#brotherly friendship

[insanesanitysparks]

The Dragon's Warrior

Barbarian Katsuki Bakugo & Dragon Eijiro Kirishima

This was supposed to be short...a lot longer than I anticipated. This is supposed to be like the abridged version of what I've got in my head! Lol.

Basic premise. Barbarians protect dragons. Dragon queen gets kidnapped, Barbarians rescue her. Miscommunication, Barbarians think dragons are mad so Katsuki offers himself as a peace offering. Dragons think he's asking to learn their ways. Dragons take Katsuki and raise him as one of their own. He meets Eijiro and they become brothers. Katsuki eventually returns to save his clan. He becomes a powerful, badass warrior that no one wants to mess with and Eijiro keeps in touch.

The dragons are an endangered species, hunted near to extinction for their scales, bones, blood, and magic. Adult dragons are hunted to be killed, baby dragons to be raised in captivity to either be killed later or forced into a life of servitude. Alive or dead, life is hell for a dragon if a human manages to catch you.

But not all humans were bad, some still had good intentions, some still wanted to see the dragons thrive. The Barbarian tribes offered up their sacred mountains to the dragons, a maze of cliffs and rocks where they could raise their young safely. It would difficult for anyone to get through those mountains to the dragons. But if they could, they'd first have to get through the Barbarians and the brutish tribes knew that anyone going toward the mountains was after a dragon. Anyone going towards the mountains was a fair target to kill and loot, to protect the dragons and build on their clan's honor.

As time passed, the Barbarians came to see less and less of the dragons. The beasts were able to almost completely disappear in the mountains and they preferred to stay that way. They would happily fade into legends if it meant that they could live the rest of their days in peace. Though most of the legends that emerged were not very flattering.

Many legends spoke of dragons sitting on hoards of treasure long forgotten by man. Others told of reclusive beasts that developed a taste for virgin females every couple hundred years. Vicious monsters that wanted to burn or eat everything in their path. Very few supported the idea that dragons were intelligent or sociable creatures.

Eventually, even the Barbarians would come to doubt the dragons existence. Only sighting one or two every couple decades. Depending on who the lucky viewer was, the encounter might be brushed off as a hallucination by a drunkard.

Until one day when a Barbarian scouting party stumbled across a small caravan. How the group of thieves managed to get this far without being noticed was beyond them. Per tradition, the scouts attacked and killed the invaders. What they didn't expect was to find a female dragon when looting the invaders' wagons. She was in human form, but the runic tribal markings on her skin marked her as dragon royalty. The Barbarian's had studied those runes for centuries, but they never once expected to actually see them used. It was a shocking moment for the usually stoic warriors.

Knowing that the dragons might be angry with the clans for allowing a group to almost steal the dragon queen, the Barbarians immediately set off for the closest mountain pass toward the home of the dragons. Most of the tribe came along for the journey with precious gems, gold, fabrics, incense, and livestock to offer to the dragons. To keep the peace.

The dragon king and a few of his knights. The dragons released horrific roars when they saw their queen, wounded and weary. The Barbarians feared the dragon's fury as the beasts stomped the earth, belched flame, and gnashed their teeth as they roared. Barbarians were not a race to admit fear. To calm the dragons, the young son of the chief threw himself at the dragon king's feet. Because of the ordeal the queen had gone through, she likely wouldn't produce an heir for a long while. Thus it was fitting that the chief's son offer himself up? An heir for an heir.

The dragon king eyed the tiny human with curious eyes, noting the way the baby Barbarian trembled in his boots before him. He grumbled to his knights and one stepped forward, scooping the Barbarian child into his mouth before flying off. The young warrior could hear the choked sob of his mother as he was carried away. He too cried, though none could see his tears inside the dragon's mouth.

At first, the little warrior thought that the dragons intended to take him to their home and fight over him. Or feed him to the queen when she got stronger. But then he was dropped, unceremoniously into a nest with a waiting female. He thought she was going to eat him, but instead she pushed him under her wing with her nose. There he was confronted with a baby dragon, which was still much larger than him but a baby nonetheless. He thought it would eat him too, but instead it just sniffed and poked at him. It ignored his pained shouts when it poked too hard or tried to push it away, that is until it's mother hissed at it and the tiny creature curled into a ball to sleep. The mother looked at the young Barbarian too, nudging him toward her baby and pushing him down to lay down. He got the memo. Sleep.

Every day, the young warrior expected to be eaten. Surely they were just fattening him up to eat him later. But it never came. He grew bigger and taller. Well-defined muscles came about through his constant struggle to keep up with the dragons. The baby dragon, which he'd deemed Red, liked to play rough. If he was going to survive, he'd have to be able to beat a dragon with his bare fists. So he trained. He ate everything the dragons brought no matter how disgusting it looked. Snake and wolf meat weren't very appetizing but if they were all you had you managed to swallow it one way or another.

Eventually, Red was able to take on a human form. Though that didn't mean he could speak the basic tongue most humans spoke. He was eager to learn though and just as the Barbarian taught him basic, so did Red teach his warrior friend Draconic.

As the two grew up together, they became more than friends. They were brothers. They trained together, fought together. Some of the other young dragons would laugh at Red for having a human brother. Well, that is they'd laugh until that human brother managed to kick all of their tales in combat. He might have been human but he was far from weak!

Then one day, the Barbarian and his brother were flying through the lower mountains. It had been a long time since the Barbarian had been through this area, he'd almost forgotten what the land looked like. He noticed something strange, warriors from a clan his tribe had never been on good terms with. Their party was much, much larger than he remembered his clan being. He worried for his parents. There was no way they would abandon their clan. They would fight to death to protect their clan, even more so without their son there. They wouldn't have anything else to fight for. If they lost their clan then they'd lose everything.

