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theravencawsatmidnight · 4 years ago

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Pink Chains pt Five

Punk! Kyotani x Bubbly F! reader. Aka my favorite cliche trope. It lives in my head every second of the day.

Kyotani owns a grunge /punk apparel shop after leaving the Sendai Frogs after a incident with the Black Jackals. He designs his own clothes and hires Oikawa & Iwaizumi as his employees. Everything goes smoothly for awhile, till you walk in; pink dress, big smile , and bubbly personality. His whole life stops in that moment.

W! Brief Violence

Before you and Kyo could go to the zoo he had to drive everyone back to the beach so they could drive home. Yahaba was hiding in the back seat by the window , still red in the face. Oikawa was next to him and constantly teasing Yahaba over you , Iwaizumi was on the right by the window in the back, Mattsun was in the passenger seat and Kyotani was driving,,, with you on his lap.

“Its fine” he told you. I mean hes not gonna let one of his friends hold you so .. And besides, this was funner. You held onto his neck giggling while you peppered kisses on his neck the whole way to the beach. Mattsun was the last to leave Kyotanis car, he wanted to check on his red panda tattoo on you and you happily showed him it. The red was finally all healed up and the whole tattoo looked very nice to him. He pat your head and said goodbye to his friend as he exited the car closing the door. Kyotani took off and plugged the directions into his cars touch screen.

“Kyo? Should I move to the seat?” you asked him, wiggling on his lap as he drove.

“Your fine right here on me sweetie.” he told you, nuzzling his cheek into yours.

So you sat there the whole time, giggling each time someone did a double take as they passed. You told Kyo about your day and what the girls said to you too. It still pissed him off but it was taken care of now.

“Kyo?” you were rubbing at his chest.

“Hm?”

“Are you okay after this morning?”

He thought on it for a few minutes, the only sound was the music coming from his car. He groaned heavily and placed a hand on your thigh pulling you closer to him. “Yeah, im okay sweetie”

“Promise?”

“Promise” he gave you a gentle kiss as he pulled into the zoo's parking area.”before we go in i have to tell you one thing though”

“What is it?” you were about to open the door but he had stopped you, causing you to get all pouty and puffy in the face with him. Kyotani smiled and kissed your cheek laughing lightly.

“So i know one of the employees and i need to see if hes working today”

“Okay!!” you opened the door wiggling off Kyos lap getting out and Kyo was quick to follow you and pull you back to him locking his arms around your hips as he hip bumped his car door shut.

“Kyo!!!!!”

“Hm?” he kissed along your neck holding your wiggling body with a smile on his face.

“The pandas!!” you whined with a big smile on your face til you felt his fingers start to move over your tummy .” KYO!! Tickles!!!”

“Okay okay, but please stay close to me okay?”

You whipped around to grab his ring hand squeezing it tight. “You stay close!! Dont want anyone stealing you away”

He laughed walking you up to the entrance to pay and buy a ticket. “Ive already been stolen by the best person sweetie.im not goin anywhere”

Miyagi Zoo was a small zoo, basically a big circle with some attractions down separate walk ways that lead to birds, a petting zoo and the gift shop. But it all looped back around to the entrance.

The first animals were the lions; you were so excited but the display glass was occupied by some people and you could not see. Kyo pulled you close while he waited for the people to move, he could see them but that was because he was 5 ‘ 11, he did not want to wait too long since he still had to find his friend and see the rest of the zoo so he moved himself behind you , wrapped his arms around your hips and lifted you up into the air so you could see the lions who were asleep on the rocks enjoying the sun. you had grabbed onto Kyotanis shoulders to steady yourself and people looked back to see you and the look on Kyos face, they quickly moved and he smugly walked closer with you still in the air. The glass was cold against your hands when you touched it to steady yourself to look in. it was two males and three females all asleep enjoying the sun. Kyotani had never seen a lion before so he was equally as excited but seeing that excited grin on your face just made it 10x better. He set you down and you gave him a big kiss on the lips , you also grabbed his hand running off to the next animals.

The second animals were the timber wolves and that was .. an interesting experience; no one was looking at the animals so you and Kyo were free to get right up to the glass to look for them. They appeared to be hiding and you did not want to leave without seeing at least one so Kyo crouched down next to you to look into the enclosure. A pile of leaves was moving up and down and he could see a couple paws sticking out. “Sweetie, down here. ones asleep” he told you. You folded your dress behind you to crouch down next to him and you gasped a little loudly once you saw it. He was asleep, the sign said this enclosure had 6 timber wolves in it but they all must be asleep somewhere.

Kyotani liked wolves, they reminded him of his friends and they were very misunderstood creatures , like him. You leaned into his side placing your hand on his wolf sleeve and Kyo laid his head on yours as you both watched the wolf sleep. The other animals could wait a little longer to be seen.

After a few more minutes Kyo was about to get up with you when a grey wolf came out from under the leaves and right over to the glass. Kyotani expected you to latch on to him and be a little scared but instead he watched you wave and say hello to the wolf. He pulled you to him giving your cheek a kiss, you were perfect.. So so perfect.. The wolf stared at you both for a little while till new people started to come over and dashed off to hide. Kyotani helped you up and you both made your way to the petting zoo holding hands.

The little goats refused to interact with Kyotani.. It was kinda funny. They loved you and loved to eat at your dress while all they did with Kyo was scream at him. People were staring because you were giggling trying to feed the baby sheeps with a brown goat eating your dress and a black goat screaming its head off at Kyotani. A pig came over as well to use Kyo as a rubbing post for an itch and he was not very happy but what the hell, hes lucky hes a cute pig. The screaming was starting to get to him though and you had to get some food for Kyo to get on the goats good side. He held the food out and instantly the goat stopped his screaming to munch on the food. The quiet was a relief for everyone…

The last animals were the red pandas but Kyo was preventing you from getting close to the enclosure, he had his arm hooked around your waist and seemed to be looking around with his phone out.

“Kyo!!!! Im gonna tell Iwaizumi!!!”

“Pft oh yeah Sweetie?” he leaned down to nibble your neck. “Whats Iwaizumi gonna do?”

“Something!!!” you struggled against his grip but you were not getting free. You could see the big tree that was the main part of the exhibit and a bunch of tall glass with smaller trees and climbing toys spread out all around .. just a little.. Closer..!

“Mad Dog ! over here!”

“There he is. Okay sweetie this way” he led you to the side of the exhibit over to an employee who had a big smile on his face . his name tag said Takahiro on it.

Kyotani bumped his shoulder against the man and Taka did the same saying hello to his friend.”this her?” he asked, giving you a big smile.

“Yep, Sweetie this is my friend Takahiro, he was on the team too”

“Nice to meet you!!!” you beamed .

“Aww. shes adorable, you ready ?”

“ready? “ you turned to Kyo and he pulled you with him gently.”but Kyo the pandas…”

“Cmon sweetie.” he locked his arm around yours as Taka led you both past the Employees Only area next to the exhibit.

Taka opened a door and Kyo snuck you in with Taka closing the door behind him. “Okay,” Taka said. “15 minutes max Kyotani”

“Sure sure” he moved you closer to what looked like the inside of the exhibit. “Stand right here” he told you.

You hold his hand tight unsure of what was happening and heard Taka whistle a tune. Soon enough you realized and got the biggest smile on your face.

Four little red pandas ran over flopping all over each other and right into your legs to rub on them . “KYO!!!” you instantly crouched down to pet them and give each one a hug, you were also a crying mess.

Kyotani nudged his friend after snapping a picture of you with the pandas. “Thanks Takahiro”

“Mmm sure, i dont just let anyone back here ya know”

“Yeah yeah, trust me i appreciate it “ he looked over to see you holding a red panda and trying to pet each one at the same time.

“Hows the store? The guys?”

“All good, i made up with Yahaba too.”

“Really? Thats great Mad Dog, proud of you. You look like your doing good.”

“Im doing amazing now,” he gestured to you. “Never been better Takahiro”

Taka nudged his friend teasing him over how sappy he was being and you made sure you pet every panda at least 10 times before it was time to leave. You thanked Takahiro and he waved his hand saying it was not a problem.

After Taka escorted you both out Kyo took you to the Gift Shop where he bought you a red panda plush and a red panda bag that had a fake tail hanging off it. The gift shop also had a cheetah display that said they save a cheetah with each purchase. He bought 6 of them. It was time to leave after the gift shop and you were just so happy with your day, everything was perfect. Kyotani opening up to you, saving you from the girls at school, the surprise at the zoo. You were falling deeper and deeper for him.

It was a good day for him too, after a rocky morning everything turned out great. Making up with Yahaba helped a lot and he was happy to have his friend back. He took care of those dumb girls that were bothering you and got to take you too the zoo . seeing your smile all day was the icing on the cake for him. Things were going so good with you and he never wanted it to change, he never wanted to mess it up and wanted to hold onto you forever.

When you got to the car you asked Kyo if you could go for ice cream before heading home and he agreed, one was close by so you both could walk to it. It was dark now and Kyo wanted to invite you too sleep at his place tonight. You were almost at the ice cream shop now but something stopped you.

“Kyo? Did you hear that?”

“Rr..”

“It sounded like a kitten?” he said looking around.

“I think over by the bench there, i gotta go see, it might by by itself..”

Kyotani was unsure about letting you go by yourself but he was close enough to the bench if you needed him. “Okay sweetie, come right back please.” he held your hand a little longer before letting go , he watched you hurry off and he leaned on the ice cream shop to wait, browsing his phone.

“Kyotani…?” it was a … familiar voice.

Kyo looked up and his heart nearly stopped.

“Kitty...kitty,,,” you crouched down looking under the bench to see a scared little kitten hiding under it. “Hey there.. Im not gonna hurt you.. Cmere baby” you held your arm out and the kitten sniffed it.

“It is you.” the voice got closer and Kyotani was frozen.”Bastard what was your deal back then huh?”

“...i..” he squeezed his phone trying to come up with words. No , no, this cant be happening now. Stay calm Mad Dog..

“Thats it.. Cmere..” you cooed the kitten out to you and picked it up hugging its shivering body. “There there.. Your safe now, ill take care of you, wait till you meet Kyo, hes a great-”

CRASH

You looked up to see something… something you thought you would never see. Kyotani hit the brick wall hard . he wiped the blood from his chin and grabbed a spikey haired man punching him directly in the jaw.

“Did you hear me?? Fuck was your problem huh?” he stepped closer. Kyotani put his phone away and stepped away trying to focus on this guy and see where you were. “Can we do this another time?” he asked putting his hands up, he was shaking,

“I dont want any trouble” he told him.

“Oh you dont? But giving me a black eye that was swollen shut for two weeks is fine? “ he grabbed Kyotani by the shirt and Kyotani was slammed into the wall.

“Fuck you Kyotani if you thi-” he punched him, right in the jaw. “Get the FUCK off me Bokuto!!!” he grabbed Bokuto by the shirt slamming him to the ground.

“Kyo….?” you were frozen in place and your heart nearly jumped up your throat when you saw him punch Bokuto in the mouth.

@galagcica @kozushiki @zopzoop

@haikyuu-but-low-iq @milkbreadcat

@derpeedoo @squeaky-ducky

#Pink Chains #kyotani x reader #kyotani 💞#kyotani kentaro

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newsiegirlscout · 5 years ago

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An Alchemist Thing

Whoo! At last, the fanfiction I’ve been planning for weeks has touched a keyboard just in time for the premiere!

I tried to write seriously.

I tried.

Trial Zero: Lunaris Carcerem

The stars glowed in the silent night sky overhead, the full moon’s rays cutting through the darkness and casting a single shaft of light across cell block A-113. The young prisoner’s chest rose and fell softly, and as Cassandra stretched and patrolled the block, she was mildly surprised to see the once-alchemist asleep more peacefully than he’d been in any of the other nights in the last tide she’d had to take the shift.

Then, she stopped in her boots, mid-quarter turn.

His hair glowed with a soft but blindingly snowy white shine, and in the fields, she could just barely make out the outlines of the rocks ebbing and flowing across the Old Corona countryside like a stormy tide. Watchful luminescent eyes sparked fearfully in the opposite corner of the cell, little paws bounding lightly to the door of the entrance upon seeing Cassandra, a silent plead to awaken 24601.

She blinked, and

The cell block was as quiet as it had ever been, the rocks as still as they had ever been, the young boy’s ruffled locks perhaps overgrown but still the same raven-black and cerulean- streaked as ever. The moon’s full effulgence had since moved on. The boy’s breath hitched in his throat and the tearstreaks running down his cheeks began to fade.

It must have been nothing more than a trick of the light.

Cassandra walked away.

Trial One: Lunares Stratera

“And then, the Earl of Weselton tossed the purloined purse--and the time-turner, if you recall--to his accomplice, Captain Clovis. Flynnigan Ryder, with a millisecond to act,” said Varian, casting a hefted coin purse into the air and lightly stepping over stacks of books to swing over his desk with an air of practiced grace, papers fluttering to the ground as he landed, “lept before Captain Clovis, flung his arm out in a single stroke to block him, and caught the time-turner’s purse on the tip of his sword afore it landed the arc.” The enthusiastic teenager accentuated the story by indeed catching the loops of the purse on a wooden sword he’d drawn just as seamlessly as the rest, his back foot poised against a shelf of beakers that clattered at his touch but didn’t break.

Flynn and Lance themselves whistled appreciatively as Varian’s face flushed a cherry-blossom pink and he laughed softly, lowering his sword.

“Hey, now!” applauded Lance, running a finger along the chalk-dust landscape of the fictional kingdom’s Aureole dancing across the walls, “Sounds like these books are still just as awesome as we remember, eh, buddy?”

Flynn chuckled, sitting on the edge of the desk with his eyes sparkling in boyish delight. “Even better, I’d say. Almost as awesome as us, eh? Hey, kid, do the Ryder of Seas thing again!”

