Steve, Bucky and Sam all gave each other quick glances before Bucky groaned and sat up.

"Listen, y/n. The reason why none of us want you to go to Asgard is because we want you to stay away from Loki. Although he's fought along side us in the past, he's a terrible person. And you're so...so happy and innocent all the time, we don't want him to..."

"You don't want him to corrupt me." You finished off Bucky's sentence, speaking quieter, thinning to yourself. There was suddenly a sort of dark cloud above the room, and an awkward silence prolonged for at least 20 seconds. You could sense how guilty everyone felt, but instead of exploding, you burst into a fit of giggles.

Everyone frowned as they watched you almost fall off the sofa in laughter. Once you calmed down, you wiped your eyes, and almost bust out laughing again at the confused faces of everyone around you. You sat back, smiling ear to ear. "Why would you think something like that?" You asked the room, taking a sip of water. "Honestly guys, I've been with you bunch of Serious Sally's for almost a year. I think it's safe to say that no matter who I spend my time with, I'll never stop being the 'happy and innocent' person who I am. Besides, we're only going to be on Asgard for a day at most, what could go wrong?"

—————

The next day, you were on Asgard. You were so thankful that Nat had finally let you go with Thor, and now you were stood outside of a tall golden palace, behind a beautiful view of Greek-style hills and mountains. You were speechless, to say the least.

"Brother Loki should be here any minute..." said thor, looking over at a clock tower. You couldn't make out what time it was - the numbers were Asgardian - but it was about 12 before you left. Before you could think anything else of it, something appeared before you two. It was Loki.

"Nice to see you again, brother!" Thor exclaimed as he went in for a hug. Loki barely hugged him back, and pulled away, turning to face you.

"Well well well, who's this who you've brought along with you?" Loki asked Thor, yet stared at you with a slight smirk. "Loki, this is y/n. She's a friend from work." Loki took your hand and bowed down slightly, and placed a kiss on the back of your hand; a kiss which you couldn't describe as chaste, making eye contact with him the entire time. He rose and let go of your hand, fingertips brushing slightly. "Pleased to make you acquaintance, Lady y/n." You were tongue tied, but before you could even begin to formulate words, Thor started talking. He rambled on about why you were here, and if he knew anything about the break in, but you weren't listening to a single word. Instead, you never took your eyes off Loki.

His shoulders were broad, sleek black hair running just past them. He stood with confidence, taller than Thor but thinner. Despite this, you could still see defined muscles from underneath the Asgardian clothes he wore. His eyes were a cold shade of blue, resembling ice. While Thor was still talking, he looked over at you, catching you staring at him. You maintained eye contact, your cheeks turning a childish shade of pink, and he winked at you before turning back to concentrate on his brother. The corners if his lips were slightly upturned, and a few strands of hair fell into his face as he nodded along to whatever Thor was saying.

"Well, I haven't heard any news, I'm sorry I can't be of any help. Do you both want to get lunch?" You turned to Thor, cocking an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry, brother, but I must go and talk to the others and see if they've heard anything. But, it won't hurt if you and y/n get something to eat?" You and Loki both turned to face each other, and you smiled wider than ever.

"I'd love to."

You and Loki walked in silence to the dining hall, passing many Asgardian maidens on your way. You felt slightly underdressed; all asgardian women wore long flowing gowns, whereas you were dressed in high waisted denim shorts and a red turtleneck. Once you arrived at the dining room, you were confronted with a grand gold table topped with all kinds of food. Cheese, grapes, wine, and some sort of Asgardian meat that you couldn't recognize. It felt magical, yet you felt out of place. As you furthered towards the table, Loki took out a chair for you to sit down in. Thanking him, you sat, and his fingertips brushed against your clothed shoulders. Butterflies swarmed in the pit of your stomach, and you quietly giggled at yourself for becoming so flustered. Once Loki was seated, you asked him a question.

"So, Loki," you began, looking around at the feast laid out for you, "what do you get up to on Asgard?" As you spoke, he poured crimson wine into a goblet, and you felt obliged to do the same.

"Surprisingly, not much." He spoke with, what resembled, an English accent. Every consonant was sharp, every vowel curved on his lips. "Every now and again we have to meet with people from other worlds, like you. Thor doesn't come and visit very often, so the mass amount of paperwork that has to be done is left to me." He rolled his eyes yet bore a smile, to which you laughed.

"Trust me, I know what it feels like. Ever since Tony and Steve got into that disagreement about where the files should be stored, I've been in charge of all paperwork. I don't mind it though, there's some sort of satisfaction in the orderliness of it all..." you looked up at him and grinned, being able to physically feel the awkwardness between you both. Although, he could look at your smile forever; the way your y/e/c shone in the light, dimples in you cheeks becoming more pronounced by the second, your lips curling ever so slightly inwards as a sigh escaped from them.

"I'm sorry, I've never really been one for small talk. Asgard seems wonderful, though. The landscape is impeccable, and everyone just seems so...perfect, I guess!" Speaking quieter, you leaned in the get closer to Loki, sat opposite you. "I feel like I could spend the rest of my life here." He knew you meant it, being able to feel the pure excitement you radiated. Tucking a piece of hair behind your ear, you sat back and pointed towards one of the golden dishes beside you, holding some fruits and vegetables.

"May I?"

"Of course, go ahead."

As you spooned a kind of salad onto your plate, Loki rubbed his stubble dotted chin. Loading your fork and taking a bite, you felt a wave of peace flow over your body. You had no idea what you were eating, but it was damn good.

"What part of midgard are you from, y/n?"

"Midgard?" You spoke through your mouthful of salad and swallowed. "Oh, right, Earth. I'm from Brooklyn, New York, but I live in Manhattan." You took a sip of wine, cringing at it's strength. Noticing this, Loki let out a laugh.

"Asgardian alcohol isn't for the weak, I'd take it easy if I were you..." you knee he was joking at the last part, so you laughed with him. The moment was sweet, but you can always have too much of a good thing. After Loki filled his plate, and you took a few more mouthfuls of salad, Thor strode in looking pleased with himself.

"Hey Thor, what's up?" Thor sat down at the table and picked up a bunch of grapes, popping one into his mouth.

"I just checked the comms," he swallowed, "Nat and Steve have all the information we need from S.H.I.E.L.D., so we can go back to midg- uh, Earth, sorry. Ready to go?" You looked at Loki who gave you a small nod as he put his cutlery down, and you stood up with a smile.

"Ready than I'll ever be!"

Thor and Loki stood up and walked towards you, and you went to shake Loki's hand. His hands were cold, icy to the touch, and his slender fingers certainly overpowered your small ones. He leaned in before you could break away, whispering in your ear. "Come back soon, I'd love to see you again."

You blushed, nodding, and he gave you a sly wink. Sooner or later, you were back on Earth, missing Asgard more and more by the second.

—————

Two months later, and you were head over heels for Thor's brother. Once you returned back to earth, Tony made it very clear that he disapproved of your trip. He sat you, Thor, Clint, Nat and Steve down in the conference room and screamed at all of you, acting like a very strict father. He had no idea what had happened on Asgard, but he let it slip that all of the avengers had an agreement - never let y/n meet Loki. Obviously, that was out the window, and it resulted in a conflict between Steve and Tony, as per usual. However, all of the avengers shared one common thought, and it was that you should never go back to asgard again.

"She's met Loki and had a look around Asgard, now there's no reason for her to go back."

"What if he's done something to her mind? We can't let her go back."

"We can't let Loki back into the facility when y/n is around, we can't handle anything else happening at the moment."

You often heard Steve and Tony talking about you in the other room, but you ignored it. 3 trips to asgard, 2 secret earth dates and 1 sleepover later, you and Loki decided you were serious; you both liked each other so much, and you wanted to tell other people. However, you had no idea how you were going to tell the avengers. You almost got caught a few times, but luckily, you were quite good at covering yourself up.

"Yo, why are you texting Pizza Hut?"

"Stop looking at my phone, Sam! Besides, I was actually ordering us a pizza, but I guess I'll just go and make myself a sandwich instead..."

"No y/n I take it back!!!"

It was a quiet day in the avengers tower when you decided to share your secret. You, Steve, Tony, Nat, Thor, Bruce and Clint were in the conference room having just finished a meeting. Before anyone could leave, you asked to talk to them for a bit. Despite being happy and confident in telling your friends that you were in love, your palms were sweating and you felt slightly nauseated. Nat must have noticed, and asked if you were okay.

"Everything alright?"

You stood in front of the table, toying with the hem of your skirt behind your back. Taking a deep breath, you looked up at your colleagues sat in front of you.

"I actually have some news to share with you all. A couple of months ago, Thor and I went to Asgard, and I found out about your weird pact thingy forbidding me from meeting Loki. Well, it happened, and it went well! Despite you all feeling very strongly about it, I did enjoy myself. Honestly, I heard you all talking about me 'never returning' and not being able to see Loki again, and it did sorta hurt..."

Steve bowed his head down slightly and Natasha avoided eye contact; you didn't want to guilt trip them, so you continued.

"...and that's okay! You're allowed to be protective of your friends, and I understand why you'd want me to be cautious around certain people. But that's not the point: the point is, I'm an adult, and although I may not be as old as Steve," (Tony chuckled at that) "I'm still an adult. I went to college, I have a job, my own apartment. I'm old enough to know right from wrong, which is why I may or may not have seen Loki 6 times in the past two months..."

"What!?" Natasha looked furious, and everyone had their eyes on you. Steve looked disappointed, Tony didn't look surprised, and Thor seemed quite amused. Bruce and Clint didn't look phased, to be completely honest.

"Please listen to me, I'll explain everything." Everyone eased up slightly as you took a deep breath, standing closer to the table. "I've been back to Asgard four times, and Loki has come to earth twice to see me. I know you would all freak out about him coming to earth, but I made him wear that patch that Tony built which dampened his powers. Whenever he was on earth, he was just a normal person. We got to talking and decided to see each other more often, and we've become quite close."

"If you say that you and Loki are friends, I will jump off of this building." Natasha remarked, crossing her arms. She was definitely the most protective of you, seeing you as a little sister.

"You're not going to like this." you muttered, sighing.

"Loki and I are in love and we've been seeing each other for two months!" You spoke quicker than lightning, grinning at the end, and sprinting out of the conference room. As you ran to the common area, you heard shouting erupting from the conference room, mainly coming from Nat, Steve and Tony. You knew they wouldn't take it well, but you didn't expect it to go down this badly. You heard the commotion from the conference room slowly make it's way closer to the common area, so you bolted towards the bedrooms. You didn't live in the avengers tower, but practically everyone else did.

Hiding in Natasha's room is too obvious, she's the avenger who you're closest to. Hiding in Thor's is also too risky, as he has asgardian technology; as far as they're concerned, you might try and get in contact with Loki. Tony's room? Too stinky. Clint's room? Too stinky². Steve's room? You looked up to that man as a brother, and you certainly were not interested in whatever sort of magazines and movies that he kept in there ( ;) ). That left one other person's room: Bruce's. Quickly sliding into his room, you crawled under the poofy duvet on his bed. Luckily, Bruce's blanket was practically three duvets thick, so they wouldn't be able to tell that you were in there.

Bruce's sheets smelled like lavender and vanilla, with a very vague scent of aftershave; you loved it. You could probably stay there for hours, and even fall asleep, but the faint musk you smelled on his sheets reminded you of Loki. His aftershave always smelled like bonfires and liquor, a scent that you could fall in love with over and over again. You must have laid in in Bruce's bed for 20 minutes before you heard footsteps outside the door. You were never one to do this (run and hide from something difficult) as it seems childish, and the gang already treats you like a child enough. However, you didn't know how you would recover from this one. You heard doors open and close nearby - they must be looking for you. The door to Bruce's room suddenly opened, and you held your breath in an attempt to be quieter. You heard a deep sigh, and somebody sat on the end of the bed. You could just tell that it was Bruce, and you felt safer with him here.

"Listen, kid-"

"Bruce, you're my favourite, but call me kid one more time and I will smite you."

He chuckled and apologised, continuing to talk. "Sorry, y/n. I know how you feel. Frustrated, confused, low on hope." You poked your head out from underneath the duvet and moved over on the bed, sitting up. You motioned for Bruce to sit next to you, which he did.

"I've been through this sequence over and over again," he said, laying down next to you, "yet I never seem to break the cycle. But there's a difference between you and I, y/n. When I'm feeling like this, I show it. I'm not talking about hulking out, but about how I hold myself. I'll be visibly down and depressed, everyone can tell that I'm going through something. But you, you hold it in. You smile and laugh through every emotion you have, and I can't help but admire you for it."

You both turned your heads to look at each other, Bruce giving you a small smile.

"When you're sad or angry, you continue to smile. All of the other avengers get tricked by it, thinking that you're truly fine, but you don't fool me. I can see, every time you cover your emotions, I can see the fire behind your eyes. Or how you tighten your grip when you feel stressed. Although you may be smiling and laughing, I know what's going on behind those eyes. You do a good job, y/n, but maybe bottling it all up isn't the best option. Maybe that's why you fell for somebody who is the completely opposite, like Loki. Because you'd never dare to show your negative emotions outwardly and indulge in the feeling of letting everything out. Now that you've found somebody who you can share these emotions with, you feel like you can be yourself. What I'm failing to say, is perhaps you could let your emotions show a bit more. You don't have to complain or mope around the tower like Tony, but maybe let people know when you are uncomfortable, or confront people who make you upset."

You had closed your eyes about half way through Bruce's speech, and when you opened them your eyes brimmed with tears. He didn't say anything, but instead, Bruce held his arms out and took you in an embrace. You hugged him back, feeling warm and safe, not knowing how to express to him how much he meant to you.

"How did the others react?" You asked into his chest. Bruce was hesitant to reply, and didn't know whether it was best to tell you the truth or let you see for yourself. With a content sigh, he replied.

"I'm afraid to say they didn't take it very well. Natasha blames herself, Steve's a bit frustrated, and Tony...Tony said he feels 'stabbed in the back by his greatest friend', but I think he was being a bit too over dramatic."

"Why do they hate him so much?" You asked, pulling away from Bruce and sitting up on his bed.

"It's complicated." Bruce said, rubbing his forehead. "He's been with us in the past, but there have been multiple occasions where we've had to lock him up. We still don't know whether he's with us or against us, and now one of our best teammates is in love with him." You nodded, knowing what he meant. You knew you had to clear things up with the rest of the group, and you'd start with Natasha.

"Yeah, that makes sense. I'm sorry for hiding in here and messing up your covers, I'm going to go and talk to them and apologise." Before you got up from the bed, Bruce pulled you in for one last hug, planting a friendly kiss on your forehead. "Never apologise for falling in love."

—————

Never apologise for falling in love.

Never apologise for falling in love.

Never apologise for falling in love.

In your head, you repeated what Bruce had told you in his room. You were walking towards to common area where you knew the rest of the avengers would be. Bruce went in there first to calm everyone down, and you told him you'd be in there in a few minutes to tell everyone the news. Walking into the room, all eyes were on you. You became conscious of what you looked like, your face was probably red and puffy from crying.

"Do you have anything you'd like to say, y/n?" Steve asked in a harsh tone. He seemed extremely intimidating, and you suddenly felt small and worthless.

"Take it easy, Steve." Bruce said quite calmly. "Let her do it herself."

You smiled, a genuinely happy smile at Bruce. Despite having little to no confidence whatsoever, you were actually happy. Bruce had made you feel so much better, you had a boyfriend who you loved, and you wanted your friends to know whether they approved or not.

"I want to let you all know that I didn't do this on purpose. I didn't mean to bond with Loki, and I should never apologise for falling in love, and I'm not going to apologise. It's my life, and whether you approve or not, I'm going to continue to see Loki. However, I would like to apologise for how I acted. I shouldn't have run and hidden, and I could've broken the news in a nicer way. Do any of you have anything you'd like to say?"

There was a gloomy silence as the rest of the group contemplated what to say. Trying to alleviate the room of the awkwardness, Thor opined. "Well, I approve of your relationship, Lady y/n. I'm glad you've found someone!" Everyone looked at Thor, then back to you as you sat down on a chair. Steve opened his mouth and closed it a few times, he clearly was lost for words. Natasha was the first person to speak, coming to sit in the chair next to you.

"We overreacted, I'm sorry, y/n. I'm sure you could understand what we felt, but we support you. It'll take us a while to get used to it, but we all want you to feel comfortable. We love you, and if you love Loki then there is nothing we can do about it other than accept you."

The day ended with a group hug, lots of individual hugs from Natasha and Steve, and you & Bruce watching Star Wars after everyone had gone to bed. You were going to see Loki the next day, and you knew it would be the best day ever.

#avengers #avengers x fem!reader #avengers x y/n #avengers x you #marvel #marvel fanfic #marvel fanfiction #marvel fic #the avengers #avengers x platonic reader #loki x y/n #loki x reader #loki imagine #loki x you #loki of asgard #loki fandom #loki odinson #loki odison x reader #loki laufeyson #loki laufeyson x reader #loki laufeyson x you #bruce x you #bruce x reader #bruce banner #the incredible hulk #hulk #avengers fanfic #avengers fanfiction

[inkribbon796]

Radioactive Ch. 1: Unthinkable

Summary: Science marches on as magic and science mix in the most dangerous way.

