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sooibian · 3 years

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Wherever You Are

Pairing: Kai x You as Lys ft. Baekhyun, Minseok, Yixing

Description: When you least expect it, love, quite literally, sweeps you off your feet

Themes: Romani AU, magical realism, romance, angst, drama ™ (i grew up on a healthy dose of Bollywood and it! shows!), secret relationship, heavily influenced by Mmmh Kai

Warnings: Blood, weapons, violence

Word Count: +9.5k (i’m sorry i haven’t had the time to proof-read this at all)

Tagging: @changshapatrol @rosetvler @bbyunz @is-that-baekhyuns-shirt @royal-aeris @bbhmystar @his-mochi-cheeks @littleflowercrown13

Part of the Steampunk Romani AU collab with @leewalberg @vampwrrr @xui-n-soowillbethedeathofme

Pre-reading notes:

1. This is a spin-off for Lys from Star-Crossed but it can be read as a standalone oneshot. I’ve tried my best to translate the events of that fic into Lys’ POV but feel free to shoot me a message if something still confuses you.

2. Lys is a mind-reader, Baekhyun has the ability to influence physical objects with his mind, Yixing is a dragon and he’s the leader of the clan (Bulibasha), and Kai - as we all know - can teleport!!

3. Glossary: bulibasha - clan leader, dado - father, dya - mother, gadjo - someone of non-romani descent / origin, dragă - darling, iubirea mea - my love, lautari - a group of romani musicians, zakono - a key institution for enforcing the Romani Code.

“Dado, can I go along with Minseok?”

“Where to, dragă?”

“To the horse fair....the one in the village?”

“That’s no place for a pretty princess such as yourself -”

“But..but.. dado!”

“The camp has everything you’ll ever need, dragă.”

You woke up to the same old chirping of crickets, the same old crimson, black, and gold panels draping your tent, the same old wine stained goblet on your nightstand, the same old aroma of steamed xaimoko and hearty cornbread, and... the same old stinging in your heart.

Lips stretched into a habitual wide grin, you greeted the lass who brought you dinner with a drawn out “Morning”.

“It’s seven in the evening, Lys. You know how your father feels about you sleeping during sunset!” Vera exclaimed and gathered her skirts to sit on the edge of your bed, her gentle fingers combing through to untangle knots in her mistress’ long, dark hair.

Having mastered the art of repressing the emotions that threatened to colour your expression at the mere mention of your father, feigning excitement, you took her hand in yours and coyly quizzed her on the topic she was dying to discuss, “Tell me more about the whitesmith boy, Vera? Did he prove to be,” you cleared your throat and said in a hushed whisper, “worth his mettle?” and drew the question out with a roaring laughter.

“Hush, Lys!” Said Vera bashfully, biting on her lower lip to suppress the smile that was beginning to form on her mellow, innocent face. The whitesmith boy, better known as Kris, was the clan’s most eligible bachelor until yesterday.

Young girls, in pairs or trios, would hide behind the shrubbery by the river to catch a glimpse of him shirtless, bring him bent out of shape wares to fix and polish - even the ones whose weights their delicate hands couldn’t bear - and watch him at his job for hours at an end as sweat would drip down his neck, making his light, cotton shirt cling onto his well defined back.

As any young man his age would, Kris surely enjoyed the attention but he didn’t thrive on it. His heart belonged solely to his beloved. He settled for the most simple woman, some would say for the want of a better word, but you were convinced that none of them had experienced the sweetness that was love.

You had - but only vicariously. Love, trust, anticipation, joy - all vicariously. The only emotions you truly understood, first-hand, were longing, anger, and sadness.

“Lys?” A finger poking into your side broke you out of your reverie.

“Hmm?”

“I said, yes.”

“What for?” You asked, an innocent eyebrow raised in question.

She only giggled in response and darted out of your tent. Grinning wide, you turned to your meal and just then the aggressive tramp of horses’ hooves and sharp, piercing cries of pain and fear from men, women, and children reached your ears. Before you could make sense of the situation, your shell-shocked eyes followed Vera’s body as it fell inside your tent with a dull thud, an arrow pierced through her chest.

Your dinner tray toppled over as you ran to her aid and struggled with the bitter truth that you could do nothing to breathe life into the one person out of the very few that truly cared for you. With your hand on her teared stained cheek, you listened to her conscience ferociously chant, dya...dya...take care of dya!

“I will, Vera. I promise to take care of your mother.”

Only when she was reassured did Vera allow life to drain out of her eyes while tears started to line yours and grief clawed at your throat. You began to drag her limp body towards the bed and it wasn’t long before a familiar face barged into your tent. Throwing his crossbow to the side, your brother helped you hoist Vera’s body up onto your bed.

“What’s going on -”

“We’ve been attacked by a group of dacoits. Stay inside. Whatever happens, do not leave your tent! You understand me?” Minseok commanded, his dark eyes piercing yours while blood trickled down the side of his face.

“You’re hurt -”

He shook his head and repeated, panic betraying his voice, “Just... stay safe, Lys. Will you?”

Breaking down into sobs you nodded frantically as the ugly realisation of loss washed over you. Minseok pulled you into a tight embrace, praying fervently, “It could’ve been you. It could’ve been you instead of - of Vera! Thank God! Thank God, it wasn’t you!”

His every word felt like a punch in the gut.

He then marched out with his crossbow in hand, vengeance in his eyes and your heart clenched with fear for your brother’s life. Hiding behind the entrance panels, you watched the scene outside.

The settlement was barren except for the dacoits and a handful of men from the clan out on the field; the rest had scurried into the safe confines of their caravans and tents. Men on horseback, dressed in black robes, had their faces covered in black scarves. They spoke a different tongue but you understood that they sought revenge. A life for a life, they repeated over and over in broken Romani. They menacingly circled Baekhyun with arrows and daggers pointed to his heart. Baekhyun’s stance was alert with his jamdhar in his hand as a majestic black and gold dragon hovered over them, a tattered body dangling from his spine chilling, bloody mouth.

It happened within a matter of seconds - the dacoits lay slain - some with arrows pierced through their chests, some eviscerated into smithereens and the rest crumbled to black dust - the doing of Minseok, Baekhyun, and Yixing respectively.

With one flap of his massive wings, Yixing descended, gracefully landing on his human feet as a man-servant trotted to his aid with a black robe to cover his modesty yet, very little was left to imagination.

“They really thought -”

Before Yixing could complete his sentence, an unconscious Baekhyun collapsed - right in the centre of the bloody chaos. That jamdhar is going to be his undoing, you said to yourself. A girl with dark unruly hair rushed to his side - your fiancé’s side - the sight turning your limbs to ice.

Your heart sank to your stomach but the edges of your mouth curled up in a smile as you met her eyes from a distance with sheer contempt in your own.

A man you didn't recognise, supported by two others on either side, was being ushered into Yixing's private chamber.

You felt a hand against the small of your back. Minseok whispered into your ear, "Dado wants to see you."

***

In the centre of the room slouched a man on a wooden chair, his hands roped together at the back, face bruised and bloodied - evidently the doing of your own brother.

“What’s all this?” You asked the three men surrounding him.

“The bandits left their dog behind,” spat Yixing.

“So? What am I supposed to do?” You directed the question to your father.

“We need to know who he is, where he’s from, and...why we were attacked.” Replied your father, eyes forcefully trained on the unconscious man on the chair.

“You should’ve probably left him with some life in his body to answer your questions.” You said to Minseok indignantly.

“Lys!” Your father was prepared to reprimand you at your insolence in front of Bulibasha.

“Dado - ”

“Lys, just hold his hand and tell us what he’s thinking.” Minseok tried to lighten the tense atmosphere with his calm voice.

“I have better things to do than hold a gadjo’s hand and listen to the filth of his mind. I’ll leave you big and strong men to it.” You sauntered over to your father, the corner of your mouth raised in a smirk. Dusting the lint off of his magnificent black and red woollen cloak that was embroidered along the edges with the finest gold thread, you sang, “I’m nothing more than just a pretty princess, anway.”

“Lys, please!” Cried Minseok.

“What would you have me do, Minseok? Stay here with you all while my fiancé is canoodling with the Bladerunner by the pond?” You retorted.

Yixing shot you a puzzled glance while Minseok and your father averted their eyes.

"It’s known to be their usual hideout.” You half-shrugged at Yixing, your casual tone not doing much to ease the frown lines on his handsome face.

While you were busy squabbling with your family, the man on the chair lifted his head up, rope evidently cut loose with a push dagger, and immediately all four pairs of eyes turned to him. Underneath the caked blood and grime on his face, he flaunted golden skin, luscious lips, and sharp, distinct features. His eyes met yours and crinkled into crescents as his lips curved into a disrespectful smirk.

He gave you a casual two-finger salute goodbye and….vanished.

Breaking into an uncontrollable fit of laughter at the three men caught unawares, you turned on your heels and merrily skipped out of Yixing’s private chamber.

The next morning found you by the river, still trying to wrap your head around the events of yesterday. ‘Thank God it wasn’t you!’ Your brother’s gentle voice rang ominously in your ears. ‘But what if it was?’ you reasoned with yourself, ‘Would it have meant being finally free or trapped in a permanent state of oblivion?’ In tune with your mind, your feet wandered, taking you deeper into the viridian forest.

You stumbled upon something stock-still and landed on your back causing that something to stir and wince in pain as it slowly regained consciousness. You crawled as far away from it as you could only to recognize him by the pleated black cummerband around his waist. The gadjo struggled to hold himself up and flattened to the ground again.

His agony brought you some solace as Vera’s ashen face flashed before your eyes. Laughing, you exclaimed, "So this is how far you managed to get! A stone's throw from Bulibasha's tent."

The man winced again but a smile began to form on his lips. "Wa-water," he breathed but you leisurely rested your back against the trunk of a nearby tree and denied his request with a little shake of your head, “A life for a life, gadjo. Repay your debt. Your people killed my friend.”

“Not- not my doing,” he said throatily and began dragging himself towards the river. He was sculpted like the dancers of a lăutari - long and lean, elegantly broader along the shoulders and chest and enviably slim around the waist.

You offered him no help. Instead, waited with a bated breath for his soul to escape him. But his snail’s pace had started to exasperate you. So you begrudgingly volunteered to bring him water as his dying wish.

“Here you go, gadjo. Seeing the way my brother beat you up, a sip or two of water won’t be of much help, anyway.” You sneered, holding the edge of the cupped leaf to his bruised lips.

As he drank, colour slowly returned to his ghost-white, bloodied face. “Kai,” he said in a voice that was husky and deep.

“What?”

“It’s my name. You’d do well to remember it.” His face lit up with a smile and his eyes found your thick golden anklet bejeweled with iridescent beads. He flicked the bead trinkets with his finger and squeezed his eyes shut as if in admiration of a great symphony.

Before you could even make sense of the situation...of him...he vanished again.

Kai, you mouthed, curled up in bed at midnight.

“Kai,” you said the gadjo’s name out loud, the tips of your fingers tracing the movement of your lips and despite yourself, blood began to warm your face. It had been a week since you met him in the forest but the man had capsized your mind. You inwardly admonished yourself for not killing him when you had the chance - it was the least you could’ve done for Vera - but you couldn’t bring yourself to hurt him.

You saw truth in his innocent yet compelling eyes.

A whirlpool of emotions rose in your chest as you tossed and turned in bed causing a bead of your anklet to tangle with a loose silk thread from your quilt. Groaning, you sat up to undo it, and heard a sudden, loud crack.

Kai had unexpectedly appeared, standing at the foot of your bed. Arms crossed over his chest and head tilted to the side, he smiled down at you.

Returning his smile, you said, “If I scream, there’ll be at least ten men here, in no time, with sharp objects pointed at your throat.”

Gaze intertwined with yours, Kai knelt before you as his deft fingers found the troublesome bead. Smirking, he slowly pushed the quilt out of the way, and you instinctively pulled your skirts down below your knees. His mouth found the loose thread and he bit on it to free you from the restraint as his warm breath fanned your ankle and his soft lips brushed ever so slightly against your skin. As delicate as the touch was, it felt like being imprinted with a blazing hot cast-iron.

“If you truly wanted me dead, you wouldn’t have saved my life. And I’m here to thank you for that,” he smiled, and took the bold step of sitting next to you, on your bed. He then clicked his tongue, fingers ghosting along the curve of your ankle, and piped cockily, “Besides, you know I’d vanish before your sluggish men even manage to get here.”

“You think you’re very brave, gadjo?”

“Maybe. Or maybe I’m just a fool for walking into the lioness’ den.”

His expression suddenly turned solemn. Studying your face intently, he whispered, “I’m sorry about your friend. I didn’t -”

“You didn’t what?” Your heart thumped wildly in your chest in a rather desperate anticipation of his innocence. So you immediately placed your clammy hand upon his trembling, cold one.

His voice grew thick with anguish as he explained, “I didn’t know those men were going to storm your clan. I’d only met them that morning. They said they were traveling south and I - I really had nowhere to go so I joined them without giving it much thought. I was desperate for company.”

His words were very much in line with his thoughts and memories. Images of the dacoits just as you’d seen them that evening, their boisterous banter, their journey towards the settlement, the food and wine and spoils they shared along the way, all flashed before your eyes.

You knew a liar when you saw one - their features were drawn out a bit differently, you’d believed. Baekhyun was a liar. He’d lied when you had asked him if he loved you. But Kai on the other hand…

“At the time you didn’t realize that they were plunderers?” You asked delicately.

“All I understood was that they weren’t men of strong character. But I didn’t care for their morality. I knew I could protect myself if worse came to worst.”

“Why didn’t you simply run...vanish when they besieged my clan?” As hard as you tried, you failed to keep the edge off of your voice.

The pitch of Kai’s voice rose as he continued to explain, “I grew numb...my hands and legs and...mind...I’ve seen war and suffering and I didn’t expect to cross paths with tragedy again so soon. So I - nobody noticed this at the time because of the chaos - but I fought on your side. I tried to save as many as I could.”

You contemplated on his words for a moment without realizing that his fingers were now laced with yours.

“- when my brother found you, you just -”

“I thought I - ,” his voice dropped and lower lip quivered slightly, “ - deserved the punishment.”

Fighting back your tears, you asked, “Why didn’t you explain this to them?”

“Did you see the look on your brother’s face? And the dragon’s? He was breathing fire even in his human form. They were ready to bring me to justice for the crimes I didn’t commit.”

You gave Kai a quick once-over. His face still bore bruises from the beating but his clothes were impeccable. Rich, even. He was dressed in a blue cashmere smock, red velvet pants, and his fingernails were coated in a deep teal. He wore a beaded bracelet on his right wrist that sparkled in the dim lighting of your tent - as did the platinum ring laced with exquisite tiny diamonds on his right hand index finger.

Had the dacoits looted him, they would’ve comfortably lived on the gains from the ring alone for a good part of the year. What was the need for them to tread such a great distance to loot your clan, you wondered.

Yet again, you grew wary of the man before you.

“Why are you telling me all this?” You asked.

“Because I don’t want you to resent me for the death of your friend.”

Swallowing the lump in your throat, you asked defensively, “Why do you care what I think, gadjo?”

“Kai,” he corrected you and placed a chaste kiss on your forehead. Tucking a stray strand of hair behind your ear, he disappeared again.

The scattered morning light filtered through the thicket and descended in brilliant pearls in the unshackled stream of water amidst the medley of the trinkets on your anklet, the ballads of songbirds, and gushing water hitting rubbled mass as you tiptoed deeper into the forest.

A firm grasp balanced you by your arm as you hopped over rocks to cross the stream.

“If I didn’t know any better I’d say you’re tailing me, gadjo.” You teased him.

“Here,” he thrust some peeled almonds in your hand as soon as you got to the other side. Smiling, he said, “eat up. These extraordinary tiny things will help with your poor memory.”

He walked ahead of you, guiding, as you both slipped further into the capricious forest.

“You leave only to come crawling back so soon, Kai?” Although you uttered his name almost derisively, you felt heat rising up your cheeks as it fell from your lips.

“You see? The almonds help.” He stated matter-of-factly.

You merely scoffed in response.

“Aren’t you happy to see me?” He asked, retaining a casual tone.

Letting out a deep sigh, you bombarded him with your well thought out mental list of questions in response. The questions that had plagued your mind since your very first encounter with him.

“Where are you from, gadjo? Don’t you have a home? A... girl waiting for you?” You deliberately held on to his arm on the pretext of steadying yourself ...and his mind drew a blank.

I can’t remember anything before you.

You were about to say something more but then stopped short, retreating until your back hit the trunk of a tree. He followed and halted only at a hair breadth’s distance from you, towering over, as sunlight danced on his skin.

He breathed, “You tell me. Do I?”

“Hmm?” Brows quirked, you stared right back into his eyes as his head continued to lower slowly and you, despite yourself, started going up on the tip of your toes, his hand around your waist holding you steady.

“Do I have a girl,” he whispered, his index finger lifting your chin up, his warm breath tickling your face and his lips ghosting over yours, “waiting for me?”

Your eyelids drooped almost instinctively as the back of his fingers gently caressed the side of your face.

“Kai -”

He chuckled, swiftly scooping you up in his arms. You felt your whole body squint and your ears popped rather painfully. It wasn’t long before Kai’s feet found firm ground in a meadow full of beautiful plume thistles while you stayed burying your face in the crook of his neck, eyes firmly squeezed shut.

He gently put you down but your legs gave out. Feeling squeamish, you berated him, “Warn me the next time, yes?”

He pulled you in a tight embrace, panic betraying his voice, he asked, “Are- are you okay? I’m sorry, I didn’t realize!”

“How do you survive this at all? It’s- it feels terrible! I feel horribly queasy and my spine is trying to claw its way out of my back!” You argued aimlessly.

“One gets used to it.” He said softly as you lay on your back and he lied down next to you.

“Where are we?”

“We’re very close to Cluj-Napoca. Prince Jongin’s would-have-been kingdom.” His vague and casual tone was starting to vex you a little.

“Prince Jongin?” You enquired rather haughtily.

He answered, “Yours truly,” and bent his neck down in a bow.

“You - you’re a prince?”

He turned to face you and you excitedly followed suit. Tracing your jawline with his finger he whispered, “Not anymore. I mean - forget it, it’s a long story.” He sighed and turned his face to the clear blue skies again.

Propping yourself up on your elbows, you urged him to continue, “I have all the time in the world.”

He took a moment to contemplate on your words and then his own before indulging you with a wistful smile on his face, “I turned out to be someone..something nobody expected out of me. More capable than the rightful heir, more popular with the people, more popular within the court, and more popular with the King himself.”

“Hmm...I’ll need a little more than that.”

Kai chuckled, his eyes crinkling into half moons again. “Three months ago, Cluj-Napoca was attacked by the Kingdom of Bucharest. My father - the King - was recovering from an affliction of the nerves at the time. Although I am not much of a fighter myself...well, I wasn’t trained to be one but what I lack in strength, I make up for in agility.. I led the army into battle and we managed to protect our territorial integrity and independence.”

Kai had been continuously fidgeting with the lace on his black tunic while narrating the story of his bravado, leaving you utterly astonished at the duplexity of his personality.

“So what went wrong?” You asked, studying him closely.

“The thing is I am not the King’s legitimate son,” he laughed and continued the story in a slightly higher pitch as if imitating someone, “I was born out of love, says my mother. I’m the son of a concubine.”

“But, if after everything, the King was in your favour then why did you leave?”

“He was toying with the idea of making my half-brother renounce his title. So before matters could get any worse for her son, the Queen asked me to ‘disappear into the night’ as compensation for not driving me to the streets when I was a mere boy.”

Aghast, you enquired, “So you just left?”

He simply shrugged and replied, “I am not built for a life of frivolity and merely keeping up appearances.”

“But what of your mother?”

“She’s not built for a life otherwise than of frivolity and keeping up appearances. Besides, she’s been offered an elevated position within the court by the Queen after my disappearance and she intends on keeping it. And as for my father...well, he thinks I’m a traitor who abandoned his own people. That’s why on the day that your clan was raided...I couldn’t think straight. The war with Bucharest has clearly taken a heavy toll on me...suffering of others is far beyond the level of my tolerance.”

“But what about your subjects? Tell me, how are you so casual about this?”

“You’re the daughter of the richest man in the clan. Why do you want to leave?”

“It’s not the same. Also, how do you know what I want? And- and don’t answer a question with a question. It’s annoying.”

He huddled closer to you and bragged, “It’s all in your eyes.”

“Enough, gadjo, this is not about me.” Your face flamed and your stomach was in knots in anticipation of his answer.

He let out a heavy sigh and replied, “Life is an adventure that is best lived boldly. I can go wherever I want, whenever I like. Why should someone like me bear the stifling burden of a crown when I can be...free.”

True to his character, Kai yet again appeared out of nowhere, took the heavy jute tote out of your hand and asked, “Don’t you have a handmaiden for these things?”

He was dressed entirely in black - dress shirt tucked into fitted trousers - and his face was covered with a sequined veil mask, leaving only his alluring eyes exposed. To say that you were not used to his abrupt appearances would be a gross understatement.

“I’m picking up some specific things for Vera’s mother...also, we’re in the middle of a bazaar, gadjo! You’re growing bolder by the day.”

“Lys, did you forget to take your almonds this morning?”

You scorned, “Do you have a death wish? If my brother sees you here... or the dragon... or..”

“Your precious fiancé?” He teased. “The one who’s..what was it again? Yes, the one who’s busy canoodling with the Bladerunner by the pond?”

Suppressing a grin, you gave him the side-eye and asked, “So you’re different, then? Better than Baekhyun?”

“Vastly! Tremendously! Immensely! Extremely!”

Shaking your head, you shot him an offhanded remark, “I don’t believe you.”

He immediately grabbed you by your wrist and dragged you inside what seemed like a dingy storage room for grains and pulses. Setting the bag down on the floor, he looked you in the eyes and roughly placed your hand on his chest.

”Don’t you think I’m different? Don’t you believe that I’m better? Don’t you understand I can make you happy? Truly happy?” He asked, his heart pulsing against your fingertips.

The overwhelming words you want to say...talk to me comfortably...I’ll listen to you...loosen the boundaries...I’m like you, too.

