#try to maybe knock out another one of my million current books in progress

[atomic-taco-muffin]

The Lost Princess Chapter 19

Warnings: fluff/angst 

Rating: SFW

(I’m crying at this!😂)

Sora and the others left Atlantica and headed back to the gummi ship and flew around the worlds. 

“I think my magic is as good as Donald’s now. Maybe it’ll be stronger than (Y/N)’s,” Sora said. 

“No way! Not in a million years,” Donald said. 

“Why don’t you go see Merlin? Work more on your magic,” Goofy said. They traveled to Merlin’s Study and spoke to him after training with him a bit. 

“You’re making excellent progress. Here’s something for your effort,” Merlin said as he gave Sora a keychain. 

“Keep it up,” he said. Sora decided to return to the 100 Acre Wood with another torn page. He entered, finding a swing hanging from a stout tree near a river. He saw Pooh and Piglet on the bridge overlooking the river.

“Look, Pooh. Something is floating this way,” Piglet said. 

“I think you’re right, Piglet. What could it be?” Pooh said. A gray donkey floated slowly along the current of the river, a glum expression on its face.

“Why, it looks like Eeyore! Hello, Eeyore, if it is you,” Pooh said as he waved while Eeyore floated towards them.

“Hello, Pooh. Yes, it’s me. Could you pull me out? That is, if it’s not too much trouble. Of course, you don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Eeyore said. He drifted under the bridge and Sora jumped in to get him. They met on the riverbank with Pooh and Piglet.

“Thank you, Pooh. Thank you, other you. You know, floating along out there, it seemed like something was missing...” Eeyore said. Suddenly, Piglet and behind Eeyore. 

“And something’s still missing,” Eeyore said. 

“Why, Eeyore’s tail is gone! Is that what’s missing?” Piglet said. Eeyore looked behind him and saw that he had no tail.

“Let’s see... Yep, lost it again. Wonder where it went this time. It’s not much of a tail, though I’m sort of attached to it. But I don’t know why anybody’d look for it. Probably won’t find it anyway...” he said. 

“Sora, why don’t we all look for Eeyore’s tail?” Pooh asked. 

“Lost something?” Owl asked as he flew in from above.

“Searching from a high place is the quickest way to find it!” he said.

“Owl, can you fly up high and help us find Eeyore’s tail?” Sora asked. 

“Sorry, but my eyes aren’t what they used to be. Too much reading, you know. But I can offer good advice! Of course, you don’t have to if you don’t want to. See that swing up there? Take Pooh there.” He motioned toward the tree at the top of a hill.

“You’re a bit too big for the swing, but Pooh should fit nicely. I’ll tell you more when you get there,” he said as he flies away. Sora lead Pooh up the hill to the swing, where Owl was perched on the branch above them. Pooh got on the swing.

“Here’s what to do. First, get ready to push,” Owl said. 

“How?” Sora asked. 

“Like this.” Owl demonstrated how to push the swing.

“Like this?“ Sora asked as he pushed the swing gently. 

“Not bad, not bad! Here’s the next step. If you time it right, Pooh will swing higher and higher. Try it! Push too soon, Pooh won’t go any higher. Push too late, he’ll go too high,” Owl said. With Owl’s help, Sora pushed Pooh on the swing, tossing him into the air so he can search for Eeyore’s tail from high above. He landed right in front of Rabbit on a house made of sticks, knocking Eeyore over. Pooh stood up and Eeyore saw something under the pile of sticks

“Hm? That looks familiar...” he said. Sora helped repin Eeyore’s tail onto him. 

“How’s it looking?” Pooh asked.

“There we go,” Sora said. Eeyore swung his tail around.

“It’s not much of a tail, but it’s mine. Thanks, everyone,” he said. 

“I wish we could put the Hundred Acre Wood back the way it was, too!” Pooh said. Owl sat on the branch of the tree, waving a wing. Pooh’s words made Sora more determined to find the rest of the book’s torn pages. Sora left the hill and found Pooh at his house, sitting on a log outside.

“Brrr! I think I spend too much time on the swing,” he said as he shivered. Sora targeted the pile of sticks in front of them and ignited them into a small fire and Pooh extended his hands to warm them.

“Thank you, Sora. This is nice and warm. You’ve helped us so much. This is just something to say thank you,” he said. Pooh hopped off the log and gave Sora a Mythril stone. 

Sora left the 100 Acre Wood and the three traveled to a dark world filled with pumpkins and ghosts. Donald changed their outfits so they blended in with the eerie scenery.

“This sure is a spooky place. I’ll bet the people here are scary- lookin’ too,” Goofy said. 

“Don’t worry. We look spooky, too. If they scare us, we’ll scare them right back!” Donald said. 

“You think so?” They entered the Town Square and an explosion went off in a nearby laboratory, sending smoke into the air. They saw a group of Search Ghost Heartless in town, but they don’t attacked. Sora made his way over to the laboratory when they heard a booming voice.

“And now, allow me to introduce...” someone said. They looked over to see a short man in an extremely tall hat speaking through a megaphone. He wore a spider as a bow tie and a ribbon reading “Mayor” was attached to his business suit. From their angle, it looked like he had a second face behind his head.

“The master of terror... the king of nightmares—Jack Skellington!” the Mayor said. The line of Search Ghosts parted as they presented the fountain in the middle of the square, where a tall, thin figure was emerging from the green water. He had a black and white striped outfit and long bony fingers. His head was naught but a skull; behind his eyes, only blackness. He striked a pose and smiled, and the Mayor ran over to him.

“Bravo, Jack! Bravo! Those ghosts will be a big hit at this year’s Halloween!” the Mayor said. The Mayor grinned wildly as Jack stepped out from the fountain.

“Thank you, thank you! But their movement still needs work. It’s not scary enough,” Jack said. He hung his head.

“I want to strike bone-chilling terror,” he said. He lifted his arms in a creepy pose, and the Mayor backed up.

“I’m going to consult the doctor,” Jack said. He stood up and walked to the laboratory.

“Then I’ll go attend to the decorations,” Mayor said. He ran away gleefully. So gleefully, in fact, that he ran in the wrong direction and has to turn around. Sora, Donald, and Goofy followed Jack to Doctor Finkelstein’s research lab, where the doctor was inspecting the Heartless on the examination table from the comfort of his wheelchair. The various machines on the walls gurgled and hissed.

“I don’t understand. Maybe the guidance system was damaged in the explosion,” Jack said. 

“Nonsense. My devices are always perfect!” Finkelstein said. Jack searched through the doctor’s research book.

“Oh, I’ve got it! Why, of course! The Heartless need a heart! Doctor, do you think we can add a heart to that device?” he said. 

“Certainly. A heart’s not all that complicated,” Finkelstein said. He rode his motorized wheelchair to the end of the table.

“Let’s get to work,” he said. 

“To make a heart, first take a container with a lock...” Jack read. The doctor pulled out a pulsing box shaped like a human heart with a large keyhole on it

“We need the key to this thing first!” Finkelstein said. 

“You’re really gonna unlock it for them?” Donald asked. 

“Why not? If they succeed, we won’t have to fight the Heartless, right? Besides, I want to see the Heartless dance, too. Don’t you?” Sora asked. 

“Not really.” Sora unlocked the heart for them.

“My! That was amazing! Uh, and you are...” Jack said. He cocked his head to the side.

“Sora.” Jack walked up to him.

“Well done, Sora! I’d like you to be a part of this year’s Halloween,” Jack said. 

“What’s this Heartless doing here?” Sora asked. 

“Oh, the Heartless came to town just recently. What’s frustrating is I can’t get them to dance with me. So the doctor and I are trying to improve the guidance system. He’s quite a genius! Okay, Doctor, let’s continue. The ingredients for a heart: Pulse.” A pulsing frog was placed on the table.

“Emotion,” Jack said. 

“Terror,” Finkelstein said.

“Fear.” The doctor’s hand slid off a pane of glass on the table, making an eerie screech.

“Hope and despair,” Jack said. Two snakes, with their mouths over each other’s tails, were placed on the table and they glanced at one another.

“Mix them all together, and we have a heart!” Jack said. The doctor completed this and placed the heart into the console of the machine. He wheeled over to a large lever and initiated the experiment. The machine sparked to life, gears clicking and whirling. Electricity crackled over the Heartless, who suddenly sat up with its arms outstretched, before falling limp.

“It failed!” Finkelstein said. Jack looked disappointed and the doctor peered over his research book.

“Maybe we’re missing some ingredients. Let’s try adding memory,” Finkelstein said. The doctor opened his skullcap and literally scratched his brain.

“Sally! Sally! Good-for-nothing girl! Don’t know why I bothered creating her!” he said. He slammed his fists on the arms of his wheelchair and closed his skull. He whirled around to face Sora and his friends.

“Sally’s got the memory we need. See if you can track her down,” he said. 

“No problem. Sora, would you like to come along?” Jack said. 

“Sure,” Sora said. They left the laboratory and saw the Mayor at the bottom of the stairs, his unhappy face on.

“Jack! Jack! We have a major crisis! The Heartless are completely out of control! We can’t stop them!” Mayor yelled into his microphone. 

“Hmm... Maybe our experiment triggered something. Everything will be fine, Mayor. You have nothing to worry about,” Jack said. Donald tapped his foot, looking in Jack’s direction. They entered Guillotine Plaza and fought a group of Heartless before entering the Graveyard.

“Let’s check this place, too, once the Heartless here are out of our way,” Sora said. They defeated the Heartless in the Graveyard and a ghostly dog with a glowing pumpkin for a nose, rose out of his doghouse grave and Jack walked up to him.

“Zero! Have you seen Sally anywhere?” he said. Zero flew over to a gravestone, startling the person behind it. A rag doll with long hair stood up and looked over at them, the stitches covering her body clearly visible.

“Is something wrong, Jack?” she asked. 

“No, everything’s going great. We’re going to have the best Halloween ever. All we need now is your memory,” Jack said, excitedly.

“‘Memory?’ You mean this?” She pulled out a gnarled flower. She gave the Forget-Me-Not to Jack, who stared at it curiously. 

“Jack, I have a bad feeling about this. Why don’t you try something else? There’s still time,” Sally said. 

“Nothing could beat what I’ve got planned!” Jack said as he spun around to face her.

“Once we give the Heartless a heart, they’ll dance just as I envision it,” he said but Sally looked worried.

“Trust me. You’re going to love it!” he said. Sora started talking to Sally.

“I have a bad feeling about this. If only Jack would reconsider... I’m happy if he’s happy, but I’m just so worried about him. I’m worried about him because I...well, I just am. Jack, why not have these kids star in the festival instead? They both look rather frightful. And funny, too. They’d be better than the Heartless,” Sally said. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Jack left the Graveyard, with Sally following. From a coffin near the end of the graveyard, laughter erupted before the lid flew open. Three little imps jumped out dressed like a devil, witch, and skeleton, respectively. They wore masks on their faces because they liked it.

“Lock!” 

“Shock!” 

“Barrel!” The little imps huddled together. 

“Did you hear that?” Barrel asked.

“Yeah, I sure did! A heart! What should we do?” Lock said. 

“Gosh, you really are stupid! Isn’t it obvious?” Shock said. 

“Tell Oogie Boogie,” Barrel said and the of them laughed. Sora and company returned to Dr. Finkelstein’s Lab and gave him the “memory”.

“Yes. This is it. Now, just one more ingredient. We need “surprise” to complete the heart. The mayor should know where it is,” Finkelstein said. Meanwhile, Lock, Shock, and Barrel were trembling in the presence of a laughing monster named Oogie Boogie. He had the appearance of a burlap sack tied together with thread. Two holes for the eyes curved evilly, giving him a nightmarish look. His hands and feet ended in points, rather than fingers, and an opening in the cloth was stitched together for the mouth.

“A heart? That bonehead Jack is really making a heart? I’ll be jiggered! That works for me!” he smiled. 

“Ohh, when I get my hands on that...” He looked at his pointed extremities.

“Well, I’ve got no hands, but I’m still gonna nab that heart and control the Heartless,” he cackled powerfully. Sora, Donald, Goofy and Jack found the Mayor in the Boneyard near a giant pumpkin and talked to him.

“Ghost rise from those tombstones. Check the tombstones in the order the ghosts appear. If you get it wrong, you’re in for a surprise!” Mayor said. He pointed to a nearby group of gravestones, where they saw three ghosts rising from various ones and vanishing. They picked the correct ones and there was an explosion behind them.

“Splendid! Now go look at the pumpkin,” Mayor said. They turned around to see the pumpkin destroyed with a treasure chest inside. They opened it and took out a Jack-in-the-Box. They returned to Dr. Finkelstein’s Lab and gave him the Jack-in-the-Box.

“Yes. This is it,” he said. The doctor assembled the ingredients into the heart.

“There you go. This time it’s sure to work,” he said. He wheeled over with the heart on his lap, when Barrel jumped out from under his research table, tripping him over.

“Ya!” Barrel said. Finkelstein yelled as he fell out of his chair, causing the heart to bounce over the table and into Lock’s arms. The doctor growled, shaking a gloved fist at them. Lock snickered and the three escaped.

“The nerve of those little hooligans, stealing my work!” Finkelstein said. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Jack raced after the trio to Guillotine Square.

“We lost them!” Sora said. Jack tapped a hand on his leg, calling Zero over to him.

“Zero, after them, quick!” he said. Zero flew towards the Graveyard to Moonlight Hill, where a large curled hill unfurled, making a pathway to a bridge. Lock, Shock, and Barrel rode in a walking bathtub over the hill. Sora and company arrived and defeated the Heartless in the area. They found a hidden switch in a gravestone, which unfurled the hill for them and they walked across to the bridge to Oogie’s Manor, where the bathtub was approaching a wooden bridge. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Jack ran in.

“I knew Oogie Boogie was behind this!” Jack said. They stared up towards the twisted mansion. They made their way up the mansion, fighting Heartless until they found the topmost room. They entered the Evil Playroom to find Lock, Shock, and Barrel tossing the heart down a shaft. They whirled around when they entered. Sora and company subdued the three imps and forced them to talk.

“We were just following orders! Oogie Boogie told us to steal the heart. It’s all Barrels fault! It was his idea to tell Oogie Boogie about the heart,” Shock said.

“Yeah, that’s right!” Lock said.

“B-But you guys said—” Barrel said. 

“You should be ashamed!” Shock said. 

“Oogie Boogie made us do it. We had no choice,” Lock said.

“Oogie Boogie told us not to give away his hiding place. Oh, and we’re not supposed to talk about the lever, either,” Barrel said. Sora activated a lever on a control panel and geared in the wall begin to spin.

“What’s he going to do with the heart? Beats me. I’d stay away from Oogie Boogie if I were you,” Barrel said. 

“Hey, I was just following Oogie Boogie’s orders! We don’t have the heart! Oogie Boogie has it!” Shock said. 

“There’s no way I’m gonna take you to him! If I did that, Oogie Boogie would eat us too,” Lock said. 

“You’ll never find the green door!” They made their way down to Oogie’s Torture Chamber, which looked like a giant roulette wheel. They ran in and found Oogie Boogie with the heart.