Varian giggled, resketching the dragons arcing over the Forest of Fallen Stars and shaking the chalk dust off his gloves.

“What, the--” he said, clearing his voice and standing straighter, “I stand for the call of adventure, the tide and the windswept of skies, for my heart is the heart of a Ryder, and the call of adventure is nigh!”

The last line echoed in chorus by Lance and Flynn, the two friends cheered with unburdened excitement. Flynn laughed animatedly, swinging his boots with glee. Varian crossed back to tap the loose papers against his desk and giggled with a light smile.

“So, any reason you needed to ask me about Flynnigan Ryder and the Labyrinthine Destiny, or are you two just hiding from the castle?”

“Wh-what? You know, Goggles, I am astonished that you’d think such a thing.” retorted Flynn confidently, a playful smile dancing at his eyes.

“I could have lent you the book.”

“Aww, but you do them so well!” trailed Flynn, gesturing to the laboratory set up as a scenic (if imaginative) replica of Aureole’s kingdom, “Besides, Lance is illiterate.”

Lance cuffed his friend’s shoulder. “Remarkably so, Eugene here is also illiterate wherever a rulebook is concerned. And also when Rapunzel is negotiating trade agreements with Neserdnia in the royal court, and the king isn’t feeling so friendly.”

Flynn stretched and nabbed one of the loose papers off the desk, highlighted with Varian’s trademark looping scrawls and singed edges. “So, we thought we’d come see what we could do, catch up on Aureole, lend our immense talent and wit to...asphodellic dichloridiafluoramech?”

The alchemist’s attention sparked. “Ooh, I could use a hand on that one.”

“Like finding a catchier name?” Lance suggested, leaning over, “Something that’s not so long, but maybe more memorable….like Strongbowlium.”

Varian, crouched by the lower shelves to hold a beaker to the light, shook his head. “Em, I’ll take that under advisement.” he said, grinning sheepishly, “But if you could, ah, hand me that phosphorus selenide solution up there? It’s the purple one, second from the left.”

Flynn leaned over Lance’s shoulder, causing him to jostle the bookcase. “Ohhh, so that’s what that one is. See, I was hoping it’d taste like, whatsit,”, he said, snapping his fingers, “Wisteria, in that cake, but it just--”

Varian stood up sharply, knocking his head against the top of the lower shelves.

“Exploded.” he finished, lightly stepping up and taking the flask from Lance’s hand and tucking a middle-shelf beaker under his arm, “Surprisingly common with unknown reactants.”

The top shelf was positioned at a near forty-five degree angle, but if Varian noticed, he didn’t pay it much mind. The curious thing, Flynn noted as his young friend continued to talk happily with Lance, was perhaps the vials themselves.

“Annnnd….there! One trial of strong-shelled hyperreactive Strongbowlium complete!” remarked the alchemist, tossing the ball experimentally.

Flynn stretched his legs, tired in spite of himself. “Hey, kid, one question…” he said, gesturing to the vials the moonlight shone across, “How’dja get these to stay standing, with, y’know, the minor detail of gravity in the way?”

Varian grinned, clearly amused, and standing on his toes, lifted his hand to the edge of the shelf, standing it straight once more. “Ah, I don’t really know. Not everything that should fall does, which is lucky, I guess, or you’d never be able to walk anywhere in here. Must be an alchemist thing, I guess.”

Flynn shrugged and ruffled through the remaining files.

“Hey, good a reason as any. Looks like the next on the list is….ooh, is this one like slime?”

And the moon’s rays passed on.

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

Trial Two: Lunares Praesidium

“Wither, and decay,

End this destiny,

Break these earthly chains,

And set the spirit free,

The spirit free.”

Rapunzel sang in the still glow of the night, a deep and infinite obsidian running through her hair and pooling in her eyes like black waters. The incantation sang through Varian’s bones with an ethereal afterecho, and before his eyes, the amber he’d tried to long to crack was melting. Quirin was, at long last, free.

But Rapunzel was not.

It was a sensation more than her song, more than her light or more than the shiver colder than the frosts of Old Corona intertwined in the melody, but he could feel it nonetheless; how the incantation was threaded within her magic, held her as strong and as tight as a siren’s lullaby. The thought hit him on the peripheral of his senses, calling like a frog from the bottom of a well--the water--but it vaporized to naught but steam once it hit her, almost exactly as he’d been expecting.

“You didn’t give up on me, I won’t give up on you.” he said resolutely, pressing his hands to his chest.

-the incantation’s melody fluttered like the feathers of a dark angel, filled everything and nothing and anything in between, pushed at the essence of reality, pressed in his heart and flowed through his veins--

He grasped Rapunzel’s shoulders at once with a hold stronger than ever, and his gloves melted off his hands like water. And all as his promise had been pledged, the light returned to Rapunzel’s eyes, the gold flowing back through her hair.

Everything was alright. The Hurt Incantation had been silenced.

His hands still felt the light prickling of a force that could never be harnessed, only quieted.

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

Trial Three: Lunares Somnia

It was difficult to be heard, at times.

Luckily, Varian knew exactly the princess who would always listen.

The first time or two had come as a misstep; he'd fallen asleep at his desk, the graphtic's key held tight in his hands, when the lantern, cast from his hands, floated softly in a dream's illusion of reality over the bright Corona castle's skies. The girl with golden hair looked up with delight, then alarm as it sailed into the darkening thunderclouds, until the whole of the Corona she knew disappeared to a wasteland, her sunny hair the only thing still shining.

It was then that he'd known it was not his dream he acted on, but Rapunzel's.

Once, he only acted as an unconscious bearer, knowing enough to express himself to the ally but not enough to express anything besides a raw, unfiltered message speaking almost directly from an essence that felt of, but not entirely, himself.

Come out, Rapunzel. Face your destiny.

He had awoken with a start, knowing, somehow, that she had too.

But as the time had passed, and he had grown to think it was only a too-close coincidence, he found himself once more standing in a plane between reality and illusion. The essence was frigid, like a midnight's breeze, but he felt nothing.

And there she stood.

Though only her blurred outline was seen, something sparked his instincts almost immediately that it was her, though he dared not step forth.

"Varian?" she said softly, words echoing and swirling through the aether like butterflies.

"Rapunzel." he responded to the stillness, and then, with a swelling like the tide, "This is not the last, Rapunzel. There is more you have yet to see."

A thickness in his throat as if he were a messenger for something greater, "There is more you may never see nor understand."

"What have you come for?" she asked, though she said not a word.

He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, his heart pounded with energy. The grass blades around him rippled like a stone cast into still water.

"I know not." he said softly, the touch at his wrists fading, his essence feeling much more like his own once more, "What may pass must be beyond either of us."

And he awoke, his heart beating harder than ever.

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

Trial Four: Vi Lunares

"Cassandra!" said Rapunzel, her hair loose behind her, and her eyes still blazing with a queen's courage, "You may have fallen, but I will do my best to lift you back to greater things. I know this isn't your true destiny, and..I think you know it isn't yours, either."

Cassandra's gaze softened for only a moment.

"I think you've gotten enough in your own destiny without mine, Rapunzel." Cassandra snapped, outstretching a hand. Black rocks spiked along the path, positioned exactly in the right trajectory to pin Varian and Flynn against the cliff's face….

"No." Varian said quietly, an impulse more sudden than a snap compelling him to throw out his hand, splaying his fingers as Cassandra did and throwing his arm hard against Flynn's waist as an afterthought.

The streak in his hair glowed an ethereal alabaster for no more than a few seconds, and the rocks stopped in their tracks, the strap of Rapunzel's satchel caught on the closest.

Flynn watched the streak in Varian's hair return to the same blue it ever was. With no more than a beat ("Hey, Blondie's got magic hair, Cass 's a moonstone guardian, I'm a prince, and the frog adopted a dragon. I'm done, not another one before teatime."), he patted Varian on the back.

"Thanks, kid."

And, drawing their swords, Rapunzel's army strode forth into the battle.

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

Trial Five: Solar Eclipse

No more than three years older, but having aged far more in the same time since he'd met Rapunzel, Varian straightened his tie and held his hand softly to the glowingly jubilant, happily married Queen Rapunzel of Corona.

"May I have this dance?" he asked with a gentle smile as she placed her hand in his.

"Of course!" she said, her cheeks aflush with her love and a light grin playing at her sun-freckled face for her friend, "Awww, Varian, I didn't know you were one of Eugene's groomsmen."

The alchemist chuckled lightly, twirling her on her heels. "Well, besides being his best friend and all….I did bring the cookies, so he really had no choice but to accept."

"Varian…." she said with a playful sternness.

"What? They were good!" said the newly (and thankfully, entirely unreluctantly) crowned King Eugene, twirling a peppermint-dusted Celtic Knot in his fingers, "I mean, really good. Have you tasted these, Blondie?"

Varian laughed and broke from Rapunzel to nudge Eugene. "I mean, yeah, but aren't we forgetting the entire, oh…", he said with a teasing flippant hand wave, "Saving Corona thing? And being your best friend?"

"Lance is my best friend."

"And being your best friend?"

Eugene laughed, ruffling Varian's hair. "Ha, can't keep anything from a smart kid like you, Goggles. Speaking of which…"

Varian sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "I know. Decided lack of lab safety protocol in the royal wedding dress code, wouldn't you say?"

"Let's just hope nothing totally crazy happens from here to tomorrow, then." quipped Eugene as the stars began to dapple the evening sky.

The seventeen-year-old rolled his eyes. "Last I heard, crazy was what Rapunzel did best."

"Hey!" tittered Rapunzel as Varian grinned, "That may be true, but you two are just as much so."

"Is that so?" replied the boy as the kingdom dance's tune began, Eugene stepped nimbly to his partner, and Rapunzel rested her hands on her friend's shoulders.

"Yeah, I'd say you're pretty good at having fun too." she retorted with a smile, sticking out her tongue in a very ladylike manner as Varian chuckled and nodded with a reluctant agreement.

She stepped lightly on her toes, shifting to the elegant Box Left and Forward Progressive as Varian followed in the early light of the tune.

"I've seen the girl who has crossed mountains,

And showed all the stars how to shine" she sang gently with the lyres, beaming like a brilliant sunrise.

"I will fol-low her through field and glen,

And I wish that she'll be mine." Varian finished melodically with her, the same smile on his face. Rapunzel skipped happily, pirouetting so jubilantly in the waltz that if her hair could still shine, it would have been blinding.

"And we will cross the seven seas,

We'll dance on wings of gold,

For our light could glow, my dear,

And magic will never burn old!"

At this last step, Rapunzel dipped Varian back in her arms, both of them carrying the last note high and strong. The parting crowd around them halted in silence, and in the stillness, they realized the cerulean streak in Varian’s hair was glowing with what could only be called magic.

Standing to his full height, Varian glanced at Rapunzel and they both shrugged.

“Must be an alchemist thing, I guess.”

#tts #rta #varian #lunar varian #rapunzel's tangled adventure #waffles to go

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snappedsky · 6 years ago

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Resident Evil 7 21- Hoffman Wins

So ages and ages and ages ago, I was playing the RE 7 21 dlc with my brother and we were talking about what would happen if Hoffman won. And I was like "I gotta write that." And ages and ages and ages later, I finally finished it. It's pretty simple, but it's just fun writing Lucas.

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Hoffman stares at his opponent’s body from across the table. He’s now down five fingers. Clancy was his name- is. He’s still breathing. Hoffman’s not sure what he looks like though, because of the sack over his head.

A small part of Hoffman feels bad for Clancy. But a bigger part is glad he’s not in that position.

He looks up at the five static-y television screens sitting behind Clancy. “Okay, I won. You’ll let me go now, right?”

In his control room, Lucas Baker giggles maniacally in his chair at the unconscious Clancy on his computer screen. He stops at Hoffman’s question and rolls his eyes.

“That’s how the game works,” he sighs with obvious disappointment. “I wish we could’ve had a little more fun.” He stares at his computer screens displaying Hoffman and Clancy. Clancy is slumped over the table. He’s still breathing so he’s not dead; probably just in shock and not going to get up anytime soon.

The game went by way too fast and Hoffman didn’t even lose any fingers! Who would’ve thought he would be such a whiz at Blackjack?

Lucas gets an idea and a shit-eating grin spreads across his face.

“Okay, Hoffman, I’ll let you go,” Lucas says, “just sit tight and I’ll-.” He pushes a button and cuts all the power in the game room. Hoffman exclaims with surprise and starts calling out, “hey! What happened? Hello!”

Lucas ignores him as he hops out of his chair and hurries to the game room. He moves quickly and quietly, like a snake. He stabs a hook into the back of Clancy’s neck and two more into his right arm. They all have strings attached to them that run into the ceiling and come out in the control room.

Lucas hustles away and falls into his chair. He switches the power back on and Hoffman gasps with surprise.

“Sorry about that, Hoffman,” Lucas says, “musta been a power surge. But everything’s fine now. So what were we talking about?”

“You’re supposed to let me go!” Hoffman barks.

“Right, right,” Lucas nods, “okay, Hoffman. I’ll-.”

He yanks the strings attached to Clancy, throwing up his head and arm.

“Well, goddamn,” Lucas comments, “look at Clancy.”

He deepens his voice and flails Clancy’s arm around. “I’m Clancy and I feel fine. I don’t want to lose. I wanna play another round.”

“What the fuck!” Hoffman barks.

“Atta boy, Clancy,” Lucas cheers in his real voice. “You heard him, Hoffman. We gotta play another round.”

“You motherfucker!” Hoffman screams, “you said you’d let me go!”

“And I will,” Lucas says, “IF you beat Clancy.”

“You sick prick!” Hoffman shrieks while Lucas laughs maniacally.

He shuts off the game room’s power again and quickly sets up round two.

When the lights turn back on, Hoffman sees a large machine sitting beside the table. It has two arms that hang over the opponents’ trapped hands. Attached to the arms are gauges numbered 1 to 9 with a red skull after the 9. And sticking out of the gauges are prongs that poke the flesh of their hands.