Eyes glistening, he pleaded, “Fly away with me.”

“No.” You stated plainly while your head and heart hammered wildly at the words he so bravely uttered and the ones he didn’t.

Brows knit together, his face scrunched in comprehension of your answer. “Why not?”

“It makes me squeamish.” You shrugged.

“Stop being funny.”

“You’re being funny. Whatever happened to you wanting to be free?”

“I don’t understand.”

Arms defensively crossed over your chest, you looked away from him and muttered, “You know what I mean -”

“Don’t be ridiculous! I didn’t mean I wanted to be free from you!” Kai’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline as he continued to argue, “Please don’t tell me you’re in love with the idiot you’re engaged to.”

“Of course not! It was just an arrangement to keep his loyalties with the family.”

“Then what is it?” He asked in his softest voice.

“I can hear the words you don't say, gadjo.” You bellowed, nearly throwing him back.

He shushed you before asking in a whisper, “So?”

“Isn’t it terrifying?” You struggled to keep your voice low at his very tempting yet terrifying proposition.

“On the contrary, in fact. I’ve never been good at putting my feelings into words. I say the things I don’t mean and freeze when I’m expected to say something. I’m easily misunderstood, Lys.”

“But everyone has secrets that they’d like to keep...secret. And from where I stand, you’re a man of too many secrets, gadjo.”

“And you’re the woman capable of unveiling them all. Look, I have nothing to hide and I don’t even want to keep anything from you. The rest,” he gulped hard before continuing, “is up to you. Think about it, would you rather be trapped in a loveless marriage? You’re the bravest woman I know, Lys. Don’t try to run away from truth.”

Ever since you’d met Kai, he was all you could think of. With him you felt safe and happy - the two emotions that had eluded you for the longest time. You wouldn’t dare to admit this to yourself but as frightening as it was, you also felt loved. All these years caught in an airless vortex, you felt like you could finally breathe - finally someone wanted you for who you were and not what you pretended to be - but something was still holding you back.

***

Kai’s words kept you up all night.

Eloping with him was a solution to all of your problems but it meant bringing shame to your family. You knew for a fact that you’d never be happy at the cost of their happiness. Sleep and answers eluding you, you scraped your hair up in a bun and threw a shawl over your shoulders to go see your father.

The fragrance of sandalwood mixed with liquor pervaded the air as you knelt beside his sleeping form. Age had started to prominently line his skin yet he looked a lot youthful without a scowl painted across his features. You planted a soft kiss on his forehead and the back of his hand, perennially struggling with your feelings towards him. He was your father, after all, and you couldn’t say that he never loved you. You only wished that he tried to understand you better.

“Dado,” you whispered against his hand, “I love you.” and broke down, sobbing quietly.

Suddenly, his disturbing thoughts came unravelled to you, filling you with unbridled rage and fear.

Fear for Kai’s life.

“You ice-veined monster...” You whispered against his hand before storming out of the tent.

“We have to stop seeing each other, gadjo.” Avoiding Kai’s eyes, you broke it to him as coolly as you could, caging a maelstrom of emotions within you.

“Would you stop calling me that? It’s cold and impersonal.” He took your hand in his as you both continued to trod lightly into the forest.

“And you’d like me to be warm...and personal..with a gadjo.. Because?”

Hurt flashed in his eyes at your remark but at this point you wanted nothing more than to save his life. When you grew to be so protective of Kai, you couldn’t tell but you knew you would do anything to save him from your vicious father. And to be able to do that, you needed him gone for good.

“Because I’m not just anyone. I am...” Breathing heavily, he pinned you to a tree.

Yours, roared his conscience. Unambiguously.

A welcome warmth seeped into your veins but you maintained a stoic demeanour. If he could hear your thoughts he’d take you away...far, far away from this stockade you called home. Tears you’d been trying so hard to hold back, spilled from your eyes as he lowered his mouth to meet yours in a deep kiss.

“We can’t be together, Kai.” Breaking the kiss, you pushed him away and sank to the ground, weeping.

Despite your protests, he carried you in his arms. Smiling, he nodded to gain your attention and trust before yelling, “Three…,” You engaged your core at “Two” and at “One” you felt a familiar uncomfortable knot in the pit of your stomach.

“It’s dark here.” You remarked, while still in the protective comfort of his arms.

“It’s night time in this part of the world, dragă.” He explained putting you down on your feet.

“Oh..you just called me -”

“I’ve been learning your tongue, iubirea mea.”

You were grateful for the darkness as it concealed just how smitten you were. Swiftly changing the subject, you asked, “Where are we?”

“Somewhere far, far away,” said Kai and you heard the smile in his voice, “at the edge of a crater of a volcano. But not to worry, it’s an inactive one.”

“How boring!” You teased, as he carefully sat you down.

A blanket of stars glimmered above as you and Kai cuddled closer to each other, enveloped in a cool breeze.

“Lys,” Kai’s eyes shone brighter than the stars as he turned to face you, “whatever it is, you can tell me. We’ll work it out. My father once said that there is no problem so complex, nor crisis so grave that cannot be satisfactorily resolved within twenty minutes. And twenty minutes is all we have. Right?”

“I have to be back in time for -”

“For lunch, yes.”

“Let me tell you a story,” you said, and Kai lay down, resting his head in your lap.

“Go on,” he urged you, the tip of his index finger meeting your nose in a little pat.

With your hand on his forehead, you narrated, “There was once a couple who married for love, much against the wishes of the Elders of their village. Because of this, the newlyweds were driven out. They wandered for weeks without food and water, travelling far and wide, seeking shelter...and acceptance. One day they found,” you swallowed hard and Kai’s expression turned solemn. He gently caressed your face with his fingers, calming you down to help you continue, “they found us. Our clan, I mean and my father was Clan Leader at the time. The woman had grown fragile and sick and was in an urgent need of care but my father denied them shelter. ‘They’ve been expelled for a good reason,’ he maintained. He lacked the basic human decency to even offer them some food for sustenance. They camped outside the settlement, pleading with anyone and everyone who crossed paths with them...until...until the woman could take it no longer. She died in her sleep and the man vowed to annihilate all those who were responsible for her death - our clan included. The leader of the dacoits who brought you to the clan that day is the man in the story, Kai.”

Brows furrowed, Kai opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out.

“My father - he - he recognized the man the day they stormed our settlement. And after everything, when he found you, it was like he’d struck gold. He was all set to incriminate you because our clan won’t rest until someone’s been punished. But truly - it’s all his fault. Had he not denied them refuge, the man wouldn’t have harboured resentment against us. Now he knows about us. He knows that you come to see me...he’s been keeping a close eye on us to be able to capture you at the right time. It won’t be long before he succeeds, Kai. So you must- I mean, we can’t -,” you huffed, “after all, I’m engaged to be married. Minseok and Yixing are going to pay Baekhyun a visit tomorrow to fix a date for the wedding.”

Biting on his lower lip, Kai contemplated on your words for a while before speaking again. “Seventeen minutes. I have a plan. Do you trust me?” He looked at you with mischief twinking in his deep, dark eyes and a smile teasing the edges of his lips. You replied with a hesitant nod.

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.” You said.

“Anything,” Kai said with a smile. He closed his eyes and placing your hand on his chest.

“You can be anywhere, everywhere and with anyone, yet-”

“Yet?”

“You know what I mean,” your voice trailed off.

“I can be anywhere and everywhere,” said Kai, cupping your face in his hands, “but I want to be by your side. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be. Don’t you see why it makes me upset when you say that we can’t see each other anymore? Don’t you see the irony? You can’t tell me that I can ‘port anywhere, except where I actually want to be. I love you, Lys.”

Looking straight into his eyes you said softly, “Love is a strong word.”

Brows quirked, he enquired, “Does it scare you?”

Your eyes glistened with tears as you responded, “As selfish as it may sound, I don’t want to bring dishonour to my family.”

“You won’t. I promise.”

“But what if your plan fails?”

“It won’t. And if at all it does, I’ll make sure you’re safe and sound. As for me, it’d be an honour to die for love.”

He loosened your fist open and placed a small china jar in your palm. You opened to find almonds in it. He grinned wide, and said, “Fresh ones.. in case you’d run out.”

If you loved Baekhyun you would’ve, without a doubt, stabbed the woman with the same knife that she sat polishing.

For the longest time you’d tried to hate her for being the object of your fiancé’s affections, admire her for her bravery, admonish her for her recklessness for if anyone were to ever find out… but you couldn’t bring yourself to feel anything for or against her.

Pivoting your attention to Kai’s best laid plan, chin up and voice firm, you said to her, “Show me your best blade.”

“What do you need it for?” She asked nonchalantly, entirely focused on the task at hand. Sure you’d grown softer since you’d met Kai but for her to not acknowledge a former Clan Leader’s presence fueled your anger.

You walked over to her and rested your hands on her shoulders, squeezing a little too harshly than you’d intended to. You wished she were thinking about anything other than Baekhyun but you weren’t surprised to find that she wasn’t.

“Lys!” She exclaimed, almost falling out of the little worn out wooden stool. She met your eyes, albeit with great difficulty.

Deliberately curling your lips into your best feature - a sinister smile, you whispered in her ear, “One that is good enough for carving a man’s heart out of his chest,” before tossing a piece of silver in her direction and strutting out with a navaja, a fighting knife.

***

“Do you have it?”

Kai appeared in your tent as you sat leisurely, snacking on peeled almonds.

“Solve a mystery for me. How do you always find me because I’ve never seen you wander in through the entrance panels. You just pop up out of nowhere.”

“We have an important task at hand.” He said, sitting down next to you, bearing the mannerism of an army general.

“No, I need to know. Now.”

Kai groaned at your unpredictable temperament and slapped his thighs.

“Alright, if you must know,” he said in a seductively low voice, leering at you as his nimble fingers drew circles along your foot. He slowly drew your skirts up with his other hand and you immediately smacked it down in protest.

“Fine,” he chimed. Letting out a sigh, he tugged at your anklet, “The sound of this has been burned into my memory. It’s how I find you everytime.”

“How very romantic. What if I were to take it off?” You asked playfully.

He tilted his head to the side, a hint of annoyance on his face. Firmly, he said, “Please, don’t.”

“Alright, alright!” You exclaimed at the sudden shift in his mood. “So what’s next?” You asked.

He removed an unassuming little vial from the pocket of his buckskin waistcoat and said, “This.”

You recognized the design of the vial - the opaque green glass bottle and its mouth closed with a black cork, “A spell?”

“The dragon’s wife is too trusting!” He exclaimed cockily.

“You went to see Bulibasha’s wife -”

“Assuming a disguise, of course!”

“Are you insane?!”

“Does it come as a surprise?”

“What did you tell her?!”

“I told her that this spell is the only way I can be with the one I love. And I wasn’t lying.”

“You really have a death wish, gadjo!”

“Kai!”

It took you a little while to calculate the risks of his audacity. Gaping at him, you finally spoke again, “Tell me what’s next. I have the blade.”

“Excellent.” He held the bottle up to your eye level and explained, “I’m going to sprinkle this on the Bladerunner when she’s on her way back home in the evening and her worst fears will come alive and start gnawing at her. And what do you think is her worst fear?”

“Losing Baekhyun.” You answered in a haughty disdain.

Kai chuckled. “Perfect. You said your brother and the dragon are going to visit your pretty little fiancé tonight? This spell will get the better of the Bladerunner and against her best judgement, she’s bound to go to see Baekhyun around the same time. The two men already have their suspicions about her and to catch her visiting Baekhyun at an ungodly hour will only reinforce their worst fears and this time they’ll not be able to wriggle out of it. Baekhyun and the Bladerunner will definitely be called into the dragon’s spine-chilling, morbid private chamber after that and a decision will be made.”

“What does that mean for us?” You asked, adrenaline making your blood quicken.

“Leave that to me. All you have to do is be there before they pronounce a decision and request a private audience with the dragon and your brother. And remember to,” he grabbed the navaja from your nightstand, its cutting edge reflecting the glint in Kai’s eyes. The corners of his mouth curled up, he quipped innocently, “use this well.”

The day unfolded exactly the way Kai had predicted.

Baekhyun and the Bladerunner had been called into Yixing’s private chamber at dawn. It was too early for the clan to start it’s day so you waited outside the tent just as Kai had instructed, listening closely for the right time to make an entrance. A loud and intense argument ensued between Minseok, Yixing, and Baekhyun - the three men who might as well be sworn brothers.

If you’d never met Kai, you would’ve thought that Baekhyun was being dramatic - fighting tooth and nail to save himself from heartbreak. It was a little selfish, you thought. Hearts mend, your father said to you when you had begged him not to put down your pet goat when she’d injured herself.

“But not without leaving a deep scar,” you muttered to yourself before barging into Bulibasha’s private chamber.

Seeing your father’s arrogant portrait next to the dragon’s in Yixing’s private chamber bolstered your bitterness towards him. Without another thought, you struck the portrait in its right eye with the navaja. That wasn’t what the knife was intended for but it was akin to killing two birds with one stone. As it went flying towards the portrait, it nicked the Bladerunner’s ear since she heroically pushed her lover out of harm’s way.

“Lys! You’ve ruined Father’s portrait!” Your dutiful big brother lambasted you.

Having dressed for the occasion in a red, black, and gold robes, and lips painted in a delicious scarlet, you walked with a deliberate swing in your hips, your dark, waist length hair emulating the movement. You allowed your fingernails to brush the Bladerunner’s arm as you sauntered over for the navaja under eagle-eyed stares.

With the knife in your hand, you came and stood before the Bladerunner, placed a hand on her cheek and whispered, “You have beautiful skin, Bladerunner. I’d hate to ruin it,” as you ran the edge of the navaja along her neck, pressing it just enough to leave her with a superficial cut. You were sure Baekhyun was bound to overreact, and he did.

He pulled you out of the way, standing like a barrier between the woman he loved and the one he tolerated. His firm grasp around your wrist was starting to hurt you but you maintained an unwavering demeanour. Your eyes landed on Baekhyun’s exposed sternum. It had been a while since you saw him without the basil necklace. The necklace was a testament of the promise you made to love and cherish each other forever but it was obviously no more than an accessory to him.

“Hand it over. It never looked good on you, anyway.” You whispered and extended your hand toward him. Without a word, he slapped the necklace into your palm. Your heart hammered widely against your ribs because things were going exactly the way they were supposed to but in your experience it was never a good sign.

You knew what Baekhyun was going to do next. The look in your eyes taunted and teased him until he finally snapped. Baekhyun grabbed the dagger from your hand amidst loud gasps from everyone present.

He’d done it.

One prevalent belief still held by the clan was that taking a knife straight from someone’s hand meant that the relationship between the giver and the recipient had been severed.

Baekhyun had finally severed his relationship with you. Despite the anxiety bubbling in your stomach, you smiled inwardly at Kai’s genius.

“Baekhyun! What have you done?” Yixing’s voice thundered, echoing loudly in everyone’s ears but the enormity of his action was clearly lost on the Baekhyun. He continued to plead, “If the Bladerunner is to be punished, Bulibasha, I deserve a harsher punishment. I don’t care what the Zakono says. You can’t go on acting like she was alone in this!”

Minseok seemed firmly rooted to his place as he shot daggers at Baekhyun, his cat-like eyes disapproving Baekhyun’s out-of-character rebelliousness.

Now’s the time, you thought to yourself before being the one to break the uncomfortable silence. “He seeks her when he’s upset. And even when he’s not.” You turned to bow before Yixing and appealed, “Bulibasha, I would like to request a private audience.”

***

An exhausted Yixing slumped to the floor with his back against his spectacular dragon portrait. Face buried in hands, he groaned, “You young people really know how to complicate matters.”

“I agree,” Minseok joined in the whining while pouring wine into three goblets.

“Yixing, you have to stop acting like we have decades between us. And Minseok, put that down! It’s too early in the day for wine! Tell me what you’d rather have me do. He’s been in love with the Bladerunner forever.” You tried reasoning with them but Minseok only shook his head indignantly at your words.

“Baekhyun can’t do this to us after everything our family’s done for him. We took him in, fed him, clothed him. This is not how he repays us!” Minseok exclaimed.

You couldn’t help but draw parallels between Kai and Baekhyun’s journey so far. While they didn’t have a lot in common, one thing was for sure. They’d forever been treated like outsiders in their own homes.

“Bulibasha -” You turned to plead with Yixing.

“This is a nice switch from Yixing for when you want to reprimand me to Bulibasha for when you need something from me.” Chastised Yixing, tilting his head to the side, expression blank.

Eyes downcast, you mumbled, “I don’t want to go ahead with the wedding.”

“The Lys I know would want revenge. The Lys I know would’ve asked for his head on a spike. And hers, too!” Yixing exclaimed.

“I’m just not the same Lys anymore. The both of you really need to stop trying to control everything and everyone around you. Minseok, you know we have better fighters now and we don’t really need Baekhyun anymore. And you can’t use me to keep him by your side forever. Besides,” you got up to fetch a goblet of wine for yourself, “forgive me but… i need some liquid courage before I -”

“Please don’t tell me you’re serious about the gadjo.” Minseok muttered nonchalantly, with blatant disregard for the surprise his statement had taken you with.

Steadying yourself by tightly gripping the goblet, you asked, “You know about him?!”

“Of course, I do!” Minseok exclaimed, “I mean, we do, Yixing and I both. You thought you’d disappear randomly and nobody would ever find out? The gadjo even procured a spell from the Clan Leader’s wife! It was foolish, if you ask me.”

You offered no further explanation and said instead, “Kai. It’s his name. You’d do well to remember.”

Fuming, Yixing bellowed, “Have you no shame, Lys? His people stormed our clan. We lost no fewer than eight lives that day! You lost Vera! Have you forgotten already?”

With no care in the world, you started to defend Kai, “I haven’t forgotten and I never will. But the monsters who raided us weren’t his people. He was just as surprised by it as we were. Whatever happened is Dado’s fault.”

It was Minseok’s turn to rebuke you, “Lys, I know you love to blame him for everything but this is a serious matter. You’re taking things too far.”

“No, Minseok, it honestly is!”

Minseok and Yixing listened carefully as you revealed to them the secrets your father had been harbouring and how it was his ruse to pin the blame of the raid on Kai. Neither of them spoke for quite some time, trying to assimilate the information you’d just shared with them.

“Lys,” said Yixing calmly, as Minseok sat with his hand over his head, “even if what you say is true, you know the Zakono does not permit you to marry a gadjo.”

“Bulibasha, say that I was snatched...taken...it’s better than saying that I ran away. I can’t bear to be here any longer.” You walked over to where your brother sat, shaken and furious. You took his hands in yours, looked into his eyes and cried, “Minseok, someone like me is not meant to be confined… I want to be out in the world, moving constantly, exploring, unearthing its marvels and wonders, its deepest ...the most well kept secrets, just- just living. I am begging you to let me live!”

“Lys, that’s enough!” Interrupted a new voice, bringing you a sudden surge of relief.

You turned around to find Kai in light-toned pink fitted trousers and a broad cummerbund around his slim waist that accentuated the elegant lines of his body. A relaxed chiffon and lace tunic in the same pale pink shade with flared sleeves that closed around his wrists was tucked into the cummerbund and his ebony hair fell in silken locks over his forehead.

He took confident strides towards Yixing, and stated with a sense of surety in his eyes, “If we wanted, we could’ve disappeared without a trace.”

“Get out, gadjo,” said Minseok in a dangerously low voice, “nobody needs you here.”

“The woman I love does,” answered Kai coldly, “so I will stay until she asks me to leave.”

Anger igniting his momentum, Minseok lunged forward and punched Kai in the chest with all the strength he could muster causing Kai to stumble several feet back.

“Look at him!” Spat Minseok as you rushed to Kai’s aid while he struggled to gain his bearings. “What a weakling! I cannot trust him to protect my little sister.”

Regaining your composure, you said to your brother in a threateningly calm voice, “Minseok...don’t make me say it.”

Minseok turned to you, face scarlet and eyes bloodshot. He demanded, “What is left to be said, Lys?”

Brows furrowed you looked him in the eyes as your heart threatened to leap out of your chest. “Father doesn’t have a lot of years left and... you know how bad it’ll be if word got out we were raided because of his misdeeds...the wrong decisions he made as Clan Leader.”

Minseok laughed darkly and shot you a disgusted look. “You’re right, Lys. You’re clearly not a child anymore. But what would you rather have me do, huh? Disrespect the Zakono? Give you away to a man who abandoned his own people? One who doesn’t have a place to call home?”

“Minseok, that’s enough,” commanded Yixing, causing Minseok to stop at once. Hands on hips, he continued, “Everyone has the right to choose their own destiny. And I’m sure you understand this better than I do, you can’t expect our headstrong Lys to change her mind easily especially when it’s set on something. We’ll let you have your way, Lys. But -” Yixing’s scrutinizing gaze met Kai’s kind eyes.

Yixing reached for the leather coffer which sat in an inconspicuous corner of the tent. You’d been to the private chamber multiple times for various reasons before but you’d never noticed the coffer. He crouched over it, rummaging for something specific. It was a few minutes before he rose to his full height again, a talisman in his hand, his face saying nothing in particular.

He split the talisman in two, fastened one half of it to a black thread and quietly tied it around your neck and gave the other piece to Minseok. The talisman was similar to the one he wore around his wrist. It was very much like a jade stone, flickering in various shades of green as if alive and breathing.

“The talisman will tell us where you are - at all times. It’ll turn red to signal us when you’re in mortal danger. If that is to ever happen, no matter where you are, you know I’ll find to you in no time. And when the light goes out - ” before the mood could turn somber, Yixing continued with a voice heavily laced with pride, “Don’t ever think about taking the talisman off. Well, the truth is, you couldn’t even if you tried. This thread has been strengthened by a number of powerful charms and spells..fashioned by my own wife.”

You responded only with an understanding nod, the realization that you were finally going to have it your way had not sunk in yet. Yixing and Kai shared a look before Kai walked over to him with a grave expression on his face. Yixing drew a dagger out the bandoleer strapped around his thigh and Kai placed his hand on the teakwood desk in the room.

“Make it quick, Bulibasha,” said Kai.

