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ladysyrinx · 3 years ago

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Kuro Neko, Miraculous Ladybug S4 Mental Health Perspective Analysis

Sort of analysis. Analysis from a mental health perspective. Explaining what we were seeing and the possible "lesson" intended by this episode.

There aren't a lot of outright spoilers, but this will make a lot more sense after seeing the episode. Or you could read this before and see if you agree with my assessment? Idk. You do you. You've been warned and advised:)

Okay. So I’ve read some salt about this saying that Ladybug didn’t do anything wrong, and the point of the episode shouldn’t be that there are consequences for her actions.

Which is accurate (mostly). She and Cat Noir could both be a little better at communicating, but overall she handled it pretty well.

So then, why did this episode happen? To crap on Cat Noir?

No, I don’t think that’s it either.

This will be a bit long, I’ll put a summary at the bottom in italics if you want to skip there:)

Point 1: Adrien/Cat Noir was depressed this episode. He showed all the classic signs: Little to no interest or pleasure in things he normally likes, no energy, emotions not cycling like they normally should and instead stuck in a blah place, wearing only lounge clothes with no desire to change to normal clothes, and staying in bed late.

Why was he depressed? CUZ HIS FAMILY IS S***!

I know. It LOOKS like it’s because Ladybug was ‘neglecting’ him. So, if you will allow me, let me explain why that isn’t what we’re seeing. Because I know a lot about mental health from personal experience and research. I’ll try to shed some light on what’s happening.

Adrien often looks depressed around his father. He doesn’t let himself get too excited about much. He does find pleasure in doing things that will connect him with other people, and that’s about it. So having a more serious depressed episode is unsurprising. Whether or not he really had depression before this episode is somewhat debatable, but there can be an argument made for it.

His family (father in particular, jury’s out on his mother, Nathalie is an enabler for his father) is abusive. This is probably the source of his depression. Key examples his father is emotionally abusive (in case you, idk, had a blindfold on for all 4 seasons and somehow missed it). He withholds love unless Adrien behaves or does things a certain way. Adrien only gets attention from him for acting out or for accomplishing things, sometimes not even then. He uses punishments and love to manipulate Adrien into doing what he wants (ie, you can only go to school and HAVE FREAKING FRIENDS if you do everything I want you to all the time, and live by this busy and hectic schedule.) Outside connection is limited (ie, rarely gets to do things with his friends, his father disapproves of his friends and attempts to put doubts in Adrien’s mind about his friends). His dad neglects him, leaving him mostly to Nathalie and Gorilla’s care. He is absent and even when he promises to be there, he rarely is, and even more rarely is there in person. His shows of love or affection toward Adrien are extremely limited. He is not there for his son if Adrien needs to talk. He gaslights Adrien when Adrien is concerned about Nathalie and makes the connection with his mother’s illness, saying nothing is wrong and trying to get Adrien to doubt his own perception and intuition and senses to try to get him to only trust his father’s viewpoint and what his father finds more convenient for him to believe. I’m guessing there’s a lot more gaslighting going on, but I don’t want to try to look for it right now. Adrien feels the need to be perfect and not be himself around his family and in public to make his family look good. Adrien feels the need to defend his father’s toxic behaviors and deny it when it’s pointed out to him. His father is extremely controlling and manipulative, which are also emotionally abusive. And if you want to underestimate emotional abuse, don’t. It’s very insidious and can make a person struggle to see reality. It can also cause PTSD and CPTSD and other traumatic psychological issues, so it is just as serious and, studies show, painful as other kinds of abuse. Sorry, that was long. On to my next point!

Abuse and neglect have led Adrien to developing an insecure attachment style. Theattachmentprogram.com sums what this is and what causes it pretty clearly:

“If a child perceives that his or her needs are not met, the child is not able to build a secure and stable bond with the caregivers. This leads to the development of an insecure attachment style and ultimately a distorted perception of how relationships work.”

If you can’t see how he would have developed this after point 3, I’m not sure what more I can do to convince you. Gabriel does not meet Adrien’s emotional needs of being loved and accepted and cared for. Gabriel is emotionally abusive and never there for his son. Of course Adrien is going to develop an insecure attachment style. I don’t think that’s even in question.

4. Adrien has an anxious attachment style. To quote theattachmentprogram.com again, “Most often, anxious attachment is due to misattuned and inconsistent parenting. Low self-esteem, strong fear of rejection or abandonment, and clinginess in relationships are common signs of this attachment style.” Gabriel is the epitome of inconsistent parenting. He is neglectful most the time, but then sometimes he opens up to Adrien and urges Adrien to come to him with his needs. Which he then doesn’t meet when Adrien inevitably tries once again to come to him.

5. Anxiously attached people often project what they need or want onto a partner and then become obsessed with them. You’ve seen it. He wants the love and affection from Ladybug that he should be getting from his father (not romantic love, ick. Just love and acceptance and an expression of needing the other person and being included). They become very anxious without the person. That person is the end all be all, and if that person does not like them back it is the end of the world and they become very anxious. They are easily jealous and a bit suspicious. They also always feel bad about themselves and idealize their partners. They feel like they have no worth and have very low self esteem (and can you blame the kid with how Gabriel Agreste treats him? Anyone’s going to have self esteem issues if someone treats them like that.) And they need a lot of affirmation and assurances in their relationships. Cat Noir looks needy, but it’s because of this attachment style that originated from abuse. Yes, he needs to learn how to have healthier relationships and have confidence in those relationships, but he literally has no way of accessing the help he would need to do that so long as Gabriel is in charge of him. He’s 14. There’s not a lot he can do. He is not at fault for his neediness or his struggles with feeling like LB doesn’t need him. He needs to learn better and hopefully he will. But probably not as long as he’s still being actively emotionally abused at home by his father and only parental figure.

6. Anxious attachment (or really any insecure attachment) increases the risk for psychological problems/mental illnesses like Depression. As established, Adrien was showing classic signs of depression in this episode, and possibly in other episodes as well. We can see this even worse with how Gabriel Agreste handles it (Oh, he’s an Agreste, he’ll be fine in 3 days when I actually need him to be a human being, who cares that he’s suffering now?) So we really see the true culprit. Adrien doesn’t show a lot of extreme emotions ever, which can be another sign of depression–just a lot of blah, not much of any kind of emotion. Think Inside Out if you need a reference. No joy, no sadness. No anything except maybe some disappointment and desire for something that might make us feel okay again. I’m not sure, or necessarily convinced, that Adrien usually has depression, but he certainly was having a depressive episode whether or not he has actual major depressive disorder or not. He probably does have some form of PTSD because he’s had a lot of abuse and trauma in his life, but I’m not going to go looking through the whole series for evidence for or against that at the moment. Not the point. Just saying that the extremity of his Depressive episode and the reason he was feeling so insecure was because of his home life, not Ladybug’s actions.

7. In short, what happened in Kuro Neko was Gabriel Agreste’s fault for being a s***** dad. It’s not Adrien’s fault, though the poor boy desperately needs therapy. He didn’t ask to be abused or neglected, and there is literally nothing the poor boy can do to get his father to stop being a terrible father, because he has tried freaking everything. It’s not Ladybug’s fault, because in reality, she’s probably not going to be able to do or live up to what Adrien thinks or wants until he can reach a place of healthier attachment, though she does try to love and support him where she can. She can’t provide for all his emotional needs–no one person can provide for 100% of another person’s emotional needs, that’s why we need a circle of family and friends (sometimes family-like friends if a person’s family is not going to be that emotional support). Plus, she cannot make up for his dad’s neglect and bad parenting. And Adrien is probably not aware of his unhealthy attachment style because he’s being raised by FREAKING HAWKMOTH/Gabriel Agreste (honestly the Gabriel Agreste part of that duality is probably the worse part :P). He hasn’t had any examples of healthy relationships that he is involved in or can even really see with how controlling his father is.

Anyways, I hope this makes sense. I’ve been doing a lot of research into attachment styles recently, which has actually helped me a lot in understanding why I react and do the things I do in my own relationships (I recommend doing a little research into it yourself. Knowing what is going on is the first step to improving what is going on:) I was watching this and realizing, hey, Adrien has this attachment style. No surprise there.

*In short, Adrien has an anxious attachment style likely because of Gabriel Agreste, his father, and his emotional needs rarely getting met at home and by his parental figure/caregiver(s). With the addition of being subjected to a lot of psychological and emotional abuse at home. This leads to a lot of his insecurities and obsessive/hyper-focused tendencies with Ladybug, him being easily jealous or hurt/discouraged. People with this attachment style need a lot of reassurance. So what happened in Kuro Neko was not Ladybug’s fault, nor was it really Adrien/Cat Noir’s fault. He doesn’t really have a way of getting help to work on his attachment style, nor is he really in a position where he can recognize it, seeing as he is not allowed close enough to anyone with healthy relationships to learn that his family relationships are not healthy. His relationship with Ladybug and perhaps Nino (who his father actively disapproves of) are the closest things he has. So if you’re looking for someone to blame for Kuro Neko's drama, look no further than Gabriel Agreste, the true supervillain who doesn’t even need a superpower to be the worst, though he’s managed to get one anyway because he is literally the worst.

It also seems like Thomas Astruc said somewhere that Cat Noir is too reliant/dependent on Ladybug. So the purpose of this episode was likely to highlight that.

If you'd like me to do more analyses on mental health, or anything, in a fandom, feel free to request it:) and please leave a heart and/or repost if you felt like this was helpful or enjoyed this:)

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the-insomniac-emporium · 4 years ago

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Serenade (Daniela Dimitrescu/Reader) Pt. 1

Fandom: Resident Evil: Village Pairing: Daniela Dimitrescu/Reader Rating: T for teen for mild language. Later entries in the series will be more mature though, just a heads up Warnings: None this chapter. There will probably be canon typical violence/blood mentioned or referenced in future chapters though, cuz, ya know, vampire ladies? Notes: No beta reader, we die like Ethan Winters’ hands (repeatedly, and with odd frequency)

Chapter 1: Nocturne

Of all the tasks assigned to you, none were as bittersweet as that of dusting Lady Dimitrescu’s piano. Years ago, before you had been shuffled off to a remote European village, before you had been roughly snatched from your home, before… this, you had been taught to play music. From a young age it brought you comfort, entertained you on quiet days, and even made you your fair share of friends. Though you had experimented with a handful of instruments, none felt more natural than piano. Leaving your family’s heirloom piano behind was one of the hardest things you had ever had to do.

Until you arrived at Castle Dimitrescu, at least. Sweat often dropped off your brow as you spent endless hours scrubbing floors, carrying baskets of clothes or mysterious parcels of meat up and down flights of stairs, rushing to and fro rooms across the estate. Physical labor was no stranger to you, but no employer had ever been as demanding as those you now served. Hence part of why you always breathed a sigh of relief when you were chosen to dust the piano. It was hardly a demanding task, even when you had to take care not to accidentally let the keys make any noise. No one was allowed to play it without permission (and that was never given).

Which brought you an aching sensation at the core of your chest, balled up alongside past regrets, a hundred million thoughts of alternative realities where you didn’t hurt so much. There was no point in imagining what choices might have saved you from your fate… and yet you did so anyway. Sometimes you thought about barricading yourself in the room, just so you could play a couple songs, even if it would guarantee you a painful death. But you could never bring yourself to willingly disobey Lady Dimitrescu; not when you had heard the wails and screams of Maidens a few floors below.

Yes, you would never willingly, knowingly do such. That wasn’t to say you were incapable of mistakes. No, you weren’t that fortunate. It was such a simple error, really, just a misjudgment of the cloth held between your fingers. Your hand slipped. That was all. But that slip led to an accidental press of a key- f#, if you heard right- that sounded throughout the room with damning clarity. Just like that, you felt the pitiful thing you called life shatter to pieces on the floor. Inside your chest your heart started to pound, a metronome speeding this performance along to its end.

Had you not been paralyzed with dread, you might have accepted your fate with enough grace to sit down, play those last few tunes like you had daydreamed about so many times. But you didn’t, couldn’t. All you felt you could do was strain your ears and listen for the impending sounds of angry footsteps.

Instead your concentration was interrupted by a door flying open, hitting the wall with a slam you knew would leave a dent, as a swarm of insects burst in. Nearly jumping out of your skin you put a hand to your chest, half expecting not to feel a heartbeat anymore. The rhythm was off, for sure, and it skipped a beat when the swarm surged together to form a somewhat familiar figure: Daniela Dimitrescu. Leaning against the piano, one hand bracing against it, the woman pretended to examine her sickle, idly twisting it back and forth in her hand. When she spoke, she didn’t even bother to glance in your direction.

“I never understood why mother dedicated a whole room to this,” she muses, casually inclining her head towards the piano. “It’s not like any of our instructors lasted very long. Why not let this gather dust with the rest of the useless junk somewhere upstairs?” There’s a pause, and for a moment you mentally debate whether or not you’re supposed to respond. Apparently not, as Daniela soon turns to you and speaks more directly, which is grand, really, as your tongue felt as if it was glued to the roof of your mouth. “Maybe she knew someday someone would come along to serenade us. And you clearly know how to play, otherwise you wouldn’t have dared to make a sound.”

Stepping forward, she extends a gloved hand, cupping your chin so gently that you almost couldn’t feel her touch. Her gaze, however, was dangerously intense, unblinking, and filled with far less joy than her grin would suggest. The touch lasts only a few seconds. Just long enough to leave you shaking with anticipation. Daniela’s toothy smile only widens as she backs up, keeping her eyes on you even as she reclines into a chair in the corner of the room. You almost wished she would just get it over with and kill you. Whatever she had in mind would be worse in the end, yes?

“Well? Aren’t you going to play for me? Show me how much you love me? I don’t have all night,” Daniela says expectantly. She’s relaxed fully, sitting with one leg crossed over the other, spine pressed up against the back of the chair, but she hasn’t set her sickle down. There’s a clear threat in the way she holds it, grip tight enough to let you know that she’s still ready (and itching) to use it.

You couldn’t help but wonder if she’d be acting differently if she knew that you did, in fact, know how to play. Was this just a teasing start to your punishment? Or was there a part of her genuinely interested in hearing music? Obviously you hoped for the latter. Hell, you practically prayed for it as you slowly pulled out the piano bench, awkwardly sat down, and urged your body to remember a song. What genre would a vampire from the 1950’s even enjoy? All you knew were bits and pieces of a few classics, a couple chord progressions from early 2000’s hits, and a handful of songs you had written yourself.

There wasn’t much time to ponder, not with Daniela’s gaze burning a whole in the side of your head. So you simply pressed your fingers to the keys, took a deep breath, and let muscle memory take over. Your eyes became half lidded as you started to play, hardly paying attention to what you were doing. It felt like a single glance at your captor would result in the worst case of stage fright known to mankind. Instead you focused on the piano’s wooden frame, and the many grain marks twisting within.

All the while your fingers glided over the keys, delicately pressing here and there, starting with something simple. Little more than a chord on your left hand, followed with a few short notes on your right, repeating in different places up and down the scale. It was almost a test, a gentle showing to see what Daniela would do. You still refused to look at her, even when you heard what sounded like a bored sigh. A knot tied itself in your stomach, and you gulped, before you shifted mental gears. Evidently “soft and simple” wasn’t going to cut it. Hopefully you could please one Lady without earning the ire of any of the others.

So you paused, letting the notes suspend in the air for a moment, and came back swinging. The kiddy gloves were off, abandoned on the floor with your sense of caution. Grander things came back to mind as your fingers danced atop the keys, stretching chords and melodies alongside each other, the best of what you recalled pouring out of you without a sign of stopping. Out of the corner of your eyes you saw Daniela sit up, paying more attention then she had at the start. Confidence found itself growing at the center of your chest, and it managed to turn your lips up into a smile. How long had it been since you had been able to perform like this? Years? A decade, even? You didn’t know. It didn’t matter.

Minutes passed by like this, with your hands moving constantly, even as your gaze never shifted. It was heaven channeled on Earth. Whatever was to come after, death or dismemberment, you couldn’t care less. Let them take your blood, your life. They could never take this music from your mind, from your memories, or the joy it inspired in you. If you were to die soon, at least you had been given one last soliloquy.

Eventually the song had to end. It was a bitter moment, one you dreaded for its followup, but otherwise would have found pride in. After all, you were evidently the first maiden to give a performance (at least of this variety) to one of the Dimitrescu sisters! Certainly that was an accomplishment? Maybe your brain would let you celebrate later… assuming you survived. Daniela had stayed quiet since her earlier sigh, letting you play on without interruption thus far. Now that the song was over you didn’t know what to expect. Knowing Daniela, or at least knowing the rumors surrounding you, it was hard to imagine that anything you could expect would be accurate.

“How long have you been hiding this little talent of yours?” She coos, clapping her hands together with a short giggle. So far so good, you thought, clinging desperately to hope. Once more she rose to her feet, moving so smoothly she might as well have been gliding, and ended up by your side. This time her hand rested on your shoulder, putting enough pressure to keep you from moving. “Don’t tell me you’re shy, that would simply be too… precious.” With that said her hand trails along your shoulder, across your collarbone, up your neck, then rests for a moment on your cheek. The touch sends a shiver down your spine, which only encourages Daniela, and she tucks a strand of your hair behind her ear.

Before she can say more, or you could even attempt to form words, there’s the faint sound of someone yelling in the distance. A name, you think, although it’s not loud enough for you to make out who’s being called. The answer becomes evident soon enough, however, as Daniela pulls back from you suddenly, smile trading out for a scowl. Some part of you instantly misses her touch, leaving the rest of you confused more than anything.

“Get back to your work, then,” Daniela says, roughly, the playfulness in her voice now entirely absent. It was such a sudden change in demeanor that you didn’t know how to react. Thankfully her eyes were no longer on you, and she was already moving towards the door. Had you really managed to play your way out of a punishment? You knew for a fact that at least one other maiden had lost her life for making the same mistake you did, yet now Daniela looks ready to leave without so much as a slap on the wrist. But she does pause in the doorway, as if reading your thoughts, and throws you a look over her shoulder. Her eyes narrow for a split second before she gives you one last wicked grin. “Don’t worry, sweet thing, I won’t forget you anytime soon.”

