#//Making it his goal to toss her higher and higher each time he got the chance

[dutybcrne]

Silly silly hc:

Wriothesley tossing Sigewinne up in the air for mutual enrichment and there always being at least one time per shenanigan that she accidentally ( sometimes on purpose ) gets stuck up somewhere bc he got a bit overeager-

[soul-dwelling]

I think ironically people ship Kid with Blackstar so much because after a certain point any charachter development between Blackstar and Tsubaki disapeared, making her look as just a tool and nothing more - this also was kinda a consequence of embracing BS surpasing of Gods idea on his own kinda making it necesarry that he can do everything on his own with his weapon only being an accesory. A shame a shamr

I'll get to this later, but I want to start with a disclaimer: even if Tsubaki was more present in this story, the Black Star x Kid ship would still be popular, because of how many interactions they have in the manga, and just how engaging their interactions are, in terms of differing personalities, similar goals, and how they complement each other.

Black Star x Kid is a good ship for embracing their differences, including how their differences complement each other--just as Black Star x Tsubaki is a good ship, as each gives the other what they lack (one is outgoing, one is more reserved; one is overly confident, one needs a cheerleader and she gets it in Black Star) while contending with the same problem (family guilt, family pressure, lineage problems).

So, the real answer isn't whether to cheer on only DeathStar or only TsuStar: the real answer is to ship both ships...or toss in Liz for a poly relationship between the four.

Now, onto the longer answer in response...

I don't ignore that increased interactions can increase the popularity of a ship.

I also have seen ships that are super popular between characters with almost no interactions. Hell, look how popular ships get (not just as ironic or as memes--as legitimately enjoyable ships) between characters from completely different series, authors, time periods, media.

All of that said, I would rephrase it: Tsubaki unfortunately becomes so much less of an entity in Soul Eater that she doesn't get to exist as a fully realized character, or a character as fully realized as she was in earlier arcs, such as her fight against Masamune, Black Star training at her family's home, or the final fight against Mifune.

After the Baba Yaga arc, she is here to get jokes thrown at her for being a perv in the Book of Eibon arc, then just Black Star's weapon in combat. At least Soul got to say and do stuff even when being Maka's partner. Even as I can criticize stuff in the Book of Eibon, at least Liz and Patty got a flashback moment to show why they were devastated at Kid's kidnapping.

But Tsubaki doesn't get to do much during and after the Book of Eibon arc. So those moments where fans will hunt down panels in the manga where Black Star and Tsubaki share space, share looks, is limited. At most we get Black Star revealing he and Tsubaki sleep in the same room--but that is again part of making Tsubaki look like a perv, and more of the attention is on Kilik's reaction to all of this, again leaving Tsubaki erased from her own moment.

You point out that by the time that Black Star is practically a god that having Tsubaki act as more than just a tool is difficult.

But look at another story, such as Noragami.

Even as Yato and Yukine get more powerful and ascend to higher forms of divinity, neither one is really in a position to be on their own.

If we treat Yato as the Black Star here, he is still super arrogant and needs Yukine to humble him: we could have had that with Tsubaki still needing to humble Black Star, but even when he gets kicked in the balls by Patty, she isn't the one to humble him, that's Kim doing it.

If we treat Yukine as the Black Star here, he is still learning the ropes of his new powers--after Baba Yaga, we don't see Tsubaki continuing that training of Black Star, and that's a shame to not get to see more of such training, to show how Tsubaki unlocked those greater abilities Black Star shows later, such as the "walking" up to the Moon on Tsubaki's scarf or vomiting back a laser. Yes, this opens up a sexism problem--the girl who teaches the boy so that the boy can surpass the girl--but at least then Tsubaki is more involved and getting to do something.

[ragaatz]

Their sex life is, apologies for the pun, completely fucked. At least, at first. Yder almost classes what she tosses to Astarion as pity fucks, and, in turn, he’s dicking her down to earn security. She’s a married woman, or so it seems. She talks of a husband. She’s got as few morals as he does. If nothing else, it’s good for blackmail. Extortion is an art, much the same as torture, much the same as poetry.

It’s all the same in the end.

But he’s always the one to come traipsing along to her door. He sometimes yowls, he sometimes chirps. In rare moments, he brushes against her, purring. He’s playing an angle, she knows. She’s hardly a quality cut of meat—badly butchered, an apt name-thing to put to herself. But he needs something from it, from fucking her, and, maybe the Lords and Ladies would curse her inside-out for the stupidity, she doesn’t want him to stray far. Who else would share their thoughts, who else’s would mirror hers, if not his?

And, gods dammit, it’s fun. It’s fun. Neither thought they’d see the day. The burgeoning of stupid, silly games. His awful lines, her put-on doe eyes. Her ugly, belting laughter lost in his curls, the spark in his eyes as his dramatic flames are fanned higher and higher, have greedy on her soft hips and fat ass.

How about these little words? Everyone’s favorite. I love you.

Soft and weak as puppies’ jaws, and an utter fabrication. But her gut is warm with wine too-sweet, and her head is cottonwoolen by weed.

“Too soon, yes or no?” she succumbs to her amused laughter, her warmed-through sway. To do otherwise would be an act of submission to the pit of worms crawling creepily up her throat to give their own voice to the matter.

Well, it could be true. If only for tonight.

“Ooh.” She cants her hips an angle closer, resting a leg, pushing a knee closer to him. “I was not possessed of the idea you enjoyed make-pretend and fairy-stories, Lamb. There’s a fondness in you for playing?”

The smolder in his undercut look falters, and, despite himself, he snorts, throwing a lean, curving shrug. “Maybe I do, darling. Nothing wrong with a spot of roleplay, is there? And if that’s another area of inexperience for you, I’d be more than happy to fill you in.”

“Unsubtle as a long day, aren’t you,” she comments, humming. There was not an ounce of fun in the way her husband fucked. He had a goal, more often than not to fell her pregnant (though it had failed many times, until it didn’t), and he had no recourse for humor in the bedroll. Pity, then, that his fine sense of humor was wasted so. “If that is what you wish, that is what will pass. Let me sober, some. Then, we’ll love each other for tonight?”

For a slight second, he seems to continue in his stride, but pulls his reins up short at the very last moment. Oh, he can’t act, his body screams beyond the safety of the script. “Oh—we will?” he starts, head pulled back into a judging, down-the-nose angle. But he dances diagonal back into place, smirking, flashing fangs for her delight. “What am I saying—of course, we will.”

A few words scatter no more grandiose than pebbles between them after, until Astarion, in his growing ease with bodies-in-contact, draws a fingertip behind the opal hanging from her earring.

“Try to arrive at our rendezvous…pink, won’t you, my love? I think it’s very sweet.” It’s hardly a hard ask—her seasons begin to shift with the breath caught bone-jagged in her throat.

+

Full is the mania of her spring—pink and hysterical as the lotuses that drive their eaters mad—just the same as when first she followed dumbly the trail he left her to parse through the woods. Gambit turned half-habit, a fox with the gift of a dumb, willing rabbit.

It was becoming clear that each of them, together, were neither and both. Wolves under the fleece of sheep, sheep that had long lacked the spired shadows of spiked guardian collars. A pair of prey animals, with lusts for blood too well understood.

How lucky it was, then, that they both came with their own dagger-point protections. And luckier still: they’d pacted themselves to a mutual safeguarding.

“Ah, look at that! You did turn pink. Very generous of you.” This will be the third rendezvous, if these continued encounters must be built to suffer a name, and Astarion had ceased the coy cat-and-mouse reveal, little by little. Now he stands alongside the pack they share, and his lone bedroll, unfurled and laden with extra blankets. There’s the scruffy, raggedy one of his—the one he seems to protect dearly and squirrel away from prying eyes—hidden under the corner of what Yder presumes will be his side tonight. “Hope everything is to your liking, I’ve put it together especially for you, my darling.”

Bats away the urge to roll her eyes cat-like (the fey touched prosthetic is still a strange feeling in her socket, one she tries dearly to dwell naught upon), and surveys the tableau he’s constructed for them. It’s rather simple. A small campsite, their shared pack, and not much else, not even a fire. The moon filters through the canopy, dappling the ground and their bodies with pale light, and far away, closer to the river, tree frogs sing trilling notes.

“Mine isn’t a mine for narratives, that arena is more belonging to you,” she says, tamping down the urge to rub her left hand over the scared expanse where once an arm connected to the other side of her body. This entire farce is some ploy, there’s no other way the vampire spawn would look at her once, let alone twice. Badly butchered, her own words supplied by her husband’s voice. “What’s it you’re picturing here?”

The snotty grimace that curls his lip and wrinkles his nose is a reprieve, it makes her laugh, and he tosses a hand around in a wide, half-wild gesture

[professionalscribbler]

I identify as aroace because the closest thing I have ever felt to what could be called a crush was in third grade. A boy in Sunday School kicking my leg under the table and I thought that meant he liked me. I wrote about it in my diary, only to come back the next day to find that my mom wrote an entry in my diary saying how I was too young to have a boyfriend and that God would find me a husband in his own time. Note how my crush wasn't based on his looks or his personality, like normal people.

I identify as aroace because I used to enjoy reading and watching romance movies until I started high school and started seeing real relationships. How friendships were tossed aside for romantic partners. How whole friend groups were destoryed because of who was dating who or who was whose ex. How those who had romantic relationships would spend every second with just their significant other, to the detriment of their grades. I was confused by how casually boys in my school could talk about women and wanting to date, and likewise with girls talking about their crushes. I didn't understand how I was the only one who seemed to treat school as what it actually was: a place to learn and prepare for my future.

I identify as aroace because in high school I had no friends because I was seen as the weird homeschool kid who had no social skills. And I thought to myself "If no one wants to be friends with me, why would anyone want to date me?"

I identify as aroace because my sophomore year of high school a bunch of boys made a bet in which the loser had to ask me out to the homecoming dance. It was a punishment to be seen with me at a dance. It shattered my self esteem, as well as my trust in boys who showed romantic interest in me. I then vowed to finish high school with no man by my side, and I suceeded. I dated my textbooks, and got a higher GPA than all those boys combined.

I identify as aroace because when I hit college I wrote in my planner as one of my goals "no dating until sophomore year." I worked too hard to get the scholarships I did to throw them away for a stupid boy whose only reason for dating me was to probably get in my pants.

I identify as aroace because my freshman year roommate got a boyfriend within the first month of classes, and I never trusted him. I became very protective of my roommate, because I didn't want her to get hurt by a guy she was letting herself be vulnerable with. I was confused how she could let someone so new to her life become so close to her, closer than her roomate that she was already good friends with. They broke up six months later. She got lucky because it was mutual, but they still can't really interact with each other.

I identify as aroace because my five close friends freshman year would all talk about the hot guys in the theatre department and choir, and all I could contribute was "He has a face, I guess." I couldn't answer when I was asked if I found any guys attractive.

I identify as aroace because I found a guy who seemed really nice and I liked being around him. I told my friends I enjoyed his company and they immediately started making fun of me for having a crush. I spent weeks agonizing over if it was or not, and I hated myself because I knew I didn't want to have sex with him, and I knew I didn't see him as husband material, so why did I want to be around him?

I'm aroace because I watched one of my close friends fall hard for a guy. I didn't trust him from the start, but she gave him a chance. They did things, and then he ghosted her. It took her a full year to recover from him. He emotionally wrecked her, and I had to help pick up her pieces. It got to the point where we couldn't hang out without her bringing him up at least once, and it made me confused and angry necause I couldn't wrap my head around the concept of breaking up and love like that. I was honest with her and said I didn't understand what she saw in him or how she could move so fast with someone like that, but as her friend I would always come to her defense and would never judge her, despite my confusion and lack of sight in the category of dating.

I identify as aroace because I watched my friends make a list of things they were looking for in a husband, and I couldn't make a list because I couldn't see myself getting married.

I identify as aroace because the politics of dating in my college's theatre department sicken me, and I cannot understand how people care so much about such a trivial thing as romance or sex. It feels like I'm the only one at my college who is actually at college to get a degree. I'm hauling my ass to pull 4.0s every semester, then turn around and see people older than me kissing and holding hands and dragging their significant other with them and skipping class to go get coffee with them. Why?? Why, I keep asking myself! Why do they feel the need to do that??? Why don't /I/ feel the need to do that???? What is wrong with me????

I identify as aroace because a freshman asexual came out to me my sophomore year. I felt excited because even though I wasn't sure I was ace at the time, I knew the ace community would understand my confusion for romance. And as far as I knew, she and one other girl in the junior class were the only ace people in my life. Then later she came up to me and confessed she had a crush on another freshman in our department. I knew romantic attraction and sexual attraction were two different things, but it hurt for a second to think that even the person who would most likely understand my thoughts on dating felt romantic love and wanted to date. What is /wrong/ with me?????

I identify as aroace because another theatre freshman confessed to me who he had a crush on, and my advice was to wait a few months before doing anything about to ensure it wasn't infatuation. I give advice on dating a lot for someone who's never had a boyfriend or even a real crush. People ignore my advice most of the time.

I identify as aroace because my close friend group had a falling out in which one girl went to everyone in the group except me and basically said she didn't want to be friends anymore because we weren't Christian enough for her. This was my first real friend group. It broke me. I had just began trusting people again, letting them into my life without questioning their motives. And then my worst fear came true. If my best friends could still leave me, who's to say a boyfriend wouldn't either?

I'm aroace because I went through COVID quarantine in the summer of 2020 alone. No one from school talked to me or reached out to me. My family didn't check in with me. I was suicidal, all I saw in the world was darkness. But obviously, I made it through that awful summer. But I did it ALONE. And if I can get through the worst part of my life alone. I can get through the rest of my life alone.

I'm aroace because I'm watching my younger sister get a boyfriend and suffer when he had to move five hours away. I heard my parents whisper how they thought it was for the best, since he seemed to change my sister. I'm watching my youngest sister actively crush on a boy who doesn't like her back, and she is jealous of the sister who found a boyfriend. She doesn't listen to me when I say she doesn't need a boyfriend to get through high school. I'm listening to my parents talk about my autistic brother, and they say "/Unfortunately/, he will never get married." Like singleness is a curse.

I'm aroace because I read about the Apostle Paul, who called singleness a blessing because single people can do things married people cannot, and I cried tears of joy that he felt called by God to write that down. Then I cried tears of anger because my church doesn't seem to carry that sentiment.

I am aroace because my mother refuses to believe me when I say I'm never getting married. "God has a plan for you. You would make a perfect mother." She keeps saying I'll have twins. At this point, she's manifested it enough I'm worried I'll get raped and give her her twins that way. I am not out as aroace to my parents.

I'm aroace because my ADHD makes me so forgetful and emotionally volatile, I would never find a man to settle down with who could put up with me, and I would be such an emotionally abusive mother (I'm breaking a cycle). I have accepted my mental disability as my burden to carry. I ruin my friends' and family's lives with it enough. I will not ruin anyone else's.

I'm aroace because I just watched Grease the Musical last night, and while the actors and sets and costumes were all great, I hated the story because the happy ending included Sandy changing herself so that Danny Zuko would notice her. I told that to my mother, who then relayed it to my father as my being confused about the plot because I hadn't seen the movie.

I'm aroace because my friends keep harassing me about a guy that I like spending time with, even more than the first guy, but still can't see myself dating him. We both fake argue with each other, and apparently that's flirting??? But it's not to us???? So it's not flirting then???? But we've both had several conversations with each other about how we don't romantically like each other and we see each other as brother and sister, and I looked in his eyes when he said that and they held truth. But everyone thinks we're dating. I hate it.

I'm aroace because I love my friends passionately and madly. I always say "I love you" to them, because it's true! I love them with all my heart, and I will always be true and loyal to them. I would give my life for any of them, because that's what it means when Hope says "I love you." It means "You mean the world to me. If you leave me life, I will grieve you like I lost a part of myself. Because I am completed not by a romantic partner, but by my friends. You are my romance." But they don't say it back. That's okay. I know no one reciprocates the love I have for them. Because they want romantic love. Not platonic. And I've accepted I'm the broken one. I've accepted they're scared to say "I love you" because society has made them scared to. Because society has deemed our relationship as lesser. I am lesser, even though the love I have for my friends is stronger than any love in any Hallmark movie or romance novel. My love is pure, unfettered, adoring. But it's still deemed wrong.

I'm aroace because I do not wish the curse that is me upon anyone else. I have spent my life emotionally alone, and I have worked hard to get to where I am. I don't see the need for dating in my life. Sex as a concept disturbs me. Part of my aroaceness comes from my past sufferings, my trust issues from my family and friends failing me. The other part comes from a genuine confusion and lack of attraction.

I am content in my singleness. I have friends and passions to pour my love into. One good thing about my mental disability is I feel emotions on such a stronger magnitude than most people. So when I care about something, I will show it greatly. I am married to my art, and I am fulfilled by my work, and that is enough for me.

I fully believe God has called me to be single. But if He wants me to get married, He's gonna have to have the guy chase me for miles and years.

I've just started calling myself aroace this month. Pride month. And I'm taking pride in my lack of attraction. My brokenness, according to society. Because I'm not broken.

Like OP said.

I'm whole on my own!

about a month ago, my uncle asked if I had a significant other. I appreciate his gender inclusivity, of course.

I'm used to the question. it's not like it's something outrageous that he's asking. so I simply said no, that's not for me.

he looked at me and said "well, someday." not someday maybe, just.... someday.

of course I'm not quick to anger, but there's a part of me that's a little more defensive about my aroace identity. so I jumped to my defense.

my uncle isn't a bad guy, he's quite nice and tries his best to be respectful in the current political shit storm by supporting queer people. but apparently that does exclude me, an aroace.

I reiterated that I'm just not interested in a romantic or sexual partnership, and I really do not ever see that changing.

and he said something to the effect of "it's okay if you don't want that now."

and I said, "no, it's just okay that I don't want that."

and he said that I was pessimistic. as if I was secretly searching for a relationship or a partner, but was rejecting love because I could not find one.

I calmly (with all the rage in my veins) told him "no, a life without love or sex is something optimistic for me."

he had the gall to look horrified.

I'm sick of aroace people not being seen as normal human people when they don't want the outcome of their life to look like everyone else's. I'm sick of the white picket fence, I'm sick of the assumption that everyone has another half out there.

I'm whole on my own.

[fanfic-about-fictif]

Know about it

Type: drabble/oneshot

Pairing: Felix Escellun x female reader

Words: 1552

Warnings: slight nsfw

The first time Felix noticed it was when she decided to have a competition in climbing trees against Sage. He watched them from afar, leaned on the windowsill of the castle, since he made it abundantly clear that under no circumstance will he participate in these kind of shenanigans. Sage responded at Felix’s condescending tone with a witty remark, while she didn’t comment on it, only asking Felix to cheer for her. He was grateful that she never pushed him to do anything he wasn’t comfortable with, without making fun of him or remarking on him being stuck up.

Still, he had to admit it was fun seeing her try to beat Sage. She was pretty good at first and Felix actually thought she had a fighting chance, but Sage still managed to get to a higher branch. She was giggling and laughing the whole time, having fun in both climbing the tree and teasing Sage.

Felix noticed it when she was hanging from a thick tree branch, her shirt riding up and revealing only a small part of it on her waist, the rest of it hidden under the fabric.

After she got back on the ground, she watched Sage carefully go down the tree, joking with him about needing help from something called firefighters. Felix could tell that Sage didn’t understand the concept of firefighters either, but still put on an offended face expression as she continued to tease him.

Felix grinned as he looked at them, shaking his head like a father does when he sees his children playing in mud.

The second time though, Felix saw it from more up close.

She was training with Anisa, which led to an accident. Felix didn’t know exactly how it happened, but she got hurt, earning a superficial cut across her abdomen. He didn’t want to hear Anisa’s explanations, since he was too busy tending to her wound and scolding Anisa at the same time. When a fight between Anisa and Felix was imminent and tensions got a little high, she assured Anisa everything will be alright and that she’s free to go, without needing to worry about her.

Felix was concentrated on disinfecting her wound and stopping the weak bleeding, as Anisa sighed and left them to it. He was focused and his hands were practiced, like he did this a million times already. She was silent, laying down on the couch and gazing at him. Well, actually, admiring his scrunched up face and the worry he radiated. She felt good when she was being taken care of, and more importantly, she felt safe around him.

“It’s nothing serious, Felix. I’ll be fine.”, she smiled at him, but he didn’t look up.

“She should know better.”, he chided. “She’s supposed to protect you, not put you into harm’s way.”

“Don’t be dramatic, I’m alright.”, she put her thumb under his chin, making him look up at her.

He relaxed immediately, which was her goal. After a heavy sigh, he wrapped up her wound, also covering up the thing he wanted to ask about for quite some time, only he was too scared to do so. It was a big tattoo, stretching along her side, from her waist upwards. But, it was in a rather private space, so Felix was not feeling comfortable asking about it. Despite the fact he had a clear view of it mere seconds ago.

The curiosity was eating him alive though. Did it have a meaning? Was it just something she liked and did it in a spur of the moment?

He wanted to know about it, just like he wanted to know everything about her, but was too intimidated and shy to ask.

After some time, he forgot about it. Other things were pestering his thoughts and it was pushed somewhere deeper, in the corner of his mind.

The third time he saw it was when she actually showed it to him and told him all about how she got the tattoo in question.

They were kissing in the library, pressed against the bookshelf. Felix boxed her in between his hands, which she was equally surprised and pleased about. It seemed like with each passing day they spent together, he was opening up more and getting more cosy and content with their relationship. They were taking it slow, but there were certain heated moments when both of them got frustrated and wanted nothing more than to tear each other’s clothes off and have their way with the other.

This was one of those moments, when their kisses were hungry and passionate, their bodies pressed together. Her arms were around him, one hand going through his soft hair and pulling at the strands softly. As the kiss deepened, his hands explored her body, hesitantly at first. But then, as she bit his bottom lip teasingly, he responded by slipping his hands beneath her shirt.

It was then he remembered about the tattoo, without actually seeing it, but knowing his fingers are tracing the skin where the black lines were drawn. Felix broke the kiss, both of them breathing heavily. For a moment, they stared at each other’s eyes, feeling the connection, the unspoken love linking them together.

“What is it?” she asked when she noticed Felix’s eyebrows furrow, like he was thinking about something.

He blinked, like she just woke him up from a daydream. She couldn’t tell if his cheeks were rosy from the make out session or if this was one of those times she interrupted him thinking about something he would rather not share.

She smirked, moving closer to him. Right when Felix was about to lean in closer to her lips for another kiss, she turned her head and moved to kiss his neck, pecking tenderly at first, but then biting slightly, certainly leaving marks that were going to be visible tomorrow. Felix’s head fell back and his eyes closed in satisfaction, even letting a soft moan escape his lips after she planted a few more kisses along his collarbone.

“Are you going to tell me what you were thinking about or do I have to pry it out of that pretty head of yours?” she whispered against his ear, sending shivers down his spine.

When she pulled back, she was thoroughly delighted at the dazed and gleeful expression on Felix’s face.

He cleared his throat, but smiled as he locked eyes with her. “Uhm, I… A certain question simply popped into my head.”

“Let’s hear it then.”

“Wh-what?” Felix suddenly tensed up. “No, it was nothing important, really. Just something I… Well, it does not matter in the slightest, especially right now when…”

“Felix.”, she stopped his blabbering. “Tell me. Please.”

He stared at her with an open mouth, contemplating whether that was a smart idea.

Then, he looked at his hands, still resting under her shirt. He caressed her soft skin as he moved his fingers up, slowly revealing more and more of her bare skin and also more of her tattoo under her right breast. He stopped when he felt the lace of her bra, blushing furiously. They sometimes slept in the same bed together, never naked, but often in their underwear. Somehow, this moment seemed even more intimate.

Felix’s grey, stormy eyes glanced up at her. “I… I wanted to know about your tattoo.”

At first she was stunned, then Felix felt her whole body shake under his fingertips from the laughter. “That’s all? Why didn’t you ask sooner?”