“What’s going on?” You whispered into Minseok’s ear.

Minseok sighed before responding in a clipped tone, “Proof that we fought for you when the gadjo was taking you away as revenge for the death of his dacoit friends. But the gadjo just.. vanished with you and all we managed to get was -”

Your conversation was interrupted by Kai’s muffled cry of pain as he collapsed at Yixing’s feet.

“- a little finger.”

In a state of blind panic, you rushed to be by Kai’s side, struggling to form words. You were aware that Yixing wouldn’t let you go without proof of Kai’s commitment towards you but you never imagined it would come to this.

“Take this,” Yixing held the mouth of a vial to Kai’s lips as he grappled with consciousness. Kai hurriedly gulped down the milk of the poppy which knocked him out almost immediately. While he was asleep, Yixing called for his woman to clean and bandage him.

***

You spent that time sitting next to a sulking Minseok.

Setting aside his pride, Minseok finally asked, “Will you atleast come visit?”

You rested your head on your brother’s shoulder and he instinctively huddled closer to pat it affectionately. “Every full moon, I promise,” you replied softly as a silent tear rolled down your cheek.

He pulled out a heavy drawstring pouch from the inside pocket of his coat and handed it to you saying, “Keep this.”

You shook the purse in your hand until the coins jingled and then reprimanded Minseok, “Kai’s father is King for god’s sake! He can take care of me.”

“But I still want you to have it. I had so many dreams.. the wedding I’d planned for you..” said Minseok as tears sparkled like diamonds in his eyes, “please...keep it.”

You pulled your brother into a tight hug and sobbed, “Take care of yourself, always.”

“You’re a fine one to talk...eloping with a gadjo. Can’t say that I didn’t see this coming. Unconventional to the end, Lys.” He twisted your ear playfully while crying and laughing simultaneously.

“Let those idiots get married, Minseok, and set the fool who broke my heart free.”

“Lys -”

Pouting, you asked, “Won’t you do it for your darling sister?”

“Fine!” Minseok agreed begrudgingly, “Anything else, your highness?”

“Take care of Vera’s mother.”

“You know I already do,” said Minseok, flicking your forehead. “Promise me you’ll come visit? And you’ll always, always take care of yourself?”

You took Minseok’s hand in yours and pressed your lips to his knuckles, as his heart continued to weep.

***

It was nearly noon when Kai finally awoke.

You stood up as he walked over to you with a marked confidence in his demeanour like his little finger wasn’t carved out of his body just a few hours ago. He wrapped his arms around your waist, while Yixing and Minseok watched uncomfortably, and rested his forehead against yours.

With your hand on his chest you asked Kai, “Are you alright?”

“Never been better. You look like a bride, iubirea mea,” he said, holding you closer, tighter as his hands travelled the length of your back.

“Shall we?” He asked, lowering his head to press his lips against yours. He deepened the kiss and you responded with equal fervour as he lifted you off your feet, twirling you in his arms until you felt a familiar, intense drop in your stomach, one you’d soon have to get used to.

‘Cause I’m too wicked I want to take all of your heart Don’t you worry So soon, you have my world

You make me feel so Mm-mhm..

**********************

hello @diveinthebluewithyou this one’s for you...welcome to Romaniverse!! hope you enjoy <3

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yandere-wishes · 4 years

Text

Yandere Teams //Twisted Wonderland x Reader//

The quality of my writing keeps getting worst and worst 🤣

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Malleus + Lilia

Lilia and Malleus are one of the better pairs of yanderes to share a darling. Malleus is so eager to keep his darling locked up, away from everyone, everything. But simultaneously Malleus has a weak spot for Lilia, he looks up to the older fae and desperately wants to gain his approval. He also trusts his judgment, so if Lilia wants to play a little bit "rough" with the darling then Malleus is willing to turn a blind eye. On the other hand, Lilia has a sicker, much more twisted manner of thinking about their situation, the older fae doesn't just see the Darling as his property he also sees Malleus as his now! Yes in Lilia's warped mind both Malleus and the poor darling belong to him and only him.

Life with the two isn't too bad, it's really all a matter of staying on both their good sides. Don't tick off one and expect the other to side with you. Malleus always takes Lilia's side no matter what, in his eyes, the pink and black-haired fae can do no wrong. On the other hand, Lilia just doesn't care. 'Malleus put you under a sleeping curse?' oh well that just how he is. 'Malleus broke your arm when he mistakenly thought you were attempting to escape?' That's just how things are around here better get used to it.

Just sit around like a nice pretty doll and let the two powerful fairies do as they want with you and everything will be okay.

Jade + Floyd

It all started when you made the mistake of asking Jade out on a date. One day when you'd swallowed up enough courage you marched up to your senior and all but begged for a date. To your surprise, Jade had agreed, hesitantly but never the less the "yes" was said. Oh, how happy you had been that day. Rushing back to your dorm room to doll yourself up. Fantasizing about the date as you danced around the room.

But when you actually arrived at the Mostro Lounge somethings off. Jade isn't...well, right. His smile is too big stretching across his cheeks in the most unnatural manner. His eyes have lost their spark, they're dull and dead almost like they're made of silicone. His personality isn't right either, he's too fidgety too hyper. He's all but bouncing off the walls and singing every other word.

When you finally walk over to him, the teal haired teen lounges himself at you, wrapping his arms so tightly around your body that air can't pass through your lungs. It's in that quick-paced breathless moment that you realize your mistake. This isn't Jade, this isn't the sweet charismatic gentleman no..this is his brother Floyd, the one person in NRC that haunts your dreams. The one boy that never goes one day without screaming your name through the hallways and "accidentally" bumping into you.

Try as you might to get out of his grasp and run for the exit, it's all futile. The younger just keeps hugging tighter and tighter until pesky black spots start to float around your sight, the bright lights fade into shimmering orbs as your consciences slowly slips away.

It's later when you wake up that you notice just how grave and hopeless your situation is. The grinning faces of both twins are peering down at you, sharp teeth on full display as they get closer and closer...

These two are the most in sync yanderes you will ever meet. Sure they seem like polar opposites but when it comes to their darling they can agree on practically EVERYTHING.

Now friendly reminder that Floyd is the more aggressive one out of the two. His cold fingers are always trickling over your skin, pinching the flesh as he proclaims how "cute" you are. Jade is the last string of sanity for both you and his brother. He makes sure you are both in line and never go overboard...technically Floyd never goes overboard. Jade is also much more hesitant to hurt their precious darling, he does enjoy how much you need him, but he hates seeing his little "goldfish" (the only fish's name I can write without getting a mini heart attack, yes I hate fish that much XD) in any form of pain. Now both marks are a completely different story, both twins adore marking their darling. Jade prefers to leave "love bites" over your neck and shoulders trailing down to your arms, while Floyd prefers to mark your thighs and torso area.

The twins may not be the most intense yanderes but they aren't very subtle either, just when you're starting to go with the flow they change something to throw you off and send you spiraling down a waterfall of confusion.

Riddle + Chenya Riddle and Chenya are the most contradicting yanderes you'll ever meet. These two can't agree on anything! Riddle usually set rules but Chenya always manages to convince their darling to break them under the pretext that "they won't get punished". Technically he's not telling a complete lie, He won't get punished but you sire will. Riddle is slightly more sympathetic when he's punishing his darling for a broken rule that Chenya convinced them to break. He knows that it's all his childhood friend's fault but he still has to discipline you with the hope that next time you won't listen to that idiot.

Now both these boys are possessive and desperate for any form of affection their beloved will give. Doesn't matter if it's kisses or gentle head pats so long as they can feel their s/o's tender fingers over their flesh. This usually leads to a tug of war between childhood friends. One of them is always trying to strangle your attention away from the other. Wither its Chenya sneaking up behind you and Riddle while you cuddle or Riddle yell and screaming until you and Chenya break apart your kiss and make room for him on the couch.

Overall these two are so chaotic together that sometimes their darling wonders why they even teamed up in the first place...

Leona + Ruggie Leona and Ruggie are actually a very underhanded duo. It's obvious from the start that Leona is pulling the strings. He manipulated Ruggie into helping him, briding the younger boy with the promise of the darling's undying love or food, either one works. It's Ruggie that does the physical kidnapping, it's also Ruggie that has to take care of the darling. Making sure they stay fed, clean, having something to wear after both he and Leona got rather aggressive on some nights. He does all the heavy lifting, while Leona just lays around cuddling the darling before falling asleep.

Leona has multiple ways of keeping both Ruggie and the darling in line. He's always being so considerate, so "caring" constantly showing them in pricey gifts or treating them over the top fancy restaurants. Anything at all no matter how expensive as long as it keeps them compliant.

These two do make a good team, but it's all manipulation and mind games. When the dust settles did either of them really love you? Or was it all a sick game for the two wild beasts?

Divus + Sam

Now Divus and Sam are a rather...odd mix. They don't work very well as a team at first, they're constantly bickering arguing over the smallest things. What their darling will wear, what she'll eat, etc, etc

It gets so bad at one point that Divus and Sam actually start a custody battle over the poor darling. The other teachers are intrigued, playing along for their own amusement. At some point, Lilia - only wanting to see how disastrous it will be- suggests a trial like they do in the movies and because the teachers in NRC are over-glorified children themselves that's exactly what they do!

The jury is made up of the dorm leaders, all reluctant to be there -with the exception of Kalim and a very confused Malleus- Ashton is Divus' lawyer, a horrible one at that. The man has no idea what's going on and is constantly yelling "OBJECTION"! At some point, Azul and Riddle take their gym teacher aside to explain the basic principles of a courtroom to him. He's slightly better after that bringing in students to testify for professor Crewel after he promises them a passing mark in his class that is.

Mozus is surprisingly a great lawyer, he has the perfect "witness", asks all the right questions and is constantly throwing shade at how bad Ashton is at anything that requires a bit of wit.

Crowley is obviously the judge, he's just happy to be there honestly. The poor bird-man's throat is slowly going raw from the number of times he's screamed at Ashton to quite down, at Leona to wake up, at Kalim to sit down, at Vil to stop checking his makeup and at Idia to get off his dame phone! An hour into the "Trial" and he already has his verdict.

That leaves you, the reason this whole catastrophe started. You're seated by the headmaster, dressed up in a glittering white dress, your hair and makeup done as if you were the guest of honor at some banquet. Your hands are threaded with silver handcuffs identical to those used on criminals if anyone with no prior knowledge to these events was to enter they surely would think that you were the criminal on trial here.

Finally Crowley proposes a split. Divus gets the darling from Sunday to Tuesday, while Sam gets her on Thursday until Saturday. With Wednesday being a day in which they both get their beloved. The setup works for a few weeks, almost shy of a whole month but...

It gets too much, neither men can standing being apart from their lover for three whole dame days! It's to vexing, too taxing. So they find another way, actually, it's Sam that turns up one day at Divus' room looking like a kicked puppy and all but begging to see their darling. Feel a tingle of pity Divus lets him in. This ends up becoming a normal thing. Every time Sam has you Divus will show up in his room and visa versa. They get better at sharing, agreeing with one another, one may even say they start to enjoy each other's company as much as their darling's.

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the-mighty-jellybean · 4 years

Text

Rising From The Earth

Series Summary: After months of trying, and several heats, and ruts, Y/N was now beginning her journey on her road to motherhood. All Steve and Bucky wanted to be is supportive and strong for their Omega, but life doesn't always run so smoothly....

Series Warning: a/b/o dynamics (the fun stuff that comes with that) Smut, Accurate Representation of Pregnancy and (eventually) Childbirth, Strong Language (18+ ONLY)

Pairing: Steve Rogers X Reader X Bucky Barnes

Part One// Part Two// Part Three// Part Four// Part Five// Part Six// Part Seven// Part Eight// Part Nine// Part Ten// Part Eleven//

Part Twelve: Important Questions

Chapter Warnings: One Curse Word Right At The End, sorry

Word Count: 2.9K

34 Weeks

“Annnnnd that’s the last box.” Bucky confirms, lifting the now empty cardboard box, upside down, just to double check.

“Wow, who knew we had so much stuff in that tiny room.” you sighed, collapsing onto the couch, Steve joining you, assisting in rubbing your swollen belly.

Bucky leapt over the side, narrowing missing kicking Steve in the head, landing heavily onto the couch, making you and Steve bounce slightly.

“Yeah, who’d of thought it.” Steve agreed, glaring at Bucky a little, who gave him a sheepish smile, and a peck on the lips.

You glanced around your new living room, you were in love with the whole atmosphere of the house. It gave you old wood cabin vibes, especially at the centre of your living room, where there was a large fire place, which Bucky had lit, when the sun began to go down.

As you were looking round the room, your eyes landed on a medium sized box, that was tucked in the corner.

“Oh we missed a box.” you turn to your two Alphas, you turn back to the box, and they follow your gaze.

“We can't possibly have any more boxes to unpack.” Bucky groaned, lulling his head back on the couch, in exhaustion.

“No that’s a gift that I bought for you, baby girl.” Steve smiled, getting up from the couch, and walking to the box, picking it up, and bringing it back to the couch.

“How come she gets gifts?” Bucky jutted his bottom lip out, but Steve just gave him a look of- ‘seriously’. Before you spoke up.

“Ummmm...sorry, but last time I checked, I was growing you two gifts of nature. Consider this your birthday, Christmas, Hanukkah, Easter, and so on, gift for at least...hmmmm...18 years.” You interjected, holding your finger up, in objection.

“You make a point.” Bucky snorts, blowing you a kiss. And you roll your eyes, which earns you a deep intake of breath, but you just point at your belly, and wag your finger in his face.

“A small bit of me is excited for you to have the pups soon, because I can't wait to cuddle them, however; there is another side of me, that can't wait for you to push these little beauties out, so I can pull you over my knee.” Bucky threatened, but you just raised your eyebrows as a challenge, but before Bucky could scold you further, Steve cleared his throat, gaining your attention once again.

“Anyway as I was saying...” Steve looks between the two of you, disappointingly, “...this is a gift for you, darlin. And maybe the pups?” Steve tears the box open, inside is a small pamphlet, that looks like instructions. Underneath the booklet, there appears to be some kind of water proof, flexible plastic.

“What is it?” you still look at the box, completely confused as to what the contents are. Steve hands you the small paper book of instructions.

Now the pamphlet is in your hands, you can see the picture on the front more clearly. It’s a heavily pregnant woman, sitting in what looked like a kiddie pool, whilst there are two people on the outside. One of them a man, who appears to be rubbing the shoulders of the woman. The other is a woman, who has a pair of rubber gloves on.

Despite the picture, there was still no real explanation of what the item was, and so you just looked up at Steve, still perplexed.

Steve, dropped his head a little, a breathy laugh coming from his mouth.

“What, what is it?” Bucky tries, to look into the box, as well as the pamphlet sat in your hands.

“It’s a birthing pool.” Steve finally explained, and the moment of realisation hits you and Bucky, and you can't help but feel a little embarrassed.

“Oh right, thank you. Why?” you fumbled over your words, not really knowing what the correct response for this information would be.

“I thought, considering you like having baths so much, to help with your back and leg cramps, I thought maybe you would want to have our babies in one. Plus I’ve also been reading the pros of having a baby in a birthing pool, and there’s loads of studies on how the water can help keep you relaxed, and I think that’s gonna be one of our top priorities.” Steve summarised, threading his fingers through your hair.

“I agree.” Bucky smiles, taking the pamphlet, that had remained closed in your hands, and flicking through it.

“Why of all the things that I’m going to be going through, is that the top priority?” you questioned, tilting your head.

“Because, honey, you’re our little worry wart.” he pulled you close to him, giving your forehead a kiss.

“Oooo romantic, calling your mate a wart, I feel so flattered.” you sassed, pushing his head away playfully.

“Yeah, but you’re a beautiful little wart.” Bucky joined in, eyes not leaving the pages he was scanning.

“Oh well, thank God.” you exasperate, throwing your hands in the air, before slapping them on your thigh. Steve put his hand on your bump, and one of the twins sent a sharp kicked to the area, Steve pulled his hand away in slight shock.

“See, the pups don't take kindly to you calling their mother a wart.” you rub over your own bump, your pups giving smaller kicks, almost like mini-seals of approval.

“I’m sorry, baby. You’re not a wart, but you are our little worrier. And this might just help in taking that worry away. This pools big enough for all three of us to sit in, so you won't be separated from us, especially as you’ve been extra clingy since you entered your third trimester.” Steve puts his foot in his mouth once again, and once again you throw your hands in the air, in gratitude.

“Great so I’m not just a wart, that worries a lot, I’m a clingy wart, that worries a lot.” you huff, folding your arms over your bump, turning slightly away from Steve and Bucky. Your emotions beginning to get the better of you, causing you to over think.

“Omega, stop being silly.” Bucky warned, shutting the pamphlet, and moving so he was crouched down by your knees. “we love you, little one. Very much. You’re not a wart, but you understand our concerns for you and why, Alpha has bought you this little pool. It is all for your benefit, and so that you feel properly supported.”

Bucky takes your hands, and you let him giving them a squeeze, as you turn to look at him.

“I know, Alpha I’m sorry. I’m just feeling a little overwhelmed.” you mutter, looking down a little. Bucky moves from his crouched position, and makes you and Steve shuffle along, so that he can wedge himself, between you and the couch cushion. Both the Alphas wrap their arms around you, and squeeze you gently.

“You don't need to be overwhelmed, sweetheart. Alpha and I will be with you, every step of the way. We won't leave you once.” Bucky kisses your head, Steve doing the same to your cheek. You took a deep breath, if you were going to ask this question, now was going to be the time to do it.

“Alpha?” you asked, both of them, continue to look at you, acknowledging your call.

“Yes, baby.”

“You know how you said that you could both fit into the pool?” You turn to Steve, who nods.

“Well...would you...” you look to your hands, and begin to pick at your nails, nervous of your own question, “....well would you be able to...you can say no...I mean I’m not gonna force you.”

“Honey, just ask your question. You’re okay.” Bucky soothes, squeezing your thigh a little.

“Well...wouldyoudeliverthebabies.” you stumble out quickly, squeezing your eyes shut.

“What was that, sweetie. Alpha and I don't understand?” Bucky, hooks his finger under your chin, so that you look up at your Alphas.

You take a deep breath, before opening your eyes, and looking between your Alphas.

“I was wonder if you could deliver the pups?” your two Alphas went silent, you could sense the pick up in their heart rates.

“It’s just that...I trust Dr Cho I do, but I’m just not sure if, when the time comes, whether I’ll be able to handle, someone else entering my nest, when they don't smell of you.” you ramble, Steve takes your hand, which make your head snap up, trying to read his facial expression.

His eyes are gentle and calm, and he doesn't appear angry, or disgusted, like you imagined he would.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. We understand where you’re coming from.” Steve reassures you, “we can talk to Dr Cho, and see whether she can help us out.”

~~~~~~~

It was a few days later, and Dr Cho was sweet enough to give you a home visit, for your appointment. Steve had called her in advance, to say that your back and legs were not up to the half a mile walk back to the compound.

“So, I’ll ask the age old question, Y/N. How are you feeling?” Dr Cho beamed, as she prods around your stomach, while you lay on the couch.

“I’ll feel a lot better, when you can stop asking me that question.” you giggle, Dr Cho laughing with you.

“I have a feeling that won't be long. From what I can smell, you’re already starting to nest.” this was true, you had began to leave items of Steve and Bucky’s clothing around the house. Just places you thought you would labor the most; bedroom, living room, bathroom.

“It won't be long until you won't want me in here.” she jokes, but you catch Steve’s eyes, as he rests on the arm of the chair opposite, jutting his eyebrows up, urging you on.

“Err about that Dr Cho, I’ve sort of-well we sort of, have a question to ask you?” you bumble over your words, but calm a little, when you feel the cool metal of Bucky’s hand go on your shoulder.

“We were wondering if you could give me and Steve a little crash course in midwifery?” Bucky spoke bluntly, Dr Cho looked a little bemused, but slowly she began to piece Bucky’s question together.

“Are you asking me to teach you how to deliver these babies?” Dr Cho frankly spoke.

“Yes.” was Steve’s only response, before he lifted himself from his seated position of the couch arm, to meet with Dr Cho in the centre of the room, she stood to meet him.

“Y/N, just thinks she’ll feel too vulnerable, for you to be in the room. And would prefer it if, Bucky and I helped her to deliver.” Steve explained, it looked promising as Dr Cho nodded her head along with Steve’s words.

“I did think you may feel this way.” she gives her insight, “ever since the incident, you three have been inseparable, and I didn't think that something as significant as this is going to be, would be any different.”

“So you’ll show us then?” you look up at Bucky, and he smiles down at you hopefully.

“I will have to caution you; babies are not easy to deliver especially twins, and childbirth isn't a glamorous feet, either.” She warns.

“We understand that, but we’d do anything for, Y/N.” Steve says, as he helps you to sit up. “We want Y/N to be safe, but she needs to be calm, and for that to happen her nest needs to be undisturbed, and that would be broken by you, or Bruce.”

“I understand, Steve. Perhaps, we can make an arrangement, that Bruce and I remain close, but will not enter the house, unless you require it. And we can be on hand, to help deal with the afterbirth.”

“What’s the afterbirth?” Bucky grimaced at the thought, you snorted, but Steve and Dr Cho didn't look overly amused.

“Seems you have a lot of studying to do, James.” Dr Cho chides, as she packs her medical bag up, “if one of you wants to come by the Med-Wing tomorrow, I’ll give you some books that you can read, that can give you the medical and scientific approach, and feel free to message me with any questions.”

“So you think this is a good idea, then?” you ask, her medical opinion, would assist in settling you.

“I do believe, that knowing you as your doctor, and how your temperament can be easily agitated. I would say that having your mates be your midwives would be a much less, hostile and overall less stressful birthing experience for you.” she beams at you, and you nod your head, Her reassurance settling your anxiety.

“Thank you so much, Helen.” Steve says, as he shows her to the door.

~~~~~~~

“Okay I’ve decided, you’re going down the business end, and I’ll work on soothing techniques, becasue this is fucking awful.” Bucky gasped, as he unwillingly turned the page of the biology book, Dr Cho had lent them. They were sat at your kitchen table, Steve had a note book open next to him, as he feverishly wrote notes. Bucky, however; was taking long gulps of his bottle of beer, to help him cope with the images he was seeing.