Just like that she was gone, into a cloud of insects, out the door and into the corridor beyond. The tension in the room had left, you could finally breathe easy… and yet still your mind was racing. Those words she had left you with- were they a threat? Or a promise of something softer? Only time would tell.

#daniela dimitrescu #daniela dimitrescu x reader #resident evil: village #re8 village #the reader's gender isn't explicitly stated here #but is implied to be female cuz of that whole maiden thing #i might split up future chapters based on idk how to word it #version with dick and version without dick #2 for the price of 1 #for smut reasons obviously #i aint into that whole sex thing #but i have no qualms writing it lol

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ne-fe-li-bata · 4 years ago

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Corpse:

"i just feel weird"

"I'm just really out of it"

"probably crying in the shower later"

"it's better to fade away than burn out"

"i just 2nd guess, cuz it's hard when 1000s of people are coming at you saying things like that"

Absolutely broke my heart..

+ thoughts:

Whatever Corspe choose to do, whether it be to slowly fade away off the internet, or take a break - whatever he chooses & what he thinks is best for him. I completely support.

He's most likely going through a hard phase of self destruction.

& as much as it was wonderful to hear him laughing & having somewhat a good time.

I can hear it in his voice.

He is tired, he is in a lot pain, physical & emotionally..

& he's defeated.. - with the cluster fuck of the past few days..

But I really hope he remembers;

No one can take your accomplishments away. The grind, blood, sweat, tears, time, your EVERYTHING you've put into this since the beginning..

You've been able to talk to all those who've inspired you

& I kno damn well sure you've inspired kid (even if it just 1, you've reached them) that sits in their room to pursue their dreams too.

You have a talent that's unmatched (for being relativity new in the hip-hop/rap game)

You've been on 1 absolute hell of a fuckin ride kid. Both personally & professionally.

You've single handily have fucked with the world & different industries (& will continue to do so) & have done it all by yourself.

For being 'just a kid with a dream sitting on his computer' you single handily defined a huge, HUGE part of 2020 & I kno you haven't fully processed that. By far the 2nd biggest "C".

But - you should think about it, take a second (ding) looking at Corpse - from a 3rd person perspective. Absolutely fuckin mental my dude.

Non the less-

You kno of you're talent.

You kno of your passion & you kno of the impact you've had. ( not to the extent, but regardless)

The work you've put into this.

All the behind the scenes you've done.

Plz be kind to yourself. You've over come so much already. Where most would of just given up years ago..

I kno you are 1 stubborn ass mother fucker. You persisted & worked(ING) towards healing yourself on your own.

& damn well you're not going down with out a fight - I mean you've been fighting for so long already ( & I kno you're tired.. & it seems like all you've been doing is fighting)

Also I kno the pain has changed you, there's no denying that & the pain never goes away. But you're doing everything you possibly can for yourself.

Give yourself some more credit & plz stop being so hard on yourself.

We only know this small part of you.

Anyways, what I'm trying to say is -

Thank you-for everything..

Do what you need to.

Drop what you fucking want

Post whatever the fuck you want

Keep that "fuck it" attitude

& the rest will follow.

You've done a good job kid & it's okay to be mad. You have every absolute right. But to give up now?

Nawh.. Not after all the bullshit. You know how sweet spite taste.

Cheers you beast..

You've got this My King

#Corpse #corpse husband #dear corpse

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purplecatghostposts · 4 years ago

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Roleswap AU ideas: if you want something big, you could maybe do when the gang first gets to Xen. Or if you want something more low key, could do right after the resonance cascade cuz I'm very curious about how you think Gordon would treat Benrey in that moment

You. *Grabs your face* You are a lifesaver.

Also halfway through brainstorming I went, “hey what if I COMBINED them” so get ready, I’m doing both. In chronological order of course

——

There’s a list of things Gordon expected to happen when he joined Black Mesa as the newest member of the Security Team.

(Ideally, he would’ve joined as a Scientist but Gordon needs more money to put him through college first so Security will have to do. Plus maybe if he does well, he can get a good reputation with Black Mesa and his chances of becoming a Scientist will get higher!)

A few of them come true. Gordon sees real, actual aliens, machines that can accomplish beyond what he’s dreamed, and only becomes entranced with the idea of becoming a Scientist and working with all of this.

A few of them don’t quite live up to his expectations. Namely, it’s hard to make friends. Too many of the Scientists are straight up dicks- especially Dr. Bubby, god, what Gordon would give to punch that man in the face- and the guards aren’t all that friendly either. They’re not quite prickly but most of them just want to get their jobs done, go home, and never talk with anyone they work with outside the workplace.

It’s frustrating but Gordon gets used to it. A few people make it bearable and he falls into a rhythm that’s comfortable enough.

(Years start to pass by. One- three- five now. Gordon has enough money but he hasn’t gone to college yet. His life isn’t perfect but... Can he really uproot it? Will becoming a theoretical physicist really make his life better? Is that really what he wants? Did he already miss his chance at the life he wanted by waiting?)

Everything changes in the blink on an eye. Because in all the things he thought would happen in his time in Black Mesa, a Resonance Cascade was not one of them.

His name is Benrey and he doesn’t have his passport. Gordon knows for a fact that Black Mesa sent an E-Mail and several follow ups a week in advance about this new policy. Everyone else had theirs but this guy- Benrey- claims he never heard of it.

Gordon pinches the bridge of his nose. Company policy dictates that he has to follow this guy around for the rest of the day to make sure he actually belongs here. And Gordon was hoping for an early lunch break that he’s not gonna get. Typical.

Gordon follow Benrey- even into the test chamber which Benrey says isn’t dangerous though Gordon takes one look at the machine buzzing to life and he isn’t so sure. But Gordon continues to stick around, even after the machine goes critical.

Everything goes green. Gordon wakes up in the dust of a ruined test chamber. Alarms blare in the distance, reminding him of the disaster they have on their hands. Benrey’s already up, staring at the remains of a machine with an faraway look in his eyes.

Gordon gets his attention as he stands. “Hey!” Benrey snaps to attention, eyes wide but he relaxes somewhat upon seeing Gordon. “What- what the hell was that?” Gordon gestures in the general direction of the machine.

Benrey’s mouth opens and closes before he eventually mumbles, “S-shit happens.”

Gordon gives him a hard look. “Shit happens.” Gordon repeats slowly. Is he really not taking this seriously? “That’s all you have to say? ‘Shit Happens’- that’s it?”

Benrey shifts in place. The laugh that leaves him sounds almost off but Gordon doesn’t know enough about Benrey to know for sure. “What... What else can I say? I mean, shit like this happens all the time, s’not new, right?”

“I- what?” Gordon sputters, looking Benrey up and down. “No! It doesn’t! Are you hearing those alarms? I’ve worked here for five and a half years and I’ve never seen anything like this happen! This is a Resonance Cascade, Benrey! This is a fucking disaster and you-!”

Benrey’s breath hitches and Gordon doesn’t finish. And you caused it, the thought rings in his ears but he doesn’t say it out loud.

There’s a look in Benrey’s eyes- an emotion that swallows him whole- but Gordon hasn’t the slightest what it is. Because next thing he knows, Benrey is laughing again and stuttering out a, “I have no idea what this is, dude. What’s a... Resident Cascade?”

“Resonance Cascade.” Gordon corrects with a huff. There’s a lopsided grin on Benrey’s face and Gordon doesn’t know how to deal with it. “Fucking- come on. We need to get out of here as soon as possible. We don’t know what damage y- what damage has been caused. Whatever it is, it’s dangerous.”

Benrey waves him off but quickly heads for the exit. “Psh, we can handle it.”

Gordon bites his lip and doesn’t comment on that. There’s a high chance he’s going to be stuck with Benrey for a while and he doesn’t like it.

—

Gordon has a good feeling what’s going to happen long before they enter the portal to Xen.

He knows now. That he’s not human- that he’s never been human. The portal to Xen calls to him like a twisted siren song that he doesn’t want to acknowledge even exists. It crackles with a power that physically feels good but leaves a sick feeling in his stomach.

Gordon knows how this is gonna go. He tries to talk Benrey out of going to Xen but, well...

Benrey hasn’t acted the same since Gordon got his hand cut off. He listens somewhat but Benrey subconsciously holds his gun-arm close to his chest whenever Gordon says a word to him. He no longer trusts him, that much is clear. Gordon doesn’t blame him. He wouldn’t either.

Gordon is the last one through the portal. Benrey is the first, leaping in without much hesitation with Bubby following close behind. Gordon almost doesn’t want to go but he hears the ringing in his ears. Xen has been calling to him for a while now and seeing the portal makes it impossible to ignore.

Gordon enters into Xen. He’s hit with a wave of energy he’s never felt before, even before he makes it to the other side.

It changes him. Gordon doesn’t mean to do it but his body gulps down the energy like it’s starving for it and Gordon grows. His body shifts and morphs and threatens to become inhuman but even if Gordon knows, he holds onto his human appearence. He wants to be human for a little longer. Though he can’t stop how tall he gets.

And Gordon knows now. Black Mesa has been looking for Xen’s main powerhouse for a long time- they told Benrey to search for him. To find their strongest alien and to take it out. Gordon enters Xen and suddenly, he remembers everything. He might’ve escaped Xen a long time ago but his connection to Xen never left. It’s him. Gordon’s what Black Mesa wants gone.

It’s almost funny. Gordon’s been working at Black Mess for years now- they could’ve dealt with him ages ago and would’ve been done with it. It’s a set up to a bad joke that Gordon wants to laugh hysterically at anyways because it’s so goddamn funny, isn’t it? His life has been a giant joke and it’s not even a good one.

Typical. Gordon never had good luck anyways.

It’s impossible to hide when Gordon arrives at Xen. He stands, far taller than any human could ever be and looms over the rest of the team. He stares down at them with tired eyes, knowing nothing is going to go his way. Everyone else backs up upon seeing him, looks of shock and terror on each of them, except for Benrey. Benrey doesn’t move, frozen and staring up at Gordon with wide, unblinking eyes.

Gordon knows the look on his face now. He’s seen it enough times that it makes him sick. In the testing chamber, a few times when they got attacked by soldiers and aliens, anytime they faced an alien far bigger than the rest, when Gordon left him at the mercy of the soldiers, when Gordon saw him again afterwards- Gordon knows that look like the back of his hand, even if he didn’t understand it the first time he saw it.

It’s fear. And Gordon caused it.

“It’s you...” Benrey’s voice shakes, staring up at him. He doesn’t have to elaborate, Gordon knows what he means.

“It’s me.” Gordon nods, resigned.

He doesn’t blame him when Benrey runs.

——

This was a veryyyy fun write, I’m not gonna lie. Thank you so much for the suggestion! If you got another one, feel free to send it! I hope y’all enjoy!

#SB Speaks #SB Writes #Roleswap Requests #Roleswap AU #hlvrai #hlvrai roleswap au #benrey #hlvrai gordon freeman #god i love roleswap #the shift in relationship between Gordon and Benrey...#its just fun for me y’know? get to explore something different

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fiveisnumber1 · 4 years ago

Note

I just listened to Rob Thomas' Little Wonders again. I LOVE Meet the Robinsons so much and it suddenly gave me the following headcanons:

The H7 realize that the Hargreeves have never seen Meet the Robinsons and choose it for family movie night one night. The fact that the film is about adopted family and not knowing where you fit in and overcoming hardship just hits a nerve and by the point of the ending song each of the Hargreeves are in tears but will VEHEMENTLY deny it if asked later. ("The lights were off in the parlor so nO THERE'S NO PROOF WE CRIED.") Meanwhile the H7 share secret high fives and happy grins cuz mission accomplished!

Just the following lyrics I feel would strike a chord in them all but Five especially cuz he was alone for so long and was literally fighting time and thought everyone would die as well:

Let it go. Let it roll right off your shoulder. Don't you know, The hardest part is over. Let it in. Let your clarity define you In the end. We will only just remember how it feels. Our lives are made, In these small hours, These little wonders. These twists and turns of fate. Time falls away. But these small hours. These small hours still remain.

Time literally did fall away. It was no longer their greatest enemy and all the Hargreeves realizing that it took decades for them to find peace and clarity but now they have it and that clarity of who they choose to be defines them, not what Reginald made them out to be.

But also I have a SECOND headcanon based on Meet the Robinsons itself:

So you know how once the timeline is fixed, there's still gonna be a 13 year old Five time traveling from the past to the future, right? I just love the idea of there being a whole "Meet the Family" scene but with the H7 and 13yrold!Five cuz why are these strangers living in his house?

If we make it a stretch, maybe Five doesn't realize his older siblings are his siblings either and can "meet" them too cuz they look different (and maybe they cover their tattoos and he's already suspicious cuz of the H7) so he doesn't realize who they actually are (which is difficult I know cuz he's so smart but we can pretend to partially suspend our disbelief over Five's intellect xD)

I just love the idea of Five being genuinely freaked out by these flamboyant teenagers in his home cuz he's never been around people before let alone older kids and these wacko adults who could very well be their older siblings. He goes to find the Reader across the street but she isn't there obviously cuz she lives in the mansion too so Five's got his proof that he's in 2019 but no clue where his family are.

Meanwhile, the H7 (and the Hargreeves if they see him too) instantly recognize little Five and older!Five slowly gets paradox psychosis again and once he gets home demands to know what's going on. Younger Five gets the correct time travel equation from older Five and can go back obviously but I feel like there's a lot of humor to be had from this situation.

Maybe younger Five also only trusts only the Reader even if she's older now and nobody else. Older!Five is like... "I've had it with my younger selves disrespecting me!" cuz it would be a funny callback to the S2 fight between the two Fives except there's no way Older!Five would willingly fight the actual child version of himself even if 13yrold!Five makes it very tempting. And 13yrold!Five isn't stupid enough to fight a version of himself who both clearly looks and acts older and has more training even though he runs his mouth.

And idk if and how younger Five would find out older him and the Reader are dating but I feel that would be comedic all on its own with the Hargreeves crowing and teasing 13 year old Five for his blush thinking of his own version of Reader because dang they all missed when he used to do that and got all frustrated and its adorable seeing their tiny brother so shy at finding out he and the Reader do end up together.

Oh my god, thank you for reminding me about this movie! I love it so much, it is one of the best Disney movies and I’m going to be honest, I cry every time the movie finishes and little wonders plays. Also, I had the biggest crush on Wilbur when this movie came out. I was like a child in 2007 but apparently dark-haired screw-up with good intentions is still the type of character I have a crush on. Some things never change...but I’m getting away from the point.

I completely agree with your first idea and that the Hargreeves would all be crying at the end of the movie (as I do myself lol) but would have plausible deniability because no one could really see so.

I also think your second idea is very funny even if it does take a lot of suspended disbelief. The humor that can come from such a situation is fantastic. There are so many ideas like his adult siblings teasing 13year old!Five. Just imagine them telling Five that the reader is alive and 13yo!Five gets all flustered about her. The poor boy unable to properly express his feelings and he just starts getting absolutely roasted by a bunch of adults

Or imagine he finds the H7 first and nobody has told him what year it is. And the H7 has a somewhat similar resemblance to his siblings from the last time he saw them. Not the same but very close. And so I just imagine him being like “these seem like it could be them, it has been a while since I saw them.” and he just assumes the H7 are his siblings. And now I can’t decide if they would play along or not just to screw with 13yo!Five but it would still be funny.

Also, the idea of Five and the reader being out somewhere and Five just starts to get paradox psychosis symptoms. Like itching, and sweating, and extreme thirst and he just goes “oh no.”. And the reader is so confused because she forgot about paradox psychosis and is just worried about Five and he grabs her hand and they start running back towards the academy. And when they get there Five just kicks the door open and is like “This is not your time you little shit.”

Like you said it is a big stretch but it is funny nonetheless!

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ice-cream-nekogirl · 5 years ago

Text

Out of My League (Midoriya Izuku X Reader X Bakugou Katsuki) PART 3

PART 3 to: https://ice-cream-kitsunegirl.tumblr.com/post/189492329579/out-of-my-league-midoriya-izuku-x-reader-x

Classes. Are. OVER!!! I’M A FREE WOMAN~!!! <3 Enjoy this ya’ll! Dammit I’m sorry I thought I was gonna go to the ball on this one but that’ll hafta wait for the next chapter cuz this got longer than I thought!! >.<

ENJOY THOUGH!!

Taglist: @dailyojiromashirao, @asja-the-hoarder, @breezy-chan11414, @captainw0lfy , @sunflowergem, @lenkiryuu

Summary: As your shopping adventure at the mall continues you gain a rush of new confidence.

She's so high High above me First class and fancy free She's high society She's got the best of everything...

‘She’s So High’- Tal Bachman

SECONDS AGO...

“OMG Chemistry alert~!” She exclaimed cheerfully to the girls who stopped to see what she was talking about, and they saw it. You and Shinsou just talking to each other, and you were laughing and he was trying his hardest not to even though your laughter was oddly contagious. Hagakure gasped a little bit, as happy as she was that you asked out Izuku, this was kinda cute…

And the other girls had no idea that you already asked out Izuku, but they were already starting to think that you were probably gonna ask out Shinsou? Even though you guys hadn’t really talked until now.

“Hee… oh God I forgot about my girls, hehe thanks for being awkward with me, I will see you later dude.” Once you remembered the girls, you took your drink to go back to them as he smiled and waved at you. “See you.”

As you walked away he watched you go with an amused little smile, what an interesting, funny person you were.

NOW…

It almost didn’t occur to you that spoke to another guy that wasn’t Izuku or Bakugo, granted you HAD talked to other boys (Kirishima, Iida, Sero, etc.) before and actually kinda talked to them a BIT more than the girls but still! Shinsou had a little something-something, and you talked to him. Wow, talk about a boost for your confidence.

The thought made you giggle a little as you finally regained enough composure to go back to the girls, at least until you had to park it near a chair to tie your shoelace. How the fuck it gets undone and unties itself you had no idea.

As you crouched to tie the thing, Shinsou walked past you so he could go to his table that Kaminari decided to sit at with him for some reason.

But as he stole a glance to look at you, he didn’t pay attention to the rest of his surroundings. Just that one brief couple of seconds of distraction and he didn’t even realize a puddle of spilt juice at his feet until he felt his foot slip and fly from under him.