That night, his dragon parents noticed how distant he had become. Looking down the mountain toward the place they'd taken him from, a forlorn look in his eyes. He didn't eat or drink or sleep. Red told him what they had seen in the lower mountains and Red's father took the information to the council. The Barbarians had saved their queen all those years ago, now it seemed they needed someone to come to their aid.

Red's mother eventually managed to coax the Barbarian to eat and sleep. While he slept, the dragon knights gathered and flew ahead. When the Barbarian woke, Red pulled him out for a flight. After hours of gliding through the clouds, the Barbarian noticed that Red was descending and he could hear the clash of swords of scream of dying warriors. His body tensed as the clouds dispersed and a horrific scene of his clan retreating and his parents surrendering to give their clan time to escape. But before the enemy warriors could raise a blade to his parents' throats, the young warrior was launching himself from Red's back to continue the fight!

With the strength of a dragon in the body of a man, he beat his opponents back bit by bit. They were wary of this stranger. Who was this dragon warrior? A wild brat raised by wild beasts? They backed away but didn't realize that they were backing into the waiting claws of raging dragons. The enemy clan disappeared as quickly as they came, the young Barbarian only felt a small bit of pity for their wives and children who would never see their return.

He turned to his tribe and knew that they didn't recognize him. He wasn't the child that had been carried off in the mountains in a dragon's mouth. He was a powerful man who fought like and with dragons. He brandished large muscles and a rugged appearance, covered in blood and dirt from the battle. He spoke in a voice that was raspy from lack of use and growly from becoming so acquainted with the dragon tongue. "Ol' man? Hag?" He croaked and watched the realization spark in their eyes.

"Katsuki!" They screamed in unison before tackling the child that they never thought they'd see again.

In the aftermath of the battle, there was a huge celebration for their victory and Katsuki's return. The dragons, now able to speak basic, came to realize that there had been a misunderstanding when they took Katsuki. The Barbarians thought the dragons were upset, hence Katsuki offered himself up to appease them. The dragons thought that Katsuki was asking to learn the dragons' ways as a reward for saving their queen. They didn't think he could do it but it was unlike them to leave a debt unpaid, so they took him and put him in a nest with a dragon around his age to grow and train together.

The dragons left a few days later, saying their goodbyes to Katsuki and promising to keep in touch. All of the dragons left except for one, Katsuki's brother Red. It never mattered how many times the dragon reminded Katsuki that his name was actually Eijiro. The Barbarian never called him by his given name.

Eventually, Eijiro would return to his clan to take a mate and start his own family. But he always made sure to visit his human brother at least once a year. The dragons began to thrive once more and became legend no more. Many hunters would try to ascend the mountains, but they were always stopped by a wild brute. A man with the muscles and power of a dragon and the wild ferocity of a Barbarian. Few men ever lived to tell the tale of seeing this legendary warrior, usually only witnessing his combat from afar as they watched some fool get slaughtered for attempting to hunt dragons.

Stories were scripted, tales were told, and songs were sung of the legendary warrior. Of pale hair, tanned skin, fur armor, and dragon's might. The infamous Barbarian Katsuki Bakugo, the Dragon's Warrior, Defender, and Brother.

[labrats-and-clonetroopers]

"I Won't Bury You Again" Ch. 1 - Leo Dooley & Chase Davenport, Lab Rats [Elite Force]/The Dark Tower (C.S. Lewis) Crossover

Masterlist 

Lab Rats/Mighty Med/Elite Force Masterlist 

Request Guidelines 

Synopsis:

Leo was the one who heard all of Davenport’s confessions in the elevator. He was the one who sought out Douglas, who had been the one to originally break into his and Marcus’ lab. He’s the one who’s been trapped in and escaped from a freaking parallel universe. 

He knows, better than any of them, that all the secrets surrounding their past will never fully come to light. 

But he needs to save his brother. And if that means chasing a ghost from Douglas’ past, then he will. No matter where it leads him.

Story Warnings: violence, minor character death, mentioned drug use, mild horror, moderate blood and gore

_______________

Leo knows. He knows that none of them, not Davenport, not Douglas, nor his mom, or Adam, Bree, Chase or Daniel, will ever know everything. Every part of the complex web of secrets and lies that connect their lives. 

He heard Davenport’s confessions while trapped in the elevator. Heard them, acknowledged them, and stored them away. Donald Davenport’s life before he clawed his way to success read like a nightmare. And while he is still an incredibly flawed man, Leo can respect that some things, some things should be left undisturbed in the past. 

But some things, they just nag, tug at his gut, as if some intuition is telling him that he needs to pull at this thread, that he needs to uncover it. 

Leo had always expected that Douglas had continued to keep secrets, that he would never reveal the full truth. Not intentionally, at least. 

And there’s always been something about Marcus’ story that never fully added up. A comment he made during their confrontation in Giselle’s lab, to Douglas. 

“You created me to betray someone I never could. But you, you I can betray.” 

He brought it up to Douglas one afternoon. Found him sitting alone in the dining hall, hunched over the table, frowning, looking at his phone. 

Leo pulled out a chair, sat down next to him. His uncle barely glanced up, “Oh, hey Leo.” 

“Watcha doing?” 

Douglas stilled. “Just looking through some old photos,” and he deflated, weary. 

It was an odd mood for him to be in. Leo frowned. “What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing,” Douglas dismissed. “Anything going on with you?”