“Remember Buck, Y/N needs both of us to keep our heads, in that delivery room and like Dr Cho said, you’ll feel different when the time comes. Remember she said that your natural instincts to protect and help Y/N will kick in, and you’ll only be able to focus on that.” Steve reassures him, placing his hand on his, and rubbing over the top.

“I know, I know. But I just think you would do better actually delivering the pups, I mean look at you. You’re such a nerd.” Bucky pinches, Steve’s cheeks as he referenced the countless amounts of books that surrounded the blonde supersoldier.

Steve batted Bucky’s hand away, but couldn't help the smirk that Bucky caused to form on his face.

“Okay. If you think that will be the best option, then that’s what we’ll do.” Bucky’s lips twitch a little bit, and he suddenly looks down at the book, he looked like he was going to say something.

“What is it, hun?” Steve reached, for Bucky’s metal arm, and ran his thumb down the metal plates.

“I’m just scared.” Steve was taken aback by Bucky’s revelation, confused as to why he hadn't said anything before. He pulled his chair closer.

“What do you mean you’re scared?” Steve put his hand on Bucky’s cheek now, and began to gently caress it.

“I’m just scared that I might hurt the babies, or Y/N.” Bucky sighed, his eyes began to wobble a little, as tears began to rim at the bottom of his eyelids.

“Why would you hurt them, Buck?” Steve worried, desperately swiping at Bucky’s cheek, to try and prevent the tears from falling.

“Because of this.” he thumps his metal arm onto the table, it caused the beer bottles, and cutlery that rested on the empty plates, to jump slightly. Steve also flinched a little at the heaviness, and the sound.

“Why would this mean, you’d hurt them.” Steve grabbed Bucky’s arm, and began to tug him towards him. At first Bucky was reluctant, but soon he allowed Steve to pull him into his lap, so he was straddling his waist.

“What if Y/N is squeezing my hand, and I try and squeeze back, and I crush her little hand. Or the twins’ heads are coming out, and I put my hand down there to help, and I end up crushing their skulls.” Bucky wraps his arms around Steve’s neck, and Steve’s hands go to Bucky’s back, rubbing gently.

“Don’t be silly, Buck. You’re overthinking this. You would never hurt, Y/N.”

“But what if I do it by accident, Steve.” Bucky whimpers.

“Honey, I know you won't. But if it makes you feel better, then yes; I will go down the ‘business’ end.” Steve confirms, making Bucky sigh a little in relief. The two sit there for a bit, just in their new little kitchen, holding each other, before they hear the little pitter patter of your tired feet, on the wooden flooring.

You appeared in the doorway rubbing at your eyes, and you swollen belly; there’s a pout on your face, and you’re sniffling a little.

“Hey, what’s the matter, sweetheart?” Bucky gets up from Steve’s lap, and walks over to you. You immediately fall into his arms, and he holds you close.

“I can't sleep without you.” you mumble, into Bucky’s shirt.

“Alright, little one. Let’s get you to bed. Stevie you coming?” Bucky asked, before he began to lead you away.

“I’ll be in, in a bit. I’m just gonna finish reading these few pages.” Steve waves the book at you.

“But I need your cuddles, Alpha.” you fuss, making grabby hands, for the blond.

“I know, baby. I’ll be there in a bit, and give you all the cuddles you need. I just got to finish this last chapter then I’ll be done for the night.” Steve reasons, you huff before you can respond, Bucky’s leading you out the door, and towards your bedroom.

Steve takes another swig of his beer, before beginning to read once more, and scribbled down notes.

A/N: Dr Rogers to the rescue!!

TAGLIST:

@mikariell95 @sexyvixen7 @booboobella01 @rororo06 @vickstaahh @krazykatkay456 @winchester-wifey @nightlygiggles @coonflix @broco8 @animegirlgeeky @amanda-the-fangirl @brunettebabylou @flyaway1221 @frozenhuntress67 @colourforanamee @bisexualbaby2001 @dottirose @captainchrisstan

#alpha!steve #alpha!bucky #original #reader insert #omega!reader #pregnant reader #pregnancy #marvel fanfiction #marvel smut #avengers a/b/o #a/b/o dynamics #steve rogers #steve x reader #steve fic #bucky barnes #bucky fic #bucky x reader #stucky x reader #stucky

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ibelieveinahappilyeverafter · 4 years

Text

Danny Phantom - belief does not make it real (but fear does)

The first of my Patreon drabbles that I wrote last year and am now posting here to my Tumblr! I hope you guys enjoy it and, remember, to check out my Patreon page so you can see more great drabbles like this one year round!

Summary: Danny, Sam, and Tucker decided to test a few common myths to see if there’s anything that really can repel ghosts. Blood blossoms had managed, after all, and they’d rather not be taken off guard again. Some of the items, though, has Danny amused more than worried - at last until he realizes that some stories are true.

Fandom: Danny Phantom

Characters: Danny Fenton | Danny Phantom, Sam Manson, Tucker Foley

Rating: Teen Audiences

Word Count: 2,219

Check out my writing commission information here! Pledge to my Patreon to get exclusive content like this drabble!

⁂

“There’s absolutely no way that this is going to work.” Danny stared at the array of objects on his bed, Sam and Tucker on either side of him with Tucker’s phone still held out in front of his face, screen starting to go dim. “It’s not that I don’t believe in it, it’s just that this is stupid and it’s not going to work. Period.”

“Danny, you know I hate agreeing with Tucker, but he might actually be right for once.” Sam’s serious expression twitched into a smile, Danny trying to keep his stern expression at Tucker’s scoff.

“Thanks, Sam. Thanks a bunch,” Tucker grumbled, waving his phone screen in Danny’s face. “Just read this, okay?” The screen was black due to inactivity. “It seems pretty promising!”

“You literally googled ‘ways to repel a ghost’ and clicked one of the first results. How is that promising?” Danny moved to fall into his computer chair, rolling across the floor and relaxing a bit at the sound of wheels over a wooden floor. When he looked back up, Tucker was sitting on the bed and near drowning in his hoodie of the day and Sam was kicking her feet from where she was on his desk, dress flaring out with the movement. “This is stupid.”

“Yeah, but that’s what you said about your parent’s ghost portal when we were fourteen.” Tucker had a point and Danny hated it. “C’mon, man.”

“He’s got a point,” Sam sighed, kicking at Danny’s chair when he rolled back over. “We didn’t think anything but your parents’ weapons could hurt you, and then that whole blood blossom thing happened.”

“Ugh, thanks for reminding me of that,” Danny shuddered. He was now seventeen and even though that event was years away in the past, he still remembered how much those had hurt. It was almost the same feeling as when he had been stuck in the portal when it had turned on. “You think this stuff is gonna work, though?”

“Won’t know until we try,” Tucker shrugged, picking up a few objects from the pile that had been dumped onto his bed. There were a few pencils and notebooks scattered in there, but Danny had a feeling that was more from the fact Tucker had turned his backpack upside down on his bed. Then again, they could be using homework as a way to ‘repel him.’ It’d probably work. “Okay, first up is protection objects.”

“You’re going to hate this,” Sam ‘whispered.’ Half a second later she caught the object Tucker tossed at her without even looking. There was a reason Danny was afraid of his best friends, sometimes. “Okay, so first we’re going to try crystals.”

“Sam’s gonna do it since she’s the witch.” Tucker ducked the boot that was tossed at him, sticking his tongue out as Sam squirmed around and kicked her other one off, managing to nail Tucker in the knee. “Jesus are those things made of steel?”

“Just the tips,” Sam smiled sweetly, hooking her foot under Danny’s arm and pulling him back over to her. Danny let himself roll across the floor, trying not to laugh as he bumped into Sam’s table, the girl’s feet, covered with bright purple tights, settling in his lap to keep him there. “The website said black tourmaline, so we’re going to try that one, first. I’m also going to try some of my own crystal quartz, though.”

“Are we sure you’re not a witch escaped from Salem or something?” Danny settled back in the path of sunlight that fell over him and his desk, ready to take a nap as his friends got their weird curiosity out of their system. “Alright, hit me with it.”

“Sure.” With that, Sam proceeded to throw what she was holding at him and hit Danny in the middle of his chest with it. Danny caught the stone before it could hit the floor, rolling it around in his hand. The sunlight caught and held in the cracks of the stone, Danny unable to describe it better than a piece of charcoal that didn’t crumble beneath his fingers.

“Can I keep this?” Danny finally asked, Sam pouting while Tucker slumped and mumbled to himself as tapped something on his phone. He was probably making notes that the stones didn’t seem to work against him. “It’s pretty cool.”

“Yeah, yeah, you can keep it. You sure you don’t feel anything, though? Not even an urge to throw it away?” Sam asked, nudging at his stomach with one of her feet. Danny didn’t bother swatting her away, instead fidgeting with the crystal.

“I mean… It doesn’t hurt, but I guess it sort of feels like more than just a rock, maybe?” Danny stared down at it, almost captivated at noticing the sleek sheen the sun brought out in it. Holding it almost reminded him of how it felt moments before he created a shield. “It’s cool.”

“Hm. Let’s try my quartz.” Sam dug under her shirt and tugged out one of her many necklaces, Danny trying not to laugh at the fact Sam was just wearing something that was supposed to repel ghosts. “I’ve had this for almost three years, now, and I cleanse it in moonlight every few weeks.”

“And you’re telling us you didn’t escape from Salem?” Tucker snort laughed, beaming at Sam’s glare and lack of things to throw at him. Danny ignored them and tucked away his own new stone before looking at Sam’s. It was crystal clear and looked almost like glass, a piece of metal wound around it and threading it onto a leather cord. “So, what, you’re going to throw this one at him, too?”

“Yeah, why not?” That was all the warning Danny had before he was scrambling to catch the necklace, eyes widening as he felt something the moment it touched his skin. It took a moment to convince himself not to drop it, Tucker and Sam noticing at once. “Danny? What’s wrong?”

“Dude, you okay? Did the magic crystal thing actually work?” Tucker sounded shocked, which, considering he was behind this, was not reassuring. He had probably done all this because he was bored.

“No, it didn’t- I mean, it’s not hurting or repelling me or anything, really.” Danny swallowed, looking down at the crystal and carefully reaching it back up to Sam, slumping when she took it back. “It felt like it was heavy, I guess. I dunno, it felt like you dropped a ten-pound rock into my hands.”

There were a few beats of silence between them, Tucker finally mumbling a soft little, “Spooky.” It was all it took to send Danny and Sam into a fit of laughter. “Okay, okay, we have a bunch more stuff to get through! Think fast, man!”

Catching the newest torture device tossed at him, Danny laughed at seeing it was a cheap dreamcatcher made of bright pink colors. He didn’t feel anything while holding it beyond a sense of amusement as he fiddled with it, fingers skimming against cheap plastic and cheaper strings.

“I mean, some pretty bad memories are cropping up, but other than that, I think I’m good.” There was a snicker from Sam and a little mutter about capes. Danny ignored her and tossed the dreamcatcher on his desk to give to Jazz later. She’d get a kick out of it, if nothing else.

“Maybe we should be testing these in your ghost form, too,” Sam said, Danny groaning and wiggling away from her before rolling his chair over towards Tucker and the bed.

“That just means this will take even longer, though. Tuck, wouldn’t you rather finish this soon and go play some video games at your place?” Danny grinned as Tucker started to waver before he sighed and slumped, defeat in every inch of his posture.

“We should really check everything in case we run into trouble like this in the future. We need to know what to look out for, man.”

“What’s she got against you?” Danny narrowed his eyes, looking to an evilly grinning Sam, who had her legs crossed. The fact she was wearing a black dress more suited for the daughter of a Disney villain was not helping matters.

“She promised to buy me a new tablet,” Tucker gave in with a completely slump of defeat, Danny rubbing at his back as he ‘glared’ back over at Sam.

“Temptress,” he hissed, trying to keep in his laughter as he let freezing cold energy build up in his chest before it snapped, form spiraling around him and changing him into Phantom. Beneath his now gloved hand, Tucker gave a sharp shiver. “Oh, sorry, man.”

“No big deal, just wasn’t expecting it. Alright, bring out the stones again, Sam!”

As it turned out, there was a bit of a difference between Danny’s ghost form and his human form. The tourmaline actually had him making a shield on instinct and the quartz was heavy enough that he couldn’t even hold it. Once they established that, they went into everything else and Danny learned a few things he hadn’t been expecting to learn.

Holy water, as it turned out, made him feel energized and refreshed and had him flying a few laps around the room, papers and books fluttering in his wake.

Burning sage, however, had him sneezing repeatedly and forced them to open his windows as he tried to stop his eyes from watering.

Sam’s herbs didn’t seem to have any sort of effect, Danny even eating a few to prove that he was fine. They were all relieved when nothing happened beyond a confused tongue due to all the varying tastes because, even Danny could admit, he hadn’t thought that one through.

Praying had ended up with all three of them in a circle on the floor laughing as they prayed to: the Nasty Burger, Lancer’s true or false tests, Sam’s favorite shade of lipstick, and the gaming controller Tucker had been using for the past seven years.

Meditating and cleansing their auras had left Tucker asleep against the bed, Sam in a deep, serene state on his only nice rug, and Danny feeling surprisingly lighter as he floated in the air. Although, it was odd that he found himself messing with his new crystal when they finally opened their eyes after fifteen minutes. They used some water to wake Tucker up, though.

The helpful article step telling them to ‘try and stop believing’ only had them looking at where Danny was floating over the bed and on his back. It had taken them almost half an hour to stop laughing.

“Okay, I got one last thing.” Tucker held up a shaker of salt, Danny unable to stop his snort. “Hey, it’s in Supernatural, so that’s got to mean something!”

“Oh, right, the horrible show that makes no sense, has poor story structure, and is culturally insensitive.” Sam’s words only had Danny laughing again, Tucker looking like his very life had been attacked. “Oh, calm down. You really think salt is going to do something?”

“Tuck, we literally drowned our fries in salt yesterday,” Danny managed past his laughter, floating down to sit beside Tucker, the two knocking into each other from the dip of the bed. “And I’m not anymore dead than I usually am.”

“Aha! We’ve never had you exposed to salt in this form, though!” Tucker held out the salt, Danny snorting and tugging off a glove and then rolling up his sleeve. “I’m just going to pour it straight on there, okay?”

“Sure, since nothing’s going to happen. Hey, think we got some fries downstairs? That would be great with this,” Danny said, beaming when Tucker gave a dry, single laugh while Sam burst into giggles. “Alright, alright, hit me with it.”

“Don’t blame me when this hurts,” Tucker grumbled, trying to hide a smile as he wrapped his fingers around Danny’s wrist to keep his arm steady before tipping the salt shaker over to allow a thin stream of salt to fall.

There was a single moment where Danny was relaxed and at ease because nothing was going to happen, and then it suddenly felt like his arm was being held up against an open flame that burned. It felt like pinpricks of molten fire were sinking down into his flesh and searing him straight down to the bone, squirming and digging their way in to melt everything touched.

By the time Danny realized he wasn’t on fire, he was on the other side of his bedroom and shoved up in a corner on top of some dirty clothes, staring at where Tucker and Sam were watching him with wide, startled eyes. All three looked down to where Danny’s exposed arm was a bright, fiery red in the pattern of small dots that mirrored the specs of salt that had touched him.

“Well, then.” Sam’s voice was as faint as Danny felt. “I guess we figured out something that hurts besides blood blossoms.”

“Yeah.” Danny let go of the gathered cold in his chest, pushing it out slowly and letting his ghost form fade away. When he looked back to his arm, it was smooth and pale, the only pattern visible the small patches of sun freckles. “I guess we did.”

#danny phantom #tucker foley #sam manson #eternal trio #my writing #my patreon #original

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walkerismychoice · 5 years

Text

When I Touch You Like That (Logan X MC)

Book: Ride or Die

Pairing: Logan X MC

Rating: NSFW/18+

Note: This fic was a request from @choicesarehard for her birthday for the prompt: Do you like it when I touch you like that with edging as a component of the fic. I didn’t use the exact phrase, but close to it in various places and tried to keep it as a theme throughout. It is also my entry for Day 1 of Ride or Die Appreciation Week

Word Count: 2302

Logan stretches his arms over his head while lying in bed on a lazy Sunday morning. “Finally, a day all to ourselves. No work, no school, no obligations whatsoever.”

“Pshh.” Gabi rests head on Logan’s shoulder. “I don’t even know what freetime is anymore. What are we going to do with ourselves?”

“Oh, I can think of something.” Logan waggles his eyebrows suggestively.

“Well that’s 30 minutes,” Gabi teases. What about the rest of our day?”

“Hey!” Logan objects. "I think I've already proven, many times, I can keep you occupied much longer than that."

“But you are too good at making me come.” Gabi absentmindedly traces a finger over the contours of Logan’s sculpted torso. “After three or four times, I’m done.”

“Well...” Logan rolls Gabi on top of him, her legs straddling his hips. “Then I’ll just have to take my time with you.” Logan slips his hands under his white t-shirt Gabi has claimed as her own and ghosts his hands up her sides sending shivers down her spine. “I won’t let you come until I’ve explored every inch of you...” He thumbs light circles over her breasts, her nipples forming stiff peaks beneath his electric touch. “...and pushed you close to the edge over and over again.” Logan sits up and peels the t-shirt up and over Gabi’s head. He takes one of her nipples in his mouth, swirling his tongue around the tip before pulling back with a smug grin as Gabi whimpers.

Gabi’s gaze sweeps over Logan and she doesn’t think she’ll every get over how perfect he is. “You’re going to torture me, aren’t you?”

Logan suddenly flips Gabi over in one smooth motion and pins her wrists down.” Only the best kind of torture.” He kisses the sensitive spot behind her ear, and she writhes beneath him. “I think I know you pretty well by now, but I want to know all the places you like to be touched, everything that drives you wild.”

“Um, pretty much anywhere you touch me is my favorite place.”

“We’ll see about that.” Logan kneels beside Gabi and slinks down between her feet. He picks one up, swiping a finger from heel to toe and Gabi squirms.

“That tickles.” Gabi giggles and shakes her foot out of his grasp.

“See? Not everywhere is your favorite. I take it I can cross foot fetish off your list of kinks.”

“You never know, maybe I want to suck your toes,” she replies with a straight face and Logan’s eyes widen. “I’m just kidding, your toes are safe.”

Logan throws his hands up in the air. “No kink shaming from me. If you wanted to suck my toes, I’d let you...but I’m also good with you not doing that.” Logan picks up her foot again and brushes his lips against the inside of her ankle sending an unexpected jolt of pleasure upward towards her core. “How about that.”

“Wow.” Gabi laughs. “Now I get why showing your ankles in the regency era was so risque.”

“I love it when you talk nerdy to me.” Logan continues to plant kisses up her leg, looking up at her through his lashes. “It’s hot.” Logan’s mouth moves up to Gabi’s inner thigh, her whole body tensing as she fists her hands in his hair trying to guide him where she wants him the most. “Uh-uh, it’s much too soon for that.” Logan rolls Gabi onto her stomach and leans down to whisper in her ear. ”You have a whole side of you I haven’t touched at all.” He sweeps her hair over her shoulder, starting at the back of her neck and massaging downward with his fingertips.

“Mmm,” Gabi moans, every bit of her skin alight beneath his touch. His hands glide over the small of her back before he hooks his fingers in the waistband of her panties and slips them off. He works his hands back up her legs and stops on her ass, kneading the tender flesh.

Logan flops back up beside Gabi, kissing her deeply as he dips a hand between her legs. He finds her entrance, and pauses teasingly. “Let’s see how many fingers you like.” He sinks one inside and a soft moan escapes her lips. “Okay, so that’s good, but what about two?” He adds another, pumping them in and out and her moans get louder. With each thrust he his her sweet spot and she feels herself getting closer to the edge.

Without warning, Logan plunges in a third, pushing her walls to the limit and Gabi cries out, “Oh fuck!”

Logan chuckles. “It must be intense if you said ‘fuck.’ Are you good?”

Gabi nods. “More please.”

“As you wish.” Logan pushes back into her, filling her almost too much but just enough. Gabi’s breaths get faster as Logan’s pace increases and she fists the sheets in her hands, on the cusp of finding her release when Logan withdraws his fingers.

Gabi groans. “I was almost there.”

“I know, that’s the point.” Logan smirks before kissing her on the lips again and rolling her onto her back. “I’m nowhere near done with you yet.” He climbs on top of her and sucks on her neck near the dip in her collarbone. He sucks harder, responding to the subtle, unintelligible noises she’s making, and it feels so good she bucks her hips into him as a strangled sound emanates from deep within her.

Seemingly satisfied with her response, Logan continues on down, trailing kisses along her collarbone, and her skin tingles beneath his lips. He cups her breasts in both hands. “Do you like this...” He swipes his thumbs over her nipples again and a thrill runs through her. “...Or this?” He tugs her nipples between his thumb and forefinger sending a sharp jolt of pleasure straight to her core.”

“Umm...both?” It’s like comparing two equally great but very different things.

Logan cocks his head to the side as if he doesn’t believe her, but he keeps going. “Well then then how about this...” He flicks his tongue over one nipple and pleasurable sensations dance across her skin. “...Or this.” He takes the pink bud between his lips and sucks firmly as he twirls his tongue around, and her clit starts throbbing like there’s an invisible thread connecting the two.

“Oh, god...both again.”

“Seriously?” Logan questions.

“It’s hard to explain but there’s a need for all of it. It all feels amazing in different ways.”

“A need, huh?” Logan grins with a wicked gleam in his eye before he descends on her breasts again. He grinds his hips into her as he alternates between a combination of hands and mouth, lips, tongue and teeth, and Gabi’s about ready to explode.

“Ohhhhh, keep going,” she pleads.

Logan abruptly hops off her her. “And that’s my cue to stop.”

“This is no fair, Logan. I want to come,” she whines and Logan just laughs.