A gasp left him when gravity began to push him backwards and everything he carried went flying. ‘There goes my lunch and my dignity…’ Was Shinsou’s thoughts before he plummets to the earth in front of everyone…

At least until you perked up at the right moment. As fast as you could, you reacted and rushed behind him with your hand out and focused all your energy on his body to stop his fall and catch him. His eyes went wide, and all he could feel was an invisible force pausing him before he could hit the ground, carrying him as he felt his feet gently land back on the floor. But before his lunch could fall you looked right at the tray and it’s contents as they all slowed down and you brought the tray back to your hand and made the drink and food all slowly come back to it’s state in the cup and plate and float back onto the tray like it had been.

Mission accomplished.

Shinsou didn’t fall, and his lunch was saved. And all he could do was look at you with his purple eyes still wide with light shock as your own (E/C) eyes were wide with how fast everything went, but you were happy that you could react in time.

But the two of you perked up when the sounds of clapping and light cheers hit your ears and you looked up finally to see several of your classmates praising you for such fast reflexes. “HEY! Way to go (Y/N)!!” Hagakure rather happily cheered for you from your table, “That was SO COOL!!” Mina enthusiastically clapped with the other girls next to her. “Nice reflexes…” Jirou was actually smiling at you because she had to admit, that was impressive.

“Way to go (Y/N)!”

“Quick thinking. Literally!”

“That was awesome!”

You could hear Kirishima, Sero and Kaminari from Bakugo’s table cheering for you, and you saw that he wasn’t cheering but his eyes were a little bit wide at how you stopped that disaster without any help.

Izuku was more openly impressed though as he stared at you with wide green eyes full of awe. He’s always held you in high regard, ever since you got your quirk like Bakugo did, he thought you were one of the coolest girls ever. Even when you didn’t believe it, he believed it, and now it was clear that you were starting to when you looked so happy and proud.

And as you heard a lot of cheering and clapping you looked over to see Izuku looking right at you from his table. You gave him a big smile as he perked up when such a rare smile from you shined upon him, and he blushed heavily as soon as you and he made eye contact and he couldn’t help but shy away with a hidden smile. Oh how he wanted to tell you how cool that was but he just froze immediately when you looked at him…

Wow, you were so cool and you were going with HIM to the dance… he wouldn’t get over that…

However, you couldn’t help but feel very proud to see all their impressed faces after what you did. An involuntary grin sporting on your lips, wow what a head rush, you didn’t want to get all egotistical but you felt pretty awesome right now. No modesty…

“Ahem.”

But Shinsou’s voice broke you out of your fantasies of walking a stage and you perked up and finally looked at him. He looked a mix of impressed, grateful and slightly annoyed because he could tell you were distracted, “Oh! Shinsou… hehe… are you okay?” You had to ask him.

“Yeah… I’m okay. Thanks for saving my ass.” Now that he was on his feet, he could properly thank you for saving him from both a painful fall and an embarrassing moment.

“Ah. N-No problem… I’ll save your ass anytime.” You said suddenly, without even thinking about it until you heard what you said and Shinsou gave you a bit of a look that quickly turned into an amused smirk as your started blushing quite madly, “Oh yeah? I’ll keep that in mind…” He said just to tease you as you stuck your tongue at him.

“Good! Cuz… ya know… but yeah you’re welcome dude… no problem.” Your nervous expression turned into a sheepish smile as you finally remembered, “Oh and here’s… your food, I saved it before it could hit the ground so there’s no need for any 5 second rule…” God you were so awkward, but Shinsou didn’t seem to mind.

“It’s 10 seconds for me.” He decided to joke around with you a little bit just to put you at ease as you laughed a little bit, “Ha! I’m guessing that rule only applies whenever you’re at home?”

“Exactly.”

What the hell were you doing? Bakugo wondered as he saw you just talking and laughing like an idiot with that brainwashing weirdo. You always spoke to extras and he understood that, and he especially never understood how you always talked to Deku and hung out with him. It’s not like your quirk was super powerful but you could do better than that.

It’s why he always picked on you, because you associated yourself with losers. And that made you a loser. Except… Bakugo felt bad for thinking you were a loser, even though you kind of were one, and he remembered the times you called yourself a loser. Why did right now of all times thinking about it bother him? He called you a loser and you agreed with him, and not it was bothering him.

And seeing you talk to that bonafide loser was DEFINITELY bothering him as he clenched his chopsticks so hard they snapped in half the more he saw you talking and laughing with that brainwashing bastard.

“Well… this has been sufficiently awkward, but I will see you at the dance…?” You decided to let him go, and you felt a little bad for thinking he wouldn’t show up at the dance. He shrugged his shoulders, “Unfortunately.” Shinsou replied neutrally but with a little smile, dances weren’t his thing either but Kaminari insisted that he should go now that he was with the Hero Course with everyone.

“Ah. Cool, cool… well kinda.” You and he shared one last chuckle before he waved at you and you awkwardly waved back with a crooked smile. And then you turned away with a big smile as you went over to the girls.

“(Y/N) That was so cool!!”

“Yeah way to go, you were pretty quick on your feet.”

“Your quirk has really improved!”

“Yeah! You totally stopped all of those things from falling!”

“That was pretty impressive girl.”

“I wish I caught it on camera!”

Hagakure, Tsuyu and Yaoyorozu didn’t hesitate to compliment you, as did Mina, Jirou and Uraraka shortly afterwards and you both blushed and grinned somewhat proudly from all the praise. “Aww girls stop it… you’re gonna give me a big head… it WAS cool to do all that…” You said in a somewhat coy voice as the girls didn’t hesitate to keep praising you and building up your self-esteem. Which you greatly appreciated.

“So… Shinsou huh~?” But Mina quickly teased you for having had a rather friendly conversation with Shinsou which made you blush a little bit, “Oh shut up… we were just talking, a girl and a guy can talk without any sort of undertones.” You claimed, but it didn’t stop her and Uraraka from teasing you a little bit and asking you to dish a little more.

This was crazy but you didn’t mind it at all, but these girls were a little more like you than you thought. And you were a little bit better at talking to people more than you thought. You talked to Izuku, you talked to Bakugo, and you even talked to Shinsou!

It was all so riveting that as soon as you were finished with lunch, you felt more motivated and ready to get a little more shopping done as you smiled to the sky. You had a dance to get ready for and you were going to go and get everything you would need.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udLuRz9nP6A)

Hot Topic.

As cliché as it sounded, you decided to take Bakugo’s advice and check around your favorite store, and went right for the dresses, skirts and shoes that they had. Hot Topic was known for having edgier clothing and for those with a more gothic, punky or grungy style.

And speak of the devils, you weren’t surprised to see Tokoyami, Jirou and Aoyama. Well, it was a LITTLE surprising to see Aoyama there but he seemed pretty fascinated with the shiny nail polishes. Tokoyami and Jirou though were definitely on the gothic and punky side respectively.

You liked to think you were a mix of all of those. And maybe you could go for something a little edgy.

“Time to be edgy and sexy.”

You thought confidently as you took several of the skirts and shoes, many of the skirts were a little bit short but you decided that maybe it would be okay to be a little sexy and let them see these legs of yours.

Helped that you found some stuff that were plus-size as well to fit your waist, along with these neat combat boots that you found. It took a while putting them all on, and you thought you didn’t look that bad as you tried on the last pair and stared in the mirror you were nodding in approval at yourself when you saw how a pastel purple skirt looked on you and it didn’t even go down to your knees! And the black boots? Ooh girl you loved how punky and badass they looked. Oh yeah you looked fantastic! And you were happy to go out to try out these boots and see how they felt on your feet. They weren’t uncomfortable, they were kind of like this pair of boots you had once as you flipped your hair a little bit just to feel like one of those girls in the beauty commercials.

“Ahhh~. She is beauty, she is grace~.” Aoyama noticed you strutting and he was nice enough to compliment you as he seemed to like how you looked. “Why thank you Aoyama~.” You happily thanked the oddly sweet boy, and this caught both Jirou and Tokoyami’s attention when they heard two classmates talking.

The two of them both seemed to perk up, albeit looking more flustered as soon as they saw what you were wearing, and how short that skirt was. “(L-L/N)!!” Jirou especially started to blush in secondhand embarrassment on your behalf.

“Hi Jirou~. Hi Tokoyami~.” But you noticed this and even feigned a flirtatious voice, which just made the former blush even more, and the latter’s feathers were visibly floofing up the second he caught a glimpse of something he shouldn’t have seen and quickly averted his eyes.

‘A woman’s most sanctified garments…’

“B-Be careful! Your skirt… i-it’s so short! T-There are guys here!!” Jirou was weirdly kind in her own way, she was totally looking out for you and that made you smile.

“I know boo boo. Don’t worry I’m just trying it on, it IS a bit too short but I kinda like it… it’s the boots I’m going for though, I think I look kinda good in them?” You thought outloud with an amused smile, amazed though as Jirou looked a bit happy that you looked more confident than you did at the other place, but she was still flustered.

“Oui! I think you look very powerful (L/N).” Aoyama paid you another compliment and a wink, since Tokoyami and Jirou were much too flustered to do so and you grinned when you got the feedback you were looking for.

“Oh thank you! I think so too! I’ll take them!” You exclaimed and clapped your hands, and when you turned you didn’t see Tokoyami and Jirou jump a little bit when they saw panties yet again.

“Did you guys see anything?!” And Jirou quickly yelled at both him and Aoyama if they caught anything, but it’s not like they could help it. Aoyama in particularly quickly shook his head, “Non, non! I swear it wasn’t intentional!”

“O-Of course it wasn’t. I-I would never do such a thing…”

However, Jirou quickly calmed down because she knew these two boys weren’t perverts. She just really wished that you didn’t catch so much attention like that because she knew plenty of guys who were creeps. And little did she know that some of her fears weren’t unfounded as some nastier girls in the store snickered when they saw you strutting and didn’t hesitate to film you behind your back.

“See you guys~!” You cheerfully waved to your surprised friends once you brought the books and even winked at them, much to Tokoyami and Jirou’s confusion and Aoyama’s content. He liked a confident person.

That was two items down, the right bra and the right pair of boots. Now it was time to go try finding a dress again. You were so happy and motivated that you felt like some kind of American celebrity walking around as you stood foot back into the place you and the girls were at.

Instead of giving up like earlier, you went to the dresses suited for a somewhat larger size such as yourself and to your surprise, you found a few cute ones. Especially this blue dress and a neat black romper that you were happy to take to try on.

“(Y/N)! You’re back!” Uraraka smiled wide when she saw you back in the place after you left to go to Hot Topic for a bit, and beside her was Tsuyu and Ashido. “You know it! I needs a dress.” You said somewhat cheerfully, which the girls noticed and were happy to see.

“Looks like she’s got some confidence in her now, ribbit.” Tsuyu was the first to point it out to the girls, “That’s awesome! Now all seven of us can go to the dance feeling good!” Ashido excitedly said, because she had this vision of all the girls of 2-A at the dance and looking fabulous and proud of themselves. Now that you FELT fabulous and proud, that just might come to fruition.

You thought so too as you looked at yourself with a dress on, shrugging with an ‘eh’ though when you didn’t really like it and thought it was a bit snug around the waist and shoulders. But whatever, you could just go get a bigger size, and you were so comfortable with yourself at the moment you opened the door…

Only you weren’t in the dress, you had taken that off. No, you were just in your bra and underwear for the store to see and you couldn’t care less as you smiled and walked about to go to the section, and the employees were much too shocked to even stop you…

Your grin grew when you saw the shocked and flustered looks of other customers and how some guy’s jaws were agape. Ha, looks like this is their first time seeing skin, you thought. And you waved at the girls who all were wide-eyed and especially shocked when they saw you out of clothes, but in a STORE where everyone could see you…

“Oh wow~…!” Hagakure didn’t see much wrong with it though, since she was naked a good portion of the time when she was training. “She is… happier than earlier at least…” Yaoyorozu, similarly, didn’t see TOO much wrong with that since she didn’t seem to understand how nudity flustered and/or titillated others.

“AHHHH!!” However, Jirou screamed when she came back to the store and saw MORE of your panties and bra, what were you doing?! “(L/N)!! Put your clothes back on!!” It was one thing wearing a short skirt but this was even MORE skin!

“I will hon I promise! I just need to get a bigger size!” You waved at the girl, and then at a few guys who seemed a BIT impressed to see a girl without her clothes on. “STOP STARING!!” Jirou quickly yelled at them though as soon as she saw them staring.

“Girls come on! Let’s all strut our stuff~!” You then cheerfully suggested to the other girls, but only Ashido, Hagakure and Yaoyorozu seemed up for it. Although Yaoyorozu didn’t seem to completely get what the context of ‘strutting your stuff’ meant. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to wear something nice and new.”

“YEAH! Let’s do it girls!!” Ashido had your back as she and Hagakure cheerfully went to find some clothes to wear, “Well… if everyone else is! Okay!!” And they got Uraraka on board as she smiled wide at how well you were getting along with the girls now, “What do you say Tsu?!”

“I wouldn’t mind that.” She said with a little smile as she gladly joined the rest of her friends, but only Jirou was conflicted because she was much shyer about ‘strutting her stuff’ since she felt like she didn’t have a LOT of stuff to begin with.

“A-All right!” But she gave in because she saw what you were trying to do, and she was down for a little bit of that positivity, but would still be wary of perverts.

Although she, and all the other girls weren’t aware that some others, including the same girl from Hot Topic had come by to film you while you were cheerfully going about and dancing in the clothes you were strutting in.

At least until you came across the mannequin in the WAY too short clothes that made you fume and you punched in the stomach as it fell over, much to the shock of others around and an employee who didn’t see what happened but just had to pick it back up.

“Oh Izuku…”

This time you went to one of the other mannequins dressed up like a man, and put it’s arm around you, “Your arms are so much bigger than they were when we were kids, please hold me~.” You said in a dreamy voice as you got a little playful and nuzzled the mannequin and pretended that it was Izuku in an attempt to try and sound sexy for when you take him out on a date.

“Izuku! That is… NOT appropriate…” And then you found yourself bringing it’s hand to your breast to let it rub it, “Oh my goodness you got a little bad boy in your goody goody self huh? Well I like it~.” You giggled as Hagakure and Ashido were laughing with you when they saw you flirting with the mannequin but didn’t hear what you were saying to it.

“I love your new boyfriend (L/N)!”

“He’s got the perfect body but doesn’t say gross things!”

The two hyper girls joked and you couldn’t help but laugh and nod in agreement, “I know right?!” Although you didn’t tell them, that was actually pretty true about Izuku. He had a perfect body and didn’t say gross things…

Except he wasn’t your boyfriend, because… he was still way out of your league but maybe when you start feeling your sexy that could change and maybe you COULD be his girlfriend…

OUTSIDE…

“What’s… going on over there?” Kirishima was just with Kaminari, Sero and Bakugo. And close behind was also Izuku and Todoroki (who kept their distance from Bakugo), until they all stopped when they saw two other males looking over a puddle of blood and a person lying in it.

“I-Is that blood?!” Izuku shouted in shock and horror as they all ran over to see the scene, and it was blood all right… but it was coming from Mineta as he lied on the ground, the blood was streaming out fast from his nostrils as he heavily panted. His eyes agape and wide, cheeks red and a disgusting smile on his face and something else the boys wish they didn’t see…

“Ugh!” Bakugo exclaimed his disgust and wondered what the hell this fucking pervert did this time to have this happen to him.

“Mineta! Speak to me!!” Kaminari was the only one concerned though as he knelt down to see if his poor friend was still alive.

“S-Skin… oh so much beautiful, exposed skin in the flesh…” Mineta weakly answered as he raised his hand and pointed where ‘skin’ was and there it was. You just standing outside and waving. After numerous begs from Jirou, you put on more clothes but not a lot and wore a camisole crop top and very short shorts that really showed off your legs and really you might as well have still been in just your bra and underwear.

“Hi boys~.” You waggled your fingers at the guys and didn’t miss how SHOCKED they looked as soon as they saw you. Kaminari, Kirishima, Sero and especially Izuku blushed heavily as their eyes went wide, but Kirishima, Izuku and Sero were polite enough to look away. As was Todoroki as he turned his head and couldn’t fight the blush heating his face when he saw how scantily clad you were because he was used to seeing you wear much more conservative clothes.

“W-Wha… WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WEARING MORON?!!” But Bakugo was probably the most flustered when he saw you wearing clothes you DEFINITELY normally didn’t wear. His face as red as Kirishima’s hair when he realized that this was probably the first time he’s seen THIS much of your skin before.

“What I want~.” You replied cheerfully, seemingly oblivious to why this embarrassed him so much. Instead you just assumed he thought you looked gross in this because he always thought you were kind of ugly and you knew it. But at this point, he didn’t think you were ugly at all.

No, he’d be lying if he said he thought you were ugly, how could such a full figure with soft looking skin and curves be ugly? He was a stupid kid back then who clearly didn’t see how desirable your body was, but he wasn’t a damn pervert, he actually had a lot of respect for women to NOT drool all over them and objectify them.

Which is why he was mildly horrified to see you dressed so provocatively because there WERE perverts in the midst that didn’t have the same respect he did.

And that’s why he went inside, to make sure there WERE no perverts around to just look at your ass even though he thought you were asking for it by wearing that stuff. Come to think of it, the other girls were also wearing different kind of clothes too, and the other guys in the store were definitely checking them out without a hint of shame.

But his main focus was on you, because he’s never seen you without your regular clothes and this was making him feel some type of way…

“Put your regular clothes on stupid! Don’t you know that there are perverts around here?!” Bakugo quickly went over to you and glared at anyone who dared to stare at your body.

“Ohh man these girls… making my underwear tight…” There was one right now, just looking right over at you and the other girls who wear trying on clothes that weren’t nearly as scantily clad as yours but skin could still be seen.

“HEY SHUT UP YOU FUCKING PIG!! DON’T SAY DISGUSTING SHIT LIKE THAT!!”

The second those disgusting words hit his ears Bakugo shouted at the guy with his hand out in case he had to burn his ass til he got the message. You had seen this before in movies and news but you were a little shocked to see and hear this happening right now.

Were guys really ogling at you and the girls? In a bad way…?