A/N: Title comes from “Unthinkable” by Cloudy June and Imagine Dragon’s “Radioactive”. This was supposed to be the season finale but there’s still shorts I want to do with this arc so the season finale will be at the end of September with the wedding, where I assure you nothing unfortunate will happen. Absolutely nothing.

In other news, this is my 200th short, and that makes me very happy. Hope you all enjoy this mid-arc short.

Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

A thunderstorm started in the city, slowly rolling its way towards the north. Time was of the essence. Hours of testing, born from months of planning now culminated in a single moment.

In a bunker in the middle of the woods, two young men were conducting the first test. It was dark out and the city was in a frenzy, but that didn’t matter out here.

Barely anything mattered out here.

Tubbo and Jack Manifold stood in a well shielded bunker in the middle of the woods to the north east of Egoton. They were hundreds of miles into the cursed woods. They wore lab coats over their clothes.

“You know,” Jack Manifold chuckled to Tubbo as they got in place at the computer, a screen in front of them that overlooked the top of the forest. “It would be hilarious if all this thing did was smoke, shake, an’[1] then catch fire.”

Tubbo made an amused chuckle. “Then I guess I got arrested fer nothin’.”[2]

The two of them descended into a fit of laughter before Tubbo sobered up. “Goggles down.”

“Check,” Jack made sure his goggles were securely over his eyes.

“Safety shields one through ten?” Tubbo called next, his eyes and hands already moving to the array of sensors.

“Safety shields one through ten are all stable, an’[1] showin’[3] a steady magical signature,” Jack responded.

“Forest clear?” Tubbo grabbed the microphone and flipped the switch on that sent a signal to dozens of speakers and cameras that the two of them had set up and hidden in the “kill” and “cancer” zones weeks prior. “Attention! Attention! This is a serious warnin’ fer radiation if you are in the vicinity ‘a hearin’ this you must make yourself known so we can safely clear the woods. If you do not, you will die or become severely injured an’ get sick.”[4]

The two of them waited for a couple minutes, flipping through cameras to double check no one was going to get hurt. There was a malfunction from one of the cameras where an audio error was happening but nothing was on the camera and Tubbo sent one of his bee familiars to check it out and it came back with nothing.

Tubbo sent the message again and after nothing, he declared, “Forest clear.”

“Payload in place?” Jack was already checking the sensor.

“Check,” Tubbo double checked it.

“Reason fer[5] use ‘a[6] launch code?” Jack was looking down the button for any sign that something was out of order or going to malfunction.

“Testing payload in a safe environment before storage,” Tubbo answered.

Tubbo took a deep breath. “Here we are.”

Jack nervously swallowed.

The young teen took out a key card with a radioactive symbol and a bee on it. The number 1 marking it. “Ready?”

Smiling, Jack pulled out his own match card with a radioactive symbol and a skull, the number 2 marked on it. “Ready.”

Tubbo hit the sirens as they blared out, a final warning as Jack looked at Tubbo and saw the nervous anticipation.

“Inserting keycards for launch on my mark,” Tubbo announced. “I will count to three, an’[1] then I will say: “go” they are not ta[7] be inserted sooner or later.”

“Understood,” Jack called out, readying to insert the keycard. “Ready.”

“On my mark,” Tubbo called out, copying him. The room was deathly silent as the thunderstorm got closer. “3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . Go! Go!”

The keycards went in and a signal raced along the current until they hit a panel far off into the distance. The pause was a fraction, of a fraction, of a second but it hit the payload and lacked it over the tree line until it struck a random tree on its starting descent.

The two young men had been expecting a small explosion, or no explosion, but the opposite happened. The earth shook the entire town for a couple brief seconds as a pulse of magic mixed with a deadly radioactive payload made a mushroom cloud that rose over the treeline and left a crater in its wake.

Tubbo and Jack screamed in horror and surprise as the tremors quickly subsided and Jack was so frozen in terror and surprise that he thought that it was his tinnitus making that sound.

But that was laughter. Tubbo was letting out a mad cackling laugh. The shields had protected them from the explosion, protecting the city. But Tubbo was so charged with energy, and in their surprise no one had yet to notice that Tubbo’s bad right eye had changed. It had been initially blinded and scarred, along with his hearing in one ear, in a close range explosion a couple years ago. Tubbo had designed a replacement and then grew out his hair to hide it. Now it was scarred again, a permanent radioactive symbol etched into the iris. Forever branding Tubbo for his bastardization of magic and science.

Jack looked over at Tubbo, watching him laugh and fight to collect his composure again with a new wash of horror.

“Tubster,” Jack tried to reach out to what he thought was a young man in desperate need of comfort. “It’s okay, it was just a test.”

“We have two more,” Tubbo said in a giddy tone of voice that terrified Jack.

“Wh-What?” Jack saw something briefly glowing underneath the fridge of Tubbo’s hair.

“We’re more powerful than Techno,” Tubbo smiled before remembering something. “But how’s . . .”

Jack found himself unable to speak as Tubbo reached for a RV control and operated his bee drone to head for the site after getting it ready to collect radioactive samples.

What he got brought the smile back to his face. “Cept fer the larger explosion, this looks better than I could have e’er imagined. The magic is helpin’ ta neutralize the radiation. By tomorrow it’ll be clean.”[8]

Jack leaned in to look at the camera, “Oh my—”

Tubbo’s eyes widened as Jack went slack jawed at the video image of the crater. There was a deep hole where the explosion had dissipated most of its force.

The echoes of another mad laugh bubbled in Tubbo’s chest, but he reigned it in. “I think it’s time ta[7] pack up, don’t you?”

“Ye-Yeah,” Jack said uneasily as Tubbo secured the other two payload cores into a leak-proof led box and made them vanish into his coat with his aura. Then Tubbo grabbed their books. Jack’s keycard was burning a hole in his pocket.

Then, once everything incriminating was cleaned up and stored on either Tubbo or Jack’s person.

When Tubbo double checked the area they set up a portal grid that charged with foaming purple aura. Tubbo felt a comfortable release of tension at the bits of Ranboo’s aura that came from the grid. As familiar as Tubbo’s own aura, and it felt like a refreshing breeze when he passed through the portal and into a nightclub that had three different layers to it. A dinning, dancing area. The VIP room was up a flight of curved stairs, and up at the top was a fighting area with cameras that projected the combatants all over the club.

Dream’s Server, where he was judge, jury, king, and executioner. Frequently Dream stayed in the VIP room unless Techno walked in and wanted a fight, or he had to leave to tend to some business.

Tonight everyone was down on the main floor, a match clearly interrupted and when Tubbo and Jack walked in everyone was staring at them, and anyone looked at Tubbo. Staring at him as if he was covered in human entrails.

“What did you fuckers do?” Sapnap spat.

“Language!” Bad gasped from where he was standing amongst the crowd.

“Nothin’,”[9] Tubbo braced his hands on his hips.

“Quit with those muffin-filled lies,” Bad yelled over several other people who were trying to call Tubbo out on his bullshit. “Where were you, young man?”

“Since when does anyone care what I do?” Tubbo scoffed. “I’m not a captain anymore.”

“How about when we feel a fucking explosion,” Quackity spat.

Bad let out another gasp.

“Skeppy, get him out of here,” Quackity turned to glare at Bad. “Bad, I love you, but I can’t deal with your language issues right now.”

“But,” Bad pouted sadly.

“Come on, buddy,” Skeppy patted Bad’s arm and started to walk back up to the arena. Bad glancing between Skeppy and the group before rushing to catch up to his friend.

“You guys felt somethin’[10]?” Jack asked in confusion.

“Of course we did, you guys were nearby doing weird shit and didn’t expect us to notice?” Quackity snapped.

“We weren’t in town, we were north ‘a[6] Egoton,” Tubbo felt a slow smile creep along his face. “Didn’t think it’d shake the whole town.”

“Did it work?” Dream asked, his mask staring at Tubbo.

Everyone, even Jack, stared at Dream.

Tubbo smiled, “Better than I imagined.”

“Alright,” Dream clapped, a smile in his tone. “I have nothing more to talk to you about, you’re free to go. You need any help sorting out the police?”

“Dream, you can’t just leave it at that,” Quackity snapped as Tubbo shook his head.

“We gotta at least know what they did,” Puffy reprimanded. “Cause[11] if they were anywhere near where they said they were and we felt, you can bet Dark felt it. Him and every other demon in this damn town.”

“Fair, fair,” Dream relented. “Tubbo, you wanna share some notes with the others?”

“I just became the strongest glitch in this fuckin’[12] town,” Tubbo proclaimed. “I put myself on the map. An’[1] Jack was there ta[7] help.”

Jack wasn’t sure if he wanted to take any kind of blame and correct Tubbo. Honestly if Tubbo was planning on using or even threatening his “nukes” against demons Jack knew he was already in too deep, and he needed to bail as quickly as possible.

“I’m gonna[13] go lie down,” Jack told everyone. “I’ve used a lotta magic an’ I need ta clear my head.”[14]

“Wait, you two fuckers are just going to walk off?” Quackity demanded, pissed.

“Quackity’s right, your aura’s will have to be tracked for the next little while,” Dream agreed, an air of disinterest.

“Sure, whate’er,[15]” Tubbo shrugged. “Going ta[7] the lab.”

“I’m not done with you yet,” Quackity followed the young man out to a hallway. “I am trying to run a business and you know what drives business away? Fear. I can’t have fear near my fucking casino. Loneliness and hunger gets people to indulge, and when they indulge they spend money. Fear makes people do crazy things.”

Tubbo stopped and just watched Quackity rant at him before leaning in, looking every bit like a mischievous teen that Quackity often forgot he was. He even had his hands folded behind his back and leaned up on his tiptoes. “Can I tell you a secret, Big Q?”

Disarmed a little bit, but not nearly as much as he used to, Quackity sighed, “Depends.”

“You e’er play Civ 5, Big Q?”[16] Tubbo took another step and Quackity watched mischief turn into malice, that smile never fading.

“Yeah,” Quackity answered hesitantly.

“I just became Gandhi,” Tubbo confessed, leaning in. Then he spun away on his heels. “I think I’ve said e’erythin’[17] I needed to say.”

“Hey, what did you just say to me!” Quackity became furious. “You little bastard, what did you do?”

“Go back ta[7] your card tables, Caesar,” Tubbo waved his fingers back at Quackity who looked so outraged he was shaking. In Tubbo’s glee his eye was glowing a sickly yellow. “Rome won’t build itself.”

Quackity watched the young man go, kicking himself for letting his guard down again. When Tubbo turned into a room and left. “Fuck you, Tubbo,” Quackity sneered.

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

Accessibility Translations:

1. and

2. Then I guess I got arrested for nothing.

3. showing

4. Attention! Attention! This is a serious warning for radiation if you are in the vicinity of hearing this you must make yourself known so we can safely clear the woods. If you do not, you will die or become severely injured and get sick.

5. for

6. of

7. to

8. Except for the larger explosion, this looks better than I could have ever imagined. The magic is helping to neutralize the radiation. By tomorrow it’ll be clean.

9. Nothing

10. something

11. Because

12. fucking

13. going to

14. I’ve used a lot of magic and I need to clear my head.

15. whatever

16. You ever play Civilization 5, Big Q?

17. everything

#Superhero AU #Masks and Maladies #footnotes #Dream SMP #Tubbo #jack manifold #C!Dream #Quackity #bamf Tubbo #bamf Tubbo supremacy #nukes #magical nukes #unhinged Tubbo #mad scientist Tubbo #Dream the manipulative Pez dispenser #this is when you know you're in too deep

[idjitlili]

Imagine asking Thorin to braid your hair like legolas’ which he does.surprise, Surprise, Surprise .

Extra information:Kili , fili, nor Thorin die in the five armies.

Word count:2071

You had been friends with legolas ever since you literally fell into Mirkwood. Legolas was suspicious of you for a while but then warmed up to you, he even convinced his Thranduil to let you stay in Mirkwood.

Thranduil brought Elrond to see you, to see if you were telling the truth. As Elrond is a magically elf or something legolas had told you. Thranduil didn’t really like you , but the same as legolas he warmed up to you it just took a lot longer. He sympathised you, Losing your whole life , and family ending up in a stranger world with elves dwarves and hobbits.

You lived with Thranduil and Legolas for over a five at this point, in which surprisingly Thranduil became very protective of you. So when you had been walking near the river , and thirteen dwarves , and hobbit had been rushing by. Along with Orcs , you were more than shocked. In which you had snuck out passed river gate to go sit somewhere alone. You knew Thranduil was going to be mad. Damn Thranduil was your dad.

Even more shocked when something hit you in side , making you fall sideways into the the river. You heard someone calling your name , sounding like legolas, you glance up while you are falling to see legolas running after you fighting orcs.

Your mouth gaps open, “legolas.” You almost whisper. You expect to hit the water with a smack, but instead you are caught by strong arms. Damn what are the chances , that you fell as a barrel went past exactly when you fell into for them.

You do be in a romance move, now who was your prince. Little did you know he wasn’t a prince..

You turn to see a long haired man, oh right he was a dwarf. He was very good looking, you look into his ocean blue eyes with your e/c ones. “T-thank you.” You stutter our to your James Franco. He looked like one of those guys , that acted tough , but were really were so sweet.

He gives you a small smile, placing you in the small barrel, that was very tight for two people. You look around to see the orcs fading away, and Legolas looking towards you, you give him a wave , before he disappears as you turn around a corner. Thorin notices your gesture, deciding to speak up now.

“How do you know the elven prince?” He questions you with a rough voice, damn sexy.

You are startled by his voice , “uh , I have been living with him and Thranduil , since they found me in the forest.” He looks at you processing your words slowly.

“What were you doing in Mirkwood?”

“You won’t believe me.” You tried to avoid the question.

“Try me.” He looks at you intensely.

“Uh well I was in my kitchen making mash potatoes when I tripped over my dog , and felling into Mirkwood forest , when a weird line thing appeared on the floor.” His face unreadable.

“Yeah that is bloody crazy, we shall take you to Gandalf, but for now you should come with us, going back alone is dangerous “ he spoke as you approach the shore.

“Who is Gandalf?” You didn’t mind going with them, you had done nothing really in Mirkwood except read , draw , eat watch Thranduil sass everyone. This quest, mission, thang seemed like fun, so you didn’t even question it.

“He is a wizard,” you nod understanding.

Throughout the travel to Erebor Thorin made sure to keep you safe, he knew Thranduil allowing you stay with him and his son was beyond impossible. Plus he saw legolas looking at you when, when he caught you, he knew he would tell Thranduil. Knowing his he knew if something was to happen to you he would probably be slaughtered.

When you reached Erebor, Thranduil and Bard trying to settle what Thorin promised. You stood next to Thorin, Thranduil saw you straight away with his elf eyes.

“Y/n?” He called out, you waved back eagerly.

“ADA! Thorin says I can stay with him for a while.” You smile, that was the first time you had called Thranduil , your father , it made his heart swell with love. But he was angered at the thought of you living with dwarves. Thorin liked you, it was better because you weren’t a elf and that it annoyed Thranduil you staying with his kin.

After the battle , which had joined in because you felt like something bad was to happen. Of course it would you idjit people are trying to kill each other it’s a war. Dumbass. Which you had saved all three of the Durins line. Thranduil had quickly rushed to you , to make you come home with him.

“Please let me stay, I am an adult , I just want to stay for a while to see what it’s like here.” You beg, frowning.

“Y/n , Mirkwood is your home, me and legolas love you.” He pleads , grasping your hands.

“I know , as do I but I must I really want to see what life is like here , I will write and visit , and it will just be for a couple of months. Also forgot to mention ,this is far fetched to believe a nice ginger women called rowena kidnapped you ,and told thranduil if he got a certain spell book she would set you free. And give you more years in life , and slow down ageing. (This allowed you in to live through lotr yes babe) it was crazy , but this women loved her son and needed to save him.

You eventually convinced Thranduil to let you stay, and hugged him goodbye. You entered , “ I guess I am staying boys!” You exclaimed throwing your arms up , receiving cheers from the other dwarves.

Kili and Fili liked you very much, they included you in many of their pranks , for example: You guys stole Bofurs hat while he was sleeping putting it into the oven. He spent three hours looking for it, he wasn’t pleased , lucky the oven wasn’t lit. Uh , kili also shaved off Bofurs eyebrows , that didn’t go done well either. He tried hiding it with his hat, it looked terrible.

Thorin wasn’t happy with this especially , when you pretended to be injured , he came running , when hearing you shout.

He clutched your hand in distress begging for you to wake up, only for kili and fili to whacked him in the face with a cream pie. You had bust out with laughter , he wiped the cream from his eyes looking doing at you smirking.

He wiped the cream onto your face, his hands running done to your sides , tickling you. You couldn’t breathe. “T-Thorin p-lease.AHH.” You tried to reason with him the best you could , but it was no use. your cheeks hurting from laughing so wide, your throat dry, sides aching.

You reached your hand up to Thorins face getting cream on it, you tried to eat it off your hand with out choking. You bust out coughing , Thorin stopped, sitting you rubbing you back, at this point Fili and kili has left minutes ago. As they wanted to talk secretly about Thorin not being an ass.

“Are you okay?” He asked you with a cream covered face.

You stopped coughing, looking him in the eye “damn are you okay? You look a bit pale. DAMN you are a elf.” His smile , disappeared , in which his hands reached for your sides again. “You done it now .” He smirked , and he attacked you again.