“Oogie Boogie, give me back the heart!” Jack said. 

“You want it? Well, then come on over and get it!” Oogie Boogie said. He put the heart in his mouth and swallowed it to everyone’s surprise. He began cackling.

“Now, let’s see if I can get their attention. Oh, Heartless!” he said. Two Gargoyle Heartless appeared behind him.

“This is it?” he asked as he started to get angry. 

“Nobody disrespects me! Nobody!” he yelled. He pulled a switch causing an explosion from behind Sora and company, knocking them into the pit of the roulette wheel. The Heartless flew down and attacked them, but they were quickly defeated.

“C’mon, baby!” Oogie said. Him, being a gambling man, threw exploding dice into the pit, but they dodged out of the way. Sora activated a switch that raised his section of the pit, allowing him access to the boogeyman. Sora held a hand to his chest and raised his Keyblade, which lit up and a bubble dropped down from above. The bubble popped, revealing a young elephant with enormous ears. Sora jumped onto Dumbo, grabbing onto the elephant’s hat. Dumbo flew into the air with his huge ears and sprayed a torrent of water at Oogie Boogie. Once the boogeyman had enough of this, he activated an explosion. Dumbo disappeared and Sora was sent back into the pit. Donald attempted to strike Oogie from below with Thunder and Gravity spells.

“This would be a lot easier if (Y/N) was here,” Donald said.

“Agreed,” Sora said. 

“Buzzsaw!” Oogie said. A spinning saw blade whirled past Sora, nearly slicing him in half. The roulette wheel began spinning around, sending Sora, Donald, and Goofy in front of three slot machines.

“Bone Soldiers!” Oogie said. The eyes of the slot machines glowed and they raised their pistols, shooting at the three of them. They jumped out of the way onto another button that sent all four of them upward to face Oogie. They attacked Oogie Boogie with everything they had, causing the villain’s burlap sack to open and a swarm of squirming bugs to fall all over the floor. Oogie Boogie screamed before the sack fell motionless with the heart still inside as a final blue bug crawled out of it. It landed on its back, squirming on the floor of the pit.

“So, that heart was a failure after all,” Jack said. They left Oogie’s Manor, crossing the wooden bridge back to the ridge they entered from, when a large explosion occurred behind them, sending everyone off balance.

“Huh?” Jack asked. Dust billowed out from the mansion and they heard Oogie Boogie moaning. When the dust settled, they saw his body overtaking the house, covered in orb of darkness.

“Whoa! How did he get so big?” Sora said.

“Look! It’s brimming with the power of darkness! Oogie Boogie is drawing power from those dark globs!” Jack said. 

“So we just have to destroy those things, right?” The four jumped down as the bridge was now destroyed and made their way up the living mansion, destroying the dark orbs in their path. After the final one was taken out, the mansion quaked and crumbled to the ground. In its place a giant Keyhole appeared. Sora sent a beam of light into the air, which broke up and fell on the Keyhole, locking it. They returned to Dr. Finkelstein’s Lab, where Sally was waiting for them.

“Sally, why didn’t I listen to you?” Jack asked.

“Don’t feel bad, Jack. We’ll come up with another plan for Halloween. Next time, we’ll do it together,” Sally said. They held hands and stared into each other’s eyes. Sora, Donald, and Goofy then spoke to Jack.

“I guess we have no choice. We’ll have to cancel the Heartless Halloween festival for now. Here, I want you to have this,” Jack said. He then gives Sora a keychain.

“Visit us any time, Sora. Next year’s Halloween will be the scariest ever!” he said. The doctor was rereading his research book, thinking out loud.