Felix shrugged. “I wasn’t sure if you wanted to talk about it.”

“Well, you can ask me that too, before you want to know something that you think I won’t want to talk about.”

He nodded and she kissed him in turn.

Much to Felix’s shock, with one swift movement, she took the shirt off over her head and tossed it aside. At that point, she looked a little unsure and shy as well.

As if sensing her unease, Felix smiled reassuringly. “You are beautiful. And uh, the tattoo looks wonderful as well.”

She looked down on it, seeing Felix’s fingers slowly trace the black lines of the beautiful depiction of roses. The lines were thin but both the roses and the leaves were extremely detailed. It was in black and white and simple, but yet it looked so alive, even without the shading that usual tattoos have.

“My best friend from home really liked roses. I wanted something to remember her by.”

Felix’s heart ached. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”, she whispered, taking a deep breath. “This way, I always have her with me.”

Felix was mesmerized by the tattoo, feeling content at finally finding out the meaning behind it. He was the one to initiate the kiss now, soft and loving, his arms sliding around her and embracing her tightly.

“What do you think?” she asked. “Do you like it?”

“I’m disappointed in myself for not asking about it sooner.”, Felix concluded. “I like it very much.”

“Do you want to check if I have any other ones?” she asked, winking at him.

“Couldn’t you just tell me-“ he caught himself, eyes widening when he realized what she meant by that. “Right. You mean… Yes. I would very much like to check if you have any other ones.”

[its-kall-the-clown]

14 Fluff for Red Son realizing he's nursing a crush on MK

As some context this is post redemption for the demon bull family. So Mei, MK, and Red hang out a lot together now. Red Son is also an idiot. XD

Also this isn’t my most polished work so sorry if it feels rushed.

prompt list

Stop that!! (Don't stop)

Rating: PG-13 for implied sexual interactions

"I think I'm sick"

Red Son admits to the ceiling of Mei's room. They were hanging out like they normally did on days MK was training with monkey king. She was playing some sort of retro video game and he was watching till he got bored and lay on her bed thinking.

"You got a tummy ache?" Mei teased, pausing her game and he huffs rolling his eyes, and sits up.

"Don't be ridiculous" he huffs out and crosses his arms over his chest.

"Okayyyy so what're the symptoms." Mei crawls from her spot on the floor and joins him in bed, sitting crisscrossed with her hand in her lap, and leaning forward eagerly.

"It's hard to explain… sometimes when MK is gone my chest hurts " he places a hand over his heart that was beating normally at the moment.

"And sometimes, when he's around, my hands get sweaty and it feels like I'm gonna throw up and…." He watches a wide unlearning Cheshire grin grow across his friend's face. He continues on, albeit, a bit more hesitantly.

"And….sometimes I can't talk right, and sometimes when he IS around my chest hurts also?" Mei was grinning so wide she was more teeth than she was girl.

"Why are you smiling…."

"OMFG!!?? You have a crush on Mk?!!!" She squeaks excitedly and rolls around in her back as she descends into what Red can only describe as absolute madness.

"What are you talking about??!" He sputters, Mei giggles a bit longer before finally pulling together and greeting him with a wide grin.

"Dude. Your like SO gay for him. 'My HeARt hUrTs WhEn hE’s not arOuNdddd~ " she mocks him in a fake tone and he growls hitting her with a pillow..

"Stop that!" He growls.

"SToP ThAt~" she mocks back and they devolve into a pillow fight on her bed. He girns when he hits her smug face squarely with a dragon stuffie.

Soon they lay panting on her bed and the dragon girl rolls onto her stomach poking him in the face.

"So. Crushing in MK huh?"

He grows beat red again and pulls a pillow into his face and groans.

"You should tell him."

Red son sits up with a smile.

"I should!"

"Yes!!"

"So I can tell him to stop making me sick!"

"Say what now?"

He turns to Mei with a feral smile. This 'crush' or whatever she called it could be fixed. If MK was the one giving it to him. He just needed MK to stop doing...whatever he was doing to make him feel like this.

"Hold on I think you are conf-"

"Thanks Mei!" He gets up and is off to confront the noodle boy as he hears Mei shout at him from her room.

"You're a fucking idiot!!!"

-----------

He storms forward like a typhoon. Red son is a force of nature that can not be stopped, nothing could yield him in his goal or hinder him in his path. Wild horses pulling chariots could not stop him, celestials in heaven would not dare stand in his way, and even his parents (by far the scariest force of all) could not persuade him to rethink what he was doing.

He pushes past the doors to Pigsy's noodles, shoves past patrons and ignores the warning shouts from the pigman.

he had one goal on mind

"Nyyyooodle boy!!!!!!" He bellows grabbing the attention to his problem. Those perfect expression color eyes meet him and the disease in his chest grows. He's in his training clothes, clearly on his way up to his apartment over the shop so he can shower.

Why did the idea of MK showering make his heartbeat erratically? Soft shoulders and cascading water off them…

She shakes his head back and forth now back on track.

"Stop. That." He growls out grinding his teeth together as steam leaves his ears. MK tilts his head slightly. The disease grows more in his chest and he hates it.

"Stop that!!!!" He points directly at MK feeling his hair sputter and spark as his temperature rises. He thinks his face is growing red.

"I'm….not doing anything?" MK gives him a sheepish smile, the kind that quirks up on one side and absolutely obliterates Red Son on the spot.

Like a crunchy fall leaf under the heel of a boot he's crushed.

Whatever motivation he had before it evaporates quicker than a drop of water in the Sahara desert.

"Y-your haven't heard the last of me!!" He makes a quick retreat, stumbling over his own feet and taking out one of Pigsy's tables in the process.

He exits the shop faster than he entered. He needed to regroup and strategize.

-----------

"SoooOOOOOo How'd it go?" Mei asked her eyes not leaving the screen, she's playing a different video game now, and she didn't even spare him a glance when he came back as if she predicted he would fail.

"Horrible!!! All it did was make this sickness worse." He throws his arms up and paces back and forth biting his lip. Mei doesn't pause her game this time, only continuing to mash buttons as he grumbles under his breath.

She lets out A long-suffering sigh and finally pauses her game.

"Dude. I know you're behind on the lingo and stuff but a 'crush' isn't a sickness. It means you like MK. As in you want to kiss him and stuff." she explains with a shrug unpausing her game and the sound of power-ups and pixelated men punching each other continues.

Red Son halts in his tracks

He pictures kissing MK. pressing his lips to the boy's soft adorable lips. He can practically feel the warmth it would produce. He pictures MK smiling into the kiss as they awkwardly bump noses. He pictures holding MK’s hand, squeezing it gently as they walk hand and hand. He imagines the feeling of MK’s hair between his fingers as he runs his hands through it.

He sucks in a gasp, his heart beating out of time.

Of fuck.

“I’m so screwed…..”

He feels Mei patting his shoulder, she paused her game again when he was fantasizing

“Yeah, you are. But at least now you can DO something about it.” she nudges his side and he blushes a bright red and he can hear her chuckling at him

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

“Can we talk?”

MK blinks back at him looking back and forth for a moment as if he was confused by his precence. Which to be fair he DID just enter through MK’s window while he was showering and was now waiting for him on his bed.

“Uhhhhh sure?” they rub the last remaining moisture from his hair with a towel before tossing it to the floor to be added to piles of laundry they had yet to do. Red Son didn't even curl his lip up at the slob-like behavior because HOLY SHIT MK IS SHIRTLESS!!!

Of course, MK didn't even seem to care that he was only wearing grey sweatpants in his presence. Red Son guilty looked MK’s chest up and down while they searched for a sleep shirt. Working out with Monkey King has been paying off because MK was sporting some muscle. He also had a few scars from battles that only added to how attractive he was, and of course, there were the two faint top surgery scars under his pecks.

“Is this about your weird episode in the shop today?” they asked pulling him from his guilt ogling and MK pulled a shirt over his body. Damn what a shame.

“Mei says I have something called a ‘crush’ and I should ‘tell them how I feel’ in order to make the pain in my chest go away,” he explained using quotation marks with his fingers to punctuate himself. MK’s eyes widen slightly and then it's schooled quickly. They join Red Son on the bed.

“O-oh? Have you told them?” MK squirms in place and keeps his gaze cast down. He looks uncomfortable, no. he looks upset? Why would MK be upset? Was it because he broke into his room again without permission?

No not that. Although he will have to apologize later

“I’m working on that part,” he explains scooting closer to MK and he grabs one of their hands gently. This felt stupid, and he thinks his sickness will kill him with how quickly his heart is beating. He was terrified and all his symptoms were amplified by ten.

He looks into MK’s espresso-colored eyes looking for something. He loved those eyes. They showed so much in them and he SWORE they could change the whole lighting of a room.

He opens and closes his mouth like a fish out of water with his false starts. Eventually, he clears his throat and releases his confession.

“Umm well...MK. I h-have a crush on you.”

he shuts his eyes and waits for the rejection, waits to hear MK laugh with their head back and shove him away.

None of that comes.

He peaks an eye open to find MK’s face a bright scarlet red. Was that a good sign? Or was MK so angry at him that he was just building up anger inside of him like a volcano ready to blow.

“ I w-will leave now.” he pulls away ready to retreat with at least his dignity still in tack. He's pulled back violently and soft lips are smashed to his. He lets out a surprised whimper and absolutely melts into the feeling. His brain is electrified and static all at once.

He kisses back hungrily grabbing MK by the waist and pulls him closer. When they are running out of air only does MK pull away with a little breathless gasp.

“Stay the night?” They requested, placing a soft kiss to the juncture of his neck and he can’t find a single cell in his body that would possibly say no. He nods numbly and MK kisses him again a smile on his lips that he could taste.

----------

“MK GET UP! YOU ARE LATE AGAIN!!”

Pigsy burst down the door jolting the demon awake from his peaceful slumber, his arms that were previously wrapped around MK pull away quickly in the process. He thinks he could stick to the ceiling with his claws like a cat in a cartoon if he jolted just a little higher.

The covers are yanked off them both before Red Son even has time to protest. Thank gods they both put underwear back on when they finished satisfying each other. Red Son is completely and thoroughly exposed to MK’s boss, bitemarks, and hickes across his chest snitching on him.

Red Son and Pigsy meet eyes and he feels a sweat break out across his neck. Pigsy sighs and pinches his snout. He sucks in a deep breath and lets it out through his nose.

“I don't know what happened here... And I don't WANT to know. Tell MK he’s got ten minutes to get downstairs.” Pigsy turns on his heel and leaves slamming the door behind him. Red Son looks over to his now-boyfriend who’s mouth hangs open with drool dripping down his face.

MK slept through all of it.

He can’t help but chuckle and kiss their forehead gently.

[intheticklecloset]

Oreos and Lemonade (My Hero Academia)

Primary Universe

Summary: Sero introduces Mina to a new card game to help cure his boredom, but things get interesting when she raises the stakes.

A/N: Mina strikes again! Lee Sero is not one I write a lot of, but he sure is a cutie. I decided since she'd gotten the other Bakusquad boys it was only fair that Sero get his turn. Enjoy!