“I promise it will be worth waiting for.” Logan lies on his back. “Climb on. I want to taste you.” Gabi does as Logan commands, her knees on either side of his head as she hovers above his mouth. “I love seeing you like this. It’s so sexy.” Not all that long ago, being like this would have made her feel self-conscious, but Logan’s praise and reassurance gives her all the confidence in the world. She lowers herself down, and he grabs the back of her thighs, licking slowly through her folds up to her sensitive nub, trying to make it last. “You taste so fucking good, Gabi.” He continues, swirling and flicking his tongue, sucking on her clit just hard enough, but she still needs more. She grinds on his face, his light stubble prickling her delicate skin and setting her nerve endings on fire. Logan slides his hand up her body, landing on her breasts again, and her entire body is buzzing from everything combined. She braces herself, convinced he’s going to let her go all the way this time, but then he pushes her off.

“Really?” Gabi narrows her eyes at him.

“Don’t tell me you aren’t loving this.” Logan ghosts his fingertips down her arm and she shudders. “See? Your whole body is engaged.”

“Fine, but if I have to endure this torture, you do too.” Gabi removes his boxer briefs and then straddles his legs, scooting down over his knees. She takes his hard length in one hand and cups his balls with the other. She pumps her fist up and down with a loose grip, and Logan hums contentedly. She flicks her wrist as she twists over the head, picking up speed as Logan’s moans and groans get louder and more frequent. Logan pulls her up to kiss him before she pushes him too far, but once his breaths return to a normal rate, she goes back down again with her mouth this time.

“You’re amazing, Gabi. How did you get so good at this?”

“You know I’m a quick study. And it helps to have such a responsive subject.” Gabi takes him in as far as he’ll go, and he whimpers as he hits the back of her throat. Gabi pulls off with a smirk. “See? Just like that.” Gabi keeps going using a combination of her hands and mouth, tasting salty drops of precum, and she knows he’s close again. She tests him, not letting up at all, and he finally pushes her off and onto her back.

“I’m still not finished with you yet.” Logan spreads her knees apart and settles between her legs, his mouth enveloping her sex. His gaze never leaves hers, and there’s nothing hotter than watching how much he enjoys making her feel this incredible. He swipes his fingers through her folds, circling her entrance, and a finger makes its way between her two openings. Gabi’s not sure if he’s testing her or if its inconsequential, but she’s surprised at how much the thought of him touching her there excites her. She shifts her hips, nudging his finger further back.

Logan pauses and picks his head up, circling her rim with the slightest touch. “Is this where you want my finger to go?” he asks and Gabi nods affirmatively. “Okay, I’ll start small, but let me know if you want me to stop.” Logan coats his pinky with her slick wetness before easing the tip into her tight hole. She gasps, feeling an initial sharp burst of pain, but as she relaxes the pain subsides. It’s such a different sensation, she can’t describe it, but the feeling of fullness just seems to make everything else that much more intense. Logan brings his mouth to her most sensitive place again, adding two fingers to fill her other empty space. He reaches his free hand up to her breast and Gabi is overcome with stimulation.

It seems like Logan’s hands and mouth are everywhere on her body all at once. She doesn’t ever want the ecstasy to end, yet she’s yearning to reach her peak. She concentrates on the electrical current running from her head to her toes, inside her veins and across every inch of her skin, like a chain of explosives ready to ignite. She threads her hands into Logan’s hair and adjusts the angle of her hips just so, and then she’s coming harder than she ever has before, fireworks exploding through every part of her as she screams loud enough for all the neighbors to hear. Logan keeps going right through it, and as soon as Gabi thinks she’s coming down, another intense ripple of pleasure alights her body once more. He walls continue to pulse around Logan’s fingers and her body trembles for a ridiculous amount of time. Logan moves next to Gabi and holds her until her body stops shaking.

Logan kisses her hungrily on the lips, reminding her they aren’t done yet. “Are you strong enough to get on your knees for me, or do you need to lie down?”

“I can probably, manage, but I make no promises.” Gabi laughs.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to last long.” Logan kisses her again and then nudges her onto her knees. She sticks her ass in the air and rests her head on a pillow. Logan smooths his hands over her curves and then wastes no more time, aligning his tip with her entrance. He sinks in deep, and she gasps as he fills her completely. He digs his fingers into her fleshy hips, each thrust seemingly harder and faster than the last. He reaches around to rub her clit, but there’s no way she can take anymore, so she grabs his wrist and places his hand back on her hip, Logan taking it as his cue to let go. “You feel too good, Gabi. Fuck!” Logan cries out, shuddering as he finds his release inside her.

Logan rests his head on her shoulder until he catches his breath, and then gathers Gabi in his arms, kissing her sweetly on the lips. "I love you so much, Gabi."

Gabi squeezes her arms around him. "I love you too. And thank you."

"You're welcome, but what for?"

"For always caring about what I want, and making me feel comfortable enough to ask for it. And for always looking at me like I'm the most beautiful thing you've ever seen."

"That's because you are, inside and out." Logan kisses her forehead. "And you do all of that for me too. I'd say we we make a pretty good team."

"We do." Gabi rests her head on Logan's chest and closes her eyes. Lulled by the gentle rise and fall of his chest and the slow, steady rhythm of his heartbeat, she dozes off without a care in the world.

#rodaw #Logan x MC #rod logan #rof #playchoices fanfic #n*fw #ns*w

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kyberphilosopher · 4 years

Text

Adamus: Chapter Three

“Where there is anger, there is always pain underneath.”

Description: Adamus visited by Circe again, but has started to vehemently reject anything but anger...

Chapter Three

“You’re sloppy today,” Keres observes.

I breathe out, pushing my hair out of my face. It’s been parted messily down the middle from all my movement and training, but Keres looks exactly the same. She doesn’t even seem to be out of breath. I’d say it’s infuriating, but somehow I know she’s not doing it on purpose. Her observation isn’t even wrong. I am off today.

I stand straight, my breathing still heavy as I take note of our height difference. She’s- what? Five five? Five four? I’m at least five ten. Probably closer to six foot. And yet, she’s kicked my ass every single sparring session we have. Keres hasn’t even had any proper training! But her technique, oh it’s flawless.

There are seven forms of lightsaber combat. I tend to use form three: the one that concentrates more on defense. It works nicely with my stocky build. Keres uses the seventh form: Juyo. The attacks are agile, random, unblockable, precise. Keres could flip through the air, kicking and slashing at the same time and I would have no choice but to take the final blow. I don’t think she knows this, but the form she practices is used by Sith. Jedi are forbidden from learning it, so we can’t properly defend ourselves against it. I have no idea how she learned this, or why. Part of me really wants to ask, but another part tells me that I may not like the answer I receive.

Keres scans me over for a brief second, then switches off her amber blade. “What are you doing?” I ask, throat slightly dry from exertion. “We got another round don’t we?”

Keres raises her right eyebrow quickly, then returns it back to it’s normal position. “No. I don’t think so.”

“Why not?” I inquire, almost offended. I already know the answer of course, but sometimes I like to ask her questions just to know what her answer is.

“You’re not yourself,” she replies simply. “We’ll just do an extra one tomorrow or something.” Keres turns away, eyes squinting at her lightsabers hilt as her hands dance around it. She sees something on it anyways, and begins vigorously rubbing her thumb over it.

I wanted to ask her if she felt the need to eat fruit right then and there. All I had to do was say ‘fruit?’ and she would’ve given me a sly smile that doubled as some sort of answer.

Jedi are forbidden to form attachments. We are made to be peacekeepers, guardians. We have to put our duties first when they are given to us, and feelings are not supposed to hinder that. I don’t know what’s been washing over me ever since I met Keres, then. It’s like some kind of fascination. An insatiable fascination. How can someone be so shrouded in darkness and still be so balanced? She’s so… I don’t know the words. I just know I want to find them.

“Where did you learn how to do this stuff?” I ask, even though there’s a form of anxiousness growing in the pit of my stomach. Small, but active.

“What stuff?” Keres responds, eyes flitting to me for a second before detaching her double bladed hilt and placing two separate lightsabers on either side of her hips.

“How’d you learn how to fight like that?”

“Oh,” says Keres. “I didn’t learn.”

My eyebrows scrunch together slightly. “Well then how do you know what to do?”

Keres shrugs. “I just leave it up to impulses, really. I don’t know. I just know what to do and when. While that’s happening, I’m thinking.”

“Thinking of what?”

Keres pauses, like she’s about to say something she’s reconsidering. “Thinking of… nothing.” Liar. “Want to get some fruit?” Yes.

I slice my dresser in half with a sharp, cathartic yelp. Even though it’s already destroyed, I don’t stop. I slice again, and again, and again. The dresser is streaked with orange cuts that seem to sizzle from the heat and intensity. Lash marks in warm colors sear into the walls that I’ve grazed. I finally stop for a second, my body shaking with rage and frustration. Then I hack the dresser one more time, followed by a final cut.

“Maker,” her voice drawls after a few seconds. “So that’s what you’re like when you’re upset. I just always imagined you staring angrily at a wall for fifteen minutes or something.”

“Shut up,” I hiss. I don’t mean to snap at her, really. I’m just upset at something concerning her.

“Hey, I’m not even really here,” she says in return. “I’m also not the one who just destroyed an innocent piece of furniture, but alright.”

I close my eyes, turning my lightsaber off and listening to the hum stop itself. Breathe in, breathe out. Just imagine you’re meditating. Breathe.

“You’ve got a nice room.”

Breathe in.

“What kind of books are those?”

Breathe out. “Those are Jedi study texts,” I say calmly. I don’t dare turn around to face this… this imposter.

“The fuck did you get those?”

Breathe. Breathe, Adamus. “I-”

“Why are you even talking back to me? How many times have I told you I’m not here?”

I whip around, ready to yell or something. But she’s right. She’s not there. She never was. I’m sure then that I must be losing my mind.

I roll my eyes, taking a stupid chance. “Why won’t you tell me what you want from me?” My fingers drum nervously against my lightsaber, like I’m anticipating the worst. I feel so dumb for doing this.

Then, a voice in the back of my head grows louder. It fills my ears like she’s right behind me, someone’s breathing tickling my shoulder blades. “You never asked.”

I turn around again. I am met with nothing but air for a second time today, leaving me just as angry and heated as before, if not more.

I don’t know what time it is. I frankly don’t care. I throw myself down onto my bed and shut my eyes tight. I don’t open them for what must be ten minutes, but I’m still not asleep. That makes me upset, too. Maybe, if I do it right, I can hit myself on the back of the head and make myself pass out. I’m sure Circe would certainly do it. He probably wouldn’t ask any questions about it either. I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing.

Go to sleep. I want to sleep. I’m exhausted but I’m not falling asleep.

Then I fall asleep.

In my nightmares, I see her again. She is tormenting my every moment- waking or otherwise. Keres refuses to leave me alone. Like she wants to let me know that this is all my fault and she’s going to haunt me until the day I die.

I don’t even know what the dream is about. All I know is that Keres is there.

I wake up covered in beads of sweat, on the verge of tears. In the darkness of my room where the only light comes from the blue tunnel of hyperspace, I curl myself up into a ball again. Grabbing my hair, my ears- anything, I try to steady myself.

Why did she have to die? It was supposed to be me. I was prepared and ready. She knew that. Was she planning to do this? If so, was she planning before I even told her? Was this just an excuse to kill herself?

A thought pops into my head amidst the agony. A kind of joke. “Now who’s sleeping in a volcano?” I whisper out, mimicking Keres’s sarcastic words. Then I laugh quietly before returning to silent sobs.

I should never have approached Keres back on Endor. I should have just left her alone.

I went on a scouting mission to go see the Empire’s base on the Endor system. I had to decided to leave the normal group of soldiers behind to avoid the risk of casualties. If I had to be captured or hurt on the mission, I would prefer it to only be me. It wasn’t until maybe an hour or so of walking that I encountered the smell of something burning. Curious, I followed it to a small alcove, shrouded by long green vines that had covered the entrance. The embers of a fire were still hot and partially smoking, but dead all together. Several golden fish lay limp on the ground, next to a wide, thin net I assumed they were captured in. There was one fish on the fire that had gone completely black and crisp and burned, and was partially in the process of turning to ash. This explained the bitter smell of something burning.

I could recall learning of certain faunas and natives living on Endor back on Coruscant, so I initially didn’t think much of it. The Ewok’s of the system were likely responsible for this stunt. Later, while I was walking past a glittering river, I thought deeper about it. Ewok’s didn’t dwell in caves. A Gorax, perhaps? No, they stayed in the mountains. They wouldn’t have fit in the cave anyways. It couldn’t have been the work of Dulok’s because they stayed in the swamps. What was going on here?

I decided to go back inside the cave and try out a new skill I had been practicing- psychometry. The act of reaching out through the force to feel the past of something or someone with an attachment to whatever object you’ve focused on. Fir Aro was gifted in this field, and had attempted to get me into it as well. I had done a bit of it before the Purge, but after I couldn’t bring myself to truly start up again. However, a few days before, I had gone through some old Jedi texts I had found and decided to pick up the ancient art again.

So, I used it on the net. At first, I felt nothing at all. I remember creasing my eyebrows together in confusion and concentration before trying again. I memorized the little divots in the rope, how easy it would’ve been to get rope burn, the water trapped in all the threads. After a few seconds, I could begin to feel a trace of both something and someone. It was faint, and then suddenly so overwhelming all the air was stolen from my lungs.

I gasped at the darkness. I could feel anger, hatred, suffering, but no fear. I could feel vengeance, and the sting of sweat and blood hitting my face. I could feel heat from lightsabers coming close to my face. I could feel annoyance and impatience. On top of the negatives, I could feel horrifying things as well. I could feel intelligence like poison and condescendence as sweet as lilies. I could feel the desire of death like a wave and a storm of dark and light flowing through me. The whole image was so unbalanced, the hand on the rope threw itself back and went numb. I knew I had to find this person at once- they had to have been a Sith! Keres Vagor wasn’t a Sith. She was like a Sith.

The Sith had a lot of goals and feelings that Keres shared. Self-preservation, distrust, hatred, and the cunning mindset were just some of these commonalities. This wasn’t her fault, and it was incredibly foolish of me to think so. I wish I could tell her I learned my lesson, even though it’s my fault for not telling her all the times I had the chance.

I don’t know exactly why Keres wasn’t a Sith. I mean, I understood the concept of the rule of two and whatnot, but she had no reason not to align herself with them from my view. They had never done anything to spite her like the Republic and Jedi had. It could’ve been because Keres just never possessed that sick drive for power, or because she simply didn’t care enough to. Was that right? That she didn’t care enough to become a Sith? With all that hatred and guilt, I doubt she would’ve stopped herself simply because she ‘didn’t care’. What held her back?

I should’ve asked when she was alive.

Still, I left the cave then in search of this tormented soul. I thought I found them when I saw the man dressed in black robes and a mask. Aegus, he called himself. He was no Sith, I knew that much at least. He was just affiliated with them- an Inquisitor, maybe? No. That wasn’t quite right. Either way, it didn’t matter what he was, because he wasn’t the one I was looking for. Aegus wasn’t the one who could stop a lightsaber with his bare hands, or make dark sided lightning fall out of his fingers and electrocute everything in the area- Keres was. You should’ve seen me when I watched her catch Aegus’s blade in her palm to protect her from death.

Later, she killed him. I don’t know if it was a mercy kill or not. I only know that it was swift and clean, straight through his chest while he lay on the forest floor. Out of something like fear and disbelief, I immediately fled the scene. In the state she was in, Keres would’ve killed me too if she had noticed me. It was a miracle she hadn’t, given how powerful she appeared in only the span of a few moments.

I decided to confront Keres later on. If I could convince her to join us on our mission, or at least kidnap her for information on the Empire (which I couldn’t tell if she was affiliated with or not). I told Circe to be ready to come pick me up after transmitting him the coordinates, and if something went wrong to be prepared to fire.

The confrontation did not go as smoothly as I’d hoped. I don’t remember exactly what I said to tick the woman off, but I said something that caused her to vehemently attack me. I remember the casual rage in her eyes, the formal realization of ‘I’m fucked’. She was using Juyo with two lightsabers! I wasn’t equipped to fight that. The most I could do was attempt to defend myself with basic, sloppy blocks that kept me on the edge of death. Keres had gotten the upper hand, and if Circe hadn’t intervened, I’m certain she would’ve won the duel.

After that, I don’t remember exactly how long she was out for. A few rotations, maybe? Keres stayed in an extra, much smaller medic room outside the main bay, attended to by Aheka who fawned over her for a few hours in the beginning. I would visit her every so often, not really knowing if she was even alive or if Circe had unwittingly killed her. I noticed the mystery girl was sort of pretty when she slept. She had a nicely angled jaw and a cute button nose with little freckles. Despite the darkness under her eyes, her lashes were long and soft and dark brown. Her lips were colored naturally with the slightest flush of pink.

I should’ve told her she was pretty when she was alive, too.

“Honestly, I expected I would be dead by now,” her voice calls. I turn my head to the side, catching her frame. She leans against the door way to my private bathroom, her face shrouded to keep me from confirming her identity. “Don’t beat yourself up over it.”

Without really knowing why, I reply. “How could I not?” I whisper out, staring at the floor. I tug at the skin on my arms, partially wishing that it would break to punish myself.

She scoffs. “Fine then. Beat yourself up over it. See how much I care.”

I rock myself comfortingly. I’m going fucking crazy.

“You know, if you’re going to be such a bitch, you could at least fucking tell me what I should do,” I seethe. I don’t mean to sound so angry. I guess I just have some frustration built up inside of me somewhere, even though I can’t feel it because I’m numb to everything.

The figure scoffs. “A bitch? That’s a new one. You know, I exist in companionship with your memories of me,” she says. “I’ll give you some advice when you ask properly. I don’t bite.”

That’s a fucking lie. Keres Vagor- if what I’m seeing even is Keres Vagor- was a biter. She may have been good and full of redemption, but she was also full of poison. She was like a beautiful, toxic plant. She’s like a sharp mountain you’re about to fall to your death from. I could easily imagine her biting me so hard, drops of blood would fall from my lips and neck like snippets of rain.

I don’t have anything more to say to this… this entity. I’m just going fucking crazy.

“I feel dead inside too,” the voice says, like a promise. “Dead… outside too, I guess.”

I want to shrivel up into a ball and stop existing. I want to ware away like a raisin in the sun, or leather over the years. “Will it get better?” I wheeze.

There’s silence for a few seconds. Even though, she’s not really there, I desperately hate the thought of her leaving. I want that false sense of security she brings me, even if it is just a trick of my brain. She makes me feel safe.

“Maybe.”

I turn back to look at her again. I can imagine Keres so clearly. When sunlight hits her, her eyes look almost golden. You can notice the different shades of brown, all blending together in her braid that hangs over her shoulder. Her bony hands and her long, cunning fingers dance against her thigh patiently. Little white scars are illuminated in the yellow glow, like lyrics in a poem. I want to memorize every detail of her, and her story, because it’s trapped onto her skin with every scar and scab and freckle. I know no matter how long I could’ve known her, she wouldn’t have told me everything about her. I would have to find it out for myself, like a puzzle.

I fall in love with the golden girl, even though the figure I see is shrouded in darkness and fog and just a figment of my imagination.

A knock on the door takes me from my thoughts. In a flash, Keres vanishes from the room like she wasn’t even there to begin with. Circe walks into the room before I really have the chance to miss her.

“I’ve been thinking,” he says gruffly. Under his Mandalorian helmet, his voice is lower and more robotic, like it was made to make the person underneath seem more intimidating. Hard to believe I was born on the planet that birthed this. “And I know you haven’t been doing a lot of that lately.”

My chest feels sore when I make myself talk. “What?” I wheeze tiredly.

“We’re going to Ilum.”

I perk up immediately. Something in my stomach sparks, which makes me feel alive. But it doesn’t feel good. I feel even more sick than I did a few seconds ago, and I stand at attention because of it. “What- we can’t go there!”

Circe shrugs minimally. “Don’t see why not. Look, Keres was born there. You wanna get over it? I say go and accept it.”

Stupid. That idea, is stupid. I don’t want to go and see Keres’s stuff, or her little hovel. I want her. Her stuff and her hovel isn’t her.

I decide to take a different approach to begin my argument, however. “What about Aheka?” I ask, a drawl in my voice that reveals how ridiculous I feel this whole thing is. “What am I supposed to tell her?”

Circe’s hands drop and he shifts. I can’t see his face under his helmet, but I imagine it’s something between disbelief and accusation. Yeah… hazel eyes wide, brows furrowed, nostrils ready to flare. I can see it. “You mean you didn’t tell her? She doesn’t already know?”

“Of course not.”

Circe’s hands come to his hips as he puffs his chest out in anger. He looks assertive, and I know exactly what he’s trying to pull here. I can’t remember how many times I’d done the same pose to Keres after she said or did something off color to showcase my disappointment.

Circe reaches out to connect his palm with my throat. His fingers wrap around it angrily, not even hard enough to hurt me truly. Only enough to make it feel sore and command my attention roughly. I don’t react much at his angry touch, instead allowing it. I almost welcome it. If he had hurt me, maybe I would’ve felt more alive. Just maybe.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Circe seethes. “Huh? Get a grip of yourself!” He shakes me as he says it, strands of hair bouncing against my forehead. “Huh? You think Keres would’ve wanted you to do this?”

I feel immensely rageful that he would bring up her name. “You wouldn’t do this to her,” I snap.

“No, I wouldn’t. And you know why? It’s because Keres wouldn’t stew in her room moping all day!”

I’m able to connect with the force easier than I expected. It swirls around in my fingertips, through my veins and my muscles and my shoulders. With my right hand emerging palm up, Circe loses his balance and lets go of me. His chest puffs out and he wavers into the air, and when my hand curls into a fist, he slams his back against the wall behind him.

Some old books of mine fall from the shelf. I don’t care. It serves Circe right for touching me, for touching Keres’s memory. I don’t care how close they were. She deserves to be mourned.

The armored man pushes himself up. His calloused plans press against the rough floor, and a strained breath can be heard through his helmet. “You’re fucking serious right now?”

“Shut up,” I warn lowly. “Shut up, or I’ll do it again.”