“Emotion, memory... We put in all the necessary ingredients. What else do you need to make a heart? What is a heart, anyway? I can’t figure it out,” he said. 

~~~~

You were sitting in front of the door, having more of your power radiating off of you while having your arms tied up like a puppet. 

“How much longer till we’re ready?” Maleficent asked.

“Almost,” Riku said.

“Excellent.” She then walked away leaving Riku alone with you. He walked up to you and cupped your cheek.

“Why are you doing this?” you asked, weakly. 

“You’ll find out soon enough,” he said. You started to cry and Riku wiped your tears away with his thumb.

“Shh, don’t cry. It’ll all be over soon,” he said. He stood up and walked away, leaving you by yourself.

“Sora...please help me,” you said.

To be continued...

#kingdom hearts #kingdomhearts #kingdom hearts imagine #kingdom hearts x reader #kingdomhearts imagines #kingdomhearts x reader #kingdomhearts+imagines #kingdomhearts+x+reader #kingdom+hearts+x+reader #kingdom+hearts+imagines

[proofthatihaveaheart]

Captain Marvel fic recs

i wrote this ages ago, during the summer, and then forgot to post it - but better late than never! it’s got a mix of gen, carol/jess, and carol/maria fics on it, including both comics and mcu fic. enjoy! 

Gen

Galactic Response Time by SassySnowperson (Carol & Fury, 5k): All the OTHER times Nick Fury texted Carol Danvers. // May 4th, 2012    Get your ASS over here there is an INVASION. Aliens are coming out of the SKY HELP US // May 10th, 2012 "Invasion, Fury, the word you used was invasion! I made it across three quarters of the galaxy in six days! Where are the aliens?" [I love this fic and the way it so perfectly captured Carol and Fury’s dynamic. THE DIALOGUE! IT’S JUST SO GOOD! Their banter is fun and there are some genuinely sweet moments.]

whatever it takes (and i couldn’t whisper when you needed it shouted) by pratz (5k):  In which Tony called Carol glowing space Jesus, and Carol did her best to understand the weight of 3.2 million lives lost. [An AU of Endgame focusing on Carol and her journey in processing what happened and what she can do about it. I love the characterization and her interactions with the other characters, particularly Tony.] 

Carol/Maria

All Around [Reminders of You] by sinandmisery (1k):  The first year is the worst. [Maria and Monica’s grief over Carol’s ‘death’, framed around Christmas. Some good and painful angst.] 

another place, another time by sorrybaby (1k):  In every lifetime but this one, Carol gets to love Maria. [Oof, this one hurts and it’s absolutely brilliant. It’s Carol/Maria and endgame Carol/Val and sometimes you can love someone but not be with them. Because sometimes life is like that and you miss one another. Lots of good pining and learning to let go. Bonus Nat + Carol friendship.]

a simpler place in time by Elisattack (3k): It starts like this: Carol blows up. // Actually, it starts like this: Carol falls down, then she gets right back up again. Her dad shakes his head at her bruised knees and cut face, and calls her unladylike. She says fuck him, and fuck any man that tells her what to do. [Tracks through Carol and Maria’s relationship from the early days to getting together to the events of CM + Endgame and afterwards. Lovely writing and character work. One of my favorite works of this kind]

brave face talk so lightly by lesbiyawn (1k): Carol is stubborn. Carol is hot-headed. Carol can’t help it if some people deserve a just beating. Maria knows this. It’s why she loves Carol calls Carol her best friend. [Pre-canon and pre-relationship fluff that is both sweet and very them]

do you have to let it linger by whyyesitscar (2k):  in the wake of carol's crash, maria has to explain everything to a lot of different officials. only one of them seems to get it. (Maria talks to Peggy. Beautiful fic about grief and the people who can understand it.)

jambalaya (please be my baby) by carol_danvers (6k): Loving Maria comes easier than anything else ever did. Carol won't say she wants to be more than friends, not when she has so much to lose, but she'll tell her in everything but name.AKA Carol tests out pet names, Maria gets pregnant, and they fall a bit more in love. [One of my favorite get-together fics, the writing is so good and I love the development of their relationship, the PINING and the obliviousness, it’s gold.]

kisses under my palm by neon_air (1k):  Carol Danvers has been kissed before but never by the one person she wanted it from most. [All the different kisses Carol has had, and love. A lovely one-shot.] 

Lightning Crash by Monochrome_girl (2k):  Carol is here to stay. Maria is still getting used to having her back. [Carol stays and they reconnect. It’s a lovely progression of the two relearning each other and building a life together that also involves collecting alien scraps and it’s sweet.] 

Love’s Labors Lost by lesbians_and_puns (3k):  After Carol finds a home planet for the Skrull, she returns to Louisiana to try to get her old life back, but when she finds an old photograph of herself and Maria on Maria's bedside table, they both realize how much they're still missing. [An angsty take on Carol’s return and the things people can say because life is stressful and complicated and sometimes you hurt the people you love without meaning to. It’s really good, it also hurts.] 

we were too close to the stars by inkwelled (1k): "God, what did they do to you," Maria whispers, wrapping another bandage around Carol's bicep. / For all it's worth, Carol doesn't even wince. [This hurts but in a delicious way. There’s a kind of soft aching quality to the angst, it’s premium, good stuff, you can feel the love.] 

Carol/Jessica

Always Falling by sariane (2k): “What do you want?”“I don’t want to be her sloppy seconds. I want all of it, all the corny relationship stuff. I want the dumb date nights, the stupid fights, the awkward breakfast-making elbow bumps. I want to take her up flying – someday. I don’t know,” Carol says suddenly, scuffing her foot on the street, “I want stability.”Carol wants a lot of things. She does not want to be Jessica's rebound girl. [Basically Jess and Clint break up, Carol is a great friend on the comfort front, and then Jess kisses her. And Carol assumes it’s because she’s a rebound. There’s some light angst over that, it’s very well-done. Characterization is very good.]

Fly, Fight, Win by singalellaby (1k):  It's not a sign of superhero lesbian bed death, whatever Peter says, it's just that Jess is an Adult. A Mature Adult. In a Mature Adult Partnership with a woman who happens to wear skin-tight suits as her work uniform and it was either become habituated to her girlfriend being the hottest anything with Kree DNA around or living in a state of permanent arousal in her own pretty damn tight costume. And since S.H.I.E.L.D doesn't spring for laundry expenses, that was so not an option. [Jess POV, admiring her really hot partner.]

He Picked the Wrong One by beckydawolf (Carol/Jess, 34k): When Captain Marvel and Spider-Woman are knocked unconscious on a mission, they wake up in a world a lot like their own. In fact, it’s almost identical. Except that the Civil War never happened, Jess doesn’t seem to exist and their Carol is dead. Oh and then there’s Natasha Stark.Turns out, slipping between universes might not even be the most complicated part of this mess. (Fantastic characterization, really love the perfect Carol and Jess banter, nested in this wonderful comic book-y plot that works as perfect background for the development of the characters and the relationships. Also the plot is entirely driven by characters and their relationships and their love - both unhealthy and healthy. It’s great)

In My Dreams by sariane (3k): Carol may not have her memories, but she has her dreams.(But, of course, she dreams of kissing Jessica. As if her life isn't already complicated enough.) [This fic takes this concept and does a phenomenal job with it. You really get Carol’s growing frustration with the dream as she tries to work out what it means by subtly asking everyone other than the person in her dream.] 

It’s A Slow Slide Into Misandry by bendingwind (800): Carol's all fixed up and Jessica's moved on, and things have... changed. [Short little fic post-Hawkeye break-up, dealing with feelings. It’s cute.]

once you live a good story by pummelwhack (Carol/Jess, 13k):  Carol and Jessica redefine what it means to be happy, in the context of coffee, philosophy, and each other. Or: the one where Carol and Steve own a used bookstore, Sam runs the coffee shop next door, and Jessica searches for more than what life is currently offering her. (Lovely, soft fic about falling in love and finding happiness in each other and your life. Some truly beautiful lines and musings about philosophy.)

Pin the Tail by Alsike (Carol/Jess, 7k):  Carol doesn't know who she is. But she knows Jess. She likes Jess. There's probably a good reason why she's not dating Jess, but, you know, amnesia. [Glorious, this fic has pining and angst and trying to deal with amnesia and it just gets Jess and Carol down. And the emotions, they’re just really good as they navigate their relationship and the baggage they bring]

Red by awesomocity (1k): If Carol had been a more self-conscious person she might have worn stale jeans for another day. But years of dealing with brothers and locker rooms and the general knowledge she was both hot AND powerful made standing in a laundromat in her underwear at three in the morning tolerable, if not comfortable.(or, the one where Carol and Jess get romcommed by laundry.) [Love the characterization in this, just a really good fic for cheering you up.]

Smell Like I Sound by Sineala (6k):  Carol likes Jess a lot. That's not the weird part. The weird part is that Carol likes Jess a lot more when Jess isn't in the room. [A pheromones fic taking place in the Marvel Adventures verse. It’s really cute and I really like the push-pull of Carol figuring out her feelings and wondering why she keeps having these moments of revulsion around Jess.]

Snow Day by Traincat (1k):  Jessica Drew goes missing. Carol and the Hulk team up to get her back (and maybe fight some ice monkeys along the way). [Absolutely delightful fic, I love the dynamic between Carol and the Hulk as well as Jessica and the Hulk, and Carol’s concern for Jess. I could easily see this being a real comic]

Such a Cunning Disguise by WhenasInSilks (2k): Carol is fracturing again.Carol and Jess started dating six months before Stamford. Eight months before Captain America died on the courthouse steps. Ten months before things like the measurement of time ceased to be part of Carol’s personal universe.Now she sits alone in the darkness of her cell and feels herself fall apart.A Secret Invasion AU. [This fic HURTS. It’s beautifully written too which makes the angst all the more delicious. Warning for heartbreak and self-loathing and mental instability]

the small rain down can rain by tigrrmilk (3k): When Jess was jumping between universes, trying not to get killed, she had wondered - was there a version of her and Carol who had... made it work? [Jess dealing with Carol having amnesia and going off to space. Really good character stuff, all the complicated feelings Jess has about what Carol did, and then Carol showing up, you can really see the connection between them, regardless of memory loss or distance.] 

Turn Around and Look Back by Sineala (Carol/Jess, 6k):  When Carol first lost her memories, to Rogue, Professor Xavier healed her and let Jess experience all of Carol's missing memories. When Carol loses all her memories -- again -- it's up to Jess to give them back to her, in exactly the same way: Jess has to link with Carol telepathically. But Jess' mind contains a lot of feelings about Carol that she doesn't exactly want Carol to know about. [I love this fic, just all the feelings, the pining, the concern, the character voices, it’s all really good.]

Unshackled by beckydawolf (27k): Carol's in space and Jess is alone again. But that's the pattern of her life. The hunt for a missing teenager leads Jess to some new friends, reminds her she still has some old ones and forces her to face a part of her past she'd rather ignore. [A darker take on the pheromones and the trauma + complications of Jessica’s powers. This fic is really good at how it handles it, and I really love how supportive Carol is. Also Anya and Kamala and America and Kate show up and they’re awesome!]

#monthly fic recs #fic recs #captain marvel #carol danvers #this doesn't have any new fics on it because i haven't read any capmarv fics since the summer

[5hfanfiction]

When the Night Comes - 15

Chapter 15: Lucy

Hell – Year Unknown

            “My name is Lucy Vives and I am a demon slayer,” The brown-haired girl said to herself. “I come from a family of demon slayers. From birth, I was trained to hunt and fight. I found out that my family controlled an army of demons to kill other demon slayer families to be the best using the Red Ruby. I left the Overworld in order to stop them and to make a better world for the love of my life.”

            Lucy rocked back and forth with her knees in her arms on the cold, wet floor of god-knows-what. She repeated the same sentences over and over again in hopes of remembering her identity. She was afraid. She didn’t want to lose herself. She didn’t want to forget the beautiful face of her love. She didn’t want to become another demon in Hell. That was her biggest nightmare, to become the monster that she was trained to hunt down.

            “My name is Lucy Vives and I am a demon slayer,” Lucy repeated again. “I come from a family of demon slayers. From birth, I was trained to hunt and fight. I found out that my family controlled an army of demons to kill other demon slayer families to be the best. I left the Overworld in order to stop them.”

            Piece by piece, Lucy’s memory crumbled and she had no way of holding on. Memories continued to fade out of her control. She slowly became nobody, leaving behind an empty vessel that could be easily influenced by the harsh environment that is Hell. They say that when someone comes out of Hell, they never truly come back the same as when they went in. Lucy would now become the victim of that.

            “My name is Lucy Vives and I am a demon slayer,” Lucy repeated for the millionth time. “I come from a family of demon slayers. From birth, I was trained to hunt and fight.”

            Lucy fought hard to remember more details but it was no use as darkness filled her mind. She kept trying and trying to remember but again, she came up with nothing. Out of frustration she began to cry. Tears filled her eyes and they fell from her face and down to her hands. She knew at that moment that it was time to say goodbye to herself.

            “My name is Lucy Vives,” Lucy said to herself. “And I don’t know who I am anymore.”

*

Year 2016 – Miami – The Safe Zone

            “Where could she have gone?” Camila asked Lauren who was pacing back and forth in the room.

            “I don’t know,” Lauren quickly responded, careful not to make eye with the slayer. “She’s not the same Lucy I knew before. She’s… broken.”

            “Lauren,” Camila approached the emerald-eyed girl and placed a hand on her shoulder. “I know this is hard for you, but I need you to help me here. You knew her best out of all of us. You must have some sort of idea about where she could have gone.”

            “The moment that she stepped out of that black hole, I already knew she was gone,” Lauren said as she buried her face in her hands, massaging her temples. “The way she looked at me, it was different. I was a stranger to her. Act or not, that was not Lucy… I don’t know that girl. All I know is, she’s working against us. We just need to find whoever put her up to it.”

            Camila stood up and wrapped her arms around the emerald-eyed girl and said, “We’ll find them. We’ll find her too. And maybe we can get her memories back once we find that book. We’re going to stop searching for Cliff and we’re going to start searching for her. She’ll probably have more information on whatever’s going on than whatever Cliff knows. It’s going to be okay, Lauren.”

            Lauren tried to be strong in front of the slayer but ultimately, she broke down. She let down her defenses and wrapped her arms around the petite brunette, not wanting to let her go. All the memories, once again, rushed back into her head, haunting her with the good memories threatening to shatter her undead heart. Lauren knew that nothing was ever going to be the same. No matter how much she wanted things to return back to normal, it was never going to happen. Too many things have happened.

            Suddenly, a knock on the door was heard. The two girls separated from their embrace as Camila said, “Come in.”

            Dinah opened the door and only entered her head into the room, “Lestat’s awake. Do you want to question him now? I understand if you want some more time. I could always just knock him out again.”

            Camila didn’t say a word. Instead she waited for Lauren to decide. Camila made Lauren her priority and she wanted to make sure she was okay. She didn’t want to rush her into situations she didn’t want to be in even if the clock was running out. Camila looked Lauren and waited for Lauren’s response. Lauren looked back and said, “Let’s question the son of a bitch.”

*

            “Can I just get a sip, please?” Lestat whined at Normani and Ally who watched him closely.

            Lestat was tied to a chair in the middle of a dirty old room in the Safe Zone. The other residents told Camila and the girls that the room was often used for interrogations such as what was about to happen with Lestat. The room was padded, preventing the captives to hurt themselves. The room was also soundproof to prevent any person overhearing important information. It was perfect for the girls’ current situation.

            “I know you can hear me,” Lestat whined again as Normani and Ally continued to ignore the annoying vampire. “You can’t ignore me forever, you know.”

            The door of the room opened, a loud creaking noise filled the room. Lauren and Camila stepped through the doorway, signalling for Normani and Ally to exit the room. Lestat’s mouth curled to a smile as he had new people to annoy.

            “To what do I owe the pleasure of your company, Lauren?” Lestat said, accompanied with an annoying chuckle. “You need my help, don’t you?”

            Lauren took her time to answer Lestat, trying to calm herself down before replying. There was no use for violence at the moment. She needed to clear her mind, no matter how much she wanted to cut the vampire up into a million pieces.

            “You’re fucking annoying,” Lauren said as she approached Lestat. In her hand, she held a stake. “Do you know how hard it is for me to stop myself from plunging this in your heart?”

            “Ooooh, you’re scary…” Lestat joked, his mouth curling into another smile. “Come on, Lauren. What do you need from me? Why are you here? The book? Is that what you need? I can get you the book. I know who has it.”

            “Who has it then?” Lauren asked, genuinely curious.

            Camila watched as the two vampires spat words out at each other. She waited for some sort of progression in their conversation before making her move. It wasn’t until Lestat moved forward in his seat that Camila kicked him back towards the back of the chair, moving him back a few inches. She doesn’t want Lestat to try anything that could potentially hurt Lauren.