After this attack , he help you up , and you led him to the sink, that was five steps away because you were in the kitchen. You used a sponge to wipe all the cream off. His face wet, eyes scrunched up , so no water could get in them. He was finally able to be happy after getting revenge and reclaiming his home and finding a nice girl/

You used a cloth to dry his face , dabbing it gently, unknowingly to you , Fili and kili came back watching in awe. Secretly obviously.

Now that brings you today you sat in your bed with a small mirror between in your legs In your chambers, trying to sort your hair like legolas used to do it. The same as his . There was three gently knocks at your door, you had told them to come in.

The door opened to reveal. Thorin , with a box, it wasn’t rare for Thorin to gift you with things. You just thought he was being friendly, but little did you know. He was attempting to court you. He stepped in with a gently smile, he looked you up and down.

Your cheeks flashed with red, you wore a tunic and underwear (or shorts whatever I know they didn’t have underwear.) , as you wore them to bed. But you were struggling with your hair otherwise you would’ve been dressed a long time ago.

“ are you okay?” Thorin spoke with a small smile.

“Uh I am just struggling doing my hair today, otherwise I would’ve been up already.” You were embarrassed for the king to see you like his.

“Would you like some help?” He walked slowly closer towards you, placing the box on the end of your bed.

“ would you help me? Your hair looks majestic all the time.” Thorins cheeks spike with a small dash of pink.he nods his head.

“Thank you, may I ?” He gestures the space behind you on your bed, you nod with approvement., you pass him your brush, which he had also gifted you. Damn he’s a king he can do what he likes.

He sits , gently brushing your tangled soft h/c hair. You didn’t know about dwarven courting rituals , well you knew nothing about any other than modern day ones.

“ how do you want your hair ?”

“Uh.. like legolas’ , I get if you don’t want to, he used to do my hair for me..” you frown , it was easy when you had an elf doing your hair everyday.

“I will, you will have to remind me on how he does.” Which you do , allowing him to get to work, with his thick fingers gently pulling and gliding in your hair. It was relaxing to say the least. Damn it was scary to think he could kill you , yet he treats you like glass.

His fingers soon pull away from your hair, and he softly mutters ‘done’. You pick up your Mirrow looking at his work, your eyes lite up with joy, he was very skilled with his fingers. Could you imagine you quickly dismiss your dirty thoughts. You turn around hugging him tightly, after a minute you pull away smiling at him. “ thank you.” He stands you walking to where he put the box , he picks it up looking at you.

“ y/n , these last couple of months I have been trying to tell you something, I am just going to say it... I would really like to court you, I have brought you something, if you would accept, I would you wear it to dinner with me tonight.” He looks down at his feet breathlessly and frankly scared.

You stand up walking towards him , lifting the lid to the box to reveal a navy blue blue velvet dress. You gasp,bringing your

Fingers to feel the material, it was beautiful, damn that must of been expensive. You quickly use that hand to lift up Thorins chin, leaning over the box you press a kiss to Thorins lips. He smiles widely at you. “ I accept,is that why you have be so many gifts?” He nods his head still grinning.

“I would accept even without all the gifts , I knew when my you caught me, I do be living in a romance novel.” He chuckled at you, placing the box down again , wrapping his arms around your waist pulling you close. Pressing a kiss to your lips , this time very passionately.

That night you write a letter to Thranduil and legolas , about your news. You knew Thranduil gonna be shaking , and not his ass.

A/n I finally managed to do my hair like legolas by myself for the first time. I am so happy.(yeah that pic is my hair)

#the hobbit imagine #the hobbit x reader #the hobbit #thorin imagine #thorin x you #thorin oakenshield #thorin fic #thorin x reader #the hobbit x you

[dragonrajafanfiction]

Dragon Dancer Chapter 6: The Walking Dead

Deep down we all know our lives can change in an instant. We all hope it will change for the better. We hope that we’ll find that dream job. That girl we’ve been searching for will show up, smile at us, and agree that she’s was searching for us too. That some prince will come and whisk us away from our problems.

We also know that things can change for the worse. In that same instant, our lives can be taken, as if by some strange magic, and everything we’ve been working for crumbles to dust. All we can do is pick up the pieces, start over again, and be grateful we survived.

When I woke up at the hospital, I couldn’t talk about what happened. Nono, at my bedside, tried to get me to say something about it, but my mind could not form the words to describe the chaos I remembered. If I focused on the memories too much, they overwhelmed me the way the strongest emotions do. They were pure sensation, coming over me faster than my intellect's ability to register them. 

There were details, focal points that my mind latched on to after the world went blurry.

The shocked look of a young man’s face when he realized he was going to die the instant before he did. The pulsating waves that were visible when blood oozed from a severed artery. The life and death struggle of a living person between my hands. Despite the clarity of these memories - or maybe because of it - their horrific nature stunned me into speechlessness.

When Nono was unable to get me to answer her questions, she said, “I think we need to get you some help.” She stood up and left me alone in the room.

I laid on my side picking at the thin threads of the soft pillow case. When the door creaked open and footsteps approached, I didn’t turn to look.

“I am Doctor Toyama.” A gentle male voice greeted me.

When he didn’t say anything more, I turned my head to see if he was still there. He had light brown eyes in a young face and a thin well manicured goatee that traced around his upper lip and chin. He wore a lab coat with a tag hanging from his pocket as an identifier. He held a notebook and pen.

That much acknowledgement of his existence was enough to make him smile. “I have a few questions for you. You don’t have to say much about this incident. The College is well aware of many details about Isaac and his… activities here. It’s unfortunate that it had to end up this way.”

He pulled up a chair and sat next to my bed. I averted my eyes from him as he continued to speak. “You’re probably blaming yourself for what happened. I’m here to tell you that it wasn’t your fault.”

He didn’t wait for me to respond. “People here all have a certain percentage of dragon DNA. The higher the percentage the stronger they are. But there is a cost.” He kept his tone soft and clear.

“If someone’s percentage of dragon DNA is too high, it begins to overwrite the human. It grows, much like a cancer and they cease to be recognizable as a human. They turn into what we call a death servitor. That is what happened to Isaac.”

“It happened to Isaac because of what I did though,” I whispered. My throat squeezed shut. My lip trembled. I could feel his eyes on me, but I couldn’t return his gaze.

“Oh? How so?”

I chewed my lip and pressed my face into the pillow.

“I’d really like to know. There are surveillance cameras in the library. As far as we can tell after watching the footage, you walked into a conference room together. The rest is hard to make out but it’s clear you disappear. You went…” He let the sentence hang.

“I wanted to see my family.” I said shakily. Tears wet the pillowcase around my eyes.

“Why? You were only here a day. You miss them already?”

I nodded.

“Hmm…” I hear his pen click. “Did you inform one of your class advisors?.”

“Yeah. He told me that… I couldn’t see my family because the rules said I had to stay on campus… I couldn’t even call them.”

“Ah… I see. You’re very close to them then?”

“Mhm…”

“You must be  if you were willing to follow a stranger into the dark on the off chance you might get to see them. Tell me, what do you plan to say to them?” There was genuine curiosity in his voice.

“Everything here is secret… right?” I peeked up from the pillow.

“That’s right.” He's writing in his notebook.

“Well, I’d … tell him that there’s a lot of boys here. And they make me nervous.”

He stroked his goatee. “Ah… I see. What else?”

“Everything is really extravagant… and I don’t think I’ll fit in. And that I failed my first exam.” Now that I’m looking at him, he offered me a tissue box. I sat up to accept it.

“Very good.” He made a few more notes  “I’ll submit this to the board members and see if they can make a bit of an exception for some forms of communication. It’s… rare we get people like you. Who actually come from loving non-hybrid homes.”

He clicked his pen and put it back into his breast pocket. “But since you still have so much to say to them, that means you didn’t go back to your home, did you? Where did you go?”

“I don’t know where it was. There were others too. They were dressed in Japanese clothes. So maybe Japan?” I blew my nose.

“Japan? Hm…” He made a note. “That’s … odd. Why do you think he would take you there?”

“Maybe that’s where his family lives?” I looked to him for confirmation of my guess.

“His family? I thought you were going to meet yours?” He raised his eyebrows.

I explained.  “He said I shouldn’t have failed my test. He said he wanted to test me… before I went home.”

“There was no way you could have known what that meant.” He told me. “You must have … fought hard to escape.” He looked at me expecting me to fill in the blank, but I fell into an abrupt silence. My eyes were downcast. My fingers kneaded at the pillow case.

“Alright…” He said quietly. “What’s one thing you can tell me. Just one.”

My continued silence stretched on.

“Just one thing? I promise, I won’t ask any more questions.”

I didn’t reply but Doctor Toyama continued to sit and wait. My mind remembered, indexed and sorted what happened into a large pile of secrets. There was one memory that I felt comfortable revealing.

“He saved my life. I would’ve died. But when he held me, my wound healed. He brought me back before he turned into that monster.”

He watched me wipe away tears, keeping his expression neutral. “I see. Thank you.” He made another note. “I’ll leave you now. Feel free to contact me any time.” He left his card on the table next to my phone.

After he was gone, I examined the card. His title was Campus Psychologist. My phone lit up, attracting my attention. It displayed an overwhelming number of notifications. I ignored them in favor of visiting my social media page.

At the top of the feed, the official administrators had pinned a message.

This page is now restricted, only those with access may view it. If you have questions about the restriction or feel you’ve been blocked in error, keep it to yourself because you haven’t been.

Below that stretched a long string of posts by other Cassell students.

“How does one kill a servitor in a single hit?”

“Well, this new student is promising. Anyone get her number?”

“Wish she’d left some of that fight to me.”

“How can I date her please.”

“DMs are blocked :(“

“Anyone have her phone number? What about email?”

“How do you even get that strong?!”

“10/10 would watch again.”

My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach. I didn’t want to talk to or meet any of these people.

In my notifications, I found a text from Nono. “Hey, hope you’re feeling better. You’ll be getting a message from the Principal soon. Don’t be nervous, just do your best. If you need me, just call me alright? Please, if you want to talk, don’t hesitate to call me. I know you miss your family, but you can’t go back to them right now. Not without talking to him.”

The phone sang its jaunty ringtone. The caller ID was just ‘EVA’. “Hello?”

Her voice was cheerful but her words were to the point. “You passed your E3 exam with a high level of resonance with a draconic cipher. This along with your unique dragon ancestry puts you at Rank S.”

“What do you mean I passed? I didn’t write anything?”

“Most record their ciphers. In your case, this was not the correct medium. Determining your ability will take further research. Therefore, we are admitting you. Welcome to Cassell College. I’m EVA, the school AI butler. Let me know if you need help or have questions."

“AI…? A computer…?” I stammered but couldn’t form a complete sentence so she continued.

“Your meeting with Principal Anjou is in half an hour. I’ve sent Mingfei Lu to guide you there. Your uniform is there in your room. Please dress and get ready to meet him. Don’t worry. He’s very nice.”

“Wait! Who is…?”

The phone beeped to tell me there was no longer anyone on the other end. I returned it to the nightstand and slid my legs over the edge of the bed to get up. I found my purple and black uniform on a hanger in the open closet across the hospital room.

When I put the uniform on, I examined myself in the room’s bathroom mirror.  The open collar displayed my pendant over my collarbones. I turned my back to see if there was any sign of where that man had knifed me. There wasn’t.  My heart began to pound as I remembered the spear of light impaling my attacker, how his jaw dropped open in shock. I started to wonder how much of that really happened, hoping some of it was a dream.

A knock on the hospital room door frightened me so badly I stumbled backwards into the wall. Trembling, I peeked outside the bathroom to see a gangly young man with brown doe-like eyes and a mop of messy brown hair.  He gives me a cheerful wave. “You must be the newbie!”

He slowly lowered his hand when I didn’t echo his enthusiasm.  “Don’t be shy! I don’t bite! I promise!” He gave a little nervous laugh. “I’m not good at this…” He mumbled.

“Good at what?” I asked him.

His eyes snapped back to mine. “Huh? What? D...did I say that outloud?” He looked at me for confirmation so I nodded. “Sorry. Um. So, You can just call me Lu. I’ve been here for a little less than a year.”

His shoulders sagged at my silence, “So…” He steeled himself, forcibly perking himself up. “My roommate happens to run the gossip column at school. He told me what happened. It was pretty incredible. Where’d you learn to do that?”

I closed the door again, wondering if he was one of the people who posted on my feed. I leaned against it, glaring at the ground. “I wouldn’t say it was ‘incredible’.”

His voice sounded from the other side. “I know it's hard but I can help you. I… I know what it’s like okay? Just bear with it. You’ll do fine!”

I took a deep breath and cracked the door open. “Sorry…” I whispered.

“You’re fine okay?” He said, peering through the small space, his voice trembling with nervous laughter. “We just need to get you to the principal’s office. You don’t have to do anything. Oh and don’t forget to grab your coat. It’s pretty windy out there.”

As we walked down the campus paths, Lu kept glancing down at me like he wanted to say something but didn’t know how to start. “So… what’s your name?”

I felt a chill run down my spine, recalling the results of using my childhood name. “I don’t like my name.”

“Oh… then… what do you prefer to be called? I feel bad just calling you, newbie.” More nervous laughter.

“Newbie is fine.” I told him. “But if there’s a name you like, just call me that.”

His nervousness turned to surprised dismay. “What? I can’t just call you whatever I want! What if someone else calls you something different?”

The corners of my mouth turned down. “You’re Mingfei Lu, right? You said, just call me Lu. Does everyone call you Lu?”

“Ah… good point.” He rubs his chin in thought. “But… What if I call you something you don’t like?”

I chuckled. “Then I’ll tell you. Like I said I didn’t mind, ‘newbie’.”

He rubbed the back of his neck but didn’t continue to object.

The administration building grew larger into view, fronted by a stone staircase. People hurried up and down, anxious to get out of the cold.

Once inside, Lu led me to the main office. We paused at the wooden door carved with the word ‘Principal’. Lu knocked before going in. Like most things at Cassell, the principal's office was larger than it needed to be. It was fancy, with black mirror tiles and a sleek glossy desk. Behind it sat Anjou who greeted me with a sympathetic grin. I couldn’t bring myself to smile back. That man fooled me into coming here and denied me access to my family. This was all his fault.

Johann and Caesar stood in front of the desk. Johann crosses his arms at my dour expression.

Caesar was bemused at my silent snarling. “It’s good to see you up and healthy. We are all grateful you made out alive.”

“Yeah. Thanks.” I mumbled, my shoulders rising to my ears.

Johann's soft voice echoed in the roomy interior. “That’s Mingfei, he’s our other S-ranked student.”

“You’re S-ranked too?” I turned to him in shock.

Mingfei Lu held up his hands in self-defense.“ Don’t look at me like that! I’m just ranked as S! I don’t actually have any abilities at all.”

Anjou stood up from behind his desk, as tall as I remembered, smoking a cigar. He paced, massaging his beard as he began. “Now that we’re all here. We can start the mission briefing.”

My eyes lifted at the word ‘mission’, glancing at the others.

“Our intelligence is reporting the signal of a dragon embryo off the coast of Japan. This signal may be what we have been dreading. Analysis indicates that it is the signal of a first generation dragon lord. So we’re sending you as a team to meet with the Cassell College Japan division.”  

He took a drag of the cigar and let it out slowly. “This mission is Grade SS. We will need all of you."

My hand tentatively rose but he ignored me and continued.

“Our Japan branch is very secretive. This situation calls for the utmost discretion and sensitivity. However, I have maintained contact with Masamune Tachibana. He welcomes our assistance. Please, view this as a stepping stone for bringing our branches into closer cooperation.”

Filling with dread, I recalled Isaac’s Japanese companions and wondered if there was some connection to what I had done.

“Caesar, you’ll be the one leading on this mission.” Anjou nodded to him.

Caesar opened his mouth to speak but Johann responded. “Of course, that’s for the best.”

Caesar scowled at him. “Don’t steal my lines!” He cleared his throat. “We’ll complete the mission in no time at all, Principal Anjou! With time to do some souvenir shopping!” The blue-eyed hybrid waved a hand at me and flashed a smile, “In fact, I’d like to outfit you in the finest silk kimonos…”

“If that���s what you want to do.” I replied, reluctantly smiling back.

His eyebrows rose to his hairline. “This is your first mission as part of our team! That’s surely something to celebrate.”

“Wait… I'm going?" My smile turned to confusion. Somehow, I’d passed my E3 without writing anything. I killed my fellow students the night before. Now, he assigned me to work with top students and sent me to Japan.

While I struggled to grasp my new reality, silent seconds ticked by. Johann cleared his throat. Caesar glared at him. “You have something to say?”

Johann returned his gaze with a calm expression. “Nothing at all.”

“If you have something to say, you should say it!”. Caesar turned to fully face him.

Johann looked at me instead. “I promised you I would show you a frozen dragon specimen. But now you’ll be seeing the real thing.”

“When was this?” Caesar demanded of him. "Don't ignore me, Johann Chu!"

I looked between them both, baffled at Caesar’s sudden aggression. Lu hid his face behind his hand in embarrassment.

Anjou puffed on his cigar chuckling. “I have to interrupt.” He addressed me next. “My dear, your performance in the library tells me that you qualify for this dangerous mission.”