“Look at all that skin man… that’ll keep me nice and warm at night…” Another one, snickering and pointing over at you which made your eyebrows furrow a little bit when the way that guy’s words and the way he said it made you feel some type of way…

You didn’t like it at all. It wasn’t at all like Aoyama when he complimented you with the utmost respect and said you looked powerful, this guy…

He looked at you like you were a piece of meat and that’s all he was looking at you as.

“WHAT DID I SAY?!” Bakugo saw this too, and he quickly shouted at the other guy who said those words to you. “SAY ANOTHER WORD LIKE THAT AND I’LL KILL YOU!!”

Although there was someone threatening to kill their customers, the employees were much too scared to do anything.

“I wanna feel how soft (L/N)’s skin is…!” The king of perverts himself Mineta said with a lecherous grin as he found the strength to pick himself up from his puddle of blood with his hands out.

Enough was enough, you were NOT hearing anymore of it, and you weren’t going to let your girls suffer from it either.

“OKAY STOP! STOP! Stop it that’s enough!” This time you were the one to shout at all the guys, and several of them already had gotten up to run when Bakugo’s sparkling palm intimidated them into running away with their tails in between their legs.

“Ohhh man (L/N)… you look really good in that… you should totally wear more stuff like that…” Mineta attempted to compliment you, but you knew that he was just saying that so he could have something to ogle.

“You guys are being disgusting!” And you quickly shouted and scolded him and the other guys that were around, including Kaminari who was eating the eye-candy around him.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! What did I do?” He noticed that you were talking to him too, because you were looking directly at him and Mineta and other boys while the innocent Kirishima, Sero, Izuku and Todoroki stood away but were clearly disgusted by the way these guys were behaving.

“YOU’RE standing there to drool at the cake, and YOU guys are standing and doing nothing!”

Oh so you WERE talking to the other guys too, and this frankly shocked them, but especially Kirishima and Izuku. They WERE just standing there and doing nothing…

“I’m… sorry…” Kirishima at least had the grace to apologize, as did Izuku, “R-Really! I…” However, he’s never seen you that angry before and it frankly alarmed him and made him feel bad that he didn’t do anything to stop it. Sero and Todoroki also looked just as guilty but couldn’t really find any words to say without coming off as awkward.

“Ugh, it’s fine, at least you’re not acting like animals…” You felt bad when you saw how sad they looked and you gave THEM a break but still glared at Kaminari and Mineta, but the latter didn’t seem to get the message.

“Can you blame us (L/N)? That outfit really outlines you girls’ beautiful figures…!” Mineta was still drooling over you and his nose was bleeding, which made you snarl as you were ready to just toss him out but to your surprise Bakugo already kicked him out (quite literally too) as the grape-head went sent flying out with a shriek.

“GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE AND DIE YOU PIG!!”

As the small boy went flying screaming, your eyes went slightly wide and you looked over at your friend. You had to give him that, Bakugo actually DID something compared to the other boys and that honestly made your respect for him go up.

“Aw… Katsuki…” You couldn’t help but look rather touched as he growled and narrowed his eyes at you, “Don’t say my name and look so elated!” He shouted with a furious blush dusting his cheeks as he looked away, at least you said his name…

“Look don’t hate me or anything but I do have to admit… you girls DO look really pretty in those outfits, sometimes you girls are just so pretty that some guys can’t help but steal a glance…” Kaminari’s voice caught your attention though as he attempted to defend Mineta and himself, but you weren’t having it.

“It’s one thing to admire someone’s beauty, it’s another to be a creep and just see how they look, and you and Mineta to learn some self-control and stop being creeps!” You outright shouted at him, and he actually felt intimidated as he backed away slightly.

“W-Wait! I-I’m sorry! I’m not trying to be a creep or anything I promise!” Poor Kaminari, you believed the poor thing he clearly had more pure intentions than Mineta. The boy just wanted to flirt with a girl and get to know her, but you needed to teach him a lesson.

“I get that but here’s the thing… either you keep it in your pants or I’ll rip your nutsack and everything else along with it off. Just rip it right off. RIGHT. OFF. Like a band-aid, except it won’t be a band-aid, it’ll be your nutsack being ripped right off.” So you gave him a warning along with some advice so it gets through his head and even emphasized you ripping off something, and that something would be his manhood should he not listen to you.

Kaminari’s face turned white as he looked at your gestures, and boy did he believe it as he started trembling. “I-I’m really sorry (L/N)… I-I swear I won’t do anything or say anything weird anymore and… I’m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable…” He apologized to you, and his words were sincere and he looked like he felt pretty bad for it.

And you were going to accept it because Kaminari was a simple soul. A bit of a trouble-maker but he had a good heart. “It’s okay Denki. Thank you for apologizing actually, and I’m sorry if I scared you.” You started to smile at the blonde, who returned it with a nervous smile, “I-I wasn’t scared…” He tried to claim but it was clear that he WAS scared of how angry you got, much to your amusement.

“(L/N)… we’re sorry too, we should have done something… standing and doing nothing is… so unmanly…” Kirishima apologized shortly after Kaminari did, and you felt even worse for having gotten mad at the poor guy. Kirishima was both a simple soul and a pure soul, and the last thing he wanted was to be a bystander when a friend needed help. And he did exactly that…

“Don’t worry Eijirou… it happened so fast I shouldn’t have snapped… but thanks for apologizing too.” You gladly took up his apology, “Nah don’t be, we could have easily stepped in but we didn’t so… sorry.” Sero then apologized and seemed to look like he felt really bad because this wasn’t the first time he’s just stood back and did nothing when Mineta was being a creep.

“Yes. I’m sorry too.” And Todoroki also gave his apology because he also could have stepped in to stop Mineta and the other creeps in here from being creeps but he didn’t, and that made him feel really bad because he saw how uncomfortable you and the other girls looked.

“It’s okay too Hanta, and don’t worry Todoroki, you’re okay too. Thanks guys.” You said with a sweet smile, and thanked them too which they seemed happy about as they gave you little smiles. And your smile didn’t fade although you were shocked to suddenly turn around and have several shirts thrown at you.

“JUST PUT YOUR FUCKING NORMAL CLOTHES BACK ON IDIOT!!” Bakugo had thrown you several clothes that would cover up so he didn’t have to look at you dressed so provocatively anymore without feeling like one of these creeps himself. What the fuck was wrong with him?! You weren’t supposed to make him feel like this!

“Um… thanks…?” You were beyond confused but then went back to assuming that it’s probably because Bakugo didn’t want to see your weird body. However, after those guys made you uncomfortable you decided to go back to the changing room to get back into your regular attire and came out all covered up like normal and honestly you were happy to be back in them.

It felt good to be so confident, but those guys really made you feel so weird…

“You okay (Y/N)?” Tsuyu noticed how uncertain you looked, so she asked if you were okay and you gave her a nod and a smile, “Ah yeah… yeah I’m okay…”

“Way to tell off the guys!” And there came Hagakure with her invisible hands on your shoulders as she praised you for telling off the perverts who were ogling you and the girls earlier. “Ah of course… anything for us ladies.” You smiled at her and the other girls who were back in their normal clothes. They had to admit it was really fun to dress up, albeit until the perverts kinda ruined it for them. Thankfully you stood up for them.

And to an extent, Bakugo did too. He was focused on you the most, but at the same time, it’d be the last and only time he’d do something kind for the other girls. You smiled when you saw him outside the place, still looking a little bit pissy but he glanced to see you back in normal clothes, thank God…

“Katsuki. Thanks for… all of that in there.” You owed him another thanks, it’s been a while since Bakugo’s been this kind to you and you appreciated that. Especially since usually he was the one making fun of you, this time he made sure other people didn’t make fun of you.

“Tch… don’t mention it.” And he brushed you off in his classic Bakugo way, and you just giggled and smiled. “Sure…”

That was just him though, and at the end of the day you wouldn’t change that. Not when he’s changed in a couple of ways himself, he was definitely not a bully anymore. To you at least…

Come to think of it, where was Izuku? You wondered as you and the girls started to go off and leave the mall now that they got their dresses. And you found your dress too after several dresses, you finally found one that fit you and one that you thought you looked pretty good in.

Still you wondered where Izuku was… ohhh man you yelled at him, and you’ve never yelled at him. Sighing you stopped a little bit, but reassured the girls that you were okay and just needed to go to the water fountain for a drink.

So you did, but even quenching your thirst didn’t really wash away the guilt coming over you. Why did you yell at poor Izuku? He didn’t do anything wrong…

“(Y/N)!” And you perked up when you heard his voice, turning your head to see him looking just as guilty, if not more guilty than he did earlier at the store. “Izuku!” The first thing you were going to do is apologize, but before you could open your mouth, he beat you to it.

“I’m sorry!” He said so fast that you almost didn’t hear it, “I should have done something! If Kacchan didn’t… I just… I don’t know why I didn’t do something, but I should have! You needed someone to support you and I didn’t do anything! I’m so sorry and I just wanted to say that me saying sorry will not be enough because I can’t even-!”

He was going to ramble and go on and on about how sorry he was, but you heard his words and you didn’t have to even think he was being honest, you KNEW he was. Sweet Izuku was the most honest person you knew so you shut him up by putting your finger to his lips, smiling when you saw his face starting to flush at how you touched im.

“Don’t… it’s okay… I got a little… huffy… I mean it all happened so fast, and besides I’m not blaming you Izuku. I saw you and the other guys, you all looked pretty pissed at what was going on and… that’s better than just being completely apathetic.” You reassured him, because you knew what the guys stood for and you knew that they weren’t perverts.

He could tell you were trying to make him feel better, but also that you meant it too, “I-I know but… I just wish I could have done something… in the moment instead of standing there… but at the same time… I also thought that… you knew what to do. You were so confident and you knew what was going on…” Izuku began to ramble a little bit, but not the way he usually did and this definitely caught your attention, “You’re… I don’t think you know it (Y/N) but you’re actually more confident than I am… and better at so many things… it’s amazing… even when Kacchan and other bullies were trying to pick on us… you stood tall through it all, even when you supposedly gave up… you’re still here. Because you knew how to stand your ground and keep moving forward. If there’s… anyone who can take care of yourself… it’s you (Y/N).” He said in a soft, somewhat bashful tone as he smiled a little bit and your (E/C) eyes slowly widened as you blushed at his words.

He really was the purest soul you knew. He believed in you, he knew that you could take care of yourself, but was still your ally in things like that.

“Oh… w-wow… hehe… ohh Izuku… gosh way to go you sap… now you’re getting me all emotional…” Still you kinda teased him and wiped your eyes when his words made your eyes water a little bit as you and he giggled together. He was so sweet that you adored him…

“I do have to admit though… I am glad that Kacchan helped you…” Izuku wasn’t jealous, he wasn’t like that, but this time it was a little different. He was used to Bakugo being better than him at nearly everything, but now Bakugo was defending you? Izuku found that highly ironic given that Bakugo bullied you too just as much, he was happy about that but that’s just another thing he was better at.

Except he didn’t let himself feel like that, all that mattered is that he at least helped you when you needed the backup.

“Yeah… I am too. Even though it’s like… SO weird. I mean who’d have thought Katsuki Bakugo would start being decent? This is the same guy who blew up at the drama teacher like Christian Bale in the 7th grade…” You chuckled a little and nudged his shoulder playfully, and Izuku perked up with a little giggle when he remembered that…

“I’ve never seen a teacher run out of the room crying like that…” He was there when it happened, because you were supposed to be Ophelia and Bakugo played Hamlet, but screamed at the director for killing his character off even though Hamlet was SUPPOSED to die in the original play.

“I know right?” You and Izuku shared a laugh with each other before he decided to let you go, and then blushed quite heavily when he remembered that he was STILL taking you to the dance in two days. What the hell did he do?! He didn’t even find a good suit or good shoes yet?! He wasted so much time here!!

“Hee-hee well hey man I’ll see you at the dance~. And tomorrow of course cuz… you know, we got school…” You somewhat awkwardly smiled and waved at the blushing boy as he nodded vigorously, “M-Me too! S-See you (Y/N)…” He shyly waved at you when you smiled and blushed at him.

Except when you left you had a little skip in your step as you spun around with your bags in your hands and laughed to the sky. And Izuku walked away with a giddy, blushing smile on his face.

At least… until he got a notification on his phone and his smile broke into a horrified gasp as soon as he saw what was on it.

A picture and a video of you, dressed in the skirt and boots from Hot Topic, and then you with the mannequins at the Lacy’s store you were at with the girls. You were dressed in that same camisole and short shorts, except this video had some corny song playing in the background, and they put that pig filter on you complete with snorting sounds while bold words like ‘FAT PIG’ and ‘UGLY SLUT’ popped up when you were strutting and posing during your moment of confidence.

“No…” Izuku was both pissed off AND horrified when something like this made the internet, and he turned to see you gone. He couldn’t let you see this… he couldn’t let ANYONE see this.

“Oh wow… what a fat pig…” But his fears came true when he saw people around snickering when they could clearly see the video, laughing and pointing as they clicked away to make the video go viral and send it to everyone they knew…

“No…!” He shook his head as he took off in a fast dash to try and find you. Even if it was on the internet he didn’t want you to see this, how could someone be so cruel?

He thought as his other classmates who were getting ready to leave gasped as soon as their phones lit up and they saw their classmate on screen, made to look bad and they all looked shocked at this.

“That’s…”

“Oh no…”

“W-What are we gonna…?”

They each wondered, but that was nothing compared to Bakugo as soon as he saw the video that some motherfucker posted of you. His teeth grit the more he heard that song and the sound effects, he was going to kill someone…

And he perked up when he saw Izuku running, clearly to go and find you as he made it to the entrance of the mall, “(Y/N)!” You stopped as soon as you heard him call for you again as you turned to see him yet again.

“Izuku? What’s… up…?” You asked him and looked concerned at how worried and frantic he looked, and you saw Bakugo rushing forward looking just as concerned, albeit pissed off and it confused you to no end.

But then you heard snickering and laughing from other people, when you looked around you could see strangers and other teenagers snickering and pointing at you.

“It’s her…”

“The girl from the video…”

Girl from the video? You gasped as soon as your phone dinged and signaled a notification, “No! No (Y/N) don’t watch it! Please don’t watch it!!” Izuku tried to beg for you to NOT see what was on your phone but your curiosity got the better of you and your eyes went wide when you saw the video titled: “Fat Girl Runway”

There was the corny dubstep-like song playing while you were strutting in different clothes, with arrows pointing to your legs and your butt and your back, labelling them as ‘Cellulite’, ‘Flabby’, and a voice saying ‘Look at her jiggle’ when you were shaking your butt at one point. ‘Her Fat Ass’ was another voice you heard and then you saw yourself messing with the mannequin as you hugged it and said ‘That is not appropriate!’ and words saying ‘psycho’ as you fondled your own breasts and rubbed your face with your tongue out. And then you were making a stand towards the perverted guys with that music still playing, except every word that came out of your mouth was replaced with a snorting pig and words saying ‘GET LAID FEMINIST BITCH’ also popped up as you were trembling and breathing shallowly the more you saw the video…

Your face burning brightly in humiliation as heat pooled into your eyes and threatened to spill over as more people stopped to point and laugh at you because the video went viral.

“(Y/N)…” Izuku quickly moved closer to you so he could take you away from here, but before he could even try you ran off as fast as you could in tears.

“(Y/N) WAIT!!” He tried to go after you but you were already gone and he teared up just seeing how upset you were, how humiliated you were…

Bakugo saw it, he saw what the assholes did to you. He heard them STILL laughing and pointing even as you ran off, and it wasn’t just him. Shinsou was just outside the mall and ready to leave until he watched the video in horror, and he shouted when he felt someone bump into him.

“S-Sorry…!” You exclaimed, in a higher voice as you couldn’t stop the tears from falling and frantically picked up the bags you dropped but didn’t see who you ran into. “I-It’s… okay…” He said gently when he saw that it was you who bumped into him, but he couldn’t be mad… in fact he tried to help you until you gasped as soon as your eyes met his purple ones.

You were both uncomfortably silent this time as you swallowed hard and took your bags and ran past him to just get the hell out of here. Shinsou tried to call for you but no words came out as he could only watch you run off with a glimmer of sympathy in his eyes and then he glared at people he saw laughing at you as you ran off crying.

And he perked up ever so slightly when he heard someone shout in pain, and he saw Bakugo pinning someone to the wall with a fury blazing in his eyes. “YOU THINK THAT SHIT’S FUNNY?! IT WON’T BE FUNNY WHEN YOU DIE!!” He shouted at the guy who had a new bruise on his cheek, no doubt from the blonde’s incensed punch.

“NO! NO! I’m sorry!!”

The apologies weren’t enough though, Bakugo still beat the shit out of him and outright threatened several other guys that he heard laughing at you and Izuku even took initiative to make them stop laughing with a deadly serious glare and a mild threat.

You were nice to him, Shinsou thought that maybe he should do the same because it was the least he could do after you helped him today.

You didn’t know what was going on though, you just ran to your house, threw your bags to the ground and flipped your shoes off and threw yourself into bed to sob, tears freely streaming down your hot, sweaty face as you cried so hard that no sound came out.

You weren’t going to the dance… you couldn’t…

TO BE CONTINUED…

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spookyold-saintjm · 5 years ago

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2 and 5 with Dark and a Clumsy Reader, cuz I’ve had my fair share of accidents and injuries while decorating

2: Do you need help hanging up the Christmas lights?

5: I made you some hot cocoa.

From this prompt list.

Anon I feel you on that hardcore. Christmas decorating stresses me OUT, pals. I abbreviated one of the prompts to fit Dark’s voice a little better. Does that mean I lose? LOL.

Hope everyone is having a great holiday season!

Darkiplier x reader

You cursed before you’d even taken enough steps back to see the tree in full.

You were spending your evening putting up a Christmas tree, but you had never done a whole setup by yourself before. You expected it to be fairly straightforward; after all, you’d been doing this almost your entire life with family or friends, so why should accomplishing it on your own be all that much different?

You quickly found that you were mistaken.

First of all, you weren’t using a real tree, so lugging the box with the huge artificial tree from storage was already a chore. Next, fluffing it out was such a pain in the ass you were ready to quit before you were even halfway finished. It just never looked right.

Now, you were working on stringing the lights, but you simply could not get them aligned the right way. You had nearly fallen off the chair you had been standing on while trying to toss them around to the other side of the tree, more than once. Not to mention, you’d nearly knocked the whole damn thing over when you tripped over a stray strand of lights lying on the floor.