            “Don’t fucking move unless we tell you to.” Camila said seriously.

            “You’ve got big balls, don’t you sweetheart?” Lestat, once again, chuckled as he spoke his words. “Don’t worry, I was just trying to whisper a little secret into Lauren’s ear here.”

            “Whatever you say to her, you say to me too. That’s how it works here.” Camila said, not removing her foot off of Lestat’s chest.

            “Alright,” Lestat said, the smirk wiped off of his face. “God, you two are too serious. What do you want to know?”

            “What did you want with Lucy?” Lauren asked as she tried hard to supress tears.

            “I was going to make her into my little slave,” Lestat answered honestly. “But the Dark Army had something bigger planned for her.”

Hell – Year Unknown

            “Who are you?” A deep voice asked in the darkness. “What is your purpose here?”

            Lucy was sat in a large wooden chair lined with red fabric. She sat before a figure which she couldn’t see. She wasn’t afraid. She didn’t feel anything. She had become desensitized by the whole concept of Hell. She was too used to it now. It had become her home. With no memories to remind her of what good is, she was easily swayed into the dark side. Lucy had become a part of the Dark Army.

            “My name is Lucy,” She answered the voice in the dark. “My purpose here is to serve you, Master.”

            “Good,” The deep voice in the darkness said happily. “You are correct. You must obey me.”

            “I must obey you,” Lucy said in a robotic manner. “I live to serve.”

            “You will be a great addition to my army,” The deep voice snuck out of the darkness once more. “You will help me take revenge on those Saviours. No one takes advantage of the Dark Army and walks away without paying.”

            “Yes, Master.” Lucy bowed her head.

            “First, you will go back to the Overworld and you will find me that book,” The deep voice commanded. “After, you and I can locate the Red Ruby and we will do to those Saviours what they did to us. They must learn what it is like to be a slave.”

            “Yes, Master.” Lucy looked up, revealing black orbs for eyes.

            “Go, my little puppet.” The face behind the deep voice peeked out of the darkness, revealing a red skinned demon with large horns on top of his head.

Year 2016 – Miami – The Safe Zone

            “How do you know that Lucy is part of the Dark Army?” Camila asked Lestat who was looking bad after Lauren had punched him a couple of times.

            “Love, I’m part of the Dark Army.” Lestat laughed as sweat rolled down his face.

            “How do we know you’re not lying?” Lauren asked as she continued to hold the stake in her hand. “How do we know that you’re not just saying this to save your ass?”

            “Lauren, you know me,” Lestat said as he spat out a little bit of blood just a little ways away from Lauren’s shoes. “Have I ever lied to you?”

            “Countless times actually,” Lauren pointed out. “So how would we know you’re not lying right now.”

            “Check my left arm, she should know.” Lestat commanded Camila as he looked straight at Lauren.

            Camila did as she was told and rolled up the white sleeve on Lestat’s left arm. With the sleeve out of the way, the two girls were able to see the tattoo on Lestat’s arm. The tattoo was the symbol of Asmodeus, the demon thought of as the God of Sin.

            Lauren was taken aback at the sight of the demonic symbol and didn’t think that Lestat would ever have it in him to be a part of the Dark Army.

            “There is one thing that doesn’t make sense,” Lauren pointed out. “What doesn’t make sense to me is the fact that the Dark Army stole the book from you. If you really were a part of them, then wouldn’t you have just handed them the book? Why did it take them so long to retrieve it from you? Unless… you are a double agent working for both sides, aren’t you? You were always the type of vampire to be on the winning side. No loyalty.”

            “Good observation,” Lestat chuckled. “That’s how you survive, Lauren. You have to be flexible when it comes to loyalty. For me, what’s always worked best is who can offer me the best deal. This time around, no one was able to offer me anything good. So I thought, why not let the Saviours and the Dark Army get rid of each other?”

            “And how did that work out for you?” Lauren asked, a slight grin displayed on her face.

            “Well, as you can see it didn’t go too great for me,” Lestat shook his head. “It was all because of your crew here. If you hadn’t picked Lucy up at the Bronze, everything would be okay right now. She would have never known about the book.”

            “That doesn’t make any sense,” Lauren pointed out. “You were going to keep her at your house. She would have found out one way or another.”

            “Not if I killed her first,” Lestat looked dead straight into Lauren’s eyes. “I was going to kill her once I got my hands on her. Now you just made things worse for everyone. Without that book, the Dark Army would have no way to find the Red Ruby.”

            “What does the Red Ruby have to do with this?” Lauren asked, curious as to what Lestat had to say.

            “Do you know what the Red Ruby does, Lauren?” Lestat leaned in closer to Lauren’s face.

            “I know enough,” Lauren said as she remembered what the stone had done to her. “I just know that it strips you of all humanity. You are no longer restrained by your conscience and you do whatever it takes to satisfy yourself. You become a monster.”

            “Yes, there’s that and you know the other option,” Lestat continued. “You can use it to control those around you. I know that you had a taste of the Red Ruby, didn’t you Lauren? Now imagine what the Red Ruby did to you and apply that to a giant army of strong demons. Mindless killing machines wandering around Miami wreaking havoc… imagine that. Those Saviours, the supposed heroes of Miami, controlled the Dark Army to eliminate their competitors. They murdered their kind in order to be the best. They’re the true evil. That’s why your lovely Lucy transferred her memories to your new girlfriend. She knew it was now, the right time, to defeat her own family.”

            “How do you know all of this?” Lauren asked, disappointed that she wasn’t able to make the connections herself.

            “Like you said, I like to be on the winning side,” Lestat smirked. “There are perks to working for both sides.”

            As soon as Camila heard what Lestat had to say, everything from Lucy to the crimes that her family had committed in the past, she couldn’t take it anymore. She ran out of the room and leaned her back on the wall, trying to catch her breath. Her head spun in circles. It felt as if she was about to puke. She finally knew what crimes her mother and father spoke of. It was her family’s fault. She had been fighting for the wrong side all along. She knew it was up to her now to correct all their wrongs.

            Lauren ran out of the room after Camila, closing the door behind her to ensure that Lestat doesn’t have an opportunity to escape. She was worried about the petite brunette. She knew it was hard for Camila to hear what her family had done. She approached her carefully and tried to comfort her. She didn’t have to try too hard as Camila threw herself into Lauren’s arms. Lauren welcomed her in her arms and held her tightly. It was at this moment that Lauren swore to do anything for Camila. She wanted to do what was best for the petite brunette, and she knew that she had to finish what Lucy had started in the past. It was her duty.

            “I don’t want to do this anymore, Lauren,” Camila sobbed into Lauren’s ear as the petite brunette held the emerald-eyed girl tightly in her arms. “Everything is weighing down on me. This is too much.”

            “I know,” Lauren said calmly, hoping Camila would follow suit and calm down. “I know that this is all too much for you right now. It must be hard to hear about all of the things that Lestat just told us but we have to do what’s right. I know that you know that. I also know that I can’t ask you to do something that you don’t want to do. So… if ever you want to pull out of this mission, you just tell me, okay? I will do everything I can to get you out of this safely, no matter what you choose to do. You’re my priority right now. I need to keep you safe.”

            Camila pulled away to look into Lauren’s eyes and smiled, still with tears in her eyes, “Thank you so much.”

            “You’re welcome,” Lauren replied, smiling. “You should go get some rest. I’ll finish up here and get as much information I can get from this asshole. I’ll come up to meet you afterwards, is that okay?”

            Camila nodded and hugged Lauren tightly once more. Deep down she knew that Lauren was only doing this because of Lucy, but she hoped desperately that Lauren would fall for her someday. If not, she would have to cut her out of her life. She couldn’t have someone around her that would only cause her confusion. She would never be sure about her feelings if Lauren was around. Camila vowed, at this moment, that once their mission was done that she would leave Lauren alone for good. She knew that that might be the best choice for both of them.

            “Are you going to be okay on your own?” Lauren asked, a concerned look on her face. “Maybe I could ask Dinah or Ally to stay with you for a while.”

            “Lauren,” Camila let go of the emerald-eyed girl. “I’ll be okay on my own. Don’t worry. Just go and do what you have to do.”

            Lauren let out a deep breath and let go of the petite brunette. She smiled and said, “I should really stop underestimating you. You’re the strongest person I know. You should teach me how you do it sometime.”

            Camila nodded and smiled, trying to hide the pain. She didn’t want this mission to be the last time she and Lauren ever saw each other. She didn’t want to say goodbye to the girl with the beautiful green eyes. She didn’t want to say goodbye to the girl that taught her how to love. Lauren was too precious to her. But Lauren was right. Camila was strong. She was strong enough to be the kind of person to say goodbye to the love of her life so that she could continue being the strong woman that she is. She couldn’t let herself be consumed by jealousy or greed. She didn’t want to be tied down to chasing one girl forever, a girl that would never fall in love with her.

            “I’ll see you later, okay?” Lauren said as Camila walked away. “I promise we’ll make things right.”

*

Year 2016 – Location Unknown

            Click. Click. Click. Click. Lucy’s dark red stilettos clicked on the concrete floor as she made her way through a dark hallway. She chewed on gum, blowing a bubble now and then to keep her from boredom. She didn’t like how isolated it was at this secret hideaway her Master put her in. She wanted to go back to the girls to cause more confusion. She loved playing games with people. She felt a thrill out of being close to the enemy then coming in for the kill when the time came. Finally, Lucy reached a big metal door at the end of the hall. She knocked as she blew another bubble.

            Pop. The bubble bursted in the face of a gnarly looking demon with green skin full of sharp horns made of what looked like its bones. The demon made a face of disgust as Lucy walked in. The demon seemed to not be too fond of humans, especially one that used to be a Saviour.

            “Lucy…” The same deep voice Lucy had come to be familiar with over the years. “You’ve returned. You look beautiful as ever.”

            “Do I?” Lucy looked down at her body, checking out her outfit. “I killed some businesswoman to get this get-up.”

            “Hm…” The deep voice was impressed. “Lucy, you’ve truly outdone yourself. We have retrieved the book from the coordinates you shared with us. Lestat, that traitor, didn’t know what was coming to him. And those demon slayers… as clueless as ever. Once the ritual is done, we’ll have obtained the Red Ruby and those Saviours will bow down to us. And finally, after all these years, we can finally achieve what we’ve been trying to achieve for so long.”

            Lucy popped another bubble and said, “Everything is falling into place just like you said, Master. It’s only a matter of time before everything is ours. These petty little humans won’t even know what hit them.”

            “Oh, they’ll know!” The deep voice shouted passionately. “I want them to suffer. I want them to feel pain. And you’ve helped me make my way closer to that. I thank you, Lucy.”

#UPDATE #series #AU #slash #camren #norminah #action adventure #scifi supernatural fantasy #submission #When the Night Comes

[cuthian]

Starting Over Chapter Five

Hi guys!

This chapter marks the start of the Asgard chapters :-) Should you prefer to skip over this portion of the story (which focuses briefly on Becca and Thor's relationship and its development), you can read up until Becca drags Steve out of the room, and then skip to the end notes, where I'll summarize the events for you, so you'll be able to follow along.

Thanks for reading!

Love, Annaelle

Chapter Five

PEPPER POTTS PREGNANT?

Speculation is rampant that the CEO of Stark Industries, Pepper Potts, who is best known for her progressive business style and activism for the LGBTQIA+ community, is expecting a baby with long-time partners James Rhodes and Tony Stark. The rumors arose when Potts was spotted heading into a private gynecology clinic a few days ago, with what appeared to be “What To Expect When You’re Expecting” sticking out of the top of her purse.

Another source, reportedly close to Potts and her family, revealed that during the last dinner organized by Stark Industries, Potts toasted with a glass of sparkling water rather than her customary glass of white wine, and named this as a “highly unusual occurrence”.  

Stark Industries’ rep told journalists, “I am not authorized to comment on Ms. Potts’ personal life,”...and therefore neither confirmed nor denied the rumors. This, in combination with complete radio silence from Stark, Potts and Rhodes themselves, has caused several stories about the alleged pregnancy to pop up across various social media sites and tabloids during the past 48 hours.

With all residents of the Avengers Tower remaining silent on the subject, we’ll have to wait and see if that baby book and the so-called high-profile wine-avoidance are the key clues that ultimately lead to the hashtag “Iron Baby” being confirmed as a reality.

—Sharnaz Shahid, “Pepper Potts Pregnant?”, Hello! Online, November 27th, 2015

————————

Personal floor Of Steve Rogers, Becca Barnes and Thor, Avengers Tower, Manhattan, New York, U.S.A.

November 28th, 2015 – 9:19 AM

Steve

“Hey,” Steve smiled at Sam when the video call connected, doing his best to not look like he had been up half the night because of nightmares, because Sam would know and he would try to make Steve talk about it, and Steve was not in the mood to talk about seeing the love of his life fall off the side of a train and down a cliff because Steve hadn’t been fast enough to catch him with his current possibly-maybe-kind of boyfriend/friend.

“Hi,” Sam grinned. “How’s the Big Apple treating you?”

“Not bad,” Steve hummed, lifting his hand and wiggling it side to side. “I mean, there’s already been a party, Tony got me drunk, I made out with Thor, Pepper’s pregnant, so… You know, busy.”

“Shit,” Sam laughed, leaning back in his chair with a soft groan and the creak of metal springs. “I don’t even know where to start unpacking all of that.” Steve chuckled and leaned back into the couch too, leaning one foot up against Tony’s coffee table. He’d talked to Sam on video chat most days since they’d moved back to New York, and they’d texted on the days they hadn’t been able to free up enough private time for a video call.

They’d had a lot of things to arrange when they’d moved back here—there had been lengthy negotiations with S.H.I.E.L.D. to transfer them back from their daily duties at the Triskelion to Avenger-only missions, and even lengthier negotiations with Tony about moving back to the Tower for the time being rather than back to Becca’s apartment—and Steve hated just how busy they’d been.

He also sort of hated how… undecided he and Sam had left things.

They weren’t romantically involved—not really, and the few times they’d made out during movie night didn’t count—but they weresomething, and Steve moving back to another city probably wasn’t going to help them figure out just what that was.

They were friends, first and foremost, and Steve didn’t want to screw that up.

He liked having a friend that he hadn’t met while punching aliens and Nazis.

It was a refreshing change.

“You made out with Thor again?” Sam finally said, a shit-eating grin on his lips, and Steve groaned, because he shouldn’t have said that, and he still couldn’t quite believe Thor had done that, and that he’d been so casual about it, and shook his head.

“It wasn’t—it was a dare,” he insisted, barely resisting the urge to cover his face to hide just how hard he was blushing. It shouldn’t be a big deal, because he’d made out with Thor before, much more intimately than this time, and Thor was his friend, and he was dating Becca, but…

Thor was hot and Steve was weak and gay.

He’d known Thor for literal years, and considered him to be one of his best friends on this side of the ice, but Steve was just a man, and he still went a little weak in the knees too when Thor wandered out of the shower or the gym in nothing but a towel or—barely decent—shorts.

“Uh-huh,” Sam hummed, looking entirely unimpressed with Steve’s—weak—defense. “Whatever you say, pretty boy. You make a habit of making out with your friends?”

Steve grumbled wordlessly and pouted.

Sam laughed, shaking his head in exasperation. “Come on, Rogers,” he grinned. “You’re allowed to admit you liked it when the God of Thunder kissed you.”

“Except he’s also my best friend’s boyfriend,” Steve pointed out.

Sam nodded. “I see your point.”

Steve grunted and shook his head. “How’re things over there?”

Sam, thankfully, accepted the change in topic and regaled Steve with tales of his colleagues’ shenanigans, and Steve relaxed, laughing in the right places and interjecting where necessary.

He enjoyed how… normal the conversation was.

He enjoyed how simple and easy it was.

He enjoyed that talking to Sam wasn’t hard, like it was with the others, sometimes.

“Steve, can you help me find the—” Steve sighed at Becca when she squealed, dropping whatever she’d been holding and launching herself onto the couch beside Steve, one knee knocking into his back and the other very nearly kneeing him someplace he would much rather keep intact. “Steve,” she said sternly, “you didn’t tell me you were talking to your boyfriend.”

She shot a brilliant—deceptively nice—smile Sam’s way. “Hi Sam.”

“Hey Barnes,” Sam smirked.

“He’s not my boyfriend, Becs,” Steve sighed, because they’d been over this a million times already, and he knew she was teasing, but he… he didn’t want to rub his indecision about their relationship in Sam’s face either. He didn’t mind when she was teasing him—he would give as good as he got, it’s how they worked—but he wasn’t sure he liked it when she did it in front of Sam.

“Aw,” Becca pouted, leaning on Steve’s shoulder dramatically. “Why not? He’s cute.”

Sam cackled, and Steve abruptly remembered the other reason Becca and Sam needed to remain separated at all costs.

They were horrible little shits and they ganged up on him every time.