Hoffman gets a real bad feeling looking at it.

“Voila!” Lucas chimes, “just a little something special I made for the occasion.”

“Figured it out yet?” he asks excitedly, “aww, I bet you can guess.”

A pair of rods on the main part of the machine starts spinning. The gauge moves to 4 and the prongs lift up.

They jab into Hoffman and Clancy’s hands, sending horrible shocks through their bodies. Hoffman screams in pain and convulses until the machine stops and the gauge drops down to zero.

Lucas laughs with sick amusement. “This puppy’s a relic from an execution chamber. I got it working again though,” he states proudly.

“See them gauges there? The current goes up every time you lose,” he explains. Then he puts on ‘Clancy’s’ voice and flails his arm about. “But, Lucas, what’s the bet?”

“Good question, Clancy,” Lucas says in his regular voice. “Look here.” A dial sitting on top of the gauges switches on revealing 01 in red.

“If you lose, the gauge will go up however many numbers the dial is showing,” Lucas explains then giggles, “at max power you’ll really ride the lightning.”

“Stop, this is crazy!” Hoffman cries.

“I’m gonna introduce something else to really spice things up,” Lucas says, ignoring him. Two smaller, green cards suddenly shoot out from the dealer machines in front of Hoffman and Clancy. Hoffman picks his up. One says ‘Two Up’ and the other says ‘Draw 6’. They both have a different set of rules written in the corners.

“These are trump cards,” Lucas explains, “you’ll get one each turn and, if you’re lucky enough, when you draw a card. If you’re going down, you can use these to pick yourself back up.”

“Now, let’s begin.” Lucas flails Clancy’s arm around and says in his Clancy voice, “it’s your turn now.”

“You’re really enjoying this, huh, you freak!” Hoffman barks. Away from the mic, Lucas is giggling maniacally.

The dealing machines at the end of the table deal out two cards to both opponents. One is flipped up, the other isn’t. Hoffman has a six and Clancy has a four. Hoffman looks at his face-down card. It’s a 7, so he has thirteen all together.

“Hit me,” he says. As long as it’s not a 9 or over, he’ll be good.

He gets a 5. Now he has 18. That’s a good number to stay on, depending on ‘Clancy’s’ next move.

Clancy’s limp arm flails about as Lucas’ fake voice comes through the speakers. “Gimme another.”

The machine spits out an 8. So now, as far as Hoffman can tell, ‘Clancy’ has a 12. His face down card can’t be 7 or 8 since they share the same deck. But if it’s a 9, Hoffman will be in trouble. On the other hand, if its anything higher or lower, ‘Clancy’ will lose this round.

That’s a rick Hoffman is willing to take. Maybe he can make the reward even greater.

Hoffman draws his ‘Two-up’ card. The rule says that when this card is on the table, the opponent’s bet goes up by two. So now Clancy’s dial is on 3.

“I’ll stay,” Hoffman grunts.

“Oh, boy,” Lucas says in his ‘Clancy’s’ voice. “I’m scared now.”

‘Clancy’ stays. The televisions behind him light up with the word ‘Showdown’ while Lucas chimes in over the speakers. “The winner is…” The screens change to show Clancy and Hoffman’s hands. Clancy has 17 and Hoffman has 18.

“Hoffman!” Lucas declares. The machine powers up as the prongs over Clancy’s hand lift up.

“Oh no!” Lucas cries dramatically in ‘Clancy’s’ voice. The prongs jab into his flesh. Clancy’s body thrashes violently from the force of the shock. Over the clamor, Hoffman can faintly hear Lucas’ giggling through the speakers.

The machine finally stops and Clancy’s limp body leans over. He would probably collapse all together if it weren’t for Lucas’ puppet strings holding him up.

“Let’s move onto the next round,” Lucas chimes.

The cards disappear back into the machine. There’s a brief pause before two new game cards and one trump card are dealt to both players. The dials on the machine also go up one.

Clancy’s face-up card is a 6. Hoffman’s is a 4 and his face-down card is an 8, so he has 12. His new trump card is another ‘Two-up’.

“Gimme another,” ‘Clancy’ says, his limp arm flailing around. He gets a 5. So as far as Hoffman knows, he has 11. If the face-down card is a 10, he’ll be in trouble.

“Hit me,” Hoffman says. He gets an 11. Hoffman flinches. He has 23; he’s over.

“I’ll stay,” ‘Clancy’ says. Not matter what he has, it must be lower than 23. Hoffman’s screwed.

“I’ll stay,” he croaks.

“The winner is…” Lucas purrs.

The screens change, revealing their hands. Hoffman has 23, Clancy has 18.

“Clancy!” Lucas cheers. “Uh oh, Hoffman. You get the consolation prize.”

Hoffman starts panicking as the machine powers up. “Wait! Stop!”

The prongs jab into his hand. He convulses and screams and chokes as the shock travels through his body. It only lasts a couple seconds but it feels like an eternity.

It finally stops. Hoffman leans over the table, panting and moaning in pain.

“Isn’t this a blast?” Lucas laughs excitedly while the new hand is dealt out. Hoffman’s new trump card is a ‘Draw 3’; his face-up card is a 7 and face-down card is a 4. Clancy’s face-up card is a 9.

The next few rounds are just as stressful and gut wrenching as the last few, if not more so. Every time his dial and gauge moves up, Hoffman feels sicker and sicker. Meanwhile, Lucas seems to be having the time of his life. And Clancy is still unresponsive. Not even the multiple electrical shocks jolt anymore life in him.

Lucas just worsens the situation by pretending to be Clancy. He’s constantly waving his limp arm about and saying things like, “who cares about your family? What about me?” or, “what are you being so selfish, Hoffman? I thought we were friends!”

Hoffman does his best to ignore him and focus on the game. Thankfully it should be ending soon. Because ‘Clancy’s’ used a couple ‘Two-up’ cards, Hoffman’s sitting at 5 with a bet of 4 while Clancy is on 6 with only a bet of 1. If Hoffman uses one of his ‘Two-up’ cards, then he only has to win this round and the next and it’ll all be over!

“A bit longer, just a bit longer,” Hoffman mutters as he puts down his ‘Two-up’ card. His hand is 20 and as far as he can tell, ‘Clancy’ only has 17. He’s feeling pretty confident.

The round ends and Lucas chimes over the speakers. “Alright, show ‘em, fellas.”

“It’s a…” The screen changes, showing they both have 20. “A draw!”

“A draw?” Lucas questions theatrically. “Well, I guess you both lose.”

“What?” Hoffman exclaims.

The machine powers up and both arms lift up and shock Hoffman and Clancy. Hoffman screams with agony as he convulses. When the shocks finally stop, he slumps over the table, gasping and weeping. He looks at the machine and watches helplessly as the gauge moves to the skull.

“Hoo hoo, this next jolt with set you off like a frog on a hot plate,” Lucas laughs.

They’re both sitting on the skull. This is it; the defining round. If Hoffman doesn’t win this, he’s dead. But if he does win, this will all be over.

Their hands get dealt out. Hoffman has a 2 and 4, the 4 face-down. Clancy’s face-up card is an 8.

Hoffman feels safe starting with a low hand like 6. No matter what he draws next, he can’t go over.

“Hit me,” he says. He gets a 9 so now he has 15.

“Gimme another,” ‘Clancy’ says. He gets a 7 so, as far as Hoffman can tell, he also has 15.

Hoffman needs a 6 to get 21 and so does Clancy. But for all Hoffman knows, Clancy might already have 21.

He goes through his trump cards and puts out the ‘Draw 6’. As long as Clancy doesn’t already have the 6, then Hoffman will get 21.

The 6 shoots out and Hoffman has to do his best to not jump for joy.

“I’ll stay,” he says, trying to keep his voice steady.

“I’ll stay,” ‘Clancy’ says.

“The winner is…” Lucas sings. The screens reveal their hands: Hoffman has 21, Clancy has 20.

“Hoffman!” Hoffman sighs with obvious relief. He starts to relax when he hears a voice from across the table.

“Huh? Wh-what’s going on?” Clancy mutters as he slowly blinks into consciousness. He sees the large machine and the prongs lifting over his hand.

“Wha-what’s happening? Stop! Stop!” Clancy cries as he tries to pull his hand out of the restraints. The prongs jab into his skin and his screams nearly shake the room.

Hoffman watches, horrified, as blood seeps through Clancy’s clothes and the eyeholes of his sack and smokes rises from his body. He doesn’t want to watch but he can’t look away.

The torture finally stops and Clancy slumps over without another sound, being help up only by the strings in the back of his neck.

Hoffman stares at Clancy’s limp body. There’s no sign of any breathing this time. He’s been fried.

“He’s dead now. He’s fucking dead, okay?” Hoffman snaps, “now let me go.”

“Okay, Hoffman,” Lucas says, “you won fair and square. Guess I’ll-.”

Clancy’s head is yanked up and his arm waves around. “Wait!” Lucas shouts in his fake ‘Clancy’ voice. “I can’t quit now. I’ve been through too much. One more round!”

“Clancy, you tough sonuvabitch,” Lucas comments, “well, Hoffman, you heard him. One more round!”

“No!” Hoffman barks, “I won! You can’t keep doing this!”

“You didn’t really think you could win MY game, did you?” Lucas sneers.

Hoffman falls back in his chair, hope leaving his body like the steam rolling off Clancy. Memories of his wife and daughter fade in his mind. He shrieks in despair, his cries bouncing off the walls and drowned out only by Lucas’ maniacal laughter.

He’s trapped forever; doomed to a lifetime of being this freak’s twisted plaything.

#Resident Evil 7 #Resident Evil 7 fanfiction #RE 7 #RE 7 fanfiction #Lucas Baker #my art

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kingfallshistoricallibrary-blog · 7 years ago

Text

Episode Sixteen: Santa Clause Ain’t Comin’ to Town

[podcast music]

[King Falls AM music]

B: You’re off the charts excited, Sammy. Are you sure this isn’t about Christmas vacation?

S: Not at all, I've just finally got something big to bring to the table spooky stuff wise, and I cannot wait-

B: You are glowing, man, I can’t wait to hear this.

S: Good evening, ladies and gents, and welcome to King Falls AM, that’s 660 on the AM dial. And this is our last show of the year, our last show before our big Christmas break, as Ben mentioned.

B: Lets not say big, it’s just a break, but we’ll be right back here literally on New Years Day. Thanks, Merv. But we’ve got a hell of a show for you.

S: Okay, can I just get a few minutes off the top to talk about today’s discovery?

B: I was literally just saying the floor is yours, Sammy.

S: Okay, alright, so you know sometimes I'm a little bit, uh, skeptical, when it comes to-

B: Literally everything, you are skeptical of every phenomenon that has crossed our paths.

S: I wouldn’t say every.

B: Oh, I would. Do you wanna recap? There was the alien abduction, the-

S: *laughing* No, no, no, I think you know your stuff, so, you should know that I'm very excited to bring my own bit of King Falls lore to the table tonight.

B: Before you press on, are you sure this is a good idea?

S: What do you mean?

B: I'm not trying to be, argumentative here, but the last time you brought in a find of your own like this, you brought Howard Ford Beauregard the Third into our lives.

S: That was a mistake, and we have talked about that.

B: I know, I'm just saying. Be super sure about this one, huh?

S: This is nothing like HFB3.

B: Then please continue, my friend.

S: So, I was out doing a little bit of shopping earlier today at the King Falls mall-

B: Was it crazy crowded? I still have to pick up something special for. My mom.

S: It was crowded, not Black Friday crowded, but nicely, darkly, opaque Tuesday, if you will.

B: Okay, cool.

S: We all know that gift is not for your mom, by the way.

B: Whatever.

S: So. I'm at the mall, I make my purchases, but I'm all worked up, I got an appetite, and I'm not gonna wait in line at the eatery with the Christmas people, you know? So I'm thinking, why not go the three minutes away to Frickard’s?

B: Traitor. But, I get it.

S: So I make the drive over to my favorite froggery, a number 5 fricassee with extra frog puppies-

B: You actually eat the frogs there, man? I heard they poach them directly from lake Hatchineha.

S: Don’t say that, they are a fine sponsor of the show.

B: Facts are facts.

S: Okay, so I get there and pulling up, right beside me, is this beautiful candy apple red corvette. It was a beauty, let me tell you, early 1960s, but the closer I look, the weirder it gets. It’s got bells, like sleigh bells, all over this thing-

B: Lets, uh, move on, Sammy.

S: So I look over at the driver, this bigger older gent steps out of the car, red suit, red tie, massive white beard.

B: Sammy, I think we should-

S: Tiny little glasses, rosy red cheeks, and the friendliest damn face I've ever seen. He introduced himself as Chris.

B: So you run into a mall Santa running late for work?

S: Oh, this was no mall Santa, Ben, this was the Santa. We made chit chat, and there was only one available table, so with it just being myself and him we took it-

B: You had lunch with a mall Santa.

S: Ben! He knew my name, without me saying it!

B: You’re a radio sensation, Sammy, lots of people know your name.

S: Do they know my childhood address? What I got for Christmas when I was six? I don’t think so.

B: Oh, jeez, you’ve got a Santa stalker, buddy. Either that, or Creepy Carl got released on bail. Moving forward-

S: He knew all this stuff, Ben. My wants, my likes, good things and bad things. Y'know I'm pretty protective of my personal life, Ben.

B: Yeah, I do, Shotgun.

S: This was Santa Claus, real as day, right here in King Falls. Not only that, but he told me that he actually vacations here part of the year! Think about that, the big guy hanging out here! Dude, why are you looking at me like this?

B: Do you know how many older gentleman in the world dress up as Santa Claus, Sammy? A lot. It’s a job for some folks. Some of them go to hospitals. It’s a big deal for some folks. This was one of those guys, just pulling your chain, Sammy. Santa living here part time is, *scoffs*, I doubt very, very seriously that this guy you met-

S: It was him. I don’t understand why you’re so hell bent on dismissing this. If a caller called in with this story, you’d be on a mission.