You huffed in frustration as you stared at the somewhat lop-sided lights. This shouldn’t have been so difficult, dammit! You took a moment to attempt calm your nerves, steadying your breathing and trying to focus on how the egos would be so excited to see the tree sparkling in the lobby when they arrived back the next day.

You were just about to hop up on the chair again to adjust one of the upper rows of lights for maybe the millionth time when a deep voice behind you nearly made you jump out of your skin.

“Do you need help?” Dark’s voice almost echoed through the room. You flinched and spun around, somewhat relieved when you saw the source of the sound. Somewhat.

Dark was the one who still made you a bit uneasy. Brief explanations and context from the other egos had given you a faint hint as to the turmoil this man carried within, but nevertheless, he kind of, well…alright, he scared you a little bit.

He didn’t speak to you often, other than to ask the occasional question or make a request for you to bring him something during the day. Never hellos, goodbyes, or anything personal, just conversation to get you from one point to the next in the progression of the day’s work.

“Dark!” you exclaimed, taking a small step back. “I didn’t realize anyone else was still here…”

“I had some extra work to accomplish,” he stated. His head took a slight tilt as he peered at the scene behind you. “And it looks like you did, as well.”

You nodded, a nervous smile appearing on your face. “Ahhh, well, I thought it would be something nice to look at for the next few weeks…” you felt your face get warm in embarrassment as you glanced back at the tree, “But it turns out I’m not so good at doing this on my own.”

Dark considered carefully before speaking, his eyes drifting from the tree to you, and slowly back again. “Very well. I’ll help you. You’ll be here all night, otherwise.”

You blinked, unsure if you should be grateful for the help or insulted that Dark made it so obvious you were having a hard time accomplishing the task on your own. “Oh! Uh…well, alright. Thank you.”

The two of you quickly got started, Dark taking charge of physically stringing the lights as he was taller and had longer limbs than you, and could more easily able to navigate his way around and through the branches. You stood back and guided him on placement; you had a good eye for decorating and knew when things looked perfect, but it was the act of doing it that seemed to stump you in this scenario.

Dark stepped over to your side once the lights were placed, studying it for a moment before giving a single, silent nod of approval.

“Thanks again for your help,” you turned to him with a kind smile. “I really appreciate it, I’ll start the ornaments after—”

“You think I’m going to leave before the job is done?” Dark asked, his lips a thin line when he looked back at you.

“I—“ You glanced over at the boxes of ornaments stacked off a few feet away from the now-sparkling tree. “I mean, you really don’t have to do anything else…”

“I said I would help, didn’t I?” he stopped you, already walking toward the boxes. He thoughtfully stared down at the box for a moment, then picked up a single, red orb. “So. How many of these are in this box?”

And that began the process of decorating. You knew Dark was someone of a meticulous nature, but he wholly proved himself in the hour you spent carefully constructing the placement of each ornament on the tree. Your creative minds worked surprisingly well together, and it was definitely nice to have someone with steadier hands and feet and…you know, was just less clumsy in general.

Dark was working on some final touches that you had both agreed to when you stepped out of the room, coming back a few minutes later with two steaming cups of a dark liquid.

“Here,” you offered one of the cups out to him when he glanced over his shoulder at you. “I made you some hot cocoa.”

Your brain sent off a sudden, internal alarm. What do you think you’re doing?! This wasn’t a man you could just offer hot chocolate to. He could so easily destroy you in ways you didn’t even want to consider.

You quickly retracted your arm back towards your body when you realized the absurdity of the offer. “If you like that kind of thing, it’s okay if not.”

Dark stood straight, facing you. He blinked once, his eyebrows furrowed.

“That’s…very kind. Thank you.” Dark slowly reached for the cup, almost seeming unsure, himself. You met his hand halfway, your fingers brushing just enough to send a strange wave of surprise through your body as he took the cup from you.

He stared down at the cup for a beat too long, enough to make you wonder what he was thinking about, before he gently lifted it up to his lips and took a short sip. You took a much longer sip from your own, your entire body suddenly feeling very stiff. Especially because now, the faintest upward curve of the corner of Dark’s mouth had caught your eye.

You smiled back, and Dark’s face quickly fell flat again. You realized he must have not known he was smiling (sort of) in the first place, and you suddenly wanted nothing more than to flee the room at top speed. Dark spoke again before you had the chance.

“It’s been some time since I’ve just…spent time with someone else.” His eyes studied your face, trying to figure you out as if you were a puzzle and betraying the relaxed, casual demeanor he otherwise portrayed. “But, y/n, I must say I’ve enjoyed this evening.

“I—I’ve enjoyed it, too.” Your cheeks suddenly felt warmer as you were flattered at his efforts to be kind to you.

He almost seemed to hesitate before he replied, his eyes finally meeting your own with an earnest stare that could have sucked you in for hours. “In fact, if you’re okay with it…perhaps we could do it again, sometime.”

Your stomach dropped at his words, but there was no second-guessing, no doubt in your answer. You nodded, your smile spreading and your heartbeat rising when you answered him.

“I would like that, Dark.”

That half-smile of his returned yet again, and you stored the image in your mind. It was something you didn’t want to forget any time soon.

#back at it with the wholesome dark content #darkiplier x reader #darkiplier x y/n #darkiplier imagine #requests #writing prompts #holiday writing prompts #darkiplier x female reader #darkiplier x male reader

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unproduciblesmackdown · 4 years ago

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um hello excuse me i just listened to that teenage dirtbag video and now i have no choice other than to ask you... what is up. that voice was lovely, the range the performer had when switching to the girl's role i?? hello??? so is this the uh... god um. dear evan hansen or the uhhhh oh my god sorry im typing as im thinking this is hell. the other one. be more chill? i have some friends into these things but never paid much attention but after that vid my inch rest is how do you say, Peaked.

it just hit me that the right word was actually 'piqued' rip me

hahahaha yeah i can tell you All About It.....see my origin story is that uh. fuckin uh right so i vaguely knew deh existed back when it was broadway-debuting at the end of 2016 and probably many of us were vaguely aware it existed, but then in the next summer (2017) i heard a cover of one of its songs and i was like “i can tell this is one of those songs that would be given way more context if i knew the plot” and by that point the wikipedia entry had a plot summary available and i got that context and even though he was fairly briefly mentioned, one of the side characters Piqued My Interest b/c i just knew like. aha that already feels like a character type i would rly latch on to. and this was in the back of my mind for a while and for like the next year i would intermittently check out another song or two or get a little bit more lore, but it wasn’t until like, fall 2018 i finally went “you know what, i am gonna dive in for Maximum Lore actually” and my motivation for doing this was cuz i wanted to find out all the info about The One Side Character lmfao, like, the “main plot” and “entire actual show” to me is just the Lore for him basically b/c that was truly my angle hahaha and my interest was further piqued b/c like i quickly went “oh so he’s secretly in love with the protagonist right, got it,” which like. was a latent vibe i got from that very first wikipedia plot summary readthrough tbh lmfao. and is True.

and then even after deciding to dig into the lore and confirming that Yes i love this character as i thought i would it took like another week or two before i ever like, Watched dear evan hansen lmfaooo and i’ve never stopped complaining about the show since ljdfs but not Not b/c the character isn’t as good as i thought (or b/c Nothing Else is good either, but. you know how it is. #canon 9_9 ) and then in the course of looking for More Content i was you know, looking at a variety of posts On Here and looking at some behind-the-scenes / bonus content type stuff on youtube and went “oh well hey the actor that plays that character i love is also a nice funny guy according to testimony and also that i like his vibe in these vids” and, fun fact as is the nature of live theatre (and it being like, oct / nov 2018 by then) he was not still the Current actor for said character but had, in fact, moved on to be more chill and Already Completed a late summer off-broadway run as the lead (and a bway run had been announced already, though im not Certain i remember the point / how i became aware of this lol).....which again, i too had Heard Of (and had once ages prior coincidentally leafed thru the book once and read a few excerpts but knew nothing abt anything beyond that).....but hilariously while i Knew he was in bmc thru some 101 research, i was like “okay i’ll move on to that in a sec” while focusing on deh for a while still b/c it was not until i happened to casually look up “okay so what does his character do in this show i’m completely unfamiliar with” that i went “oh fuck he’s the LEAD????!!!” lmaooo like i did Not realize this and that upped my urgency abt it

a very very broad description of bmc is that it’s a Fun Show coz it’s this teen scifi Magical Realism plotline classic musical comedy type of thing, a genre we all already know and love lol /j, and importantly, the music is fuckinggg Bops. very common “gateway drug” is This song. there’s an Original Broadway Cast Album all on youtube (and, somewhat confusingly im sure, an Original Cast Album, but that was an off-off-bway run, and i’m interested squarely in the off-bway and bway versions lmfao, so, and that is what one will get recommended from me (more updated versions of all the songs anyways)) and also, this is basically a tangential thought i had but circling back around to deh, My Guy (will roland as jared kleinman) does not actually get all that much singing material in the show (v different situation from be more chill) even in the song that features his character most heavily, but that song also happens to be the most fun song in deh and also a bop, and here’s an especially fun live performance to check out if u wanna, the other two dudes are not official cast members lmfao but still

and like, when all this deh-ing and enthusiastic bmc-ing (which i got into Just In Time to be following along with its broadway run, which was very fun to do) affirmed like boy i love this Actor’s Material for sure, i did a little digging into his nicher Credits, including, one fateful day in march, his tv credits, which meant i like stumbled across the fact he has this recurring role in Billions(tm) and that stumbling = immediately falling flat on my face b/c i Loved the content and we coincidentally got really into it Just In Time before the next season’s stuff started airing with him in it, and that was truly an Experience we’ve been having ever since. that’s it’s own insane tangent b/c this show is fucking Something Else but, jsyk, since i am talking about “billions” left and right and stuff, that’s the vague context for that. latched onto a character -> the actor -> the actor’s other stuff, and that [other stuff] is getting brought up around here a lot, especially billions.....we’re having fun and following our hearts with it lmao

i’m Not Great at finding a balance between “doing an elaborate lore dump when someone asks me ‘what’s X about?’ and i spend the next several hours just play by play walking them through the whole thing” and “trying to avoid doing that where i get Too In Depth and instead end up just overly glossing over it all and they’re like ‘that doesn’t give me any info :/’” but i Can and Will talk more in depth about any of this stuff b/c yeah........but between deh and bmc, i definitely like bmc more Overall and....in the specifics of it too.....and like the obcr way better......and uh Everything about it better lmfaooo but i also love the particular characters Jared and Alana, side character teens in deh, so im always about That as well..........but if u were like “hm which might i look into a little first,” i gotta say like, i like bmc better both as a matter of My Personal Taste and from a more critical standpoint of “what is the show meant to be / does it accomplish what it wants to” type stuff. even though deh is the critical darling lmfao go figure! *i* decide what’s good, actually, and as we all know, i’m correct and a genius. which, haha im joking, but i Am right and i Am not Not smart in ways lol

aaaaaaand yeah additionally like. can and will answer Any more particular questions about any of this shit b/c, it’s my shit, and you know how i roll

and p.s. glad you liked the Teenage Dirtbag it is such a good performance lol. naturally getting real into this one actor / singer’s shit means that there’s also stuff Outside [performing a particular role] which is still some sweet sweet content, such as other solo performances during a concert / cabaret stuff.....the lore is Very Rich and is V Good so it’s fun

#also glossed over which character type that i love that jared struck me as and it was just like #oh from these brief mentions of content alone i get the idea he doesn't have the most personable attitude and is trying to assert that he #doesn't care but gets super hurt when his friend ditches him and yeah i was exactly correct And More! beautiful. chefs kiss #We Are All [titular teenage dirtbag guy of the song going :o :o :o at will roland serenading us w the Girl In The Song's part]

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hanasaku-shijin · 5 years ago

Text

Hell Hath No Fury

Series: Hazbin Hotel

Characters: Charlie & Vaggie

Words: 2,040

Genres: Hurt/Comfort, Romance

A/N: Just a little something for after the pilot episode. God knows how long it'll be until we see more of this series, so just have this for now.

[Disclaimer: I do not own Hazbin Hotel.]

|| PATREON || KO-FI || COMMISSION INFO ||

---------

Hell Hath No Fury

After all is said and done in terms of 'hiring the new staff' of their hotel that evening, Vaggie can't convince Charlie to break away from the sketchy-as-fuck demons quickly enough.

Charlie spends a good amount of time zipping around the place, asking everyone if they're 'okay' in their new surroundings, asking if there's anything they 'need,' and then quite literally singing the praises of all the amazing and incredible work they're going to accomplish together.

Vaggie stays back, arms crossed and eyes narrowed, muttering all the while. She keeps an eye on the lot of them, especially Alastor. For now, he doesn't seem to be doing anything more dangerous than making random demons appear for cleaning staff. But she still doesn't trust him, and she probably never will.

With Charlie bursting with so much energy and excitement, it takes Vaggie a good hour or so to finally grab ahold of her and remind her of the long day they've had; from the failure of the news interview to the present moment, it's been a lot.

She eventually coaxes her away from the so-called 'staff' and up to their room, reasoning with her that the literal Princess of Hell and head honcho around here needs to be well-rested and ready for anything. Charlie follows her, but not after waving exuberantly goodnight to all the others. She's humming and buzzing all the way up to their door, a dire contrast to Vaggie's silent, churning distrust.

Vaggie fishes out her room key and rattles the door open before stomping her way in, muttering nonstop. Their room is, of course, one of the best the somewhat-run-down hotel has to offer, with all the necessary furniture, a bathroom, and a sizable bed.

Vaggie crosses the room to the window, hoping some fresh air might help clear her bustling mind. But as soon as she jerks it open, a cloud of smog and cigarette smoke wafts in from who-knows-where and makes her gag. She slams the window shut again before storming over to her dresser, tearing off her clothes in exchange for her black-and-purple nightgown.

All the while, Charlie watches her. She's fallen silent now, her smile faded. She'd changed into her own pink nightgown quietly, leaving the dress shirt, pants, and overalls for tomorrow's laundry. Now, she sits on her side of the bed, knees pulled up to her chest and face half-buried in them as she watches her girlfriend hiss and curse.

Vaggie has been so consumed by her frustrations all evening long she hasn't calmed down for much longer than a second at a time. Her blood is boiling and her skin is crawling. Even now as she sits in front of the vanity, she yanks the brush through her hair and rips the pink ribbon out from the force of her motions, then angrily puts it back in and continues brushing.

She just doesn't like this. She'd barely liked the idea of rehabilitating Angel, but she really doesn't like having Alastor and all his creepy little henchmen scuttling around under their noses. She doesn't trust him one bit.

And what frustrates her even more is that she knows she wouldn't stand a chance against him if it ever came to an altercation. She'd seen his power with her own eyes tonight, how he'd summoned a massive demon out of literally nowhere.

She hates this. She hates that she knows she wouldn't be able to protect Charlie if push came to shove. All she wants is to keep her safe, and yet they'd just let one of the most dangerous and powerful demons in all of Hell into their front door. There's no way they can work with him, no way that he's actually on their side, no way they can-

"Vaggie…?"

The voice comes from behind her, small and timid. Vaggie pauses in her violent hair-brushing to actually look at her reflection in the mirror - fuming and ruffled like a madwoman. Behind her, huddled up on the bed, is a small pink bundle.

Vaggie drops her brush and whirls around instantly to face her. Charlie peeks up at her a little nervously.

"Are you… Are you still mad at me…?"

Vaggie honestly wishes she could wring her own neck right then and there. Because all this time, she's been cursing and slamming things around because she'd been worried about Charlie.

And yet, she's been the one worrying her the most.

Just like that - like someone had snapped their fingers and broken a curse - every drop of anger and frustration drains from Vaggie's body and mind when she sees Charlie looking so small and fretful.

The princess blinks, then looks away nervously.

"I-I mean, it's okay. I get it if you're still mad… You did specifically tell me not to let him in and I… did just that…"

Vaggie finally snaps herself out of her trance and makes her way over to the bed, crawling on slowly.

"Hey," she murmurs, much more gently than anything else she's said today. She reaches out to touch Charlie's shoulder softly, her tone quiet with apology. "I'm not mad at you, Charlie. I never was."

Charlie looks up at her a little hopefully, but also a little skeptically.

"Really? Cuz you seem kind of… pissed off…"

Vaggie wishes she could punch herself in the face.

"Gaah- I know, I know! But I'm not mad at you, Charlie! I swear! Cross my heart and hope to- Well, you know."

Charlie flashes her a cute little smile for the attempted joke. Vaggie smiles back. The only times she ever actually does smile are the times she's with her.

Charlie bites her lip, glancing first to the hand on her shoulder, then back up to Vaggie.

"So… you're really not mad at me…?"

Vaggie shakes her head in earnest.

"Of course not. I'm sorry if it seemed that way."

Charlie breathes a tiny sigh of relief, but she still has that nervous look wavering in her eyes.

"But you are unhappy with some of the decisions I've made, right?"

"Charlie…" Vaggie can't take it anymore. Seeing her like this is breaking her heart. She wraps her arms around her, resting her chin on top of her head. "You made whatever decisions you felt were right. You followed your instincts and your heart. You did what you felt was best for this hotel - for your dream. I could never be mad at you. Especially not for anything like that."

Charlie exhales, and it feels a little shaky. She looks up at her again, but the nervousness is gone now.

"Thanks, Vaggie."

Charlie reciprocates the embrace, wrapping both arms around her slowly and giving a good squeeze. Vaggie returns it with equal force. She lets her nails card through Charlie's hair, from the softer smoother side to the wavier side and all down her back. Charlie exhales again, nuzzling her face into Vaggie's shoulder.

"What a relief. I-I don't know what I'd do without you on my side, Vaggie. You're all I've got in the end…"

"Hey…" Vaggie eases her back a little, making sure Charlie is looking at her. "I am always on your side, you got that? No matter what. Even if Hell freezes over because of it, I don't give a crap. I'm standing with you, Charlie. Till the end, and whatever comes after that. And that's a promise." She dips down to kiss Charlie's lips sweetly. She feels her smile, feels that cute little poke of her fangs as she kisses back.