“Yeah, Rogers,” Sam grinned, leaning closer to the camera and smirking at Steve in a way that did things to Steve. “Why not? You heard the lady. I’m cute. You afraid you can’t handle my glorious ass?”

Steve snorted and Becca fucking cackled. “Nah,” Steve smirked. “You ain’t shit, Wilson. I can handle it. You, on the other hand…” he raised his eyebrow suggestively, copying the way Bucky used to waggle his eyebrows when he wanted something, because he knew it worked, damn it.

Becca nodded sagely beside him. “It is America’s ass, you know. It’s what all the tabloids are saying.”

“Oh, well, if the tabloids are saying so,” Sam said sarcastically.

“You two are horrible,” Steve told Becca and Sam seriously, falling back into the couch with a pout. “I vote all discussions about my ass get vacated immediately.”

“Overruled,” Becca said gleefully, and Sam yelled, “Nope!”

Steve glared at her, feeling abjectly horrified and a little betrayed. Becca just shrugged. “You kissed my boyfriend, hotshot. I get a free pass.”

Sam cackled again and Steve flushed. “He kissed me,” he argued ineffectively. “It was a dare!”

Sam and Becca just dissolved into giggles and Steve shook his head exasperatedly. He looked up at the screen in time to catch Sam smiling at him, fond and amused, and it wasn’t nearly as awkward as he’d thought it would be to look at the friend he’d tried to date and might try to date again in the future and discuss the other friend that he’d accidentally made out with again.

“Okay,” Becca said when they’d sobered up a little, leaning forward to grin at Sam. “Sorry to cut this short, lover boy, but I’m leaving in like four hours, and I need Steve to help me get ready.”

“I’ll allow it,” Sam nodded graciously. “I need to get to my mama’s Sunday dinner anyway.” He raised an eyebrow at Steve and smirked. “You know, if the paparazzi will leave my fine black ass be.” Becca cackled and Steve shook his head, pulling a pillow onto his lap and face planting into it.

He didn’t know why he bothered.

“I hate you,” he told the pillow.

“Aw, sugar,” Becca drawled. “You break my heart.”

Sam laughed, and Steve smiled into his pillow. “Have fun in Asgard,” Sam told Becca, “Tell that dramatic puppy to call me back tomorrow.”

Steve looked up a little. “I ain’t dramatic,” he asserted.

“Sure,” Sam chuckled. “Call me later.”

He hung up before Steve could say anything else, and J.A.R.V.I.S. collapsed the holographic screen, leaving him and Becca in a now distressingly empty living room.

“Come on,” Becca told him. “I need your help picking what I’m bringing to Asgard.”

Steve frowned. “You leave in four hours.”

“I know,” Becca stressed. “That is why I need your help.”

Steve groaned. “You’re a disaster,” he said, but allowed Becca to tug him out of the room by his hand anyway. Becca made his sort-of-maybe-kind-of boyfriend hang up on him, so it wasn’t like he had anything better to do.

As long as she didn’t make him help her pick lingerie again.

————————

EARTH APPOINTS FIRST AMBASSADOR FOR ASGARD

REBECCA BARNES JUNIOR SET TO DEPART TO ASGARD FOR FIRST DIPLOMATIC MISSION WITHIN SIX MONTHS.

NEW YORK — Rebecca Barnes, a career soldier and S.H.I.E.L.D. agent from Brooklyn, New York, has rubbed elbows with the U.S.A.’s rich and famous since childhood. As one of the only grandchildren to Dr. Rebecca Barnes Sr. and former state senator James Proctor, and Margaret “Peggy” Carter’s godchild, Barnes has been thrust into the spotlight from childhood on, when a picture of a one-year-old Rebecca Barnes toddling along with a teenaged Tony Stark’s hands holding her up was published in various tabloids and popular media outlets.

[...]made headlines again at twenty-two, when she was rescued by Tony Stark’s Iron Man from a six-month captivity by an unknown terrorist group, and again four years later for fighting alongside the original Avengers during the Battle of New York.

[...]Barnes, 29, may face her toughest and most public posting yet: as Earth and the Avengers’ first official ambassador to visit Asgard. [...]appointment is believed to be a response to the Prince of Asgard’s official position on Earth as Asgard’s ambassador. Skeptics have expressed doubts about Barnes’ qualifications for the position beyond her status as Thor of Asgard’s longtime romantic partner, but Barnes refuted said doubts in a short press conference shortly after her appointment.

“While I certainly may not appear the most qualified, I assure you no one else is more prepared to take on the role[...] I will seek to impart our values, our institutions and our thoughts on human rights to Asgard and its rulers, and I will implore them to maintain good relations between our planets.”

“[...] in a sense that diplomacy is by nature a long-term business, where one does not necessarily see goals being fulfilled from one day to the next,” Thor Odinson, Prince and Ambassador of Asgard said in response to being asked if he felt establishing diplomatic relations would improve Asgardian relations with some of Earth’s less receptive inhabitants.

—Adam Satariano, “The World’s First Ambassador to Asgard”, The New York Times, 13 May 2015

————————

Town Square, Idavoll, Asgard

November 28th, 2015 – 2:36 PM (Earth UCT+1)

Becca

Although Thor had been planning their trip to Asgard for months by now, Becca had to admit she hadn’t given a lot of thought to what Thor’s homeland would actually be like.

He had spoken of it plenty of times over the past few years, and had even aided Steve in sketching a few of his favorite places within the city and the palace. She knew, abstractly, what it looked like, and she knew that their societal structure was a lot more similar to 18th-century British high society than it was to 21st century American society.

Somehow, though, despite Thor referring to the city as ‘The Golden City’ more than once, she’d still expected it to be dull and gray; the streets muddy and wet, rats scurrying over the cobblestones as orphaned children and beggars sat in the gutter, pleading for scraps of food and coin. Her vision of Asgard, of a society similar to their 18th century one, had likely been colored by shitty Hollywood movies.

This though… this was not what she thought it would be.

The bustling liveliness of the city startled her, and there were splashes of color where she had envisioned only gray—small stalls that were laden with richly colored fabrics and jewels, merchants shouting over one another to gain their potential buyer’s attention, shockingly green ivy that climbed the façade of most houses, and people that bustled about, arms filled with purchases and bright smiles lingering on their lips. There were children playing in the corner of the square, near a small fountain, all dressed from head to toe in warm tunics and furs, yelling and laughing with a carefree air she couldn’t recall ever having seen before, not really.

It reminded her, oddly, more of the bazaars she’d seen in the Middle East than anything else.

She could see several narrow streets leading away from the square, all packed with merchants and people, and even a busker, singing at the top of his lungs about a fair maiden and a crude sailor.

“Woah,” she breathed, tightening her fingers in Thor’s sleeve, “this is…”

“Yes,” Thor offered her a broad smile, sweeping his hand in a gesture that encompassed the entire city square. “It is a glorious sight, isn’t it?”

She nodded, chancing a glance over her shoulder towards the attendants who had met them just outside of the Himinbjörg, waiting in a neat, orderly line on the rainbow bridge. She could feel their eyes on them constantly, and she could hear the silent judgement when she took Thor’s arm rather than walk a step behind him, as the lead attendant had clearly expected her to do.

Thor, thankfully, had shaken his head in dismissal when the man made to protest, and led her onto the bridge and into the city by his side.

“My father,” Thor began hesitantly, “has apparently deigned to organize a feast in our honor.” He didn’t sound too excited about the prospect, and she suspected this might be one of the less pleasant things he had warned her they would have to endure during their stay on Asgard.

He had told her that his father did not approve of their relationship, and that he would likely seek to make things as unpleasant as possible while they were there.

“Okay,” she nodded. “What does that mean? What do we have to do?”

Thor grinned, and pointed towards one of the colorful stalls at the far end of the square, where she could just barely see an elderly woman shuffling around as she helped the variety of people that halted at the stall to purchase something. “First, we outfit you with appropriate garments,” he explained. “My father undoubtedly waited until the very last moment to inform me of the feast in the hopes you would be forced to decline attending due to a lack of appropriate clothing.”

He grinned rakishly, uncharacteristically pleased to outwit his father, even in such a small, seemingly insignificant way. “Fortunately, Lady Aase should be able to aid us.”

She nodded, slightly apprehensive, but willingly let him guide her through the crowd—and if she grasped his arm a little tighter and shuffled a little closer to him than strictly necessary, that was no one’s business but hers. She was, after all, in a different land—on a different planet—and Thor was the only person around that she actually knew.  

And though she was on the verge of panicking a little—because even after years of being back and living in New York goddamned City, she did not always do well with crowds—she trusted Thor.

Thor stopped in front of the stall, waiting patiently as Aase helped a young woman choose what appeared to be some kind of blue silk skirt. Becca fidgeted nervously as she eyed the variety of garments laid out on the table and in the open tent behind the stall.

“So…” she drawled nervously, rubbing her fingers across his arm, focusing on the feel of the fabric of his cloak between her fingers. “I’d have thought being the crown prince would give you access to personal seamstresses and the like. Any reason we’re here instead?”

“Ah,” he chuckled, “it does, but I fear they might seek to delay the process if my father told them to. Aase, on the other hand, cares very little for such politics. As long as you are kind to her, she will likely adopt you and outfit you with more clothes than you will ever be able to wear.” Thor shrugged and added, “She was often like a grandmother to us. Mother’s parents died long before we were born and father’s parents died in the First War with Jotunheim. She was kind to us when we were little.”

Her eyes widened as she returned her gaze to the lively elderly woman in the tent, slightly more nervous now that she knew what Thor’s connection to the woman was.

It wasn’t that she wasn’t prepared to meet his family and friends—it was the express purpose of this trip, after all—but that didn’t mean she wasn’t nervous about it. The knowledge that his father didn’t approve of their relationship, and that he likely never would, regardless of how long they stayed together, ate at her more than she would ever admit out loud, even to Thor.

Especially to Thor.

She’d never thought she’d actually care about getting any parent’s approval so much, but here she was.

“Odinson, ye great big clodhopper,” the woman shouted when she had accepted a handful of coins from her final customer, hobbling out of the stall towards them. “Have ye finally deigned us worthy of visiting again, down ‘ere in the slumps?” Becca watched with no small amount of amusement as the old, wizened woman patted Thor’s cheek—her heart squeezing in fond exasperation when he bent forward so she could reach at all—chattering about how he’d been gone too long and she should whoop him for abandoning her all to her lonesome before she finally turned her attention to Becca.

“And this must be the reason why ye’ve abandoned Asgard in favor of Midgard of late?” the woman inquired shrewdly, eyeing Becca up and down carefully after she shoved Thor aside—and Becca resisted the urge to squirm beneath the woman’s gaze—before nodding with an approving smile.

“This is my Lady Rebecca,” Thor told her proudly.

“Very pretty,” Aase nodded. “Good childbearing hips. Ye’ll bear him strong children.” She patted Becca’s cheek and turned away before she could say anything to that, before she could even think about a denial—because she couldn’t, she was human, and even if she could, she didn’t think she wanted to.

“Ah, Aase,” Thor said, likely understanding how uncomfortable Becca was about the subject. “You know Aesir cannot procreate with Midgardians.”

Aase eyed them both intently, her pale eyes flickering between her and Thor a few times before she shook her head. “Seiðr is unpredictable, young man,” she said sternly. “Ye’d do well to remember that.”  

Becca bristled a little at the implication, but Aase nodded decisively and turned back to Thor before she could say anything about it. “Now I presume ye’re here because of this quaint get-together our King announced this morning?” She grinned toothily and hobbled back into the stall. “Caused quite the stir with such last-minute announcement. It’s very nearly scandalous.”

“Indeed,” Thor sighed, reaching out to take one of Becca’s hands in his, drawing her closer again. “I fear the dresses I had fashioned for Rebecca are not suited for such occasion, since I did not anticipate such formal occasion occurring during our stay here at all.”

Becca winced and glanced towards Aase, who was nodding along, sifting through the piles of fabric on the table with a thoughtful expression on her wrinkled face. “Aye, I imagine ye didn’t,” she told him wryly. “Come along then, Frøken. “We’ll get ye settled.”

After a quick glance to Thor, who nodded encouragingly at her, she followed Aase into the tent that had been pitched behind the little table that held the piles of fabrics. “Now you watch my wares, Odinson,” Aase said, turning around to point one finger at Thor. “I’ll help yer lass find some appropriate clothin’. This is no place fer men—even princely ones. Get us some cherry pie too.”

Becca watched in astonishment as the elderly woman pressed a few coins into Thor’s hand—as though he needed her to pay for him—and shooed him out of the tent, pulling the large flap at the front closed.

“Now,” Aase’s gravelly voice drew her attention back to where the older lady stood. “Let’s get started.”

————————

GLADSHEIM, VALASKAILF, ASGARD

NOVEMBER 28TH, 2015 – 8:27PM (EARTH UCT+1)

THOR

Thor had, in his long years of life, attended many a feast thrown at his own behest. He was, after all, Asgard’s favored son, its golden prince and its valiant protector. While he had relished in the feasts readily when he had been younger and, perhaps, less wise, he found them tedious now, filled with people that sought his father’s favor like spoiled children clamoring for attention. Worse, even, was that his father entertained such fools, and allowed them access into their hallowed halls, whereas he would once have shunned them for degrading themselves so.

Of course, the feast today was one of little import and great significance at the same time. Thor had not attended a feast in his honor since Loki had fallen to Malekith’s ilk, and he had certainly never done so with his Midgardian lover by his side. While tradition forbade him from spending the entire evening with Rebecca and his friends, it allowed enough leeway for him to meet her at the gilded doors, to escort her inside.

He had not seen her since his father had dispatched a passel of handmaidens, one blushing fiercer than the next when they had seen him kiss Rebecca goodbye, to escort her to the chambers that had been prepared for her, and he had not yet seen her fully adorned in the garb of his people.

It was, honestly, a breathtaking sight.

He had been in love with her for some time—longer, honestly, than he had allowed himself to admit, even within the relatively private confines of his own mind—and he had always thought her beautiful, but it was different to see her… to see her as she would have appeared if she had been born Asgardian. It was both wonderful and excruciating to imagine what it might’ve been like if she had been born on Asgard rather than Earth.

His father, certainly, would not hate her so much.

“You look breathtaking,” he told her when he reached her, reaching out to still her trembling hands with his own. He knew she was likely nervous—it was not as though he could blame her for it—this was, in all likelihood, unlike anything she had ever done before, and she had not been able to prepare for the evening as thoroughly as Thor would otherwise have insisted.

There were far too many unspoken rules, too many rigid guidelines to steer social interaction during such events, too many ways one could take insult and seek retribution against his Rebecca.

Sif, of course, much more schooled in the ways of Aesir court, had sworn she would not leave Rebecca’s side during the feast, and Hogun had pledged the same, and it made Thor feel marginally better, to know that his friends would seek to protect Rebecca from the whims of nobility when he would be prevented of doing so himself by courtly duties.

“Thank you,” Becca sighed, shaking her head and dropping one hand to rest against her sternum. “I can’t breathe, and I feel like this thing has my boobs shoved up to my chin, but at least it looks good.” She gave him a breathless smile and winked when he couldn’t help but eye said bosom appreciatively—she did look positively delectable.

Thor chuckled and slightly brushed his fingers across the tops of her breasts, relishing in her affronted expression. “In such case,” he grinned, “I look forward to returning you to your chambers and aiding you in…” he trailed his hand down the exaggerated curve of her waist, coming to rest lightly on her hip, where the soft fabric of her deep red dress flared, falling loosely around her legs, “… removingsuch constricting attire.”

Becca smirked and leaned up onto her toes to sling her arms around his neck. “You know you have more of an accent when you’re here?” She pecked his lips quickly. “It’s kind of hot.”

“Is it?”

He smirked, slipping his arms around her waist, lifting her slightly off her feet so he could kiss her properly, as he had not had the chance to do since they had arrived in Asgard. She returned his affection gladly, smiling against his lips and pressing herself against him, only moving when one of his father’s Einherjar coughed loudly.

Thor almost smiled when she merely turned her head a little to look at the man, raising a single eyebrow as if to question why he dared interrupt them. While Thor questioned the wisdom of such blatant disrespect, he certainly appreciated the sentiment.

“I fear our time has run out,” he disclosed with an intimate smile, smoothing his hands down her back as she lowered herself down to stand on her own two feet again.

“Well, I guess we’ve got to entertain the masses,” Becca said, rolling her eyes as she stepped out of his embrace. Thor grinned, lifting her hand to his lips for a brief kiss, before turning to the large, gilded double doors, awaiting their opening.

“They will announce us,” he told Rebecca, although he was certain Sif would have already informed her of the structure of the feast. “And then Father will offer me first dance.”

“Which you will refuse,” Becca said matter-of-factly, throwing him for a moment.

It was, of course, not entirely untrue.