With Circe on one knee, he looks up at me. I don’t know what his expression under his mask is, whether it’s disappointed or angry or hurt or confused. I don’t really care enough to guess. All I know is that he crossed a line, and it’s silly to think that I did as well. I didn’t.

“Right,” he says finally. “Right.” Slowly and carefully, as he should, he puts one boot behind another. Teetering himself so he’s in front of the door, he continues walking backwards until he’s out of the doorway, and into the hallway. I hold his eyes for a long time while he does it, until finally I use the force to push the button to the door, and slide it closed with a buzz.

Taglist: @omg-we-really-doo @chokemeanakin

#star wars #star wars fanon #star wars story #star wars fanfiction #jedi #sith #gray jedi #lightsaber #writing #fanon #fanfiction

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kendrixtermina · 4 years

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Fic Writer Game

I was tagged by @glorfindel-the-golden <3.

AO3 name: Kendrix

Fandoms: among others, Silmarillion, Doctor Who, Steven Universe, Fire Emblem three houses, Neon Genesis Evangelion

Number of fics: 24 on Ao3 but there’s probably older stuff on older websites. I kind of regret deleting my early teenage products woud’ve been cute to have them for Nostalgia’s sake, like an embarassing baby picture

Fic I spent the most time on: Children of the Prophecy (english) (german) I’ve been at it since before I could have done it in English to begin with. Still want to finish it... eventually. At this rate im gonna do it as an old crone. Still I enjoyed it a lot.

Fic I spent the least time on: Of the ones currently up? This one was a 20 minute feelsvent after finishing the first part of Starcraft II

Longest fic: Children of the Prophecy again. It’s prolly fatter than two Harry Potter books by now

Shortest fic: It would be this attempt at a drabble-like thing

Most hits: Matriarch ( 9780 ), followed by the English Children of the Prophecy ( 2930 )

Most kudos: Matriarch (254), followed by Lady of Hresvelg (88)

Most comment threads: Matriarch again sigh. (255) I sort of ragequit that fandom but I still feel the obligation to finish it. Though on FF net its the english CotP. with 64

Favourite fic I’ve written: I’m fond of Antedilluvium (Doctor who) because I really enjoyed the premise, and this collection of experimental whouffle (doctor x clara) oneshots.

Fic you want to rewrite/expand on: One my first plotfic attempts was an objectively lacking Inuyasha fic called “Naraku’s Angel I and II”. It’s also how I met the girl that would become my best friend through a difficult time of my life, who was also the first person I was properly in love with. (no, really! not that much happened we were early teens. Eventually we grew appart but if I met someone with that level of compatibility with my current life experience I would start saving up for wedding rings asap. ) It wasn’t so good but I think there were enough good unique fantasy ideas in there that it would be worth throwing out the derivative bits and recycling all the original stuff as a fantasy novel.

Share a bit of a WIP or a story idea you’re planning on:

Here’s a preview of the epilogue to MFF, which is currently about 50% done:

“What would bring you to this turbid gloom with the glow of live still clinging to you? Whom would you seek here? Crown-prince Nelyafinwe? Russandol, older brother of six? My mother’s son Maitimo, whom she once counted among her proudest works?

Whichever it is, you will not find him here, here is only Dispossessed and Marred and Crimson-Stained…, Lord of Nowhere, and King of Nothing. The survivors of Doriath have given me the name of half-orc, though even the orcs themselves have begged to differ. I believe that in their speech, I have long been called ‘Hewer’ - that alone still holds true.”

“Actually, I was expecting Makalaure.”

“And I was expecting the void, and darkness everlasting!” croaked the wretched, mournful memory of a once familiar, bleary voice: “Illuvatar himself hath denied it to me!

And before you leave here, you might well think that it is rightly deserved.

You can’t speak to Makalaure. Makalaure is lost. I can’t tell you where he is. No one can.

They say the Silmaril that he bore was cast into the sea, but if that’s where he ended, they have found naught that remains of him yet. Neither of his body, nor of his innermost...

I’m sorry, sister, I can’t tell you where he is...”

One word alone rang in her mind, and stung at the tips of her lips until he was done speaking, and then, in this illusion of swirling murky blackness, did she think that she had at last understood what had befallen, and her wrath was sharp as the desperate harpoon that draws its master back down with it to the deep in the tangles of its rope:

“The Silmaril. Of course. That’s all you cared about wasn’t it?!”

Silent as the bottoms of the sea, she still somehow pelted the walls with cutting accusations, carelessly hurled, as if she had come only to display herself like the fool-fire of an anglerfish’s lure.

“He wanted to go back!” he countered, all white-hot-glaring necessity like a blinding magnesium flame, though it wasn’t his voice and it wasn’t his eyes, or his wild desperation brought on all fours, hair spilling to the ground like molten stone, an urgent star about to blow with a need for her to understand, but not in the least for his own sake, liquid diamonds begging on the ground:

“Makalaure said we should turn back. Turn ourselves in. Surrender to the might of the Valar… but I talked him out of it. If only because I no longer believed that this much was even possible… So we descended on the camp of the Valar, and slew the guards- and then...”

“And then what?” she cried, and her voice bore down like the pressure of the ocean.

“Then we knew our own wretchedness.”

He unfolded the long, sturdy fingers of his hand, like fate unfolded, or the shadows on a sundial, as as the blossom concealed within such martial petals, he showed to her a scar, as a charred fresh burn on the inside of his palm and the lower ends of his fingers.

He didn’t have a palm, or fingers, yet the scar was there, as material as the ancient walls themselves who were built here even before the Two Trees first bloomed, a monolithic, natural monument more than they seemed a feat of craft, and more so than anything else here.

His long-lost right hand was hanging over his knees, though he still favored his left out of sheer habit, all the marks, mars and irregularities that once dotted his arms, face and chest were gone without a trace alongside the flesh he was born with; Nonetheless, this one blemish had somehow remained, like some deeper evil continuously reasserting itself from within.

I hereby chose to desist from poking anyone.

#fanfic #baby tries to art #fanfic meme #fin writer game

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gosecretscribbles · 5 years

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MonthofMaybel2019 Week 4: Mabel’s Guide to Cryptid Families!

So I’ve never done this before, but I wrote it out like a transcript for an actual TV show. Was kind of a fun experience? (although formatting this thing was a nightmare and I couldn’t even copy over most of the formatting here @,@) Anyway I hope you like it!

Also these fics for the month of maybel are linked; it would help to read the one for week 2 about Anansi, but long story short, he’s a spider-person who wants to weave from a society where everybody’s a warrior. He was an outcast, but helping his people win a series of contests against the Mantises meant that he’s not completely shunned anymore.

Okay. *Now* enjoy! INT. DIPPER AND MABEL'S ROOM – DAY

MABEL WEARS A HAND-KNITTED PINK SWEATER WITH FOUR HEARTS ON THE FRONT, EACH WITHIN ANOTHER. MABEL STANDS IN FRONT OF A WALL PAPERED WITH BOY BANDZ POSTERS, PIG PICTURES, AND POSTERS FROM ANTARCTICA. THE CORNER OF A MESSY DRESSER IS ON HER RIGHT, THE EDGE OF A WINDOW ON HER LEFT.

MABEL Families come in many shapes and sizes, sometimes as small as Nana and Liro in Liro and Pugface, sometimes so big you have second-cousins you didn't even know about until you got your inheritance!

Today we're going to take a closer look at some particularly unusual families – CRYPTIDS!!!

SWISH PAN – WINDOW ON MABEL'S LEFT

ANANSI STANDS ON THE WINDOWSILL FACING THE CAMERA. THE BACKYARD IS VISIBLE THROUGH THE WINDOW. A TERMITE MOUND STRUCTURE RISES IN THE FAR CORNER OF THE YARD, TEEMING WITH SPIDER-PEOPLE.

MABEL Please welcome our first guest, a seriously cute member of the Spider-People living in our backyard! And ladies, he's single!

ANANSI (looking nervously at camera) Are you sure that's not an insect? It has a very large black eye.

MABEL So, Anansi! Tell us about your brother!

ANANSI (brightening) Oh! He's one of my people's finest warriors. He can lift over a hundred times his own weight, run for hours without getting tired, and adjust his strategy in the middle of a battle. Even after his legs were injured in the Challenge, many young warriors were seeking him out as a trainer – I could see him teaching them from here.

MABEL What did you guys like to do together?

ANANSI Sparring, mostly! Not that I was ever any good, but he was very patient and kept encouraging me to try again no matter how many times I fell down. And I fell down a lot. He always said that every warrior mattered. But, well...I'm clearly never going to be a warrior now, with the Weaving, so I don't know, but he might be – oh!

SWISH PAN – WINDOW ON WALL TO RIGHT

A SLIGHTLY LARGER SPIDER-PERSON IS CLIMBING OVER THE SILL OF THE WINDOW. HALFWAY UP HIS BODY TENSES THE MOMENT HE NOTICES THE CAMERA.

BROTHER An enemy insect! Hya!

BROTHER HURLS A SLIM OBJECT STRAIGHT AT THE CAMERA LENS. THE BEGINNING OF MABEL'S SHRIEK IS HEARD AS WHAT IS CLEARLY A SPEAR STRIKES THE LENS.

STATIC

CUT TO FIRST WINDOW

ANANSI AND BROTHER STAND ON THE FIRST WINDOW SILL, MOUND STILL IN THE BACKGROUND. ANANSI IS ON THE LEFT AND BROTHER IS ON THE RIGHT. THEY STAND SEVERAL INCHES APART, BOTH SQUARELY FACING THE CAMERA. THERE IS A SLIGHT CRACK IN THE UPPER LEFT CORNER OF THE LENS. ANANSI'S ARMS ARE PULLED IN AND HE FIDGETS SLIGHTLY, CLEARLY NERVOUS. HIS EYES MEET THE CAMERA BUT KEEP FLICKERING AWAY. BROTHER'S ARMS ARE RELAXED, YET HIS POSTURE CONVEYS PREDATORY STRENGTH AND GRACE. HIS GAZE IS STEADY.

BROTHER Are you sure that is not an insect?

MABEL Anansi was just telling us about how you two spent time together! Do you have any embarrassing spiderbro stories to share with us?

BROTHER (stoically) My brother is not an embarrassment. His Weaving allowed us to win back a large portion of our land from the conniving Mantises. Word of his deed has already been sent out to the rest of our people. He will teach a new generation of Weavers and spearhead our victory in reclaiming our ancestral lands. I believe he is a greatly valued and talented Weaver.

MABEL (squeals) AWWWWWW! Anansi is there anything you want to say?!

ANANSI (mumbling) Th-thank you.

BROTHER (grunts)

ANANSI'S FACE IS BRIGHT RED AND HE STARES DOWN AND TO THE SIDE, EQUALLY STUNNED, EMBARRASSED, AND TOUCHED. BROTHER IS STOIC, STILL SQUARELY FACING THE CAMERA. THE TWO STAND SILENTLY FOR SEVERAL SECONDS. SLOWLY BROTHER'S RIGHT ARM STARTS TO RISE. A SPEAR COMES INTO VIEW.

MABEL Wai–

STATIC

EXT. ROOF OF SHACK – DAY

SOOS'S FACE FILLS THE SCREEN, SMILING HAPPILY AGAINST A BACKGROUND OF REDWOOD TREETOPS AND BRIGHT BLUE SKY. SOOS'S FACE IS TOO CLOSE AND HIS ARMS ARE EXTENDED; HE IS HOLDING THE CAMERA. STRANGE CHIRPING NOISES COME FROM OFF SCREEN ON THE LEFT.

MABEL Our second guest comes to us from a certain roof in Gravity Falls, Oregon. Please welcome – Soos!

SOOS Hi, Mr. Pineses! Can I give shoutouts? Is that allowed?

MABEL Absolutely! Can you tell us about the new addition to your family?

SOOS Oh, sure!

CAMERA SWINGS ERRATICALLY AND STOPS ON A MASSIVE NEST SITTING ON THE ROOF. IN THE CENTER OF THE NEST IS A YOUNG PTERODACTYL THE SIZE OF A SEMI TRUCK, CURLED UP AND FAST ASLEEP.

SOOS Tada! We named him Kitten because he chases that little red laser around just like a quarter-ton kitten. Aw, look –

ZOOM IN, FOCUS BLURS, THEN CLEARS ON A CLOSE-UP OF KITTEN'S FACE. ITS FRONT CLAWS SCRABBLE LIGHTLY AGAINST THE NEST. ITS UPPER LIP IS TWITCHING, REVEALING SHARP WHITE TEETH GLISTENING WITH SALIVA, AND ITS EYELIDS OPEN SLIGHTLY TO REVEAL GROTESQUELY ROLLING EYES.

SOOS (Abnormally Loud Stage Whisper) He's dreaming!

MABEL (Abnormally Loud Stage Whisper) How did he end up on the roof?

SOOSOh –

SWISH PAN ERRATICALLY BACK TO CLOSE-UP OF SOOS

SOOS So we think he was learning to fly and crash-landed on the lawn. I got him to hold still long enough to fix his wing, and then we bonded over a housewarming barbeque, and by the time his mom showed up we were basically like brothers! So he sleeps here during the day while his mom hunts and then they go home to the dino mines at night. At least until his wing heals up.

MELODY (Off Screen) Soos! Don't forget to wake up Kitten for his three o' clock snack. And no more gingerbread men! We don't want him getting ideas about the tourists!

SOOS You got it, honey!

LOUD SCREECHING FROM OFF SCREEN

SOOS(grinning)Uh-oh! Sounds like someone heard the word 'snack'! He's so smart.

PAN TO KITTEN, WHO IS CRAWLING AWKWARDLY BUT RAPIDLY OUT OF HIS NEST.

KITTEN SCREECHES AND BITS OFF THE TOP HALF OF THE CHIMNEY.

SOOS Whoops! Those can't be good for his teeth. Put it down, Kitten, go on...

KITTEN (Chirps without letting go of chimney)

MABEL He's like a puppy! ...A really scaly one.

SOOS Doooown...

KITTEN PAUSES.

KITTEN DROPS CHIMNEY.

CHIMNEY CRASHES THROUGH ROOF.

SOOS Good boy, Kitten!

CAMERA ANGLES DOWN TO A MASSIVE PILE OF TURKEY LEGS AT SOOS'S FEET. HIS ARM ENTERS THE SCREEN'S FIELD OF VISION. HE GRABS A CHICKEN LEG AND THROWS IT AT KITTEN WITH A GRUNT. KITTEN'S HEAD SHOOTS OUT TEN FEET AND HE SNAPS IT UP IN ON GULP. KITTEN CHIRPS FOR MORE, THEN SNEEZES SO HARD IT BLOWS THE REST OF THE CHIMNEY AWAY.

ABUELITA (Distant, rapid Spanish)

MELODY Soos!

SOOS I can fix it!

CUT TO INT. DIPPER AND MABEL'S BEDROOM – DAY MABEL IS NOW SITTING ON A ROLLING CHAIR AT A DESK. A CORKBOARD OVER THE DESK IS COVERED IN NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS, MORE POSTCARDS, POST-IT NOTES, AND STRINGS OF RED YARN.

MABEL (Squeezing her cheeks) Aw, that was adorable! Guess I can't say Dipper sneezes like a 'Kitten' anymore! HEY-OOOO!

MABEL STANDS AND MOVES SLIGHTLY TO HER RIGHT, THE CAMERA FOLLOWING HER MOVEMENT.

MABEL And now for the final portion of the episode, please welcome Grunkle Ford, and his extensive knowledge of all things ocean and occult!

A LAPTOP RESTS ON THE DESK. THE SCREEN IS FILLED WITH GREAT-UNCLE FORD'S FACE. THE SLIVERS OF BACKGROUND ON EITHER SIDE SHOW BOAT RAILINGS AGAINST AN AZURE SEA AND SLIGHTLY CLOUDY SKY. A SMALL DARK THREAD OF LAND TRACES THE HORIZON. FORD IS WEARING A LIFE JACKET OVER A RED TURTLENECK AND LOOKS SLIGHTLY SUNBURNED, SMILING DIRECTLY AT THE CAMERA.

FORD Greetings, future scientists!

MABEL Grunkle Ford, what can you tell us about the supernatural families you've found in the Arctic Circle?

FORD Actually most of the cryptids we've discovered on the ocean are solitary by virtue of their size alone. A giant squid, for example, typically requires a hunting ground of one to two thousand square miles of open ocean just to sate its voracious appetite. It's quite rare for them to engage in anything we might call “socializing.”

STAN (Off Screen) Oi!

STAN ENTERS FROM THE LEFT, BENDING OVER TO SQUINT AT THE SCREEN. FORD LEANS BACK SLIGHTLY, ANNOYED.

STAN Did I hear that right? Is my irredeemable nerdbro actually talking about socializing?

FORD It's science, Stanley!

STAN Whatever, this I gotta see.

MABEL We're doing a segment on cryptid families! Got anything to add?

STAN You tell 'em about the ghosts yet?

FORD (Looking uncomfortable) Not yet, but –

MABEL (excitedly) I wanna hear! GHOST, GHOST, GHOST, GHOST –

LOUD BANGING SOUNDS FROM OFF SCREEN. AFTER A CRASH, AN ELBOW AND A PARTIAL VIEW OF AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE APPEARS ON THE SCREEN.

DIPPER I'm here where's the ghost?!

FORD(annoyed)Stan claims to have seen two of them on our visit to Vik i Myrdal.

DIPPER (confused) Huh? Vik what?

FORD A beach on the coast of Iceland, famous for its basaltic sand. We were visiting primarily to study the petrified troll bodies just off the shore –

STAN Yeah yeah with the weird rocks, Ford was doing his science doodles or whatever, but that wasn't the important part. See, there was this massive cave in the cliffs that looked exactly like the place a pirate would hide his treasure –

FORD Not at high tide!

DIPPER What happened?

STAN Uh, turns out the waves around there get really bad.

FORD As in twenty feet high. I turned around, there was no Stan in sight, and cave was already half-flooded with water. Luckily one of us followed the rule about wearing our scuba gear under our clothes. I immediately dropped my equipment and dove in after him. I found him pinned under a pile of rocks several dozen meters into the cave.

MABEL Whoa, are you okay?

STAN (smirking) Fine, I'm not the one who got knocked out.

FORD You shoved me!

STAN The water shoved you! Accidentally! To keep falling rocks from hitting you!

DIPPER But what about the ghosts?

STAN So we're stuck in the cave, right, and I'm trying to hold my breath, swim, and drag Sixer with me all at the same time, and the water's smashing us around so much Ford's underwater flashlight cracks and I'm thinking the next light I'm gonna see is the pearly gates. And then I do see a light, and I swim toward it thinking it's gotta be daylight, but it's not getting any closer and all this fat was not helping me float. And then a second light shows up and takes Sixer's other arm and practically drags us outta there, and next thing you know we were back on the beach, and I look back just in time to see an outline of this guy and his wife watching us from the middle of the air next to the cave.

MABEL Wow, they stuck together and not even death could part them. That is so romantic!

STAN Sure. Woulda grabbed a photo but there was a little matter of Sixer not breathin' at the time.

FORD You should have taken the picture! Thanks to the rocks falling, the end of the tunnel was completely blocked, and I was almost sure I saw fossilized cryptid bones inside. Now we don't have anything at all to prove supernatural activity occurred in the cave!

STAN The words you want are 'Thank you, Stanley, you're the best brother ever.'

FORD Of course you are, that's not the point!

STAN What? Wait –

DIPPER Why were there ghosts there in the first place?

FORD I didn't know enough of the local language to inquire, but I suspect it may have something to do with the cryptid bones I glimpsed. I suspect the couple's death was somehow caused by the cryptid, but Stan's account suggests that they're poltergeists, and poltergeists generally don't die violent deaths.

DIPPER What if the couple was keeping it as a pet? Or maybe they could turn into the cryptid, like selkies? The ghosts Stan saw might just have been their human versions!

FORD Brilliant hypothesis, Dipper! Perhaps I was merely asking the wrong questions! Stan, quick, turn the boat around!

STAN No way, no, you literally died in that cave –

FORD Not permanently! Besides, you'd have my back!

STAN That is so below the belt!

DIPPER Stan, are you crying?

STAN I got sea salt in my eye!

CAMERA PANS TO A CLOSE-UP OF MABEL, WHO IS LOOKING TO THE SIDE, BACK TOWARD THE COMPUTER SCREEN. THE CONVERSATION CONTINUES IN THE BACKGROUND.

MABEL We'll leave them to their nerdery. (Looks directly at camera.) Families don't have to be related, and they don't even have to be the same species. What's important is that you show how much you care for each other, and spend time doing the same things, like getting thrown in a county jail or treating flamingopher bites.

BOTH STANS (Off Screen) That was ONE TIME!

MABELYour family might include close friends, dogs, pet rocks, or that one crow who brings you shiny pennies and half-eaten lollipops. Whatever your family, take a minute today to let them know how much they matter. Thanks for watching Mabel's Guide to Cryptid Families. See you next time! A/N: To my friends on Deep Woods, and a good friend on tumblr...thank you ^u^

#monthofmaybel2019 #week 4 #mabel's guide to #mabel's guide to cryptid families #cryptid families #cryptid #families #dipper #mabel #grunkle stan #grunkle ford #soos #pterodactyl #ghost #anansi #spider-people

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writingandhunting · 5 years

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Cybernetic Touch

A short smut fic between Mirage and my cyborg human Mystique or just M for short. She can access people's memories through touch and frankly she just wanted to know who Mirage was outside the games. For anyone wondering what she sounds like, just look up 'Hi Eddie ' on YouTube and you'll see where I got her voice.

Mirage knew of people joining the games late, those people were just hotshots who couldn't get past the first squad they met. He knew only reasoned legends could really qualify for the games, but as he sits in the dropship waiting for the green light to flash he can't help but watch the newbie stand at the open doors just watching the ocean below. He hadn't even heard them speak let alone see their face because of the old school motorcycle helmet they wore, the looked so…. Calm. Standing there at the doors, the air whistling past them. Mirage tilts his head as he watches them, Octane had said they were known for something big on another outer rim planet but he had never heard of an alien in the games before so he guessed they were human.