"Thanks, Vaggie." Charlie wipes her eyes that had nearly started to water. Her naturally-rosy cheeks seem a little puffier, as if she'd been crying when Vaggie couldn't see her. But she seems much better now with the misunderstanding cleared up. However, she still has questions. "So then, if you weren't mad at me, what's the matter? You've been huffy all night. No offense."

"None taken," Vaggie sighs. "You're right. I'm just… I don't know. I don't trust those guys, and I don't know what to do about it, that's all. I'm sorry it came off the wrong way, though. I didn't mean to make you upset."

"I know you didn't." Charlie wiggles up close to her again, maintaining their loose embrace as they lean back against the pillows. "But don't worry about those guys. I'll keep an eye on them, and if anything goes wrong, I'll… I'll use my authority as Princess of Hell to ban them from the hotel! I'll give them a restraining order! Sound good?"

Vaggie can't help but burst out laughing. Leave it to this girl to think a restraining order would be able to stop some of the most powerful demons in Hell from bothering them. It's comical, but it's so, so Charlie. Vaggie hugs her again.

"I love you, y'know that?"

Charlie giggles.

"I know." She reaches up to cup Vaggie's face in her hands and kisses her again. "I'm glad you're smiling again. It's been kind of a crazy day, and I know I caused you a lot of stress. Sorry."

"Don't apologize. You're just working toward making your dream come true, and I agreed I'd be in it for the long haul. Sorry I made you think I was mad at you."

"It's okay!" Charlie beams. "You just wanna protect me. I know that. I really can look out for myself, but… it's really nice to know you're looking out for me too. It feels… kinda nice knowing you'd get so mad for my sake."

Vaggie chuckles. "Well, you know what they say; 'Hell hath no fury like a woman whose girlfriend is working with some of the most annoying and dangerous demons to ever exist in order to run a soul-rehabilitation hotel.'"

Charlie bursts out laughing; light, childish, bubbly little giggles that would put any heavenly angel to shame.

Vaggie's heart throbs. In all the disgusting, vial, murderously-grotesque layers of shit piled on top of all nine circles of Hell, Charlie's heartfelt hope and purity really don't belong. She may have been born to the King and Queen of Hell themselves, but she was definitely an angel.

In all this violence and chaos and darkness, Charlie is the flicker of a single tiny light. In spite of everything she's been through, everything she's seen, her heart is still pure. She still believes in people - these people - which is something Vaggie pretty much stopped doing a long time ago. She doesn't believe in anyone else anymore. Only Charlie.

Pulling her princess into another firm hug, Vaggie lies them both down and pulls the blankets up. Charlie turns toward her fully, her slim form fitting perfectly against Vaggie's. She wraps her arms around Vaggie's torso and nestles her face into her neck, cuddling up like some cute puppy.

Vaggie hugs her shoulders, still petting idly through her soft fluffy hair. She can feel the flutter of Charlie's heartbeat against her chest, quick but steady, eager to make her dreams a reality. Vaggie swears she'll do whatever it takes to help her achieve that goal, even if it might mean overthrowing Hell itself.

It really might come to that one day, but before her mind can wander too much, Charlie's soft angelic voice brings her back to the present again.

"Goodnight, Vaggie. Thank you for everything. I mean it."

Vaggie might have the burning strength of a million demons when she's really furious, but all it takes is one word from Charlie to have her melting.

"Night, Charlie. I love you."

"Love you."

And it's only here - in this dusty little room in the hazbin hotel for violent addicts, insane murderers, and bloodthirsty demons - where Vaggie and Charlie can truly feel safest in each other's arms; where all the raging fires of Hell combined couldn't possibly be warmer than this.

--------

A/N: They’re literally the perfect dynamic right off the bat. Charlie is her angel, her light, her healing (or at least I think so). I’m a total sucker for the angry explosive person just melting and being soft for the optimistic pure-hearted wholesome character.

Gosh, the possibilities for this show and these two are endless. So many good and bad things could happen to them, and I honestly can't wait to see how it all goes.

#hazbin hotel #charlie magne #charlotte magne #vaggie #chaggie #Chaggie #(im still calling it that tho chaggie is the most acceptable of all their name combos lol)#my writing #take this.... i had so many ideas while writing about 'what if's in the show... aaah #reblogs very appreciated since i cant post this elsewhere!#reviews in the comments/tags??? pls?? idk lol

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prof-zimbrane · 5 years ago

Text

The Face of Love

Summary: They’ve done almost all the dating cliches in existence, they’ve been in an established relationship for a while now but there are still secrets between them. Secrets pertaining to a certain someone’s true appearance. Zim loves Professor Membrane and he’s sure that the feelings are mutual but should he risk it?

Word Count: 7443

AO3 link

Yo, here’s a Zimbrane fic for the upcoming Halloween. It’s got body horror?? I guess so read with caution. It’s nothing too bad. Believe me, I bet it’s something you won’t expect ;)

It’s my first fanfic?? ever I guess so please be gentle and if possible, give me feedback on how I can improve cuz I love this pairing and I wanna write more for them ;-;

Zim’s current love-slave has everything Zim ever wants in a partner. Professor Membrane is brilliant, tall, good with weapons, and has caused Dib more anguish and doubt than Zim could ever cause.

Zim knows and has seen what Professor Membrane can accomplish. Combined, they’d be the greatest gift to the universe in all its existence. But there is this… oddity to their relationship.

Most couples would’ve already known how the other really looked like, appearance wise (actual personalities are sometimes never revealed), at their current stage. Yet somehow, Zim has never seen his partner’s face.

Sure Zim hides his appearance, but unlike Professor Membrane, Zim is pretty sure he has a lot more to lose, given his “foreign” heritage and occupation as an invader and all.

But Professor Membrane must be human, right? Whatever horrible thing he’s hiding under his lab coat and goggles couldn’t be the worst Zim has ever seen. Zim isn’t superficial enough to stop loving someone based on their appearance, height notwithstanding, hell humans are already ugly enough to Zim yet he still decided to pursue the scientist.

Maybe Professor Membrane was scarred or disfigured? Or maybe he’s so horrifyingly ugly according to “human” standards that he has to hide it. Dib does have a rather large head after all and Gretchen’s the only one Zim knows (has been told) that seems to like Dib.

There’s nothing wrong with asking things from your partner. In fact, it would only be fair for Zim’s burning curiosity to be satisfied. If Zim wants to find out how Professor Membrane looks like, then he will find it out. He is Zim, nothing is out of the question. But is he ready for it?

He could leave things as they are and continue like normal, or he could confront Professor Membrane and find out what’s hidden underneath. But would it be too soon? They’ve done all sorts of couply things together already, according to Zim’s “dating humans” guide list he devised when learning about human affection that one dreadful time with Tiq? Taco? T something, he still misses his robot bee, Robbee never even completed his first mission, but that’s irrelevant now.

They’ve gone to an expensive eating establishment (Zim paid with Earth monies but those monies were outdated cents and quarters), they’ve watched the sun set and looked at the stars (one of Zim’s favourite moments), they’ve watched horror movies in the cinema (they were more horrified by the actions of the teens surrounding them though), and they even did a “Netflix & Chilli” (Zim still believes that the alien Jim is a loser for losing his leaders to a space anomaly).

They’ve even passed through several stages of physical affection. It started out with staring, then casual pats, they’ve even skipped straight to hugging before hand holding. They haven’t begun eating each other’s faces yet but Zim still finds it repulsive and another factor in the brutishness of stinky human courtship rituals.

Today was one of their date nights. Their plans only included dinner at Zim’s base. Though, Zim hopes that Professor Membrane will acknowledge his amazement at Zim’s awesome cooking skills and be willing to show his face once and for all.

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

Dinner went off splendidly. Although the turkey had an unfortunate extra ingredient added to it, in the form of a dysfunctional, hyperactive robot. Professor Membrane thankfully thought of it as a pleasant surprise, meant to showcase Zim’s brilliance.

But now comes the hard part. Zim has to convince the Professor to stay for a while longer. He can do this.

Zim mustered up all his courage and held Professor Membrane’s hand as he was about to say his goodbyes.

“Wait! Stay a bit longer! I still have much to do with you!” Zim looks desperately into Professor Membrane’s shiny goggles, he HAS to find out what was underneath or else he’ll be restless for the entirety of their relationship, which would definitely affect his plans.

“What? We didn’t plan anything else for tonight though. Dib and Gaz should be fine but this is rather sudden.” Professor Membrane looks at their clasped hands and Zim’s hopeful expression.

“What is it that you want exactly? Are we going to your lab again?” He questioned.

He’s been helping Zim out with his inventions, spending a lot of hours just tinkering together in harmony. Science has always been a delight to do but with Zim, it feels like he’s experiencing it for the first time ever. He’s regained some of his wonder and childish curiosity with Zim’s input and feedback.

Anxiety was visible through Zim’s body language. He was hunched over, his eyes hurriedly shifting from left to right and back. He exhaled.

“I want to progress our relationship to the next stage,” Zim admits, “it’s just that, all we’ve done so far is hold hands and cuddle. Not that I hate it! If you ever stop then I will go to your house at night and replace your roboarms with bamboo skewers!”

Zim lets go to cross his arms and glare.

“Well, it is true that we’ve been taking it slow. I could say that part of it is my fault for being unfamiliar with this... relationship thing.” Professor Membrane muses. Is Zim dissatisfied with what they currently have?

“I’m sorry Zim, am I going too slowly for you?” he asked.

“No not at all! You satisfy me plenty. I admit that I’m also new to what we’re doing right now.” Zim quickly denied.

Professor Membrane feels relief. As a scientist, he can deal with all sorts of fields but relationships were harder to understand.

“That’s good, I treasure you and our love together. I don’t usually get to have a lab partner who’s not an employee of mine.” He confesses. He’s grown too attached.

“Great! As for the reason I am keeping you here for,” Zim paused.

He was in the right to ask for things. He shouldn’t feel worried.

“I’m demanding that you show your face to me.” Zim said resolutely. He looked expectedly at his human.

Professor Membrane felt panic. He should’ve expected it. He didn’t think it would be now though.

“My face? There’s nothing to see! It looks quite boring underneath.” He tried to play it off.

Zim looks dejected and hurt. Professor Membrane ignored him, that hurt.

“But I don’t even know what you look like. I don’t know the colour of your eyes or the shape of your face or even if you have weird lips. How can I be sure that you’re not a new person every time we meet? Are you even the original Membrane that I confessed to? You’re not another weird clone right?” Zim accused. Starting a chain of repeated lines.

“I’m not…” Professor Membrane answered.

“Are you?”

“I’m not…”

“Are you?!”

“I’m not...”

“Are you?!!”

He had enough. While he may love Zim, he doesn’t enjoy this continuous back and forth, even if it is somewhat cute.

“ZIM!” he shouted, “I swear by my 24 degrees that I’m not a clone. I’m the only original Professor Membrane in this reality.”

“Then why are you hiding your face from me? Don’t worry! I don’t mind if you look hideous. Just show me your trust.” He tried to look harmless but inside, Zim is worried that he’s asking for too much. Something is telling him to trust Professor Membrane in return.

Professor Membrane remained silent for a while. He’s debating internally over whether he should show Zim his face.

But eventually he relented to Zim’s request.

“Alright, I’ll show you but do you have somewhere else where we could do this? Your kitchen-lavatory room is not what I have in mind for sharing personal secrets”

They looked around. Gir, still in the turkey, was taking care of his many pig friends. The camera Dib installed is still visibly there, recording their conversation. Zim should remind the Computer to disable it or have it record a non-stop footage of Floopsy Bloops Schmoopsy.

“Urghh, I guess it’s fine.” Zim groans out. “Join me in my basement.”

He leads Professor Membrane by the hands through a closet that goes underground. It was different from the other places of Zim’s underground level. Here is where he kept his more Earth friendly technology.

It looks somewhat similar to Professor Membrane’s own lab in his basement, except with what appears to be a waiting area, with a sofa, a soda vending machine and a receptionist desk. But the only life there were bundled in the cobwebs of the receptionist’s chair. The receptionist is apparently out for smoke break.

They settled on the comfortable purple sofa. Anticipation was in the air.

“Well? Show Zim the goods!” Zim holds out his arms in a ‘gimme’ gesture. He can’t wait to see what all the fuss is about.

Professor Membrane takes off his goggles first to reveal his eyes. His fingers then undid the upper half of his lab coat to reveal the bottom half of his face. Underneath his lab coat he wore a tight, black turtle neck.

It’s not what Zim expected. He was shocked. His previous expectations were crushed like humans should be underneath his boot.

There’s nothing wrong. Professor Membrane’s face looks like any other humans. If Zim were human, he’d even consider Professor Membrane’s face to be ridiculously good-looking, even by celebrity standards. But Zim wasn’t a human so, to him Professor Membrane’s face was as ugly as all the rest of the human species.

Even Professor Membrane’s eyes are nothing extraordinary, except for the glowing blue light that the irises emit and the pupils that expanded and contracted like camera shutters.

Zim actually found himself feeling slightly disappointment, since there was nothing special to look at.

“Is that all you have hidden there? Why even bother wearing your coat and goggles so conservatively?” Zim says annoyingly.

“That’s just my fashion sense.” Professor Membrane says chipperly.

He laughed disconcertingly, a drawn out “Ha ha ha,” as if he were watching a comedian embarrass himself instead of delivering actual jokes.

He’s trying to placate Zim. Professor Membrane was acting strange. His lips seem to be delayed by a couple of nanoseconds when he speaks. If it weren’t for the many modifications Irkens had to endure, Zim never would have noticed.

“Your eyes are different though. They’re not brown like the eyes of the Dib-beast or the little Gaz-monster.” Zim is judging Professor Membrane.

Zim’s nicknames for his kids were odd but somehow, they sounded charming to the Professor.

“I had them replaced when my vision was failing, you know how humans are with all the limitations of biology.” He hand waved his difference away. Zim is still not satisfied.

“Let me see them closer.”

Zim leaned on Professor Membrane. He’s holding Professor Membrane’s face in his palms as he stared deep into his human’s eyes. Zim always thought that human eyes were freaky, with their milky white sclera. But Professor Membrane’s eyes were pretty. He had long lashes and the electric blue glow they emitted reminded Zim of Tallest Miyuki’s calm gaze that captivated the hearts of her people.

Zim observed the rest of his face, Professor Membrane’s nose looked regal and fit him perfectly. Zim also notes that his features were perfectly symmetrical, another contributing factor in human attractiveness, although this time it also extended to Irken beauty standards. Finally, there was something both races had in common.

Before he realized it, his gaze then went down to the scientist’s lips. They looked soft and had a perfect curve to them. But they were pressed tight, stiff and unmoving.

He was removed out of his stupor when Professor Membrane uttered a word, Zim’s name, from his perfectly shaped lips. Such perfection was otherworldly, it shouldn’t exist. There weren’t any blemishes or other hideous imperfections on his skin either.

“Zim? Zim! While I do find your attention flattering, don’t you think you’re too close?” Professor Membrane said in a hitched voice.

Professor Membrane’s eyes revealed his current emotions more than the rest of his face. Despite the nervous tone, his face remained stoic, his wide-blown, erratic pupils betrayed him instead.

Zim hadn’t realized, but he’s moved so close that he was kneeling on top of Professor Membrane. They’ve cuddled before, it’s true, but never this close, and never face-to-face with Professor Membrane’s exposed, hypnotic eyes.

It was the first time Zim didn’t feel revulsion at seeing a human. His past self would’ve spitted at him and called him a filthy xenophile for feeling whatever this is. But Zim putting himself before his empire was nothing new, although it still hurt him to acknowledge it.

“You’re actually not too hideous. I am pleased.” Zim tried to sound dismissive, but it’s clear that he is affected by his lover’s appearance.

“I’m glad my face pleases you then, my celestial lover.” Professor Membrane said warmly.

His expression was light. A smile graced his lips. That made something flutter in Zim’s innards.

But he began feeling another rare feeling, guilt. What is it with all these feelings now?? Zim is too great to be bothered by that. Yet, should he reveal his actual face? Would he be dissected or worse vivisected if he did? He doesn’t want to live out the rest of his life stuck in a tube. His partner was related to Dib after all and his passion for science is, at times, obsessive.

Zim was distracted from his worries by a sudden pressure on his lips. They were soft. His love was kissing him. That was Zim’s first kiss. Not just Zim’s first kiss on the lips but first kiss in general, and it had to be lip-to-lip.

Before he could respond to Professor Membrane’s actions, the Professor drew back with a sheepish expression.

“I’m sorry Zim, I didn’t mean to kiss you like that.” He mumbled.

Professor Membrane’s arms, which were previously stuck to his side, lifted to caress Zim’s head.

“I couldn’t help myself, you’re really cute Zim. Was it too soon?” He asked.

“No it’s fine. I liked it. I liked it a lot.” Zim felt dizzy. He was embarrassed to admit it to himself, but it was the truth.

“There won’t be any cannibalism though right?” asked Zim. Worry appeared on his face again but more exaggerated than before.

“What if there was, what if I admit that I want to eat you up?” Professor Membrane said teasingly. He’s amused by his love’s thinking.

“If anyone does the eating it would be Zim!” he exclaimed. “My love-pig is no match for my razor sharp teeth.”

Zim shows off his pink, zipper teeth. Another odd thing about Zim that captivates the curious mind of the Professor.

“Perhaps, we should test it out with a little experiment?” Professor Membrane’s eyes sparkled with mischief.

“What kind of experiment?” Zim questioned.

“An experiment where we find out who’ll consume the other first.” He challenged Zim.

“It will definitely be me.” Zim grinned, showing off his teeth again.

This time, it was Zim who acted first. He pressed his lips tight against his human’s. Zim’s antenna tingled underneath his wig, if he hadn’t stuck it tightly with adhesives before, they would’ve sprung free from their confinement, he’s learnt his lessons during Earth’s many challenges.

Professor Membrane held Zim tighter towards his body. As if he never wants to let go, as if he’s afraid of losing Zim.

Zim’s hands were still occupied with exploring every inch of Professor Membrane’s face. He wants to burn his love's features into his hands, forever imprinting their impressions into his memory.

But, during Zim’s explorations, he began noticing a long depression near the outer reaches of Professor Membrane’s face. It wouldn’t have been noticeable, if Zim hadn’t been an Irken. Irkens had really sensitive skin, that’s why they cover themselves up so much.