Word Count: 2,034

~~~

Sero hadn’t moved in almost an hour.

Mina stopped short when she passed through the living room the second time, watching him lay on the floor staring up at the ceiling, eyes glazed over. She frowned. “Uh…Sero?”

“Mm?” Still no movement.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m losing my mind.”

Even more concerned now, she cautiously took a step toward him. There was no one else here; it was a Friday afternoon after school, and almost everyone from their class was out at the mall right now. Mina, Sero, and a couple of others had stayed behind to study or just relax, but she had no idea what the tape hero was getting out of lying on the floor like this.

“Can I help?” Mina asked.

“I’m so bored!” Sero finally turned to look at her. “I was so wiped out after class I couldn’t even think about the mall, but now that we’ve been back at the dorms for a couple of hours I wish I’d just gone with them. I’m going nuts not having anyone to hang out with.”

“Um, hello?” Mina waved at him. “You could have asked me to hang out with you.”

“I thought you were studying.”

“I finished that an hour ago. Why do you think I came down here to sunbathe for a while?”

Sero paused. “Oh. Well.” He sat up, looking up at her. “Want to do something?”

Mina nodded, beaming. “Of course! Want to spar?”

He gave her a withering look. “I meant something fun.”

“Hmm…Mario Kart?”

“Nah, we play that all the time. What about a card game?”

“For two people?”

“They make those!”

“Where?”

“In America.” Sero smiled, getting to his feet. “I’ve got one. It’s actually designed for just two people. Want to try it?”

Mina was always down for trying something new. “Yeah! Let’s do it.”

*

A short while later, Sero and Mina were in his room, and he was explaining the rules of the game – Blink – to her.

“There are two stacks between us. You need to match up either the color, shape, or number of items on a card in your hand to a card on one of the stacks. When you do, you draw another card and keep going. Whoever gets rid of all their cards first wins.”

“Why’s it called Blink?” she asked, picking up her half of the deck to shuffle and draw three cards from.

“Because it’s really fast-paced. Most games only last a minute or two at most. It takes more time to gather, shuffle, and deal the cards than to play the game.”

“That sounds kind of redundant.” Mina shrugged. “I’m not knocking it, I’m just saying.”

“It’s pretty addicting, though. You’ll see.” Sero set his deck face down on the floor between them, drew his three cards, and looked at her. “Ready?”

“Yeah, only – why don’t we make it more interesting?”

“How?”

Mina grinned. “You say these games go pretty fast? What if we do a best out of ten? The winner gets to decide their prize.”

Sero squinted at her. Something felt a little…off about this. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but he had a feeling she was up to something. “Like what?”

“I don’t know,” she replied innocently. “What do you want if you win?”

Despite himself, Sero considered for a moment. “Um…Oreos and lemonade?”

“Together?”

“Why not? It’s a great combination.”

“I meant, would we share them?”

“Oh! Yeah, of course.” Sero smiled at her. “I’d be happy to introduce you to my weird food cravings.”

Mina giggled. “Okay, sounds good to me.”

“What if you win? What do you want?”

“Hmm…” The pink girl seemed to consider for a moment, but he had a suspicion she already knew her answer. “How about…I get to tickle you for three minutes?”

There it was. Sero sputtered a little. “W-What? Hold on – no! Why?”

“Why not? It would be fun.”

“For you!”

“Come on, please?” Mina begged, batting her eyes at him. “I made it a goal to tickle each of you boys individually and you’re the last one left! This way it wouldn’t be a surprise attack, and it wouldn’t be ‘cheating,’ like I evidently did with the other three.”

“What if I win?”

“Then we have Oreos and lemonade, since that’s what you want.”

Sero’s heart was pounding. The stakes had gotten a lot higher. “I mean…what if I win and you can’t tickle me now? When will you?”

Mina smirked. “I’ll find time. So, do you accept?”

Sero thought about it for a minute. He did have the advantage of having played this game before, and he considered himself pretty good at it. Plus, tickling wasn’t the worst thing in the world, and he could take it for three minutes. So…

“Yeah,” he said at last. “Let’s do it. Best of ten.”

“Great!”

“One…two…three!”

As promised, the first game was over in a flash, as were the next several games they played. Though Sero did win the first three, Mina eventually got the hang of things and started winning consistently as well, so that by the time they got to the tenth game it was Sero 5, Mina 4.

“We should have said best of eleven,” he said. “We might tie at this rate.”

“You never know! Let’s go, I’m pumped up now.”

They tied. It was now 5-5.

Mina grinned at him. “Sudden death, Sero. I hope you’re ready for a good tickling!”

Sero blushed, flustered but doing his best to remain calm. “Nah. I hope you’re ready to experience the awesomeness of Oreos and lemonade combined!”

“We’ll let the cards decide.”

“Ready?”

“Ready.”

“One…two…three!”

Sero and Mina slapped their cards down onto the two decks in a frenzy, moving faster than ever before. Whereas she seemed to be fully in control of herself and her thoughts, Sero found he was a little scattered and shaky with each card she beat him to. Pull it together, he scolded himself. You’ve won this plenty of times, you can do it again—

Mina slapped down her last card and threw her hands in the air. “I win!”

Sero went on the defensive even before he realized he was doing it, dropping his final few cards and scrambling back away from her. “H-Hold on, give me a second to prepare myself!”

“You act like I’m going to murder you,” she laughed, wiggling her fingers teasingly. “It’s just tickling. You’ve been tickled by us before.”

“Y-Yeah, but…I still need a second!”

Mina gave him a smile and softened her voice. “Hey, it’s okay. I won’t torture you, I promise. I won’t even hit any death spots if you don’t want me to. I just want to tickle you and make you giggle a little. All right?”

Somehow, her soothing words made him feel leagues better. He sighed. “Yeah, all right. Sorry, it’s just…I don’t know. This tickling thing is…weird.”

“Weird how?”

“I mean…I don’t really mind it, I guess, and when it’s just you guys I’m okay. But I don’t want to be like Midoriya, getting tickled at random almost on a daily basis.”

Mina gently placed her hand on his leg. “Sero, I’m not asking you to commit to a lifelong tickling. Just a couple minutes right now. That’s it. I promise.”

Sero nodded, rubbing the back of his neck with a nervous chuckle. “Okay. Okay, sorry. I’m…I’m ready.”

With a smile, Mina scooted a little closer to him. “Is there anywhere you don’t want me to tickle you?”

Sero blushed and looked away. “No, just do it. Just get it over with. Please.”

“You got it.” With that, she scribbled her fingers across his kneecaps, smiling even wider when he instantly started giggling. “Aw, you got ticklish knees like Kaminari?”

“Nohohohohot that bahahahahad,” he admitted, gradually lying down on his back. “But it s-stihihihihihill tickles.”

She moved a little further up, gently tracing the tops of his thighs, enjoying the way he twitched in response. A little further up brought her to his hips, then his sides and ribs, and finally his underarms. It was at this point – about a minute in – that she straddled him. “There we go. Nice and gentle, see? Just giggles, no screaming laughter.”

Sero’s face was bright red at this point, and he instinctively tried to clamp his arms to his sides. “M-Mihihihihihina, plehehehehehease be c-cahahahahahareful.”

“Just gentle tickles, I promise,” she replied, trailing back down to his ribs. “I want to tickle your tummy. Is that okay?”

He blushed even harder, covering his face with his hands. “Dohohohohon’t call it such a sihihihihihilly name…”

“But it’s so cute! Just like you, Sero.” Mina gradually began her descent towards her intended target. “You’ve already done so well in just two minutes. I’m sure you can handle one more like a champion.”

“Ugh, f-fihihihihihine, just stohohohohohop teasing me already.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I can’t do that.” Mina grinned, finally moving down to his belly and skittering wildly. “Teasing is what I do, you see.”

“Mihihihihihihina!” he yelped, giggles escalating in an adorable way, his body finally starting to squirm for real. “Plehehehehehease, it reheheheheally tickles!”

“I know. But you can do it, Sero. It’s only another minute.”

The tape hero smiled widely, giggling and squirming on the floor beneath her touch, doing his best to let her have her fun…until she pushed his shirt up to his chest and began tickling his belly directly, with no protection whatsoever. He jerked and shot his arms down to try and pry her away. “Nohohohohoho, thahahahahat’s cheheheheheating!”

Mina sighed heavily. “It’s not cheating! Why do you all keep saying that? These are the terms you agreed to.”

“I dihihihihihhidn’t sahahahahay you cohohohohould dohohohoho that!”

“Do what? This?” She suddenly turned her fingers into claws, digging rather than scribbling, and Sero tossed his head back with a startled squeal. “You never told me I couldn’t. I even asked you first.”

“M-MihihihiHIHIHINA!! NAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!” Sero laughed, really, truly fighting her now, giggles having evolved to laughter. “No, stahahahahahahahap! Plehehehehehease, enough! No mohohohohohohohore!”

“Ten more seconds, Sero,” she teased, winking at him. “Ten…nine…”

“Dohohohohohohon’t count!”

“Eight…seven…six…”

Sero was losing his mind all over again. The tickly vibrations in his stomach were driving him crazy. “STAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAP!!”

“Five…four…three…two…”

There was a long pause. Sero cried, “ONE!! OHOHOHOHONE!! STAHAHAHAP!!”

“One and a half…” Mina teased, unable to keep her own laughter at bay. “One and a quarter…”

“MINA!! PLEHEHEHEHEHEHEASE!!”

“One!” At last she let up, giving his belly button one last poke before climbing off of him. “See? That wasn’t so bad, was it? You handled it so well!”

Sero rolled onto his side, still giggling for a moment before sitting up completely. When he did, he realized that through his kicking and squirming he’d made a total mess of their card game. “Ugh, great. Now I have to clean this up.”

“I’ll help you,” Mina said. With the two of them working together, it only took a few minutes to count all the cards to make sure they had them all, put them in neat stacks, and then store them back in the box. Finally the pink-haired girl asked quietly, “You okay?”

“Hmm?” Sero looked at her, confused. “Yeah, why?”

“You got kind of quiet, that’s all. You’re not upset with me, are you?”

“What? No!” He pulled her in for a quick side-hug. “No, we’re good. Like I said, tickling is just kind of…weird for me. But I didn’t hate it or anything. It’s all right. Even if you are a little cheater.”

“I am not a cheater!” she laughed, pushing him away playfully. “I asked you beforehand if there was anywhere you didn’t want me to tickle you. You had your chance!”

“It’s not where you tickled me, it’s how you did it,” he shot back, smirking.

“Well, I’m sorry your tummy was just too cute to resist.” She poked it once, then nudged him. “Come on. Let’s go have your Oreos and lemonade now.”

He looked at her, confused. “But I lost.”

“Did you?” Mina beamed as she got to her feet, then offered a hand to help him up. “I think we’re both winners today, Sero.”

[thosewickedlovelies]

Into the Woods: chapter 1  |  Frankie Morales x GN!Reader

Summary: Neither you nor Frankie are expecting to run into anyone in the middle of the woods.

Tags: none!! all audiences!

Word Count: 3,054

Note: HE’S HERE!!! Please enjoy the official first installment of the outdoors insta frankie series 🌳📷😍 So much love to the wonderful @yoditorian for coming up with this concept and Frankie’s IG name, and also helping me brainstorm 💗💗💗

Backstory

---

Francisco Morales loves this shit. Walking for hours without seeing another soul, nothing to think about but where to place his feet on the path ahead of him. Assuming he’s following a path at all. These are his woods- the country surrounding the house he’s lived in for years, a place just shy of isolated from the nearest town. They’re not really his, legally. He’s not exactly sure what the rules of land designation entail, but it’s not a national park, and no one has ever chased him up about the occasional wood-chopping or campfire-building he does.

So he walks.

It’s a damn perfect day for it, too. Brilliantly sunny with a hint of breeze, rustling the greenery around him and carrying the scents of sun-warmed leaves and late summer flowers. The birds are in high spirits, their vibrant chirping filling the air with chatter. Screeches of alarm, sometimes, too- a side effect of hiking with a giant energetic dog. Frankie watches ruefully as Oso crashes off into the undergrowth again, doubtless chasing down some poor creature.

He slows his pace to wait for her, taking the opportunity for a water break. His heavy pack thuds to the ground. Frankie grunts as he stretches, rotating his shoulders and flapping his sweaty t-shirt away from his back. I should really hike along the river more often, he muses. He doesn’t mind working up a sweat (obviously), but a ready supply of cool water during a long hike does wonders for one’s well-being.

“Boof!” Oso’s deep bark as she returns brings Frankie’s attention to her.

“Yeah? Would you like that, too? A nice swim in the river to cool you down?” He crouches to ruffle her neck fur the way she likes. Oso only pants in answer, blinking at him adoringly.

She slurps thirstily as Frankie pours some water from his bottle into her mouth. He chuckles. “Don’t worry, Osita, we’ll be near some water soon.”

Their goal today is a small pond Frankie had only found earlier this year. It’s a good spot for his campfire cooking, as well as endlessly photogenic. This is marginally important to him, as he attempts to keep a regular diary of his wanderings through instagram. It’s mostly for fun, but like anyone else, he isn’t immune to the particular buzz from his posts unexpectedly getting a high number of likes.

But he had also discovered that he wasn’t the only one with this hobby. There were whole communities of people out there who found peace the same way he did, and they happily gave advice if ever he posted about a struggle.

Frankie pauses again a short way away from the pond to make sure he’s on course. Oso sniffs around excitedly, bounding off again while Frankie checks his GPS. “Huh.” Looking around, he laughs at himself a little when it tells him he’s almost walked past it. He rotates to his left and thinks he spots the telltale gap in the trees ahead. He tucks the GPS away.

Oso barks from somewhere ahead of him. A split second later, a human yelp sounds from the same direction. His eyes widen.

“Shit!” Frankie breaks into a run. In all the years he’s been out here, he rarely sees other people this far from the trails. “Oso!” he yells. “Here, girl!”

Oso isn’t aggressive (unless the situation warrants it), but whatever new friend she thinks she’s meeting won’t know that. Frankie races toward where he judges the noise came from, heart pounding. He bursts through some bushes and is almost knocked down by his beast jumping up to greet him.

“Hey, girl, who was- no!” Oso peels away again across a bit of clear ground, her collar slipping through Frankie’s fingers. He’s barreling toward where her tail wags from behind a bush, when you stand.

Frankie skids to a stop so abruptly his feet slide out from under him. His ass hits the ground with a thud, his rucksack taking only part of the fall. He scrambles upright gracelessly, clumsy with the weight on his back, never taking his eyes off of you.

You stare at each other.

Nothing about this moment feels real to Frankie- you could announce that you’re the dryad who rules this forest and he would believe you, that’s how unlikely your appearance is. Shifting sunbeams dapple your skin, and even from several feet away he can tell that you have the most striking eyes he’s ever seen.

For a second your gaze flicks down to the side. You lean slightly as if something has nudged you, and as you move your hand away from it Frankie realizes you’re holding something.

Shit. He returns to his senses. Is that a weapon?

He’s met people on the trails before, most of them harmless fellow hikers. But occasionally there are some with weird vibes, especially the farther away from the paths you got. He’s fully capable of defending himself, but that doesn’t mean he wants to have to.

“Oso! Here!” Frankie says sternly. Your expression doesn’t change as you watch the dog trot over to him. Jaw set, wide eyes tracking his every motion.

He supposes he can’t blame you for being wary. Or armed. It’s a perfectly reasonable response to running into a strange man in the middle of the woods. He knows he’s not exactly the picture of reassurance. Tall and broad, probably too sweaty to believably claim he’s on a casual hike. He decides to speak.

“Sorry to startle you.” Frankie keeps his hands by his sides where you can see them, resting one on Oso’s head. “I wasn’t expecting to see anyone this far from the trails.”

Your tense stance doesn’t relax. “Me either.”

His head tips to the side. “Do you come to this area regularly, then?” He tries to keep his voice slow and soothing.

He can see you assessing him, trying to measure how safe he is. “I have been recently. What about you?”

“All the time. Me and Oso take nice long walks.” Frankie pats the dog’s head in a more formal introduction. “I like to come out here and cook.” Your brow furrows at that, bemusement appearing amidst your guarded features. Before you can respond, he prompts “What are you doing this far off the main paths?”

“Foraging. You come all the way out here to cook?” Disbelief is etched in every line of your face.

Well, when you say it like that.

Foraging. That makes perfect sense. Frankie follows a few of them on instagram. He’s always pleased when he notices the more obvious edible plants and berries, but it’s not usually his focus. His vegetable garden at home takes up most of his efforts. It’s managed to thrive in the years since he started it after leaving the army, and it’s become a source of pride for him to be able to wander out, pick some things for the day’s meal, and head right into the woods.

“Yeah,” he responds. “Here, I can show you. I keep an instagram.”

Your eyebrows rise even higher at that.

Moving slowly and watching for your reaction, Frankie holds his hands up as he turns, keeping one in the air while the other makes a show of tugging his phone from a side pocket of his pack. He keeps the screen visible as he opens the app, then pulls his arm back in the beginning of an underhanded throw. Poised as such, he looks at you expectantly.

Now you’re almost frowning. Clearly still suspicious, but possibly fractionally less concerned about danger from a man willing to give his phone to a complete stranger in the woods. Hesitantly, you raise your hands to catch it.

Finally Frankie can make out that the thing in your hand in a canister of mace. The sight inexplicably relieves him. Pepper spray is a normal person’s defense, something that anyone might carry to help themselves feel safe. Far from the kind of weapon he would fear from someone angling for true violence.

All of this decided in the space of a second, Frankie gently tosses you his phone.

--

You’re so distracted by delighting in the prolific blackberry bushes which surround your pond that you don’t hear the approaching creature until it’s upon you.

You screech in shock at the massive fur-thing’s appearance, bowling you over from your crouch. It doesn’t seem bothered about wanting you to pet it, only wiggling and sniffing at you enthusiastically. You register the collar around its neck at the same you hear the shout.

“Oso!” That must be its name. “Here, girl!” The dog dashes away, then back, clearly torn about leaving her new friend so soon.

Icy adrenaline douses your system. That was a man’s voice, rough and cavernous. Who knows what kind of person he could be, no matter the earnestness of his dog? Your hands shake as you rip open your bag for the canister of mace you’ve never had to use.

There’s a pronounced rustle and then his voice sounds again, terrifyingly close. “Hey, girl, who was- no!”

Shit. The dog is back, looking at you eagerly, rear in the air and tail wagging like this is an exciting game. You have to choose a course of action quickly. Twisting the safety off the pepper spray, you rise to your feet.

His reaction is almost funny; you think you might have laughed if this was literally any other scenario. Like a cartoon character slipping on a banana peel, the man wrenches himself to a stop with such force his feet fly up from the ground. The contents of his bulging pack crunch against the earth, but he barely seems to notice he’s fallen, keeping his eyes on yours the entire time he cycles back to his feet.

You stare at each other.

That’s a man all right. Towering even from this distance, with wide shoulders that help the impression. His eyes are round and stunned, the cap on his head knocked slightly askew and freeing sweat-dark curls to spring around his ears.

Your first thought is that he looks warm. Not temperature warm, although the gleam of sweat on his neck confirms that, too. But approachable warm. There’s a softness to his body that belies the muscle his motions highlight, creases around his eyes that wrinkle brown like tree bark in the sun.

Then his dog noses your thigh, reminding you that you have pepper spray in your hand because you’re in the middle of the damn woods with a potentially threating stranger. You risk a half-second glance down to move the canister away from her face.

You regard the man with stony distrust, fear flushing your face and neck with heat. Confrontation makes the blood roar in your ears, but it gradually quiets as he orders the creature away from you. For several more seconds the only sound is rustling leaves.

He clears his throat. “Sorry to startle you,” he says. “I wasn’t expecting to see anyone this far from the trails.”

His voice doesn’t sound as harsh now that he’s not frantically shouting for his dog. Still you keep your answer short. “Me either.”

His head tilts inquisitively. “Do you come to this area regularly, then?”

That’s a fair question. He has a right to be curious too. “I have been recently. What about you?”

“All the time. Me and Oso take nice long walks.” The man pats her head, and the dog’s ears perk up. “I like to come out here and cook.” Wait, what? Before you have a chance to process that, he continues. “What are you doing this far off the main paths?”

You won’t be deterred. “Foraging. You come all the way out here to cook?” If this is some elaborate murder setup, that’s not a very plausible lie.

“Yeah,” he answers. “Here, I can show you. I keep an instagram.”

You’re slightly more skeptical than fearful now. You watch silently as the man turns in place, putting the side of his backpack in your line of sight so you can see him fish his phone out. He makes his actions slow and obvious. The white background of an instagram page glows on the screen as he retracts his arm in a throwing pose. Clear eyes meet yours.

What? This guy is just going to...give you his phone, no questions asked? Taken aback, you can feel the deep grooves of a frown between your eyebrows as you consider.

You’re hesitant to reveal the pepper spray, but if there’s still some possibility this is a trick, he might second-guess attacking you if he sees you’re armed. You ready yourself for a catch.

Which you accomplish, easily, his toss landing the phone right in your hands. The dog lurches forward, but this time man has a grip on her collar and she’s forced to halt with a whine.

“Sorry, girl. We’re not playing fetch right now, okay? Sit!” The man doesn’t even seem concerned with monitoring you, looking down seriously at his dog as he speaks.

You keep one eye on them as you turn your attention to the screen. Frankieintheforest, reads the username at the top of the page. Just a guy out in the woods, continues his bio. Well, that’s accurate, anyway. Frankie, huh? You spare him another glance, matching various features of him to the ones in his photos. A broad hand here, sturdy hiking boots there. Several glimpses of the same flannel that’s currently tied to the strap of his backpack. His face in a few group shots. You click on an image which shows Oso parading around a yard with a grinning toddler on her back. “Ferocious beast carries away yet another victim,” quips the caption. An involuntary smile tugs at the corner of your mouth.

There are too many photos going too far back for it to be fake. You turn the screen toward him. “Cute kid,” you comment. “Is she yours?”

His eyebrows lift in surprise. “No,” the man half laughs. “My buddy’s. I’m just the godfather.” A small smile softens his face as he takes in the picture.

Being named godfather was nothing to sneeze at. You study the man carefully, keeping your face neutral. He seems genuine, his dog keen and friendly. Dogs were a good judge of character, right? Indicative of the character of their owner? He hasn’t demanded anything from you, not done anything threatening beyond just being here.

You glance between him and the phone again. “Frankie?” you question.

He raises one hand in a wave, directing a crooked sort of smile at you. “That’s me,” Frankie confirms.

You offer him your name in return. “Uh, you can have this back now.” You gesture with the phone.

He brings his hands up to catch it, and you thank every deity you know of when your throw connects. You’re at a bit of a loss for what to do next, however. You suppose this means you’re at a truce. But you still don’t think you’d be able to let yourself focus on foraging while knowing there’s a stranger wandering so nearby.

Frankie seems to be thinking the same thing. One hand rubs over the back of his neck. “Well,” he begins. “My plans for today were to sit by this pond and cook over a fire.” He points his thumb to the right, where not far away the reflection of sunlight on water wavers against the tree trunks.

“You can join me if you want.” He shrugs awkwardly. “I’m just gonna collect some tinder and then park it, so you don’t have to worry about me interrupting your foraging or anything.”

Oso finally wriggles free of his grasp and surges forward, leaping across to you with a triumphant woof! “Oso, no!” Frankie stumbles after her, only to stop after two steps, clearly unwilling to make you uncomfortable by getting too close. He looks on helplessly, hands flexing.

“It’s okay,” you assure him. This time you offer her your free hand to sniff, which she does, before promptly shoving her head beneath it for pets. Amused, you comply. Her multi-hued fur is soft beneath your fingers.

“You’re alright, aren’t you, Oso?” You dart a self-conscious glance back up to her owner, but he appears content to let you coo at his dog.

“She’s a good judge of character,” Frankie says simply.

You swallow. Those deep brown eyes linger over you, and this is all just a bit...much. “Right. Well. I’m just going to…” you ease back, hoping to convey ‘continue going about your business.’

“Oh, sure!” He takes a little hop backward. “I’ll be...here.” His hand makes a small circling motion to indicate a limited nearby area. “You’ll hear me before you see me. Or Oso.”

Frankie frowns slightly as if something has occurred to him. “Uh, she might want to follow you around today though. I can tie her to a tree if that would bother you? I don’t usually watch her too closely,” he admits sheepishly.

“Oh, that’s okay.” You realize that you mean it as your thoughts continue to form. “She’ll make for good protection if I meet any more big scary strangers.” You aim the last words down to the dog herself, sending a wry a sidelong glance to said stranger.

He chuckles again, a rasp of a sound like creaking branches. “That’s fair. But I meant it when I said I’ve never seen anyone else in this particular area. You’re pretty safe.” He punctuates his statement with a nod to the canister still in your hand, soft understanding clear in his face.

Your head ducks slightly. “Well,” you say again. ”I’ll..see you around. I guess.” You don’t wait for a farewell, turning to foist your pack back onto your shoulder. You strain your ears for any noise behind you as you flee, but there’s no sound of pursuit.

“Go ahead. Have fun, Oso,” Frankie calls, already at a distance from your quick pace. There’s a distinctly animal scurrying, and then the dog bursts into being by your side.

Your arms wheel as you jump. “Jeez, you are enormous,” you mumble, pausing to pet her again. Discreetly you look over your shoulder in time to see Frankie turn away from you, heading for your pond.

--

Post note: I know pepper spray is like, super illegal in the UK and other places, but it’s not abnormal to carry around in the US so just pretend it’s fine.

Taglist: @thirstworldproblemss, @leonieb, @computeringturtle

[bakubabes-tatakae]

A/N: I hope you all enjoy part 4/4 of my pieces for day four of the anniversary collab for the @konoblog-simps. You can find all the lovely pieces for the day here! Today’s theme was song pieces and the last piece I have for this day is a little different than anything I’ve ever written before. You can find all the days of the collab here!

Pairing: Dabi x fem!Reader

Song Choice: Partners In Crime by Set It Off

Warnings: character death, violence, robbery, angst, fluff (in a way)

Word Count: 1.9k

“You'll never take us alive

We swore that death will do us part