B: I'm not hell bent on dismissing you, I'm just looking at this from all angles, how about that?

S: Are you saying King Falls isn’t good enough for a Santa vacation home? A second house?

B: Not at all. That’s ludicrous….did he tell you I said that?

S: Ah ha! So you know I'm right.

B: No, Santa, I mean, mall dude Santas are tricky, I don’t trust them. Look at this wedge he’s driving, man.

S: You know something about this.

B: You want me to tell you what I know?

S: I do!

B: Here’s the scoop. I know you met some guy. I know he’s not Santa, because Santa would not go to Greg Frickard’s place to eat. I know-

S: You’re full of it.

B: You wanna put this to the callers? We can poll this thing out.

S: I think I do, Ben, this guy knew what I got for Christmas years ago. He knew about Wolfington the terrier, which I got for Christmas, as a kid, he knew it all.

B: Okay, King Falls, do you think Sammy met the real Santa Claus earlier today? Think about this, and give us a call. 424-279-3858.

S: You are on, buddy. I'm not gonna be the only person here-

B: Operation King Falls Kringle!

*banjo music*

Randy: Howdy y’all, it’s Randy Mcmullet from Mcmullet’s international palace of snake skin boots. And I'm here to let you know we’ve got some rattlin’ news for you. After this sensational success of black mamba Friday, it’s time to roll out our next deal of the year. This weekend it’s our annual secret Santa albino snake skin special. We’ll have all our whitesnake choices at our unbeatable dark snake prices. So slither on down, just outside of town, at the corner of route 72 and Old Bombing Range Road. Mcmullet’s International Palace of Snake Skin Boots. Where we fill your boots, with savings.

[King Falls AM music]

S: What the hell was that about?

B: It’s about saving money on boots, man.

S: No, whatever you yelled, right before the commercial.

B: I don’t know what you’re talking about, I sneezed.

S: I'm watching you.

B: Watch away, Sammy. Pick a line they’re all lit up! Like Christmas!

S: You’re way too smug, I don’t like this. Lucky. Line. One.

B: An excellent choice.

S: Good evening, you’re on with Sammy and Ben.

Cynthia: First off, Sammy, obviously you’re off your rocker. Santa lives in the north pole!

S: Hi Cynthia.

C: Secondly, are you for real shopping at the King Falls mall? Do you have a death wish?

B: What are you on about, Mrs. Higgenbaum?

S: It honestly wasn’t that busy.

C: I'm not talking about crowds! I'm talking about the gang of vampires that live in the mall. Just waiting for the perfect time to strike.

B: What?

C: Of course you wouldn’t know, Ben.

B: I'm pretty up to date on my-

C: Obviously you are not, or you’d know about the gang of vampires that live in the mall.

S: Cynthia, thanks for calling tonight, even if you are dead wrong about Santa. Now, would you like to expand about this, uh, the-

C: Gang of vampires.

S: Right.

B: How do you know they’re vampires, Cynthia?

C: Pale much? Check. Dark clothes? Check. Never ever out in the light of day? Check!

Ben and Sammy overlapping: Talking about hot topic, aren’t you?

C: They just glare at you, soulessly, when you walk in! Eyeing you up and down, probably looking for a good vein.

S: Or a neck tattoo.

C: This is not to be made light of, Sammy, you’ll see.

B: They’re just goth kids, Mrs. Higgenbaum.

C: Oh please! Like you know! Let the record state that when King Falls is overran in a lost boys type fashion by these emo vampires, that I tried to warn you. And you just laughed!

S: What do you recommend, Cynthia, should we stock up on garlic and stakes?

B: I think just knowing our parents loved us enough should do the trick.

C: Laugh it up, you dumbs. You know I hate telling I told you so, but I will tell your ass I told you so so fast! Merry Christmas!

*hang up noise*

B: So, we’ll count that as a no. Oh and one, Sammy.

S: Line five, welcome to King Falls AM.

Finn: Hey Sammy, hey Ben!

S: Hey Finn, long time no talk buddy! You doing alright?

F: Oh yeah, never better. Just had to get a couple of shots, y’know?

B: That’s good to hear, Finn. What’s your take on this?

F: Oh, I was actually just phoning ‘cause I wanted to tell you fellas Merry Christmas before it was too late.

B: Merry Christmas to you too, Finn. Stay safe out there on the roads.

F: You know it.

S: Thanks for calling in, Finn, and y’know we’re glad that you’re feeling better. We were pretty worried about you.

F: Aww, you fellas! Howl at the moon one little time and you guys get all worried.

S: It was more than once, Finn.

F: You know what I'm saying. It’s not like I'm going to sleep and waking up naked in a field somewhere with chicken feathers and god knows what all over me...on the regular.

S: That...is...uh. Good to hear, Finn.

F: Just every now and then, y’know?

B: Okay. You, you take care of yourself. Happy holidays.

F: You know it!

*hang up noise*

B: That was another-

S: Don’t count that. Finn didn’t comment on it either way.

B: I’ll mark it as “Switzerland”. Another call?

S: You bet your ass another call. You pick a line.

B: Uhhh, line three, good evening and welcome to-

Hershel Baumgardner: You goofy sons of b**** hung up on me last time I called! When I get my dick beaters on you, there’ll be hell to pay!

B: Uh, we must have been having phone difficulties, Hershel, we would never...did you call during the electrolocaust?

HB: I called two damn weeks ago Ben Arnold, don’t you electric holocaust me. You gotta wake up pretty damn early in the morning to scoot one past Hershel F. Baumgardner.

S: Hershel, we are so sorry the phones were malfunctioning last time you called. Are you on tonight to talk about Santa's appearance and possible living in King Falls?

HB: Santa who? Santa Livingston? I haven’t heard from that son of a b*** since the beaches of Normandy.

S: Santa Claus, Hershel.

Hb: No! I ain't here to talk about no Santy Claus. You two need to grow the f**** up.

B: What’s on your mind, Hershel?

HB: Don’t rush me, you two toned pecker sniff. I’ll get to it when I get to it.

S: Hershel, do you think-

HB: Motherf****. I had it before you opened your damn trap. I’ll ring you later when I can think of it, and you better not hang up on me again.

S: You do that, Hershel, if we don’t hear back from you before then, have a Merry Christmas.

HB: You two going somewheres?

B: It’s our Christmas break, but we’ll be back live on New Year’s Day.

HB: You know what my generation called breaks?

S: They weren’t just breaks?

HB: We called it being f***ing dead, ‘cause that’s the only break you get in life, you free loadin’ radio commies. Enjoy your break, and vacay or whatever you pansy bastards call it.

B: Happy holidays to you too, Hershel.

HB: I didn’t kill Hitler to say happy f***ing holidays…*trails off, mumbling*

*hang up noise*

S: Ladies and gentleman, Ben and I are talking about the appearance of Santa here in King Falls earlier today. I was told from the jolly one himself that he enjoys staying in the Falls quite a bit when he isn’t in the busy season. Ben says otherwise.

B: Have you or anyone you know ran into this phoney Santa saying he’s squating here? If you have, give us as call *cough*OperationKingFallsKringle*cough*

S: I knew you were up to something!

B: Please, you’re paranoid because you’re losing. Line two, this is King Falls AM.

Troy: Hey fellas, Merry Christmas! Or Happy Hanukkah, if that’s the way your dreidel spins, or have a good Kwanzaa, etc and so on.

S: Merry Christmas, Troy.

B: Are you not supposed to call us on duty?

T: I'm on break, Ben, dammit all. Don’t start. I'm calling to tell you something important.

B: This again? You’re a broken record. Bye, Troy.

S: Don’t. Let him speak.

B: *scoffs* Whatever.

T: Thanks, Sammy. And right off the bat, I wanna tell you I believe you saw what you say you saw.

B: Troy! Come on! You know the drill!

T: I'm not saying he was or he wasn’t. I'm just saying if you saw him, I believe you. Maybe a man just wants to lay low, far away from the spotlight. I mean, King Falls is a heck of a town to retire to.

S: Mark that down, Ben.

B: He’s only saying it just to spite me.

T: That ain’t close to true, and you know it Ben Arnold. Now if you’ll permit me, I've got a gift for you.

B: If this is your friendship, I hope you kept the receipt.

T: It’s actually not that. Though it’s ripe for the picking whenever you want it, Ben.

B: Don’t hold your breath.

S: Come on. Do you wanna bring it by the station Troy?

B: Don’t.

T: Well, the problem is that I bought it online and I'm, I'm having it shipped here, and well...seems it's going to be a little late.

B: Of course it is. You can’t even get a Christmas present right, try. Just give it up.

T: We were best buds growing up. I ain't giving up on that. Or you. I mean, you’ll see. You and me we’ll be back where we started just as sure you can say pickled pied piper.

B: Next caller.

T: That’ll work too. Well, I’ll quit yacking and make like a shepherd and get the flock out of here.

S: Take care, Troy. Merry Christmas to you and yours, buddy.

B: Bye already.

T: Catch you later, future buddy.

*hang up noise*

B: We have time for one or two more before break, you wanna keep going or give it up?

S: By my count, we’re tied.

B: Glutton for punishment. Call it.

S: I'm gonna go back to lucky line one. Happy holidays, you’re on King Falls AM.

??: Hey man, I wanna talk about this Kris Kringle business.

S: We’re all ears, sir. Have you seen him around town, or am I just being fooled by a facetious Saint Nick?

??: The way I see it, uh-

B: Hey, who are we speaking with?

??: That don’t matter none.

B: Right. Uh, what were you saying, sir?

??: I just think that a man wants to lie low in a place where he’s not gonna get bothered, or pestered, or recognized, then good for him. Maybe life got too stressful, or he didn’t wanna buy a caddy for everyone he met. Hell, maybe he followed the love of his life to this small podunk crazy haunted town. Maybe it’s because he found out that Rose makes the best peanut butter banana sandwich you ever laid eyes on.

S: Are we still talking about Santa Claus, sir?

??: Of course.

S: Okay. It just seemed like maybe we were talking about somebody else for a second. Like yourself.

??: Don’t be cruel, Sammy. I'm just a teddy bear. A teddy bear with nothing to hide. I say if old Saint Nick wants to hang out in this spooky place then so be it. We can’t have *singing* suspicious minds *back to normal voice* about it. Just let it be.

B: Sir, I, I don’t wanna make this about you, but you sound a lot like the king of rock, and, I-

??: Yeah, little less conversation, Ben.

*hang up noise*

S: I'm just gonna say that I think that guy knows what he’s talking about, Ben.

B: Still doesn’t mean anything.

S: Why are you fighting me so hard on this, Ben?

B: Okay, I'm not saying you’re right-

S: But I'm right.

B: But, but! If somebody as important as Santa Claus were to have a vacation home or hide away spot in King Falls, and he doesn’t!

S: And he does.

B: But...maybe it’s for a reason. Like a specific reason. Like, maybe he doesn’t wanna be bothered with a bag of mail every day. An email address overflowing with wants and needs. Non-union worker issues. Maybe the wife wants a place to escape the hustle and bustle of the great white north a few times a year without TMZ knocking on the door. If that were the case, and I, I don’t think it would be fair to call attention to it.

S: If that were the case.

B: Right. If that were the case. Now, I do not think that’s the case at all, I mean this is a case of mistaken identity. Or maybe you were tricked by a chubby, merrier than thou prankster who is just too friendly to not keep the appearances. But. I don’t think you really saw the real deal here. And he certainly wouldn’t live in King Falls for a few weeks every year if you did see him.

S: Huh. Maybe...maybe I was mistaken?

B: It could have been anybody.

S: I think you’re onto something, Ben. I think I was, uh. Huh. I think was misled.

B: Maybe so.

S: Oh, well. Okay then.

B: We good?

S: Yeah, I think we’re good. Uh. So I hear we got a hell of a show lined up for tonight, is that right?

B: Ha! Better believe it, buddy. Right after the break,- *ho, ho, ho!*

S: Sorry about that folks, somebody must owe Chet some money. Ladies and gentlemen, thanks for hanging out with us on this chilly winter’s night. We’re just getting started here, but we’re gonna take a quick break to pay some bills. If we don’t hear from you before then, Merry Christmas to you and yours from King Falls AM.

??: Merry Christmas!

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ayma-nidiot · 4 years ago

Text

In the White Light - Prideshipping fanfic Chapter 13

Also on AO3.

Chapter 13 – Honeymoon In Hell

Ignoring the events of a few hours prior, Kaiba led the way down the main corridor, which thankfully was now free of monsters. Upon arriving at the apparent main chamber of the lair, he was disappointed to learn that nothing was there, except for a bunch of stone carvings on the walls and floors.

“Guess this is better than those creepy snake statues we’ve been seeing,” Tristan remarked of this new room.

Téa squinted at the carvings, and pointed at them. “I wouldn’t bet on that! Look closer!”

“Oh…” Yami Yugi took note of the carvings too.

“Mai, Weevil, Joey… Everyone we know is up there! They must be the people whose souls were taken!” Téa exclaimed.

“It’s… It’s Yugi…” Yami Yugi shook at the sight of his other self, and only calmed when Kaiba held his hand firmly.

“This is it, Pharaoh… This is when we finally bring that Dartz bastard down. Now is not the time to be afraid,” Kaiba reassured.

“Oh? A bastard, am I? Can’t think of any original insults?” a voice echoed throughout the chamber.

“Who cares?” Kaiba growled, knowing full well who this person was. “Now show yourself!”

Fire from the two largest torches in the room mixed together, creating a pillar of light from which Dartz came.

“And now, the bastard has arrived.” Dartz cackled quietly as he took a few steps forward. “And he’s come to add your souls to his wonderful collection!”

“Your occult nonsense isn’t going to scare me!” Kaiba snarled.