I frowned at his use of the word performance. “But I…” I couldn’t finish the sentence, my voice trailing off.

He turned to the others. “I’d like to have a private word with our new student.”

As they walked out, Caesar continued to menace an unflappable Johann. “Keep in mind that it was Nono and I there at her arrival here…”

Lu followed them, glancing over his shoulder at me in worry before he was forced to jog after them to catch up.

Anjou sat down and gestured to a chair for me.

“You know,” he said. “Of all the recruits, you have outstanding resilience. You come to my office after everything you’ve been through.  After you hear that I’m sending you on a dangerous mission after this incident, you don’t immediately object.”

“Do I actually have a choice in any of this? You’re just throwing things at me and I’m trying to just survive here!” My voice shook. “You’re not going to let me leave, are you?”

He settled his cigar down on a silver ashtray. “Your talent is a Class S… the strongest kind. But it is extremely unstable. The injection Johann gave you is a temporary experimental measure. I’m hoping that the Japan Division might be hiding research that can aid us in preventing you from turning into a monster like Isaac.”

“What are you talking about?” My voice lowered to a whimper.

His uncharacteristic seriousness lent weight to his words. “What happened to Isaac could just as easily happen to you. I am committed to preventing that. You’re here to today because of that effort. Had you turned servitor after the injection, we would have had no choice but to eliminate you. You did not. So there is still hope.” He said this frankly, looking into my eyes. His expression turned grim. “I cannot keep you here against your will. I can only tell you the truth. Your chances of survival are slim outside of Cassell College.”

My self-protective sense of humor faltered and I found my desire to contact Robbie lessened. If this was to be my fate, then it would be better that he never saw me again. “And if there’s no cure?” I asked quietly.

“Let’s take courage and hope. We’re working on it.” His positivity returned.  “You remind me so much of my friend Manecke. When I look at you…” He took another puff.  “I see brilliance. Something will come up.”

My throat started to close and my eyes burned.  “Can I go?”

He nodded. I stood up and rushed out of the office.

Lu was waiting for me, but I pushed by him before he could say a word.

I managed to make it back to my apartment before I gave in to the shattering grief inside. My shadow twin appeared, kneeling next to me. She tried to catch my tears but they fell through her hand to the carpet. I wished I had never accepted the offer to come to Cassell. But if I hadn’t accepted, who knew what might have happened? Had I blissfully gone through life, I might have suddenly turned into a beast. I imagined myself as a ballerina, graceful and elegant, only to morph into a horrible monster a few years into my career. Maybe even on stage. It would have been awful.

My emotions began to subside and I picked myself up off the floor. Packing for the trip wasn’t difficult. Most of my things were still in my suitcase. As I went through my belongings, I wondered what I wanted to wear on my last few days on Earth. ‘Whatever felt comfortable on a plane’ won out.

I wrote in my school notebook what I wanted people to find after I was gone. I confessed that I hadn’t just killed Isaac, but possibly six or seven other people. I was a waste of everyone’s time and effort, especially Robbie and Mom’s.

My phone buzzed. Nono was trying to talk to me but I didn’t want to anymore. It was better if she forgot I ever existed. I turned the phone off.

My heart beat fast all the rest of the day and into the night.  I spent most of that night pacing around my apartment. The racing pulse made it impossible to sleep and robbed me of my appetite in the morning.

The next morning while I was turning out the lights and getting ready to meet the others to go to the airport, someone knocked on my door.

I opened to Nono, her crimson eyes narrowed. “You know, I don’t take it lightly when someone ignores my messages. Especially someone I’ve tried to be nice to.”

My shoulders lowered and I sighed. “Nono, I…”

She cut me off. “No, you need to listen to me. I know what happened was hard. Maybe even harder than most. But you have got to pull yourself together.”

“Life as a hybrid will never be fair or easy. Not one of us has had an easy and happy life. You’re one of us now. So buck up and do what needs to be done!”

I shrunk under her stare, swallowing hard.

“You’re going on a dangerous mission with Caesar and the others. And I can’t have you getting into a funk, slipping up and then someone else dies because of it.”

When I stood silently she took a step forward, her voice rising. “Do you understand? Do what you have to do to stop moping. If something happens to Caesar, I won’t forgive you.”

“Yes ma’am.” I whispered.

She turned, her heels clicking against the tile as she departed.

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter

Go back to the Beginning

#Nono #Luminous #Dragon Raja #fanfiction #writing #EVA #Anjou #Caesar Gattuso #Johann Chu

[killmonger-queen]

Goofy Ass

Erik Killmonger x Reader

AN: This one's for my shy, awkward and weird bitches. In the fics I read all the girls is always this super sexy, confident goddess. And even tho I agree with the concept a bitch can't really relate LMFAO! Like I'm so awkward and shy I don't have the confidence to be doing all that sexy freaky shit, I get embarrassed just writing smut sometimes. So I decided to pair Erik with a bitch like me, the mc is basically me y'all. Soo hopefully y'all enjoy this, cause I liked writing it a lot.

Warnings: Cursing and shit!!! Most likely typos

You untwisted your last bantu knot and ran your fingers through the curl to unravel it the way you wanted to.  Once satisfied, you dropped your heavy arms to your sides and let out a sigh of relief. Taking those out always took so fucking long. But you had to admit, your hair looked great, I guess all those long hours you stayed in your mom's hair salon watching her work her magic on all the ladies in the neighborhood heads paid off well.  You left the bathroom and shuffled reluctantly into your bedroom. Makeup: check. Hair: check. The last thing to do was get dressed. You groaned as you stared at the box laying on the bed. You rolled your eyes and flung the lid off and on to the fur rug that lay across the floor. You stared down at the black lace lingerie you ordered about a week ago.

You had been planning this for a while. Erik's birthday. You knew you wanted to do something special for him, and this was the thing you knew he'd want the most. You. With your face beat, hair did, and in something extremely sexy. This might not seem like a grand gesture to most girls but the thing was you were the biggest tomboy ever. Oversized hoodies and ripped jeans were more your suit and you usually just would wash your hair and rock it natural or wrap it up in a scarf. The sexiest thing you've ever worn were his boxers and t-shirt in bed. You didn't mind makeup at all but you only wore it every now and then, especially because that shit was expensive.  And Erik loved that about you, you didn't try to hard to look like these Instagram models. But he did complain that he'd like to see a little more of your sexy side. And you hated to admit it but he was kinda right. You were lacking in the sexy department. It wasn't like you didn't wanna be more sexy with him, it was just the fact that you were so fucking awkward. You grew up with a twin brother who taught you how to fight and skateboard. He taught you how to play Jimmy Hendrix's song on his guitar and showed you how to properly roll a blunt. You loved your mom but would rather die than ask her advice on shit like this. So you just never learned. But you loved Erik and knew that he deserved a little more effort from you. And it was his birthday after all. So you set your pride aside for a moment and slipped out of your sweatpants. You removed your t-shirt and hesitantly reached for the lingerie. You heald it up in front of you, it was soft and silky and felt nice in your hands but you worried you wouldn't pull it off properly. You tried not to think about it as you slipped it on. You did you best to avoid the mirror, not even wanting to see your reflection, you thought that if you saw yourself you'd chicken out. There was one last thing you needed. Heels, you weren't gonna put those on until the last minute cause you knew you couldn't walk very well in them, they were just for show. You slipped them on, they were only 3in heels but it took you a minute to get used to them. You looked at the time. SHIT! Erik would be home any minute now. You marched into the kitchen, wobbling as you go, and took the cake out the fridge. It was strawberry shortcake, you and Erik's favorite. You got out candles and lit them before dimming the lights, just in time to hear Erik's car pull up the driveway. Your heart rate spiked as you instinctively started biting your lip, stopping abruptly when you remembered you were wearing lipstick, you cursed under your breath and prayed none got on your teeth. You licked them just to be safe. You heard the front door close and seconds later he was calling your name. "Babe, you home? Why all the lights out, I know I just paid Con Edison." He almost walked past the kitchen before he noticed the small light coming from the candles on the cake, and backpedaled. You started singing happy birthday slow and smoothly as he walked up to you, an ear-splitting grin on his face. "Make a wish baby," you said once you were done singing. He leaned down and closed his eyes, it was quiet for a few seconds before he finally blew out the candles, leaving you in darkness, he flicked the kitchen lights on, knowing exactly where the switch was and you squinted your eyes as they adjusted to the brightness. You set the cake down and gave him a kiss. You felt his arms sling around your waist as he pulled you closer. You breathed in his scent and savored the taste of his lips before you parted from them, you opened your eyes to find him staring at you in surprise. "What's wrong?" He takes your hand and spins you around. "Look at you ma!" You completely forgot you were all done up. Blood rushed to your cheeks and heated them as he twirled you around, his eyes never leaving your body. "Happy birthday!" You said, bringing your lips back to his in a passionate kiss. "Want some cake?" before he even answered you went into your silverware drawer and grabbed a knife, cutting into the cake. "You want the middle piece or the end?" You looked up at him, but his eyes were already on you. "Fuck the cake, I want a piece of you shawty." He walked up to you slowly, his soft brown eyes darkened with lust. You dropped the knife, letting it clatter on the table. He wasted no time bringing his lips to your neck, sucking and biting along your throat up to your jawline. As amazing as his lips felt against your skin you had other plans for the night. You regretfully pulled away. "Not yet, I've got another surprise for you, follow me." He quirked a curious eyebrow at you as an amused grin spread across his full lips. He followed you out of the kitchen without a word as you led him into your bedroom. You couldn't stop the giddiness filling you up as you entered your room. He watched you, his smile mirroring yours. "Sit." You said as you pointed to the edge of the bed. He shot you another curious look but obeyed your request. "Bossy, I like it." He said with a mischievous smirk. You rolled your eyes and grabbed your phone, connecting it to the Bluetooth speakers. Soon 'Pony' by Ginuwine spilled from the speakers. Erik released a hearty laugh once he realized what was happening. You started dancing sensually or at least doing your best to look as seductive and sexy as possible. You caressed your thighs as you swayed your hips to the beat. Erik gave a nod of approval, boosting your confidence. You had no idea what you were doing, you were just going with the flow of the song and trying to do what felt right, though none of this felt natural to you. In the middle of your sexy dance, you decided to spin around, showing yourself off once more for him, but you spun a little to fast and ended up losing balance in your heels, you fell on the rug, thankful for it softening your fall. "Oh babe!" Erik said through laughter. "I don't mean to laugh but shit!" He said chuckling. "You alright?" You couldn't help but laugh with him. You nodded Even though you just busted your ass you were having a lot of fun. He beamed at you. "You know you're too much, bring your goofy ass over here." You kicked off the stupid heels and got to your knees. slowly crawling slowly over to Erik. Once you were in between his legs you looked up at him through your lashes. Grabbing his thighs, you used them to push you up and on to his lap. He grabbed your waist and you leaned down, bringing your lips to his. He pulled you closer and deepened the kiss, moving his tongue against yours. You moaned against his lip as you grabbed a fist full of his dreads. "How'd you like your little surprise?" You whispered to him one you finally separated. He smiled against your lips. "I never thought I'd see you like this" He ran his hands across your lingerie. "You know I love you just the way you are, but shit, a nigga could get used to this." You rolled your eyes and playfully slapped his arms. "Well don't!" You laughed. "This is for special occasions. I'm not busting my ass again." He laughed again. "Yeah, you hit the floor pretty hard." You rolled your eyes but grinned. "I love your goofy ass, you know that? Thank you for real, you stepped out of your comfort zone for me, that means a lot." He said, his tone a little more serious. You nodded. "I love your crazy ass too. Happy birthday Erik." He smiled and kissed you again, and again, and again.

#erik killmonger smut #erik killmonger #black panther #black panther fanfic #black panther fanfiction #erik killmonger x reader #micheal b jordan

[brushingpast]

like a stuck pig

had another dream! much more disturbing than the last on multiple levels, as you’ll soon find out if you read this. can’t even class it as a nightmare bc i didn’t wake up upset, but it’s pretty........not good, scoob.

warnings for: dehumanization, animal abuse, blood/gore, torture, cannibalism(kind of? depends on your pov i guess). i think i got them all but this is smth else so plz tell me if i missed one

“We pick people from a very specific pool.”

They turned the oddest people away. It’d taken a year just to figure out their resume requirements, and even then she felt like she barely snuck by.

“They can’t have family, or many friends.”

Usually, it was the opposite, at least with the friends. Most jobs wanted you to be some level of social, have some kind of people skills. But these guys— they wanted the quiet, the listless... the lonely.

“A history of payment defaults is a plus, especially on rent, if they have any history at all.”

What kind of place thought it was good to be late on payments? What kind of employer would want that in an employee? Even now, with the state everybody was in, who would go looking for that? How dependable could a person be, how suitable for a job this hard to get, if they never paid their bills on time?

“They have to need the money badly enough to obey without question.”

They wanted people desperate. They wanted people who were down, who were beaten, who were alone and without hope for anything better and truly, painfully desperate.

People like that’d do just about anything.

“At least, until they can’t question anymore.”

There was no way to anticipate something— something like this. A slave trade, they thought. Some kind of trafficking. Maybe a drug lord who figured out a good scheme just as the world went to shit.

“So, we get criminals.”

But those were the kind of people they drew in, not the kind of thing they were running. It was bigger. This plant was just one of many.

“The poor.”

They supplied the whole country. Expanding every day.

“Nosy. Little. Reporters.”

She’d bought their products. Everyone had. They filled a hole in a collapsed economy, more than one. Holes that needed to be filled so badly, no one questioned too deeply when they were. The freight system that recovered first— that was them, too. Maybe that was how they started. Not that it mattered. Not when she’d... she’d...

“It’s as close to a perfect system as anyone’s ever come.”

Oh god, she’d—

She retched, right there on their pristine steel floors. The two guards dragging her barely noticed, the one to her left leaning away enough to dodge the bile that came up, his stride never faltering. They marched her closer to the observation window. She tried to dig her heels in, to twist away, but they were strong, and they had their orders.

Show her.

She looked.

Not many kinds of magic worked anymore. They’d hurt the Earth too deeply to pull anything else from it, and that included power. Only the most dangerous things were possible, now. Blood magic. Soul magic. Things people might’ve done once or twice in their lives, if that, and only tiny, tiny things. The only way to channel them safely were runic circles, but they needed to be dug into the Earth, and so they were iffy now, too.

No one sane risked it.

These people... these people were so far beyond sane.

The floor inside the room was stone. Carved into it, deep rivulets glowing faintly red with the blood already spilled over them, were two runic circles. In the middle of one knelt a man, naked, expression tense and fearful. He wore a metal collar, chained to a post sunk into the very center of his circle. In the middle of the other, chained the same way, stood a cow. Docile, tail flicking away non-existent flies.

As if they’d been waiting for her, a chant began, smooth and fast and spoken in a language she didn’t know. The red glow brightened, the man in the circle cringing from it, the cow grunting its displeasure. For what couldn’t have even been a minute, the chanting continued, until it cut off and together, man and cow screamed.

“All that needed to happen was the end of the world.”

A lot of people saw it coming. It was hard to miss. Nature protesting, fighting back, telling us as clearly as weather and icebergs and bees can that we were doing something wrong. A lot of people listened, too. Tried to stop it, slow it at least.

The world used to run on magic. Cities: lights, weather forecasts, cars, ice boxes. Rural areas, too: plows, fertile soil, rifles, rain songs. Everywhere and everything. And then— it didn’t. It faded, got weaker and weaker until one day... nothing.

People panicked. In a single day, the world collapsed in on itself. It took a long time for any kind of recovery.

Of course, then people started experimenting with things they really, really shouldn’t.

“Now...”

Soul magic. Mystical even in a world full of the fantastic. The kind of stuff you read about in a romance novel and sighed at how amazing it would be if it really happened to you; or a fantasy book, and dreamed of the adventures you could have, if only. Not something real, not something practical.

And even if it were— you didn’t mess with souls.

But, well. Needs must.

“Free labor.”

They pulled her along to another window, practically carrying her as she stumbled every other step. All she could see was the ritual room, the man crumpled to the floor, curled up and whining; the cow, frantically trying to stand, feet skidding out from under it, used to more traction than hooves provided. She didn’t know if the window had been two-way, but the cow’s panicked gaze had locked onto hers, and her heart pounded so hard in her chest that she couldn’t hear herself think.

God. Oh, god.

This time, they pinned her in place before the backroom of a butcher’s shop. Her breathing was ragged, too fast as the man on her right gripped her hair and forced her to see.

There was a cow— not the same one, but it could’ve been, it would be— tied to a metal table, bit in its mouth not doing a thing to muffle its cries. Standing above it was a woman, wearing plain clothes akin to nurse’s scrubs and holding a large knife, stained with blood. Her face was blank as she carved into the creature beneath her, as it writhed and shrieked and bled. The way she wielded the knife was practiced, but she cut slowly, carefully, her motions mechanical.

Nothing behind them, no soul to them at all.

“Meat that tastes better, lasts longer.”

The gaping torso of the cow shined at the edges. Not a trick of the light, but the magic leaking from a body not meant to contain it. She knew it did more than that, sank into the tissue, the muscle and fat, made it more somehow— knew it would fade too quickly to do what they wanted if they simply, mercifully, killed the vessel— but she couldn’t focus on anything besides the wide, terrified eyes of something far too aware to be an animal.