They'll call our crimes a work of art”

If there was one thing that always felt right, it was when Dabi and yourself got to work together. It wasn’t often that Shigaraki would let the two of you handle a job on your own, this was one of those rare occasions. 

Shigaraki would never let the two of you live down the time that the two of you had spent an entire mission in the hotel room you had rented and forgotten about your actual goal. He had learned his lesson and no longer sent the two of you anywhere that meant you had to stay overnight if others were involved. And Shigaraki knew that your judgment was usually clouded by each other when the going got tough, but he expected that from a couple. 

And just like the mission that had put that thought in his head, this one was about to take a turn as well. You hadn’t known that one of the staff members had hit the button under the desk before Dabi had managed to threaten them. This wasn’t supposed to happen today. 

Sirens were growing louder and louder in the distance as you began to grow uneasy. You looked over at Dabi and at back the hostages that sat around you, careful not to let them know that you were nervous. 

Dabi smiled at you, keeping that air of confidence over himself. His voice was steady and self-assured as he pointed toward you, keeping his other palm open and pointed toward the hostages, ready to activate his quirk when he needed to. “They’ll never take us alive, dollface”

As much as Dabi hated to admit it, he was a little nervous as well. You slowly walked toward him, making sure to keep your quirk active, jamming the phones and other electronics in the area. “I’m not sure how much longer I can keep these signals jammed. My time limit is coming up.”

Dabi slowly approached you and placed a hand under your chin, tilting your face up to look at him. “They’ll call our crimes a work of art, Mi Amor.”

“You'll never take us alive

We'll live like spoiled royalty

Lovers and partners

Partners in crime”

You stared into his eyes, his slightly glancing over at the people on the ground to make sure they didn’t move. His words rang through your ears again as he soothed you. “They’ll never be able to catch us, my darling. We’ll always be partners in crime.”

His words calmed you a little and made you realize what he had been saying. No matter the cost, these officers will never take you in. Dabi would never let that happen. He’d do whatever he had to do to make sure that you were never behind bars. Even if it cost him his life.

“This a tale of reckless love

Living a life of crime on the run

A brush to a gun

To paint these states green and red”

“This money is going to be ours, and we’re going to live like royalty once we get it from them.” He let your face back down and walked backward. He lifted the edge of his shirt and smiled as the gun in his waistband flashed in your eyes. “We’ll get this money and get out of here if I have to shoot our way out.”

Your confidence in him lifted as the evil face he wore so well came back, a growl coming from him as he turned back to the hostages, letting a flame grow on his palm while leaving the gun uncovered. 

“Everybody freeze.” Dabi watched as they started to shift around, growing uneasy the closer he came to them.

Dabi reached into the back of his jeans and another gun became visible. He gripped the handle and tossed it to you, nodding toward them. He wanted your help. You held the gun up and pointed it toward them. “Nobody move.”

Dabi grabbed the wrist of one of the staff members and yanked them from the floor, his flames close to them as he laughed. “Take me out back,” He grabbed the bag from the floor and tossed it at the young girl. “Let’s go.”

As he disappeared into the distance you could faintly hear his voice. You kept your weapon trained on them but showed them that it wasn’t all that you had. A crack of electricity snapped around your body as you made it clear that it wouldn’t take much to take them out.

His voice was angry as he raised it toward the girl. “Put the money in the bag or I’ll shoot.” The same self-assured voice came back as he threatened more. “Or better yet, I’ll use you for kindling for my flames.”

There was a pause as you heard a clink come from a safe unlocking. “Empty out the vault and me and my doll will be on our way.”

As he came back around the corner he held his gun up, the bag strapped around his shoulders and his flames erupted even higher around everyone. Your electricity still crackled around you as you were cautious not to take your gun from their sight. “It’s been fun ladies and gentlemen, but I think it’s time that we depart.”

Dabi chuckled as he looked around, now believing that the two of you were about to make it out of this building without any consequences so far. But could you keep that going? He looked to the girl that had just brought him out back and winked a little. “And a special thank you to you, doll.”

A faint sound in the distance caught your attention, almost like someone was hollering outside. You looked around and waited, but when you thought it disappeared you continued on your way. You shook your head and looked back to Dabi. “Love, I think it’s time we get going. We have the money, we can’t stick around. What if someone outside has made a call?”

He nodded in agreement. “We’d love to stick around, but we’ve got things to do and people to see.”

Dabi walked quickly toward the door and stopped, holding his arm out to you to stop you as well. “Damn it. You were right.”

You realized what he was looking at as he swallowed hard. Your nervous voice was barely audible for him. “Where are we gonna go?”

“Shit.” Dabi’s gears turned quickly, he had to figure this out and soon. “They’ve got us pinned.”

As he looked over at you your fear was visible. It was not that he was glad that he had you turned toward him and not facing the people that were still obeying his every word. Your voice was small and worrisome as he listened. “Baby, I'm a little scared.”

There was only one officer out there. The two of you could take him no problem, but he had to figure out how to get out without him alarming more officers to swarm you. Dabi’s tone was harsher than he meant it to be as he barked at you. “Now don't you quit.”

You recoiled at his words and his face softened as he noticed it. Apology written in his eyes as he grabbed onto you. You pleaded with him. “Dabi.” He hated to see you like this and it was now that he was wondering why he had worked so hard to get you out of the hero life and into the villain’s life. Had he been selfish? “They’ve sounded the alarm. I hear the sirens closing in.”

The sound of tires screeching made you both peek around the corner again. More officers approached and you were now surrounded. "This is sheriff’s department!" The speaker from the cars was loud as they called out to you. "Come out with your hands up!" Dabi’s grip on your waist was tighter as he gave you the look that you had been waiting for. "We have the place surrounded!"

He began to move forward, holding his gun out with the hand that wasn’t now gripped to your own. You held yours up as you followed him. "Put your weapons down!" You both ignored their calls as you prepared yourselves for what was about to happen. They repeated themselves as they realized that you weren’t listening. "Put your weapons down!" Dabi looked over at you and you stared back into the eyes of the man that you loved. "Ready men!" His eyes were filled with nothing but admiration as he came to grips with what the two of you were doing. "Aim!" You would never be apart. He wouldn’t let it happen. And you loved him too much to leave him alone. You were meant to be with each other and it was until your demise that you would be that way.

As you watched Dabi’s smile paint his face you thought back on all of the things the two of you had done together, even if your life had been shorter than planned. The nights you had spent in his arms, the days you had spent in each other’s company. All the times you had shared a bed together, every time he told you just how much he loved you. The love that you would share for eternity, in life and in death. They hadn’t won and your sense of accomplishment outweighed the fear that you had as the next word rang out around you, echoing off the building behind you. "Fire!"

“The skies are black with lead-filled rain

A morbid painting on display

This is the night the young love died

Buried at each other’s side” 

The League would never understand why their friends had let this happen to themselves. When the television had shown the robbery and showed small glimpses of the people that were leading it, they had known your mission had failed. As they watched you both step out the door and stand in front of the officers their hearts dropped. 

Toga stood from her seat and felt her eyes welling with tears. “Please, no.” Her best friends were making the ultimate sacrifice, she couldn’t watch this. “Why would they do that?”

Shigaraki took a deep breath as he listened to the voice of the officers speaking to the two of you. He couldn’t believe he was about to lose two of his best members. Your voice was heard above the commotion as the two of you got the last words. “You never took us alive.”

Dabi smirked and narrowed his eyes. “We swore that death would do us part.”

As the words left his mouth the members of the League watching heard the officer holler out that last order. “Fire.” As the sound of gunshots filling the area erupted from the television the camera panned away, not wanting the viewers to see what was happening in the area. 

Twice hung his head and looked around. “Young love died today, but they’ll be together forever now. As it was always meant to be.”

Taglist: @monic00l​ @strangeinternetwasteland​ @rowley-with-ackerman​ @kyu-pine​ @ellechanwrites​ @barrysimpparker​ @impinthecloset​ @nikiniki743​ @taliyahvermillion​ @maat-the-prescriptive​ @tetsuminx​ @gonuclear​

©bakubabes-hatake’s original content, please do not repost/modify without my permission

[pl-panda]

The vines that bind us - Chapter 5

Chapter 1 || Previous || NEXT

“Yes.” Riddler seethed. “And I really don’t like it when someone uses mine in their ridiculous stories. Now, which of you can tell me where I can find Lila Rossi?”

Some cruel part of Mari wanted to laugh. Leave it to Lila’s lies to get the attention of one of the Rogues of Gotham. And Riddler of all people. That guy had an ego the size of Amusement Mile. He would definitely not take kindly to anyone telling tales about outsmarting him. 

The kinder part, which was domineering, worried about her classmates. Edward Nygma was an unpredictable sociopath. Her mother always warned her against him. Gotham underworld could’ve been separated into three categories: Criminals, Goal-oriented, and Madmen. The first ones were usually greedy mobsters and thieves, such as Catwoman, uncle Floyd or Penguin. They were in it for profit or thrill and could easily be reasoned with. Poison Ivy often dealt with criminals when she needed something. The second category were those who had a goal and would stop at nothing to achieve it. Marigold’s mother was one of them, as were uncles Slade and Doctor Fries. The last category contained the worst part of Gotham’s underworld like Joker, Scarecrow, or Riddler, who cared only about carnage and chaos. She was always warned to stay away from them because they had no respect for anyone or anything and she would run at the risk of great harm. 

Riddler ordered his people to spread through the room. Mari counted at least two dozen. It was bad. The employees were gathered into smaller groups guarded by three mooks. The guns were ready to fire. She really wished there was at least some flower in a glass. She could feel Tikki shifting under her suit. One look at Adrien told her Plagg was similar. The kwamis were worried for their holders. Chloe was the only one calm. She sat there with crossed legs and did her nails. Her steel nerves were incredible. Or would be if it did not attract Riddler.

“You!” He pointed his cane at the blonde. “Riddle me this. What happens to a small stone when it works ups some courage?”

“Wait. You’re speaking to me?” The girl asked. Riddler was a little baffled, but the cane was still pointing right at her. “Ridiculous! Utterly Ridiculous!” Chloe stared at the criminal. “If you think I have time to play some stupid trivia game… I mean seriously? Stones are dead. They can’t have courage.”

Mari facepalmed loudly. Leave it to Chloe to try and antagonize a madman with a gun pointed at her. 

“Tsk tsk tsk. Wrong answer.” Riddler tried to press some button on the grip, but there was only dull sound. “What in the world?”

“Wait! I… I know where to find Lila Rossi!” Mari shouted, hoping to get Riddler’s attention away from Chloe before he managed to repair the gun. The class started to give her murderous glares. Adrien looked at her curiously.

“Oh! Do tell!” The criminal turned to her. When he hit the cane into the ground there was a loud sound of a gunshot that made everyone jump. The ground was now smoking. “Useless junk!”

“She is still in her office! I can lead you to her if you let my friends go.” 

“Ha! Do you think me a fool? As if…”

“A little boulder.” Mari interrupted him. 

“Oh. So you are smart. What about this: The person who makes it has no need of it; the person who buys it has no use for it. The person who uses it can neither see nor feel it. What is it?”

“A coffin,” Mari said with a bit of hesitation sneaking into her voice. Why in the world was she trying to save Lila again?

“Good.” Riddler looked at her for a moment. “Fine. I will go with you. But if you try to deceive me…”

“Coffin?” Mari asked with a smile. Riddler frowned so she quickly returned to the scared expression. 

The villain motioned for eight of his men to follow him and led Mari to the elevator. She was constantly at the gunpoint. Mari had to think quickly. She could try to lose them at the one fo the office levels or… she knew for certain where to find two living plants in the building. With a shaking hand, she pressed the top button. When Nygma gave her a raised eyebrow she shrugged.

“You must’ve heard about her dating youngest Mr. Wayne.” Mari lied swiftly. 

“There was something about it on that cursed blog.” He mumbled. 

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

Slowly, the machine went up. The tensions were high and Mari for a moment wondered if revealing her heritage would be enough to scare them. Ultimately, she decided to keep it as an additional shock when they got to the office. She really hoped Mr. Drake would be kind enough to hide under his bulletproof desk and not fire her when he learned who her mother was. Oh well, it’s not like she needed that job too much. 

The elevator paused one level below their destination, but the doors did not open and it refused to go higher. Her tablet started to beep. With all the stress, she forgot she had it on her the whole time.

“What’s the meaning of this?”

Slowly, she opened the tablet. An icon was blinking at her. When she pressed it, a video of them in the elevator popped up. 

A large number of people without authorization in the elevator. Do you approve? Yes No

She pressed yes and the elevator started moving. She should really get some manuals for this thing. When the doors opened, she looked around. It was time for the show. She strode to the doors leading to Mr. Drake’s office. The Riddler and his mooks followed her. She pushed the doors open and immediately screamed.

“Get down!”

Rolling to the side, she pushed her powers to the limit, allowing the plants to seep her energy and grow. Vines shot from the pots and quickly grabbed the guns. Riddler, seething with anger, aimed his cane, but another vine grabbed it and ripped it out of his hand. The three strongest henchmen managed to hold onto their guns and started firing, but Mari was already safe behind the bulletproof desk. Good thing it was mentioned in the notes she inherited from Sarah.

She heard a loud cracking sound and felt that one of the plants just lost their pot. She silently promised it a more comfortable one and thanked for the sacrifice. Her green skin was now in full view. Accidentally, she pressed something on the tablet and now it showed the image from the lobby. She could see that the remaining henchmen were firing at something outside. The muzzles of their guns were flashing. Angry, Mari grabbed one of the drawers and ripped it from the desk. She leaned out from behind her cover and tossed it with full force. The projectile sailed through the air spinning before hitting the middle henchman in the center of his face. He fell down firing the gun all around the place. She could definitely hear something fragile breaking. Oh well. As long as she’s not the one paying…

The vines knocked out all but one henchman who was slowly backing away toward the elevator while firing at whatever plant got close. Riddler was now hanging by his ankles and wildly flailing his hands. The video of the elevator showed he was now there and resting. He thought her friends wouldn’t reach him. How cute!

Mari walked away from her cover and slowly approached the elevator. She heard the fashion disaster grasp when he saw her in her true form, but paid him no mind for now. She only had the vines gag him. The girl pulled the ninjato from its hiding place and smiled. When she pressed the elevator button, the criminal aimed his gun at her. She quickly leaned to the side while hitting the rifle with the palm of her hand. At the same time, she stabbed him in the leg with the sword. While he was screaming in pain she could easily rip the gun from him and then hit him with it, knocking him out. 

The bluenette looked at the gun with disgust. Clenching her hand, she crushed the barrel before dropping it on the floor and approaching Riddler. The plants turned him around and restrained his arms.

“You! You tricked me!” He shouted as soon as his mouth was uncovered.

“Yes.” Marigold smiled sweetly. “Is that a problem?”

“You… Oh no no no! That won’t do! I can stand being outsmarted by Batman. I will not be defeated by some schoolgirl with feeble meta-powers playing Poison-Iy look-alike. For a moment I thought you were her.”

“Look-alike?” the girl asked. “I don’t look that… Just because I have green skin I’m suddenly Poison Ivy look-alike?” She shouted at riddler.

“The hair is wrong, but otherwise your face is very similar.”

“What?” Not believing him, Mari walked over to where she left her tablet and looked. True, her face changed a bit. She still had some of her qualities that easily marked her as Marinette, but her face was no longer that round, instead taking a more oval shape. Her nose was now smaller and lips fuller. She really looked more similar to her mother. And yeah, the green skin made it obvious.

“You’re done preening yourself?” 

“Sure. Now let’s go back to the fact you attacked my friends and made my first day at work even worse!” Her steel gaze rested on Riddler, who felt very uneasy. The vines squeezed his wrists and ankles a bit.

Gulp! “On second thought, I have nothing against preening. The look is important after all…”

“Said the guy with Hawaiian shirt under a suit.” Mari deadpanned. “I don’t have time for this.” She asked one of the vines to smack him in his head, swiftly knocking the supervillain out. With that out of the way, she walked over to the plants and thanked each of them individually. She gently picked the one with a smashed pot and placed it with the other one. 

“Now can you behave for one night? I promise I will get both of you better pots tomorrow.” Mari giggled when both of them hugged her with their leaves. Tikki floated out of her pocket. 

“Marigold! I was so worried! They were armed and you were not Ladybug! There would be no cure if something happened!” 

“Don’t worry Tikki. I had a plan. Mostly…” She looked around the devastated office and her equally devastated workplace. 

“But now your boss will know your secret!” 

“You know what?” Mari smiled. “I don’t care. I’m Marigold Isley and this is Gotham, not Paris.”

“But the word will get out!”

“It will anyway since I’m going to search for my mother Tikki.” The girl tried to calm the frantic mini-goddess.

“Fine.” Bug-like spirit huffed before zipping around the room, passing through the head of each and every henchman, ending her trip with Riddler. “There! They will remember how you took them all down with some martial arts.” 

“You’re the best Tikki!” Mari hugged her Kwami to her cheek. The mini-god nuzzled affectionately. 

Marigold willed the green to disappear from her skin and have the hair return to normal. Eyes were always the hardest, but she got the green under some control. Quickly checking the video feed from the lobby, she saw that there was no more firing, but Police did not yet enter. They must’ve been waiting for the bat. 

Looking around, she finally realized that her boss was nowhere to be seen. Strange. She could’ve sworn he was still in his office when she left. While possible that he left shortly after, he would’ve been in the lobby and he wasn’t. The other option was that he went straight to the garage, which was possible. After all, the CEO ought to have some luxurious car. Yeah, that’s probably right. 

She pulled her phone and typed 911. Time to get some professional help. 

“Nine one one, what’s your emergency?”

“Hi! I’m Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I’m on the top floor of Wayne Enterprises with a knocked out Riddler and some of his men. If you could please connect me to whoever is leading the negotiations?”

“Madame, this is not a joking matter.” The voice in her phone scolded her.

“Do you believe I’m joking? I’m standing here with a bloodied ninjato and eight men unconscious men plus Edward Nygma who decided to become a fashion disaster since I’ve last seen him.” Marigold answered in a harsher tone. “Today I had one of the most stressful days of my life. First, instead of being an intern I suddenly got hired as a Personal Assistant, then I had to explain to Lex freaking Luthor that I’m not a doormat. If that was not enough, I’m stuck in this job for six! Months! Add to that, because of some mistake in communication Damian Wayne decided to attack me with ninjato. After that Security was really unhelpful. I finish my first day of work only to have Riddler parade into the building just as we were to leave. And I had to improvise because he was about to shoot my friend who, while I love her, needs to learn to shut her mouth sometimes!” Mari shouted, putting all of her frustration and withheld anger into it.

“I’m sorry madame. I will check what I can…”

“You can connect me to whoever leads the police downstairs or I can toss them Riddler from the top of Wayne Tower.” Mari was honestly done. She would do it. Chloe said it herself that it was a tall building. 

“Listen here you little…” Whoever she was speaking to was suddenly cut off and she heard a different voice.

“Gordon here. Who’s that.”

“Are you the police officer in charge down there?”

“What you mean down there? I thought we managed to evacuate everyone from the upper floors!”

“Oh. Good. I was worried about how many people he actually held hostage. I’m on the top floor with a knocked out riddler and some of his men. I don’t exactly have anything to tie them up with…”

“How exactly did you end up up there!” The man asked. “Is batman with you?”

“He was about to shoot one of my friends so I lied to him and got him to follow me to the elevator. I used a moment when he was distracted to take him out.”

“Madame. I really hope it’s not some joke.”

“I…” She wanted to speak, but there was some static on the other side of the line

“Miss Dupain-Cheng. This is Batman.” For a moment she was unsure how to answer. “Are you still there?”

“Yeah. I’m okay.”

“I need you to try and tie the men you got up there. They will probably regain consciousness soon. Do you have zip-ties or at duct tape in your office?”

“Not that I’m aware. It’s my first day. Oh! I can use their jackets!”

“Do that. Riddler’s men downstairs are unaware of what happened with you. If they get wind of their boss being defeated, we don’t know what will happen.”

“Rodger that.” She proceeded to tie them up until Riddler was the one now having his hands bound by the suit he wore. His were tied with really strong vines. She would not risk anything. “Batman? are you there?” Mari asked to her phone. 

“Yes.” Came after a moment. “Are all of them tied?”

“Yes. I used the destroyed plant for Riddler. I thought we could benefit from him still wearing his suit somehow.”

“I sent Robin your way, Miss. He will be coming through the vents. Please try not to attack him on sight.” Batman said in a tired voice. She suspected there was a story behind it, but she was too tired to care. Awkwardly, she took a seat in her chair, which now had several bullet holes but was still mostly comfortable. The waiting was killing her. She was all alone in a room full of downed henchmen.

“Um… So how is your day Batman?” She asked, wanting to break the silence. 

“...” There was no answer at first. “It was mostly fine until Nygma showed up.” More silence. “I heard from Nightwing that he would have a hilarious story to tell once he got home. I’m not sure if I should already be worried or not.”

A smile forced its way onto Marigold’s face. She suddenly thought about Batman sitting in the middle of a room with the other members of Batfam running around playing tag. She did it once with Allegra and Claude when their parents had their get-togethers. 

A sound in the vent broke her out of reminiscing. She added two more names to the list of people she would have to track now that she was in Gotham. She picked the sword and slowly walked toward the vent. Batman warned her that Robin was coming, but one couldn’t be too cautious. 

A boy close to her age appeared. He was wearing a horrendous traffic light suit. At least his cloak was black on the outside and had a hood. The outfit first Robin wore was an even bigger disaster, so there was some progress. Maybe in ten Robins, she would actually be able to not be embarrassed to be seen in their presence. 

“Miss. Please don’t point the ninjato at me.” He asked when he stood up. 

“Sure. I didn’t want to get any surprises. What now?”

“Police is monitoring the situation downstairs. They wanted to enter with full force, but with so many hostages we’re afraid about casualties.” Robin spoke in a very formal tone. Too formal for her liking.

“I have the monitoring on my tablet.” She walked to the desk and showed him the feed. “I count fourteen hostiles. They are in six groups with two to three guns each.”

“I don’t need a lesson in tactics.” The vigilante got angry.

“And about motive? One of the interns posted a video about another intern helping you guys take Riddler down. He really didn’t like it. I’m plenty certain he came to kill her in a very dramatic way.”

“That… complicates things.” Came Batman’s voice. She forgot he was still on the line.

“Miss. Do you know who is the intern he is after?” The police officer asked.

“Lila Rossi. She is one of my classmates. She is the one that is now surrounded by a crowd of young people comforting her while she is crying crocodile tears.” Mari showed her at the screen to robin. “I got Riddler to come up here under the pretense of leading him to her. The floor would be mostly empty and my boss has a bulletproof desk.”

“Tt. And what exactly was that supposed to achieve?” Robin stared at her.

“Gee! I don’t know. Maybe he would no longer be pointing his gun at my best friend!?” She looked at him. “Not everyone carries Kevlar to work.”

“Robin!” Batman reprimanded him. 

“Fine.”

“We can’t give him what he wants, especially after you took him down, Miss,” Gordon spoke. “To be frank, I don’t see it ending any other way than a full-frontal assault. We have snipers in position and SWAT ready. They are only waiting for a green light.” A deep sigh made its way through the line. “I only regret how many lives it will put on the line.”

“What if we got some of them out?” An idea formed in Mari’s head.

“I don’t see it happening unless Riddler gives the command directly,” Gordon said in a solemn voice.

“Leave it to me.” Marigold was determined to save as many people as she could. She was so decking Lila for this situation.

The small girl stormed toward Riddler. She grabbed his shoulders and shook him violently. Slowly, he opened his eyes.

“What… You! You tricked me!”

“Yeah. Get used to it.” She picked her tablet and started recording. “You will give the command to your people to let half of the hostages go.”

“Riddle me…” Before he could finish, Marigold grabbed him by the laps of his jacket and dragged him toward the large window in Mr. Drake’s office. She dropped the criminal, picked the drawer, and smashed it into the window several times. There wasn’t even a scratch on the glass, but the drawer was now chipped in several places. She looked at it and shrugged.

“I’m out of patience today. You can either give the command or I will open the window with your face.”

“Miss! I can’t let…” Robin tried to intervene, but she pointed the drawer at him. 

“Shut up. I want this day to end.”

Since Riddler was still silent, she picked him by the scruff and was about to smash him. “Fine! Fine! Fine!” He shouted. “Bring me the walkie-talkie.” He pointed at one lying close.

“Do I look like an idiot to you? Record the message here.” 

“As you want.” He leaned closer to the tablet (or as close as she was willing to let him). “Let go of half the hostages.”

Mari stared at him unamused. She dropped him on the ground and walked to where the sword was dropped. After picking it she returned to where the villain was desperately trying to crawl away.

“Miss! Please cease it at once. We do not torture criminals!”

“No. You just pat them on their back and let them go.” She deadpanned and turned to Riddler.