Leo shook his head. “No, just chilling. Enjoying having all the students and Adam gone for the day. Video-chatted Janelle. We have a date planned for Wednesday.”

“Sounds fun.” 

“It will be.” 

Silence settled over them. Leo leaned back in his chair. “So, I was wondering something.”

Douglas looked back up. “Wondering what?”

“About something Marcus said,” and he watched his uncle immediately stiffen at that name, “He said you had created him to betray someone, someone he couldn’t betray. Thing is, that doesn’t make any sense; he didn’t hesitate to betray Adam, Bree, and Chase.”

Douglas had lowered his head, fixated his gaze on the table. “He wasn’t referring to them.”

“Then who?” Leo pressed. “Wait a minute, if he wasn’t referring to them, then you didn’t originally create him to capture your kids…” 

“That was why I built him, technically. The whole situation was just a bit more complicated at the time.” Douglas corrected, then sighed. “Look, Leo, I really don’t want to talk about this.” 

“Well, you never talked about Giselle either, until she just showed up, and we both now how that turned out,” Leo asserted. He leaned over the table, looking Douglas in the eye. “Who did you create Marcus to betray?”

Douglas met the intensity of his gaze. “You need to trust me, Leo. Leave it alone.” 

[perrywings]

New Fics

Okay, so, I kinda forgot my tumblr is actually something I gotta update.

I’ve definitely transitioned into a Stranger Things hyperfixation, though I do plan on continuing my other current fics. But I have two ST fics to announce!

I completed a 30 chapter fic for NaNoWriMo 2022 (and won!) called A Distant Ship Smoke On The Horizon! It’s a Post-series AU and an Idiots-to-Lovers Steddie AU featuring Nanny!Steve, Rockstar!Eddie, and a plot line that actually considers implications of Season 3 of Stranger Things. I will not be writing a sequel, but I believe I left off at a satisfying ending.

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/42845847/chapters/107635425

My current in-progress fic is called Having The Time Of Your Life. This is not similar to the previous fic, and will not be Steddie. The premise is that it’s an Age Reversal and Role Reversal AU (with Eddie, Erica, and Holly as exceptions) where The Party are the older group and and the High Schoolers are the younger group. Although in the long-term, the focus of the fic will be on Steve and Dustin’s brotherly relationship, the fic has begun with Middle Schooler!Steve being taken to the Upside Down in Season 1 (in place of Barb, who lives) and the aftermath of surviving and coming back.

I have 5 Chapters out so far:

Chapter 1 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43433013/chapters/109187178

Chapter 1 Summary: 12-year-old Steve Harrington is taken to the Upside Down.

Chapter 2 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43433013/chapters/109274169#workskin

Chapter 2 Summary: Steve tries to get his bearings in the Upside Down.

Chapter 3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43433013/chapters/109327077#workskin

Chapter 3 Summary: After getting separated from Will, Steve figures out what to do.

Chapter 4 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43433013/chapters/109425852#workskin

Chapter 4 Summary: Steve wakes up in the hospital after his ordeal.

Chapter 5 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43433013/chapters/110290218#workskin

Chapter 5 Summary: Steve tries to get back to his life. This is complicated.

[chaneajoyyy]

(via @/variety on twitter)🥹

[misslovasstuff]

THIS MOMENT RIGHT HERE

[coolfunstrawberry]

PRONGSFOOT!!! ARGH

[zeronetxt]

yall ever think that chuuya doesn't actually "abuse" his subordinates, or even just those that are younger than him? i personally think that he actually has a soft spot for kids due to the fact that he was previously with the sheep. he has never been shown to beat up kids under the mafia and the only one he ever really "beat up" was kenji, and that honestly wasn't much of a beat up. plus kenji admired him (and in the spin off wan! they literally hung out and he even said he'd treat him)

[elitadream]

Can you imagine when Luigi and Peach spend time alone while Mario is away that Luigi teaches her some Italian words, like "love" or "handsome" and slowly build up on it until she can learn at least one sentence or phrase to surprise Mario with?

Poor Mario would be lovestruck while Peach worries if she said it correctly or not.

PKDJFHRH???

I... I wanna draw that so bad. Omg. 😵‍💫😍

YES to Luigi secretly teaching Peach sweet Italian sayings and YES to Peach gathering up the courage to compliment Mario to his face in his first language. Just- Augh. 💘👏

Last time I made Peach speak Italian was so very long ago, I absolutely must update the concept soon! Thank you for the fantastic prompt. You can be sure I'm keeping it in mind. x3 🙏

[xitty]

Ibara's character change in Obbligato.

[lass-us-slay]

Do you have more headcanons about that story and art involving Megatron and Bee being friends?

I think they met in passing, but seems one of them admired the other ;)

[insanesanitysparks]

Katsuki Bakugo is an Introvert

Inspired by an interesting conversation with my twin (who is an introvert). She isn't as obsessive over the anime as me, but from what she does know she casually noted that Bakugo had some introverted tendencies. So obviously I'm going to write a "quick" spark about it.

He's not an introvert in the traditional sense. He doesn't hide away in his room, not all the time at least, and he doesn't completely avoid people. He wants to be a hero and not even his introverted tendencies are going to stop him from following his dream!

When it comes to dealing with people, Katsuki gets exhausted being around large numbers of them and that makes him moody. Moody enough to hurl insults left and right and attack anyone that invades his personal space. In Junior High, he enjoyed all the attention he got from being the best but is also wore him out. And of course Deku ALWAYS had to follow him when he was trying to find some space to breathe. Katsuki doesn't want to admit that he needs a break from the spotlight, so he kicks the nerd away. He doesn't want to talk about his feelings. He just wants quiet.