He had, in the past, always refused the first dance when Loki had not been in attendance, for it would’ve proven grievous insult to his brother-betrothed if he were to dance inn mátki munr with another. The first dance of a feast was one of great importance—Thor did not know the history of it, but his mother had always impressed upon him to dance it with no one but those he held dearest to his heart.

For much time, that had been Loki.

Now, a choice stood to be made.

He had shared years with Rebecca, and planned to spend many more by her side. It was a commitment he was pleased to make, but it was one he had, so far, only been able to honor on Earth. Perhaps tonight, at the feast his father had organized to separate him from his beloved—he would relish in the opportunity to turn his father’s wicked intentions on their head, and use the situation to his advantage.

“Perhaps I won’t, this time,” he finally said.

Becca turned to him, eyes wide and forehead creased into a frown. “What are you—”

The doors opened.

————————

8:58 PM (EARTH UCT+1)

The feast, as many of the feasts his father had organized during his reign as King of the Nine, was a carefully constructed show of opulence and thinly veiled decadence. It served to be a strict reminder to the other Nine that they were only allowed to prosper and thrive—or in the case of Jötunheimr, survive—because his father, in his benevolence, willed it so.

While he had not noticed the arrogance and cruelty of such displays for many years, Thor now found it nigh impossible to see anything else in his father’s feasts.

There was little coincidence in the way the All-Father had arranged tonight’s guest list, and the presence of dozens of the Nine’s most eligible princesses and princes had only made him smile harder when he had offered Rebecca his hand when he was asked to open the feast with a dance.

He didn’t doubt that Becca had noticed the sudden, stunned silence when he had taken the honor to open the feast, rather than rejecting it, as he always had before when Loki was not in attendance. She likely did not know what the dance itself signified, what it meant to those in attendance, to see him dance inn mátki munr with his Midgardian lover, but he had little doubt she would demand an explanation as soon as they were alone.

“Thank you for the dance,” he’d whispered when the last notes of the music disappeared, brushing his lips across hers in a feather light kiss. “I will find you once the masses release me.”

Becca had merely smiled at him, kind and understanding even when he was undeserving of it. “You better,” she’d told him sternly, before she had stepped from his embrace, returning to Sif’s side with naught to show for their intimate moment but a faint flush to her cheeks.  

He didn’t know how long it’d been since then, and found himself even less conscious of the meaningless prattle of conversation he had been forced to engage in since then, always dimly aware of Becca’s presence on the periphery of his consciousness, laughing with Sif in the corner of his eye, sweeping Fandral across the dance floor with an unholy amount of glee, fitting in with the rabble he called friends better than he had dared dream she would.

He was glad to see she appeared to be having a grand time, despite her initial reluctance to attend, and he only wished he could enjoy the evening as much as she did. Alas, many of the foreign dignitaries, while undoubtedly clever and highly educated and perfectly lovely conversational partners, seemed woefully dull in comparison to his friends—Midgardian and Asgardian alike.

He struggled to pay attention to whatever banal tale Lady Gróa insisted on telling him, attempting to smile when prompted and interject whenever she required his input, but finding the entire experience severely lacking.

He recalled he had enjoyed conversing with her, once upon a time, when he had been willing to flirt with whoever caught his eye at the time, but he was disappointed to learn that she seemed under the impression that his “Midgardian” would never be able to keep him occupied.

She spoke of his Rebecca almost as though she were a quaint pet he’d acquired.

“Apologies for the interruption,” a new, unfamiliar, but infinitely pleasing voice—with a thicker Vanaheim accent than he was used to hearing at occasions such as this—interrupted Lady Gróa in the middle of her tale about the trees she was cultivating to ensure the continued growth of Golden Apples. “If I could borrow the Prince for a moment?”

He turned, heedless of the little voice in his head—that sounded suspiciously like Loki—that insisted something didn’t feel right. The music that played seemed dimmed, somehow, when he first laid eyes on the woman that stood behind him. Her bright, copper curls gleamed in the light of the candles, and Thor was struck by her beauty at once—he was, as Stark liked to joke, a taken man, but he was certainly not a blind one.

She stood almost as tall as him, full lips curled into an easy smile, dark eyes riveted on his. He felt abruptly lightheaded, and swayed a little where he stood. There was something about this woman that was trying its hardest to lure, to seduce, and had he been a lesser man, Thor suspected he may have easily fallen for whatever plot she sought to carry out.

“I’m Lorelei,” she said softly, fluttering her eyelashes in a way that he could admit was exceptionally aesthetically pleasing, but—

Something wasn’t right about her.

A spell, likely, of some sort.

Thor had never had much talent for spell weaving himself, but he had grown up with a mother who had been raised by witches and a brother-betrothed who liked to learn the most complicated spells he could, just to prove to those that doubted he was capable.

Thor, most unfortunately, had usually been his guinea pig.

It had had led to him learning to recognize such things long ago.

“What do you want?” he demanded, perhaps treading far less cautiously than the situation demanded. “Who are you really?”

Her smile faltered just barely, but enough for him to notice.

“I apologize,” she replied coquettishly. “I don’t know what you mean. My name is Lorelei. I merely wanted to make your acquaintance while you were here on Asgard. You are a difficult man to find, these days.” She paused, reconsidering, and then smiled lightly. “For those not permitted to travel the realms freely, of course.”

There was nothing outwardly threatening about her persona, and Thor could not say why her presence and her insistence on conversation vexed him so, but the annoyance, the blatant anger towards the woman was there nonetheless, pulsing beneath his skin like barely restrained lightning.

“Cease your tricks, Vǫlva,” he spat. “What do you want?”

He looked around, finding that some people had turned towards them, had noticed their Prince’s agitation, at least—but still no Einherjar moved towards them, even though they should have moved at the very first sign of fracas, especially since it involved him.

When he returned his gaze to the woman—Lorelei—she had moved closer, moving towards him with the assessing, cool gaze of a predator, eyeing him as one would an opponent.

Good.

Whatever she had planned, he was in no gaming mood.

“You are different then,” she said, almost amused, one eyebrow raised. “I almost didn’t believe him, when he told me.”

“Speak plainly, woman,” he barked. “I have enough grounds to have you arrested already. Weaving a spell to try to entice anyone is a capital offense in Asgard. I imagine the punishment is much more severe when you foolishly try to cast such weavings on a prince. Do not make things worse for yourself.”  

She chuckled, as though the very idea of him threatening arrest was ludicrous, and shook her head. “I met him once. We had similar interests. You brother-betrothed and I, that is. Former betrothed, I should say. Have you told your pet human what dancing inn mátkimunr with her means to those who witnessed it here?”

The implication was not lost on him, and he seethed quietly at the idea of having to justify himself to this... this no one. Not a woman of noble birth, not a member of his family, not a friend—not even a spurned once-lover.

He did not owe words to her or anyone but Rebecca.

“She knows what she needs to,” he replied honestly, for he had nothing to hide, nothing to feel shamed about. “And when she wishes to learn more, I shall gladly tell her. When we are alone, in the bed that we share—the bed I choose to share with her.”

Lorelei laughed, a high, grating sound, and shook her head. “Who would’ve thought to see this day? The mighty God of Thunder ensnared by a mere mortal. One that has considerable skill in trickery, clearly. You have clearly defined tastes, my Prince.”  

Thor raised an eyebrow, hardly impressed by the weak implication, and smirked, blatantly looking the woman up and down. “Oh, I assure you, Lady Lorelei, she needed no trickery to convince me to join her between her sheets.”

Lorelei’s otherwise beautiful face contorted into a twisted mask of anger and hatred, and she started forward, her hand raised towards him, the air around her fingers trembling with unrestrained Seiðr. Thor hummed, loosening his grip on the thunder that roiled beneath his skin at all times, allowing lightning to play between his fingertips even as the room shook, ever so lightly, around them.

Conversation around them stilled abruptly, and it was as though the crowd had only now realized the threat of two powerful Seiðr users colliding in their midst.

He dared not see why his father had not approached—if this… this Lorelei had been able to use her Seiðr  to subdue even his father, Thor feared that he would not be able to subdue her. If not… he loathed to look, although he knew it was equally, if not more, likely he would find his father lounging on the throne, waiting to see how Thor would handle the problem.

Guards,” he spoke, lowering his voice to a timbre he knew instilled fear in those that opposed him. “Seize this völva and see her to one of the cells guarded by Seiðr.” He did not take his eyes off Lorelei’s darker ones, ever so conscious of the fact that she would attack if he dared show the slightest of weaknesses.

Her lips curled into a mocking smile when none moved to his aid, and Thor felt a frissom of dread, a preternatural shiver that heeded caution run down his spine.

“They’ll not come to your aid, my prince,” she smiled cruelly. “They cannot. Their will is mine now. As I would have yours. Of course, this would’ve been much easier on you if you’d just succumbed.”

“I fear I’m not the habit of doing things the easy way,” he quipped.

“No,” Lorelei smirked. “I see that.”

The ground beneath his feet trembled ominously, and the hairs on the back of his neck raised.

The amount of pure seiðr that the woman sought to summon was both impressive and frightening, for it was enough to level the entire palace to the ground with a single, whispered word. The people that surrounded them moved disjointedly, chaotically, frightened whispers working up to a deafening crescendo, and Thor could only hope that Sif and the Warriors Three had enough presence of mind to get Rebecca to safety before he and this völva collided.

Not, of course, that he did not hold her capable of defending herself when the situation called for it, but because he feared that no matter her heart and her bravery, she stood little chance against seiðr.

“Perhaps I’ll make your little pet watch,” Lorelei chuckled. “When I have your mind, I’ll take your body. Show her how Aesir truly fuck. Or I could have you fuck her—without holding back. You’d break her pathetic little body into pieces, and you wouldn’t even care. It’s of little consequence,” she waved her hand. “It’s not like she matters anyway.”

Thor stiffened, lightning springing to his fingertips without conscious thought. “Don’t talk about her like that.” Whereas he had merely been annoyed by the woman before, he was enraged now.  

“Why?” Lorelei sneered, an ugly, angry expression twisting her beautiful features. “Afraid to hear the truth, prince? I know I’m not the only one thinking such things. They all just wait. They bide their time, and when you look away, and you will, they’ll have her. And they’ll break her. As they broke your brother-betrothed.”

“Shut up!” Thor bellowed, and the crowd gasped when the entirety of the palace trembled beneath the weight of his barely contained rage.

Even Lorelei looked rattled for a split-second.

Unfortunately, the woman bounced back quickly enough, and she sneered, “So that is it, my prince? Others touching what you deem belongs to you… You’re weak. All you need is a bikkja willing to spread their legs for you and they’ve got you wrapped around their little finger.”

Lorelei’s face was contorted into an ugly mask of anger and disgust, and her skin was slowly turning red and splotchy, and for a moment, she reminded him of his father during particularly challenging arguments and rows. “You’re not worthy of what you possess,” she said gravely. “Not to worry. I’ll see your mind set to rights.”

And before he realized what was happening, she raised her hand, woven spell moving thickly between her fingers, whispering the words that would take his mind, his will from him and—

It happened so fast he barely had the time to process before a loud bang thundered through the hall, and Lorelei screamed, the seiðr fleeing from her fingers as blood bloomed from the gunshot wound in her abdomen.

Thor blinked, looking past Lorelei to find Rebecca—because of course Rebecca had brought a gun to Asgard, he should have seen this coming—standing beside a shocked Sif, her eyes wide and a little apprehensive as she lowered her weapon, and Thor…

Thor did not have time to think on how incredibly arousing it was to remember Rebecca was a warrior in her own right—and how foolish he had been for forgetting it for even a moment. He needed to set such thoughts aside.

His father had moved from his throne, finally, approaching Thor with a thunderous expression, and a bullet would not slow down Lorelei for long.

“Guards,” Thor bellowed, grinning with satisfaction when several of the men jumped, “lock her in the seiðr cells. Gag her and bind her.”

He looked up at Rebecca, who was being herded out of the hall by Sif, and grinned at her.

He could deal with his daring little mortal later.

————————

Start from the beginning:

In Hell We Stand By You:

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)

Never Feel Alone:

(1) (2)

Decisions: (1)

Dancing with a Limp:

(1) (2)

Chances:

(1)

Starting Over:

(1) (2) (3) (4)

Or read it HERE on AO3 :D Find the next chapter HERE on Tumblr :)

#IHWSBY sequel #starting over #stucky #Stucky fanfiction #Steve rogers #thor #Rebecca barnes #my writing #Lisa writes #avengers family

[writeroffanfiction]

Protagonist Prep

Ch. 1 Student Letters “ WriterofFanfiction owns nothing”

Dimesion 54A-2113A “SVTFOE”

In a quaint but odd looking house two teens are examing two strange letter. Actually, one was examining the letters and the other was trying to grab them and open them.

“Star quit trying take them” A teen with dark brown hair and wearing a red hoodie told his friend, A blonde haired blue eyed girl with a slightly crazy grin, while holding the letters in one hand and using the other to keep the girl, now known as Star, at bay.

“Come on Marco aren’t you a little bit curious whats in them?” Star asked with a little bit of annoyance in voice due to Marcos’ lack of enthusiasm to the letters.

“ I’m more worried than curious Star.” Marco answered  which left Star more confused than informed and before she could ask why Marco just explained to her in a sober tone.

“Star, I know you’re probably excited to see whatever in them but we have to be careful from now one. For all we know this could be from Ludo. We can’t be reckless anymore what if Ludo actually manages hurt y…I mean us.” Star donned a rare serious face , although slightly confused by Marcos’ stuttering, rembering how the short bird man was able to actually beat them and take not only the book but Glossyrk as well. However, when she looked at the golden letters they filled her with wonder and somehow hope so she just looked straight him in the eye and said.

“ Marco, look we don’t know that and who knows maybe it could be something awesome. So can we open them please.” Star begged with big puppy dog eyes which Marco couldn’t say no to. Defeated Marco just sighed and said.

“Fine Star but can we be cautious. I really don’t want this to be a trap.” Which Star replied in a happy go lucky tone.

“Okay.”

Dimension 36A-8376H (Penn Zero Part Time Hero)

Inside an abandoned movie theater three kids are being pulled out from a different dimension by a futuristic device by an interdimensional tractor beam.

“Well guys I would call that mission a success.” A semi tall red headed teen boy exclaimed in a prideful tone. While a tan dark haired Asian girl voiced somewhat different opinion.

“Penn I’m pretty sure waiting at the last minute to do anything isn’t called saving it’s called being lazy.” The girl deadpanned. While the red head, Penn, just gasped and looked fake hurt and said.

“Oh, Sash how you wound me so.” The girl, Sashi, just rolled her eyes at her friends’ antics. However, something was amiss in the movie theater and one of the group of teens noticed it.

“Hey, Phyllis what ya holding?” A pudgy brown haired teen named Boone asked a gray-haired woman holding three golden letters in her hand. The gray-haired woman, Phyllis, just told the teens in bored tone although it has a slight hint of worry and fear in it.

“These came for you when you finished the mission.”  The three teens looked at the letters with a tiny bit of fear in their eyes but somehow that was crushed by their curiosity. It was Penn who asked the question.

“ Who sent the letters?”  Phyllis ,for the first time that the teens have that emotion were a mix of  fear and admiration.

“ I know him by reputation only but it is good one.” The teens were confused but if this guy was able to get Phyllis to admire him then he can’t be that bad, right?

Dimension 2B-986ZG (Invader Zim}

“For the love god hurry up”

Hey don’t rush me it takes time okay. A little but highly annoying robot raced to his master’s secret headquarters and he did so by flushing himself down a toilet? “Don’t ask.” Anyhow the robot just ran throughout the strange lab filled with strange experiments from failed giant machines to misfire weapons. The robot past all that until he stopped at a roundish port with a work table and large purplish reddish chair behind the table. At this moment that the robot made its presence known and yelled at top of its vocal processor.

“Master something came for you!!!” After the robot yelled there was a small explosion and dark plume a smoke came from behind the chair. The chair spun until short green alien with purple eyes and soot covering his face came into view with a highly-annoyed look.  Said alien was Zim an invader from quote unquote Drooler “An entire species of weaklings, idiots and gluttons. Heck the only good ones are those who aren’t even part of the empire.” Any way said invader spoke to the robot in an extremely venom filled tone.

“Gir what could be so important that you had to interrupt and destroy my progress.” The robot, Gir, clearly not hearing the hate in his master voice just cheerfully replied.

“A letter came for you!!” And at this moment Zims’ rage at the little robot flowed like a flooded river.

“ You mean to tell me that you just wasted my time and progress just to tell me that I got outdated human communication paper!” Gir for once actually realized what he had and started to shake and tried to justify his actions.

“I…it said f…from… him.” Gir stuttered out. Zims anger dissipated and turned into fear and curiosity. However it was unknown to him that two of the same letter had arrived at a certain brother and sister home.