He paused his kissing to get a better feel for Professor Membrane’s face. The depression circled the outer cheeks, over the eyebrows and seemingly ended between Professor Membrane’s upper and lower lip on both sides.

“My love? What are you doing?” Professor Membrane stuttered out. Yet, Zim’s previous observations about the stoicism of his features seemed sprung out more than ever.

“There is something you’re keeping from me. I can sense it beneath my fingers!” Zim accused Professor Membrane.

He stood up from his previous position to pace around the room, never taking his eyes of his lover. Zim moved like an interrogator in a prison. He won’t stand any lies.

If Professor Membrane could emote more, he’d have despair written all over his face. His right hand began covering the bottom part of face, in a nervous gesture.

“Zim, my love, there’s nothing wrong. Come back to my arms. Whatever you felt must have been due to your unfamiliarity with my face.”

Still seated, he leans towards Zim with his arms spread out.

“Oh no! Don’t lie to me! I know what I’ve felt, I’ve seen how you move your lips. Why don’t you trust me?!” Zim recoils.

Zim’s never trusted anyone before but he expects trust from them. Zim has always believed himself to be a genuine person, sans his human disguise, and to have his character or actions questioned really pissed him off.

“You’re right Zim,” he relented “I am hiding something. I’ve only shown this to a few of the people I know, and it’s always ended in them disappearing. Not even Gaz or Dib have seen me without this.”

There’s something chilling about the way Professor Membrane says it. It was like Zim stepped on an old landmine, waiting to see if it’ll end in a disaster or not. He’s not sure about what Professor Membrane meant by disappearing but he doesn’t want to question it. As a part of the Irken Elite and as an Irken soldier, he can face anything.

“Don’t worry, whatever secrets you hold won’t be enough to scare me away. I love you, I’ve never loved anyone before.” Zim’s voice was soft, remarkably different from his usual screeching.

How many times has he said those words? Aside from his first sentence towards the only parental unit Zim ever knew, he’s only said it to Professor Membrane.

Again, Zim is doing something uncharacteristic. Was he trying to ease Professor Membrane’s discomfort with this entire thing? Trying to convince himself to be brave? Or was it just love that made Zim say that. Could a human really make Zim question himself that way? What kind of person is Professor Membrane to hold this much power over Zim’s heart.

“Please, don’t look away.” Professor Membrane pleaded.

He walked towards Zim, the height difference more noticeable now that they’re standing in front of each other. But that difference disappeared though, when Professor Membrane kneeled in front of Zim.

It was like one of those Earth movies that Zim watches, where one of the members of a couple kneel down to ask for a union. But instead of reaching into a pocket for a small rock, Professor Membrane reached for the sides of his face.

Slowly, he revealed what’s hidden underneath. Zim was right. Professor Membrane was disfigured. What he didn’t expect was the severity of the disfigurement.

In all of Zim’s time on Earth, with his countless research on human biology, he’s never sliced off anyone’s face. But even then, it wouldn’t have looked like Professor Membrane’s current features. His face was a prosthetic.

He has no face, no barrier protecting his passageways from the outside world. The only remaining parts of Professor Membrane’s face were his lower jaw, his temples, and his eyes.

Looking closer, Zim could see that the glow of his eyes was concentrated on the front part, the only part that is visible with Professor Membrane’s face prosthetic. The other half was encased in metal, connected to his organic parts with wires.

It was fascinating actually, seeing the mucosal tissues of a human. There was so much pink, pink like the lifeblood that flows through every Irken’s veins. His tongue was resting on top of his lower jaw, it was weird seeing it disappear as it nears the throat, going down the oesophagus.

Zim could also see a marriage between the organic and mechanic, as metallic parts are there to support and cover some of the exposed meat. Where there should be the nasal passage, was an artificial tube.

The edges featured tiny magnets, probably to hold Professor Membrane’s faceplate. Zim has seen much in his lifetime. He’s seen how cybernetics could replace almost anything but it was always visible if something is unnatural. Yet, Professor Membrane’s face, or at least his prosthetic, was good enough to fool Zim.

It was better than a hologram, that only mimics and changes appearances visually. It was something turned physical. Zim should feel disgusted, but instead he was more amazing than Zim could ever imagine.

The Professor’s technology was even more intertwined with his biology than Irken technology is with Irken bodies. While almost everything is genetically enhanced or modified, the mechanical aspect of Irken’s only constitutes their Pak, which is located outside of their bodies, attached to their spine.

“Love, speak. Do I scare you?” When he talked, his voice projected out from his throat. He had a voice box implanted. His tongue and lower jaw aren’t enough to make the appropriate vocalizations.

It was at that moment that Professor Membrane tried to cover up his gruesome anatomy with his faceplate but Zim stopped him. Before he could attach his face back on, Zim snatched his prosthetic.

Zim says in a low tone, or as low as he could try, he still sounds loud.

“No, you don’t scare me. Your current appearance doesn’t even disgust me. Instead, you intrigue me. I’ve never seen a human like you before.”

“In fact! Everyone else is disgusting compared to you.” He said louder, almost giddy-like.

“You’re brilliant! A genius worthy of Zim even! You merge technology so wonderfully, I want to see more!” There was audible excitement when Zim spoke.

“Zim, you don’t have to attack me with compliments. Is that really what you think?” Professor Membrane whispers, it’s hard to talk without his prosthetic. He uses a voice box but the movement of his artificial lip over his real lip was enough to make him believe that he is producing sound the natural way. It hurts.

Zim is studying the face prosthetic Professor Membrane designed. It was animatronic. The movement was controlled with nanotubes and circuitry connecting to small motors. If Zim wasn’t concerned about offending Professor Membrane, he’d rush to his underground labs to study it.

He feels a surge of affection, this is his human, no one else’s but Zim’s. Even other aliens don’t compare to his partner. Some were even too stupid to be alive, but somehow they live.

“Don’t be foolish, foolishness doesn’t suit you. You know that I adore you.” Never has Zim uttered something so soft before.

“I love you for your mind,” he kisses his lover’s forehead, “your strength,” he kisses his lover’s robo arms, “your height,” he kisses the hair scythe, “and everything else about you.” he leaves a big kiss on Professor Membrane’s prosthetic and Professor Membrane’s lower jaw.

Professor Membrane was stunned, his lower jaw dropped down and his electronic eyes emitted an even brighter glow. Zim hands Professor Membrane the prosthetic.

“Now cover up your holes before the germs invade you. I will not be having my lover be sick due to some pathetic Earth virus.” Zim looks at his lover. If he could, he would kiss the Professor’s soul, so only Zim would remain in the scientist’s heart.

Professor Membrane, places his face plate on with a ‘click.’ He lifts Zim up in his arms as he stands from his kneeling position. Zim shrieked as his feet lost contact with the ground.

“I was right to love you, Zim!” The Professor was gleeful.

“You’d be stupid if you rejected me.” Zim’s smugness at being loved reached an all-time high.

Professor Membrane twirled Zim above his head and hugged him close.

“You remember how I said that I never showed this to my children?” Professor Membrane hummed into Zim’s wig.

“Yes?”

“Please don’t tell them.” The Professor begged. His request surprised Zim.

“The Dib really doesn’t know? Wonderful! You have nothing to fear! I’ll keep your secret. You must really love Zim then!” Zim laughed maniacally.

Zim was so euphoric, his legs were moving back and forth.

“I’m glad I showed this side of mine to you. I like to imagine that, if I had an actual face, it would look similar to my prosthetic.” The current richest inventor and researcher on Earth sounded defeated.

The feeling returned. The feeling called guilt. Here he is, in the arms of his lover. His lover who doesn’t even know that Zim is from an entirely different race, sent to conquer his beloved Earth. It was a heavy feeling.

Is Zim actually empathizing with this human? He feels wrong, dirty, for taking advantage of someone like Professor Membrane. It was like he was spitting at the Professor’s intelligence.

There is no turning back from this relationship. At least, no way of turning back on his love. If Zim were to break things off, or just disappear, he’d end up with a broken heart. He still doesn’t know why it would hurt but just the thought makes his squeedilyspooch twist in angst.

He wants to continue whatever this is. He wants to feel light, feel acknowledged, feel loved. But if this really were mutual, then Zim would have to reveal his Irken self and be exposed as the enemy he is.

The Professor is still holding Zim up. He seemed content having Zim in his arms. Cuddling and nuzzling him. This is a comfort unmatched by any other.

Zim doesn’t want this to end, he’s ruined almost everything else good in his life. The Tallest haven’t contacted him in ages and the Massive and Irken fleets still remain missing. It’s lonely being the only Irken on Earth. Every other Irken is fleeing from the colonies they’ve conquered.

If Zim were to meet his demise, then he wouldn’t mind it being at the hands of his love, his equal. He breaks out of his lover’s grasp. He knows what to do.

“With all these secrets we’re sharing with each other, I believe that it is only fair for you to cast your eyes on my amazing self!” Zim acts confident, he can do confident, he can be cocky about his real looks. After all, he is handsome in all ways except height.

“Yes Zim, you are an amazing specimen.” The Professor looks at Zim fondly.

“You don’t get it! Focus more on my actual features. I know this disguise is amazing but you, as Zim’s equal should be able to tell where I differ from the rest!” Zim said angrily.

“Ok? Well, you have no visible nose or ears, you’re green and you have the prettiest eyes I’ve ever seen.” His eyebrow lifted up in confusion as he spoke.

“Yes, yes I know my attractiveness is intimidating. But do you think I’m too attractive? Out of this world even?” Zim expects him to say the truth. The full truth. He’s not sure if he’s ready to be the one to confess things.

“You’re the only I know who looks like you.” Professor Membrane doesn’t know what else to say.

“Don’t you think it’s strange? The Dib always accuses me of being an alien.” Zim is stalling. He hopes that the Professor will find out on his own, so Zim wouldn’t have to admit it.

“I know my son is a handful, I’ll tell him to be more considerate of your skin condition.” The Professor said, exasperatingly, he doesn’t know what to do about his son.

If Professor Membrane thinks that that is what Zim is asking for then he really needs to join a reading the atmosphere class. Professor Membrane can be really blind at times.

“NO! The Dib-beast is right! I’m an alien! I’ve always been an alien. I come from the planet Irk. What you saw a few months earlier was real.” Zim said it. He can’t wait for Professor Membrane to find out his identity, it might take decades.

He takes off his contacts, his wig, and his goatee and threw them to the ground.

“I’m the alien you fought that day!” Zim points to himself.

“Look at my pink solid eyes, look at these antenna. Don’t you think I’m an alien?” He becomes more frustrated as he pointed out each strange thing about himself.

“Oh Zim, don’t worry about your appearance, I’ll always find you attractive. Your eyes are lovely by the way. You don’t have to call yourself an alien.” Professor Membrane still refuses to see what’s right in front of him.

Zim tugs off his gloves and boots.

“I have three fingers! I have two toes! Is it getting into your brain yet? I’m an alien.” Does the Professor want Zim to degrade himself further? Should he perform a little song and dance to the tune of the Irken Empires anthem?

“Those things could be congenital defects. I’m glad you’re comfortable enough with me to share your insecurities.” Professor Membrane’s attempts at being understanding are pathetic.

“Unless, you’re doing this because you hope to scare me off?” His voice takes on a worried tone, completely unwarranted in Zim’s opinion.

“You stupid, dumb, idiotic human!” Zim screams out.

Zim removes his shirt. He never intended to turn this into a sort of striptease, a term he learnt from a drunk guy who decided to ‘put on a show’ for more booze monies. Zim is glad that Gir dunked him in molten butter and popcorn because that display really disgusted him.

He drags the Professor down to have a seat on the floor and positions his Pak towards Professor Membrane. He also extends one of his spider legs. Hopefully, this will be enough to convince him of his extraterrestrial origins.

“Look at my Pak! Touch it with your robo hands! What you’re looking at is high quality Irken technology.” Zim is tired.

Professor Membrane is transfixed. He’s never seen something like this before. The Pak wasn’t stuck on superficially, it actually goes into Zim’s back. Studying it for a while, he realizes that it’s not made from materials found on Earth and it’s more advanced than anything he knows, something that shouldn’t be possible.

“I am a member of the Irken race. An intergalactic race who’s currently trying to take over the universe. I am an invader brought to Earth to take it over for Operation Doom II.

We modified ourselves biomechanically to be the ultimate species. The Pak you’re studying right now is where the entirety of Irken history and knowledge is contained. It is better than your human brains and computers. It holds my personality, my tools and my intelligence.” Zim explains.

“It holds all that information? You know the entire history of your race?” Asked an astonished Membrane.

“Several thousands of years of knowledge and more, regarding some other races and planets.” Zim didn’t think that Professor Membrane would focus on that, he thought he’d be held up on this conquering Earth thing he spewed out.

“Can you take up more information in your Pak?” The inquiries were calm, rational. As if Professor Membrane was doing a survey.

“Our Paks were designed to hold at least 1 billion years of storage.” That is a fact that still makes Zim proud of being an Irken, not many races can brag about having so much storage space.

In the scheme of things, 1 billion years is nothing compared to the expected lifespan of the universe, but it is more than enough for effervescent species like humans and Irkens.

Professor Membrane does the unexpected once again, he hugged Zim fiercely, ecstatically. Zim looked behind him, the stoicism of his prosthetic is nowhere to be found, an absurdly large grin was present on his face.

Was this a trap? His grin reminded Zim of the times Dib would smile before doing something horrible to Zim or before promising to do something horrible. That manic glint in Professor Membrane’s cyber eyes was heightened with the rapid closing and opening of his shutters, like a camera taking pictures.

Zim expected shock, Zim expected denial, Zim expected hatred or even understanding if things were more positive. But this elated expression on his lover’s face was something Zim did not expect. It was like he actually got the twelve cases of Uranium-38 from Santa on Christmas.

“Thank you Zim, I believe you. Without you I would’ve never had this chance.” Professor Membrane finally spoke out.

“What?” Zim asked.

“You’re amazing, Zim. Special. I’ll never regret meeting you.” The Professor was stroking his antenna in an overly possessive manner. This aggressive petting was something Professor Membrane never did. If Zim had any sensation on his one special, not defective, antenna, he’d be blushing from head to toe.

This really makes Zim wonder if Professor Membrane is planning to study his insides and dump him in a laboratory to be studied. But this time, Zim is prepared. He’ll face all sorts of tests, as long as he can stay by the Professor’s side.

This sort of devotion was only ever reserved for the Tallest though but they’re gone, possibly forever and the only leader Zim wants to have is Professor Membrane.

“Love-pig, I give you permission to use my body in whatever way you want.”

Zim accepted his fate, he willingly gives himself up for experimentation. He tries to break free from Professor Membrane’s vice grip to face him. It’s hard to have this discussion with his back against Professor Membrane’s chest.

The Professor paused his ministrations. Zim feels a sudden spike in Professor Membrane’s heartbeat and temperature.

“Zim, what do you think I’ll be doing with you?” The Professor is bashful. He doesn’t want any more misunderstandings between them.

“Aren’t you going to strap me on a table and use your various tools on me?” Zim was puzzled.

Professor Membrane still looks at Zim confusedly.

“I’ll let you cut me up but I’ll tell you where it’s safe to cut open because I still enjoy living and I expect to remain alive in your care until you can’t learn anything more from me. But don’t think it’ll be a short study! I am much more knowledgeable than you. I know more… knowledge!! than you. Things you humans can’t even begin to imagine!” He made his peace.

“Oh. NO! No Zim. I would never experiment on you like that!”

Professor Membrane’s outcry was unexpected.

“You’re more than anything I could ever dream of. You’re the answer to my loneliness.”

Was that it? Was Professor Membrane simply impressed with Zim’s true self? Was he in awe of Zim? The Professor might have reacted the same way if he met any other Irkens but it doesn’t matter to Zim. It is Zim Professor Membrane is reacting to, and not anyone else.

“Yup! Zim is the best! Too bad you’re a pitiful human and not a superior Irken.” Zim is back to his confident self.

“Let me apologize Zim. Please forgive me. I know you told me to trust you, but I haven’t been completely truthful.”

The Professor shrinks into himself, he’s ashamed.

Zim is more surprised. What else could Professor Membrane be hiding? Is it something on his body? While Zim was shirtless, gloveless and bootless, Professor Membrane still has his full coat on, only with the upper part undone. It’s not fair.

“I guess I should reveal my full self as well.”

He removes his face plate again, but instead of seeing the insides of a human head, there’s a hole. A black hole. Dark in colour. Not even his eyes remained.

Zim looks in. He sees everything and nothing, he sees the beginning and the end of humanity. He’s experiencing bliss but agony as well. There is so much information being downloaded in Zim’s Pak that it’s whirring frantically, trying to compile and organize everything. It was a sight he’s never seen before. He doesn’t even know what he’s looking at to be honest.

It’s addicting. He watches the smooth black void swirl with light splotches of what appears to be stars. There are nuclear fissions happening. It was like Professor Membrane contained a small galaxy on his face, with a black hole as its centre.

If Zim were sane he’d have lost his sanity but all he could feel is delight instead of horror. His scientific side is curious, he wants to know what, why, how it’s even possible.

Zim knows he should feel terrified. He’s dealing with something other, something inhuman. Professor Membrane is no ordinary being. He is like one of those Lovecraftian gods that humans make fiction of.

“Can I touch it?” He can’t call it a face, it held too much to be a face.

“Yes, but be careful,” Professor Membrane’s voice emitted from the void.

Zim briefly wonders what happened to the modifications Professor Membrane made. He hopes they’re not gone forever, it’s another part of his lover that Zim has learnt to cherish already.

Zim reaches for Professor Membrane’s actual ‘face,’ his hand gets sucked in. Terror filled Zim as he struggles. He’s afraid he’s being sucked in to be consumed by the void. Maybe Professor Membrane will consume him after all?

Before he can be pulled towards the centre of the hole, arms surround him and he is being held in place. Today is not the day Zim dies.

“Zim! I told you to be careful!” that voice appeared again. The voice of Zim’s daydreams and fantasies. Professor Membrane is still with him. Zim forgot for a moment.

“Hah! Don’t be silly my love! Nothing can beat the Almighty Zim!!!” He’s come down from whatever kept his mind in the clouds.