When it comes to family, Katsuki is in constant conflict with his extroverted mother. She's a strong woman who loves the spotlight and loves showing off her perfect family, but Katsuki hates it when she drags him out of the house. He grumbles and groans the whole time until he can come back home and seal himself off in his room. It's different with his father though. The older man being a similarly quiet individual. On days when Mitsuki goes out by herself, the two men will often just sit in silence. No words are needed. They know the other is content just knowing that they are there. It's a time for them both to recharge. Sometimes, Katsuki will even smile after these gentle moments with his father.

When it comes to friends, Katsuki is picky. Extroverts can be loud and pushy, two things that he doesn't need when he's ready to isolate and recharge. While he likes being the center of attention, usually there's no more than two or three people that he allows to stay really close to him. Deku is not one of them. On top of just being downright annoying, there's just something about Deku's presence that drains Katsuki faster than with most people. In Junior High he had two somewhat close friends, but even they weren't perfect. They made dumb decisions unbecoming of a future hero. He had an inkling that the friendship wouldn't last, a feeling that proved to be true when his friends bailed on him when the sludge villain showed up. And of course the only person willing to risk their life to help him was the damn nerd that exhausted him just by existing!

Then he gets to UA and is confronted with a hoard of loud, excited individuals that rub him the wrong way with just about every damn word out of their mouths. It puts him on edge. He can't escape them and that bothers him. There's no place to recharge and as soon as school is over he's the first one out the door, eager to go home and collapse in solitude.

But then they're moved into the dorms. He'd be thrilled about not having to interact with people on the way home anymore except now he has to share his mornings, afternoons, and evenings with this group of clowns. At least one good thing seems to come of being kidnapped and moving into the dorms, and that's Kirishima. The extroverted dumbass can be a bit of a blockhead at times, but he's often just what Katsuki needs. In fact, maybe Kirishima isn't actually an extrovert. Maybe he's an ambovert? Switching between social and silent as he deems necessary. Kirishima always has his back too. At the USJ, the sports festival, and then coming to try to rescue him from the League of Villains...spending his own money to do so.

Eventually, Katsuki will invite Kirishima to his room. The first person to see his dorm since they'd moved in. Kirishima doesn't judge his taste. He points out what looks cool and then they sit in silence, Kirishima messing around on his phone while Katsuki reads a book. Occasionally the red head will lean over to show him something cool that he stumbled across but otherwise Kirishima is fine just chilling.

And then Kaminari joins the party. Katsuki had no intention of letting the ditsy, loud blond anywhere near him but Kaminari made fast friends with Kirishima and seemed to look up to Katsuki. No matter where he went, Kaminari was always tagging along after Katsuki and Kirishima. It was annoying, but the other blond gradually began to grow on him.

So then they were three. Kirishima would make himself comfortable wherever, usually on the floor since it was the "manly" thing to let his friends have the bed and chair. Katsuki usually took the chair since it allowed him to prop his feet up on the desk, no stick-in-the-mud Iida to stop him. Kaminari usually took the bed, though that phrase never quite adequately described the situation. Most of the time, Kaminari laid upside down while hanging half off the bed reading manga.

Katsuki still enjoyed his solitude, but there was something about these two extroverts and the way they could seemingly shut off their loud, energetic side that made Katsuki like hanging out with them. Maybe it was their quirks? They paired well with him in training. Or maybe it was the fact that they were dumb enough for him to maneuver them as needed? Either way, Katsuki found himself eating lunch with them, training with them, and sharing his personal quiet time with them.

And he was happy. He wasn't exhausted like with his friends from Junior High. Kaminari and Kirishima didn't wear him out like they did. They were the type of friends that could talk him into going out to eat and he would actually enjoy the experience. Kaminari could talk him into a board or card game and he would actually have fun playing with the two. Kirishima could keep him in line without making him feel like piece of shit for exploding when he got overwhelmed.

But what really drew Katsuki to the two dumbasses was their need for him too. Kirishima especially. When they doubted themselves, it was always Katsuki who pointed out their strengths and what made them useful. It was always Katsuki who pushed them to be their best and helped them train more efficiently. And the way they looked to him for guidance but didn't just follow him blindly...well, gosh darn it if it didn't warm Katsuki's solitary heart up just a little.

[tabellae-rex-in-sui]

18th century men be like "I'm fine with cuddling and making out with you because Rome but the SECOND you get hard, I will tell everyone and call you slurs"

Voltaire.

[chaneajoyyy]

(via @/variety on twitter) 🥹

[hero-deserves-to-be-happy]

Hero’s Messy Desk Drawer: An Unsolicited Fic Excerpt

(A/N: This fic excerpt is from a story that utilized our OCs (in an AU separate from our “When Sun Shines Again” series) but wasn’t posted to this blog because it didn’t follow our strict side ship rules and wasn’t really about Hero (aside from a brief subplot). We mods have agreed that this short, Hero-centric excerpt is acceptable, however, and have decided to post it since Mod Acacia’s headcanon about Hero’s junk drawer was just discussed in this post.)

OMORI SPOILERS but no other warnings just friendship and messy desk drawers here. Thank you for reading! 💙🧡🩷

There was something familiar, almost cozy about Hero’s room. In a way, it reminded Kel of the room they had shared back home. The left side of the room was bright and colorful with chaotic clusters of photos and posters on the wall. It was cleaner than Kel generally kept his room, but just as cluttered with books, CDs, school supplies, and bottles of something or other haphazardly strewn across the dresser and desk. Though the bed was made, the duvet was crinkled, wrinkly, and the pillows looked like they had been scooped up and thrown at the headboard in a hurry. Sunny would probably give it a 4 out of 10.