“Really? Oh wow. That’s just cold.” She heard from the phone. A new voice joined Batman and Gordon.

“Wait!” Riddler squeaked. “Let go the number of hostages that would be half of seventy-five if half of five was three!” He shouted very loudly.

Mari nodded and handed the tablet to Robin. He already held a walkie-talkie. After he played the message, there was some ruffle on the other side, but Mari was too tired to care. The girl grabbed her tablet from Robin and opened the feed from the lobby. She saw some confused henchmen before one of them shrugged and started pushing people outside. When Marigold noted that Adrien and Chloe were among those who left the building she let the air out. Only then she realized that she was holding her breath.

“It worked! We got thirty-three out. That’s over half of them.” Gordon shouted ecstatic. “You are a hero miss! Branden! You’ve got your green light!” 

The girl had enough. She hanged up and pocketed her phone. Still holding the sword, she walked into the elevator. Mari didn’t press any buttons, but she leaned over the wall and started whistling a lullaby her mother used to sing her when she had a nightmare.

The memory of a soothing voice that carried her to sleep many times allowed her nerves to settle. She could feel adrenaline slowly leaving her body. The tension left her muscles one by one and she slowly slid to the ground. 

“Tt. It’s safe to go down.” Robin startled her. She immediately jumped and pointed the sword at him. The boy was clearly unamused by being threatened with a ninjato… again. Mari lowered her weapon and pressed the button that would take them to the lobby. 

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

When the doors opened, Mari was quickly tackled by a missile that was a worried Chloe Bourgeoise. “Mari! What were you thinking!?”

“I don’t know… Maybe that you were about to get shot?”

“Oh… right…” That shut Chloe up easily enough. 

“Excuse me, Miss Marinette?” An older man in a brown trench coat asked. He had a neatly cut beard and graying hair. “Commissioner Gordon. We spoke on the phone.” He extended a hand

“Ah. Yes. Thank you for trusting me.” Mari nodded and took the offered handshake.

“If not for you, casualties would definitely be higher.”

“Higher…” Mari repeated weakly.

“Oh! Um… Yes. I’m sorry, Miss. Some of our men got shot in the gunfight.”

“Will…” 

“There are also… Damn.” he rubbed the back of his neck.

“How many?” She could feel her eyes tearing.

“Three civilians and four security guards...”

“Seven…” She gave a barely audible whisper.

“I know this must be hard, but…”

Marigold was no longer listening. She left the building and walked to where the class was gathered.

“I’m telling you! She must be working with that madman. You’ve seen how quickly he trusted her!” Lila was talking loudly.

“Rossi.” The girl said in an emotionless voice. Kim and Ivan wanted to stand in her way like usual, but she pushed through them without breaking a sweat. 

“Didn’t you cause enough drama…” Lila never got a chance to end that sentence, because Mari delivered a straight one strong enough to send her flying several feet back before she came crashing down. Blood pouring from her nose.

-----

NEXT

[echo-three-one]

Whatever It Takes

Sequel to A Forgotted Memory

Somewhere out there

Beneath the pale moonlight

Someone's thinking of me

And loving me tonight…

Chapter 14 to another story made by Ray (echo-three-one) Comments and Reviews appreciated! I hope you enjoy! Love you all ❤️

Previous Chapter : Alex and Augustus

Meet Me Halfway

John "Soap" MacTavish

Task Force 141

Location Unknown

18 hours ago

He thought he was dead. He thought they were going to kill him. He wished they would, just to end the suffering. But he also wished they wouldn't. He had greater plans, he still wanted to enjoy his life. And it looked like Nero granted half his wish, while depriving him of the other half. He's going to live the rest of his years in hell.

He couldn't stop thinking about that song, he lay flat on the ground, feeling weak, powerless and defeated.

If I lay here… Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

He couldn't feel a thing but he knew he was being transported somewhere. Red flashes filled his eyes as he slowly slipped away from the conscious world.

~

2 Seconds.

A single drop of water plopped on the cold floor where he laid every 2 seconds. It was getting annoying, but he thanked it for actually waking him up.

Soap struggled to get up and forced himself to do so, grunting in pain as the muscles and bones of his body reacted to his sudden movements. Enduring all the pain, he gasped and got up, moving to the direction of the only ray of light from a crack in the ceiling.

He limped but he had hope, exhaling with excitement as the light got closer every step he took. Then clang! He hit his head on an iron bar. He's in a prison cell, deep underground.

"Shite." he cursed, dropping his knees on the ground, his energy already ran out and he felt thirsty.

"That's freshwater dripping down there." An unknown voice emerged from the darkness, Soap wanted to believe he's hallucinating, but an old figure emerged from the shadows. His hair mostly greyed out and it was long enough that Soap believed he'd been here for far too long.

"The name's Jack. And I suggest you rehydrate. I've been here long enough that you could trust that it's safe." he suggested. His tone was strict but helpful and Soap knew he's trustworthy. They're both prisoners and as the saying goes: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend"

"So… uh Jake. What brings you to this dark and gloomy place?" Soap asked, his voice was barely audible but he was heading straight to the dripping freshwater.

"Turns out our friend Nero doesn't want me dead yet. He couldn't pry any information from me. I'm CIA, literally trained half my life to keep information away. He should've just killed me when he got the chance." He replied.

"So, that means he's going to get something out of you too…" he added, Soap looked worried, he didn't undergo some torture training and hes afraid of what Nero wants from him.

"Look kid, I know you're worried. That's why we won't let that happen. Okay? I have a plan." Jake patted Soap's shoulder, it still hurts from all the stomping and the tossing around but he knew he didn't mean it.

"So… CIA. Guess you crossed paths with Alex." Soap asked, his low accent echoed across the dark cage.

"Yeah. Alex. He was like my son, trained him and assisted him all throughout his CIA Career."

"He kinda disobeyed orders by joining the good side which looked bad in the eyes of the higher ups." Soap reported.

"Hm… It's very unusual of him to not follow orders, unless he believes it's for a better cause." Jack supplied to which Soap nodded, agreeing Jack's assumption.

"It was a good cause. Sacrificed himself for the greater good. Miraculously made it out, but lost his leg in the process." Soap continued, updating the old man about his protege, he's actually glad he did as he could feel the man's mood rising from grumpy prisoner to someone a little less grumpy.

"He had good morals, that kid. He could go far with that attitude… I just hoped that falling in love would not be his downfall… just like what happened to me…" he muttered. Soap didn't make out the last sentence so he assumed it was his own thoughts leaking out of his head. He didn't bother asking again.

The iron doors opened and a new patch of light opened. Jack looked at Soap with determination and nodded.

"Looks like it's showtime, sharkbait." Soap nodded noting the Finding Nemo reference at these trying times.

Jack was right. They had a practice of how to handle prisoners for interrogation. A few stomps, handcuffs, sack on the head and push you if you don't cooperate. Soap had to go through the whole thing, and as far as he knows, Jack must have gotten the key.

He limped his way to the interrogation room, buying enough time for Jack to blindly find the keyhole from the cell. He tried fighting back but the taser sticks were already giving him a bad time.

Just as Jack described, the interrogation room consisted of a dentist chair and a television, his captors were beside him preparing orders from Nero on the screen.

Soap squirmed his way out of the chair, trying to be convincing that he had no idea what's going on.

"Stop squirming! Tell us where the girl is… or I'll take a wild guess and destroy your base instead." Nero yelled. His voice was low, like it ran through a voice changer.

"Sod off…" Soap spat and squirmed again, receiving a shock from the taser. He groaned as tendrils of electricity ran through his body shaking him almost unconscious.

"Lower the voltage or he won't respond! Dumbasses! We need something from him!" Nero yelled at his henchmen.

"So… MacTavish…22nd Parachute Regiment, S.A.S., Now Task Force 141… Skilled in combat, Sniper and Demolitions… You know a proper brainwash would help me get the code from you right?" he mused.

"FOUR!" Soap roared from the top of his lungs, panting after he yelled.

"Four? What the fuck are you talking about?" Nero asked, looking confused. Addition to that, the ground shook and made everyone else in the room wonder.

"What's going on?" Nero asked.

"What? we're under attack? By who? How?" Soap's ears could hear the distress from their leader and from the looks of it, 141 already found him making it easier for him and Jack to get out of this hell hole.

"Augustus is gone? They're going to pay! Okay boys kill this man now. We have to send them a message!" Nero yelled angrily and the tv turned to static.

Meet me Halfway

Francine "France" Winters

Task Force 141

Task Force 141 Base - Briefing Room

"We're being pressured to capture Nero. With our base compromised, the Board would now decide for our force's future. Simon Riley is now researching Augustus' burner phone, if we're lucky enough, it could lead us to our next clue." Shepherd calmly informed the force about the status. He looked in distress but he had to keep pushing forward, to end this warfare.

"Some of Nero's forces are already in New York. It turns out he could command the brainwashed civilians to deploy EMP blasts but recon noticed that he could only command a few at a time. This means without the IP address, he is still powerless and trying hard." Shepherd added.

"I want you all to always be ready for an all out attack on Nero. Let's prove to the board that we're the best one for the job." He muttered and dismissed everyone. France decided to stay in the briefing room and let the quiet consume her thoughts.

"You okay?" A reassuring hand held her shoulder. She knew it was Gary and tears started to fall from her eyes.

"I… I can't stop worrying about him, Roach." She croaked and gave Roach a very pained stare. She actually missed John's presence even after being together for a short while, she felt that they shared a lot of common things together, the strive to become better, the response to danger even off duty and the determination to achieve a goal. Those were her traits that he also had, these same traits that made him like her despite his cocky first impression.

"Let's help out Ghost track that son of a bitch Nero down. And maybe it'll lead us to him." Roach assured them as they both stood up and went to Research.

"How… how can you still be so sure that he's okay?" she sobbed.

"The dogtags." Ghost interjected while typing furiously on the computer.

"If Soap was dead, he should've shown us his tag. That would cripple some of our Force's focus and would lead to his success in invading and capturing Samantha." Ghost continued, he made sense and France almost smiled with the two's support. Instead, she just breathed out and helped Ghost.

"So, have you traced each source?" France asked Ghost as she also started furiously typing codes and strings of data input.

"Yes, they're really sneaky with the encryption, but I keep on getting pings at one location before it spreads in different places." he explained.

"The nearest signal tower. Every packet almost goes through there. You see that?" France pointed at the screen.

"Yeah I do. Let's start tracing that source." Ghost muttered and the map already pinged the tower's location.

"Bingo." they both whispered and cheered, hugging each other as a sign of success. France felt Ghost's tight hug and felt something off about the guy, then he actually removes half of his mask and pouts his cheek close to hers.

"I…. uh… I'm sorry" Ghost shyly said as France pushed him away and felt awkward at the situation. Gary just stood there in shock as Price entered the room.

"What's the news?" he asked, looking at the three.

"We found him, Sir." Ghost cleared his throat and put back his mask.

"Well, bloody hell. Let's go then!" he said as they all ran towards the exit and prepared themselves. France didn't have the time to think about the events earlier as she was still worried about Soap's safety. She hopes that whatever lies in that place would give her an answer.

~

"FIRE!" Captain Price yelled as snipers quickly shot the guards surrounding the icy fortress. The gulag housed people that the world didn't want but couldn't kill, and she hoped that John MacTavish was on that list.

Danger close explosions crippled both attacking and defending forces as Price roared at Shepherd to be careful. France gulped as she saw a very open field that they're dropping in on and knew for a fact that she's very open and weak at these positions.

Her mind raced, looking at every angle. Tangos were everywhere carrying different kinds of weapons. With minimal angles to hide on, the force, led by Roach aggressively advanced to the Gulag, dodging heavy fire, grenades and RPG Rockets. As soon as they found the tunnel leading deep into the Gulag, France already felt comfortable. This was her playing zone and no one's going to stop her from getting into Nero.

The way in was almost clear, no enemies were against them but instead they ran further into the Gulag. Something was off.

Gunfire was heard deep into the Gulag and as soon as the team reached the control room, Ghost already did his magic. Opening gates, looking at the cameras and defending their six. The masked man helped them further advance into the Gulag.

"Nero's not here…" Ghost said.

"How so?" Price angrily muttered.

"He never set foot in this place. He only uses a television to communicate."

"Bloody hell. Now what?"

" I see two heat signatures behind that wall."

Roach quickly planted a c4 breach and as soon as it exploded Francine pounced at the closest person, raising her fist and looking at its eyes to see the punch go through.

Blue eyes. Those shades of blue. France stopped his fist as tears started to well from her eyes, dropping some on his bare chest.

"John…" she whimpered and smiled.

"Fra.." she didn't let him finish, she kissed him. She didn't care what everyone else thought. The gunfire and explosions suddenly felt nothing to her. She didn't care how John's lips tasted, all she cared about was that he's alive and she's on his arms.

Extraction quickly followed as Shepherd's forces already did a lot of damage on the old fortress. They barely got out just in time for the building's inevitable collapse but they're safe.

Next Chapter : Secret Alliances

Notification Squad my beloved

@samatedeansbroccoli @enderio @smokeywhalee @beemybee @whimsywispsblog @ricinbach

[savagetrickster]

D.Gray Man | Kanda Yu (NSFW)

Okay so I kinda got carried away while writing for this request. Somehow it has escalated to R-rated stuff oops XD But honestly it was so fun writing this! I hope you wouldn’t mind me putting more than you had requested.  

So this is like my first NSFW for D.Gray man. I guess this fandom deserve a taste of NSFW as well since BNHA got the attention for that XD 

Apologies for errors, again.

Warning(s): 18+, implied breeding kink (duh, you even surprised?), unprotected sex, pregnancy

.

She thought about how lucky she was to be allocated a relatively simple mission that was only a day away from the branch and partnered with Kanda like he was the cherry on top. 

Missions together were rare. After Kanda was appointed as a new General, the opportunities to spend time with each other became miserably sparse.

He was a busy man then but now with his promotion that comes with bigger responsibilities, he was an even busier man. 

There was nothing but a big empty gap between them. What they have right now felt like a long-distance relationship. Most of the time his room was empty since being a General required his attention outside the branch. 

Even with time granted to them when he was home, kisses were curt and touches were brief. 

That was why being assigned to this mission with Kanda alone was a golden opportunity. Rare and precious to her. 

Even if it meant being attacked by Tyki Mikk on their way back. 

Well, that was what she thought until Kanda appeared before her, standing between a harsh slash down across the air that could have killed her if he wasn’t fast enough to intercept.

Kanda was fast enough to step between them but a second too late from deflecting the attack with Mugen.

.

Gloom stayed stubbornly in her eyes as she worked on bandaging the bloodied wound across Kanda’s chest. 

She had set herself straight to work on Kanda the moment she forced him to sit down on the bed in the inn they had been staying in, despite his protest.

Recurring memory of him taking the blow for her. The spray of his blood over her shook her. 

Throughout the rest of the battle against their enemy, she dealt her blows with rage upon witnessing that. 

She was worried, scared, and angry. 

So damn angry at the Noah. 

So damn angry at Kanda. 

So damn angry at herself.

“Yu, what you did just now wasn’t necessary.” Kanda raised his eyes to her. 

He had already given up trying to stop her futile effort bandaging him. His regenerative seal would heal him but she insisted on preventing infection before it did its work.  

“....please don’t do that again.” 

His gaze turned incredulous. “And let you die?” His fingers curled into the bed underneath.

Bitterness clenched around her heart, “Maybe.” 

A hiss sifted through her gritted teeth. “You’re not a shield. You’re someone precious to me and I’d rather die than see you do that to yourself-”

She didn’t know how or when; it was abrupt and too fast.

Her breath shuddered out of her as she suddenly found herself pinned down on the bed by an irritated, glaring glint blazing down from Kanda’s face.

Kanda stared back down at her, towering over her with a hot swirl of emotions swelling in his heart.

Before he felt anything for her, he was just a man drifting aimlessly in this long, suffering war as an exorcist. 

Missions after missions. 

Akumas after akumas.

Battles after battles against the Noahs.

That was what his life was all about. 

It was like a dark tunnel without the light at the end of it. There was no goal, there was no end.

Given how bleak his circumstances were, he had never spared a thought about his future. He was just a soldier or in a technical, more crude sense, a walking weapon.

That was what Exorcists were. Unwilling hosts for the Innocence - a curse that would follow them till death. Even for him, death was hard to come by.

But with (Name) in his life. 

He wasn’t so pessimistic about his circumstances anymore. The future didn’t seem so bleak anymore. He bore hopes for what the aftermath of this cruel war would bring about.

She was the light at the end of this dark tunnel. 

“If what I did keeps you safe,” Kanda felt his restraint over himself breaking. The words he had kept to himself for a long time wanted to spill.  “I’ll keep being that shield.” 

He had always wished she could be taken off the battlefield. 

Every time he was out there roaming the lands as a General he was made to be, his mind was always crazy worried about her. 

Knowing she was also out there risking her life.

He knew he was being a hypocrite here, but the fear and worry that gripped him every time his mind strayed to thoughts of her made him wistful.

The urge to use his higher authority to pull her out of her duty was tempting every single time. Just to keep her safe and as far away from the lurking dangers this war was embodied with.

The emotions bottled up in him fanned with every breath he took, his piercing eyes wavering on her. 

He wanted her.

It had something to do with pent-up need for her he had neglected due to his duties. The emotions in him were not so innocent either.

The last thread of restraint on himself broke the moment she extended a hand up to his face with a tender soft look in her eyes. 

His body wanted hers. 

There was nothing holding back anymore. 

He couldn’t, even with the rational voice screaming in his head. The carnal urge in him was smothering and drove through him powerfully.

A trembling breath left him as his lips met hers and pressed into her with an urgent need, immediately inciting a soft moan humming against his prying mouth. 

Their mingling breaths were hasty and shivering as the feverish kiss deepened with tilting heads and moans.

His hands were busy. Her hands were busy. 

Clothes were shredded off them and tossed carelessly in the heat of their passion. Between their heated actions, wild hands roamed. 

Her body grew more and more ready for his.

And his for hers.

His hands eventually found their way to her thighs and pushed apart with a firm grip on them as he settled himself between them.

Their panting lips parted as their dazed, wavering gaze met.

A fleeting whimper slipped through her lips as he pushed himself into her, completely buried in one powerful thrust.

His toned, chiseled chest stuttered with a shaky exhale as he pulled himself through the tightness gripping onto him. 

Towering over her with raw hunger in his gaze, the thrust driven back into her tore a broken cry from her. 

The blistering white flash of pleasure accompanied the jolting wide stretch inside her.

The bed creaked and protested under them, joining her cries and his growls as he pummeled into her fiercely. 

Strained grunts and growls rumbled in his chest as he leaned into her, his big hands sliding over her smaller ones and her legs responsively wrapping snugly around his waist. 

Under her digging fingers, his taut muscles rippled across his sweaty back, resonating with every thrust.

Everything else fell past them. Fell past her. Fell past him.

Now, they were only a man and woman making love. They were nothing more than that. 

Not Exorcists.

Not a General.

Not pitiful soldiers picked for a mad war.

Just them.

The wet squelches of their mixed fluids became loud enough to join the erotic reverberation filling the room as his thrusts begun to grow hectic. 

Their lips met again. Desperate and heated. 

Muffled moans and growls slipped into the dense air between kisses. 

Her heart felt like it was about to burst from her love for him. There was so much that the soft, breathy ‘I love you’ she murmured against his passionate lips was inevitable.

Kanda said nothing to that. But the pressing need of his lips against hers and the firm squeeze around her hands right after was a clear answer to her. 

The next stronger and primal thrusts he plunged into her also told her all he wanted to say. 

Enough to push her to the edge fast. 

She was close.

Enough to make her snatch her lips away from his with loud moans tumbling out of her.

She was…so close.

The muscles in her hands against his broad back tensed.

Her legs around him tightened curtly.

The next slam through her, his cock shoving inside with a rough prod did it for her.

A broken cry sitting between a sob and a whimper spiked between her moans as her eyes nearly rolled back at the shattering wave of her orgasm.

The shuddering grunt from Kanda joined her as he relished in the warm pour of her arousal over his aching self in her release.

Breathy grunts continued to fall from his lips as he pushed himself up, his hands slipping away from her to hook under her knees.

Now towering over her, Kanda pushed her thighs wider apart to accommodate his raging thrusts.

The curl of his toned biceps clenching and unclenching as his eyes fell onto where every thrust was announced by loud, lewd squelches, watching with rumbling growls as his cock pounded, plummeting in and out of her dripping, clutching heat. 

His piercing eyes looked even more piercing than ever as he raised them to her face, relentlessly hammering into her with fervor. 

His heated gaze raised to her, greedily taking in her as he worked intensely between her thighs. 

Gazing back at him through weak fluttering blinks, her red, flustered face panting up at him was an added fuel to the hungry, animalistic desire in him. 

To his vigorously rocking body.

He could feel himself filling up almost too much. The load inside his cock was a pressure too tight for him to hold in any longer. Together with the lustful urge to let go in the hazy heat, he drove his next thrust into her with a strong shove.

Her dragging moan joined his strangled grunt as a white flash of pleasure ripped through him. The back of his thighs clenched as he pushed his hip pressingly into her, nestling himself snugly into her as he released everything. 

Ropes and ropes of his seeds spurted into her in one hot burst, filling her rapidly as her tattering moan rode through her. 

His own hoarse one dragged through his throat as he snapped his hip curtly against her to every furious spurt of his load.

Accompanied by her fleeting whimpers and his own grunts, his slowing ruts sent one rough curt prod into her after another, till the very last drop of his semen was emptied into her womb.

A blissful stillness fell upon them the moment his movement inside her slowed and stopped.

Their intense stares held with their harsh pants. Until her eyes widened.

“...Oh no, Yu, you didn’t…” 

A soft gasp of horror escaped her. Despite the horror seeping in her widening eyes, she couldn't help trembling and panting with satisfaction at the warmth inside her. 

“Wha-What if I get...”

Her voice trailed off breathlessly with a gulp, his eyes followed her shaky hands as they moved to her lower abdomen, right above where they were still joined.

A knowing glint was in his gaze when he returned his gaze back to her. “When that happens, I will be here with you.”

“But I-”

“I’ll shoulder your duties for you. I’d rather you stay safe, even if it means getting you pregnant.”

Her breath hitched. 

To hear him say that word himself stirred a strange fluttering desire in her. It came out of nowhere but it filled her with wistful longing. 

Was it really...okay for people like them to enjoy something this mundane?

Was it okay to harbor hopes for something like this despite who she was? 

She wasn’t sure but the firm steel of promise in his eyes was enough for her.

That maybe...maybe it was okay.

[hopetofantasy]

Culture, parallels & meta - S3 E1

Previous season Prologue: Vlogs (1) - Vlogs (2)

°

Zaterdag 21:43

The time lapse already showing us a string of places that will be important later, like the dark alley, the Meir with Noor’s workplace, the university neighborhood, the Scheldt river where the boys hang out, ...

Perfect parallel: 

The second season starts Zoë’s POV with a (washing machine) door, whilst the third opens with a door to a party that Robbe attends.

Robbe glances back at Noor passing through the shot this episode, an action he repeats when he spots Sander in the second episode. - A very subtle hint to where his love life may lead.

The first one starts with two unknown LGBT+ girls kissing at a party, the last episode shows two known LGBT+ boys (Sobbe) kissing at their own party.

The aerial shot through the floor to introduce us to Robbe’s POV here and the aerial shot through the roof to say goodbye to him in the last episode.

Moyo saying “No one would do you” to Aaron in this episode, Aaron realizing “No one here wants to do me!” in the last.

Where’s Wally? Noor greeting Marie, accompanied by Jana and Britt. Max dancing with Keisha in the crowd.

How ‘meta’ of you: Newsflash, yes you are!

Nod to the OG: 

The deliberate messy POV: following everyone that we know already and then slowly settling on the Isak version in a tub.

Robbe saying Noor looks like ‘Natalie Portman’, which is what people said to the OG Emma when they flirted with her. Everyone, except Isak, that is.

Oop, there it is, the homophobia / heteronormativity: Moyo keeps pressuring Robbe into explaining what type of girl he likes. The boys laugh it off when he answers that ‘he doesn’t have a type’.

Lost in translation: Moyo mocks Noor’s Dutch accent, making his ‘g’ and ‘st’ sound harsher, while also adding ‘hoor’ at the end - a typical word used by the Dutch to emphasize a point.

Blink-and-y’ll-miss-it: Jens is playing with the weed bag. Keisha is one of the girls that Moyo mentions as Jens’ ex-girlfriend or ex-fling. Not only did Noor nót flush the toilet, but she didn’t used any toilet paper either!

°

Zaterdag 22:44

C is for culture: 

Noor rescuing Robbe on her scooter - In Belgium, you’re allowed to drive a moped or scooter once you’ve reached the age of 16. Nothing is needed if the vehicle doesn’t go above 25 km/h. If it stays between the range of 25-45 km/h and max. 50 cc, you need to pass a theoretical exam, 4 hours of driver’s ed and a practical exam to get the license. Anything other than that, has a whole new set of restrictions, types of driver’s licenses and minimum ages.  Noor and Robbe are, however, still breaking the law. As long as you’re not 18, you’re not allowed to have an extra passenger with you. Especially if they’re not wearing a helmet. (Plus they ignored a red light. Those rebels!)