It's not until he meets them in skull town that he realizes that they definitely weren't a newbie, having a Mastiff shotgun already and a R-301 to accompany purple armour. Octane was at his side with Caustic tagging along after placing some traps, he puts up one hand as Octane goes to shoot the legend.

“Wait…… something's not right here….”

He says quietly as the legend moves out of one of the many buildings, behind them he can see many purple and blue deathboxes. No wonder they were so decked out, picking off the spoils of others.

“Come on amigo! It's one guy! There's three of us. “

Octane says impatiently jumping on his feet and turning his gun over in his hands repeatedly

“Do you even know what their abilities are? They could be a trap class like Caustic for all we know. Or they could be like wraith with her voices. “

Mirage hisses watching as the legend drops something onto the ground, a flat circle object that fazes out of existence seemingly. They drop four more of those objects at different places before moving a deathbox with a gold item in it to the middle of these things and shooting into the air and hopping atop a building.

What follows next startles all three veteraned legends, a group of stragglers comes into the circular trap and all five of them go off. Launching into the three like jumping spiders, these circular disks look like bear traps with sharp serrated teeth now as they grab onto the three unsuspecting foes. But almost suddenly they all explode, one of the remainder legends starts to try and heal having better shields than the other two but before he could get the heal off the suspected newbie jumps down and pumps a Mastiff round into his chest point blank.

It was a shock that his squad lost the match to another squad, but the solo legend lost to being pinched from multiple sides so he didn't feel so bad. But they did eliminate 10 foes all together, Elliot was working quietly on his halftime job at a bar when he saw them walk in. They looked around and then to him with a soft shake of their head but he smiles to them anyways.

“Well if it isn't the masked assassin! That was a good game today you know, so what can I get you? “

He asks throwing a wash towel over his shoulder and smiling to them charmingly, he couldn't see anything behind the visor of their helmet as they sit down. Besides his own reflection that is. They tap the drink menu quietly, no alcohol. Just a simple cherry milkshake.

“Alright, that all? “

He asks and they simply nod, taking out their wallet and giving him credits for the drink before starting to watch around the bar. As he makes their drink he can't help but feel their gaze on his back and he makes sure to add a simple cherry for them before setting it down for them and sending off a few of his decoys to take his shift for the night.

“So, got a face under that mask? “

He asks them, quiet and just curious. They look up before reaching out to him, he half expects them to hit him bit instead they grab a simple twisty straw from his apron and slide it into their drink.

He lets out a breath he didn't know he had been holding in watching as they slip the straw under their helmet to drink, sipping quietly and watching him apparently.

“Ohhh-kay then….. you don't talk much huh? “

He asks sitting across from them to take his break, they shake their head at his question and let out a soft sigh. They take one of his hands gently, he raises a brow at the action but shudders as a sudden feeling of tingly warmth shoots up his arm, he almost yanks back from them. But as he goes to pull away they hold his hand in both of their own, a soft crooning like noise comes from them.

His head goes fuzzy and he can barely make out the music in the bar, let alone what was happening. He doesn't register when he's pulled out back and pushed against a wall, with this mysterious legend slotted up against him.

'Can I? ‘

They ask quietly tugging at his shirt. Their voice is feminine but sounds so…. Alien, like a vibrating purr in it that goes straight to his gut. He nods quietly not even thinking as their gloved hands slide up his chest taking off his apron and neatly setting it aside, almost suddenly he feels exposed.

'Relax, I won't hurt you. ‘

That voice says as if knowing he was nervous beyond belief and he wants to ask what they mean by that, but as two appendages slide up his legs he yelps and looks down. Black tentacles with white stripes have slithered up his legs, he does start to panic unfortunately and looks at them in fear. More are hovering behind them as they feel his chest and nudge a thigh between his legs, he swallows hard as those hovering tentacles slide all around him. One wraps around his throat and he almost starts to thrash, but as one pushes against his crotch he shudders

“W-w-what are you? “

He asks without thinking, they purr and look up at him through their helmet.

'human, just like you. Just special. ‘

They say sliding his pants off of his hips and ass, squeezing his cheeks affectionately before parting them and something wet is rimming his hole, he gasps and arches against them. Fuck it's been awhile since he's done anything down there.

“W woah woah woah! Easy down there “

He says but groans hoarsely as that tip pushes into him, wiggling like a worm almost as it goes deeper. The liquid it was coated in made it fairly easy but the tingling pain of stretch wasn't as uncomfortable to him as he thought it would be, he whines quietly as his cock is freed and they start to stroke him.

Eventually they have him shaking and grasping at their leather jacket, two tentacles had coiled up inside him and at this point the heat pooling in his gut was welcomed as they pulled in and out of him. He was moaning like a 10 dollar whore at this point, gasping and trembling with each messy thrust into his stretched hole. His jeans weren't even pulled all the way down and yet they were still able to get so deep, as he feels his orgasm rear up he throws his head back against the wall and moans out rather happily shutting his eyes tightly. The legend hums quietly as he cums into their hand, he shakes and his hips twitch as they give his cock head an affectionate rub with their thumb before pulling away.

'the champion…. Easy subdued like this? ‘

They say looking at the cum along their fingers before a tentacle swipes it up and nudges eagerly at his mouth, he obliges and let's it slip inside to fuck his throat. His head is fuzzy and at this point he doesn't care, when that tentacle does pull away he's gasping for air and a long strip of saliva hangs from it and his tongue.

'how fascinating ‘

They say before pulling away and sliding his pants up and tucking him back inside, but they do slide him down the wall gently and start fumbling with their own pants. He watches eagerly, massaging their thighs and grinning up at them.

“So, what're you under all this hm? “

He asks but as he looks down he's greeted with a pair of soft looking folds, they thread their fingers into his curly hair and gently pull his mouth to them. He shifts his position to fully eat them out, groaning happily as they pull his hair and sigh quietly.

Through the five minutes he's been eating at them he doesn't get a single noise out besides sighs and steady breathing, he has resorted to fingering them at this point to earn some sort of noise. But nothing comes much to his disappointment, but a soft hump against his mouth makes him grin and nose at them gently. That does earn him a soft quiet moan, and a single appreciative pull to his hair.

'you men….. so eager for ego. ‘

They say quietly, looking down at him, he looks up and can see purple glowing eyes behind the visor of their helmet. He freezes at that for a moment, grasping their thighs and pulling them closer to his mouth. Sloppily eating them out now to simply please them, or her that is.

It takes almost an hour for them to cum, giving a soft tremble and their hands grab at his head gently.

'good boy….. so good ‘

They say quiet and gentle as they pull away from him.

'thank you for giving me the information I need. ‘

And with that they leave him there sitting on the ground panting and wondering what he had just done.

#apex mirage #apex legends #my ocs!#my oc stuff

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ciathyzareposts · 5 years

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Game 334: Bokosuka Wars (1983)

Bokosuka Wars

Japan

ASCII (developer and publisher)

Released in 1983 for Sharp X1; 1984 for MSX and PC-88; 1985 for FM-7, PC-6001, PC-98, and NES

Date Started: 25 June 2019

Date Finished: 28 June 2019

Total Hours: 6 Difficulty: Hard (4/5), but would probably go down to 3/5 with more experience Final Rating: (to come later) Ranking at time of posting: (to come later)

Well, I did it. I downloaded a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) emulator–Nestopia–and I gave it a shot. It was easier than I expected. I was the thinking that the NES had a directional pad and an analog stick, but I guess that came with later consoles. The original NES controller is little more than a joystick (albeit one that made it harder to move diagonally) with two buttons. Easy to emulate, easy to remember.

Bokosuka Wars was on no one’s list of “must play” console RPGs, but I figured I’d give it a try anyway. It’s the earliest Japanese game on my list that had a western release and the earliest Japanese console game, beating several 1986 titles by a month or so. That it’s not actually an RPG by my definitions (no inventory) shouldn’t bother us too much. It was an easy step into this sub-genre.

A common screen, probably responsible for a lot of the hate the game receives.

The game is an “afternoon RPG,” as any console must be until saving was possible. The setup is simple. You are King Suren, and your country has been overthrown by the evil King Ogreth of the Basam Empire (Ogreth is called “Dragonet” in the original Japanese versions). Ogreth has used his magic to turn all your knights and soldiers into rocks and trees and cacti. You embark on a mission to reclaim your throne. You start 600 meters to the east of King Ogreth’s throne room and slowly make your way left down the battlefield, fighting his forces as you go.

The king starts alone, with 595 steps to his evil counterpart.

You’re not alone in this endeavor. Along the way, you can rescue many of your knights and soldiers. (In the Japanese PC versions, Suren starts with many of his warriors already activated, but in the NES version, he starts alone.) Some are inanimate objects, but they’re revived if you touch them. Others are kept in stockades and must be rescued. Either way, you slowly build (and, just as fast, lose) an army. Eventually, if you survive, you reach Ogreth’s throne room and throw your remaining forces at him, including King Suren if necessary. If any of your units defeat Ogreth, you win the game.

King Suren turns a tree into a knight.

The problem is that you can revive and rescue only 50 warriors (about 15 knights and 35 soldiers), and opposing you are 180 enemies: guards, mages, warriors, and pages. Some of them can be avoided, but most must be fought. Characters move around the battlefield in real-time, but this is in no way an “action RPG.” As frenzied as the game looks, no part of your success depends on your speed with the controller, particularly since enemies cannot attack you and combats are resolved statistically.

The game’s strategy lies in who fights what enemies, and in what circumstances. Your one huge advantage is that enemies can never initiate combat. They can block your way, but combat only begins when you decide to move Suren or one of his warriors to the enemy’s square. Thus, you can almost always choose who fights.

Combat is a probability test that pits your character’s power against the enemy’s, but with a heavy random component. If the die rolls go in your favor, you win; if not, you die. If the character fighting on your side was King Suren, and he dies, the game is over. Winning and losing is completely binary; there are no hit points in the game, so one character can’t “weaken” an enemy for the next character.

My king battles a “summoner” in the middle of his spirits. Since my king has 320 power and the summoner only has 50, I’m relatively confident. During battle , the tile flashes between crossed swords and “B.” I’m not sure what the “B” means, but it doesn’t have anything to do with the “B” button on the controller. Maybe it means “Bokosuka.”

If you win, the winning unit gets an increase in power–sometimes substantial. For instance, soldiers start at a power of 30 and rise to 40 and 50 with their first two victories. But if they achieve a third victory, they change color and rise to 140. Knights do the same thing, with the progression going 150, 160, 170 and then jumping to 260 on the third victory.

Note that one of my knights and one soldier have “gone gold,” making them more powerful than their counterparts. A knight is needed to bust through the shield around the stockade.

King Suren himself starts at 220 and maxes at 320; soldiers and knights max at 310. Throughout the game, you have to keep making the decision about whether to throw your more powerful figures into combat, thus risking them, or try to build up weaker units. There’s no easy answer. And occasionally even the most disproportionate combats can go wrong. I saw plenty of knights at 310 power killed by enemies at 10 power.

Enemy and ally unit powers. This is from the Sharp X1 version. NES players had to read the manual.

There are a few other tactical considerations. Regular soldiers (for some reason) knock enemy guards from 100 power to 10 power when they engage in combat. Knights are the only units that can break the walls of stockades, so you want to keep at least one around. You need soldiers to disarm traps (which don’t appear until after your first victory). Only the king can trigger special squares that remove the walls blocking “summoners,” who then summon a bunch of spirits (which don’t count against the enemy’s total) until you kill the summoners.

Every once in a while, the king runs out of soldiers and stands alone.

I suspect the game would be “easy” for those with a lot of patience. One key problem is the movement of your forces. By default everyone moves together when you press the directional pad; if they’re up against an obstacle, they just stay in place. You can toggle so that you’re only selecting one type of unit at a time (i.e., the king, all soldiers, or all knights), but it’s still tough to move them in unison, and I probably left more allies stuck on obstacles behind me than I lost in combat. This problem is the source of a lot of modern complaints about the game, I later found, but I think it added somewhat to the game’s strategy. When you have a lot of units in your army, you have to be careful about every move, noting who is going to end up in what square, and thus what units will find themselves in combat. A player who develops a huge army is handicapped by having to more carefully manage its movement. I can’t claim that I exactly “enjoyed” such a gameplay element, but that doesn’t make it inherently bad.

Moving through terrain like this is easier when you only control one unit “type” at a time.

You don’t have to fight every battle. In fact, there’s a good argument to be made in fighting as few as possible, thus reaching the end of the game with as many forces as possible. On the other hand, it helps if those forces have gained a lot of experience along the way, so you don’t want to eschew every combat. It’s a tough call.

Having broken a bunch of soldiers out of a stockade, now approaching a phalanx of guards. To get the soldiers out of their building, I’m going to have to move everybody back and up a few spaces.

You eventually reach a point where you have to thread a narrow hallway to get to the throne room, which features a number of unavoidable battles with “killers” with 250 power. Even though you might have more than 300 power at this point, the killers seem to win more than half the time. The same is true for King Ogreth himself, who only has 250 power but seems to beat 300+-power allies at least three-quarters of the time. So whether you win or lose upon reaching the end is largely a matter of whether you have enough allies to overwhelm the probabilities of losing individual combats. You definitely don’t want it to come down to King Ogreth vs. King Suren.

Reaching the final throne room. Looks like I’ll have to take out a summoner before engaging the king. I only have three (promoted) units with me, but there are 10 more somewhere behind me if I didn’t want to risk Suren in the final battle.

A good opening strategy is to have Suren fight all the combats until he gets to his maximum power of 320. If he’s going to die, better it happens in the opening few minutes than hundreds of meters down the battlefield. After that, I tended to prioritize building weaker units than risking more experienced ones. That had the effect of keeping my numbers small but my individual units powerful. However, I’m sure there are several strategies that would work. I’m sure it’s possible to have King Suren charge down the battlefield alone, fighting only the necessary combats (i.e., when an enemy is blocking you and there’s nowhere to go), and make it all the way to the end. I tried it and made it to about the 300-yard line–halfway through the game–before I was overwhelmed by a group of knights and ultimately killed. Some other player makes that strategy work in this video, winning the game in just under 5 minutes, but there’s a note that the session somehow “manipulates luck,” so I’m not sure if it’s an honest win.

A winning game takes about an hour, taking modest care, and perhaps two hours being extra careful. If you win you get a nice screen and then an invitation to try again. Small squares in the upper-right corner keep track of your victories. The only thing different about subsequent loops is that they feature traps that kill you instantly unless a soldier walks over them. Apparently, you face more traps the more previous victories you have under your belt.

An angry King Suren chases his enemies off screen.

The game scores poorly as an RPG, getting only 15 points on the GIMLET, nothing rating higher than a 2, with 0s in economy and equipment. Nonetheless, it was enjoyable for a few hours as I tried to figure out the right strategies, watched the odometer count down my distance to Ogreth, and held my breath every time Suren entered combat. I lost 8 times–twice in the last 100 meters–and I suppose I would feel differently about the game if that had continued much longer.

The box captures the somewhat linear nature of the game.

Given my generally positive feelings, I was surprised when I started doing my post-game research and saw Bokosuka Wars repeatedly referred to as the worst game ever made for the NES, with multiple sites calling it completely impossible. Granted, PC games were significantly ahead of the experience that Bokosuka Wars could provide, but even console-only players seem to love to trash this title. I suspect what’s happening here is that RPG-oriented players want their success determined by statistics that they can manage, and arcade-oriented players want their fate decided by their own dexterity. A game that’s so heavily based on random probability serves neither group. Nonetheless, I had fun with it. It showed me an approach to gameplay I haven’t experienced before. I wouldn’t want every game to take its mechanics from Bokosuka Wars, but as a one time experience, it was fine.

(Believe me, I appreciate the irony of me, who never heard of this game two weeks ago, who resisted the console sub-genre for a decade, suddenly mounting an impassioned defense of the first console RPG that I played.)

The Sharp XI version starts the king with a large army.

As poorly as the game was apparently received, it is credited in many sources in laying the foundations for the tactical RPG genre in Japan. I’ll reserve judgement on that until I actual play more tactical RPGs. In a funny footnote, Bokosuka Wars II was released for the PlayStation 4 in 2017. (There’s a so-called sequel called New Bokosuka Wars for the Sharp X1 alone in 1984, but I really think it’s just another version of the original game.) That gap of 33 years must be one of the longest between an original game and its sequel in gaming history, although Bethesda seems determined to beat it.

I’m disappointed that the game didn’t explain what bokosuka meant. Does anyone know? Googling provides mostly this game and a VR game called Bokosuka Girls. I’m trying to think what adjective could apply to both wars and buxom women and I’m coming up short.

source http://reposts.ciathyza.com/game-334-bokosuka-wars-1983/

#retro games #dos games #retro #crpg #adventure #amiga #oldcomputers #8bit #16bit #blog #repost

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moralesbynature-blog · 5 years

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Wake Up!!

‘Aahhh’, I awake in a sweaty panic. Breathing fast and heavy, I look over at my alarm clock on my nightstand, two hours before it would've gone off. What am I supposed to do now? There is no way I can get back to sleep, not after the nightmare I just had. I sit up on the edge of my bed, trying to calm my heart and catch my breath, before I start my normal morning routine. ‘Damn, that was some crazy dream’, I say as I force myself up to get the day started. I drag my still sleepy and trembling body all across my small studio apartment, stopping first at the bathroom, and then the kitchen slash living room. I open the fridge and immediately remember that thing I tried to force myself to remember yesterday before coming home for the night. ‘You idiot,’ I grumbled out loud, as I closed my empty fridge. I guess I can go out for breakfast, it has been such a long time since I have treated myself, and besides I have plenty of spare time now. A quick Google search of the nearest open diner, and I was on my way. Only a quick 15 minute bike ride and I'll be deep in pancake heaven, and hopefully the horrible dream, no terrifying nightmare would be well behind me.

The city seemed so different this early in the morning, there's no traffic, car or foot. Except for the waitress, a cook and some old guy, the diner was completely empty. I don't know if it was because of my nightmare or not but, this guy was really giving me a weird vibe. His head was tilted a bit but, I can tell he was staring at me. Even through his thick black sunglasses, I felt his gaze. The waitress came by and placed a glass of ice water on the table, before asking me if I needed more time with the menu. I smiled at her and said no, I can order now. She flipped to what I believe to be a new page in her order booklet. I found it weird as to how many pages she had to go through. Could it've really been that busy this early in the morning, or does she not bother to waste time ripping out the pages. I didn't realise how much time I was wasting wondering about something so trivial, until the sounds of the waitress clearing her throat filled my ears. I looked up at her and smile, ‘sorry’, I pushed out as she smiled politely and ready herself to take my order. ‘Three pancakes, four strips of bacon, two over medium eggs and crispy hashbrowns’, my all time favorite meal, I figured I deserved it after that hellish dream. After she finished taking my order, she grabbed the menu and walked away. I looked around, and found myself in awe. From the outside looking in, you wouldn't expect much from this small place. It is actually quite wonderful. There's a homey feel to it, like your mother would come walking down the stairs at any minute, asking if you got your homework done. I felt as if my dog Arthur would be begging to be let in at any minute.

As I was caught up in the decor of the diner my eyes unknowingly settled on the the other customer. I grinned awkwardly and quickly looked away, just in time to see the waitress walking up with food. No way it could be mine, it hasn't even been seven minutes. It has to be the other guy's. I turn my head to look out the window, when I heard the sound of ceramic hitting the table. I turn to see my smiling waitress placing down my order, first the pancakes, then the bacon and eggs, and last the hashbrowns. ‘Sorry it took so long, I'm just starting to’, and she turned to look me right in the eyes, ‘wake up’. I thought to myself she must be kidding, this is the fastest I've ever received food. ‘No problem’, I said to her as she smiled and walked away. I picked up my knife and as I dug in, I couldn't believe my senses, this has to be the best food I have ever eaten in my life. Every single bite, seemed to be better than the last. The pancakes were moist, soft, and fluffy, the bacon, nice and thick. The eggs perfectly runny, and buttery, and the hashbrowns, crisped to perfection. As quickly as the food arrived it was gone. The waitress came by, almost the second after I finished gorging myself. ‘You look a thousand times better, you must have really needed this.’ She said as she cleared the table. I must've have looked troubled when I arrived here. ‘There's nothing a good breakfast can't fix’, she smiled and walked away. The other guy in the diner started to move for the first time, since I've been here. He stood up and reached over his table to pick up his hat and newspaper. He then started to leave, one foot after another. His footsteps filled the quiet diner, as he made his way to the exit. He stopped right in front of me, ‘There is nothing like a good meal, that helps one,’ and looks straight at me, ‘wake up’, he flashed a smile at me and continued to the door. It was weird, because I not sure if I seen the waitress go over to his table, or even if he ate anything for that matter. I looked at the time, and I figured I had more than 30 minutes before I needed to get to work. I turned to wave down the waitress, and before I could get my hand up, there she was standing right beside me. ‘Um, the check’, I spat out. ‘Oh there is no need for that, the gentleman that just left, paid for everything’, she smiled and left for the last time. I felt like a complete ass, here I was judging this nice man. I got up and headed to work.

I arrived with 15 minutes to spare, and to my surprise my best friend Claire was already there, this was not like her at all, we used to joke that she'll be late to her own funeral. I put my bag on the back of my chair, and said to her ‘Oh wow, I must be dreaming, you are never on time’. She smiled, ‘Well maybe you are, and you should’, and she turned to me, ‘wake up Jim’. She stood up, with enough speed and force to throw her chair more than a few feet behind her. She grabbed me by my shoulders and shock me violently, shouting wake up Jim, wake up. The room started spinning, my head was pounding, as Claire, the waitress and the old guy all started to scream wake up!