To be perfectly fair, however, it probably would have just looked “lived in” if it wasn’t for the right side of the room: simple with pale, muted colors, but perfectly pristine like something out of a catalog. Nothing was out of place, and there was no clutter to be had: no knickknacks, no mementos, and just three photos in matching gray frames on the desk. Every book, every record, every CD had been carefully placed on the shelf and all office supplies were housed in drawers or an unassuming gray pencil holder. The blue duvet was perfectly smooth with pillows perfectly arranged. Even their coats and bags that had been placed on the bed had been carefully, thoughtfully lined up in a neat order against the wall.

“No guessing which side’s Hero’s, huh?” quipped Aubrey as she climbed over the mattress for her purse. “Always neat as a pin.”

As she began digging through her bag, most likely for the case for her contact lenses, Kel turned towards Hero’s desk to search for the first aid kit. Like everything else belonging to his brother, it was clean, sanitized, boring though Kel felt badly for thinking that. He was happy to see the photos though—the only truly personalized things of Hero’s in the room. One was of him with his group of college friends—laughing together probably at some party just like this one by the look of it. The second was their most recent family photo, and the third was of their group of friends in Faraway Park when they were kids back when Mari had been alive.

Kel’s chest ached. They looked so different back then—especially Aubrey. He glanced over at her now, still digging through her bag, long pink hair rippling down her back rather than the dark brown locks she had sported in that photo and for the majority of her life. Her eyes were different too—an icy teal now from her colored contacts. That reminded him…he had better start looking for those eyedrops.

As he pulled open the bottom left drawer of Hero’s desk, he paused—blinking in surprise.

“Woah!” he exclaimed before he could stop himself.

“What?” asked Aubrey.

“This drawer is a mess,” he mumbled, so stunned he wasn’t even able to look up at her. In an entire lifetime of knowing Hero, Kel had never known anything of his brother’s to be a mess. He sighed and supposed that there really was a first time for everything. Kel’s brow furrowed as he began sifting through odds and ends—a whole junk drawer of papers, notebooks, books, a couple CDs, even some receipts, a few pictures, and who even knew what else. “There’s all kinds of crap in here…”

Aubrey snorted a partially stifled laugh. “I didn’t know Hero could make a mess.”

“Me neither,” quipped Kel, pushing some of the papers around looking for anything resembling a first aid kit.

“Hey uh…” She sighed. “Speaking of Hero…do you think he’s…”—she paused as if trying to think of the right word—“worried that we’d all be upset if he…if he was, you know—dating again?”

Kel stopped, but he sighed heavily. He had just been wondering the same thing after all. He shrugged his shoulders—focusing his attention on digging through the desk drawer, but he answered, “I think Hero worries about a lot of things he doesn’t have to worry about.”

“I just wouldn’t want him to feel like he couldn’t put himself back out there, you know… because of what we’d think or because he’s scared we’d be upset or think he was disrespecting Mari…” Her voice trailed. “I wish there was a way we could tell him that we’d all be happy…without it sounding like we were prying or making assumptions.”

Kel nodded, but let out a heavy, somewhat helpless sigh. “Don’t look at me. I’d probably just say the wrong thing,” he chuckled, self-deprecatingly—rubbing his hand across the nape of his neck.

“Kel…” Aubrey’s tone softened, but he didn’t look up at her, instead choosing to quickly shrug it off and change directions.

“Besides he says he’s not interested in having that kind of relationship anymore anyway, so he probably just isn’t—no matter what we’d think about it. You know how Hero is. He’s been…”—he paused, unable to think of the right word—“really weird about that kind of thing ever since Mari died. I just…I don’t know if he’ll ever want that again…”

As Kel continued rifling through the drawer, Aubrey sighed. “I know…and I understand that. I wasn’t suggesting we push him or anything I just…didn’t want to be part of whatever was holding him back.” She paused, sighing again. “He looked so happy, and…I really like her.”

“Me too. I’m pretty sure she’s the only reason I’m not failing math right now,” Kel bantered with a laugh before his face softened. He knew he didn’t have to say the rest—didn’t have to say how much he loved Zoey for being such a good friend to Hero, for always studying with him or going on runs with him at the crack of dawn, for helping him do the dishes at their college parties or talking to him about his favorite foods or favorite kinds of music, for being that lone voice of reason in Hero’s somewhat chaotic group of college friends, for making him laugh and smile, and, most of all, for bringing something out in him that they had never imagined they’d get to see again.

“But it’s really not like that,” Kel added, though he wasn’t sure if was reminding himself or reminding Aubrey. “They both swear they’re just friends, and I believe them. I mean, I wish…Maybe someday, but I just—it’s Hero. I don’t know if he’s ever gonna be ready for it.” Kel stopped with a heavy sigh—brow furrowing as he pushed some of the papers around in Hero’s messy desk drawer. “I mean…he’s got a bunch of books about widowers in here…”

“Kel, don’t snoop through Hero’s stuff,” Aubrey scolded with a huff.

Kel’s face flushed, but he shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not trying to. It’s just such a mess in here. There’s papers everywhere and notebooks and books and CDs and…ooh! A present!” Curiously if also a little impulsively, Kel picked up a small, wrapped box tied with a red ribbon. “It’s heavy. I bet it’s jewelry.”

“Kel! Stop snooping,” Aubrey snapped at him. He fumbled around with the box before placing it back in the drawer.

“Look, I’m not being nosy. I’m just looking for the first aid kit. It’s not in here.”

Aubrey huffed. “You’re looking in the wrong drawer. Hero said lower right not lower left.”