“You do know that you always have to have it with you?” - The Belgian law states that everyone above age twelve, has to get an ID to identify themselves. Some might have had a Kids-ID already - for travel purposes - but that’s not mandatory. However, once you're fifteen years old, you’re obligated to carry your ID with you at all times.

Perfect parallel:

Luca being all jealous whilst staring at Noor and Robbe making out in S3, her glaring at Maud and Robbe every chance she got in the last season.

Robbe and Noor having fun on the scooter while screaming and Robbe filming their adventure in this episode. Robbe and Sander doing a similar thing, but on their bikes in a later episode.

Wink to other remakes: Robbe sporting a brown jacket. (Eliott, anyone?)

Surprise bitch, guess who: It’s Willem Chanterie, the on-set costume designer and social media production assistant!

Blink-and-y’ll-miss-it: Noor has a ‘Fuck Trump’ sticker on her helmet. Robbe says “Hey, it’s red” in a very clear Antwerp accent. 

°

Zaterdag 23:11

Hello from the outside: The garbage truck they sprayed, still drove around the city regularly. The art piece itself is named ‘#Genoeg mama' (= ‘#Enough mommy’). It blames the consumer society as toxic, making young people its victim.

Oopsie: Inside the graffiti den, Noor suddenly sports a tote bag with supplies, even though we never saw her wearing that in the previous shots.

Blink-and-y’ll-miss-it: Noor has black combat boots. The photographer is obviously Sander, in case you have missed that subtle clue.

°

Zondag 13:41

Lost in translation/Oop, there it is, the homophobia / heteronormativity: 

“Check die pekie’s”. The word ‘pekie’ is actually Amsterdam slang for ‘beautiful girl, girlfriend’. In recent years, more and more Dutch slang are making their way into the Flemish dialect, because of the Dutch rap songs gaining popularity with the youngsters.

“Vamos, flikkers”. The word ‘flikkers’ can mean ‘wussie’ as well as a derogatory term for ‘homosexual’. Again establishing the fact that the boys use a lot of homophobic or toxic words for each other.

Robbe’s clumsiness meter: +1, him tossing the bag behind Jens instead of into his hands.

Blink-and-y’ll-miss-it: There is a football right next to the skateboards.

°

Maandag 16:04

C is for culture: “The whole art school was talking about it” - 

Secondary school is divided in four sections: general, technical, art and vocational. Which section you choose can have effect on further education. In one of these sections, you pick what you want to study from your first to last year (‘directions’). That means that you have some courses purely focused on the direction and others that are obligated for everyone, regardless.

Art high schoolers can choose to go to work or study a specialization afterwards. Their coursework isn’t solely art based, there are general required courses too. That’s why some foreigners - including the Dutch - come to Belgium, since they’ll get a more rounded and higher level of art education than in their countries. ‘de!KUNSTHUMANIORA’ is the high school in Antwerp Noor goes to and is known for having students with unique styles.

Perfect parallel: 

Noor waiting outside the school for Robbe and him reacting somewhat confused here, Sander doing the same and having an instantly happy Robbe in a later episode.

Robbe having no problem kissing a girl ‘as a straight guy’ in front of the gates in this episode and scared for what might happen if he kissed a boy ‘as a gay guy’ later on. 

Blink-and-y’ll-miss-it: The insta caption underneath the art work says ‘An inspirational message on a Sunday! Just discovered this in Antwerp city today. Artist unknown... Can you remember when you last called on your mother?’ (That last sentence, oooofff, the symbolism!)

°

Dinsdag 14:57

C is for culture: 

“Yes, mini enterprises are so chill.” - Mini enterprises are often used as a tool for Economics in the fifth/sixth year. The goal of these is to ‘learn whilst doing it’. Like the name specifies, mini enterprises are actual miniature companies set up by a group of students. During the school year, they’ll try to work together on commercializing a product. All aspects of entrepreneurship are at play here: writing a business plan, holding meetings, doing bookkeeping, marketing the product, produce and sell it, ... If the enterprise idea is good or well executed, it might even win a national prize by the company making this education formula.

“What if he contacts child protection services” - Actually, those services doesn’t really exist in Belgium. There are, however, other youth organizations for these types of things, like JAC - Youth Advice Centre, CLB - Centre for Student Guidance and the Centre for Mental Healthcare.

Perfect parallel: The boys hyping Aaron up to walk over to Amber and talk to her - yet he fails in this episode, them doing the same and he succeeds (after some fails) in the last episode. 

Oop, there it is, the homophobia / heteronormativity: Jens saying “Damn, seems like someone is on his fucking period”, after Robbe snaps at him due to the difficult telephone call with his dad.

Lost in translation: Jens saying “Mijn kop staat er niet naar” (= “My head’s not standing there”) can actually mean different things: I’m not in the mood, it’s not the right time, I don't want to do it, my head’s all over the place, ... It depends on the context, on which interpretation would suit the situation the best. 

Blink-and-y’ll-miss-it: The girls are all fawning all over Britt’s cellphone, so there is a good chance that they’re discussing (pictures of) her boyfriend, Sander. Also, Jana’s braces are gone! 

°

Donderdag 17:13

Perfect parallel: Robbe stating that he can’t talk to his dad or he’ll fight and Zoë getting that, as she said a similar thing to an understanding Senne about her parents in S2. 

How ‘meta’ of you: Ah, yes, fandom ship names in SKAM. We applaud!

Oopsie: If you look really hard, you see that the body type and hair of Robbe’s dad, doesn’t correspond with the version waiting at the restaurant later on.

Wink to other remakes: This shot reminding you of a certain S3 trailer?  👀

Blink-and-y’ll-miss-it: The numerous references to Zoënne’s relationship in their room (relationship pics, Senne’s guitar). The paper Milan gifts to Robbe is the written permission by his parent to live with them, as is obligated by law.

°

Vrijdag 20:04

Perfect parallel: 

Senne pulling Zoë up after a kiss here, just like with their first kiss in S2.

Robbe pushing Milan away after thinking he wanted to kiss him at the party in S2, them hugging it out in after talking about it in S3.

Blink-and-y’ll-miss-it: Zoë and Milan making some healthy party snacks like cauliflower and cocktail sauce, cheese with tomatoes and salami squares. She pulls back the bottle of gin that Milan wants to steal. Senne also bought paprika and tortilla chips from Colruyt (a discount store).

°

Vrijdag 20:54

C is for culture: “Noor, Robbe’s girlfriend” - (Teen) dating culture is different in Belgium. Usually, if you have kissed, hung out, texted or just said/did something to show your mutual interest, you’d pretty much consider yourself in a relationship. It can go from 0 to 100 very quick. Unless there is, of course, an agreement that what you’re doing is no such thing. Also, nobody really ask you to be their gf/bf. It just implied or stated to their family or friends. 

Perfect parallel: 

A reluctant Robbe pushing himself to do stuff to Noor (playful dancing, kissing, riling her up) as far as putting his hands on her bra here. A totally different, excited Robbe not even thinking twice about doing these things to Sander, even licking his nipple during their reunion.

Noor pushing Robbe on the bed and climbing over him, whilst Robbe looks all sad in this episode. Him pushing Sander on the bed and being happy as Sander crawls over him during their reunion.

Oop, there it is, the homophobia / heteronormativity: Robbe tries to convince himself into liking heterosexual sex with Noor and fake laughs with his friends about having it.

Where’s Wally? Keisha laughing with Amber and later dancing with Marie.

Blink-and-y’ll-miss-it: Jens is talking to Senne. The decorations behind Milan saying ‘Welkom Robbe’ (= ‘Welcome Robbe’). Noor has a beautiful tattoo of a pin-up girl covered with butterflies on her lower arm.

[andrewmoocow]

Steven Universe Alternate Future chapter 15: The Warning (originally posted on April 26, 2021)

AN: Dread it, run from it, the end is near. Part 1 of the two-part Part 2 finale has arrived. And with this two-parter, we will officially be halfway through Alternate Future. What could Parts 3 and 4 possibly hold for us? Well, that's for later. Right now, we return to Homeworld which means we once again won't be fully focusing on Steven, and we will also see a certain Gem in action.

Synopsis: Lars and the Off-Colors return to Earth with an urgent message.

Cast:

Matthew Moy as Lars, Dante

Enuka Okuma as Rhodonite

Kathleen Fisher as Fluorite

Ashly Burch as Rutile Twins

Erica Luttrell as Padparadscha Sapphire

Christine Baranski as Hessonite

Shelby Rabara as Squaridot, Demantoid's Peridots

Olivia Olson as Citrine

Jinkx Monsoon as Emerald

Noël Wells as Black Rutile

Lauren Ash as White Topaz

Amy Sedaris as Yellow Zircon, Blue Zircon

Christine Pedi as Holly Blue Agate

Hayley Kiyoko as Morganite

Jennifer Paz as Mean Lapis

Charlyne Yi as Navy, Eyeball

Della Saba as Aquamarine

Kari Wahlgren as Pyrope

Melissa Fahn as Demantoid

Uzo Aduba as Demantoid's Bismuths

Miriam Hyman as Demantoid's Bismuths

Deedee Magno-Hall as Black Pearl

Dee Bradley Baker as George the Light Prism

Zach Callison as Steven

Kate Micucci as Sadie

Indya Moore as Shep

Nancy Linari as Martha

Featuring Hugh Laurie as Doctor Laurie

--

Hushed whispers filled the grand hall as many former Gem aristocrats filed in. Behind a holographic podium were posters of the prosecuting Zircon's smug face with the word "HOPE" underneath the picture in very big letters. When the last of the ex-nobles arrived and the doors shut behind them, out came Yellow Zircon with a prideful spring in her step as she took her place at the podium.

"Good day to you all." Yellow Zircon announced as she presented the speech prepared for her today. "As you all know, the Gem race has now entered a new golden age thanks to Steven Universe, the son of Pink Diamond, and the Crystal Gems." As she spoke, an image of Steven and the Gems appeared behind her. "But don't think they have good intentions."

Suddenly, the hall turned a bright red as a big red X was crossed over the Crystal Gems. "With the loss of our caste system, our weapons, armies, colonies, and the Diamonds' control over us, our kind has become weak. Perhaps weak enough to be conquered."

The former nobles began muttering to each other with concern while Yellow Zircon stared at the speech in confusion. "Wait, this is my speech?" she quietly asked herself before returning to the subject at hand. "Anyways, their pacifistic ways could soon be the end of us all. That is why as a potential democratic leader of the Gems, I promise to restore our old ways so that we may be better prepared for a possible invasion. Thank you everyone for your time."

The other Gems began clapping and cheering while Yellow Zircon walked backstage, continuing to examine her speech when she ran into her campaign manager, a seemingly docile Ruby with her gem on her stomach. "Oh, Navy was it?" she asked the Ruby. "I'm pretty sure my speech is all wrong. I could've sworn I had something different planned earlier!"

"Oh don't be such a worrywart Zircon!" Navy laughed, slapping the taller Gem on the leg. "I just made a few changes, that's all! Which reminds me, you got some special guests arranged for your next speech, so do make a good impression on them!"

"Okay, if you say so." Yellow Zircon reluctantly obliged and kept walking, leaving Navy alone to snicker maliciously as she pulled a black egg-shaped communicator from her gem. "This is Agent Navy, come in Black Rutile." She said to the egg as it produced a holographic image of her superior.

"Ah, Ruby, so glad of you to call." Black Rutile said delightedly. "How has your infiltration of the Zircon's campaign going?"

"All according to plan my Rutile." Navy saluted the hologram. "She doesn't suspect a thing."

"Excellent." Black Rutile grinned. "Once she's in power, we'll come in, reveal our goal to the galaxy and initiate our coup. I knew I chose the right Gem for the job."

"Oh, you're too kind my Rutile." Navy giggled. "My magnanimous, visionary, absolutely gorgeous Rutile!"

"Okay, now you're just brown-nosing." Black Rutile scowled. "Morganite should be meeting with you shortly, so keep an eye out for her while I go gather forces." She commanded. "Over and out."

--

Meanwhile, on a different part of the Gem Homeworld, the Sun Incinerator began to make its landing at a spaceport where many Gems were either departing from Homeworld by spaceship or returning home. But this crew in particular was only here for a quick pitstop.

"Well, here we are back on Homeworld Off-Colors." Lars declared as he and his motley crew of Off-Color Gems disembarked from their pilfered vessel to look around the spaceport. "Man, it's wonderful how much Steven has changed everything."

"Yeah, once these ships were out conquering worlds." The left Rutile replied.

"But now they're out spreading peace and fixing what they broke." The right Rutile remarked.

"We can sing Steven's praises later." Rhodonite said, getting her fellow Gems back on track. "We came back here to refuel."

"Yes, we know Rhodonite." Fluorite said slowly. "I'm just going to take a breather over there." She then pointed over to a little hangout spot where different Gems were striking up conversations. "How about you?"

"I'm just going to explore a bit." Lars answered. "Anyone coming with?"

"I'm gonna go over there to where those other fusions are." Rhodonite replied as she pointed to another hangout spot populated with cross-Gem fusions just like her.

"Guess that leaves me and Paddy to watch over the ship." The left Rutile said.

"Our crew shall go their separate ways for the time being." Padparadscha declared sweetly.

However, as the Off-Colors briefly split up to relax, a sinister plot was brewing without their knowledge. Emerald and a squad of Black Pearls were hiding inside one of the unoccupied ships, having been spying on the Gem team this whole time. "My Rutile, I have visual on the Sun Incinerator." Emerald said into a communicator. "At long last, it'll finally be mine!"

"Yes Emerald, the sole reason you joined my alliance." Black Rutile said sarcastically. "But remember that once you finally reacquire the Incinerator, you are to rendezvous with your teammates and provide our transport to Earth."

"But what about your dropship, my Rutile?" one of the Black Pearls inquired. "Can't you use that to come to Earth instead?"

"I'm currently using it to reach Blue 4." Black Rutile explained. "Lars will no doubt use another ship to reach Earth, but by then it'll be too late for him"

"Understood." Emerald nodded as the communicator shut off, and then she turned to the Pearls. "You heard her, move out!"

"Yes, your Emerald." The Black Pearls monotonously replied and marched towards the Sun Incinerator.

The Rutile twins noticed the squad of Pearls marching to them and decided to ask what was up. "Uh, hello there." The left Rutile nervously greeted. "Don't think we've ever seen you Pearls around before."

"Forgive our intrusion, we were only created not too long ago." The leading Black Pearl apologized with a bow. "My fellow Pearls and I are working for a higher power who believes she can bring peace to Homeworld."

"Ooh, look at those Pearls over there!" Padparadscha exclaimed. "I don't like the looks of them Rutiles, they look suspicious!"

"Yeah, that reminds me." The right Rutile said. "Who is this higher power you're working for?"

"She refuses to disclose her identity at the moment," another of the Pearls said. "but she doesn't like a certain friend of yours very much."

Before the Rutiles and Padparadscha could comprehend what the Pearl said, a pair of crystalline thigh-high boots clinked loudly as their owner snuck aboard the Sun Incinerator, and they turned around to discover that it was Emerald.

"We've been discovered!" Emerald yelled before she raced further into the ship. "Pearls, seize them!"

"Emerald?!" the Rutile twins exclaimed in shock.

"Emerald has stolen the ship!" Padparadscha added as Lars, Rhodonite, and Fluorite raced to discover what had happened.

"So we meet again Emerald!" Lars said angrily as Emerald began to take off in her reclaimed ship. "What do you have planned this time?!"

"I think the better question is, what do WE have planned!" Emerald corrected just as furiously. "You're so distracted by the destruction that Steven has caused, you're just as blind to his impending fall! Now Pearls!"

The Pearls summoned their spears and threateningly pointed them at Lars and the Off-Colors. But just then, three silhouettes that have been watching things play out made themselves known by emerging from the shadows to strike.

The first Gem had orange skin, a red-orange gemstone at the center of her chest, a red and white jumpsuit with black shoulder pads, a blue-purple cape, and a pale yellow afro that came together at a widow's peak. She was the first of the trio to attack, plunging her sword into a Black Pearl's chest and causing her to poof.

The second Gem was a Peridot with rectangular chartreuse-yellow hair, her triangular gem replacing her left eye, a medium green jumpsuit with dark green shoulder pads and a four-pointed star symbol on the torso, a light green cape, dark green leggings, and medium green boots with yellow triangles on her knees. She lifted a metal crate into the air with ferrokinesis and tossed it at another group of Black Pearls, poofing them as well.

Finally, there was a Gem Lars easily recognized. Citrine was also a member of this trio, whaling on Black Pearls as they tried to dogpile her, and she was wearing a cape as well. It was black, matching the mask she wore over her eyes.

"Citrine!" Lars cried excitedly as the three Gems fought off the seemingly growing mob of Pearls. "Hey, who are those other two Gems?"

"Lars, long time no see!" Citrine replied while backhanding a Black Pearl in the face. "I can introduce you to my new partners later, now help us out!"

"Finally time to put my new musti-yuddha skills to use." Lars declared while taking off his cape and gloves to fight the Black Pearls. "Come at me bros!" he challenged the Gems as he put up his fists, using his newfound Indian boxing skills to punch, kick, grab, knee, and elbow his way through the Pearls.

"Nice moves there my friend!" the yellow afroed Gem complimented Lars before they, along with Citrine and the Peridot, stood back to back against the Pearls while the Off-Colors watched. "What do you call that kind of fighting?"

"It's an Earth type of combat called musti-yuddha." Lars explained as yet another Black Pearl charged at him. "SHORYUKEN!" he yelled, uppercutting the Pearl into the air before it poofed, and her gem clattered on the ground.

"I've got to get me some of those lessons." Rhodonite said to herself.

"The human is stronger than we were led to believe!" one of the remaining Black Pearls gasped in shock. "Everybody retreat!"

With that, the Black Pearl squadron officially withdrew from combat, leaving Lars and his Gem allies to collect themselves.

"So, like I was gonna say, meet some new friends I made since you were last here." Citrine introduced her new partners.

"You may call me Hessonite." Hessonite greeted Lars with a handshake. "Former commander of Yellow Diamond's army turned ally of the Crystal Gems and Gem vigilante. Pleased to meet you."

"I'm her sidekick, Peridot Facet-4E3M Cut-7ZY." The Peridot introduced herself. "Though most call me Squaridot due to my hair. Much like my former commander turned partner, I have once antagonized the Crystal Gems before Steven showed me the light. Well, after quite a few setbacks, of course."

"I'm Lars." Lars replied as he pointed to himself, and then to the Off-Colors. "Meet my teammates, the-"

"We know full well about you and your exploits Lars." Hessonite cut Lars off. "Citrine told us about you when we first crossed paths, and she has proven useful to my cause."

"Excuse me, but what cause?" Fluorite asked Hessonite.

"The detainment of a Gem revolutionary known as Black Rutile!" Squaridot dramatically announced as she presented an image of the Gem in question. "For the past couple years ever since Steven began the process of reforming the Gem empire, this felon has been gathering up an army to rebel against him and the Crystal Gems, and now that the Spinel incident has come and gone, Black Rutile has finally decided now to initiate her plans to destroy him and conquer the Gem race!"

"Wait, why does Black Rutile have it out for Steven?" Lars asked when he came to a realization. "Wait, I remember her! She came to Earth once and interviewed me about my experiences with Steven! Is that all a part of her plan?"

"Indubitably," Citrine answered. "She's been gathering as much info as she can on Steven, the Crystal Gems, and almost everyone they've ever met in preparation for her forthcoming invasion. She knows everyone's strengths and weaknesses, and will use them against us with extreme prejudice."

"Black Rutile may seem like a genial reporter," Hessonite continued her sidekicks' explanation. "But it's all an act to disguise the cunning, devious, opportunistic, sociopathic monster she is underneath. Black Rutile was a former member of White Diamond's court and a fearsome warrior during the Rebellion with a burning vendetta against Pink Diamond because she believed Pink always got what she wanted by whining & crying all the time instead of doing any actual hard work to deserve things."

"So she hates Pink, big whoop." Rhodonite snarked.

"It's not just Pink, my dear fusion." Hessonite stated, putting a gloved hand on Rhodonite's shoulder. "By proxy, she has a hatred for Steven and the Crystal Gems because they continued her work by reforming our society, and some aren't very kind towards Steven's decisions."

"We were surrounded by those Black Pearls, but a trio of caped crusaders have come to save us!" Padparadscha cheered.

"Yes, thank you for adding to the conversation Sapphire." Hessonite muttered, glaring at Padparadscha before she turned back to Lars. "Recent intel we have gathered tells us that Black Rutile has inserted a Ruby spy into Yellow Zircon's democratic campaign, feeding her nothing but lies to inspire Gems to rebel against Era 3. I'm planning on infiltrating a speech she is giving, but I need help." She grabbed Lars by the hand and gazed at him with determined eyes. "Tell me Lars of the Stars, are you with us?"

"Well, with intel like that, I don't see why not." Lars declared, taking Hessonite's hand and giving it a firm shake. "I'm in!"

With that, the Off-Colors had some new allies by their side, and a new adventure to go on. One that might be their most dangerous yet.

--

Meanwhile, the remaining Black Pearls continued fleeing from Hessonite's squad and found somewhere safe to hide, where their leader turned on a communicator on her wrist.

"Black Pearl-6G9, report!" Black Rutile barked to her subordinates.

"It is the Hessonite, she has struck once again." The Pearl stated. "And it seems she has allied with the so-called "Lars of the Stars" to undermine your hard work."

"That traitor has been a thorn in my side for too long." Black Rutile snarled irritatedly. "A real shame too. She and I got along quite swimmingly before she went to retrieve that Prism." She then remarked nostalgically. "But enough about my backstory. The Zircon is preparing to make her speech soon. I need what's left of your force to protect her at the auditorium in Igneous Square no matter what. Affirmative?"

"Affirmative, my Rutile." Black Pearl-6G9 nodded and shut off her communicator before she turned to her fellow Pearls, nodding to them as well.

--

Later that day, Lars & Hessonite stood atop a building and gazed down upon the Gems gathered at Igneous Square where Yellow Zircon was set to make another speech. Also on stage with her were a group of Black Pearls, her mysterious campaign manager Navy and their special guest Morganite.

"Good day my fellow Gems." Yellow Zircon announced while Lars followed Hessonite down the building and blending in with the crowd. "As you can see, I brought a very special guest with me. I'd like you all to please give a warm welcome to the legendary designer, Morganite!"

"Wait, she's with them?" Lars whispered to Hessonite as Morganite stepped up to the podium. "But she seemed so chill when we first met her!"

"Looks can be very deceiving Lars." Hessonite advised her human ally. "Black Rutile has supporters all across Homeworld and their former colonies, but Morganite here is a part of her inner circle."

"Wait, inner circle?" Lars asked. "You mean she's got, like, a whole legion of doom by her side?"

"I wouldn't put it that way, but yes." Hessonite answered. "Now shush."

"Thank you Zircon for the marvelous introduction." Morganite said gratefully to the Zircon before she turned to the audience with a speech prepared. "Today shall be the end of Era 3. The end of the Crystal Gems, who have acquiesced to gaslighting and manipulation for thousands of years. At this very moment, hundreds of lightyears away, Steven Universe continues lying to the Gem race and brainwashing the mindless masses to his so-called "peace and love", while hypocritically abandoning all in actual need of his alleged assistance!" As Morganite went on, her speaking became more and more dictatorial until she began outright shrieking every word that came out of her mouth. "Once WE are in power, we shall return to our ways of conquering and terraforming, starting WITH PLANET EARTH! AND SOON STEVEN SHALL REALIZE THAT IF HE AND HIS MOTHER WEREN'T SUCH IRRITATING BRATS, HE WOULDN'T BE HIS OWN UNDOING!"

The Gems in the audience all began cheering and pumping their fists, chanting Morganite's name as she took a bow and began to leave the unnerved Yellow Zircon to take back her podium, until someone else took the microphone.

"Steven gaslighting and manipulating?" Lars hijacked the podium to make his own speech. "Frankly my friends, you're all dead wrong! Sure, he and I got off on the wrong foot more times than I can count, but I know that he is an actual good person. A fact that you are all just blind to for the sake of being mouthpieces for a complete maniac! You're no revolutionaries; you're just a bunch of proud clods! And another thing-"

"Hey pinky, get off the stage!" one Agate jeered while the Black Pearls began to surround Lars onstage.

"You shall come quietly human for questioning." The lead Pearl ordered, spear pointed directing across Lars's neck.

"Uh Hess, little help here!" Lars cried out nervously. Suddenly, a golden blur emerged from the crowd and easily dispatched the Pearls, along with any other Gems trying to get on the stage to attack Lars.

"Come on, let's head to my lair!" Hessonite stated before the screen behind the podium began to short-circuit before finally, Black Rutile appeared on it. "You."

"Ah Hessonite, so glad you could make it to the eve of my grand takeover." Black Rutile purred in greeting. "And look, you even brought a plus-one! Lars of the Stars, am I right?"

"Master, I sincerely apologize for my failure!" Morganite dropped on her knees and begged for Black Rutile's mercy. "It was the human who tried to expose me!"

"Save the apologies Morganite, I'll send in reinforcements later." Black Rutile replied before turning back to her pair of foes. "And as for you, go ahead and run around this planet all you like, 'cause you won't find me anywhere on it!"

"Well, where are you?!" Lars yelled.

"That is highly classified." Black Rutile responded with a sneer. "Not that you would care, you rose-colored hippie. Toodles!" With that, she disappeared from the screen, leaving the pair aghast at her sudden appearance before one of the Gems spoke up.

"Can't you see, Steven is forcing us to waste ourselves away being all caring and helping, when we should be returning to enslaving!" a particularly vigorous Pyrope yelled. "Who's with me?! OUR HEARTS AND GEMS TO HER CAUSE!"

"YEAH, OUR HEARTS AND GEMS TO HER CAUSE!" a Jasper agreed, inspiring the other Gems to chant those same words.

"OUR HEARTS AND GEMS TO HER CAUSE! OUR HEARTS AND GEMS TO HER CAUSE! OUR HEARTS AND GEMS TO HER CAUSE! OUR HEARTS AND GEMS TO HER CAUSE! OUR HEARTS AND GEMS TO HER CAUSE! OUR HEARTS AND GEMS TO HER CAUSE!"

"It's worse than I thought." Hessonite muttered nervously while she and Lars made their escape. "She's manipulated them all."

"Do the Diamonds know about this?" Lars asked his new ally.

"I'm not sure, but that will definitely get their attention." Hessonite replied as they got further away from Igneous Square, where the chanting kept on going and Yellow Zircon stared in shock at what just happened.

"Was I just a tool for a fascist cause?" Yellow Zircon muttered in utter despondence while Navy stood behind her with an evil grin.

"Fascist cause? No." Navy grinned as she retreated into the shadows. "Tool? Oh so very much."

--

Not too far away from Homeworld was the former colony of Blue 4, a once pristine colony that has fallen on hard times due to its ruler's neglect of her subjects. And far from Blue 4 on its own little asteroid was the Palace of Light, formerly the capital of Blue 4 that was the current residence, or rather a prison, of the ex-elite Gems Pyrope and Demantoid.

"Day….I've lost count, of our imprisonment in the Palace of Light." Demantoid muttered robotically to herself as she sat across from Pyrope in their shared cell. "I have been making countless plans to break out of this cell and exact our revenge, but a certain someone just keeps debunking them all."