I jumped up, sweat pouring down my face, my side is burning with this crazy intense pain. The room I was in was dark, and there was a smell of mold and rust in the air, a smell so overwhelming, I could taste it. The only thing I can hear are whispers for me to wake up. ‘Ugh, where am I?’ I managed to get out, trying to get to my feet, only to hit my head on something metal. I quickly realized I was in a cage, much too small for me to stand, or do much of anything for that matter. ‘Well, what happened?’ I squinted in the darkness trying to find where Claire's voice was coming from. Everything slowly started coming back to me. ‘What did they do to you’ she squealed out. ‘I-I don't know, ahh, but my side really hurts.’ ‘I'm scared Jim, I'm so scared’, she called out. ‘You were gone for some long, I didn't think you would ever coming back.’ Her words echoed in my head over and over again. Then it hit me, just like that, this was the dream. I must have never gotten up, I just got to find a way to wake up. That's it, I started slapping my already pounding head, telling myself to wake up, that this is all a dream. I can hear Claire through my chant saying it's not a dream, that it is really happening, and we need to figure away out if this. I couldn't expect what she was saying, there was no way that any of this was real. So I just kept chanting. Someone bursted through the door, and a blinding light filled the room. I started to hear footsteps as I strained my eyes to get some kind of idea as to where I am. Just as my eyes started to adjust, I looked over in Claire's direction and saw just before the room was blanketed in darkness again, something that looked like Claire, but couldn't possibly be her. I shouted out what happened to your arms! I started to panic, curling up into a ball, I cried out this isn't happening.

Loud screams soon filled the room. Louder than my cries, louder than Claire's shouting. The door flew open again. I felt the figure making his way towards me. Being far on the other side of the room the door closed before he got to me. The room grew quiet, as I tried to find where the figure had gone. Before I could, I felt a sharp pain in my neck, and my entire body went numb. The figure begun to open my cage, I could hear Claire calling out to me, but I couldn't speak back to here. The figure slumped me over his shoulder and carried me off. A short walk later he threw me down on a metal table. This room was different from the last. It was extremely clean, and the smell was gone. I tried to look around, but I was unable to move my head, only my eyes. All I could see were white fluorescent lights, and some kind of monitor. A deep booming voice said to me, ‘Shall we begin?’ and the monitor switched on. I look and to my horror it was me that I was looking at. What in the Hell is going on here? That's when he walked into view. He was a mountain of a man, covered in white and with far too many blood stains from head to toe. ‘Enjoy the show’, he said with a chuckle. He pulled out a scalpel, and moved in towards my chest. ‘Don't worry, you won't feel a thing’, I tired to fight, but whatever he gave me, was strong. The scalpel pierced my skin, as he dragged it down to my bellybutton. Blood oozed out and down the sides of my body, to the table. It was like some kind of a sick car crash. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't look away.I stared at the monitor, both terrified and concerned as to what he was doing. He peeled my skin back revealing my ribs, lungs, and heart. My eyes started to water, even though I couldn't feel them, I know tears were falling down my face. He put down the scalpel, and picked up a black sack that seemed tiny in his hand but quite large when compared to my body. He stuff the sack inside me, in the area where my side was hurting when I woke up. He walked away to grab a needle and thread, so he can attach this foreign object, to replace my kidney. So many thoughts filled my mind, including where my kidney is, when did he take it and what is the slack, he just put in my body. It felt like hours, but whatever he has done to me was finally over. I couldn't help but feel relieved as he cut the thread that sealed my body shut. He stuffed his hand underneath me to carry me back to my cage. Only a moment past by when there was a loud bang of crashing metal, that made him drop me onto a different table. My body met the cold metal with a thud. As I lay there waiting for my tormentor to return, it dawned on me, this table is cold. I wasn't able to feel anything until now. Maybe the shot is wearing off, and maybe just maybe I can escape. With every but of force I could muster I propped myself up on the table and looked around the room, and there they were my keys to freedom. Laying on a countertop only a few feet away, were syringes with what I am praying to be the same thing he gave me. I threw myself into the floor hoping I don't open my freshly closed stitches, and dragged myself up to the countertop, I stole two of the syringes and made my way back to the the table. ‘Now I wait’, I said out loud.

It was no time at all before he returned, under the impression that I was still sedated, he picked me and threw me over his shoulder. Now is the time to strike, I lifted my hand up and stabbed him right in the neck. Before he could realize what happened, it was already too late, he let out a roar as his body collapsed under him. We hit the ground with a tremendous force, that shook the room. Before I left I hit him with two more syringes to be on the safe side, and I sluggishly made my way to an exit.

Nearly an hour I walked clueless as to where I was going, or even if I was ever going to find a way out. That's when I saw it, a big set of doors, with a beam of light shining through. Freedom, my body was overcome with warmth, as I thought to myself this nightmare is finally over. Once outside it didn't take long for people to notice a naked man wondering the streets. The police were quick on the scene, I told them what happened and guided them to the building, where Claire and the others were before passing out in the back of an ambulance.

I woke up to the sound of a heart monitor beeping, and the smell of a clean hospital room. My eyes opened slow, so that I can adjust to the light. I called out for anyone that would hear, it didn't take long for a nurse to hear me, he came in with a smile, ‘You are a real hero. Three whole days you were out, I was beginning to think you were never going to’, and he looked right at me, ‘wake up’. My body went cold, as all the sound left the room. I look at him, ‘wh-what did you say?’ My heart rate increase, causing the monitor to beep faster. The nurse placed a hand on my shoulder, ‘you have to calm down, don’t worry you are safe now.’ He smiled and left the room, nodding to a police officer as he left. ‘Where's Claire’, I asked. ‘She's sleeping in the ICU, I can take you to her when she gets the strength to’, and the officer looks right at me, ‘wake up’. My heart started to pound again, my head spun around. I pulled on my hair and shouted out not again, oh God not again. Nurses ran into the room, all trying to get me to calm down. ‘Claire! I need to see Claire! Where is she?’ The room grew quiet, as Claire walked into the room. Nurses urged her to sit down, and that she shouldn't be walking around. She assured them that she was fine, and sat on the edge of the bed. She looked me right in the eyes. ‘Jim’, she said with a smiled, and pushing my hair out of my face with her hands, ‘You need to wake up.’

#short story #horror #fictional

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thatsmybluefondue · 6 years

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4. Squirrel Pancake for Dinner

I felt bad for hitchhikers, which meant I felt bad for myself.

I had been traveling for two days, only sleeping for a few hours at a time on the side of the long, unending road, and was exhausted. Bones creaked and muscles ached; my arms swung limp by my sides, and the most my legs could do was drag my feet over the dirt. Running may have been a good form of exercise, but too much without rest was, well, bad.

Ever since I had seen my first car at early morning light, a rumbly sunshine yellow truck, my hopes had been lifted that civilization was near. So when I saw that truck, what did I do? I raised my thumb and waited, of course. But then the truck had roared on passed me, leaving my dumb thumb in the air and my jaw dropped to the ground. I had mumbled—okay, maybe shouted quite loudly—some ear-burning profanities about the truck, the driver, and the driver’s dog when that happened, but then I continued on, fuming and muttering (yelling) some more curses.

A few hours later, another car had come along the dirt path. It was so old I couldn’t tell what type of car it was, but I didn’t really mind because it was going slow and surely would stop to pick up a poor, dirty, weak teenage boy. Right? Wrong. I lifted my straight thumb, wishing I had gotten the genes for the hitchhikers’ thumb from my mom, high up in the air; reaching out, I nearly stumbled into the road to make sure I got the driver’s attention. Then the car was right beside me, decelerating; the driver, a middle-aged, red-haired man with a scraggly beard, was staring at me and my raised thumb. And then the guy zoomed off as fast as his puttering vehicle would allow.

I cursed some more. Did I look like a serial killer or something? Come on! “Idiot,” I spat, trudging on. “They’re all idiots!”

Later, probably around three or so in the afternoon, another car came rolling by. I had recently come upon some thick trees (because this road was nothing if unconventional, it seemed) that surrounded the lone road, so I was hidden—which wasn’t a good thing. Until the shiny new convertible was right next to me, I hadn’t realized it was there, and by then it was too late. It zoomed off, and I was once again enforced to use my rapidly weakening muscles.

I didn’t even have the willpower to shout obscenities at the convertible and all its travelers. Maybe I should have, though, because the hood was down. But then again, the wind could be louder than a thunderous storm. (At least that was my excuse, and not the fact that I may or may not have pouted for a full minute before realizing I could call for help.)

At the moment, the evening sky was turning dark as the sun sank below the horizon. I hadn’t spotted, heard, smelled, sensed, or even felt the vibrations of a car since the convertible, and the hope that had been building inside of me when I saw the old sunshine truck was diminishing. No towns were around for miles in any direction, which was something I had not anticipated; not even a gas station was within the next hour of walking. It was all very odd, but not the strangest thing I had ever experienced.

Sore, I promptly dropped down in the dry, crunchy grass. “Oh well,” I whispered to myself. “A few hours of sleep couldn’t hurt. Never did hurt anybody, did it?” Chuckling at myself like the delusional person I was, I snuggled in the grass, thankful it didn’t have a wet hay smell. “Sweet, sweet sleep, come to me,” I croaked, feeling my eyelids sink like the sun.

Just when my body had relaxed, something dropped on my head. It didn’t hurt, but it definitely was not a leaf that had fallen. Annoyed, I peeked through half-lidded eyes and saw a brown object right in front of me. Crossing my eyes to focus on it, I concluded that it was an acorn. How an acorn had fallen on me, I had no idea, since before I swore the trees weren’t oak trees, but I was tired and the it had kept me from getting my beauty sleep.

Using the last of my arm strength to keep me propped up, I groaned, glaring at the stupid acorn. Then I flicked it, watching it skitter off into the dirt road. Why there was still a dirt road and not a paved one was also unknown to me, but the dust scattered from the acorn puffed up before being swirled around by the wind to my nose. “A-CHOO!” I sneezed and was propelled backward by the force. “Stupid acorn,” I muttered to myself.

Then a squeaking squirrel leapt down from a tree and dashed to the acorn, and I couldn’t believe my luck. Was I ever going to get some decent sleep? I groaned again and lay down on my stomach, but kept my eyes trained on the squirrel, which was now gnawing at the acorn. The squirrel ate, eyeing me warily; I watched. Slowly, silence filled my ears, and my eyelids began to droop.

And then a car came zooming by, running over the squirrel and passing me by in the process. I shot up to my feet, screaming in frustration. “Oh, come on!” I yelled in exasperation, throwing my hands up in the air incredulously. “Come back, idiot! Come back here!” When the only thing that happened was the car’s tail lights flickering—for no reason at all, considering no one else was around—I stomped into the road, in the middle of a dust cloud, next to the deceased squirrel. “At least come back for the squirrel you just ran over!”

Nothing. The car’s lights disappeared, and I was left in the dark with only the moon, stars, and a dead squirrel and its half-eaten meal.

Did drivers not notice teenage boys sleeping on the sides of roads? What about the squirrels that they mercilessly run over? What about the kid on the side of the road?

I screamed, yanking at my hair, probably looking like a madman. But I didn’t care—I was sore and hungry and thirsty and tired of everything. I just wanted a break, and was a ride in some random person’s car too much to ask for? I didn’t think it was.

Anger built up inside of me, burning a hole in my chest, turning my vision red, ringing in my ears. I needed something to hit. Or something to kick. Whirling around, I searched for the squashed squirrel, planning on taking my anger out on it. I know—you’re gonna kick a bloody squirrel? Gross!—but I was furious with the world and getting my shoes all bloody seemed like a small price to pay for ridding myself of the swirling emotions inside of me. Only, when I turned around, there was something… wrong with the squirrel, and it wasn’t the fact that it was a squirrel pancake.

The squirrel’s body was disappearing, like it was a piece of cloth and a thread was being pulled on it, making it thinner and thinner until it was gone. I watched as the white string snaked out, floating off into the forest of trees beside me. I watched as, little by little, the squirrel dissolved into that shimmering white strand of Life that flew by and vanished into the darkness.

My body tensed. Something taking away Life? That sounded too familiar to me.

Gathering my supplies into my backpack, I readied my weary body for the sprint of a lifetime. There was no way I was going to be caught because I was too tired. Nope. I would run ’til the end of time; I didn’t know why I would, but I knew I would. Maybe it was self-preservation. On an extreme scale.

There was the thump of a mighty stomp, then a sinister chuckle. I shivered, because this was not the Death I had grown accustomed to; this was the Death that had taken Charles, the one before I went and ditched it. What happened? I asked myself. Why the sudden change?

I didn’t have time to answer my own questions, because right before me was Death. “Hello, my boy.” It stepped out of the darkness, even though it was darker than night itself. The shadows that made up its body swirled violently, like they were waiting to reach out and grab me.

I gulped in return, keeping my gaze downcast. Through the darkness, I could barely make out Death’s outline, but I could and that was enough. It was thinner, leaner—the same way I saw it the first time I came face-to-face with Death. This was not the muscled Death I was used to, but something told me Death #2 wasn’t gone for good. I’d see it again.

If only I could see Death’s face, see if its eyes were as insane looking as it had acted… Don’t look into its eyes, I told myself. Think of the cat.

“A bit quiet tonight, are you? Hm?” Death shifted, stepped closer to me; I couldn’t force myself to step back, to run away because my Life depended on it.

I nodded mutely, gingerly clenching my fingers. Move! Run! I shouted internally, frantic; I stayed rooted to the spot.

Death gracefully—yes, gracefully; I know, mind blowing—stepped around me, and I felt its eyes burning into me like murderous lasers. “You have made me very, very mad the past year. Did you know that?” It didn’t wait for me to answer. “And I don’t like that, not one bit,” whispered Death. “So, to end my days of anger, I must end you.”

Then Death roared—a sound so deafening it echoed off of nothing. It threw its head back, body convulsing and growing. Teeth elongated, pointing out of its pitch black mouth like they were daggers made of obsidian. Its nails grew into claws, nearly as sharp as its teeth. A ripping sound rang through my ears as Death swelled one last time.

Finally, I stumbled back, but I couldn’t look away from the horrifying image before me. This was the Death that had killed thousands of people, and even some innocent barn animals, the one that had gone insane. This was the Death that had been chasing me for a year—since last February—all over the freaking country and then some.

And the only thing I could think of? Well, there’s Death #2.

It was a good thing my body didn’t need my brain to start running. Adrenaline raced through me, pounding and surging like waves on a beach. My heart rate accelerated, as if my blood-pumping buddy was trying to explode from my chest. The air I sucked into my lungs was cold and harsh, drying the back of my throat and filling my lungs so much it hurt. But all pains vanished as my thoughts focused on one thing and one thing only—run.

I had to run. Run and run and run. Nothing else. Death could not be stopped, and I couldn’t hide because no one could hide from Death. So I had to run.

I ran, not paying attention to the way my bones creaked or how my backpack thumped on my back or that the footsteps behind me were not receding. I just ran. I didn’t look back, only forward. I didn’t check my pulse to make sure my heart didn’t suddenly give out. I didn’t make sure I was getting enough oxygen to sustain my muscles. Nothing else mattered, because nothing else could save me but running, nothing except—

I almost stumbled from the sudden realization. Had I not talked to Life the other day? Had Life not saved my life a year ago? But then I remembered that Life was a bit… out there. The conversation we had had didn’t exactly cheer me up; more like it freaked me out to astronomical levels. A good scaring was better than a torturous death, though, right?

I mentally clasped my hands together in prayer. Okay, Life, please do me a favor and save my butt. That was all I could think of, because I was still mainly focused on running. All I could hope was that Life would get over the bluntness of it all and save me.

But nothing happened. I was on my own.

I ran on—for minutes, hours, I would never know. It became me, my pounding feet, my pumping arms, my sharp intakes of breath, the mantra of run in my head, and the lumbering shadows close behind me.

Somehow, the first four had to save me.

Too bad it didn’t seem likely.

Death sped up—or maybe I slowed down—and suddenly it was hovering over my back, looming threateningly close, nearly stepping on the backs of my heels. “Got you,” it said.

At the edge of my vision, I saw a dark, clawed hand reach out for me, and I swerved to the right to escape. The claws clicked together, empty. I tried to speed up, to lose Death, but to no avail; Death merely made a few larger steps and—ta da! We were back to square one, where Death was reaching out for me and I was too physically exhausted to do anything but delay my imminent doom.

I ducked, diving to the left. Death roared in anger as it missed again, sending chills up my spine. Death really wanted me dead. Couldn’t imagine why. “Stay still!” it said, making for another swipe.

I barely had enough energy left to breathe, much less send a snarky comment back to Death, but I hoped that it could see how much I hated it in my eyes—because, really? Could a guy not catch a break? I stumbled to the side at the last second, feeling Death’s hands whoosh by my ear.

Either Death had really bad aim or it was messing with me—I couldn’t figure out which one it was. Both were disturbing.

Running along, bumbling like an idiot as I escaped Death’s many erratic attempts, I noticed the first signs of the rising sun in the distance. How long had I been running? Or, better yet, how long did I have left? I couldn’t keep this up much longer. With each passing second, I grew weaker while Death only grew more determined.

As if to prove my thoughts, there was a tight squeeze around my neck as Death wrapped its shadowy fingers around it. “Now I have you,” it crowed.

My hands shot up immediately, trying in vain to yank the hand away so that I could breathe. “Let go!” I wanted to scream, but nothing came out; the vise-like grip was too strong. There was a chuckle, an evil—sinister, malicious, heinous, malevolent, nefarious, and any other word that is a synonym to evil—thing that sent all of the hairs on the back of my neck on end. And then I was being dragged closer to Death, my feet bumping on the dirt road.

I thrashed wildly, dug my half-bitten nails into Death’s hand, let out an inaudible scream. Nothing worked. Actually, it seemed as if I was being pulled even harsher the more I fought. I was flipped around, my limbs flailing, to face Death. My eyes met Death’s chest, but as I rose higher and higher, held up by my neck and one armpit, I was slowly met by other sights. Its neck. Its chin. Its cruelly smiling lips. Its nose.

I forced my eyes shut as I was lifted higher—I did not need to meet Death’s eyes. Being turned into ash was not my favorite pastime, thank you very much. Really, though, I didn’t think it would’ve mattered—my vision was blurring, black spots dancing before my eyes.

My eyes shut tightly, I felt my feet stop touching the ground, and without seeing I knew I was face-to-face with Death. Looking into Death’s eyes was not an option; never was, never would be. Just from the sight of the fat tabby cat I would’ve hated turning into ash that was sucked up by Death, and add to that the burning image of Charles— I forced myself to stop there, because Charles was a touchy subject, and every time I remembered him I thought of how I should have been able to do something instead of turn into some sort of ghost the closer I got to Death.

(This, ladies and gentlemen, is when a cartoon light bulb blinks above a character’s head.)

Before my brain shut down from lack of oxygen, I swung my right arm, mostly using momentum to get it to Death’s body. The blow was weak, but it left my arm inside of Death’s stomach, a trembling, gaseous limb trapped in shadows. I lurched my left shoulder forward, forcing my arm into an arch that hit Death’s collarbone; my body shook some more, and then I felt my arm slice into the shadowy figure.

Death stumbled, confused. It made this growling noise from deep in its throat, but it didn’t sound defensive or even wary; simply bewildered. This was not exactly the desired response, but I figured if I played my cards right, I would get the same results. I ripped my arms out and hit it again, adding my feet into the beating. With each movement of my muscles, I felt my chest constrict, searching for the nonexistent air in my lungs. Still, I kept swinging, kicking, squirming like I wasn’t about to die from something other than being swallowed as ash by Death.

Then, maybe my luck decided to become good for once—well, as good as it could get in a life or death situation—and I smacked Death’s face. It growled and stumbled back, grip loosening. I hacked and coughed and bile rose up my throat, but then I sucked in the little bit of air I was allowed and kicked at its shin. Again, the death grip (no pun intended) loosened. Blow after blow came flying by, stronger each time, and the claws clasped around my windpipe weakened. My body shook like I was a wind-up toy, teeth chattering, as I became ghostly; if I could see, I would probably be transparent and gray.

I lifted my knee and blindly aimed my foot at Death’s chest; then I kicked, my foot sinking into its skin like it was made of Jell-O. My whole body shuddered, as if electricity was sparking through me, and my neck slipped from Death’s hand. Landing on my back, sending dirt and dust up in a mushroom of puff around me, I felt my chest tighten, trying to push the air out of my lungs, but there was none. And then, after a moment of shock, a moment I could have been using to help myself, I breathed.

I didn’t think I had ever been this happy for air in my entire life.

My face flushed as my blood rushed to my brain and then to the rest of my body. My head, before woozy, suddenly focused; my muscles could move and flex. Every breath dried the back of my throat, cold and filled with grit because I was choking on my breaths, but none of that mattered because I was breathing. Did I mention breathing felt good—amazing, actually? It did. It really did. I opened my eyes, feeling the black dots disperse. I probably would have smiled, no matter how sore I was, but then I saw Death’s feet by my face and reality sank in.

I just got to breathe and now I was about to die. My luck sucked.

I rolled to my side, ready to scramble to my feet and run like hell was nipping at my heels, but then Death leaned forward, claws extended. Flipping onto my back again, I felt the sharp knives slice past my ear. Run, idiot! I thought, trying to get my feet beneath me, and that was when I realized my foot was still stuck in Death’s chest.

Cue flurry of cuss words, although I didn’t think any would express how desperate I was.

Feeling crazed, I kicked with my leg, pulled, moved side to side. Nothing. Wrapping my hands around my thigh, I yanked. Nothing. My leg was stuck, super-glued to the inside of Death’s chest, exactly where the heart would normally be. I crawled backwards with my hands and left leg, often stopping and ducking to avoid the many attacks Death aimed at me.

But it was all in vain, because I was trapped in Death, my body shimmering and pulling apart at the seams.

As if to prove my point, that horrible sucking sound began, low at first, but slowly growing louder. My hair whipped around my face, strands floating up in the air. My body convulsed, starting at the tip of my head and traveling straight down, splitting my body in half. I watched helplessly as my fingertips began disappearing, dissolving into threads of white dust that snaked their way into the black hole circling above me.

Then Death’s hand came flying down, claws gleaming wickedly, the path perfect and true. The goal: my heart. It was inches away—maybe centimeters—and I watched, petrified, as it came closer and closer… closer… closer…

Something colder than dry ice, burning like the brightest of stars, slashed through my shirt, punctured my skin.

And then a rock came flying, rocketing by like a bullet, nailing Death’s hand and pushing it away from me.

#my writing #my story #excerpt from a book i've already written #Sterling Blue #noromance #life #death #zombie #zombie apocalypse #apocalypse

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