Dimension 875-12SC (Steven Universe)

Outside of a strange house/temple a pair of teens were discussing the latest adventure the two of them had.

“So, you really got to see another diamond and other gems too!?” A young bushy black haired girl of Indian descent exclaimed. While a  young curly black haired boy with a pink gem in his stomach answered? “Don’t ask long story.” “Yeah but Blue wasn’t like yellow at all. Blue was kinder she even care for the humans even though it was for a friend but still. Oh by the way how was your time as a crystal temp?” The boy with “Half Gem.” What? “Just call him half gem or otherwise a lot of people are going to get pissed.” Fine half gem answered and asked the young girl who just blushed and laughed saying.

“Well let’s just say it was interesting.” The two teens were about to continue talking about their adventures until they saw a certain mailman walking down the beach towards them.

“Hey Steven, hey Connie.” The mailman greeted the teens. To which the teens greeted back.

“Hey Jamie” “Hey Jamie what are you delivering?” Steven asked the overdramatic mailman who simply replied.

“Oh, not much, a few packages, wififlim movies, and some letters. Speaking of, I have two letters one for you and one for Connie.” Jamie answered. As he handed them the two golden letters the two teens had different views on these letters. Steven looked at them with wonder and literal stars in his eyes. While Connie looked at with worry and slight feeling of terror and something grim. Steven was about to open his letter until.

“Steven wait, I don’t think we should open these.” Connie suggested with a hint of fear which confused Steven a letter couldn’t scare anyone, could it?

“Connie, can I open please!! Who knows what it could be a ticket for a fancy cruise, a million dollars or uhh oh it could be a chance voice a cartoon character!”  The young half gem exclaimed in anticipation trying to convince his friend. Connie just sighed knowing it would be impossible to change his mind when he’s excited about something. So, shaking her head in defeat and laughed saying.

“Fine, but if something bad happens we get the gems okay.”

“Okay!” He exclaimed in joy of being able to open the

Dimension 7735-2246MA (Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir)

“Finally, this story is almost over. You really like hearing yourself talk huh.”

Oh, shut up. Uhm anyway at Collége Francois Dupont six teenagers are currently having a falling out. Well, actually two are having a falling out, one is trying to stop it, and three are hiding.

“There is no way that Ladybug would be friends with a snob like you!” A dark-skinned girl with glasses and dark brown hair with reddish highlights yelled at a blonde haired and blue eyed girl. In return the girl yelled back.

“ At least its more likely she hang out with me than hang out with someone like you!” The glasses girl was about to retort until a blue haired Asian girl with pig tails tried to step in and asked them.

“Alya, Chloe why the heck are you two even fighting over this? Besides why does this even matter?”  Which she was met with hostilities. Most of which was from Chloe.

“Stay out of this Marinette!” “Sorry, girl but this queen bee needs to be taken off her throne!” Marinette just sighed and shock head while sending a small glare to two boys hiding behind a desk one with blonde hair and green eyes the other with light brown skin with black hair. Both gave Marinette an apologetic and sheepish grin while going back to hiding behind the desk but what happened next nothing could protect from the wrath of the fangirls.

“ Your Ladybug cosplay is bad that not even Copy Chat would call his lady.” Alya screamed at Chloe who donned a look of extreme rage and embarrassment. The entire class went dead silent all of them even the teacher all of them wondering and fearing what was going to happen next until all of them heard a noise. Everyone looked at the source of the noise which to their surprise was one the arguably strangest and funniest thing they ever saw. Said thing is a tall, dark red haired, muscular mailman with scars on his face but the funniest part is that hes’ wearing an outfit that’s a bit small for him specifically 2 sizes to small. “ A shut up I took it off the first mailman I knocked out. How was I supposed to know that he would be a dwarf.”  The mailman just ignored the looks and snickers of laughter from the students and walked straight towards the desk of a very confused and slightly frightened teacher. The mailman either didn’t know or ignored it and just bluntly asked in a bored or annoyed tone.

“ Is there a Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Adrien Agreste, Alya Césaire, Nino Laniffe, Nathaniel Kurtzberg, and a Chloe Bourgeois in this classroom?”

The teacher getting over her initial shock and answered in a shaky voice “Nino, Adrien, and Chole are in the front row. Marinette and Alya are in the second row and Nathaniel is at the back row.” “Okay thanks”  Is all the mailman said to the woman. He started to pass the letters out to Nino, Alya, Marinette, Adrien and Chloe as well to Nathaniel a red haired bluish green eyed boy. He was almost out the door of the classroom when one of the kids who got a letter yelled.

“What are these for?” The mailman just grinned and yelled back without turning to look.

“For something great!” Then the letters given out in the certain dimensions burst opened and inside them was a piece of paper sayin.

“ Dear future students. It gives me great joy and excitement to inform you that have been accepted to enroll at Protagonist Prep. Now you may be wondering what is Protagonist Prep well it is a highly rewarded and prestigious school only for a selected few. Now to arrive at this school all you have to is these words Afino daravaaza apartu jadi saya puet entrer. Good luck.”

La final

“Finally, this story over, I thought it wouldn’t end.” Oh, hush up and besides aren’t you forgetting something.  “What do you. Oh god the mailman!” Now its La Final.

#star vs the forces of evil #penn zero part time hero #miraculous ladybug #crossover #multifandom #steven universe

[justjessame]

Diamonds Are A Boy’s Best Friend Chapter 21

When I walked in the house, after being gone for hours, I wasn’t surprised to hear my father call out requesting for my presence in the dining room.  Sighing and hoping that I could keep the soup and crackers down, I complied.  He and Lily were finishing their dinner in, and I leaned against the door frame waiting for him to goad me.

“You look oddly rested.”  He was chewing with his mouth open and I wanted to vomit for a different reason than whatever bug I was afflicted with.  “Odd, considering you spent the entire day in a room with Isaac.”  

I sighed loud and dramatically.  “Here we go again.”  I glared at him, ignoring Lily entirely.  “I look rested, because I am rested.”  Shaking my head and keeping my eyes locked on his.  “Not everything I do is sexual, Father.”  

He was smirking and studying me.  “Considering your self created extra ‘lessons’, you would have to understand my assumptions are well founded.”  I rolled my eyes.  Of course she’d told him all about that.  “If not sex, then what were you doing in that room, Liz?”

I crossed my arms over my chest, my purse still in my hand with the medication the doctor prescribed inside.  “You tell me, you know everything.”  

“Not sex.  You’ve been sick.”  His grin grew, and he took a last bite of his food and ate with relish.  “A doctor visited, which Ike rushed out for while his pet maid kept you under careful watch.”  He truly did know everything.  “Did you take a test today, darling daughter?”

“Again, you know everything, you tell me.”  I was bored with this entire game. With him.  With Lily.  “If I took a test, let’s just say I’m very certain the outcome isn’t what you’re hoping for.”  

My father nodded like he was humoring me.  “You’re quite certain about that, Elizabeth?”  I watched him, looking for signs of why he’d be picking this particular hill to take his stand on.  “Are you so clever in your fucking around with random men that you KNOW for sure that the test is gonna come out the way you think?”  

I felt a chill run through me.  “A brat or two-”  I shook my head.  “Stacking the deck, that seems to be your way.”  He was studying me as I thought about how he could have done it, how he could have made certain that the pill wouldn’t work.  “You horrible-” My eyes landed on Lily.  “How dare you.”  

“Now, now.”  My father again.  “Lily’s making sure that my plan works flawlessly.”  I shook my head at the utter betrayal.  “I told you to remember who you belonged to, Liz.”

“Perhaps I should call my bubbe?”  I felt the thrill of a well placed shot when he stopped talking.  “Sy, right, Lily?”  And a second one as he glared at her.  “I’m sure the operator will have no problems patching me through.”  Before I stalked away, I let the ice I felt flowing through my veins come through in my parting shot.  “Never, for one instant, imagine that I wouldn’t call him up and tell him about your little threat, FATHER.  And neither of you-”  I took a deep breath.  “Ever assume that I’ll share another sliver of information about me, Ike, or what I do behind closed doors with him.”  

I’d hoped, after a long warm bath and tucking myself into my locked room, that I’d feel like dealing with the truth of my current predicament.  Somehow, and I was willing to suspect Lily had a hand in it, he’d replaced the pill with something else.  Something ineffective.  Something to push Ike and I more firmly together.  

I replayed conversations with Lily and I shook my head.  Didn’t she pound the idea that I could give Ike the children Vera couldn’t.  Hadn’t she tried to make it a selling point?  And stupid me, during a moment while we were shopping admitted that I had a way to make sure it didn’t happen to me until I wanted it to. All she would have had to do was find them, and they weren’t hidden, why would I hide my own things in my own room?  Once again, I’d been out-gamed by two expert level players.  

I was probably pregnant with Ike’s baby.  Not probably, definitely.  I’d smugly allowed him to-  I couldn’t think about that now.  I had to decide what to do now.

Drifting off to sleep, I wondered what he was doing, and prayed it wasn’t Vera.

I woke up and ran for the bathroom, sad but resigned to the fact that I wasn’t going to get to keep the soup after all.  It was morning, and I had rested, but this-  I flushed the toilet and stood up shakily.  This was for the birds.  Brushing my teeth, rinsing my mouth out, I got ready for the day.  Hair up, makeup minimal, and one of my signature black dresses and shoes, and down the stairs I went.  I hoped that the kitchen was stocked with something soothing for my stomach, since the doctor wasn’t certain the medication would work for what truly ailed me.  

“Liz,” it was Lily’s voice, but I ignored her and kept moving.  “Come on, you can’t ignore me forever.”  

Well, let’s find out, I thought and kept walking.  She caught up easily, damn her longer legs and the fact that she hadn’t just vacated her stomach into the toilet.  I sighed, but kept my progress.  Maybe soda crackers, since the ones Ike’s kitchen had served were saltines.  

“You have to understand,” she was saying, but I kept my eyes ahead, a goal in mind.  “He won’t kill you, Liz, but I’m fair game.”  Why’d you marry him, I wanted to ask, but didn’t.  “Having Ike’s baby isn’t torture, but what he would do to me-”

I’d had enough, she was right, I couldn’t ignore her forever, but I could try to make her understand that I didn’t care about her fate.  “And who chose to do something that had the possibility of this horrible fate that could befall you?”  She was shocked when I stopped so she ended up in front of me.  “You knew who and what he was, Lily.  You chose to marry him.  You chose to go along for the ride.”  She was staring at me like she hadn’t expected me to speak, or to tell the truth to her face.  “You did what you did, knowing full well what the consequences were if you were caught, so don’t tell me that giving me up on a platter was for anything other than saving your ass and throwing mine down a well.”  

I brushed past her and finally made it to the kitchen.  I asked one of the women if there were any soda crackers and they found a tin, sighing gratefully, I took it and turned to leave.  Lily was standing in my way.

“Someone’s blackmailing him.”  I waited, not caring but seeing she thought I would.  Why would I give a rat’s ass about someone extorting my father.  “Not him, HIM.”  Stevie?  “There was proof, he was supposed to destroy it, and now-”

“And now, what?”  I opened the tin and took out one of the bland crackers, biting into it, I chewed carefully and swallowed.  “What do you want me to do?”  

“Call Sy.”  She whispered, and I glanced behind us to see that the women had flicked on the radio so they couldn’t hear us.  Or could pretend they didn’t.  “Call him and tell him what Ben said to you.”  I waited to see why she refused to tell him about her own issues and wondered why he hadn’t come before, as she’d told me she thought he would.  “I tried.  He doesn’t care.  About me, anyway.”  

“How would him coming to my rescue help you?”  I took another bite, happy that so far the bland, tasteless thing stayed down.  

“You’ve never seen Ben around Sy, he doesn’t make waves, he’s careful.”  I wanted more information, even if I did want to meet my grandfather.  “Please?”  

“I’ll think about it.”  I walked back upstairs with my tin, not inviting her to join me because those days were long gone.

When I ventured back downstairs, happy to have found that soda crackers seemed to be the answer, I found my father practically crowing about something.  I nearly went back up, but he saw me when he came out into the hallway.

“Liz,” he gestured for me to come to him and I was close to screaming at him.  “Come here, I won’t bite.”  

“What do you want?”  I asked, taking the seat he’d offered me when I was sick on my stomach.  

He sat in his pseudo throne and I waited.  This lord on high act was getting old.  “Isaac had to make a trip to visit the State’s Attorney.”  I felt myself pale.  “Oh, come now, Liz, why would you worry?”  

“I can’t imagine that visiting the State’s Attorney is never a sign of happiness and prosperity, Father.”  My hands were tightly clasped, and I waited, even though I had a million questions.  

“Probably not,” he nodded.  “I mean, can you imagine if word got out that Ike Evans, the King of the Miramar was called in by the authorities?”  He was so damn gleeful that I wanted to toss one of the crystal ashtrays at his head.  “You might want to check on him, who knows how frayed his nerves are.”  

I sighed and stood.  “Is that all?”  He nodded.  “Good, I need to go see if the kitchen has more soda crackers.”  

“Your mother swore by seltzer water.  She said the bubbles calmed it.”  An oddly helpful suggestion.  “She couldn’t stand the sight or smell of food for months when she-”  He stopped, and offered a different smile, the same one he had upstairs while looking at our family photo.  “If they’re out of crackers, tell them to restock.”  I nodded and left, thinking my father had such strange shifts in his mood that it was like living in a pendulum clock.

Vera called while I was in my room resting.  I heard a soft knock and then Lily quietly told me I had a call.  “Hello?”  I put down the book I’d been falling into, smiling at my roses and hoping that it was Ike.

“Liz,” I shut my eyes and took a beat.  “I was hoping you’d join me for dinner.  Ike’s so busy, I thought we could have a girls’ night.”  

“I wish I could, Vera,” I took a deep breath.  “I’ve been under the weather, though, and I’d hate to give it to you.  Or Lauren.”  

“Oh.”  She sounded disappointed, and I could hear what sounded like turning pages on her end.  “I’m sorry you’re not feeling well.  Another time?”  

“Of course,” I opened my eyes and Ike’s roses looked like a scarlet letter.  “I’ll tell you when this bug is gone.”  Around nine months from now, I thought, feeling my nerves fray.  “Have a good evening, Vera.”  

“You too, goodbye.”  

I hung up the phone and settled back into my pillow.  Ike was busy.  Vera was lonely.  Lily was frightened.  I couldn’t handle another bit of stress.

The next afternoon, when I ventured downstairs on my new routine second trip, my father called me into the den again.  

“Elizabeth, I’m going to have to ask you to spend the evening at the Miramar.”  I opened my mouth to argue, but he stopped me.  “I’m having a get together, and I think the noise would keep you from resting.”  I didn’t believe him, not caring about my rest anyway.  “Pack an overnight bag, and I’ll have Al take you and stay at the hotel to make sure you’re comfortable.”  

“Fine.”  I didn’t feel like arguing and it gave me a reason to see Ike.  “I’ll go pack my bag.”

“And, sweetheart?”  I glanced back at him.  “Have a nice, restful, quiet night.”  It would have sounded like well wishes from another father, but out of his mouth, it sounded vaguely threatening.

“I’s like to check in, please," I sighed to the front desk agent.  As he was gathering my key and I was signing the paperwork, I heard a voice call out my name that I wasn’t expecting.

“Miss Diamond,” I turned and saw Meg Bannock smiling and walking toward me.  “Are you a frequent guest here?”  Curiosity killed the cat, I wanted to warn, but instead I smiled back.

“Hello again, Miss Bannock.”  I took the key from the worker, and turned, handing it off to Al.  “Could you take my bag up, please?  I'll follow in a moment.”  He nodded and shot a look at Meg.  “No, I’ve only stayed here one other time.”  A memorable time, that probably played a huge role in my current predicament.  “Another meeting with Ike?”  

She nodded, “yes, business, it never ends.”  I wondered if she actually worked, or did anything other than counted piles of money.  “Call me ‘Meg’, though, I insist.”  Great, I would have to offer her the same courtesy.  

“Liz.”  It was Ike’s voice that offered it, not mine.  “I thought you’d left, Meg.”  She was smiling at him like she owned him, and a glance at his cheek told me why.  

“Oh, you have a little,” and she reached over and wiped her brand from his dimple.  “Sorry about that.  I was on my way out when I caught sight of Liz.”  

His eyes were back on me, clearly wondering why I was checking in.  “My father’s having a party and he felt that I should come here so I wouldn’t be disturbed.”

“Disturbed?”  Meg Bannock, font of wonder.  “Why would a party disturb you?”

“Liz hasn’t been feeling well,” Ike again, answering as though he owned me.  “I’m sure Ben wanted to make sure she could rest.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” she was staring at me with what I had to assume was faked concern.  “Don’t let us keep you, Liz.”  And I was dismissed.

“Yes, well, I’ll go make sure Al didn’t toss my bag onto the balcony.”  And without a goodbye for him or her, I made my way to the bank of elevators and entered the first one that opened.

Al was waiting inside my room, the door propped open a crack for me to enter.  “Thank you for bringing my case up.”  He nodded, and gave me a half smile.  “Could you do me another favor?”  I handed him cash from my purse.  “I need soda crackers, NOT saltines, and seltzer water, please?”  He looked at the money and shook his head.  Tucking it back into my hands, he moved for the door.

“The boss told me to take care of you, Miss Diamond, that’s what I’ll do.”  I hoped that meant he was off to get my crackers and water.  