"Well, it's not my fault that most of your plans will fail!" Pyrope said haughtily. "Kind of like how it was your fault that we lost to Steven!"

"My fault?!" Demantoid yelled back as she hopped up and marched over to meet Pyrope's gaze. "If it weren't for your arrogance, we wouldn't be stuck in here with no status, no weapons, and no hope of escaping!"

Suddenly, the destabilizing forcefield that prevented the pair of Garnets from escaping shut off, allowing them to leave their cell with no trouble.

"Who could've possibly done this?" Pyrope wondered, looking around at how only their cell was deactivated while the others were still operational.

"I believe I can answer that for you." A voice answered pridefully as she marched towards the Garnets and revealed her identity. "Black Rutile, at your service. Long time no see you two."

"My stars, THE Black Rutile?!" Demantoid gasped in recognition of the Rutile. "Where have you been all this time?! Why are you only now helping us when you could've been useful during our clashes with the Crystal Gems?!"

"I've been plotting their downfall for quite some time Demantoid." Black Rutile answered. "I suppose you have been disenfranchised by Steven, much like my compatriots here, no?" she then asked as White Topaz, Aquamarine, Eyeball, Lapis 1J9G and Holly Blue emerged from behind her.

"So, you've been plotting your own rebellion, just like Rose Quartz?" Pyrope asked as she gazed at the Gems Black Rutile has gathered for her alliance.

"Indeed, and I believe you both deserve seats in it." Black Rutile replied as she took the pair's hands. "Now then, are you with me?"

"I am with you." Demantoid accepted the offer. "But only if she gets left here."

"No no no, she should be left to rot while I join you!" Pyrope demanded.

"Uh, something wrong you two?" White Topaz asked.

"It's all her fault we lost!" the Garnets blamed each other with fingers pointed, but they were quickly proven wrong.

"No, it's neither of your faults." Black Rutile stated as she brought up a projection of the pair's final battle with the Crystal Gems using the Light Prisms. "It's all because of Steven that you lost. That cunning, devious, opportunistic, sociopathic monster wanted you out of the way because you had no place in his dystopia, but there is room for you in the utopia I will soon build. Now let me repeat myself," She deactivated the hologram and looked back at Pyrope & Demantoid. "are you with me?"

"Okay, we're in!" Pyrope exclaimed, shaking the fearsome Rutile's hand. "Now tell us, what do you need us for?"

"I am planning on going down to Earth to strike at the Gems when they least expect it." Black Rutile explained, leading the group out into the main area of the Palace while pulling out another hologram from her visor detailing her plans. "Once we detain them once and for all, we shall indoctrinate the Gems they have brainwashed into their so-called Little Homeschool to our cause and overwhelm the Diamonds with our superior armies. After that, we'll have to discuss lat-"

Suddenly, the signaling of an urgent message cut off Black Rutile's plans. "One second everyone." She muttered before taking the message. "Ruby, report!"

"My Rutile, we need you!" Navy exclaimed fearfully. "The Zircon has already been seized since the speech, and now Morganite & I are on the run!"

"Yes, I'm well aware of that." Black Rutile said while pinching the gem on her face. "That Morganite, always such a self-important coward. I shall send in backup posthaste!"

"Oh thank you my glamorous Rutile!" Navy cheered. "I am so honored to be in your presence like always!"

"What did I say about the brownnosing?" Black Rutile shut Navy up before the message ended, then she turned to her minions. "Holly Blue, 1J9G, keep Lars of the Stars away from Earth no matter the cost."

"Understood my Rutile." Holly Blue obliged with her master's salute. "Come along terraformer."

"Really, we're going all this way just to get revenge on Steven?" Lapis 1J9G snarked. "You know, we don't have to make all these super complicated plans, we can just go down and kill everyone."

"Bite your tongue Lapis!" Holly barked at the Lapis Lazuli. "Is that the way you want to speak about someone who promised you your friend back?"

"No your clarity!" 1J9G squeaked in fear of the Agate's terror.

"Very good." Holly Blue replied pleasantly. "Now, let's return to Homeworld."

As the pair of blue Gems departed, 1J9G looked back at Black Rutile with a sneer while the alliance was being unknowingly watched.

The Light Prism George let out a gasp at what he just witnessed and began speaking in Gem Glyph to his fellow Prisms, who had now taken forms similar to his own. The three of them nodded, knowing just who to call.

--

Meanwhile, back on Homeworld, Lars and Hessonite had finally escaped the mob of furious Gems and found themselves standing before a pair of large doors at a tower.

"Welcome to my lair, Lars." Hessonite declared as she placed her palm on a scanner that allowed her entrance into the room. At the top of the steps was a large & elaborate computer system, along with the Off-Colors, Squaridot, and Citrine all waiting for the pair's return. "This was once Yellow Diamond's bubbling chamber before Era 3, and I've heavily repurposed it to suit my vigilante needs."

"Lars, you're back!" Rhodonite cried, and the Off-Colors all gave Lars a big hug as soon as he reached the top of the steps.

"Lars is coming back!" Padparadscha cheered.

"So, what's the situation like out there?" the right Rutile asked Lars as he took a seat at a workbench covered with gadgets either being built or fixed.

"It's worse than what Hessonite led us to believe." Lars muttered. "Black Rutile has brainwashed so many Gems into thinking Steven is the bad guy by using that Zircon's presidential campaign as a mouthpiece for her beliefs. And remember Morganite? She's one of her supporters."

"Are you serious?!" Rhodonite exclaimed in shock, since the last time she met her former superior, Morganite seemed so ambivalent towards Era 3. "I could never forgive her for how she treated us, but this is just going too far!"

"My thoughts exactly." Lars agreed. "Morganite gave a big speech about how the Crystal Gems are even more oppressive than the Diamonds were, but I took to the stage to argue against her claims. And then came a message from Black Rutile."

"What was she like?" Fluorite asked the undead human.

"She seemed so condescending, yet utterly monstrous at the same time." Lars answered. "When Black Rutile ended her message, all the Gems at the auditorium started chanting about their support for her. It's almost like those fascist regimes I read about."

"Holy revolution Lars!" Squaridot cried out. "We must warn someone, pronto!"

As Lars continued discussing the events at Igneous Square, Hessonite sat down at her massive computer and began putting down her findings on the screen before calling up Blue Zircon. "Zircon, this is Hessonite."

"Hessonite, glad to hear from you." Blue Zircon greeted the Garnet. "How's your investigation of my opponent going?"

"I had a little help exposing her." Hessonite stated, turning her screen to focus on Lars a bit. "This human and his Off-Color friends were at Spaceport Epsilon when their vessel, the Sun Incinerator, was hijacked by its former owner Emerald. Now I've enlisted them in helping me stop Black Rutile, and even had Lars accompany me to Igneous Square where Morganite made a speech at Yellow Zircon's conference."

"What were you two able to gather?" Blue Zircon asked.

"She turned out to be merely a puppet for Black Rutile's syndicate through the installation of a navel-Gem Ruby as her campaign manager." Hessonite continued with her findings before another message came through. "One second, have to take this." She tapped on the new message, which came out as a series of symbols that seemed unrecognizable to Lars when he took his place by Hessonite's side.

"What is that?" Lars asked, gazing at what he believed to be gibberish.

"It's Gem Glyph, the language of our people. Allow me to translate." Hessonite answered. "FROM GEORGE. SOS, PYROPE, AND DEMANTOID ESCAPED. BLACK RUTILE AND OTHER GEMS BROKE THEM OUT OF PALACE OF LIGHT. PLEASE SEND-, and then it just stops. Like the writer was captured before they could finish."

"Uh, one question." Lars said. "Who's George, and who are those Gems he's talking about?"

"George is what your friend Steven calls one of the Light Prisms that formerly belonged to yours truly." Hessonite answered as she stood up from her chair. "And Pyrope and Demantoid are a pair of high-ranking Garnets much like I who owned two other Light Prisms, before Steven confiscated them and we defeated the pair. It seems Black Rutile has recruited them into her alliance." Then she turned to Blue Zircon. "Zircon, send a warning to Steven!"

"I'm sorry Hessonite, but it seems my communication line to Earth has been compromised!" Blue Zircon exclaimed nervously. "How can we possibly warn the Crystal Gems now?!"

"Simple," Lars answered courageously. "we go back to Earth."

"You all can go ahead, I'll hunt down Ruby and Morganite." Citrine announced.

"Right, good luck out there big guy." Lars agreed before Citrine hugged him. "And thanks for the hug, but can you let me go?"

--

Later, Lars and the team returned to the spaceport where the Sun Incinerator was once in to search for another ship. "Where do we find a ship now?" Squaridot asked hurriedly.

"Simple, we take mine." Hessonite answered as she pointed to her warship, a large, orange inverted pyramid that stood tall and proud over all the others. At least, until it was destroyed by a saw blade made of water that instantly cut the ship in half.

"Oops, sorry about your ship!" Lapis 1J9G called from above with a laugh. "But seriously, I'm being forced to do this because my boss loves to make everything super-complex."

"Now what do we do?" Rhodonite asked nervously while the terraformer flew off.

"Easy, we take another ship." Hessonite instantly formed another plan and dashed to a different vessel parked nearby.

It was a green spaceship that was in the shape of a massive octahedron and had four long, claw-like prongs extending from all four sides. Lars instantly recognized this other ship as the Destiny Destroyer, the one that Emerald used to chase him and the Off-Colors after they stole the Sun Incinerator.

"So, taking another one of Emerald's ships, huh?" Lars wondered. "Ah, just like the old days when Emerald was after our heads, eh gang?"

"We are going to steal the Destiny Destroyer!" Padparadscha answered while everyone boarded Emerald's warship, all except Citrine, who had already volunteered to remain on Homeworld.

"Stay safe there Citrine." Lars promised Citrine before he went inside to pilot the ship out of Homeworld.

"Godspeed Lars of the Stars." Citrine replied as the Destiny Destroyer finally took off and left the planet. "There goes one of the bravest creatures I've ever had the pleasure of meeting."

"Where is he?!" Citrine heard Holly Blue scream as she, Morganite, Navy, and a squad of Gem guards stormed Spaceport Epsilon in search of Lars. "You, Citrine, where is Lars?!"

"Lars isn't here right now." Citrine answered sardonically as she summoned her weapon from the gem on her stomach, a massive war hammer. "But if you'd like, I'll tell them you said hi and you give up."

"Well, it seems you finally caught us." Morganite announced as she put up her hands. "Go ahead, cuff us all."

"Quit acting so defeatist, our old ways are on the line here!" Holly Blue yelled before summoning her whip. "Now, any last words before I execute you for defying our master?!"

With an uncomfortable twitch in her eye, Citrine dropped her hammer and spread out her arms. "Go ahead." She snarled. "Bring it on."

--

"You really believed you can try to stop us little Prism?" Pyrope cooed mockingly to the three captive Light Prisms on Black Rutile's dropship. "Once we get rid of Steven once and for all, we'll use you three to raze everything he loves to the ground, and you'll be utterly powerless to stop us."

While the other two Light Prisms hugged each other in fear, George bravely took a stand against the Garnet, and yelled some form of retort in Gem Glyph.

"Oh keep quiet you." Pyrope shut George down immediately before turning away from the Prisms to meet Demantoid, who had now received perfect replicas of her former limb enhancers. "And how are you doing Demantoid?"

"Splendidly!" Demantoid exclaimed. "I feel like we've never met Steven to begin with!"

"Yes, you can compliment me for recreating your limb enhancers later." Black Rutile said to Demantoid. "Right now, I've set a course for one of your old colonies because I require your Peridots and Bismuths for a special task."

"What kind of task?" Demantoid asked while the dropship settled down on a planet covered with green hi-tech structures.

"You shall see." Black Rutile said as she, Demantoid, Pyrope, White Topaz, Eyeball, and Aquamarine disembarked to greet some Peridots and Bismuths nearby. "Salutations worker Gems!" she energetically greeted them. "Have I got an offer you certainly can't refuse."

"Demantoid?" one of the Peridots gasped at the sight of her former superior. "But we were told the Crystal Gems stopped you!"

"Well, you were wrong." Demantoid stated. "Black Rutile here has broken me and Pyrope out, and now we've joined her for revenge!"

"We have come to this little planet because we want you." Aquamarine announced. "We need more soldiers for our army, and you have the perfect amount of brains & brawn for the job."

"Fat chance you uppercrusts!" One of the Bismuths yelled as she stepped forward. "Steven would never allow you to control anyone in this era!"

"That's because this era will soon be over!" Black Rutile argued with the Bismuth. "Once I am in power, I will be the sole ruler of all Gemkind! You really think this is any way to talk back to your future empress?!"

"Oh, they will find out about this." The Bismuth said, quietly angering Black Rutile. "And they will stop you no matter what."

Black Rutile was utterly enraged at this kind of rebellion, but she kept a cool head even as she pulled a bowie knife from her gem and held it at the Bismuth's gem. Then suddenly, as if a completely different Gem replaced her, Black Rutile abruptly stabbed that Bismuth in the gem on her chest, and slowly scraped it down her gem while the Bismuth screeched in pain. When Black Rutile removed her knife, the Bismuth's form split in half just like her gem before she was finally shattered.

"Get rid of her remains." Black Rutile ruthlessly commanded to the frightened masses. As another Bismuth picked up her coworker's remains, Black Rutile turned to the other worker Gems. "Now let me repeat myself. I have an offer you most certainly can't refuse!" she said to the Peridots and Bismuth with cheer like she didn't just sadistically shatter another Gem. "Are you with me?"

"We're with you." Demantoid's terrified subordinates muttered.

"I can't hear you." Black Rutile insisted.

"We're with you!" the scared Gems repeated much louder than before.

"Peridots?" Black Rutile then asked the Peridots.

"We're with you!"

"Bismuths?" Black Rutile asked the surviving Bismuths.

"We're with you."

"And what about you?" Black Rutile said to the Bismuth she just shattered with her knife. "Oh right, shattered!" Then she started giving out orders. "Topaz, I need you with me to find more recruits. Aquamarine, Ruby, keep watch over our new recruits." She once again turned back to the Peridots. "And I got a few questions for you."

"What do you mean Rutile?" one of the Peridots with her gem on her chest asked.

"First off, can you call me "my Rutile" from here on out?" Black Rutile commanded. "Second, what's a Gem gotta do to find some corrupted Gems in this era? And three," She reached for her gem and pulled out a massive bubble containing various chunks of Cactus Steven. "what can you do with these?"

--

At long last, Lars, the Off-Colors, Hessonite, and Squaridot had left Homeworld via the Destiny Destroyer, ready to jump to hyperspeed, return to Earth and warn Steven of Black Rutile's plans.

"Ugh, I'm pooped!" Lars groaned as he slumped back in the captain's chair. "Think when we get to Earth, I'll go back to my old house and take a nice long nap before we save the planet and then head back into space."

"It would be nice to see Earth again, without threatening its existence though." Hessonite smirked, gazing out at the infinite sea of stars, planets, comets, and all sorts of cosmic scenery. "How about any of you?"

"Uh captains, we have a problem!" Rhodonite yelped as she stared at the radar screen. "It's the Sun Incinerator, and it's shooting right at us!"

"Emerald!" Lars grumbled as he pounded his fist on the armrest. "Come out and fight like the so-called commander you call yourself!"

A viewing screen turned on, allowing the team to see Emerald, sadistically excited to finally get her revenge. "How are you Off-Colors, now that you're on your way to destruction?"

"You won't take us down Emerald!" Lars bravely declared.

"Famous last words human filth." Emerald responded hatefully. "I've been begging, no, pleading to get my vengeance only for Steven to heartlessly take it away from me with his dumb little Era 3! Well, once Black Rutile is in power, she will render all of this era's laws null and void in favor of returning the Gems to the terrifying conquerors they were born to be!"

"Fat chance One-Eyed Jerk!" Squaridot cried out before she suddenly realized the hypocrisy of her retort.

"Engines to hyperspeed, quick!" Lars commanded his crew.

"Already on it Lars." Fluorite announced as she retreated to the engine room.

"We are under attack by Emerald, but we shall win!" Padparadscha declared eagerly.

The Destiny Destroyer's thrusters burned brightly as the ship prepared to leave the space above Homeworld and make a break for Earth, leaving the Sun Incinerator in the dust.

"Oh no, you don't!" Emerald yelled, forcing her ship to go into hyperspeed as well in hot pursuit.

--

The chase soon began in hyperspace, with Emerald continuing to pursue her purloined Destiny Destroyer while Lars and his crew were set on their path to Earth.

"Keep firing!" Emerald yelled, commanding her subordinates to fire her ship's blasters.

"Do a barrel roll!" Lars yelled in response.

"I'm sorry, a what now?" the Rutiles wondered in unison.

"You know, like in the video games!" Lars added. The Rutiles quickly caught onto this and began spinning the ship in a perfect circle.

"Actually, I don't believe that qualified as a barrel roll." Hessonite snidely corrected. "It seemed to me more like a-"

"Can't let you do that Hessonite!" Lars interrupted the orange Gem in a thick accent.

"Do what?" Hessonite replied.

"Ruin the joke." Lars answered. "Turn this around and start firing!"

With that, the Destiny Destroyer was flipped around to face the Sun Incinerator and began firing from its prongs.

The Sun Incinerator began to sustain heavy damage, much to Emerald's fury, and she gave another command to her subordinates. "RAIN FIRE!"

"But my Emerald, your Destroyer!" one of the Citrines serving as a part of Emerald's crew replied fearfully.

"JUST DO IT!" Emerald roared. The Citrines did as they were told and fired the Incinerator's blasters at the Destroyer, now causing the enemy ship to start falling apart as well.

"She's falling apart!" Lars cried as alarms sounded, signaling that the Destiny Destroyer didn't have much time left. "How much longer till we leave hyperspace?!"

"We've just arrived at our destination!" Squaridot yelled when the Destiny Destroyer finally left hyperspace and now hovered close to the planet Earth. "And good timing too, this ship is gonna fall apart!"

With not much time left till the Destiny Destroyer's destiny is to be destroyed, Lars thought up a plan right on the spot. "Everyone in my hair!"

"Come again?" Hessonite asked, one half of her monobrow raised.

"My hair's like a portal, and on the other end there's a lion Steven owns who's been brought back to life with powers like mine!" Lars explained. "But I think we're all gonna have to get in one at a time, so fusions are out of the picture!"

"You got it." Fluorite replied as she de-fused into Titanite, Lavender Jade, Iolite, Rubellite, Indicolite, and Verdelite, who all dove into Lars's hair.

"Don't forget us!" Rhodonite said as she de-fused into her Ruby and Pearl, who got into Lars's hair next.

"I wonder how this even works." Squaridot wondered just as Hessonite grabbed her and shoved her into the hairy portal. "Hey, quit it!"

"Lars has made an unorthodox plan to escape Emerald!" Padparadscha yelled while Hessonite grabbed her under her arm and dove in after Squaridot.

"What about you Lars?" the left Rutile asked, sticking her hand in Lars's hair.

"I'll cover things from here, just find Steven on the other end if he's nearby!" Lars ordered.

"Okay, be safe." The right Rutile said before both twins fully dove into the portal, leaving Lars as the only one onboard the Destiny Destroyer as he slowly stepped forward. Just then, Emerald showed up on the viewscreen.

"Any last words before I finally destroy you, Lars?" Emerald grinned maliciously.

"Yes, yes I do." Lars declared, glancing at a big red button that really stuck out from the rest of the green ship, and then looking back at Emerald with a smirk. "Hope you don't mind losing another ship!"

And so, Lars punched the button, causing the alarms to sound. "WARNING, SELF DESTRUCT SYSTEM ACTIVATED!" an automated voice declared. "PLEASE REMAIN CALM AND PROCEED TO THE ESCAPE PODS!"

"No, what are you doing?!" Emerald shrieked in terror at what was in store for her beloved ship.

"Saving the universe, that's what!" Lars declared before he shut his eyes and dropped to his knees. "Sadie, Shep, Mom and Dad, Steven, everyone." He whispered to himself. "I'm sorry."

With that, the Destiny Destroyer finally detonated, and its remains began careening towards Earth's surface. As Emerald watched from her prized Incinerator, she went ballistic. "NOOOOOO! YOU MAY HAVE OUTSMARTED ME AGAIN LARS, BUT I STILL HAVE THE SUN INCINERATOR!" she screamed angrily while her Citrines stared awkwardly at her. "Mourn with me!"

"Emerald!" Black Rutile yelled as her hologram appeared behind her green subordinate, giving her a scare. "I've been watching the entire battle. You almost had Lars right there, but then he had to press the self-destruct button!"

"I apologize my Rutile, please forgive me!" Emerald bowed for her black-colored master.

"Eh, you win some, you lose some." Black Rutile rolled her eyes. "Head to my current location at once. It's finally time."

"Yes, master." Emerald nodded in compliance as the hologram disappeared. "At long last, vengeance will be mine."

--

After the Destiny Destroyer began falling to Earth, everything else was but a blur to Lars. All he could remember were all his friends from Beach City gathering around the wreckage before being taken away somewhere.

As he slowly opened his eyes, he could barely make out four people standing by him in a hospital bed.

"Astounding, his heart rate has slowed dramatically, but he is still alive!" the muffled voice of a doctor exclaimed in astonishment. "Also, is the pink skin something he had all his life?"

"No doctor, it's been a thing for almost three years now." Lars's mother Martha answered. "I think it all started when he was abducted by aliens."

"S-Steven. Steven." Lars groaned lethargically as he fruitlessly reached out his hands for Steven. "Steven!"

"Doc, I think he's coming to!" Sadie yelled.

"Lars!" Dante Barriga exclaimed as he and his wife raced to their son's side. "Please, give us a sign that you're all right!"

"Steven, need Steven!" Lars cried out as he tried to get up out of bed.

"Mr. Barriga, please remain in your bed!" the doctor advised Lars. "You thankfully suffered no serious injuries, but you've just woken up from a coma sustained from that crash!"

"No, I think he's trying to tell us something!" Shep stated as they kept Lars stuck in his hospital bed. "You want to see Steven, right?"

"I need Steven, he in big trouble!" Lars replied, slowly beginning to regain some grasp of his words just as a nurse came in.

"Doctor Laurie, our patient has one more visitor." The nurse told the doctor. "He said a bunch of "Off-Colors" told him everything."

"I'm here Lars!" Steven exclaimed as he rushed into the hospital room to be by Lars's side. "Hessonite and the Off-Colors told me what happened when they came flying out of Lion's mane!"

"Steven, finally!" Lars cried happily as he grabbed Steven's shoulders. "Listen, I need to warn you! You and the entire planet are doomed!"

--

Meanwhile, as men in black suits began cleaning up the Destiny Destroyer's remains and taking them away for further inspection, the Sun Incinerator zoomed past Beach City, now with Black Rutile, White Topaz, Aquamarine, Eyeball, Lapis 1J9G, Demantoid & Pyrope, some Peridots and an army of cybernetically-enhanced Cactus Stevens on board.

"My Rutile, I've got bad news!" Eyeball exclaimed as she got reports back from Homeworld. "It's about our forces back on Homeworld. Holly Blue and Morganite have successfully been detained by a Citrine in league with Hessonite."

"Is that so?" Black Rutile wondered while she sat in a meditative pose, examining all the data she had collected on Steven and the Crystal Gems. "Well, they weren't going to be useful to me until further notice anyway." She got back to looking at all her data and began deleting what she found to be useless. Most of them involved Ronaldo. "Seriously, why do they keep hanging out with this human if he's such an irritating rat?!"

"My Rutile, we are en route to the Alpha Kindergarten and Facet Five." One of the Peridots announced. "There, you will find the Cluster Gems you seek."

"Excellent." Black Rutile replied, steepling her fingers together before she stood up. "My friends, our finest hour will soon be upon us. Once we have enough fodder to terminate the Crystal Gems, our next stop will be returning to Homeworld, where we shall overthrow the Diamonds and take their empire for ourselves."

"Yeah!" Aquamarine, Eyeball, Emerald, Demantoid, and Pyrope cheered. White Topaz was very unsure of herself while 1J9G just rolled her eyes irritatedly.

"We're here." Black Rutile added as the Incinerator finally touched down in the Alpha Kindergarten, and she disembarked from the ship. "Ah, reminds me of the Zeta Kindergarten where I first emerged. So many memories of far happier times. Now tell me, where is the control room?"

"It should be nearby." A Peridot announced as she used a GPS on her screens to guide the rebellious Gems through the Kindergarten until they discovered a green elevator pad that led them straight down to a large, green hexagonal room. "We have arrived."

"Finally." Black Rutile muttered as she looked around at the tube-like structures littered about the control room. Poking one of them with her bowie knife, the tube began to shake a bit before it began growing into a strange Gem monster with multiple limbs that had a gemstone made from the shattered remains of other Gems. "It's alive! Alive!" she gasped excitedly. "Everyone, wake them all up!"

"Uh, are you sure boss?" White Topaz stuttered, insanely unnerved at the creepy atmosphere of the control room. "I think I'll just wait back at the ship with those cactus things."

"You are not leaving us, you coward." Aquamarine barked, holding White Topaz back with her newly reclaimed wand. "You will assist us in awakening these experiments so we can use them against Steven! Are we clear?!"

"Yes ma'am." White Topaz replied meekly and got to work on awakening the other Cluster Gems.

"Hey, I'm just as scared as you are Topaz." 1J9G said to White Topaz. "I'm only here so I can get back at Steven for taking my friends away, so I'm not that interested in the boss's psycho vendetta either."

Soon, more and more Cluster Gems began to awaken from their slumber, feebly grasping at their captors while their gems projected other Gems in pain. And Black Rutile was utterly excited to see them all.

"Yes, yes!" Black Rutile cheered, her cries of joy echoing throughout the control room. "THEY'RE ALL ALIVE!"

--

And so it begins. This was quite probably the longest chapter of Alternate Future I've written yet, and I'm definitely quite proud of it. Was Black Rutile to your liking folks? Was she evil enough yet still had some form of a point? Well, I hope you're excited to see more of her as she takes center stage in the final chapter of Part 2, Enemy of my Enemy! After that, I'll be going on another hiatus. But when we meet again for Part 3, I've got tons more where that came from!

[mulletcal]

triple word score - an ashton irwin blurb.

a/n: okay sO this is the third part to this little mini series i’ve been doing i guess, i’ll link part one and two below.  @sexgodashton​ said i should write a part three and who am i to say no to writing some more ash content???

word count: 3.6k

warnings: okay so there is smut, and more smut, there is light dom!ash in this, use of the nickname kitten, thigh riding, choking, use of the word ‘daddy’ once.... and i think that’s it???

part one | part two 

----

It had been nearly a month since your kiss with Ashton, and in your mind things were going quite swimmingly.  You had weekly dates where one of you would make dinner, followed by Scrabble just for something fun, and to cap the night off you would watch a movie until you would pass out on his couch with your head in his lap.  His niece left around two weeks in, finally being allowed to travel within the country.  Ashton whispered to you one night how he missed having her around, and you promised that you would remind him to call her in the morning.