Beside the woman stood a smaller table, atop it a bin filled with cuts of meat. As she watched, the woman cut another chunk free and set it aside.

She had no more bile to bring up.

“As long as meat keeps going out, and no one too important comes in...”

They dragged her along again, but she didn’t pay attention to where. Her feet worked this time, automatically keeping pace even as her mind spiraled. She’d bought— she’d traded fresh bread to eat—

The men at her sides tearing at her clothes was almost a relief, a welcome distraction from her thoughts, until she looked up.

A pig.

Two ritual circles.

The mage, ready to cast, sneering at her from between them.

She fought. She kicked and bit and yanked, but they were too strong, and she was too weak after being led through this place. “No, no, no, no, no,” she shouted, cried, begged.

They shoved her to her knees, locked the collar around her neck, and backed away.

Her wide eyes shot over to the pig, agitated by her yelling but mostly still and calm. No, no this couldn’t—

The chanting began.

The light of the circle flared, and she shut her eyes against it. An aching, tugging, tearing sensation grew inside of her, so deep inside it felt like it came from her soul. It built, along with the red light past her eyelids, built and built until she was crying from the pain and not just the denial.

Then... nothing. No pain. No light.

She opened her eyes.

Across the room, curled up in a tight ball was a woman, whimpering.

It was her.

She tried to push herself up, stumbled and fell on feet that wouldn’t obey. Looked down to find a pink leg, a black hoof.

With the scratchy, piercing shriek of a stuck pig, she screamed.

“Why would anyone care?”

#present writing #original fiction #dream stories #dehumanization #animal abuse #blood #gore #torture #cannibalism (kind of maybe) #honestly brain do we need to have a talk? are you okay?

[starcoweek3]

Starco Week 3 - Day 1

“Damn, it’s hard to get to that pathetic princess.” A large brute said.

“Yeah, she’s long due for an initiation, but with her bodyguard agent Diaz around we can’t touch her.”

“Why don’t we shake them up a little then? Scare them a bit.” One of them suggested.

Another smiled. “I like that idea. They won’t know what’s coming.”

“C'mon, Marco! We have math now!” Star urged him as the bell rung, signaling the next period.

Marco winced. “Do we have to go to math? I’m already in a bad mood and I’m not looking forward to making it worse,” he replied.

“Geez, are we sure you’re the one who’s supposed to look after me? We have to go! If you miss class you’ll get detention!” Star exclaimed.

Marco feigned a gasp and shook his head. “No not detention!”

“Diaz, that is extremely rude.” Star seriously replied.

Marco sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Look, you can go without me princess. I don’t want you missing class and getting in trouble, which will inevitably lead to both of us getting into trouble. I’ll show up…later, okay?”

Star frowned before giving him a nod. “Okay. But don’t get in trouble!” She commanded.

Marco waved her off as she ran off to Ms. Skullnick’s room. He sighed and scratched the bandage on his cheek.

Lying down on the hill just far off the school building, Marco was taking a nap; taking in the feel of the grass below him, the air he breathed, and the warmth that coursed through him.

Suddenly he was jarred awake, being shaken by somebody. He grabbed whoever was shaking him by the scruff of their necks and threw them down to the ground, holding a fist near their face.

Marco’s victim shivered in fear until Marco stared at him for a few seconds and gave him a look of confusion. “Ferguson?”

Marco let go of his fellow classmate, standing straight and crossing his arms. “Okay spit it out. Why’d you wake me up?”

“Um, Skullnick asked me to find you and bring you to class.” Ferguson stammered.

Marco frowned and cracked his neck, which was stiff from sleeping. Damn, Skullnick knew he wouldn’t try and beat up Ferg. Being an old friend and pitiful made him more likely to survive with Marco.

He groaned and rolled up the sleeves of his jacket. “Alright, let’s go.” Marco started walking toward his class, before stopping and turning to Ferguson. “You coming or do you want to lie there all day?”

Ferguson scrambled to his feet, following Marco back to class.

“So a derivative is the - Ah, Mr. Diaz. How nice of you to join us for class. 20 minutes late. ” Ms. Skullnick sneered that last part. Marco lacked a reaction.

“As punishment, you’ll be cleaning the storage out back. I hear it’s been years since it’s seen light.” Skullnick said.

Marco rolled his eyes and took his seat by the window, paying more attention to the two squirrels fighting outside than Skullzers at the front of the class.

The bell signaling the end of school rang through the building, Marco groaning at his recent after school punishment.

He packed his things in his bag, making his way to the back of school grounds to clean the storage facility.

He already told Star to wait for him at home, but he could see her in his peripherals, always hiding behind something. He didn’t pay much attention to it, but soon he couldn’t keep up the obliviousness and called her out on her lousy stealth tactics.

“Princess, why are you following me?” Marco deadpanned.

Star jumped. She hadn’t noticed he noticed her. She stepped out from her hiding place, staring at the floor and looking for the right words. “Um…I just thought…maybe, I would help you clean. Less load on you, but if you want me gone, I totally understand-” Star was interrupted by Marco smirking and patting her head affectionately.

“Thanks, prin…Star” Marco corrected himself.

Star blushed and avoided his gaze. Marco rarely ever used her name when he referred to her, but when he did it made her knees buckle.

“Yeah, well, you owe me after this! I want one, no, two more nachos than I’m allowed! And wipe that dumb smirk off your face!” Star exclaimed.

“Um, you never had a limit to what you can eat, princess,” Marco said, beginning to walk away again.

“O-oh. Then I want you to attend every class ON TIME from now on!” Star commanded.

Marco couldn’t really say no. She was already doing this much for him, and with that cute demanding face, it’s hard to refuse.

“Yeah, fine. Whatever. Let’s go.”

Marco and Star made their way to the storage facility, walking up to the metal double doors. Using the key he got from the janitor, he unlocked the doors, pushing them open to reveal a large dusty room, with stuff that looked to be thirty-maybe forty-years old.

“Wow. This looks ancient.” Marco tried to switch on the lights, but due to age and the lack of much-needed renovation of the building, the lights refused to switch on.

“Damnit. Guess we’re going in dark,” Marco said.

Star suddenly seemed very nervous. “Do we have some flashlights or something?” She asked.

“Uh, maybe. Do you need them to see?” Marco asked.

“Y-yeah, right. Well?”

“I don’t have any on me now, but- OOF!” Marco grunted as he and Star were shoved into the building. Landing hard on their sides they heard the click of the lock, along with the footsteps of a few people.

Marco started to pat his body for the keys, only to realize he dropped it when he was shoved. “Stupid bastards…” Marco growled. “Princess, are you-”

Marco stopped and his eyes widened when he felt Star abruptly grab his arm. He narrowed his eyes in concern.

“Uh, princess?” He asked, starting to turn to look at her.

“Stop, don’t look at me. Please. Just, let me do this.” Star said.

Marco frowned, looking forward as Star vice gripped his forearm. He could feel her press up against him, shivering in…fear?

He could feel her heartbeat, and it was pounding pretty fast. Marco thought his own was too. Could she feel it as well?

“Star,” Marco began after a few moments of silence, “are you afraid,”

Star tensed up, and Marco could feel it.

“of the dark?”

Star’s grip suddenly intensified, and Marco could feel all circulating blood stop flowing in his left arm. She was surprisingly strong for such a timid girl.

“Ow! What the fu-!”

“Yes! I’m terrified of the dark! Shut up about it and please do something.” Star said, burying her face into his shoulder.

Marco furrowed his eyebrows together. “Don’t you have your wand?”

Star shook her head. “I…left it…in my locker. I…wanted to show you…I’m capable…without it.” Star took short breaths between each pause, and Marco thought she’d start hyperventilating.

Marco turned around and embraced her, kneeling on the floor. He closed his eyes and began to speak, “Deep breaths, princess. I know you’re capable. You fought monsters with me, a person you’ve never met and was a jerk towards you because you were concerned for me. You went through brainwashing and managed to stay your old self a bit. So prove me right. There’s nothing to be afraid of. I’m here with you. So calm down, now.” Marco said firmly.

Star’s breaths slowed down, and her tense form eased up a bit. Still hugging Marco, she spoke into his shoulder. “Thanks, Marco. I think I’ve calmed down. But can you just hold on for a little while?” She asked.

Marco tightened his jaw and nodded. “Sure.”

So they sat there. Marco’s eyes had adjusted to the darkness by now, and he could make out a silhouette of a box of props and costumes.

He got an idea of how to distract Star from her fear.

“Okay, Star. Don’t freak out, but I’m gonna let go for a few seconds.”

Star’s eyes widened as she looked up at him. “No, no no no no no no no! Don’t let go! I will throttle you if you do!” She begged,

Marco’s eyebrow lifted at the unexpected threat. “It’s okay, I’m only gonna let go for a few seconds, I’m gonna be back, I promise.” Marco hushed her. “Do you trust me?”

Star wiped her eye and silently nodded. Slowly Marco let go of her. He stood up and began to back away, their arms sliding against one another before it was only their hands connected, then fingers.

Then his warmth left Star, and he blended in with the inky blackness. Damnit! Why must his jacket be black!? Star began to feel alone now, the sense of abandonment creeping up on her for the first time in years. She curled up into a ball and almost began to tear up before Marco’s voice rang out from the darkness.

“I’m still here, princess. I’m still with you.” His assurance gave her courage and she managed to outlast until Marco came back holding a cardboard box. He placed it down in between him and Star before sitting down.

“What’s…what’s that?” Star asked.

“Just something to pass the time.” Marco pulled a couple of sticks from the box and bend them, a cracking noise coming from it.

The sticks suddenly started to glow, and Star stared at them in amazement. “Whoa! Is that more earth magic?” She asked.

Marco smirked at her childlike curiosity. “No, just some old glow sticks to light it up a little.”

He placed down the colorful glowing rods in a circle around the pair, leaving them in a dim, but brighter than before, setting.

Marco reached back into the box. Pulling out a red headband with horns on it, he placed it on his head and put a massive frown on his face.

“I’m Tom. I’m in denial and think l can get Star to like me, but I’m just hopelessly desperate and angry.” Marco mocked.

Star giggled at his impression, his voice not even close to Tom’s.

“Marco, stop, that’s mean.”

He smiled and pushed the box towards her. “Here, you try.”

“Um, I’m not sure…”

“It’s okay princess. Nobody here but us. I’ll keep it a secret.”

“Okay…” Star agreed. She dug into the box and pulled out a wig and a crown. Putting them both on, she then wore a dull, bored expression on her face. “This is of utmost importance! We can’t have this silly nonsense when you’re to be a ruler soon! Blah, blah, rules, rules, boring, discipline.” Star mocked in a mundane, strong accented tone.

Marco laughed and Star smiled.

“Lemme guess, your mom?” Marco asked.

Star nodded, not fully confident in mocking people she knew.

“Okay, my turn,” Marco said, digging through the box.

They went at this for a while, having a good time messing around with each other. They role played Skullnick, their classmates, Ludo, and even each other.

The two rolled around the floor, wheezing after laughing too hard at Star’s impression of Marco’s bad boy attitude. She accidentally cracked her knuckles, and her cute expression of pain made Marco laugh, Star eventually following in suit.

“Oh, man. That was…amazingly horrible.” Marco said.

Star smiled, nodding in agreement.

“So, you still afraid?” Marco asked.

“No, not anymore. Being in the dark isn’t so bad when you have someone to have fun with you here.”

“I don’t think you’re scared of the dark. I think it’s because of your isolation from people and loved ones during your hated experience at St. O’s, it made you feel alone and you were afraid of being lonely. In the dark, you can’t see anything. You feel cold, there’s nobody in sight. It’s like being alone, which may explain why you fear darkness.”

Star tilted her head at Marco’s explanation, a small smile telling him she didn’t understand what the hell he just said.

Marco realized what he was doing and covered his face. “Sorry, that’s Marco PhD talking,” Marco said, angry at himself for showing that part of him again. Why is it around her when his past comes out?

“Don’t be embarrassed. I don’t fully understand what you just said, but-” Star grabbed Marco’s hand, “-I hope you stay with me for now.” Star said.

Marco gulped. He blushed. A very pretty girl just grabbed his hand and pretty much said she wished they could stick together, with him. Marco Flippin Diaz. His blush intensified now that he was analyzing it. Stop thinking about it, Marco mentally scolded himself. Yeah, now he was embarrassed.

“Star, what-”

The sound of jingling keys was heard through the door and was inserted into the lock. Star suddenly stood up. “Help has arrived!” She said.

She eagerly walked forward, forgetting the heavy box between her and Marco. She tripped and fell on top of Marco, making a loud grunt as she did.

The janitor on the other end raised a brow. Since when did storage buildings grunt? He unlocked and opened the door, low and behold Star lying on top of Marco, a bunch of spilled props and costume pieces strewn about the floor.

The janitor gave the two a hard gaze before opening his mouth, “Look, I’m gonna go home and forget this. I’m closing this door and leaving it unlocked. Suggestion, keep your weird lovey-dovey affectionate cosplay sessions at home.” And with that, he slammed the door shut.

Star and Marco scrambled away from each other, faces burning crimson and tension as thick as maple syrup.

They quickly cleaned up in sync and walked out the door.

Awkwardly they turned to each other.

“So, nachos?”

“Yep, lots of nachos.”

“Movie?”

“Movie.”

“…”

“…”

“So you wanted two more nachos than usual?”

“Yes.”

“That janitor thing never happened.”

“Agreed.”

The looked at each other once more and started to burst out laughing. Marco wasn’t in a bad mood anymore.

“Let’s get home, princess.”

“Excellent suggestion, Marco!”

Marco then went on to have a bad mood again the next day, when Skullnick harshly reminded him at the volume of 120 decibels that he forgot to actually clean the storage building yesterday.

He should’ve skipped class.

(submitted by acseargentsmimph12)

#oh boy another long one! #a really nice way to end it! #acseargentsmimph12 #svtfoe #star vs the forces of evil #star butterfly #marco diaz #starco #fanfic #bad boy x princess AU #submission

[bunny-wk-fanfic]

Could I request a sequel/finale (maybe/maybe not) to your Remus/Kagome/Sirius, NSFW please? Thank you!

Here you are dear, a little more on the lemon fluff than all out NSFW, but I hope it’s entertaining anyway.

So the start of the new school year was right around the corner, meaning they had to do supply shopping. And had she been alone, she would have been lost in the crowd. Though she wasn’t alone, she had two very protective escorts leading her through the mass of parents and their children, who were also doing their shopping.

She was easily able to ignore the curious stares she was receiving, dressed up in her ‘muggle’ clothes and sandwiched between Sirius and Remus. Remus, the more reserved of the two had his arm wrapped around her waist and had his hand conveniently tucked into a back pocket. Which was thankfully hidden by a sweater she borrowed from Sirius, who was the one leading the way via a strong hold on her hand.

“I still think this is a bad idea.” the words were sing-song past a tight smile, ducking closer to Sirius when a group of rowdy kids ran past, proudly holding their wands high.

Sirius raised their hands to kiss her knuckles, brows waggling a few times before he leaned in to whisper his next words. No need to embarrass her, or let those not involved know of certain aspects of their relationship. “You keep saying that, but I have yet to really hear you say no to any of our bad ideas.”

Her cheeks warmed at the meaning behind his words, though she was thankful her cheeks didn’t glow as fiercely as they used to when they first became a… menage a trois. There, she officially acknowledged what they were. Even if it was mentally. But, Sirius did have a point. She always made a point that whatever they started up were ‘bad ideas’ but she didn’t go out of her way to actually stop them.

“And I think this is the worst one.” her lips pursed when she whimpered at the slight stinging nip Sirius gave her earlobe. Blue eyes narrowed on his twinkling gray eyes at his devilishly handsome smirk.

“What’s the worst that could happen?” Remus piped up, his voice had a slight edge to it that could only come from not being able to show open affection since Sirius had been doing so since they arrived. It didn’t stop his hand from giving the delightful cheek cupped in his hand a generous squeeze.

Her slight jump had him smirking, stoking him that he could still surprise her with his words and actions. Then he couldn’t wait to share his surprise the moment they were alone.

“Oh, I don’t know. Good case, nothing. Worst case, we all die in a fiery explosion.” her eyes took in the building.

“Cheery imagination you have there, love.” Remus snickered when she gave his side a good jab. “I do believe it could be put to better use.”

Kagome didn’t get a chance to do or say anything to reprimand him as Sirius had opened the door to the store, a bell ringing through the air. The air was warm inside, dust motes flickering like flecks of silver or gold in the light. What caught Kagome’s attention were the shelves that were lined with boxes, from floor to ceiling.

Remus was more than happy to observe her as she took the store in, blinking wide eyes when Ollivander appeared from the back, looking the same as ever.

“Yes? Can I help you?” he took them in, brows furrowing slightly. “Not here for replacement wands, are we?”

“Oh, no!” Sirius shook his head, snagging Kagome and pulling her to his side. “We’re here for a first wand, actually.”

Kagome offered a smile and waved a polite hello, entire posture and expression becoming bashful at the sharp look she was now under. “ A bit old for a first wand…”

Sirius nodded his head. “Yes, Kagome is a special case. She can perform magic, it just not the kind we’re familiar with, so we were wondering if it could be possible she’d be able to use a wand.” he tucked some hair behind her ear, leaning in close to kiss her temple to reassure her.