Kel took a step back to stare at the desk—tilting his head. “Okay but…my right or the desk’s right?”

“Just check the other drawer!”

Kel closed the messy drawer then opened its identical twin on the other side of the desk—nearly empty except for a neat stack of blank notebook paper, a metal pencil case, and a first aid kit. “Found it!” he declared triumphantly—ignoring the way Aubrey was shaking her head at him.

[trashyswitch]

Luigi's Secret

Chapter 1: Obsessed with Floof

Luigi has a secret that he does not want anyone, not even his twin brother Mario, to find out about. However, it slowly begins to get harder and harder to hide this secret. And Mario begins to slowly suspect that Luigi is reading more than just 'fluffy stories' online.

This fanfic will feature some spoilers for the Mario Bros movie (2023). However, the first chapter will be entirely spoiler free. I wanted to write some sort of Mario and Luigi fanfic ever since watching the movie. I began to wonder: "What if Luigi was part of the tickle community?" and "How would Mario react if he found out about this little secret?". Another thing you'll notice in this fanfiction series, is that I don't always add the '-a' things to make them sound 100% Italian like they are in the games. This is because they have a more Brooklyn accent. I will be staying true to this new-canon fact throughout this series. There will also be the occasional Italian words, to still make it known that Luigi and Mario are part of an immigrated Italian family.

And that's it! I thoroughly hope you enjoy! And if you wanna watch the movie first before reading Chapter 2 and onward, then feel free to. And if you don't care about spoilers, then feel free to read the rest of it when it comes out. <3

Mario groaned as he woke up to the sun glaring through the window. He covered up his head with the blanket in an attempt to block out the sun. But it was just no use. The blanket seemed to be glowing from the sun shining against the blanket as well. Mario sighed and rubbed his eyes before throwing the blanket off himself. He sat on the side of the bed for a few moments, trying to further wake himself up. 

“Morning, Mario.” Someone said behind him. 

Mario turned around and smiled tiredly. Luigi appeared to be already up and looking at something on his phone. What he was looking at…Mario had a pretty good guess. 

“Reading those stories again?” Mario asked. 

Luigi looked up from the phone with a small blush. “...Maybe…” Luigi mumbled, sinking further into his bed. 

Mario chuckled. “What’s it about this time?” Mario asked. 

Luigi bit his lip as he tried to figure out how to summarize the story without including certain specific scenes in it. “Well…” He cleared his throat and just read the summary at the top of the story. “Roman has decided to summon a whole bunch of puppies, to make Patton beam with happiness. As the day goes on, Roman becomes more and more evil and accidentally goes a little overboard on the puppies…” Luigi read. “It’s called…” He scrolled up. “Puppies! Puppies! Puppies!”.” Luigi read out loud. 

Mario couldn’t help the laugh that left his mouth. “Sounds exactly like something you’d read. Fluffy, cutesy, even got puppies thrown in there.” Mario reacted. 

Luigi smiled and blushed a bit more at this. “Y-Yeah…” Luigi mumbled. 

Mario got off the bed and walked up to Luigi before taking his phone. “Let me see this here.” Mario said, grabbing the top and gently taking it from his brother’s fingers. 

Luigi yelped and tried to reach up and grab it. But Mario was much quicker than him. “M-Mario, why?” Luigi asked. 

“Let’s see…” Mario started to read bits of the fanfiction out loud. 

Luigi squeaked and covered his face with the blanket. Luigi’s blush only began to darken as he heard Mario literally quote the fanfiction in little bits at a time. The even went as far as to pause his reading to add how ‘cute’, ‘funny’ or even ‘unrealistic’ the fanfic was. 

“No person can actually conjure up a puppy on the spot.” Mario told him. 

Luigi whined and tightened the grip on his blanket. “I knoooow that.” Luigi reacted. 

As Mario read more of the fanfic, he actually started to laugh while reading it. “Did the man really refer to the pomeranian as a ‘pom pom puppy’?!” Mario asked. 

Luigi couldn’t help the awkward little laugh he let out as he loosened his grip on the blanket. “Y-Yeah…They are really floofy and soft…” Luigi admitted. 

Suddenly, his blanket of comfort was thrown off of him, and Mario was standing above him in his PJ’s. “Did you seriously mispronounce the word ‘fluffy’?!” Mario asked. 

“WAH!” Luigi yelped and giggled almost desperately as he tried to grab his blanket of solitude. “Nohohoshutup-” Luigi turned to his right and curled into a ball. “Gohoho awahahay!” Luigi mumbled amidst his newfound giggle fit. 

Mario laughed at him a bit more before pointing to the green phone. “Do you even realize what these stories are doing to you?” Mario asked. 

“Marioohohoho…” Luigi mumbled and whined as he covered his own face with his bare hands. 

“They’re turning you as red as my shirt!” Mario pointed out, holding out his shirt before giggling upon seeing the hot blush on Luigi’s ears. “In fact, you’re almost more burgundy than red at this pohohoint!” Mario reacted, gently poking and wiggling his finger on his brother’s visible ear. 

Luigi squeaked and moved his left hand over to cover up his ear. “Ihihit’s called Maroon, Mario…” Luigi told him. 

Mario actually guffawed at this. “Oh really~?” Mario asked. 

Luigi closed his eyes as he risked his future with this one single line: 

“...Burgundy is m-more of a reddish-brown shade…” Luigi admitted. 

Mario smirked as he threw Luigi’s phone onto the bed and rolled up his sleeves. “Alright, smartypants.” Mario started squeezing and skittering his fingers all over Luigi’s exposed left side. “You asked for it.” Mario declared. 