“I’ve asked you before, and I’ll ask again… Release our friends this instant!”

“Even if I wanted to – and I don’t – it’s not going to happen. Their souls are already long gone, consumed by the Great Leviathan! Along with the other souls I’ve collected over the years! But maybe after dueling me, you’ll believe this ‘occult nonsense,’ dearest Mr. Kaiba.”

“Disgusting piece of shit…” Before Kaiba could get any angrier, he readied his Duel Disk. “When I’m through with you, there will be nothing left of you for even Leviathan to take!”

“My love, I’m right beside you.” Yami Yugi whispered as he did the same with his own Duel Disk.

“I can finally do what my careless employees could not – capture two powerful souls for the price of one!”

“Shut up and let’s duel!” Kaiba drew his first card, declaring himself to be the first player. “I activate White Dragon Ritual to summon Paladin of White Dragon, which I will then sacrifice to summon my Blue-Eyes White Dragon!”

“Well, that certainly didn’t take you long to summon your favourite monster.” Dartz wasn’t scared by this powerful monster.

“I can��t attack on my first turn, so I’ll let my boy- I mean, my partner take over now.”

“I’ll summon my Black Luster Soldier using Black Luster Ritual!”

“Hehehe…” Mokuba couldn’t be prouder of his brother. “Already there are two major league monsters on the field! What’cha gonna do, Dartz?”

“What all of us servants of the Orichalcos do, you ignorant little boy!” Dartz raised his Seal of Orichalcos card in the air, and instantly the atmosphere became cold.

“Dartz, don’t do it!” Yami Yugi pleaded.

“None of you should be surprised! I now summon Orichalcos Gigas, then I will pay 500 life points to summon Orichalcos Kyutora.”

“Not that monster again…” Yami Yugi recalled his previous encounter.

“What do you mean, ‘again?’” Kaiba didn’t understand Yami Yugi’s worries. “Well, it doesn’t matter. Quite frankly, Dartz, I’ve overestimated you. If these weak-ass monsters are all you have to offer, then allow me to teach you that the strongest always win! I play Polymerization to summon…. Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!”

“No matter. I’ll easily destroy it before you can summon that pretty, shiny dragon of yours.”

So he knows. “Who says that I’m going to summon Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon?”

Yami Yugi smiled at his boyfriend, thankful for the opportunity to play a monster just as powerful. “I will also use Polymerization to summon… Master of Dragon Soldier! Now, Dragon Soldier, attack the Orichalcos Gigas!”

Kaiba and Yami Yugi uttered at the same time, “Saber Blast!”

“Aww, aren’t they absolutely adorable together?” Mokuba cheered, barely quiet enough for Dartz to not hear. “Not just as boyfriends, but as a dream team of duelists!”

“Hmph. Whatever you say.” Téa noticed that the arena became engulfed in a blinding light. “Hey! Where did they go?”

“I think I know,” Tristan cut in. “It’s probably one of those long-ass vision quests that the pharaoh sometimes has.”

“Thanks, Captain Obvious…” Téa sighed and looked to the arena again. “Oh lookit, now they’re back.”

“You are correct, young man!” Dartz heard from the other side. “The details of said vision quest are absolutely none of your business, so let’s focus on the duel at hand. Yes, my Orichalcos Gigas has been defeated, but thanks to my Orichalcos Kyutora’s special ability, I didn’t lose any life points. And as long as I skip my draw phase, my Orichalcos Gigas can revive itself, coming back 500 attack points stronger! But there’s more… I now use my Orichalcos Deuteros spell card!”

“Kaiba, look…” Yami Yugi alerted Kaiba to the Seal below their feet. “Now there’s a second circle to the Seal of Orichalcos… But what does it mean?”

“It means that I may gain 500 life points each turn for each monster I have on the field! Now, I attack your Dragon Soldier with my Orichalcos Gigas!”

Kaiba now contemplated his next move as Gigas came back with 2000 attack points. Normally, I would say he’s an idiot for self-destructing his monster like that, but the Gigas is only going to get stronger from here. If I can just find a way to attack Dartz’s life points directly… “I place a card face down and summon Blade Knight! I have only one card in my hand, so he gains 400 attack points!”

Atem declared, “Now it’s my-”

“Whoaaa there, Yugi, I didn’t say I was finished. I will sacrifice this monster to activate my Reflect Energy spell. Now you can attack the satellite I’ve created so Dragon Knight may attack Dartz’s life points directly.”

As Yami Yugi declared his attack, Dartz spoke, “Is that what you think? Because my Orichalcos Deuteros also protects me from direct attacks to my life points. Not only that, but the attack is reflected back at you!”

“I don’t think so, Dartz! I activate Defusion, and now my fusion monster is separated into its individual parts!”

“Hah. You’re spared for now, pharaoh. I play my Orichalcos Mirror and sacrifice a monster from my hand. I can summon my Mirror Knight Calling Crystal which allows me to summon four knights at once! Even better, two of them can obtain the same power as your monsters! So say goodbye to your powerful monsters… as the two remaining knights attack your life points directly!”

“Okay, maybe now I’ll start to take you seriously…” Kaiba didn’t let the minor anxiety he had slip in his voice. “I activate Card of Demise! If I discard my entire hand in five turns, I may draw five cards. I’ll use Silent Doom so that I may summon Blade Knight from the Graveyard, then I’ll sacrifice him to summon… Kaiser Glider! Since it can’t be destroyed by a monster with the same attack power, it’s the perfect counter to your Mirror Knights, don’t you think so? I’ve set a card, so I’ll end my turn.

“Yes, I think so,” replied Yami Yugi as he drew one of his most powerful traps, Mirror Force. “I’ll place a card face down, then I’ll summon Big Shield Gardna in defense mode.”

Before Dartz could make his move, Kaiba spoke up, “Yes, you’ve just gained 3000 life points, but now my trap Ring of Destruction activates! I pay 500 life points so that your knights can’t come back when they’re destroyed.”

“Ha… Hahahahaha!”

Yami Yugi raised an eyebrow. “You’re acting like that’s a good thing.”

“It is – for me, not for you. Take a closer look at the true identity of these knights!”

“What are you talking about?” Yami Yugi squinted at the knights, now without their helmets, and didn’t want to believe what he saw. “It’s… It’s Yugi, Joey, Mai, and Pegasus! Our friends!”

“Yes, and if you don’t defeat your friends, then you have no hope of defeating me! But don’t worry, pharaoh, at least you get to die by their hands. Now, Yugi, attack the pharaoh’s life points directly!”

Yugi simply shook his sword in his hand and declared point-blank, “No.”

“Figures you’d be disobedient in the face of your pharaoh. But mark my words, that will change! I’ll set one card then end my turn.”

How interesting… Not that I give a frog’s fat ass about those dweebs. “I will use Pot of Greed! This allows me to-”

“Draw two cards.” Dartz rolled his eyes. “Anyone with an iota of understanding of Duel Monsters knows that.”

“I’ll use Cost Down so that I may summon my Different Dimension Dragon without tributing! Furthermore, it can’t be destroyed by a monster with less than 1900 attack points. Now that that’s out of the way… Kaiser Glider, attack Mai- Huh?”

“Joey…” Téa spoke up as the shield of the knight resembling her friend shattered. “He protected her!”

“Leave it to Wheeler to get in my way,” Kaiba scoffed as he set a card. “But whatever. They’re all going down either which way. Right, Yugi?”

“…” Yami Yugi hadn’t even drawn a card yet.

“Yugi?”

“I…” Yami Yugi drew a card. “I end my turn.”

“You damned fool!” Kaiba admonished. “We have to defeat those monsters if we’re to have any hope against Dartz!”

“A fool he is indeed! I use my magic card Twin Bow Centaur,” Dartz spoke as this spell card enveloped both Joey and Kaiba’s Kaiser Glider. “Maybe if you’re lucky, your friend Joseph will survive this turn… What am I saying? I’m going to be the lucky one either way! …You see, pharaoh? Thanks to your incompetence, your dueling partner’s life points stand at a mere 600, and the Kaiser Glider is now gone.”

“Oh, I’ll more than make up for his incompetence!” Kaiba pointed to Joey.

“You sure you want to do that, Kaiba? It’s an innocent soul you’re about to destroy.”

“I really don’t give a shit. As the president of the richest company in this country, that’s something I do all the time. Different Dimension Dragon, attack Wheeler!”

To Kaiba’s dismay, Yugi had stepped in this time, and his shield shattered too. “Oh my gods… It really is them!” Téa exclaimed.

“I… use Mystical Space Typhoon to remove your Centaur from the field and end my turn.”

“PHARAOH!” Kaiba had finally had enough of Yami Yugi’s hesitation. “Jesus fuck, you need to attack!”

“I can’t!” Yami Yugi cried as his first lover’s quarrel had started. “You couldn’t ever understand… not unless you had close friends like I do.”

Kaiba nearly regretted his choice of words, if only for the sake of his boyfriend.

“Kaiba, you really need to clean up your language. My Orichalcos Malevolence will see to that! Say goodbye to the rest of your life points as it attacks your Different Dimension Dragon!”

“Not happening!” spoke Kaiba. “I activate Attack Guidance Barrier, directing the attack at Big Shield Gardna and raising his defense to 3200.”

“Kaiba…” Yami Yugi felt glad that at last, he had gotten through to Kaiba, or so he wanted to believe. “I’ll switch Big Shield Gardna back to defense mode, set two cards, and end my turn.”

“So it seems that the pharaoh has finally poisoned your mind with that annoying thing called ‘friendship.’ Enjoy it for the few seconds before-”

Just then, a loud sound of a motorcycle sounded throughout the arena – along with an unexpected familiar voice. “Raaaaah! Go to hell, Dartz!”

“Oh!” Dartz had shown a brief moment of weakness as he barely dodged the motorcycle, which had crash landed right in the arena. “…Oh. Well, if it isn’t our good ol’, supposedly dead Rafael and his Guardian Eatos. How kind of you to come here just to offer up your soul!”

“Rafael…” Before Yami Yugi could process what had just happened, the Orichalcos had already taken Rafael’s soul. “He was alive this whole time… and now…”

“Just a minor inconvenience for me. Too bad he couldn’t behold my Orichalcos Tritos, which increases my by-turn life points even more and forces your Different Dimension Dragon into attack mode!”

Kaiba raised a hand. “Doesn’t matter, because I activate my Shrink card!”

“Waste of time! My Orichalcos Tritos can nullify magic and trap cards, which means that nothing can stop me now from destroying the rest of your life points!”

“My Ambush Shield will!” declared Yami Yugi. “I’ll sacrifice Big Shield Gardna, transferring his defense points to Different Dimension Dragon’s attack points! Now your Orichalcos Malevolence is no more.”

“But thanks to my Orichalcos Kyutora, my life points are still safe.” Dartz glared at Yami Yugi. “And now you’re left completely defenseless. Why waste such a wall of a monster on Kaiba? He’s such a cruel, ruthless man who would so easily kill your friends! Why not just let his soul get taken? Is your dueling partner worth that much to you?”

Yami Yugi fearlessly spoke, “Yes. He may seem like a cruel, ruthless man to you… But to me, he is my everything. He is my rival… my friend… and the man I will adore through the end of time.”

“Hah… Hahahaha! Talk about opposites attracting! How cute! Then maybe the both of you can enjoy your honeymoon in hell!”

Kaiba felt uneasy at the look Dartz now gave him. “What’s so funny, Dartz?”

“The fact that you think you can hide your relationship with the pharaoh – and the unspeakable things you did to him in my lair - from me.”

“Dartz!”

Dartz ignored Yami Yugi’s warning growl. “Why so flustered, pharaoh? Scared of your friends knowing that you like being fondled by a dragon tail?”

“Dude, that’s bigtime TMI,” Tristan and Téa spoke in unison.

“S-Seto…” Mokuba couldn’t hold back a snicker.

“Shut up, Mokuba!” Kaiba didn’t like everyone’s lack of attention towards the duel. “If you’re done with the kinkshaming, Dartz, then make your move!”

“Trust me, I haven’t forgotten about the duel. And my four Mirror Knights haven’t forgotten either!”

While Mai, Joey, and Yugi were far gone enough to willingly attack their life points directly, Pegasus hesitated when it was his turn. “Psst… Yugi boy.”

“Pegasus? You’re… awake?”

“Not really. I just wanted to remind you of that special card I gave you. You remembered to put it in your deck, yes?”

“Yes… Now get back before Dartz finds out what’s been keeping you back!”

“Yet another annoyance from my knights… Tch. I set a card and end my turn.”

The friendship bull again, huh? For once, I’m thankful for it. Kaiba hesitated during his draw phase.

Yami Yugi knew just the card Kaiba was hoping for. “My love, if there was ever a time for the heart of the cards, this is it.”

“Is it now? Since it’s coming from you…” Kaiba drew a card, and sure enough, it was just the one he needed. “I fuse the Fang of Critias with my boyfriend’s Mirror Force… Now say hello to Mirror Force Dragon! My dragon, attack Mirror Knight Pegasus!”

“What a fool! Why would you attack the last knight with a shield?”

“Because in doing so, I activate Mirror Force Dragon’s special ability so I can reflect the attack right back at all four of your knights!”

“Kaiba…” Yami Yugi watched in the horror of his friends shattering and elected to pass his turn.

“Babe, it’s okay. They’re just holograms. Your real friends would never attack you and you know it.”

“Maybe you’re right, maybe you’re not.” Despite this massive attack, Dartz still had one monster on the field. “As always, my Orichalcos Kyutora absorbs all damage. Now that it’s destroyed, I can Special Summon three monsters from my deck: Orichalcos Shunoros, Orichalcos Dexia, and Orichalcos Aristeros!”

“A-Am reading that right?!�� Téa took a look at the attack point counter.

“It’s got 20000 points!” Tristan shouted.

“Big bro…” Mokuba could sense an ill omen. “Is this… the end?”