“Hmm, interesting. Interesting.” they all watched as he stepped around and proceeded to closely observe Kagome.

Remus smiled at the whole thing, nodding his head whenever she threw him or Sirius confused or unsure glances while Ollivander took his measurements. It had been an interesting, if not an entertaining hour, as Kagome worked through testing every wand that had been presented to her. Most of which had done nothing, until they had gotten a sputtering glimmer from one, and then it was simply figuring out which of the materials that had been compatible with her natural magic.

“So, my dear, you finally have a wand.” Sirius pressed a kiss against her flushed cheek, not at all surprised at how she was staring at her new wand. “No explosions or fiery deaths.”

Remus’ fingers twitched as he watched Kagome holding onto her new wand with sure hands but with awe. “I do believe someone is in for a treat.”

“Ah-ah. None of that.” she rolled her wand along the palm of one hand, frowning lightly. “Where do I put it?”

“What do you mean?” Sirius furrowed his brows, only for one to jump up as she twirled her wand in small circles.

“My wand. I highly doubt putting it in my back pocket while not in use is a good idea.” she gave him a pointed look, squeaking when Remus’ hand in one of said back pockets gave her a remind that it was there.

“We could always get you a holster.” Remus commented, smirking when she almost tripped only to giggle when she was quick to right herself.

“Seriously? A holster?” she threw her head back and let out a peal of laughter. “Oh, that is rich!”

While she was laughing in pure enjoyment about her latest discovery, Remus leaned back and quietly communicated to Sirius making a certain request. Gray eyes widened as dark brows rose, but it was replaced with a slow smirk and subtle nod from Sirius as they directed a slightly oblivious Kagome towards a new destination.

“Hm? Where are we going?” Kagome blinked when Sirius safely tucked away Kagome’s wand in his robe, brows furrowed when they entered what appeared to be a pub.

“It’s getting late, and from your reaction, I didn’t think you’d be up for another floo run.” her nose scrunched up at the memory of the smell and taste of fire magically altered for travel. Remus snickered to lean in to whisper. “So we decided to get a room for the night. This way we can finish our shopping tomorrow before returning to the cottage.”

“Oh.” she dragged the word out, though didn’t seem to be too worried from his answer. She was put to even more ease when they ate a nice hot meal in the pub before they made their way upstairs to their room.

When the door closed behind Sirius, Remus was on Kagome faster than she had seen him move. Her brows furrowed slightly at the pain of her back hitting the wall, whimpering slightly at it as well. It had Remus easing a little, but he did not halt his attentions, in fact, his hands became more active. Picking her up so that she had to wrap her legs around his waist or risk falling.

Sirius’ brows shot up at the display, not used to seeing Remus so… demanding. Guess he shouldn’t have teased Kagome the entire time they were out and about, right in front of Remus at that. They had agreed when they first went out with Kagome that only one of them would be affectionate with her, they could care less what others said, but they did not want their Kagome to hear how some thought she was a loose woman.

Not their Kagome.

Sirius watched as he settled down atop one of the beds. It was different and new, watching rather than taking part, but it was no less enjoyable. It was arousing to see Kagome get thoroughly ravished, Remus was making sure he lavished her good and proper. Hmm, if he was enjoying watching, he’d be sure to tell Remus, he might just find it as enjoyable.

With how Remus was going, there was going to be a smattering of bruises along the one side her neck, the side he claimed as his own. At the sound of tearing, Sirius mentally put on buying Kagome a new shirt, no, perhaps a lovely dress for tomorrow.

He smirked as he watched how Kagome just as passionately returned Remus’ affections, which was adorable with how much she tend to fight them. Though, that usually happened when they were in areas that were less than private, where they could get caught. Sirius found it added a bit of a thrill, and he knew Remus for the all the proper and polite guy that he was, was also partial to nature due to his… fuzzy condition.

And tucking Kagome between them in a dark corner to snog was rather a must while at school.

Kagome currently had her hands buried in Remus’ hair while she was pinned between him and the wall, wearing nothing more than her delightful jeans and a surprising heart touching bra of red and gold. It made him wonder if she wore a pair of matching panties… and what particular style. He had never known there were so many cuts a woman could wear, so he was anticipating to discover whatever Remus was going to soon reveal.

A smirk curled his lips when Kagome managed to tear away from Remus, head turned away to catch her breath. Remus went back to claiming her neck, uncaring and unworried that Kagome was currently watching Sirius watch them. Her blue eyes were dark and hazy, lips glossy and swollen. When he continued to watch rather than join in, her brows furrowed and she called out his name. “Sirius?”

“Don’t worry, love, I’m comfortable right where I am.” he waved a hand for them to continue on, not at all surprised by Remus’ eyes flashing. It reminded him that the full moon was close and that they would be spending the rest of the summer at the cottage for safety. He also caught the silent question in Remus’ own gaze. “I’m rather enjoying the show. Perhaps Remus would like to observe next time.”

He waggled his brows towards the engaged pair. After a moment, the two returned and Sirius made himself comfortable once again to sit back and enjoy the show. Ah! The panties did match! Atta boy, Remus!

#prompts #fanfiction #crossover #books #Harry Potter #Remus Lupin #Sirius Black #Kagome Higurashi

[cold-b-writing]

Bound Together: Part 3

Skywardsister: After Habriel had his first hearty breakfast in a long time, he set out with his newfound friends to explore more of the underground past the ruins. Sans lagged behind with his hands in his pockets, Papyrus led the way with a loud voice and extravagant gestures, and Frisk walked beside Habriel, making sure he was alright. Utadukeeus: "How do you like it?" Frisk asked. Habriel walking slowly, making sure Frisk can stay beside him looked around. "Its beautiful." he said. "The snow's everywhere." He looked down and saw that Frisk was a little down about something. "What's wrong?" he asked. "I'm sorry about prying." they said. "I shouldn't have asked you about your sister." "You're still upset with yourself about that?" he asked. The little child nodded their head in remorse. "I think I have the perfect remedy for that." "What's that?" Frisk asked. "A little trick my sister taught me." he said. "It's very helpful." he reached over and grabbed a small handful of snow and waved it in front of Frisk. "Hey!" she exclaimed. She took a couple steps back and saw Habriel giggling. She reached down, made a snowball and threw it at him, laughing. Skywardsister: Papyrus strode a little ways ahead of the children, not hearing their laughter over his own grand-standing about Snowdin. Sans watched the kids play a bit before walking up behind his brother and saying, "hey, bro," and pointing behind them at Frisk and Habriel, preoccupied. Utadukeeus: "WHAT!?" Papyrus shouted. "THIS CANNOT BE! THE CHILDREN ARE ALREADY FIGHTING EACH OTHER! WHAT KIND OF MAGIC ARE THEY USING?" "chill, bro." Sans said. "its a snowball fight, a game." "A SNOWBALL FIGHT IS STILL A FIGHT!" Papyrus said. "CHILDREN, WHAT ARE YOU DOING FIGHTING ALREADY!? WHAT IF LADY TORIEL SAW YOU LIKE THIS?" "Oh, its not a real fight." Habriel said. "We're just having fun." "FUN? YOU CALL VIOLENCE FUN?" Papyrus exclaimed. "YOU HUMANS ARE STRANGE, INDEED!" Skywardsister: "bro, it's a game." Sans shook his head and rolled his eyes at his brother's apparent ignorance. "OKAY, CHILDREN! LET'S CONTINUE OUR LITTLE TOUR," Papyrus called to them and they ceased their snowball fight, drooping snow from their arms and returning to the skeleton's side. Frisk winked at Habriel and both laughed. Eventually, the group reached the outskirts of Snowdin, and could clearly see the town's houses. Utadukeeus: They followed Sans and Papyrus up to this long wooden bridge. "You're gonna love it at their house." Frisk said. "Papyrus has the coolest room." "Can't wait to see it." Habriel said. Papyrus and Sans were already across. "SOMETHING'S OFF, BROTHER...." Papyrus said. "I FEEL LIKE WE'RE FORGETTING SOMETHING..." "you worry too much, bro." Sans reassured. "i'm sure its noth-" Before Sans could finish his sentence. Papyrus had stepped on a pad hidden beneath the snow. Suddenly countless axes, spiked and canons were aligned across the bridge. "oh, that's what we forgot..." Habriel instinctively pushed Frisk over to the other side of the bridge before the traps set off. However, before he could make it across himself, the traps destroyed the bridge. "Oh no!" he shouted. He was quickly falling to the bottom. "i got ya, kid!" Sans shouted. The skeleton was falling next to him with his left eye growing a bright aqua blue. He held out his hand and grabbed onto Habriel. Not a second later, they were standing next to Papyrus and Frisk. Papyrus was hugging and comforting Frisk who was worried that Habriel wouldn't survive. "Saved my life again, huh Sans..." Habriel panted while the adrenaline wore off. "Thanks." "Don't mention it, kid." Sans panted. Skywardsister: "i thought you dismantled that puzzle, bro," Sans said, brushing off Habriel and looking up at the surprised skeleton. "I THOUGHT I'D NEED IT SOME DAY, BROTHER," Papyrus looked down at the ground in half embarrassment for the danger he put the human child in. "I'M SORRY, HUMAN." He gestured towards the group to hurry along, glancing this way and that in case they encountered any of his other puzzles, though they were not as dangerous. Utadukeeus: Habriel couldn't help but laugh. "You can choose your friends and enemies, but you can't choose your family." He walked up to Frisk who was still slightly trembling. "Hey, Frisk......you okay?" Skywardsister: "Y-yeah, I'm fine," Frisk murmured as they walked, entering Snowdin. Frisk still seemed shaken from the peril of Papyrus' sudden obstacle, and remained close to Habriel, not wanting anything else bad to happen to him. Habriel appreciated that they cared for his safety, but he didn't want them to worry about him all the time. Utadukeeus: "SAY, HUMAN." Papyrus said. "I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS FEEL BAD FOR PUTTING YOU IN DANGER. IT WAS NEVER MY INTENTION. HOW DO YOU SAY I MAKE IT UP TO YOU BY MAKING YOU A BOWL OF MY DELICIOUS SPAGHETTI?" "Oh no." Frisk mumbled. "Prepare yourself." "Come now." Habriel said. "I doubt Papyrus could mess up a bowl of spaghetti." "YES, I'LL MAKE YOU THE BEST BOWL OF MY SPAGHETTI WHEN WE GET TO SANS' AND MY HOUSE!" "Okay," Habriel said warily as they continued through the town. They reached a quaint cabin with two mailboxes out front. One of the mailboxes was stuffed full and the other was empty; Sans was too lazy to read any of the mail he received. Papyrus invited Frisk and Habriel inside, allowing them to go inside before himself and his brother. **************************************************************************************************** "WELL?" Papyrus asked. Carefully observing everything the human does. Habriel looked down at the spaghetti noodles and saw that the noodles were still straight as straws with sauce and cheese hastily poured on them. Habriel looked up at Papyrus. "You know noodles need to be put in boiling water, right?" he asked. "OF COURSE I PUT THEM IN WATER!" Papyrus exclaimed. "I GET IT FROM THE RIVER OUTSIDE." "bro." he called out. "i think it'd be a better idea if we all just go to grillby's instead." Skywardsister: Sans put his head between the two. "well, we warned ya, kiddo." Utadukeeus: "Hey, Papyrus." Habriel said. "I was wondering if I could help you cook the spaghetti." "WELL IF YOU INSIST....I DON'T SEE WHY NOT." Papyrus said. Habriel gave a very discreet sigh of relief. "have fun, kid." Sans said. "frisk and I are going to grillby's." "I'm sure with my help, we can make a good bowl of spaghetti." "f you say so..." Sans shrugged. Habriel followed the tall skeleton into the kitchen where Papyrus immediately brought out a box of noodles. "Wait..." Habriel said. "Where's the stove?" Skywardsister: Sans and Frisk walked next to each other outside. "So... you think he'll be alright?" Frisk asked, barely glancing at the skeleton beside them. "mmm... maybe." They walked quietly to Grillby's and entered the establishment, going over and sitting on the tall stools at the bar. Utadukeeus: "so I actually wanted to talk to you, kiddo." he said. Frisk politely sat down next to him and looked at him curiously. Grillby walked over and handed Sans a bottle of ketchup without muttering a single word. Sans took a sip and looked Frisk dead in their eye. "when are you gonna reset the timeline?" he asked. Skywardsister: Frisk watched as Grillby went noiselessly back into the kitchen in the back, then glanced around the restaurant to see who else was in the room. "Reset?" Sans inspected the ketchup bottle before absentmindedly squeezing some out into his mouth. "I never planned on resetting..." Utadukeeus: "kid...You've said that before." he said. "this ending, is pretty unique. i remember every timeline.....including the one with Chara....." Frisk looked down, as if holding her head in shame. "i hope that now you realize that resetting the timeline affects more than just the Underground. that kid probably experienced those horrors a dozen times and he doesn't even know it. And every time....just before he makes it here. the timeline gets reset. all i'm asking from you kid is that if you plan to do it again.....just let me know when." Skywardsister: Frisk watched Grillby serve customers at a nearby table. "I didn't really plan on resetting it..." They stood up from their seat and looked at Sans suspiciously. "Hey, why don't we check on Habriel and Papyrus? It's been a while." Utadukeeus: Sans and Frisk walked in to see Habriel completely passed out on the couch, grumbling as if he was sick. "well, kid." Sans said. "we warned ya, and ya didn't listen." "SANS! THANK GOODNESS YOU TWO ARE BACK!" Papyrus said. "THE HUMAN DOESN'T FEEL WELL! I THINK WE SHOULD TAKE HIM TO SEE ALPHYS!" "give him some time, bro." Sans said. "i'm sure he'll be just fine." "Never......eating food again....." Habriel muttered. "what's the matter kid?" Sans asked. "did you go pasta your limit?" Habriel groaned in response. "alright kid, how about a penne for your thoughts?" Habriel groaned even louder. "hey, no need to get saucy with me." "Please......." Habriel muttered. Skywardsister: "Alright, alright," Frisk laughed. "That's enough, Sans. Habriel, would you like to go back to Mom's house? We can if you want," Frisk held out their hand towards the nauseous boy, worried that he might become really sick and will need medical attention. "good goin', bro," Sans nudged his brother's arm with his elbow. Papyrus folded his arms quickly to move away from his brother's arm. "OH, COME OFF IT, SANS! I'M REALLY WORRIED ABOUT THE HUMAN!" Utadukeeus: "I'm fine guys.....really." Habriel insisted. He slowly got up and held onto his stomach. "But I guess we could explore the rest of the Underground tomorrow." "that sounds like the right call." Sans said. "i'll call tori." He pulled out his cellphone and dialed her number. "This is Toriel." the goat mother said. "Who do I have the pleasure of speaking to?" "tori, its sans." he said. "Oh, hi!" she gasped. "How's everyone." "not good. your son ate some of my bro's spaghetti and doesn't feel good. think its best to send him back home." he explained. "That's terrible." Toriel said. "How bad is it? Can he walk? Is he gonna be okay? Will he make it?" "relax, tori." Sans said. "kid just ate my bro's bad spaghetti." "Oh, well can I speak to him?" she asked. Sans handed the phone over to Habriel. "Its for you, kid." "Oh.....okay.." he took the phone and held it to his ear. "Hello?" "How's my child doing?" Toriel asked. "I'm fine, mother." he laughed. "Just not feeling too good right now. Can't wait to see you again when we're home." "Don't worry, child." Toriel said. "Mommy will take good care of you."

#undertale #undertale fanfiction

[acseargentsmimph12]

Starco Week - Día Uno

Link - https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11681808/32/Dimension-of-Infinite-Tales

"Damn, it's hard to get to that pathetic princess." A large brute said.

"Yeah, she's long due for an initiation, but with her bodyguard agent Diaz around we can't touch her."

"Why don't we shake them up a little then? Scare them a bit." One of them suggested.

Another smiled. "I like that idea. They won't know what's coming."

"C'mon, Marco! We have math now!" Star urged him as the bell rung, signaling the next period.

Marco winced. "Do we have to go to math? I'm already in a bad mood and I'm not looking forward to making it worse," he replied.

"Geez, are we sure you're the one who's supposed to look after me? We have to go! If you miss class you'll get detention!" Star exclaimed.

Marco feigned a gasp and shook his head. "No not detention!"

"Diaz, that is extremely rude." Star seriously replied.

Marco sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Look, you can go without me princess. I don't want you missing class and getting in trouble, which will inevitably lead to both of us getting into trouble. I'll show up...later, okay?"

Star frowned before giving him a nod. "Okay. But don't get in trouble!" She commanded.

Marco waved her off as she ran off to Ms. Skullnick's room. He sighed and scratched the bandage on his cheek.

Lying down on the hill just far off the school building, Marco was taking a nap; taking in the feel of the grass below him, the air he breathed, and the warmth that coursed through him.

Suddenly he was jarred awake, being shaken by somebody. He grabbed whoever was shaking him by the scruff of their necks and threw them down to the ground, holding a fist near their face.

Marco's victim shivered in fear until Marco stared at him for a few seconds and gave him a look of confusion. "Ferguson?"

Marco let go of his fellow classmate, standing straight and crossing his arms. "Okay spit it out. Why'd you wake me up?"