Luigi squealed and arched his back as fits of laughter overcame him. As he flopped onto his back, Luigi tried to both cover up his ticklish spots AND push Mario away from him. But not only did Luigi fail to accomplish one of the actions, he managed to utterly fail at BOTH! And that was laughable in and of itself! 

“Not so tough and mighty now, huh~?” Mario asked with a smirk. 

“MARIOHOHO! Ahahahaha- Leheheave me alohohohone!!” Luigi laughed, slightly whining as he failed yet again, to stop Mario. 

“And let you get away with being the smart one?! No way!” Mario replied. “I’m the older brother! I’M supposed to be the wise one here. And you attempting to take that title from me is just rude.” Mario added. 

“Yohohou’re juhuhust cahahan’t ahaccept the truhuhuhuth.” Luigi admitted. 

Mario dropped his jaw, before widening his smile drastically. “OhoHOOO!” Mario stopped tickling. “And what is THAT?!” Mario asked, leaning against the nightstand, eager to hear his answer. 

Luigi huffed softly as he hugged himself for dear life. He knew he was screwed if he said it…He knew it before he even said the precursor. But…he also felt like he was screwed no matter what his answer would end up being…So, he just…let it leave his mouth. 

“Tha-That I’m taller, and cooler, and therefore smarter.” Luigi declared with a surprising amount of confidence dripping from his lips. 

Mario raised both his eyebrows and dropped his jaw. He knew the man would say it…but he did NOT expect such confidence from the man he called his little brother! And to be completely honest, he was thoroughly impressed! 

“And…Yeah. Yeah, I said it.” Luigi declared, poking Mario’s chest awkwardly in the process. 

Mario looked down at Luigi’s finger…then looked up at Luigi’s eyes…before ultimately dropping his facade with a drop of his head and a soft wheeze. 

Now it was Luigi’s turn to be taken aback. Mario was genuinely laughing with his own fist partly covering up his mouth. It was so funny seeing Luigi become the strong one of the brothers. It was either that, Or it was the embarrassment manifesting itself into fits of laughter. It’s usually hard to tell with Mario. 

“Uhuh…Yeah…” Luigi let out, confused, but still quite proud of himself. 

“Mama mia…” Mario reacted, wiping a tear from his own eye. “Okay, that was a good one.” Mario admitted. 

“O-Oh! Uh- th-thanks!” Luigi reacted. “I…I tried, Mario.” Luigi admitted. 

“Yohou have no idea…” Mario said. 

Luigi smiled a bit more to himself. He felt really proud in this moment. 

Mario looked at him. “No idea how SCREWED YOU ARE!” Mario suddenly scooped up his brother under the arms and threw him a foot into the air. 

Luigi screeched and yelped as he was thrown into the air. All the confidence Luigi had just seconds prior, had diminished as fear as the man was literally thrown for a loop! 

Mario caught his brother bridal style, and took in a big breath really quickly. 

“WaitwaiTWAIT-” Luigi yelled right before the inevitable happened: Mario had unloaded a huge raspberry onto Luigi’s somewhat bare belly. 

“MAMA WAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Luigi screamed as he kicked his legs wildly and waved his arms all over the place. As it would turn out, Luigi’s temporary flying was enough to bring his pj shirt up, uncovering the poor man’s belly just enough for Mario to make the biggest impact right on his belly. Either it was dumb luck, or Mario had deliberately planned it that way. 

Either way, Mario being impressed didn't really change how doomed Luigi would end up being. 

Not even close. 

Mario removed his face from Luigi’s belly, before looking at Luigi. “I wonder how many raspberries it would take to make you utterly breathless…” Mario asked with a smirk. 

Luigi squeaked and covered his mouth hard enough to muffle a lot of his suspenseful giggles. 

“One is clearly not enough.” Mario added as he adjusted his grip on Luigi slightly so he could tease him a bit more. 

How did he do this? 

Well, it’s simple really. Mario started to bring Luigi’s PJ shirt up just a touch more with his right finger. And in the process, Mario had also managed to tickle Luigi’s lower back ribs slightly. This alone was enough to make the boy giggle and wiggle around a bit in Mario’s arms. “Eheheheeee! Mahario please dohohon’t.” Luigi whined. 

“Don’t do what?” Mario asked innocently. 

Luigi widened his eyes. 

“Please, by all means: Tell me what I can’t do.” Mario told him. 

Luigi squeaked and leaned back, covering his mouth and letting out a big burst of whiny giggles. 

“Oh? Oh what’s that?” Mario asked, bringing his ear slightly closer to Luigi’s face. But all the man heard was squeaky, flustered giggles from his leprechaun-colored brother. “Oh you can’t tell me?!” Mario reacted.��

Luigi squeezed his eyes shut, knowing what was coming next. 

“Looks like I’m just gonna haaaave to continue doing what I had planned.” Mario declared before taking in a big breath and blowing another raspberry. 

“PPPPBBBFBBFBFFFBBFBBFBB!” 

Luigi threw his head back, uncovered his mouth and let out a SUPER strong cackle. He had no clue what to do with his hands at this point! So the man had begun flapping his arms like a freaking bird while kicking his feet up and down at rapid speed! 

“Oooone raspberry.” Mario declared, taking a second to look at Luigi with a smirk before taking in another deep breath. 

“PPPPFFFFBBBFBFBFBFBBBBFFFBBFBFBFFF!” Mario blasted another raspberry right into Luigi’s vulnerable tummy. 

“BAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!” Luigi cackled once again before covering his face. 

“Twooo raspberries.” Mario said with a smirk. “I wonder when the snorts will start coming out…” Mario said out loud. 