“Dexia is always 300 attack points higher than its opponent, while Aristeros can retaliate any attack directed at it. A perfect sword and shield combo, yes? And before you even think about simply not attacking, my Martyr Curse will force you to attack my monster, special abilities be damned! There go the rest of your life points!”

“Ah…” Kaiba could feel his consciousness dwindle as his Different Dimension Dragon was no more. “I… I activate a trap…” Though his soul was mostly gone, Kaiba held on enough energy to talk. “Wish of Final Effort… to give the pharaoh 1200 life points.”

“Kaiba!” Yami Yugi began to quiver in fear as he rushed to Kaiba’s side. The light of Kaiba’s eyes left him and his skin felt cold. “Please, say something…”

“I’m sorry… that I couldn’t keep my promise… I guess I’m not here to stay. I fought too hard. Please, babe, finish the duel.” So spoke Kaiba as he used the last of his strength to give Yami Yugi a kiss before his soul was taken.

“No! My love, don’t leave me…” Flashbacks of 3000 years ago began to set in while Yami Yugi cried. “Not… Not again…”

“Heh…” Dartz raised his right arm forward as Kaiba’s soulless body rose with it. “This third-rate duelist couldn’t even summon his Shining Dragon. And you! You have utterly failed as a pharaoh! The Shadow Games… The return of the monsters… All of it is your fault!”

“Leave him alone!” Yami Yugi’s usual composure began to unravel even further.

“Gladly!” With a swift motion, Dartz hurled Kaiba outside of the Seal’s dome, and in so doing knocked over the spectators.

“My love… My friends…” Yami Yugi stared at his now passed out friends.

“My, my… Whatever happened to that fighter’s spirit of yours, pharaoh? I admit, though, that it’s fun to watch you break down like this.”

Yami Yugi wiped his tears before standing again, glowering at Dartz. “I swear to the gods of Egypt that I will make you pay for what you’ve done, Dartz! Soon the Orichalcos will be no more!”

#yugioh #ygo #prideshipping #kaiba x yami yugi #kaiba x atem #fanfiction

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imagine-loki · 7 years ago

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By The Willow Shade

TITLE: By The Willow Shade CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: Chapter 9 AUTHOR: MaliceManaged ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine being a witch (on Earth) and accidentally summoning Loki. He gets angry and confused, but ends up actually liking your company and teaches you more magic. RATING: T

_________________________

Thor left a little while later, and Loki had pulled Willow into a seat by the fireplace, sat across for her then proceeded to make her tell him about everything that happened in the time they’d been apart. Willow told him about the argument with her mother (leaving out the part where she’d slapped her, of course), the usual deal with her fellow classmates, and how she’d passed her final exams with mostly A’s and B’s (which he made sure to express how proud he was of). Loki listened to her ramble on about a band she’d discovered and the last book she read with a slight smile on his face; he had truly missed this. He knew most of what she told him (and many things she didn’t) from the news Heimdall sent him, but he liked the way she expressed her thoughts and feelings; it was so distinctly her.

After a while, Willow finished recounting and turned the conversation to him. “So; what’ve you been up to?”

“Why; trying to take over the realm, of course!” Loki replied lightly, to which she laughed, and then spoke more seriously. “I’ve been reading, working on new spells - and no, I will not teach you,” He said as Willow opened her mouth, earning a pout. “I’ve also had to endure Thor’s sudden interest in my daily life, which he continuously denied had anything to do with Odin ordering him to check in on me and report to him afterwards.”

Willow briefly considered telling him about what Odin had told her then thought better of it. “Aww, poor you; that must have been truly horrible,” She said jokingly.

“Oh, it was. I know not how I survived it,” Loki joked back.

Willow burst into laughter again then shuffled across the seat towards him and settled against his side. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders instinctively and they gazed into the fire in comfortable silence.

After a long while, Willow spoke softly. “I missed you.”

“And I you,” Loki replied just as softly.

****

They had lunch in Loki’s chambers with only each other for company, but when the time came for dinner Thor dropped by to tell them that they were both expected in the feast hall, which immediately soured Loki’s mood as he had been hoping to have Willow to himself for the rest of the day. His concern wasn’t entirely selfish, though; he knew there would be questions regarding the teenager, and Willow didn’t exactly like being crowded. It was inevitable that she’d be met with much curiosity considering she’d be there for two months, but Loki still wanted to spare her as much unwanted attention as possible. In the end, it wasn’t as though they had much choice, and so after Willow changed out of the green sundress and black crop-top she was wearing and into the dress she’d worn her first time in the realm, they followed after Thor.

Even before entering the room Willow could tell there were a lot of people in it (the noise was a dead giveaway), and she bit her bottom lip and tried to stamp down the nervousness that was beginning to bubble up inside her; she didn’t like being the centre of attention and it was more than likely she would be for a while at least, though she could at least console herself with the knowledge that the staring would have more to do with the fact that she was human and not her albinism. Still, she would have preferred to stay in Loki’s rooms over this.

Loki noticed her unease and hooked two fingers around two of hers, getting her attention. “You’ll be fine, lítið einn.” He leaned down slightly so she could hear him as he lowered his voice. “If anyone gives you trouble; you can always turn them into frogs.”

Willow tried and mostly failed to suppress a laugh. “Got it.”

Loki grinned then led the way in. The scent of food that assaulted Willow’s nostrils made her mouth water; she hadn’t even realised she was that hungry. As they walked through the room conversations ceased as people noticed them and subsequently turned curious eyes to her, causing Willow to speed up her steps a bit to walk closer to Loki. It wasn’t that she was worried anyone would hurt her, but she didn’t want to risk anyone talking to her just yet and knew most would be wary of approaching the younger prince.

They reached a table at the head of the room without incident and Loki sat Willow down between himself and Thor then proceeded to fill her plate with things he figured she would like, not really thinking about his actions, before filling his own plate. Odin watched him from his seat next to Thor, a corner of his lips turning up ever so slightly, before returning to his own meal. Willow speared a piece of meat on her fork, took a somewhat tentative bite, and then proceeded to wolf the rest of it down after deciding she liked it with a speed that surprised Thor and made Loki roll his eyes.

“Do remember to chew every so often; will you?” Loki commented sarcastically.

“Where’s the fun in that?” Willow replied through a mouthful while reaching for her cup of… she didn’t really know what yet.

“Suit yourself, but when you begin choking to death, I won’t help you,” Loki said; grabbing her cup first to check its contents before handing it to her after seeing that it was not alcohol.

Willow gulped down half the contents of the cup then scoffed. “Sure you would; you’d be too bored without me around.”

At that Loki and Odin chuckled and Thor burst into laughter, earning a few stares from the other people at the table and a few nearby. Sif and the Warriors Three, who were in the seats across from them, looked between the teenager and Loki curiously, save for Volstagg, who was laughing along with Thor.

“I am not the only who thinks this a bit bizarre; am I?” Fandral asked his fellows; taking care to keep his voice low enough so as to not be heard across the table.

“You are not,” Sif replied, “I’m not convinced Loki’s intentions towards that girl are benign.”

“You propose we keep an eye on them when we can?” Hogun guessed.

“I know I will,” Sif replied.

“Well, that’s settled then,” Fandral said; agreeing with Sif.

“I warn you, my friends; leave them be, lest you incur Loki’s wrath,” Volstagg warned knowingly, “And trust me; this will not be like times past.”

“We know well your thoughts on the matter, Volstagg; that doesn’t mean we agree with them,” Sif replied.

Volstagg shrugged. “Suit yourselves.”

As Volstagg returned to his food Fandral turned to Willow. “Willow; wasn’t it?” She gave him a nod. “I’m curious; how did you meet Loki?”

Willow looked at Loki, who shrugged uncaringly, and then turned back to Fandral. “I accidentally summoned him to my house.”

They all looked at her in surprise. “That is quite a feat; especially for a mortal, and one so young,” Sif said.

“I got lucky,” Willow dismissed, looking down at her plate, “I didn’t know what I was doing.”

“Luck may have played a part, but such an act requires no small degree of talent,” Odin said, “Talent that should not be so easily dismissed.”

Willow blushed. “Really; it’s not that big a deal. I could’ve ended up summoning any number of creatures instead,” She said sheepishly.

“You don’t take very well to compliments; do you?” Fandral asked somewhat amusedly.

“I don’t get them much,” Willow replied.

“More like you choose not to hear them now,” Loki commented.

“Oh, shut up,” Willow said with a slight laugh.

“Where’s the fun in that?” Loki used her own words against her with a smirk.

“I don’t think I like you anymore,” Willow retorted jokingly, earning a laugh from the Trickster.

****

After dinner Loki had to return to his chambers and Willow followed him, not quite ready to be around so many strangers by herself. As promised, Loki showed her how to fill the bathtub, and she basked in the warm water contentedly while he left for his own. When she was done and dressed for bed she walked out to the bedchamber to find Loki lounging on one of the beds, one of his legs hanging off the edge, resting his head on one arm while the other tossed a round object up in the air before catching it.

“Don’t you have your own bedroom?” Willow teased.

“Technically; these are all my rooms,” Loki retorted easily. He sat up then patted the spot next to him. Once she walked over and sat down he presented the object - a glassy-looking orb - to her. “I found this among my things, and I would like you to have it.”

Willow took the orb and turned it over, examining it; it was the size of her hand and at first glance dark, almost black, but when it caught the light it seemed to shimmer with colour. It reminded her of an opal or a prism, and it was very calming to look at. She also felt a subtle hum of energy from it; it was soothing, and she felt her troubles begin to melt away the longer she held it.

“Pretty…” Willow said then looked back up at Loki. “What is it?”

“A gift from my mother,” Loki replied. He placed a hand on the orb. “I used to have terrible nightmares as a child; she gave me this to soothe my mind.”

“Well, then why are you giving it to me?” Willow asked.

Loki looked at her fondly. “Because I don’t need it anymore.” He leaned down to kiss the top of her head. “I’ve found something better.”

#Loki #God of Mischief #Others #Submitted fic #submission #by the willow shade #chapter 9 #malicemanaged #witch #earth #summoning #angry #confusing #liking #company #teaches #magic

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starpiper3 · 8 years ago

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Saving Faith

Chapter 1: Lost and Found

Chapter 2: Last Few Words

Chapter 3: Keeping Secrets

Chapter 4: A Fresh Start?

Chapter 5: Saving Faith

“Honestly though, do frogs even have feelings? They just sit there!” Tracer exclaimed. She always had something to talk about and always seemed to get a good laugh out of everyone. Especially D.va, who was currently in tears.

“My god Tracer,” she said snorting in hysterics.

“That was the funniest thing you’ve said yet!” Winston bellowed.

It was then the group noticed someone walk back into the room.

“Hey guys, did I miss any thing...” Soldier said scanning the room as he sat down in his seat once more. It quickly became so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. Everyone held a face of astonishment, his obliviousness shocked them. When he couldn't find Mercy’s lovely face anywhere, he started to panic, “where did...”

The room remained silent, but not for long.

“FUCK! That BASTARD!” Soldier roared as he shot up from the chair, letting it fall to the ground behind him. Everyone sitting at the table jumped in their seats, causing them to look at one another in confusion. Without giving his friends a chance to ask what was wrong, Soldier fled the scene and to his room in hopes of finding Mercy. It took the group a couple seconds to respond to his actions before anything was said or done.

“Tracer, follow him,” Zarya said jumping from her seat, “we won't be too far behind.”

“On it!” She shouted as she zipped out of the room. The rest of the team was in her wake as they all ran after Soldier.

He was the first one to make it to the scene.

Blood was splattered on the ground. Her body was hunched over in a painful manner. The masked villain stood next to her proudly. A deep chuckle protruding from his body. Soldier growled and ran towards them.

“Reaper!”

“Nice try Morrison, better luck next time,” he said before the two of them vanished.

Soldier was seething with rage and pounded the wall next to him, putting a nice hole in the wall. He yelled out violently and sank to the floor in pain. He couldn't lose her, not again.

“M-Morrision? Did I hear him right?” Tracer asked as she looked around the room at her friends.

“Yes...” Soldier huffed as he stood from the ground. He proceeded to take his mask off seeing as his cover was already blown and there would be no sense in saving it now. He then slowly turned and faced his small group of friends. Gasps were heard among them in happiness, rage and fear.

“It’s me guys, and I’m sorry I kept it a secret for so long,” he paused, “and I know there are a lot of questions, but, I think there is something more important on our hands,” he ordered as his mask hissed back into place.

The pain in her side was too much to bare. Her world spun in circles and the blur in her vision didn't seem to help with her conditions. The deeper she breathed, the more pain she would be submerged in. What even happened to her? What was going on? As her vision began to clear, she could make out the white walls around her along with a dozen flashing colors.

Blinking her eyes furiously, she then noticed the person standing right in front of her.

“Well it’s about time,” she spoke in a heavy Mexican accent.

“Who... Who are you?” Mercy managed to whisper out.

“That is none of your concern blondie.” The term she used made her skin burn. There’s never been a word she hated more than blondie. She huffed beneath her breath.

“Leave the girl alone Sombra,” a woman with a heavy native accent said as she moved towards them. The closer she got to them, the more Mercy seemed to recognize her.

Amelie?

“Aww come on, she just got here, how could I not mess with her?”

Widowmaker rolled her eyes as she knelt down in front of Mercy.

“What a familiar pair of eyes,” she sang as she gripped her chin in between her fingers, “shame it won't be of use anymore when the time comes.” She examined her face before she tisked at her and let her go, “besides, you never got anywhere you needed to be in time.”

Mercy panted from the pain. She wasn't lying. This might just be the place where she takes her last breath. She looked down at the wound in her abdomen. It looked bad. In fact, almost infected. This would be a tough one to deal with when she got back to the base.

“Come on Sombra, let us leave her be.” Widow said as she dragged the woman out with her. Mercy let out a breath. She knew that help would be on the way soon, she just didn't know when. Given that the pain wouldn't be getting any better, she decided that she mine as well give the small room a look.