When a knock came a few moments later, I assumed he was back.  I opened it and found Ike, looking like he had an explanation locked and loaded.  “Come in, Ike.”  I was already tired of this day and it wasn’t even two o’clock.  I walked ahead of him and was thankful he wasn’t reaching for me.  He was learning.

“Liz,” I was about to take a seat in the chair, but he stopped me.  “Shouldn't you lie down?”  I huffed out a laugh.  “You look exhausted, sweetheart.”  

“I am,” I admitted, and kicking off my shoes, I pulled down the blankets and crawled in.  “Let’s hear it.”  He smiled.  

“You don’t sound as angry as you looked downstairs.”  

“I’m not,” I rolled my head on the pillow to get comfortable.  “I’m sure there’s an innocent explanation for why her lipstick was on your cheek.  And since it wasn’t on your mouth, I’m reserving judgement.”  His smile grew.  “Although, if she ever dismisses me again as though I’m beneath her-” his eyes widened.  “I’ll have to remind her of what family I came from.”  A warning, through and through.

He shook his head and sat in the chair I had been planning on taking.  I watched as he took off his shoes then stood up and took off his jacket to lay it across the back.  Then he loosened his tie, and crawled into bed behind me.  His arms went around me like he was made to hold me, and he sighed into my hair.  

“She came to tell me that she wasn’t willing to invest.”  I nodded.  “The lipstick came from her goodbye, it wasn’t even full lips on cheek, I swear.”  I knew that, I’d seen it, but I let him go on.  “Meg is used to everyone being beneath her, Liz, I don’t even think she notices that she does it.”  My hands were covering his under my breasts.  “I won’t stop you, though, if you bite back.”  I smiled.

“She wouldn’t give you the money for Ben?”  I felt him shake his head.  “How much do you need?”  

“At least $100,000,” I thought about his options.  “Don’t worry, Liz.”  Easier said than done.  “Stress isn’t good for you, or the-”

“No,” I stopped him.  “We are NOT assuming anything, Ike.”  Even if I was sure he was right.  “Until the test confirms it, I am simply ill.”  I felt him chuckle.  “It’s not funny.”

“You’re stubborn.”  He kissed my temple.  “I love that.”  

“I’m sure you won’t in a few years.”  My fingers were drawing patterns on the skin of his hands.  “She called me.”  He didn’t ask who, or grow stiff, he just listened.  “I hate the thought of hurting her.”  

“I know,” his breath was tickling my hair.  “I don’t like it either, but I won’t keep faking a life when I can have the real thing, Liz.”  

“Ben said that you were called in-”  Another sigh.  “Is it bad?”

“It could be worse.”  He offered, not exactly soothing.  “They drug a limestone quarry I own.”  I waited, knowing that a search that turned up nothing didn’t warrant a trip to the authorities.  “They found-”  

“A few of my father’s art projects?”  A clever way of describing it, but it seemed that my father was proud of his reputation, so why bother hiding my knowledge of it.  He nodded.  “Why assume that you had anything to do with it?  It would be stupid to dispose of anything somewhere you own.”  

“The art projects,” I could hear his smile in the way he took up my code.  “They’re former associates of Ben.  Partners.”  Damn.  “I don’t think that they think I had anything more to do with it than giving him access to the dump site.”

“They want you to turn.”  He tucked my head under his chin and rubbed my arms with his hands.  “What a mess.”  

“Yes, it is.”  We heard a knock and Ike went to answer it when I told him about Al’s errand.  

“I got soda crackers and I got seltzer water.”  I smiled at the goon my father had saddled me with.  “Since you appear to be well guarded,” he shot Ike a look that I didn’t want to contemplate.  “I’m heading to the Atlantis.  If you need me, call the bar.”

He waited for me to nod my agreement, then walked toward the door.“Thank you,” I called as he walked out.  “That wasn’t nearly as awkward as I thought it would be.”  

Ike laughed as he brought the tin of crackers and the bottle of water to my bedside table.  “Sadly, I can’t guard your body all afternoon.”  I shook my head.  He found me a glass and brought it to join my meal for the evening.  “I’ll try to check on you before I-”

“Go home?”  I smiled sadly at the reminder that he’d be in the penthouse with Vera while I slept down here alone.  “It’s fine.”  

“No, it isn’t.”  He sat down on the edge of the bed, and took my hand.  “It isn’t, but it will be, Liz.  I promise.”  Then giving me a breathtaking kiss, he moved to the chair and put back on his shoes, straightened his tie, and put his jacket over his shirt.  Drinking in my fully clothed form in bed, he shook his head.  “I really don’t want to leave you.”  

“Which makes it marginally easier to let you go,” I smiled at him.  Watching him leave, I waited until the door closed to let the smile drop and my sadness from his departure roll over me.  

#magic city #Ike evans x ofc #ben diamond's daughter #alternative universe #unplanned pregnancy

[domain-of-friendship-blog]

Episode 4-3

The long rays of the evening sun streamed in through Scarlet's window.

Curled up on her bed, she idly turned the pages of a book propped up against her pillow. She wasn't actually reading any of it; it was just something to do while she sat there, consumed by her thoughts.

Under different circumstances, she likely would have been more than happy to be here. Equestria was a fine place to live, all things considered - plenty to do, lots to see, and a great many wonderful people to meet.

But it wasn't home.

Home was something out of her reach now. She hadn't been willing to admit it to herself, but the work she had been doing with Twilight didn't feel like progress. They were learning a lot about teleportation, space folding, and even multiverse theory... but it just wasn't going where it needed to. Anytime it looked like they were close to a breakthrough, it would turn out to require something a million miles out of reach.

Plain teleportation was too obvious, of course. The amount of magic required increased exponentially with the distance traveled, and the distance separating realities themselves was theoretically infinite.

Why there was a book on wormholes in a small town library was anyone's guess, but that was no help either. The idea of creating one with a particular endpoint was laughable at best - not to mention it would take the combined power of twenty Princess Celestias just to stabilize it enough to travel through without being ripped apart by extradimensional forces.

What hurt the most was the complete lack of any clues explaining how they had been brought to this world to begin with; if it had been a spell of some sort, it would be a straightforward (if laborious) matter to reverse-engineer and redirect it.

Maybe...

Maybe there was a way to reason with Discord?

As distasteful as the idea sounded, even in her head, she couldn't bring herself to let go of it. The more she considered it, however, the less viable it seemed. They had returned him to his stone prison, and thus already done their worst; no threat would give them any leverage, now. She couldn't ask the princess to offer him his freedom as a bargaining chip either, as that would leave them in the very situation she had fought to prevent.

Scarlet heaved a noisy sigh and rolled onto her back. Was there a point to any of this? Learning more seemed almost counterproductive - instead of leading her closer and closer to an answer, all it served to do was show her a wide array of closed-off avenues, all the possibilities that weren't going to work.

"...let! Scarlet!"

A voice called to her from below the stairs. She ignored it, even as she knew that wouldn't make it go anyway. She just couldn't be bothered to care.

"Scar... let..." Spike panted as he climbed the last of the spiral stairs. "Come... quick..."

Scarlet sighed quietly, her gaze pointed at the ceiling but not really looking at it. "Unless this is urgent, I would like to be left alone."

"Just... gimme a sec..." Spike paused for a moment, leaning on the railing as he caught his breath.

That seemed a little strange. Why was he so winded? She sat up halfway to look at him. "Wait... Spike, is something the - "

"There's a monster!" Spike failed his arms. "A giant monster's in town, and it's got Twilight!"

Scarlet leapt instantly to her hooves and whirled around, the sudden movement knocking over her book. "Where? Where is it?"

"In - in front of the library!"

Scarlet leapt from the bed and snatched up Spike in her magic, placing him on her back. "Hold fast," she whispered.

Spike blinked. "Huh?"

A glow enveloped Scarlet's horn. Hardly a second later, in a flash of light, she and her passenger vanished from the bedroom and reappeared instantly in front of the library.

Slightly dizzy, Scarlet shook her head. "Ugh... does that have to be so disorienting...?"

"I, uh... I know what you mean..."

Spike toppled off Scarlet's back and landed in the dirt, his eyes unfocused and swirling.

"Oh dear," said Scarlet. "My apologies..."

In glancing down at him, however, she noticed the large shadow in which she now stood, and raised her gaze toward the figure casting it.

Backlit as it was by the setting sun, Scarlet couldn't make out most of its features, but she could tell several things about it immediately. One, it was distressingly large, nearly half the total volume of the library beside it. Two, the size of its limbs, head, and maw was no less distressing, giving it the appearance of a sort of mutated dragon. Three, the aforementioned maw held an occupant, a purple unicorn currently struggling for her life.

Scarlet gasped, staggering back in alarm. "Twilight!"

"Nngh...!" Try as she might, Twilight's panicked flailing did nothing to dislodge her from the monster's jaws. "Scarlet! It's - it's too strong, I can't - ugh..." She slipped an inch further. "It's too late! You need to... ugh... get out of here! Hurry!"

"No!" Scarlet yelled, shaking her head. "Hang on! I can still save you!"

"I can't, I... I'm slipping...!"

With a gasp, Twilight slid down the monster's gullet and out of sight, her terrified screaming soon swallowed up with the rest of her.

"TWILIGHT, NO!!"

Scarlet's blood went cold.

This couldn't be happening.

The monster wasn't even moving. Was it satisfied now? Had it eaten other ponies along the way, or was Twilight somehow its only target?

It didn't change much at that moment.

"You have made your last mistake, beast!" Ignoring the tears running down her face, Scarlet began to concentrate. She reared up on her hind legs, her horn lighting up in an ominous midnight blue.

"GIVE HER BACK!"

Her hooves struck the dirt. The ground shook.

High above Ponyville, several objects that hadn't been there a moment prior began plummeting. The meteors glowed, picking up speed as they fell toward their target. Just as they reached terminal velocity, they struck the monster one after another, tearing through its body like tissue paper and kicking up a cloud of dust and debris that obscured the remains.

Scarlet collapsed as the glow left her horn. In its place was a scorch mark that ran almost to the base. Reaching up with a trembling hoof, she rubbed her horn gingerly, wincing at the painful mana burn; that would be her last spell for at least a couple of days.

Climbing back up on all fours, she stared at the scene before her. A pile of shattered rocks and a cloud of dust was all she could see; there was no sign of the monster... or of her friend.

She took a step forward. "Twilight...?"

There was no reply.

She stepped forward again, her eyes scanning the rocky debris for any signs of life. "Twilight, are you alright? Please, say something... anything...!"

The tears continued to flow. She wasn't sure if they had ever stopped.

Slowly, the breeze blew the dust away to reveal a glowing hemisphere of magenta encapsulating a completely unscathed Twilight Sparkle.

"Whoo! That was a doozy," said Twilight, shaking her head as her shield dissipated. "You have got to teach me that one sometime. A spell like that could oof"

Twilight staggered a bit as a red missile shot toward her in the form of a thoroughly relieved Scarlet, who immediately wrapped her in a fierce hug.

"It's okay, Scarlet," breathed Twilight, gently stroking Scarlet's mane. "I'm fine. Everything is fine. You did it."

Scarlet slowly released her grip. "But... what was it I did, exactly? What was all that?"

Twilight smiled, pointing a hoof behind the library.

"Um, Twilight? I could use a little help..."

Pinkie Pie stood flanked by stacks of newspapers and an array of half-empty paint cans. Several pages of newspaper were stuck to her mane and body via globs of still-drying paste. She shook each leg one after the next in an attempt to dislodge some of them, but her efforts had no visible effect.

"The 'monster' was made of papier-mache," said Twilight. "I was never in any danger."

"Wh, but - yes, you were!" Scarlet scowled, glancing up at her scorched horn. "That was the most powerful spell I know. It could have killed you."

"And that was the most powerful shield I know." Twilight plucked a dusty, half-torn scroll from the debris and showed it to Scarlet. "I wrote it myself. I've got a good feel for how your spells work after all the testing we've done together, so I tuned it to protect against you specifically."

Scarlet stared at the scroll for a moment, her eyes narrowing as her gaze met Twilight's once more. "So then," she growled, "was this a prank?"

Twilight flinched. "No, no, of course not! I would never!"

"Then you have not answered my question," said Scarlet.

Twilight smiled, putting a hoof on Scarlet's chest. "It was a reminder of your real strength."

Scarlet blinked. "I... do not follow."

"Ooh! Is it time?"

Spike, who had been watching the scene unfold from a safe distance, ran up to the pair. A golden necklace with an empty gem setting glittered in his claws.

"I think it is, Spike," said Twilight. "Pinkie?"

"Just - oof - a minute! I need to - waugh!"

Her hind legs cemented together by a particularly persistent patch of paste, Pinkie's attempt to join the group was cut short when she lost her balance and flopped on her belly in the dirt.

With a giggle, Twilight fired a bolt of magic from her horn. All the paste and newspaper stuck to Pinkie dissolved. With a grin, she trotted up to the group.

"Now?" asked Spike.

Twilight nodded.

Grinning, Spike placed the necklace around Scarlet's collar. Scarlet gasped but said nothing, simply glancing between the three of them.

"Ever since we defeated Discord, I've felt like you were missing something, some aspect of you that was always there before... and it wasn't until I had the whole picture that I understood. There's a fire burning inside you, Scarlet - one that the coldest winds and the darkest nights can't extinguish... and by inspiring those around you to stand up for what they believe in no matter the odds, you light that same fire in our hearts as well." Twilight cleared her throat.

"Scarlet Starbeam, you represent the Element of Hope!"

Rays of light erupted from the empty setting in Scarlet's necklace. As they faded, a brilliant white jewel in the shape of a shooting star took their place.

For several seconds, all Scarlet could do was stand there, staring down at her collar. "I... but... er, that is... I, ah..."

Pinkie giggled. "Aww, she's speechless! That's so cute!"

Scarlet took a deep breath, wiping yet more tears from her face with her foreleg. "Goodness, but I have been doing so much crying of late..." She chuckled at that, in spite of herself.

"That's okay! Crying is good for you," said Pinkie. "It means you have too many feels built up inside, and you gotta get them out as quick as you can!"

"I suppose so." Scarlet's smile faded. "But... I do not understand. How can I have earned a symbol of hope, when my demeanor of several days now has been anything but hopeful?"

"Because you stood up and did the right thing when it really counted - you didn't hesitate to come to my rescue, even when you thought it was already too late," Twilight explained. "Bearing an Element isn't about being a flawless paragon of harmony all day, every day. We're only ponies, after all."

"A very important lesson, Twilight."

Three ponies and a dragon gasped as a tall figure approached them.

"Princess Celestia!" Twilight immediately knelt before the princess, her companions following suit a second later.

Celestia smiled down at them. "Once again, I believe congratulations are in order - both to our newest Element bearer, and to my most faithful student - for a job well done all around."

Twilight's cheeks turned rosy. "I mean, I couldn't have done it without Pinkie Pie. And the rest of my friends, of course..."

Celestia nodded.

"I expect you will be wanting this, then?" asked Scarlet, her hoof resting on her necklace.

Celestia smirked. "I think that can wait until after your friends have had a chance to appreciate it, don't you?"

Scarlet lowered her hoof, beaming. "Thank you, Princess."

"Isn't this great, Twilight?" Pinkie nudged Twilight with her knee. "You finally finished your homework! You're free!"

Twilight frowned, her gaze drifting. "Yeah, great..."

Spike tilted his head. "What's wrong?"

"Um, nothing..." Twilight began slowly backing up, a nervous grin spreading across her face. "Hey, so I just remembered I really need to go, uh, sort my notes! It's, um, it's going to take me a good long while now, so don't wait up for me!"

"Twilight."

The voice of Princess Celestia brought Twilight to a halt.

"I am not here to bring you back to Canterlot, my student."

Twilight swallowed. "You're - you're not?"

"Of course not." With a gentle sweep of her wing, Celestia guided Twilight back to the group. "You've made such wonderful friends and learned so much in your time here. I wouldn't dream of taking that away from you."

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. "I was a little worried for a moment..."

Celestia turned to Scarlet. "And as for you..."

Scarlet tilted her head. "Yes, Princess?"

Celestia lowered her head until their horns touched, causing Scarlet to wince.

"Shhh," whispered Celestia. "Stay still. This won't hurt for long."

Celestia's horn took on its usual golden glow, which slowly spread to Scarlet's blackened horn. Gradually, the burn began to heal, returning to its usual bright red color. When she was finished, Celestia raised her head once more and smiled.

Scarlet rubbed her healed horn, her jaw slack. Lowering her hoof, she ran some magic through it, smiling as lit up in a bright sky blue glow with no pain or resistance in spite of her former injury.

"My word... Thank you very much, your highness."

"You are more than welcome, Scarlet." With that, Celestia turned to Pinkie. "Now then. I would say this calls for a celebration, wouldn't you?"

"You bet your patootie I would, Princess!" Pinkie grinned, revved up her hind legs until they were little more than circular blurs of motion, and took off in search of party supplies.

"I will remain here and help arrange things in the library," explained Celestia. "You three should gather the others and deliver the good news."

Twilight beamed. "Thank you, Princess!"

Scarlet nodded. "Of course, your highness."

Spike climbed up onto Twilight's back and saluted.

Celestia watched them gallop away. "Your hardest trials are yet to come, Twilight Sparkle... but I have no doubt that when the time comes, you will be more than prepared for them."

Episode 4 - End

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To be continued on Fimfiction!

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