“YOHOHOHOHohou suhuhuhuhuck!” Luigi yelled at him. 

“Oh I do, do I?” Mario said as his smirk widened. “Congratulations! You just earned yourself another raspberry!” 

Mario took in a big breath and blew. “PPPPBBFFFBFBFBFFFBBBBFBFBBBFBFFBB!” 

“GAHAHAHAHA- *snort* -AHAHAHAHAHA- *snort* EEEHEEK! NOHOHO-” Luigi covered his mouth as more snorts started coming out at full force. “OHOHO NOHOHOHO- *snort* NOHOOOHO!” Luigi yelled, uncovering his mouth before letting out a long fit of cackles. 

“Wow! I’m impressed, brother! Three raspberries, and you’re not even breathless!” Mario reacted. “Snorty for sure, but not breathless.” Mario added. 

“Ihihihihi…*huff* Ihihi’m gohohonna-” 

Mario smirked and raised an eyebrow. “Oh? What are you gonna do?” Mario asked. 

“Ihihi-” Luigi attempted to say. 

Mario’s smirk widened. “Tell me, my sweet little brother, what YOU are gonna do while YOU’re stuck in this predicament.” Mario declared, poking his chest. 

Luigi wasn’t even thinking straight, which was exactly why Luigi let out the following sentence: 

“Ihihi’m gonna get you back sohoho bad after thihihis!” Luigi threatened through his giggles. 

Mario narrowed his eyes as a genuine little smile grew onto his own lips. “Whatever you say, brother.” Mario said, shrugging his shoulders before breathing in and blowing yet ANOTHER raspberry onto his poor brother’s belly. 

“aaAAAAAHAHAHAHA- *snort* HAHAHAHAHAAA! *snort* EEEEEHEHEHEHEHEEEeee-” 

Mario removed his face from Luigi’s belly right around the time that Luigi’s body went limp as his laughter became breathless. 

“Four raspberries…” Mario muttered before dropping Luigi back onto the bed. “Not bad, bro.” Mario reacted, poking his side. 

Luigi curled himself up into a ball on his right side again, hugging himself as he attempted to calm down. “Yohohohohou…Yohohou’re ehehevil.” Luigi told him, squeezing his eyes shut as his giggles died down. “Sohohoho, sohoho evihil.” Luigi mumbled. 

Mario smirked and gave Luigi’s neck a little flutter with his fingers. “I know.” Mario replied rather proudly. 

This immediately made Luigi squeak and tense up, curling his neck to the left. “EEEEheeheeheeheehehee!” Luigi giggled, reaching his hands back to move the fingers away from his neck. 

Unfortunately, this move of defense only opened up another vulnerable spot on the man. And Mario quickly took advantage of that. Mario shoved his hand right into Luigi’s left armpit, wiggling his fingers. Luigi turned over onto his back yet again, and instinctively squeezed Mario’s hand against his armpit, locking it in. “Wahahait dohohon’t!” Luigi laughed. 

“Thought I was done, huh?” Mario asked. 

“Yeheheah! Ihihi thohought-” Luigi looked up at his brother. “Ah ah ah~” Mario warned with his free left hand. “Just because I complimented you, doesn’t mean I was done.” Mario reminded him. 

Luigi closed his eyes and just gave up wiggling. He was too tired to keep moving for much longer. 

Mario stopped his fingers, and slid them out of Luigi’s armpit. “Okay, now I’m done.” Mario decided. 

Luigi covered his sides. “Ihihi dohon’t believe you…” Luigi admitted. 

“I am. Promise.” Mario replied, holding out his pinky. 

Luigi looked at the pinky for a moment, before sighing and intertwining his own pinky with Mario’s. With the promise in place, they let go. Now, Luigi would’ve moved onto his side again…but he was just too tired to do that at this moment. So, he remained on his back. Mario knelt down and picked up Luigi’s phone, which seemed to have dropped on the ground amidst Mario’s tickle attack. He handed Luigi his phone, holding it up like a claw machine. “Here.” Mario said. 

Luigi reached up to grab it, but widened his eyes slightly as Mario lifted it up another inch away from his hand. Luigi knew something was up, but couldn’t think properly. So, he reached for it again, but Mario lifted the phone up another inch. Luigi narrowed his eyes and reached for it again. And Mario lifted it up yet another inch. 

Luigi grumbled a bit. Two can play at that game. Luigi moved his fingers up to Mario and tickled his own fingers against Mario’s side and ribs. 

“BWAAAHAHA!” Mario laughed, pulling his arm back and dropping the phone right into Luigi’s hands before covering up his own side and giggling. 

“That’s just a small taste of what’s coming for you.” Luigi told him with a smirk. 

Mario bit his lip as he felt a slight blush of his own starting to show up on his face. He decided to try and brush it off by walking away from him.  But Luigi had decided to take this wonderful chance to tease him just once more. 

Luigi cleared his throat with a small smirk. “Ah, I can see why you like the color red now.” 

Mario froze in place. Did he just- 

He took a deep, slow breath. Mario quickly turned around and ran to Luigi’s bed. “Pinky promise is OVER.” Mario declared as he jumped onto the bed and started mercilessly tickling his brother. Turns out Luigi’s snap talk had not been corrected quite enough yet…

[bunveh]

I currently have an exam worth 20% of my grade and for the first time in my whole life, as someone who literally kills herself each exam season (and hurts herself real bad each exam) I genuinely feel nothing. I don’t even care if I get 0% that much atp I’m just so done. I have the work in front of me and I’m like idec enough to study atp after years of it being like this