The walls were uninviting and the draft the wind created didn't seem to help. The paint was visibly peeling off the wall and the stench that came from an unknown substance made her want to vomit. An old clearly used cot in the corner of the room sagged from the weight of the world that had once laid upon it. A small rickety chair was toppled over in the opposite corner, groaning from the mold eating at its legs.

Was this really Talon’s head base? Old and destroyed from the years of life? Or was the organization just in really bad shape. She couldn't tell, nor did she really care. With all the effort she could give, she hobbled over to the stool. She needed something to help her with her wound and the stool just might be the solution. The blood was still making little droplets from the soaked cloth she held against her body. If she could just stop the bleeding, everything would be ok, only she knew that it was more than just a small stab wound. She probably had a good amount of internal damage too.

Oh god, how did she even get herself into this situation? Her thoughts were endless as she sat on top of the stool. Just stop the bleeding, she kept reminding herself. Everything will be ok once Jack gets here.

But Jack....

What if it was reaper all along? And this was his devious plan to capture and kill her? She didn't really blame him. After all, what enemy would want the head medic of the other team alive? Her shoulders sagged as her mind raced on. What if the team calls her crazy for really believing that this random so called Soldier 76 was a good guy? Would they ever trust her again? What if they’re already out and doing the damage to Overwatch? How foolish of her to lead them all to danger. It was all of her fault.

And now she was going to die here, alone.

No one was coming for her and she could feel it. A single tear escaped her eye and her heart began to pound, a sign she was about to cry. First her parents, then the love of her life, and now her? Was god out to get her? What had she ever done to deserve such a fate.

And then it began.

The sobbing.