"Um, Skullnick asked me to find you and bring you to class." Ferguson stammered.

Marco frowned and cracked his neck, which was stiff from sleeping. Damn, Skullnick knew he wouldn't try and beat up Ferg. Being an old friend and pitiful made him more likely to survive with Marco.

He groaned and rolled up the sleeves of his jacket. "Alright, let's go." Marco started walking toward his class, before stopping and turning to Ferguson. "You coming or do you want to lie there all day?"

Ferguson scrambled to his feet, following Marco back to class.

"So a derivative is the - Ah, Mr. Diaz. How nice of you to join us for class. 20 minutes late. " Ms. Skullnick sneered that last part. Marco lacked a reaction.

"As punishment, you'll be cleaning the storage out back. I hear it's been years since it's seen light." Skullnick said.

Marco rolled his eyes and took his seat by the window, paying more attention to the two squirrels fighting outside than Skullzers at the front of the class.

The bell signaling the end of school rang through the building, Marco groaning at his recent after school punishment.

He packed his things in his bag, making his way to the back of school grounds to clean the storage facility.

He already told Star to wait for him at home, but he could see her in his peripherals, always hiding behind something. He didn't pay much attention to it, but soon he couldn't keep up the obliviousness and called her out on her lousy stealth tactics.

"Princess, why are you following me?" Marco deadpanned.

Star jumped. She hadn't noticed he noticed her. She stepped out from her hiding place, staring at the floor and looking for the right words. "Um...I just thought...maybe, I would help you clean. Less load on you, but if you want me gone, I totally understand-" Star was interrupted by Marco smirking and patting her head affectionately.

"Thanks, prin...Star" Marco corrected himself.

Star blushed and avoided his gaze. Marco rarely ever used her name when he referred to her, but when he did it made her knees buckle.

"Yeah, well, you owe me after this! I want one, no, two more nachos than I'm allowed! And wipe that dumb smirk off your face!" Star exclaimed.

"Um, you never had a limit to what you can eat, princess," Marco said, beginning to walk away again.

"O-oh. Then I want you to attend every class ON TIME from now on!" Star commanded.

Marco couldn't really say no. She was already doing this much for him, and with that cute demanding face, it's hard to refuse.

"Yeah, fine. Whatever. Let's go."

Marco and Star made their way to the storage facility, walking up to the metal double doors. Using the key he got from the janitor, he unlocked the doors, pushing them open to reveal a large dusty room, with stuff that looked to be thirty-maybe forty-years old.

"Wow. This looks ancient." Marco tried to switch on the lights, but due to age and the lack of much-needed renovation of the building, the lights refused to switch on.

"Damnit. Guess we're going in dark," Marco said.

Star suddenly seemed very nervous. "Do we have some flashlights or something?" She asked.

"Uh, maybe. Do you need them to see?" Marco asked.

"Y-yeah, right. Well?"

"I don't have any on me now, but- OOF!" Marco grunted as he and Star were shoved into the building. Landing hard on their sides they heard the click of the lock, along with the footsteps of a few people.

Marco started to pat his body for the keys, only to realize he dropped it when he was shoved. "Stupid bastards..." Marco growled. "Princess, are you-"

Marco stopped and his eyes widened when he felt Star abruptly grab his arm. He narrowed his eyes in concern.

"Uh, princess?" He asked, starting to turn to look at her.

"Stop, don't look at me. Please. Just, let me do this." Star said.

Marco frowned, looking forward as Star vice gripped his forearm. He could feel her press up against him, shivering in...fear?

He could feel her heartbeat, and it was pounding pretty fast. Marco thought his own was too. Could she feel it as well?

"Star," Marco began after a few moments of silence, "are you afraid,"

Star tensed up, and Marco could feel it.

"of the dark?"

Star's grip suddenly intensified, and Marco could feel all circulating blood stop flowing in his left arm. She was surprisingly strong for such a timid girl.

"Ow! What the fu-!"

"Yes! I'm terrified of the dark! Shut up about it and please do something." Star said, burying her face into his shoulder.

Marco furrowed his eyebrows together. "Don't you have your wand?"

Star shook her head. "I...left it...in my locker. I...wanted to show you...I'm capable...without it." Star took short breaths between each pause, and Marco thought she'd start hyperventilating.

Marco turned around and embraced her, kneeling on the floor. He closed his eyes and began to speak, "Deep breaths, princess. I know you're capable. You fought monsters with me, a person you've never met and was a jerk towards you because you were concerned for me. You went through brainwashing and managed to stay your old self a bit. So prove me right. There's nothing to be afraid of. I'm here with you. So calm down, now." Marco said firmly.

Star's breaths slowed down, and her tense form eased up a bit. Still hugging Marco, she spoke into his shoulder. "Thanks, Marco. I think I've calmed down. But can you just hold on for a little while?" She asked.

Marco tightened his jaw and nodded. "Sure."

So they sat there. Marco's eyes had adjusted to the darkness by now, and he could make out a silhouette of a box of props and costumes.

He got an idea of how to distract Star from her fear.

"Okay, Star. Don't freak out, but I'm gonna let go for a few seconds."

Star's eyes widened as she looked up at him. "No, no no no no no no no! Don't let go! I will throttle you if you do!" She begged,

Marco's eyebrow lifted at the unexpected threat. "It's okay, I'm only gonna let go for a few seconds, I'm gonna be back, I promise." Marco hushed her. "Do you trust me?"

Star wiped her eye and silently nodded. Slowly Marco let go of her. He stood up and began to back away, their arms sliding against one another before it was only their hands connected, then fingers.

Then his warmth left Star, and he blended in with the inky blackness. Damnit! Why must his jacket be black!? Star began to feel alone now, the sense of abandonment creeping up on her for the first time in years. She curled up into a ball and almost began to tear up before Marco's voice rang out from the darkness.

"I'm still here, princess. I'm still with you." His assurance gave her courage and she managed to outlast until Marco came back holding a cardboard box. He placed it down in between him and Star before sitting down.

"What's...what's that?" Star asked.

"Just something to pass the time." Marco pulled a couple of sticks from the box and bend them, a cracking noise coming from it.

The sticks suddenly started to glow, and Star stared at them in amazement. "Whoa! Is that more earth magic?" She asked.

Marco smirked at her childlike curiosity. "No, just some old glow sticks to light it up a little."

He placed down the colorful glowing rods in a circle around the pair, leaving them in a dim, but brighter than before, setting.

Marco reached back into the box. Pulling out a red headband with horns on it, he placed it on his head and put a massive frown on his face.

"I'm Tom. I'm in denial and think l can get Star to like me, but I'm just hopelessly desperate and angry." Marco mocked.

Star giggled at his impression, his voice not even close to Tom's.

"Marco, stop, that's mean."

He smiled and pushed the box towards her. "Here, you try."

"Um, I'm not sure..."

"It's okay princess. Nobody here but us. I'll keep it a secret."

"Okay..." Star agreed. She dug into the box and pulled out a wig and a crown. Putting them both on, she then wore a dull, bored expression on her face. "This is of utmost importance! We can't have this silly nonsense when you're to be a ruler soon! Blah, blah, rules, rules, boring, discipline." Star mocked in a mundane, strong accented tone.

Marco laughed and Star smiled.

"Lemme guess, your mom?" Marco asked.

Star nodded, not fully confident in mocking people she knew.

"Okay, my turn," Marco said, digging through the box.

They went at this for a while, having a good time messing around with each other. They role played Skullnick, their classmates, Ludo, and even each other.

The two rolled around the floor, wheezing after laughing too hard at Star's impression of Marco's bad boy attitude. She accidentally cracked her knuckles, and her cute expression of pain made Marco laugh, Star eventually following in suit.

"Oh, man. That was...amazingly horrible." Marco said.

Star smiled, nodding in agreement.

"So, you still afraid?" Marco asked.

"No, not anymore. Being in the dark isn't so bad when you have someone to have fun with you here."

"I don't think you're scared of the dark. I think it's because of your isolation from people and loved ones during your hated experience at St. O's, it made you feel alone and you were afraid of being lonely. In the dark, you can't see anything. You feel cold, there's nobody in sight. It's like being alone, which may explain why you fear darkness."

Star tilted her head at Marco's explanation, a small smile telling him she didn't understand what the hell he just said.

Marco realized what he was doing and covered his face. "Sorry, that's Marco PhD talking," Marco said, angry at himself for showing that part of him again. Why is it around her when his past comes out?

"Don't be embarrassed. I don't fully understand what you just said, but-" Star grabbed Marco's hand, "-I hope you stay with me for now." Star said.

Marco gulped. He blushed. A very pretty girl just grabbed his hand and pretty much said she wished they could stick together, with him. Marco Flippin Diaz. His blush intensified now that he was analyzing it. Stop thinking about it, Marco mentally scolded himself. Yeah, now he was embarrassed.

"Star, what-"

The sound of jingling keys was heard through the door and was inserted into the lock. Star suddenly stood up. "Help has arrived!" She said.

She eagerly walked forward, forgetting the heavy box between her and Marco. She tripped and fell on top of Marco, making a loud grunt as she did.

The janitor on the other end raised a brow. Since when did storage buildings grunt? He unlocked and opened the door, low and behold Star lying on top of Marco, a bunch of spilled props and costume pieces strewn about the floor.

The janitor gave the two a hard gaze before opening his mouth, "Look, I'm gonna go home and forget this. I'm closing this door and leaving it unlocked. Suggestion, keep your weird lovey-dovey affectionate cosplay sessions at home." And with that, he slammed the door shut.

Star and Marco scrambled away from each other, faces burning crimson and tension as thick as maple syrup.

They quickly cleaned up in sync and walked out the door.

Awkwardly they turned to each other.

"So, nachos?"

"Yep, lots of nachos."

"Movie?"

"Movie."

"..."

"..."

"So you wanted two more nachos than usual?"

"Yes."

"That janitor thing never happened."

"Agreed."

The looked at each other once more and started to burst out laughing. Marco wasn't in a bad mood anymore.

"Let's get home, princess."

"Excellent suggestion, Marco!"

Marco then went on to have a bad mood again the next day, when Skullnick harshly reminded him at the volume of 120 decibels that he forgot to actually clean the storage building yesterday.

He should've skipped class.

#starcoweek3

[tanyatakaishi]

Innocent Games: the rewrite

Without a world to save, petty drama and circumstances have forced a rift between the digidestined. That is until they find themselves in a world shaped solely by their memories, without their partners, where the only monsters to face are themselves. I’m doing it. I’m posting the rewrite. I put it on A03 and after a lot of thought I decided to delete all the old chapters on ff.net. I replaced them with the rewritten version and will be reposting the entire thing over the next few months. You can read it here. Or, you can read on tumblr below. I hope to gain some new readers and have some of my favorite peeps return. :)  Post 02, ignoring the epilogue, pretending tri don’t exist. Rated M for language, upcoming violence and sexual innuendo. Dub ‘cuz dub.

Innocent Games

I've seen worlds.

Before I knew that others existed, before I was torn from mine and forced to save another. Before the Digital World, I was sure they existed.

As a child, my mind teemed with magical places: a world where I could fly, another where I constantly wore a suit of armor (even in the tub) and got everywhere by riding a horse. In one, everything was blue. So blue that I couldn't tell the earth from the sky from the ocean from myself. But my favorite world was the one formed by fading memories: where my brother and I still shared a tiny room and I didn't do much but cry. I remember it in pieces: the legos spread across the floor, Matt's foot in my face when I snuck into his bed and turned in the night, the way we'd run to shut the door when our parents kissed, pretending like we hated it.

I sometimes wonder about the world Oikawa brought us to. If there were a way to get back there, if all those worlds could exist in a world like that.

I used to wonder if I was the only one who wondered.

Now that I'm here, I don't wonder at all.

....

Chapter One Black Hole

...

i need u

The words had been sitting mockingly on his phone for more than an hour, waiting for a response.  Matt frowned, finally left with nothing to do but answer. His college essay sat on his brother's desk, covered with comments in red pen (too poetic, too vague, this should be a semi-colon not a comma) all written in skewed pillars of scratchy scrawl. His eyes slipped sideways, across piles of books and crumpled paper to the disheveled bed. An arm slumped over TK's face, but his knees were pointing toward the ceiling and every now and then he had to readjust his feet to keep them there. Patamon had curled into a nest of blankets by his side, long furry ears masking his face. Matt turned back to his phone and hammered out a line with his fingers. Hanging with my brother tonight.

bring him with

Is your sister coming?

no excuses

Matt could think of a hundred. Nope

i thought blondes had more fun  ¬_¬

With a verbal groan, Matt's fingers found the bridge of his nose. Tai's name blurred across the screen of his mobile. He set the phone face down and fiddled with a box of cigarettes nestled in his pocket, fingertips dancing along the few that remained.

“Better leave them there,” TK mumbled into his mattress. “Mom's gonna flip when she finds out you're smoking.” He lifted his head and Patamon squirmed in his sleep. “Who are you texting?”

Matt pulled out a cigarette anyway, letting it linger against his lips. “Tai.”

“You're not going to light that in here...”

“I'm going outside.”

“Better brace yourself. An hour lecture. Minimum.” TK watched as Matt stood. “You didn't tell her about Sora yet, did you?”

The cigarette bent between Matt's teeth.

“Make that two hours,” said TK.

come on! Mimis back. i told her every1 would be there b a friend and act suprised

With a sigh, Matt closed the balcony door behind him. His phone went off again.

man up. u cant avoid Sora 4ever

I'm not Matt stopped typing and his thumb jabbed into the backspace button, erasing his words. He shoved the phone in his pocket and lit his cigarette.

…

your gonna come cuz im irresitable

Does your phone not have spell check?

its not smart

Sora bit back a smile and rolled her eyes.

“Are you sexting?”

Her whole face flushed. “Omigod, no. Mimi.”

Noodles flopped in front of Sora's nose when Mimi pointed a pair of chopsticks at her. “You look like you're playing coy. Is it Matt?” Mimi grinned and the yakisoba retreated, sliding behind her pink lips with a loud slurp.

“Playing coy?”

Mimi spoke with one cheek full. “Pretending you don't like the sexting.”

“I am not sexting.”

“You and Matt don't sext?”

Sora put her phone down. “No! What if someone read it?”

“Who doesn't enjoy some steamy literature once in a while?”

“My mother.”

“She doesn't like Matt?”

“She doesn't like sexting,” Sora hissed. She hid her face behind her hand when an old couple was seated in the booth beside them. “You did hear me when I said we broke up, right?”

“I'd rather live in denial.” Mimi pouted when Sora glared. “Whyyyy? You guys are so cute together.”

That was true, she guessed. Every picture of them was gorgeous. Matt was perpetually handsome, even when he was at his worst. Did he have a worst, really? His frown practically oozed sex. That definitely wasn't his worst: the brooding crease by his cheekbones and narrowed frosty gaze. His smile certainly wasn't. It was bright and charming, even when he was all awkward and embarrassed and his cheeks burst into rosy splotches.

Sora closed her eyes when her phone chimed with a new message. “I don't know,” she said. “Maybe that's why.”

“Because you guys are cute...?”

“Because we...” A piece of chicken was speared through by her chopstick. “Because we're perfect together.” Sora concentrated on wrapping a single noodle around it. She swore she could hear Mimi's jaw drop.

“Well, that's stupid.”

Sora looked up and found Mimi's mouth had puckered, like she tasted something sour. Her eyes narrowed and Sora's narrowed right back. “Thanks.”

“Explain.”

Sora groaned. “It feels like we're always trying too hard. We never fight.” She sighed when Mimi raised her brows. “I mean about us. Our relationship. Shouldn't we fight about us sometimes?”

“You broke up with Matt because you guys don't fight about your relationship?”

“You're making it sound stupid.”

“I'm just repeating what you said.”

Sora flicked a straw wrapper at her and it barely fluttered. “I tried once. To fight with him. About the band. I acted like I was jealous of it, even though I wasn't.” She laughed and Mimi took another big bite of yakisoba. “He just looked at me, you know, like he was trying to get me and then he asked if he should quit.”

“Seriously?”

“Dead serious. He wasn't even mad. He said it didn't matter. Like music didn't matter more than me.”

“That's really sweet.”

“It's not. It's uncomfortable.” Sora poked at her food and everything seemed to rush out of her in one breath. “I'm always uncomfortable. When its just us, I get... he makes me nervous – my stomach hurts, sometimes I can't even breathe.”

“Sounds like a crush.”

“It's exactly like a crush.” Sora frowned. “For four years.”

Mimi swallowed another bite of noodles and stared at her, hard. “You broke up with Matt because you've had a crush on him for four years.”

“I just want to be friends again. I want to sit in a room with him while he plays guitar and not feel like I have to sing his praises. I want to work on a sketch without him telling me how beautiful it is. I want him to forget our anniversary. I want him to do something wrong.” Sora's eyes sunk to her uneaten meal and found a notification on her phone.

“You want someone less perfect.”

Nodding, Sora checked her messages. “I guess.”

sora you dissapoint me. i left u the perfect opening and u blew it. so u coming 2 the party or what?

“Do you want to go to this party Tai's bugging me about?” Sora asked.

Mimi beamed. “Who do you think convinced him to go?”

….

emergency meeting

“I call bullshit,” Davis grumbled.