The two of you hadn’t ventured into the outside world just yet, nor had you made things official.  You hadn’t minded though, content to stay in your own little bubble of exchanging baked goods and cuddles.  One other thing that happened to be gnawing at the back of your mind, was that you hadn’t made things physical yet - You were trying to be respectful of his boundaries, but everytime Ashton smiled a certain way, or he smacked your ass teasingly, it made your head spin. Figuring that maybe you could make the first move, you’d suggested maybe going somewhere more romantic for your date that week; somewhere still private but different enough that maybe it could set the mood.

Thursday rolled around, and you had just finished packing up the small picnic that you had made for the two of you before you heard your doorbell ring.  Eagerly making your way towards the door, you pulled it open with a wide grin, only to see Ashton standing there with a small bouquet of flowers.

“For me?” You teased, placing your hand on your chest as you let out a overdramatic gasp, “You shouldn’t have.”

“I mean, I know I brought cookies the very first time we met, but since this is our first outside world date I thought I’d make an effort,” Ashton grinned sheepishly, not unaware of the fact that your eyes were dragging down his chest, taking in the short sleeved black button down he was wearing, or the pants that hugged his thighs just right.  “Wanna take a picture? Might last longer.”

“Couldn’t help it, you look fantastic tonight,” Your eyes finally met his, and your smile got even wider as you caught the slightest hint of mischief in his eyes.

“Sure you’re not lookin’ in a mirror there, sweetheart? Because the only one I see right now that looks fantastic is you.”

Swatting his arm with the flowers, you tugged him inside so you could put the flowers into a vase.  You made sure to sway your hips a little extra, if only to pick up the movement in your dress, but it didn’t hurt if Ashton’s eyes lingered a little longer on your behind.  Ashton made small talk as you got the flowers prepared for the water, giggling when he told you that his niece had met a boy and she had a crush.

“Did you tell her to make some cookies?” You tossed him a glance which only made his smile grow bigger.

“Well of course, worked on you didn’t it?”

Rolling your eyes, you set the flowers down finally, turning to grab the small basket you had packed full of goodies.  Cocking your head to the side, you smiled up at him, “Ready to go?”

“Mmhm, wish you would tell me where we’re goin’ though so I can be sure I’m not about to get murdered by Little Red Riding Hood,” Ashton laughed softly, tugging on your dress.  Your plan may just work after all.

“Ash we’re just going on a little picnic!”

“At night?” He questioned, wrapping an arm around your waist and pulling you close, “Listen I’ll trust you for now.  But as soon as things go south I’ll run.”

You pecked his lips, reassuring once again that you weren’t planning on killing him before you tugged him out of the door.  You had decided to drive, to keep an added element of surprise to your date with Ashton.  It wasn’t something that was overly extravagant, you were going to take him to the lake nearby that seemed to look pretty at night, the lights of the city reflecting onto the water.

The drive to the lake was short, Ashton nervously bouncing his leg the whole time.  You wondered briefly if he actually thought you were going to kill him.  The two of you were no longer the strangers that played Words with Friends from a distance - instead, you were on the brink of a relationship, well maybe, hopefully you were.

Pulling into a vacant parking spot, Ashton looked over at you with a confused look, “The lake?”

“Yeah! I thought that maybe we could set up a little picnic, if you’re up for it,” You spoke, a small blush tinting at your cheeks.

“This is different from our Scrabble nights,” He brought your fingers to his lips, kissing them gently before leaning in to kiss you gently right after. 

“Oh don’t worry, I have plans for that later.”

With that, you got out of your car, Ashton quickly grabbed the basket from the backseat, rounding the back to reach his hand out to yours.  Smiling brightly up at him, you took it and squeezed gently.  

The two of you walked a bit of a distance before settling on where to lay the blanket down, settling in as you pulled out the snacks, including the chocolate covered strawberries you had made.  That particular food item earned you a quirked brow from Ashton, drawing a giggle from your lips.

Your date was uneventful, the real excitement planned for later; it wasn’t long after the food had been finished that Ashton sensed you were eager to get home.  The way you sat up on your knees and kept glancing around, mostly back in the direction of your car.

“Bored of me already, are you?” Ashton asked, a cheeky grin pulling at his lips.

“No! I just… I have something else planned for us, wanna get going?”

Ashton’s brows furrowed, nodding in response to your question.  He helped you to pack up the basket once more, leaning up to kiss his cheek in thanks as he finished the cleanup - shooing you away to the car.

Driving back, time seemed to move even slower, and Ashton seemed just as nervous.  Grabbing his hand to stop his nervous drumming, he let out a soft exhale.

“I hate not knowing what’s going on,” Ashton pouted, turning to give you his best puppy dog eyes in hopes that you may tell him. 

“Those gorgeous eyes may lure me in normally, but not tonight.  You’re gonna have to wait till we get back to my place.”

A soft huff escapes Ashton’s lips, a childlike pout on his lips as you continued on.  It wasn’t until you had made your way inside and picked up the Scrabble box and wiggled your eyebrows suggestively did Ashton’s face change.

“What’s with the face?”

“Told you I had plans for this later.  What if I asked you if you wanted to play strip Scrabble?” Your eyebrows raised suggestively once more.

Ashton’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, a small grin tugging at his lips as he looked from you to the box, “How long have you been plotting this, hm?”

The air in the room shifted, but you stepped closer to Ashton, setting the box aside, “You game or not?”

Ashton’s eyes dragged down your body, sending shivers down your spine, “You’re wearing a lot less clothes than me sweetheart.”

“Well, good thing I’m better at Scrabble than you, Boomer,” Your finger dragged down his chest, casually popping open the top button before Ashton swatted your hand away.

“That’s cheating, and how many times do I need to tell you m’not a fuckin’ boomer!”

You barely missed his playful swat moving past him so you could set up the board on the coffee table.  Ashton sat across from you, close enough so that your feet were brushing against one anothers. You were kind of unclear of the rules as far as specifics, but you knew  the basics of: who ever scored higher each turn, removed an article of clothing.

You had been doing well so far at beating Ashton, but of course he was being a tease about it - starting with his shoes one at a time, followed by his socks, and his belt.  He got you a couple of times, resulting in you losing your shoes, but you knew that your next thing to go would be your dress, having nothing else left to lose.

Without a thought, you had put down the word ‘cunning’, taking advantage of the triple letter score for the ‘U’, assuming Ashton wouldn’t have anything better so he’d finally be forced to remove his shirt.  What you weren’t expecting, though, is for Ashton to put down the letters L-I-N-G-U-S’.

“You know that’s not how it’s spelt right?” You asked, leaning your elbows against the couch with a smirk.

“We know the end goal, so I think you could let this one slip, hm? Lose the dress, kitten.”

Your mouth fell open with a soft gasp, the new nickname sending a thrill through your veins- but still, you couldn’t make it easy on him, “What’s in it for me if I let you have this?”

Ashton wasted no time sliding over to close the gap between the two of you, his thigh now brushing against yours.  His left hand reached across to trail feather-light touches up your thigh, “Want me to show you, or just tell you?”

This was a side of Ashton you hadn’t seen before, but the look in his eyes made your mouth dry, struggling to find the words to say.  You wanted to continue the banter, but your want for him far outweighed your need to be borderline bratty in that moment.

“Not so bold now are you, kitten?” Ashton hummed, brushing his nose across your neck, causing you to suck in a sharp breath.  “You gonna take this dress off or am I going to have to rip it? Would be a shame to ruin such a nice dress.”

You made a small attempt to catch your breath, but all attempts were thrown out the window as Ashton nipped your neck gently, causing you to squeak.  Moving your fingers to the bottom of your dress, you moved far too slow for Ashton’s liking, his hands coming to cover yours and pushing your dress up further until it was over your head.  

A slow smirk spread over his lips when his eyes landed on the matching black set you had put on, fingers gingerly tracing the patterns of the lace.

“Someone had big plans for tonight, hm?” Ashton motioned for you to get onto the couch, pushing the coffee table away from the two of you so he could have more space.  

When you sat up on the couch, you were suddenly very conscious, aware of the beautiful raven-haired man sitting on the floor in front of you, hazel eyes looking up at you with a hint of mischief playing in them.  What if he was disappointed?

Ashton didn’t give you much room to explore your insecurities, long fingers coaxing your legs apart.  You were expecting him to remove the underwear to get better access, but instead he began to rub at your core through the fabric, the friction of the lace making you arch into his touch.  His lips were busy marking the insides of your thighs, and you couldn’t help the sharp gasp that left your lips.

“Feel good?” He asked with a wink, applying more pressure against you.

“Yes,” You breathed, reaching down to run your fingers through his hair.

Without another word, Ashton lowered his head, closer and closer, until he finally began to suck right over your clit.  You had to cover your mouth to keep from screaming at the sudden change of pressure.  

“Shit Ash,” A soft moan was able to slip past your lips, your chest heaving already with him having hardly done anything - you knew you were fucked, literally and figuratively as you felt the pressure of his tongue moving against you.  “I can take these off if you wa--”

“You think you deserve it? After teasing me all night, kitten?” Ashton pulled away, bringing his fingers up to pull the fabric taught against you to get your attention, “Look at me when I’m speaking to you.”

The tone in his voice had your eyes snapping open in a second - maybe he wouldn’t be too weirded out at the idea that you’re alright being spit on.  You had a sense always that sex with Ashton would be good, but he’d already surpassed good in the very little he had done to you already. 

“I didn’t tease you,” You lied, finally meeting his eyes and licking your lips hastily.

Ashton narrowed his eyes, leaning his head against your thigh, “Would be sad if I had to stop here, love.  You wanna try that again? Try and tell me you weren’t flaunting that perfect ass in front of me, or the suggestive touches on our picnic, and the biggest offense of all the strip Scrabble.” He let out a soft laugh, rubbing his stubble against your thigh which raised goosebumps on your skin.

You knew you were beat - you were putty in his hands and all you wanted was for him to touch you more.  To feel his long fingers against you, in you even.  “I’m sorry for teasing you,” You said with a pout.

Your admittance brought his grin back, lifting his head off of your thigh and letting the fabric go, “You don’t get off that easy, but I guess I can forgive you.”

Ashton tugged the fabric just enough to expose your entrance, slipping a finger into you and bringing his lips back to your still covered clit.  You cursed under your breath, annoyed more than anything that he didn’t want to just take it off all together.  He added a second finger not long after the first, much to your satisfaction.  Ashton’s movements were working faster than they were before, more determined.  The friction and the feeling of his fingers sending you barreling towards the edge, fingers tangled in his hair.

He must have known that you were close, likely able to feel you, because he pulled away all at once, leaving you whimpering at the sudden loss of sensation.

“Ash, what the fu--”

“I said you’re not getting off that easy, kitten,” Ashton licked his lips, bringing his fingers to his mouth to clean them off. 

That image alone could have gotten you off, but you were excited to see what else he had in mind. 

Ashton stood from his previous position, holding out his hands to help you stand up, “We’re going to your bedroom, need more room than this.”

Chewing on your lip, you followed him as he led the way to your room, your breathing still laboured from being so close to the edge only a minute before.  When you both got to your room, Ashton let go of your hand so he could sit on the bed.

“Take the rest of your clothes off.”

“You’re still wearing more clothes than me, baby,” You said sweetly, trailing your finger down his chest, finger catching at the fabric where the remaining few buttons had been done up.

Ashton grabbed your wrist gently, looking up at you, “Did I stutter?”

This side of Ashton kept very pleasantly surprising you, and you kept it in the back of your mind to ask him later what he was in to - though you were already getting a sense of what that may be.

You stepped back from him, Ashton letting your wrist drop so you could strip.  Testing your limits, you made a show of it, fingers slipping the straps of your bra slowly down your arms, followed by reaching behind you to pretend like you were struggling to get it undone.  

Ashton made a sound of annoyance, letting you finish your teasing, thinking you were in control for even a split second.  When you were fully undressed, Ashton tugged on your hands, but he stopped you when you went to straddle his lap, instead settling his thigh in between your legs. 

“You really can’t resist teasing me, hm?” Ashton whispered against your ear, your body responding with a small shiver.  “You want to cum? Now you’re going to have to show me you deserve it.”

His hands guided your hips to move against his, and you quickly got the hint of what he wanted you to do.  Bracing your hands on his shoulders, you began to grind yourself against his thigh on your own, his hands moving to your thighs, a firm reminder that he could go back to moving your hips at a pace he chose.

“Please, Ash,” You whimpered, “The pressure is too much.  Want you…” Your head dropped into the crook of his neck, almost pathetically pressing down harder against his thigh.  “Need you.”

Your nails were digging into his shoulders, whimpering soft pleas into his ear.  You were trying to be good, in a way afraid Ashton would leave all together if you let yourself go and came just from his thigh, but it was getting increasingly more difficult to hold off.  

You were about to give up on trying to be good when Ashton’s hands gripped your hips, stopping your movements, earning him a grunt of frustration from you. 

“You’ve made quite the mess, kitten.  You wanna be fucked so bad you were ready to get off on my thigh alone.  Lay down on the bed.”

You obeyed, finally deciding your desire overruled your need for being a brat in that moment.  Laying back on the bed, you watched Ashton get undressed, pressing your thighs together when his eyes lifted to meet yours. 

“There are condoms in the drawer,” You managed to say, eyes never leaving Ashton’s body.

Nodding, it felt like it took forever for him to open the package and slide the condom on - but then again, maybe he was trying to tease you in the ways you had teased him earlier.  Making you wait to feel him was probably the worst punishment you could receive.

The bed dipped as he crawled onto it, hovering over you before pressing his lips to yours, “Ready love?”

Him going back and forth between ‘kitten’ and ‘love’ made you grin, tangling your fingers in his hair and bringing him back down for another deep kiss; you tried to push the feelings of butterflies bubbling in your stomach away when you finally nodded, waiting for Ashton to move to between your legs instead.

Even though minutes before he was teasing the fuck out of you, and you him, he was soft in that moment - the fact not lost on either of you that this was your first time having sex together, after all the build up to it the last couple of months.  Ashton took hold of himself, pressing against your entrance and sliding in slowly, his eyes shooting up to your face to make sure that you were alright.

He felt better than you could have ever imagined, filling you in all of the right ways.  You could tell that he was waiting for you to adjust, so you moving your hips against him encouraged him to move too.  Ashton’s thrusts started slow and steady, each drag of him against your walls pulling a moan from you. 

He used one of his hands to hike your leg up, the new angle causing him to go deeper, earning a new set of noises coming from your throat.  Ashton’s pace sped up, small grunts leaving his mouth, allowing his free hand to roam your body.  His hand settled on your breast, rolling your nipple between his fingertips.

You weren’t sure if it was the arousal coursing through your veins, or the fact that you felt somehow safe with Ashton, but you took his wrist and dragged it up to your throat, giving him a nod that it was okay.

His hips stuttered at the action, throwing him off of his rhythm a little bit, “Kitten’s got claws, does she?” Ashton squeezed gently, the restriction to your airway sending a new wave of thrill through your body.  

Ashton wasn’t sure if either of you could hold off any longer, and he was eager to see your face as you came apart beneath him.  He let your leg go so he could lean forward, whispering in your ear, “You wanna cum, kitten?”

“Yes… Please, daddy.”  The words were out of your mouth before you had a chance to even think about it, but it didn’t seem to affect Ashton, but rather encourage him.  His thrusts were sloppy, letting go of your neck to focus on his movements.

It took less than a minute before you were being sent over the edge, the sensation of being teased and edged aiding to what was quite possibly the most intense orgasm you had ever felt.  Ashton followed not too long after, his fingers holding your hips so tight you were certain to find bruises the next morning.

When he collapsed beside you, you immediately curled into his side while you tried to catch your breath.  Ashton wrapped his arms around you, pressing his lips to your forehead when he began to laugh. 

“What’s funny?” You asked, tilting your chin up to look at him.

“You somehow managed to get the triple letter score in the game, and got the triple word score just now.”

Smirking, you pressed your lips to his cheek, “What can I say? I don’t lose.”

tag list:  @haikucal​ @talkfastromance4​ @softbabiestan​ @calum-uncrowned​ @wildflowerirwin​ @irwindoll​ @gosh-im-short​ @atlcalm​ @thesubtweeter​ @heavenisapeach​ @ridingcthood​ @loveroflrh​ @mantlereid​ @inlovehoodx​ @irwinkitten​ @n-ctarinenga​​ @g-l-pierce​ @thecurlsofgod​

[robbyrobinson]

GODS AWAKEN: CHAPTER 27

The mad emperor dashed at Camila at lightning speed faster than her eyes could perceive. Huge gashes were torn into Camila’s clothes from the razor-sharp teeth of Belos’s suckers. Camila desperately tugged at her attire to withdraw more parchment paper.

“You have gotten heinously slow throughout the years haven’t you, daughter?” Belos snickered.

Ignoring him, the middle-aged mother successfully discards a glyph from her shirt and slams it on Belos’ hideous face. He was propelled further away. Camila, with the parchment still in her hand, held it out defiantly. On the paper was a sketch of waves representing wind.

“Wind spell,” she stated in a matter-of-fact way.

Belos chuckled. “But your mind is as sharp as ever.”

Belos lifted himself off the ground with his abdominal tentacles and reclaimed his staff. He raised it skyward summoning a rumbling quake underneath the ground of the coliseum. The force underneath shifted its motion and erupted out of the ground sending dust and rocks in the air. The beast possessed a huge gaping maw fixated into a permanent scream and beady yellow eyes. It lunged towards the mother in relentless speed.

Camila grabbed another parchment from the spot between her chest and slammed it on the ground to activate it. She hadn’t foreseen any possible method of getting out of the way of the rampaging worm and even if she did, its frame was too colossal. The worm dipped down claiming the mother with its mouth and taking out a large chunk of the ground.

“How unfortunate,” Belos noted.

As he looked at the worm again, he was taken aback. Red flames flickered out of the sides of the worm’s body and burned it from the inside out. Belos flicked his finger uprooting roots from the ground to restrain his daughter. Brown, hickory roots wrapped around her waist and limbs slamming her with savage force. Belos waltzed towards her holding his hands out again. This time, the illusion of an axe was levitating above his head.

With swift motion, Belos clutched the axe and brought it down.

Camila breaks the root wrapped around her waist and rolled over. A swishing sound droned out and before Camila knew it, a small segment of her front hair was sliced away falling to the ground before her. Camila sighed in relief.

The brown-haired girl grimaced and pulled her wrists together breaking the roots between her hands. She ducked again when Belos brought the axe back down.

“Hold still, miscreant, it will only last a second.”

Camila rolled over thrashing her leg out. Her foot hit the handle of the axe and sent it sky high. The axe materialized before the two.

Another parchment paper rolled out this time Camila hit it with her foot. A wall of ice grew from the ground slicing off Belos’s tentacles.

“Gah!”

The Emperor’s weird alien blood dripped from the stumps of the tentacles and corroded the soil. “Not bad; a minor scrape nonetheless.”

New fleshy tentacles sprung from the stumps hissing and writhing towards the human woman. They opened their blood red maws showing off their razor teeth gnashing and clicking like needles. They shot at Camila again this time managing to make a hit on her.

Camila was knocked to the ground again. The papers were scattered all over. The middle-aged mother reached out her hand to grab one, but Belos’s staff stamped down on her exposed palm.

“Ugh!”

Belos laughed to himself again. Like before, his ribs scraped against each other as he laughed and wheezed. Gunk fell out of his mouth as his hold over his staff began to falter. “End of the line.”

Back at the laboratory, Luz and the gang finished up on their stockpiling of glyphs. Luz made a dash down the stairs to marvel at her work. “Do you think that should be enough?”

“Yeah, yeah, let’s blow this joint,” Eda noted.

Luz looked around the laboratory again seeing all the boxes containing the enchanted armor. She grimaced still sensing the screaming emanating from the armors’ metal shells.

“Are you okay, kid?” Eda asked.

“Belos had created those suits out of the broken souls of witches; if we’re really doing this, I feel we should give some peace to the poor things.”

Eda scratched her chin. She sighed deeply. “Eh, fine.”

Eda entered her house casually throwing aside any of the unconscious bodies of the guards. There was a crashing sound and a few mini explosions, but the Owl Lady returned holding a few flasks.

“Edalyn, what are those?” Lilith asked concerned “and what is that purple substance inside of it?”

“The seeds of some poppy plant that I got from the swamp; just grind em up and light a match and voila...a magic bomb.”

She passed the flasks – about six in total – and also gave them a stick to grind the seeds into a powdery substance.

“Make sure to completely grind them otherwise the explosion fails.”

They pressed down hard on the seeds and scraped the smaller pieces counterclockwise until they were soft as feathers. “Typically takes about ten seconds to completely pulverize them.”

After the task was over, they poured the powder in a long trail leading towards the entrance. “Oh, so this is like gunpowder,” Luz said.

“Yes, Luz, it’s like ‘gunpowder’.”

Luz took one last look at the laboratory to soak in the knowledge of what she was about to do.

“You still want to do this, Luz?” King asked.

Luz nodded. “Let’s do it.”

Luz took a parchment paper containing the fire glyph placing it on top of the trail of powder. Gently pressing it, a small flame started and completely consumed the paper. As the flame grew larger it quickened its pace eating away at the powder. The trail of powder would ultimately come to an end once it connected with the crates containing the statues. Another trail led towards the portal machine and quickly ignited a large fire.

“We should leave now.”

Luz and the team met up with Amity and her siblings and dashed further down the halls. Large walls of fire licked at the powder seeking more to consume and destroy. The flames rose higher and higher now reaching the stairs.

Belos now had his hand wrapped tightly on Camila’s hair. Tugging it, he lifted his fist. Lightning flickered from his fingers. “It is a shame that you have driven me to this point.”

Camila scowled at him. “Enough with this talk. Do your worst.”

“With pleasure.”

Before he could strike Camila with the full brunt of his electricity, he was caught off guard by a sudden tremor.

“What in the-?”

A cloud of smoke spewed from his palace blasting chunks of debris skyward. The ground shook again at the further destruction. The explosion sent a wavelength leveling half of the palace and bringing the final nail in the coffin towards his laboratory.

Belos dropped to his knees. “This can’t be...how?”

From the corner of his eye, he could see Camila beginning to collect herself. He made a grab for his staff, but Camila batted it away.

“This cannot be how this all ends.”

Belos stood up and growled showing his large, inhuman teeth that were sharpened and crooked. His tentacles flailed around in disbelief. “My plan has failed.”

“What plan?” Camila asked “you already failed to execute me like you wanted.”

Belos turned and grit his teeth together. “That was only a small sample of my revenge.”

Camila raised an eyebrow.

“I had served the Isles for fifty years all for one purpose: when my master escaped from his prison, I asked him to destroy your world. But I saw that if I were to have summoned the Outer Gods to the Isles...”

“What that you’d become one?” Camila interrupted.

This elicited a shrill chuckle from the Emperor. “Close, but no cigar: when the gods would arrive from the portal, I would steal their powers and become all-powerful.”

“But what of your master’s plans?”

“I don’t care one lick about Nyarlathotep’s whole goal of destroying the Isles and recreating it in his image. It should be ME and me alone who could bend and mold the Isles to my liking. Once I became a god of my own design, I would turn on my master and kill him.”

“Oh, you mean with this?”

An irregular, bizarrely angled instrument sliced into Emperor Belos’s chest and ripped through his wicked heart. Belos coughed up purple pus which dripped down his chest. Belos wheezed in agony and turned around with bulging eyes. He saw the Black Pharaoh standing behind him holding the other half of the instrument in his hands.

“L-Lord...” Belos coughed again. His lungs were filling with his own blood.

“If you really wanted to kill me, you shouldn’t have shouted your plan out loud.”

“B-But...how...?”

“Don’t act like I did not know your true allegiances. You planned this for a long time ever since I noted that you had your own agency.”

Belos wabbled to his knees. His life was painfully draining out and flooding the ground.

“After all, I switched out the Shining Trapezohedron with a decoy after all.”

Nyarlathotep crossed his arms and looked down at his servant. Belos slipped off the instrument and laid sprawled on the ground. He covered his chest with his hand to placate the internal bleeding. “Please, master, give me another chance.”

“Oh, so now you’re being a loyal servant?” Nyarlathotep said rolling his eyes.

A dark mass descended from the Crawling Chaos’ body and became two dimensional as it slithered on the ground. Belos’s shadow grew larger from the waning sun and seemingly was trying to flee from the mass of Nyarlathotep’s shadow.

The shadow produced long, spindly fingers and grabbed onto Belos’s leg. Emperor Belos’s physical body was tossed on the ground and dragged alongside his shadow’s leg. Belos was pulled closer towards Nyarlathotep’s body.

“No, master please! If you do this, I will lose my personality. The very fabric of my being will cease to be.”

Belos clutched his tentacle appendages on the opposite sides of his body and jammed them tightly in the ground. “I’m sorry...please, please have mercy!”

Nyarlathotep’s shadow was that of a fisherman’s rod. It nudged the shadow’s leg a few times and loosened its grip. About two seconds later, enough time for Belos to relax, Nyarlathotep’s shadow tugged again, tighter this time and pulled Belos further.

“Have mercy!!”

Belos disappeared underneath Nyarlathotep’s garment. And it was then that the Emperor’s rule over the Boiling Isles came to an end for whatever made Belos himself was stripped away from him making him become nothing more but a memory. Camila shivered unsure of what to do or say.

Nyarlathotep smiled wickedly. “Let the game begin.”