In the span of her regretting almost every life decision she had ever made, the tears flowed freely. She didn't hold back. Was this what it felt like to all of the soldiers that were brutally murdered? Was this what happened when she didn't get to people in time? She soon became furious with herself and the thought of dying never sounded more pleasing. She really did deserve this. I should thank reaper for this. She thought.

~~~~~

The more hours that flew by, the more tired Mercy grew. She had lost a great deal of blood and the unconscious beast was ready to take her down. Only before she could truly slip into a quiet bliss, the door to the room swung open. With barely enough strength to lift her head, she could only guess who had opened the door to the room.

“Mercy Mercy Mercy, what a time to be alive hu?”

All she could response with was letting her head bob up and down to the beat of her slowing heart.

“You know, they say that Karma is a dish best served cold, let’s see if I can make it freezing for you my dear,” he circled around his prey, “there’s just something about you and time my love, it always seems to hate you,” pause, “you were too late for me, too late for Amelie, and certainly too late for Jack. But lucky for him, he didn't need your help. Managed to make it out on his own. That fool. He was meant to die in that rubble alone. He was never worth your time, and you should’ve never been worth mine.” He scowled as he paced back and forth. His heavy combat boots slapping the ground with every step he took.

From the slight appearance she could see from looking up, she could tell that he too had changed. There was no more kind hearted Gabriel left in his body. She had truly destroyed him. His long trench coat seemed more intimidating than it should be along with his long skeletal mask that was probably used to hide the remains of his face.

“What do you want from me,” she managed to whisper out. With a fluid movement over to her he answered, “I want them to suffer.”

She looked up at him with her blue angelic orbs along with her shaking body. She had lost the sensation in her hands and toes a long time ago, making them turn a deep purple color, much like Amelie’s skin. He seemed to notice all the things going on in her body, making him smile demonically. Of course, she couldn't see it, but it was well worth the try.

“I want them to suffer for the decisions that they made, I want them to suffer the losses I’ve suffered, I want Overwatch to go down in flames. Maybe then the government will realize their mistake in placing commanders.

You know Mercy, or should I say, Angela? You know what? He ruined my life, and you go on and decided to help him with that. Do you know how much you meant to me? How much I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you? Of course you don't. You don't give a damn about poor ol’ Reaper.” He scoffed and walked around the room some more.

“So when are you going to let me die?”

“When Jack Morrison can watch the life drain from your eyes.”

The flight over to Talon’s head quarters was quiet, too quiet.

“We should be arriving soon Soldier.” Winston announced. Even thought the messages was directed towards him, the rest of the group lifted their head up in response as well.

“Good,” he sighed, “Oh Mercy, I’m so sorry I didn’t do more.” He mumbled to him self.

No one dared to speak a word. It was bad enough that their beloved doctor was taken from them, and only two seconds later it’s revealed that their Strike Commander is actually alive. The news was still a shock to them all.

“10 miles in closing,” Winston announced once more. Soldier turned to the group he once called friends. Now he was unsure of what to call them all.

“Friends, acquaintances, my lost family,” no one dared to look at him. He hung his head and sighed, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry for all the pain I may have caused you guys over the years. I didn't mean anything to be personal. I just wanted an exit, and out, and end. I needed to stop tearing down Overwatch. I couldn't bring myself to go back to the life I was living, I couldn't keep putting you guys in danger. It was too much for me, and for that I admit that I am weak. I’ve let you guys down. And I hope you can forgive me.”

There was a deafening silence in the air as the team thought about what their Vigilante had just said. It made sense to most of them and the guilt started to eat away at them. Only then did they realize how much weight he had actually pulled during his time of being Strike Commander. The stress and the emotions he must’ve had were enormous. They alone couldn't deal with that much stress even if the job was divided amongst the group.

They suddenly came to their senses and forgave their lost bother.

“Why did you come back?” Dva piped up.

“Well,” he began as he ran his hand through his worn silvery hair, “I heard that the members of Overwatch had gotten back together. It was maybe a couple months ago that I figured out that Angela was back on the team. I,” he paused, knowing that they had the right to know about their secret love affair, “I needed to come back to make sure that Angela was ok, I wanted to see how she was doing. I missed her, boy did I miss her. I know I caused her a lot of pain by making the choices that I did and I just needed to know.”

They all nodded their heads in understanding.

“You know she never stopped talking about you. How much she missed you, how much she wished she had come sooner. You were all she ever talked about.”

He smiled under his mask, hoping that she didn't cause them too much trouble.

“But she was utterly depressed for a time,” Zarya declared, “her first couple months back, all she would do was break down crying because she wasn't good enough. If she couldn’t save the Strike Commander, what was the point of her being back on the team? Oh she questioned herself day in and day out.”

The group nodded.

“We’re glad you're back Jack, couldn't be happier,” Mcree voiced, tipping his hat.

“Yeah,” Jack sighed, “me too.”

Reaper wasn't lying when he said that she would be hidden by the blackness of his soul. Not long after their little chat, Reaper hauled Mercy out to the main body of the building. It was a wide open area where many different trinkets were being builded, a perfect place for a battle.

“I can feel his presence,” he chuckled as he waited up in the rafters with Mercy, “and soon he will be mine to torture.”

Her heart ached. After all he had been through, this would be one of the last things she wanted him to go through. What had she done? She was literally tearing the new born team apart. It was going to be all of her fault if she made it out of this dilemma alive.

Her heart beat was even slower than before when she watched them enter the building. First she spotted Tracer, then Soldier and the rest of the team.

“She could be anywhere,” she exclaimed as she zipped around the large room.

“She’s got to be here somewhere.” Soldier huffed as he held his pulse riffle. The entire team scanned the area and as expected, came up with nothing.

Mercy was literally counting down the seconds as she saw Widow get in her position in the rafters below them. Her aim was impeccable and her strength was unreal. No wonder why Talon had such a high kill rate. But the fact that she was a good assassin meant nothing to anyone if they were all dead in the end.

Sombra too was in position. With her little teleporter in position, she would have a good shot or two in the ambush. The team itself didn't even know of the new member they had added so diligently.

Everyone would die today.

And it would be all of her fault.

There would be absolutely no more good in the world.

“Wait,” Soldier commanded. He slowly lifted his hand and his head as he looked up into the rafters above him. In the dimness of the darkness and the help of his visor, he spotted her.

CRACK!

The sound of Soldier’s gun exploding rang in the room.

Fortunate for Widow, he missed her and hit an explosive tank behind her.

Fire infiltrated the oxygen around them, making all of the attackers break out of hiding.

From there the only thing Mercy could hear was screaming and gun shots. She no longer had the strength to open her eyes and watch the horror that occurred beneath her.

Just a little longer... Just a little longer....

She pleaded to herself.

BANG!

The rope holding her high in the rafters above her gave way.

She came crashing down like the fallen angel she was.

This was the end for her.

Ok, Piper is terribly sorry for how shitty this part was but I was kind of sick and tired of looking at this part and I wanted to give Y’all something to read, even if it is the crappiest I’ve written. No I didn’t edit anything because I hate editing aaaaaand this didn't really turn out the way I wanted to.

So.

I will still be up for comments and messages as to making my writing better or what nots and whatevers... um. I guess that’s all?

I don't know when the last part will be out and in the mean time I will probably be regretting posting this since it is not in the best of my ability.

Anyways.

This was the closest fit I could get for a song? If you guys don't like me posting these things someone take one for the team and let me know. (I don't bite.... hard..)

youtube

Enjoy. I should be around.

~Starpiper3

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

Chapter 6: Losing Faith

#Overwatch #overwatch mercy #overwatch soldier 76 #overwatch solider 76 #mercy76 #Soldier76 #mercy #Jack Morrison #angela ziegler

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caepaecaesurae · 8 years ago

Text

> Psii : Blow a fucking gasket (2/3)

Seeing as a crack skitters across his phone screen, it would be correct to say one has been blown sky high. Ampora thinks he is broken. It all makes sense now, and he scrolls up just to make sure. He thinks him incapable of telling him to shove off. He thinks he tolerates him due to outside influence, probably Kankri. He thinks Psii is so afraid because of what Ampora put him through… He thinks he is afraid of him at all- The crack skitters a little farther. How quickly Dualscar forgets who was afraid of whom on that fucking boat.

The slowly breaking phone goes through one more task before being thrown aside into Psii’s pile. Ampora may have blocked him but that’s a mere bump in the road towards pulling his coordinates. Look at that, how convenient, he’s on the roof. It won’t be long at all before Psii’s knuckles will meet an idiot’s jaw.

He doesn’t bother with hallways and doors, opening a window out to the crisp winter air and stepping out into the sky. Psionics will get him there far faster, and it’s not like he’s not sparking with them already. Not so much that he’ll give away his arrival, not until he’s much closer, so Ampora doesn’t think of running so quickly. Boots touch down on stone and thump a few steps forward, sparks arcing between horns now that he’s not focusing them. “How rude of you to scamper off so quickly, Ampora, after making such a guess.” His voice is sharp with anger, loud enough to be heard through a smile with far too many fangs. “Don’t you want to see what’s under that mask, to see if you’re correct or not?”

A crimson troll in a leather jacket and a magical amulet turned his head quickly at the sound of footsteps, and then froze absolutely dead still, his eyes quietly tracking the enraged psionic's progress. ...was this how he died? He'd learned at least one vital lesson from his friendship with another Captor, one that had started out less than brightly, and so his thumb shifted the fraction of an inch along his vaporiser, away from its button, but he didn't even dare lower the device away from its position halfway between his face and his knee.

Stock still, he was silent for a few seconds, watching the path of the sparks along Mituna's horns. "... Howv rude of me," he repeated lamely. A few pregnant seconds passed before he clearly and slowly enunciated his decision: "... No, I do not."

“Aww, that’s a pity,” the words have a stark contrast to that predatory grin, tone not changing an inch. “And here I was going to do you a favor and show you.”

"That's really not necessary, thank you," Cronus interrupted helpfully without moving. Not even a blink.

“Oh no, I insist,” the sparks continue their arcing, and now that he’s gotten closer and closer, it’s easier to see they’re following the paths etched in his horns.

"No really, please, I don't wvant to trouble you," God he wanted to stand up. Instead, his eyes stayed locked on Mituna, peripheral vision tracking the sparks along his horns. The faint scent of ozone was starting to make the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. It was his absolute least favorite scent and experience.

“Whyever would it be a trouble? This fallacy should obviously be corrected. Can’t be having you think I’m trembling every time we speak.” That grin is getting less and less like a grin, and more like he’s considering tearing out Ampora’s throat with it. “How will we ever be friends like that.”

"... Shall I fetch Treasure for you then?" Curveball, confuse, distract. God Cronus needed to be anywhere but here, and had a sudden, sick sympathy for Ringleader and his Captor problems. The line was delivered without a hint of motion, sounding completely serious, matter of fact, and conversational, as if discussing the weather.

Psii’s laugh is as awful as that not-grin is, amused in all the worst ways. “No, I do not need Treasure. I need you splattered all over this rooftop.” It’s like a lightswitch is flipped, the sharp smiles and laughing snapping directly into something more suited for a fight, boots finding purchase on the stone in preparation to launch himself Ampora-ward. But first, it’s his turn to throw a curveball, or rather one of his many hidden knives, to distract from the fact that he wants his fists on him.

The instant Psii said "splattered", Caesurae was in motion -- leaning suddenly forwards, planting his feet on the edge of the railing, and springing abruptly into flight downwards. He needed to break line of sight and get somewhere enclosed, and that involved the courtyard, its bushes, and the hallways into the castle proper. He just needed to make it down there. The knife whiffed past him, and would find its way onto a parapet somewhere. Psii had at least a second before Caesurae could reach ground level though. This was unfortunate, due to telekinesis.

That knife would be missed, but later, when he was not so focused on his task. He had quite a few more after all, and Ampora was running. Fortunately, that second was all he needed to brace a foot on the rail where the other had just been, spreading out his psionics to aid in his ability to see and, of course, wrap around a fleeting ankle. He had said he wanted his blood on the roof, after all. Time to remedy that.

He isn’t quite concerned with Ampora remaining in one piece, so the tug on his ankle is not a gentle one, yanking him to a stop with a yelp before reversing his direction of travel back up towards where Psii waited. The landing wasn’t an easy one either, the grip throwing him bodily onto the stone, the psionic’s eyes following his path until that thump of contact made him release his hold. Yes, far better, a simple push off the rail and his charge was resumed, again closing the distance so he could get his claws and fists into Ampora’s flesh.

Cronus hit the castle hard enough to briefly stun, and wasted a precious second squirming in place before he managed to get his palm flat down and start levering up his shoulder. By the time his head lifted, and his eyes refocused, Psii was far too close, and the abrupt rush of realisation on his face was magical, to a man in a spiteful enough mood. He rolled hard, clumsily, trying to shield his face and get up into a crouch before the other troll was on him. Somewhere far below, his vaporizer shattered against a walkway stone to the distant consternation of several chickens.

Lucky for Psii, he was, in fact, a man in spiteful enough of a mood to enjoy Ampora’s reaction, and that fang-filled grin of his spread dangerously for a moment. Ampora’s roll was successful but not unexpected, and easily compensated for with the right combination of twisting and skidding and a shower of sparks. That crouch catches his eye as well; of course, Ampora isn’t going to just lay there and take it, his poor ego would shatter irreparably. Which means, of course, that he has to help him get to that point. It takes practically no effort at all to rid Ampora of his metaphorical sword and shield; one snap of psionics shorts his sylladex, causing it to eject anything that could be used as a weapon along with everything else, while the other wraps around that blasted amulet and tears it from his neck, returning his color from Psii's brother’s to the familiar seadwelling violet that fits Dualscar's face so much better and is so much easier to smear across his knuckles.

Caesurae's sylladex had been chock full of random shit, and now so was the sky. Cloaks, capes, garments silly and non, some partially-complete furniture, ornate musical instruments, a synthesizer, a shower curtain complete with rod, bottles of water and whiskey and beer, a few small knives and cloths, a few towels, a sandwich, a handful of stale cookies, little plastic bottles of strong-smelling herbal liquids, a few guns of the long and hand varieties, and enough jewelry and gold and tea and moon money to fill the air and overshadow the roof and start to rain down on the castle and its courtyard and at least one nearby street.

The Orphaner tensed visibly when the tingle of power touched his throat and yanked his caste back up to violet, a light dusting of color rising on his neck in patterns that weren't quite bruises but also didn't quite match the path the chain took as it snapped free of him, clasp breaking easily as if it had been designed for this. His eyes were slightly wild when his attention snapped up to the cloud of belongings at the height of their arc -- and he spat a sudden curse when he realised the Crosshairs had been flung none-too-gently away. Tendrils of white smoke phased into existence and abruptly launched themselves out from his back like frog's tongues, grabbing at the Two (2) copies of Ahab's Crosshairs that were headed out into the bay and across a nearby street respectively. Apparently he could control the anomalous limbs, because they quickly started drawing the guns back towards him as he headrattled, backing away and trying to force himself properly up to his feet.

How curious. Psii wasn’t surprised at the sheer amount of junk in Ampora’s sylladex, the vast majority of it only registering in the back of his mind as something to brush aside as his path towards Ampora and their fall from the heights collided, but he obviously had some tricks up his sleeves. The Crosshairs themselves weren’t one, but the copy certainly was, perhaps some sort of decoy if this exact thing happened. The other were those tendrils, something he’d never seen before and an easy guess that they were part of Ampora’s godhood. Well, if he wished to arm himself with an extension of his mind, it seemed only fitting for him to do so against the might of the Psiioniic, the blue and red sparks wrapping around the weapons and determinedly attempting to keep them well away from Ampora’s trigger fingers.

Caesurae's teeth bared as the far-too-fragile guns were ringed in sparks, and sincerely hoped that Psii wasn't fool enough, or self-destructive enough, to snap them in half so very, very close to where they both happened to be standing. He neither struggled against the grip nor let go of the guns, standing between them with his 'wings' stretched wide from one weapon to the other. Tense with very wary concern, his fool mouth opened to speak again while the first and smallest of his belongings started to rain down across the castle roof. "--Mituna, I don't knowv wvhat you think you're doing, but--"

The aura of sparks around Psii increases as his psionics rebuff Ampora’s possessions when they get in range, the tell tale chime of shattering glass punctuating successes. The roof’s gotten a touch more interesting now, and the thought of skipping Ampora over the shard littered stone is a tempting one for a moment. Not now, though, raw fists still hold the major appeal, an arm reeling back once he starts getting close. “Why don’t you stay fucking still and find out??” It’s spat out like an impulse answer that didn’t get cleared by every checkpoint. His focus is elsewhere, like finding out just how experienced Ampora was at keeping his tendrils doing what he wants while moving the rest of his body. That punch is aimed for his smug fucking face, and his grip on the guns began pulling them towards his direction. Not hard enough to break them of course, he wasn’t a moron, but enough to put pressure on Ampora to keep his weapons.

Caesurae's arms came up to shield his face, catching the punch on a bicep as he fell back another step -- and finally put his weight on his bad ankle, staggering visibly. In a split-second decision he let go of one copy of the crosshairs, the three tendrils on that side darting back to press against the ground and stabilize him that way. There was an impressive crash as very nice musical instruments started to rain across the battlements -- a guitar snapped in half here, a synthesizer cracked and badly dented there, deflecting off of this or that on their way to the ground below. A shower curtain rod clanged into the edge of the roof and rebounded towards the water, trailing its slightly hole-ridden curtain behind it like a very eccentric flag cheering on gods-only-knew-who.

His fins pinning, Caesurae finally made a decision, surging forward (mostly through the miracle of flight -- why hadn't he realised that in time to keep hold of that copy of the crosshairs? Damn instincts) to try to shoulder the Psiionic to the ground. The smoke tendrils apparently had a fair amount of stretch to them, still trying to maintain their grip on the Other crosshairs -- carefully -- while he tried to get Psii on the ground so he could do... something. Run again?? He didn't even know. It was time to work on instinct.

That grin is back, splitting Psii’s face in two with a jagged fang filled gash of a smile. It was a bit early for celebrations, but it certainly felt like a victory. Knuckles meet flesh for a moment before he jumps back, disengaging as Ampora’s leg gave out with a few steps, with the reward of a Crosshair’s firm in his psychic grip. And a second reward follows quickly, Ampora finally ceasing his stupid running and turning onto the offensive, kicking up quite the nostalgia. Yes, quite a bit was different, but Psii can’t help but think of the evening of his escape from Ampora’s ownership. Everything lining up perfectly, just as it is now, Ampora’s fury contrasting with Psii’s nigh giggly smugness. Back then, he had a table at the ready to defend himself, but the broad, sturdy stock of Ahab’s Crosshair’s is quite good enough.

His continued steps back almost seem like dance steps, that grin only getting wider, until the exact moment comes to crack the gun across Dualscar’s dual scars. He poured far more power into the strike that had given him them, but the table also wasn’t a potential nuke. Besides, it wasn’t the force that mattered, it was the poetry, the moment, the point he was making. He was not afraid, and never would be.

Dualscar saw it coming for just an instant, he had time to almost flinch, to start deflecting slightly away, and then got smacked in the face with the butt of his own gun. It was hard not to remember the evening of Psii's escape -- particularly since it had left him with a week-long concussion, a pair of gigantic facial scars, and a flinch reflex whenever things darted at his face too quickly. More recently, godtiering had left him with the ability to subconsciously adjust reality to suit his expectations, intentional or otherwise, for better or for worse. The two combined unfortunately, his dual scars splitting open as if they had just been made for the first time, his nose breaking, and a massive instant bruise starting to rise across most of his face.

The Orphaner deflected slightly in the direction of the blow, staggered to a knee, and blinked like a poleaxed steer. His brow knit slightly, he swayed, and flumped face-down on the ground, his ephemeral grip on Ahab's Other Crosshairs weakening, before the tendrils evaporated into thin air completely. A cloak drifted down from on high, flopping into a loose pile in a puddle of beer and broken glass.

That was not the reaction the psionic was expecting, steps continuing to dance backwards in anticipation of the fight continuing but slowing when Ampora’s knee strikes stone. He’s wary, and far from stupid enough to be tripped up by a ruse like this could be, the rifle finding a home hovering around his shoulders like a floating combination of a bat and a mounted cannon. It is not as if Ampora are not a dramatic line, and if this wasn’t the definition…

He winces as Ampora’s face meets stone as well, and ears perk slightly as his artillery count doubled. This isn’t an act. He wouldn’t give up his beauty so easily for this kind of trap, especially when he had nothing else to pull out. Even so, Psii hadn’t survived as long as he had by trusting his gut completely, especially when it takes next to nothing to grab an arm and flip the unconscious seadweller. Good lord, he didn’t think he hit him that hard, but his grin spreads again. It remains quite the good look on him. The puddle of whiskey had probably even sanitised the gashes, and was starting to stain a thin violet.

While his initial desire for knuckles against jaw had not been fulfilled, this was an excellent substitute no matter what his adrenaline was saying. He lets the giggle that’s been trapped in his chest free finally, and slips out- ah, damn, that’s right, he left his phone on his pile. No matter, it’s not like he’ll forget what this looks like any time soon, and he needed to do a sketch of him anyway. How lovely it is when things work out.

The question of ‘now what’ had barely even started to form in his pan when one of Ampora’s various possessions finally landed, the distant sploosh making Psii’s ears perk with an idea. He could leave him up here, in the cold, to wake when he does, oooor. Or. Ampora, having regained his fishy bits, could go for a little winter swim while Psii goes through all of his stuff and decides what to take with him so Ampora will have to come get it. Or more likely, Kankri will frown at him on Ampora’s behalf until he handed it back over, but a troll could dream. He’s already keeping both Crosshairs, but there certainly had to be something else to make Ampora regret this more than he will when he wakes.

First things first, however. Someone needs to go for a dive.

Red and blue rings around Ampora, lifting him somewhat gracefully to trail after Psii as he makes his way to the water-side rail, leaning over and tilting his head slightly as he runs through calculations. He doesn’t want to kill Ampora, so just ragdoll tossing him over the side unfortunately won’t work, and water isn’t always as forgiving as it looks… but if he started him here, at this speed, and that angle… the only thing he should damage is his ego when he wakes in the middle of the bay, unless the cold or sea creatures get to him… Eh, good enough. The city waters were fairly safe, as such things go. One more slice of nostalgia as he gives the unconscious seadweller a salute before letting go, leaning over again to watch his progress and the splash his body caused. Today is the best day ever.

He dribbled, he splooshed, and at least he wouldn't smell like a puddle of whiskey when he woke up. For once. A violet troll in a leather jacket flopped into the water, and started to sink into the relatively shallow depths, one burst of bubbles coming up to the surface and then falling still as he swapped over to his gills entirely. He was in fact denser than water, by a fair bit, and quickly wound up on his side in the mud at the bottom.

The prince of the emerald basin forest had not been concerned when items had rained from the sky, although it had drawn his attention to the window, especially the larger crashes and clangs of falling instruments and furniture. The matter of seeing a familiar form, the sea dweller who had freed him, and returned the dead to his people, thrown from the castle wall and into the water was another matter entirely.

He could not call up clothes and armor with this fucking spell set on the place against his magic. So he struggled himself into a shirt, alarming his guards as he began to hasten out without his armor on, and losing time arguing with them over it.

It... Wasn't actually the worst nap Cronus had ever taken.

That bit of satisfaction obtained, Psii turns from the rail to examine the loot spread before him, boots crunching glass and bits of instruments as he walks towards the scattering- a step misses the grinding glass or the snapping wood and instead mildly crinkles, and he looks down at a slightly damp letter addressed to Fex. Oh ho, yes, this has potential, a mystery letter tucked away in a sylladex unsent? It could be anything, couldn’t it? It’s scooped up immediately and opened without a hesitation, reading the letter with glee… that fades quite quickly into frowns and sharply dives off a cliff into horror in a fashion reminiscent to the dive Ampora just took.

Every single victorious feeling of smugness evaporates in an instant, and his ears plummet to his shoulders. Is that why Ampora ran? So he wouldn’t get tortured by Psii? To escape a revenge he can’t properly think about without getting nauseous? He thought he didn’t want to face consequences again, that he didn’t want his face damaged, not… not this. Somewhere something has gone as wrong as it could, and he has only made it worse. Fuck. Fuck how does he fix this. How does he make him understand he wouldn’t do that-

> Narrative Perspective : Start being Mituna Captor.

You can do that, probably. And the rest of things. Step one. Okay, step one, Cronus waking up in ice cold winter water with no belongings is not helpful. Split step one into two steps, get belongings and get Cronus. Get Cronus is second, it’s not like he’s going to freeze or drown, and you can shove as many things in into your sylladex as you can see. Alright, start there, maybe things can get fixed later or something.

It’s nowhere close to everything, between bottles shattering and things fluttering off into the distance, but it’s as much as you can do for now. You might be able to get some later, once you’ve fished out Cronus and made sure he isn’t dead or something, but now is when step two becomes step one, and you head back to your mocking spot to fly down after him.

> Be the faerie prince

Prince Sunfall ran, sword belted to his hip, and the moment he stepped out of the embassy tower armour wrapped around him again. He was too late and the troll- bizarrely he recognized him as the gently spoken twin to Twoblade he’d seen just the once- went in after Caesurae, and took him from the water. He followed the path of their flight back where he could not follow and cursed softly.

Something white caught his eye and he approached across the wet rocks to gently tug a white cloak, magically clean despite the filth it was laying in, up and look at it. He glanced back the way the four horned troll had gone with his victim and his jaw set. He headed quickly back inside the building.

If luck was with him Twoblade would receive messages in time to- to do something about his people attacking the church representatives.

PART 1 : PART 3

#ooc eyes only #violence/#slavery mention/#concussion/#brain damage mention in link/#blood/#paranoia/#palteringcecutiency #Prince of the Emerald Basin cameo #Part 2 of 3

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