The pew pew pew of the arcade shooter quieted when Yolei stopped her relentless button mashing to raise a brow at him. It shot up like a question mark beneath her lenses, glaring with the countless lights of electronics. “What?”

Leaning against the side of an old pinball machine, Davis lifted his phone so she could see the text on his screen.

Ken took out another couple zombies before racking up his arcade gun. Davis huffed when Ken's name outranked his in the high scores.

Pushing hair behind his ear, Ken pulled his cell from his back pocket. “I have the same text.”

Yolei hung up the gun she'd still been holding and grinned devilishly when her name climbed to the top of the screen. She flipped open her phone. “He sent it to all of us.

“It's bullshit,” Davis spat. “Guaranteed. Mimi's in town, scheming. She probably stole his phone.”

“It does say emergency,” said Ken.

“Wait. No, Davis is right. I think he's bluffing.” She pulled a crumpled piece of paper from her purse and attempted to smooth it. “Apparently Tai's class is lacking in graphic designers. I think someone did this in Paint. God awful.”

She held up a flyer covered in ridiculously drawn confetti and written entirely in Comic Sans. “The seniors are throwing a graduation party.”

Ken looked at his phone again. “Why would Tai invite underclassmen?”

“Because it's Tai,” said Yolei. “He likes attention.”

Davis frowned. “He's going to beat me up.”

“Oh please, he messaged all of us.”

“I'm not going,” said Davis. Bullshit, he typed.

u got me emergency party

And then a second later, dont worry, im not gonna beat u up

Davis leaned forward, peering suspiciously around the corner to find a bunch of elementary kids gathered around the latest version of DDR. No Tai. He held up a finger when Yolei tried to talk to him. Thanks, he wrote. It took him a while to hammer out the next line. Kari gonna be there? I need to talk to her.

maybe not

“What is that supposed to mean?” asked Yolei.

Davis flinched and shrugged his shoulder into her chin, nudging her away. “Stop reading my texts.”

“You were about to show it to me anyway.”

True, but he wasn't about to admit it.  “Mind your own business.”

“Please, your business is everyone's business.”

“No it's not.” Davis looked to Ken for back up and was let down by a shrug. “Shut up.”

“I didn't say anything,” said Ken.

Davis huffed and showed Ken his phone. “What is this supposed to mean?”

“I think he's being purposefully elusive.”

“So that I come? Or I don't? Maybe he forgot to leave me out of the message.”

“I doubt that,” said Ken.

“He knows it takes two to tango,” said Yolei.

“There was no tango-ing,” Davis snapped, trying not to sound disappointed. “We had a moment.”

“With your tongues. While she was dating TK.”

Davis reached into his hair to fiddle with his goggles before he remembered they were missing. He could still picture them, nestled in Kari's hair. He crossed his arms. “I know, I know. I'm an asshole.”

“You just weren't thinking,” said Ken.  If it had come from someone else, Davis would've taken it as an insult, but Ken did this thing with his voice that was eerily soothing.

“Was that Kari's excuse?” Yolei's eyes went all squinty, the same way they did whenever she took off her glasses. Davis sorta wanted to steal them so she always looked that stupid.

“It was a moment,” he repeated.

She was already ignoring him, fingernails clicking against buttons as she hammered out her own texts at breakneck speed.

Davis pouted at Ken and returned to Tai's message. It must have taken him a good five minutes to write back, because Ken was already winning against the next round of computer zombies.  Tell her to come. I'll be good. You can even chaperone us.

His phone gave a pleasant chirp in return.

as if u had a choice

Davis started to respond when Yolei's voice squealed, “Oh! We're doing makeovers at Sora's!”

“We?” he asked.

“For the party. With Mimi. The girls,” Yolei said. Before Davis could open his mouth again, she looked up from her phone to glare at him. “Kari's not coming.”

He frowned. “Crap.”

Ken gave him a small smile. “Whack-a-mole?”

“How'd ya guess?”

…

emergency meeting

Green eyes scanned the words through thin metal bars. Ripping off his glove, Cody typed a quick reply. Where?

His fingers tapped impatiently on the end of a shinai while he waited for a response. “Sorry, sensei.”

Removing his helmet, Chikara Hida gave a wave of dismissal and kicked back a swig of prune juice. His white beard came back glistening around a smile, wrinkles kissing the corners of his cheeks. “How is the Digital World these days?”

“Peaceful.” Cody pulled off his own helmet and pushed strands of damp hair from his eyes. He looked over his shoulder to where Upamon was happily playing with his own mini shinai, his oversized ears swinging it around with strange precision. Cody's attention turned back to his phone and it felt suddenly heavy in his hand. “It's been a long time since we've had a meeting.”

“We haven't seen anyone since I've been back,” complained Upamon, suddenly dropping his weapon. He bounced across the dojo floor and flew into Cody's back, forcing him forward. “Are we having a meeting?”

“Sounds like it.” His phone chimed and he peered down at the new message.

Bullshit, it said. A tiny avatar bursting with burgundy hair appeared beside it. Davis was grinning behind his goggles and shooting up what he must have thought was some sort of American gang sign.

Cody squinted at his phone, watching as Tai and Davis messaged back and forth.

“Is everything all right?” his grandfather asked.

“False alarm,” Cody answered flatly. He gave Upamon's head an affectionate pat and typed out a quick message of his own.

Davis, you're in a group text.

His phone chimed again.

Fuck

…

Ba-ding.

Ba-ding. Ba-ding.

Ba-ding.

The phone slid under a pillow and a body slid under the sheets, further and further until it was just a ball at the foot of the bed. It gave a pitiful moan. “Please stop.”

A door creaked open. “You could turn it off.”

The lump shook, a pathetic vibrating that only ended when the smoothly tucked corners of the the comforter were yanked out from under the mattress, uncovering it.

Susumu Kamiya sat on the bed and gave his daughter's hair a rub. Chestnut strands stuck in every direction, clinging to the sheets.

Kari pulled the covers back over her head. “I messed everything up,” she moaned, wiping damp cheeks into her mattress. “Even Tai's mad at me.”

“He's not mad at you, honey. He's just brothering.” Susumu laughed, just a little snort of appreciation at his own humor. “You know, like mothering, but he's your broth—”

“Got it, Dad,” Kari moaned.

“Anyway, you didn't mess everything up. You're in high school, Kari. This isn't time for a serious relationship anyway.”

“You mean any relationship.”

“That's my girl.”

Ba-ding.

Susumu's hand reached and slipped under her pillow. He started scrolling through her messages.

Kari peeked from under the covers. “Dad!”

“You don't want to read that. Or that.” He stretched his arm away from her grabbing hand. “Protecting my daughter's virtue is my dadly duty. Please.”

Kari found her nose smushed under his palm. “Stop looking at my—”

“Definitely not that. Wow. I'm gonna have a talk with his mother about that language. Oh here.” Susumu released her face and handed her the phone. A row of texts had appeared, all accompanied by a grinning picture of Mimi Tachikawa, who (courtesy some good trick photography) seemed to be sporting Lady Liberty's crown.

“You should go have fun with the girls,” Susumu said. “Get out of the house.”

Kari looked up from her phone and frowned. “Stop fathering me.”

“Too late.” He patted her knee with a boyish grin. “Did that a long time ago.”

….

im here. ur mom made dinner. its delish

“Mmmmm, Mrs. Izumi,” Tai mumbled through a mouthful of dumplings, “dese are amadin'.” He grabbed another between his fingers and offered it to Joe, who sat awkwardly beside him, knees knocking into the Izumi's coffee table.

Joe peered over his glasses at the food, moist in Tai's palm. “Let's leave some for Izzy.”

Shrugging, Tai popped it in to join the others. The bedroom door opened.

“Iddy!” Tai swallowed. “Can I have your mom?”

Izzy's eyes, dark and lined with heavy shadows, flickered to the kitchen where his mother was putting together another plate. His attention turned back to Tai who seemed to be waiting for a serious answer. “No.”

“I have some fresh bok choy and garlic,” Mrs. Izumi said, carrying a tray into the living room. The smell preceded her and Tai's mouth started to water.

“Trade?”

Izzy ignored him and turned his attention to Joe. “I'm going to make an educated guess and conclude the emergency's a farce.”

“This is why I don't add you to group texts,” Tai grumbled. “You ruin all the fun.”

Mrs. Izumi set the bok choy on the table and Tai quickly snatched some up with his chopsticks, thanking her through a loud slurp. “Would you boys like anything to drink?” she asked.

“Could I take my dinner in my room?”

“Oh, well, of course, Izzy, but,” Mrs. Izumi seemed to hesitate, her hands wringing together, “don't you want to take a break?”

“I want to show them what I've been working on,” he said, rubbing a tired eye. “I'll go to bed after that.”

“No way, emergency meeting, Izzy.”

Izzy set his eyebrows until they looked like a big bushy V and Tai grimaced.

“Is everything all right?”

“Everything's fine, Mom. Don't worry.”

“Okay, I'll just put this all on a tray for you. Tai, Joe, are you staying for—”

“No,” Izzy said. “They have a party to go to.” He pulled open his door, motioning for them to step inside.

“Aw man,” Tai moaned, slumping into Izzy's office chair. His neck craned backwards, making it seem as if his large mop of hair was weighing him down. “Killjoy, that's what you are. I coulda boxed that up and taken it home for later. Do you know how hard it is to get a good meal at my house?”

Izzy pushed the chair so that it rolled away from his desk, Tai flopping with it. An array of screens were running in black and white, with code so tiny that Tai had squint his eyes to make out any of it.

“So what's got you too busy to make it to my graduation party? This is like a once in a lifetime opportunity, Izzy.”

“No one went to mine,” interjected Joe, stretching his legs as he sat on Izzy's bed. “Including me.”

“Wrong.” Tai snapped his fingers. “I went to yours.”

Izzy tapped a couple of lines into the screen, his dark eyes running back and forth to double check his work. He looked haggard. His red hair was long again, sticking out in every direction in greasy clumps. Tai was about to ask when he'd last thought to take a shower when he spoke up.

“I'm replicating the data that existed in the world MaloMyotismon brought Davis's team into.”

Tai sat up straight and used his feet to roll the chair forward. His eyes danced over the screens. “You mean Whoop-ass Wishing World?”

“That's what you named it?” Joe asked.

Tai gave a shrug. “Davis did. Made sense.”

“WWW.” Izzy's top lip curled with a hint of amusement, fingers still flying across the keys. “Because of it's connection to the Digital World, I've actually managed to extract a quantitative code that could potentially give us the power to create tangible spaces with the images in our brains: memories, dreams...”

Joe gave a heavy swallow. “You're kidding.”

“Not at all,” groaned a voice beside his rear.

Joe jumped, literally taking off across the room with a hand clutched over his breast when Tentomon appeared from under the covers.

“He's been working on it all night,” Tentomon moaned, green digital eyes flickering sleepily. “And all day. And the night before that and the night before that...”

“So what you're saying is”—Tai gave a big grin and rolled up, bumping the back of the chair into Izzy's legs—“he needs a break. A party perhaps?”

Izzy was already shaking his head. “I'm not going, Tai. Do you have any idea what a breakthrough like this could mean? We can dream up”—he started to look a bit manic— “endless possibilities. This could mean a world of unlimited resources... we can literally create an entire world of unlimited resources.”

“You must have weird dreams.”

“He has no time for dreams,” yawned Tentomon. “Never sleeps.”

“Izzy, Izzy, Izzy,” Tai tsked. He stood and threw an arm around his shoulders. “You gotta know when to quit. This isn't healthy, is it, Joe?”

Joe was already busy picking up an assortment of empty tea bottles from the floor. “I hope you're drinking water.”

Izzy lifted his shadow-rimmed eyes to Tai's, squinting. “Breakthrough.”

“Is this why you missed my soccer game Friday?” Tai pouted when Izzy gave a shrug. “You wound me.”

A knock disturbed them and Mrs. Izumi slowly opened the door with a tray of food in her arms. There was enough for all of them even though they weren't staying. “It's so nice to see you boys,” she said when Izzy quickly turned back to his screen. “It's been too long.”

Tai deflated. “College applications, ugh.”

In truth, they were only half the problem. It had been more than six months since he had attempted to get the group together.  The older they got, the more complicated everything seemed to get. School was a given, relationships were just, ugh, drama... heck, even soccer was crazy. A quarter of the team was stressing over college scouts. Tai was over it. He hated complicated – the stress, everything--it was easier to avoid it.

“Just wait until you're in college,” groaned Joe. “I don't even know why I'm here.”

“Easy.” Tai grinned. “Me.”

Mrs. Izumi smiled. “I can't believe how much you've all grown.” She set the tray down and the fingers on her hand twitched, just behind her son's red hair. It lowered suddenly when Izzy began to plug in another line of a code and Tai noticed the way her smile stretched when her eyes filled with tears.

Joe must have noticed too, because he started fumbling with his armful of empty bottles and excused himself, bolting out of the room to throw them into the recycling bin.

Izzy immediately stopped typing and turned to her. “I can't speak for Tai, but I'd deduce my growth has a lot to do with your incredible cooking.” He rubbed one tired eye and forced a grateful smile.

“Please speak for me,” Tai said, swiping yet another dumpling. He internally breathed a sigh of relief when Mrs. Izumi's face lit up, tears shining.

“I really appreciate it,” Izzy continued. Pink welled into his cheeks when she kept smiling. “Thanks, Mom.”

Her voice came out sweet and strangled. “You're welcome, sweetheart. You boys let me know if there is anything else I can get you.” The door closed after Tai caught her wiping her eyes.

He turned to Izzy. There was a brief moment unspoken between them, a concern Tai wasn't sure how to voice: What's going on? Why is your mom crying? Are you okay?

Izzy turned back to his screen and Tentomon buzzed into the side of his leg, a not so subtle nudge. He leaned down to grab a dumpling from his partner's outstretched claw.

“I'll call you when I've reached a stopping point,” Izzy said before taking a bite. His mouse clicked once, twice, and then he reached backwards without looking and rolled the office chair back in front of the desk. He took a seat and clicked again.

“Okay, I get it.” Tai shoveled a mound of food into his palm for the road. “You're on a roll. Breakthrough. Yeah, call me when you decide to be cool again.”

“A breakthrough that could theoretically save the world.”

“Meh. Already did that. Literally.” Tai put one last dumpling on his pile. “You make sure he gets a shower later, eh Tentomon?”

Izzy frowned while Tentomon gave an obedient salute.

Tai's fingers danced by his head in a weak imitation of Medusa's snakes. “Your hair, Izzy, geez. Shower! Water, food... life!” He tore into the dough with his teeth and spoke through a mouthful of pork. “You know Mimi's gonna be there, right?”

There was another light flush in Izzy's cheeks and Tai felt triumphant.

“Tell her I said hello,” Izzy mumbled before taking his own bite of food. “How long is she in town?”

“A week, I think.” Tai gave a shrug and headed for the door. “Life,” he hissed, backing out of the room. “La-iiife.” He could have sworn he saw Izzy start to laugh, just the slightest shake of his shoulders.

Joe almost ran into his back. “Where are you going?”

Tai popped another piece of food into his mouth. “To da pardy.”

“What, that's it? You aren't going to drag him out by the collar and call him a pansy?”

“Nope.”

Joe glared through his lenses. “Yet it's perfectly acceptable to do to me?”

“Can't do it to Izzy.” Tai slapped him between the shoulders of his collared shirt, hard. “He's got a backbone.”

…

The screen had gone blurry long before he finally quit. Izzy's face lowered onto the keyboard, crushing keys. Blank lines entered beneath the cursor until there was nothing left but black. It took a minute before he realized he'd fallen asleep.

Izzy peeled his sticky cheek from the back of his hand and robotically erased the lines until he was back to a screen full of code. He rubbed his eyes but the numbers wouldn't focus. Yawning, he saved his work and rolled his chair backwards.

“Shower,” he mumbled, still hearing Tai's voice chiming cheerfully in his ear.

It had been a long time since Tai had been by.

Maybe it just felt long. Time didn't pass normally when he was working. Obsessing, Tentomon would say worriedly from his usual position on his bed. The digimon spent the rest of his time in the kitchen with his mom, worrying. Izzy cast a look over his shoulder as he trudged tiredly to the hall, catching the digimon snoring beneath the covers. Guilt crawled into his belly and he slowly closed the door behind him.

Izzy tried to shake it off. It would be over soon. The program was complete. It was riddled with bugs, a million different glitches that he couldn't seem to figure out, but the essence was there. The power to create, just waiting for his fingertips.

Turning on the water seemed mundane, infinitesimal in comparison to everything he could be doing. Necessary only because he was, unfortunately, still very human.

Izzy stared at himself in the mirror, his red hair was greasy and wild from endless frustrated tugs and long enough that it looked a miniature version of Tai's gravity defying mane. He attempted to smooth it and it stuck to his scalp in kinky waves. He gave himself a small sniff and his nose crinkled with disgust.

Sighing, he stripped and stepped into the shower. Code danced across his closed eyes, burnt permanently into his retinas, while the screen in his room slowly ate it away.

Inside his computer, the numbers collapsed. Code slipped from all sides of the monitor, funneling to the center of the screen. The whole room flashed, a distortion of a pixels, just a glimpse into the world beyond. Then everything went silent.

Months of work lost and in its wake, a black hole, just waiting for something else to come close.

#innocent games #my fanfiction #digimon fanfiction #rewrite #chapter 1