While being fastened by Professor Membrane, Zim decides to reach his arm out. Self-perseverance is a trait that Zim possesses but sometimes, he just wants to act out his impulses.

He feels something squishy and wet. Zim grabbed whatever that was. When he retracted his hand, he discovers that he’s holding onto a baby octopus. He puts it back in to grab something else. A teacup filled with hot tea. Typical. This time he doesn’t put his hand back in, giving the tea to Professor Membrane.

“What’s all that inside you?” Zim asks, he shrugs off the weirdness, it’s an ordinary Tuesday for him. A turbulent Tuesday but still a Tuesday.

“The combined knowledge of mankind.” It’s uncanny hearing Professor Membrane’s voice.

“What are you anyways?” If his lover isn’t a human, then Zim could gleefully continue their relationship without feeling too much guilt.

“I still like to consider myself as a human.” That dashes Zim’s hopes but considering Professor Membrane’s credentials, he’s still proud of being able to call himself Professor Membrane’s lover.

“But a human who’s been in existence as long as mankind has been. I don’t remember my origin, if I were to imagine myself as a child, it would be how I currently am, only smaller.” It was hard for Professor Membrane to admit that he’s forgotten important parts of himself.

“Irkens are only alive for a millennia of your human time.” It hurts Zim to realize this.

He always expected that he’d outlive his partner when the time comes but it might actually be the other way around. He doesn’t want to think more on it. He wants to move away from that topic.

“Is Professor your real name?” Zim has found out that Professor is a title, like Frylord or Invader or even Tallest is. So he was confused when looking at Professor Membrane’s documents to see that Professor is written as his first name.

“I’ve been called many things throughout my existence but the name that sticks out the most is Thoth.” Professor Membrane reflects back. That was something he can remember.

“Anyways, I want to discover more and your existence made me realize that mankind has restrained my full potential.” The Professor said.

Delight fills Zim. Is Professor Membrane willing to turn his back on humanity?

“With you telling me about your extraterrestrial origin, I was able to find proof of the existence of life in other worlds. The probability always existed but I never had any concrete evidence.

And the knowledge humans collected on space is so insufficient that they don’t really tell anything. Other information, like what Dib usually talks about, can be easily considered as hoaxes, quick to exit the minds of the populace.” He continued saying.

Every dismayed admittance of the inadequacy of humans and their discoveries makes Zim happier and happier.

“There are still many things to discover, that’s why I became a scientist, mankind’s knowledge is limited and information found can easily be lost forever.” Professor Membrane concluded his little speech.

Humans really are pitiful. Zim wished he could have landed on Earth ages ago, to forge a path for faster development. Hmm. Maybe he should consider doing it now, with Professor Membrane by his side.

“You’re not keeping anymore secrets from me are you?” To count, Zim has been shocked an entirety of three times in the span of this date. He checked the time with his Pak. Two and half hours have passed. This makes for a surprise every 50 minutes.

“No more secrets, my love.” Professor Membrane places his prosthetic back on his face. Zim sees the moment the void disappears and dissipates to turn back into the fleshy opening.

“We both showed our true faces to each other.” Zim said. His trust in the Professor is absolute. They’ll never have to hide themselves ever again in each other’s presence.

“We did. I’m glad we did. Thank you Zim.” The voice came out of Professor Membrane’s mouth, where voices are supposed to come out from.

Inspecting Professor Membrane’s face prosthetic, Zim acknowledges that he loves all of Professor Membrane’s faces. His kissable lips opened to say something. Zim wants to punch himself for thinking that way.

“You’re the only one to survive seeing my true self. Everyone else died from brain hemorrhaging or lost their minds to never recover.” He said nonchalantly.

“Good! Give Zim all the praise!” Zim takes any chance he can get to be praised. “And all the kisses!! Those were nice.” Professor Membrane delivers a quick peck on the lips.

“You deserve all the kisses from me,” Professor Membrane agrees, “I had a wonderful date.”

A realization hit Zim. Date night still didn’t end. And when date night continued after dinner, it usually meant that they would be spending time tinkering and working on one thing or another.

“Let’s work on making your prosthetic move smoother. I have just the right Irken tech to show you in my other working area. You’ll love it.

I modified it of course to make it less stupid but it should give you a fully functional ugly human face with feelings. It’ll hide your beautiful insides unfortunately but that’s living on Earth for people like us.” Zim rambled on, already thinking up of different things to do.

“Does it look anything like your disguise?” Professor Membrane loves Zim but a fake goatee, a wig and contacts don’t make for a good disguise, he confessed to himself.

Oh dear. Dib was right. Zim’s disguise was bad. Dib was also right about Zim being an alien. Professor Membrane promises to himself that he’ll believe his son more from now on.

“What? Unfortunately no! All the other disguises hid way too much of my handsomeness and it would be a disservice to everyone for me to hide it!”

Zim went on a tirade, “The Earth will be even more MORE sadder and uglier if I looked exactly like you humans. Gross. Be happy you get to see my full handsomeness in my true Irken self. There are many who don’t get the opportunity that you have.”

Zim gestures to himself. He’s still half-dressed. Professor Membrane hands Zim the rest of his outfit before things turn awkward. After dressing quickly, Zim once more is leading Professor Membrane by the hands into his labs, the cooler ones with all the alien tech.

‘Zim, never change, my lover from the stars.’ Professor Membrane thinks to himself fondly, as he is being led away. His various faces may not allow for much expression but he is smiling internally, full of love.

#zim #professor membrane #zimbrane #zapmr #pmazr #fanfic #mine #happy halloween folks!#i guess this could be considered my first serious-like attempt at fanfic #my regret is immeasurable

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deadbydelight · 6 years ago

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I'm in love with soulmate au so maybe a dbd killer of your choosing x reader with soulmate. Like name or the first thing they say. Would be awesome if you did Max the hillbilly with something written on him. Thank you if you do! 😊

This somehow took me so long to finish because of life being harsh lol but I did it and I made it sweet and fluffy cuz why not ? Hope you like !

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Hillbilly x reader (soulmate AU)

You had heard about the rumors around the Coldwind farm. How supposedly a monster or something like that was haunting the place, how you could faintly hear a chainsaw sound if you were close enough to the property...

And you intended on discovering exactly what was in there. You were what you might say, an explorer of haunted places, you had a video channel as well as a blog where you had quite the number of followers and subscribers. You were curious and adventurous, a lot of people said that it would be the death of you... As the expression said, curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.

You had everything with you, a bagpack with everything necessary for exploration, a flashlight, food, water, ropes, a heavy jacket with a scarf and gloves, your phone and last but not least, your faithful camera.

"Alright guys, here I am, ready to explore the famous Coldwind Farm, you know the one ! Wish me luck!" You exclaimed happily to the camera, your breathing making cloudy pattern in the chilly air of the night.

You were well aware of the fact that no one would answer to your ask for cheering, but it was mostly for the sake of the video. It wasn't easy to stand out in all the people doing exploration stuff, let's not forget you were a lone wolf too, but you were quite proud of what you accomplished so far.

"I'll begin with a brief tour of the farm, then I'll try to get inside, so far so good, haven't heard the famous chainsaw at all... for now."

As you advanced in the unfamiliar place, you felt a shiver ran up your spine. You felt... observed. However you weren't one to back off from such a place just because you had a feeling about it.

"Damn..." you muttered as you made your way in an abandonned corn field.

You had come accross a really large tree on which several cows were hanging, grossly killed and their body pierced by hooks. You made a mental note of putting a warning for this in the video because it might shock and terrorize people and you didn't want that. You were starting to feel a little nauseous yourself, but would that stop you? Nope.

After 20 minutes of exploring you finally heard the famous chainsaw noise... But it was far from where you were at the moment.

"Urg I don't know if I'll have enough content to post this damn video... Am sure as hell ain't sleeping here" you grumbled under your breath (a bit that you would cut from the video of course).

You decided to finally go explore what remained of the actual farm, hoping that you'd find something nice and scary (some might call you crazy but hey, this was how you paid the rent so yeah). Nothing really extraordinary happened either as you went inside. The wood was creaking everywhere, eaten by thermites and the many days of rain that made the walls rot. All in all, the greatest danger here was to be killed by the farm collapsing on itself.

You sighed dramatically, deciding to stop the recording here. But as you looked down on your camera you froze. There was a very big shadow on the floor, and you knew for sure it wasn't yours. You even stopped breathing all together, a sudden wave of panic crashing through you, yet you stayed perfectly still, staring intently at your camera and the shadow. How could you not hear this guy come? Maybe it was all the noises made by the old wood, but now you could hear the mysterious stranger clearly. It was breathing so heavily, it sounded like a mix of an animal and an actual engine.

You began walking, mechanically. Acting like you didn't notice the silhouette that was clearly right behind you. It followed, walking at your exact pace so that you wouldn't hear its footsteps. So whatever it was, it had some kind of intelligence. You gulped as silently as you could, and when the abrupt noise of a chainsaw being turned on right behind you roared, you didn't think twice. You made a mad dash out of the building, throwing the camera without any second thoughts for the rents or anything video related, you just wanted to live.

The wind was cold on your teary face and it was difficult for you to run on the muddy ground, since it rained the day before that. You felt like the mud was slowing you down more than anything and you almost lost it here and there when you heard the chainsaw so close to you. In a desperate attempt, you plunged to your left as you arrived near a tree, getting mud all over you and hurting your ankle along the way. It seems like you were lucky, because whatever was pursuing you with its chainsaw literally crashed on the tree you were just nect to. It yelled, so loud you swore you could have lost an ear right here and there with the decibels. Finally, you had a clear vision of what exactly was haunting the Coldwind Farm. To your surprise it was still... Mostly human.

Still an impressive height, but its face was somehow very diformed, skin completely twisted on its face and shoulder. You could see some actual features on the face, but you could tell that whatever this guy was born as, it wasn't treated as it should have been. It's spine was totally torn and you could see that there was some effect of heavy malnutrition.

You should have run away here and there. Sprint home and never look back. But you couldn't help the slight fascination and curiosity bringing you to stay right here and observe it... No, observe him. You were now fairly sure that he was as human as you. He was still yelling, his chainsaw stuck in the tree and moving his arms wildly as if it had been... Hurt?

You got up as silently as you could, noticing that, indeed, splinters of woods were struck on his right arm. You winced at the sight, it looked really painful. You took the risk of stepping toward him, but this caused him to pay attention to you once again. He stared right back at you and you swore you lost your breathing at it.

So many emotions swirled in those pupils, almost hidden by the skin difformity. Pain, anger, sadness, confusion... But what you mostly saw was fear. He started growling at you, like an animal endangered, and it's where you noticed that even though his chainsaw was stuck in the tree and he was hurt, he still had very nasty looking hammer in his other hand, covered in what you assumed was fresh blood. You took a deep breath. After all, this might just be the end of you.

"Look, I promise I want to help you alright?"

At first he didn't seem willing at all to listen to you, still thrashing around and growling menacingly. But as you approached him while keeping your hands raised to show you wouldn't try anything he seemed to calm down. When finally you were right next to him you shivered, not exactly sure of what you were doing.

"I'll take a look at your arm alright ?"

You were sweating heavily and you could feel his ragged breathing caressing your skin. It was like trying to reassure a wild animal. You made a face at the shards that were stuck on his arms, they were stuck deeply, blood spilling in thin tricklets. This looked painful.

"I'm going to open my bag and use some product to help you heal. Ok? Ok"

At this point you didn't care anymore, you just wanted to try to help him at least. He was still looking at you warily, but at least he stopped moving so much. You pulled some tweezer that you had in your emergency case and looked straight back at him.

"This is going to hurt. You're ready?"

He stared at you, his eyes boring into yours, then closed them, a silent way to give you the go ahead. You stopped breathing and went to work. He tensed when you began pulling out the shards but he didn't make a single sound. You almost let out a "good boy" that you thankfully kept in your head. You kept caressing very lightly his arm after each shard, trying to soothe as him much as you could.

Why did you want to help him so much? There was something in those eyes that entranced you. You saw more humanity in those eyes than a good number of people you met.

When finally you pulled out the last shard, you allowed yourself to be less tense.

"Good job. This is going to hurt too, but I need to clean your wounds."

He tilted his head at you, maybe wondering what you were doing... or why. He seemed to somewhat understand what you were saying. He grunted when you cleaned his wounds but stayed perfectly still, allowing you to work just fine. Finally you reached for the bandages, rolling it slowly around his arm. You froze as you noticed a little detail on his upper arm. There, on the malformed and bruised skin was a neat handwriting.

Look, I promise I want to help you alright?

Was this really..? You so didn't know what to do. You started panicking a bit inside. Were you hallucinating? You had lost hope of finding that one person so long ago, part of you couldn't believe it. How could you be sure anyway? This guy didn't seem to even know how to talk. You finally came back to your sense when he started to get his arm back. You didn't even realise you were gripping him so hard.

"Oh..." you blushed awkwardly, not really knowing what to say and embarassed by what you just said. "Sorry, I uh, I didn't mean to..."

You were having difficulties forming the words out of your head. Everything was going too fast. He was still staring at you, warily but also curiously. He probably had no idea of what you were doing. And to be honest, you neither.

"I need to go!" You finally cried out all of sudden, making him jump.

You didn't give him the time to react as you ran away from Coldwind Farm. You took a look back, he was still there, staring and unmoving.

"I'll come back alright?! I promise!" you yelled, and you could tell was more and more confused.

But he made a noise. As if saying "alright". This was fine by you. And come back you did. At first it was once a week. Then it became everytime you could actually visit him. You did some research on who lived here before. Turn out it was a farmer couple. They had a son named Max Thompson Junior that was never even brought to school. It didn't take you long to put two and two together, you had deduced that he had been abused by his parents, never properly taken care of and possibly never allowed to have affection in any form.

It made you sick to know that parents would reject their own kid like this... moreover he possibly was your soulmate, so that struck a chord. You still weren't entirely sure that Max was indeed your soulmate, after all he never really said anything understandable apart from noises, their intensity varying with his mood.

At first he was still wary of your visits but you warmed up to him so much, he actually got used to your presence. All that you had in mind was to see him, the more the better, the video could wait... you also discovered that he loved all types of little snacks you brought to him and you were more than happy to make him discover all the delicious food he had never even had the chance to taste before.

Once again you were off to see him, bags filled with all types of food rather than survival supplies. He was there, standing near the corn field, his eyes seemingly lost in the scenery.

"Hey Max!" You called, waving your arm around.

He jumped a bit a your voice (he was quite sensitive to sounds) but turned toward you his face lighting up and the hint of a smile forming on his mishapen lips.

"H...Hey."

You froze at the first word that were finally formed by his mouth. It had been weeks. And finally after hours of you talking to him almost non stop, even though no one took the time to teach him how to speak, he had put the effort to salute you back, just like you always did when you went to see him.

His voice was raspy and almost inaudible by the lack of use but it was there. Tears started rolling on your cheeks and your bag fell on the ground, forgotten in your rush of emotion. He whined alarmingly, not liking seeing you cry like this. Were you hurt? Did someone upset you ? Did HE upset you? His eyes were lit by worry and panic and you hurriedly dried your tears with your arm, hiccuping a bit.

"Don't worry Max, those are not tears of sadness or pain... I'm just... so happy!"

You showed him your own arm, sleeves rolled up. There was written one small little world. One word that made you go crazy at first. After all what kind of soulmate would just tell you Hey? But right now it felt like the most beautiful word you could hear. After all, he took it upon himself to say it to you.

"You see this? This means we were made from one another !"

You abruptly ran to hug him. He didn't even move with the force but he tensed a bit, not used to the contact, but he eventually relaxed and hug you back, a light but secure grip around you. You weren't even sure if he had any idea about the soulmate thing, but somehow you had a feeling he knew. As he started slowly dancing in a circle with you still in his arms, you had a feeling that he knew.

And you couldn't be happier.

______________________

All the fluff for this sweet boy , I hope it's good enough aaaa

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rossotronic · 6 years ago

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Gummi Venture

Part 1: The Ogrelord

The two figures bounded and rushed through the looming trees almost in a blur. One of them, a small pink bear wearing a tunic and a hat looked back over his shoulder for a moment to make sure his companion was still behind him. As nimble and strong as he was, he didn’t want to outpace his friend by much.

“Tummi, you still there?” He called back.

The older, heavier blue bear puffed hard while he ran as hard as he could. “I’m okay, Cubbi, we’re almost home!”

“Do you think we lost him?” Cubbi called again.

The boy ducked as he approached a large, leafy bush which Tummi practically exploded when he forced his way right through seconds later.

“I haven’t seen or heard him now for awhile! I, think we’re alright!” Tummi shouted back. Though at the back of his mind he wasn’t entirely confident.

***

It was a balmy day in summer, and the stand of trees and flowering shrubs around Gummi Glen were too beautiful to miss. So Zummi had brought his research notes for a new spell he had been working on outside, where he now comfortably sat on an old fallen tree. This was a spell to help plants grow, but it just didn’t seem to be working, no matter how many iterations he tried. Though he expected he might never become an accomplished magician like the Great Gummis of old, it didn’t stop him from learning all he could about the mystical arts. It was thrilling, he had a knack for it, and even if he was only starting to pick it up this late into his life, so be it. At this precise moment however, he was busying himself with the research to keep from worrying too much about some news he had recently heard.

The older gummi had just brushed a blade of grass away that had been blown onto his red cape when two bears came bursting from the forest a short distance away. Zummi looked up, startled.

“Zummi, Zummi!” Cried Tummi and Cubbi in unison as they entered the clearing near Gummi Glen.

The old bear adjusted his spectacles and looked up from where he sat. He could tell by the tone of their voices that something was amiss.

“What seems to be me tatter, er, uh, the matter?” He asked, as he finished shuffling his notes into a pile and set a rock on top to hold them.

Tummi doubled over, his hands on his knees, wheezing as he caught his breath while Cubbi began to recount what they had seen.

“We were in the fields near Dunwyn castle, playing hide and seek with Cavin and Calla when we heard a commotion!” Cubbi explained.

“What sort of commotion?” Zummi asked, though he suspected he might already know the reason.

“An ogre!” Tummi said suddenly.

“Not just an ogre!” Cubbi corrected his friend. “This one was fast, and had on strange clothes, and he beat up a whole bunch of the castle guards with a huge axe!”

“Oh my goodness!” Zummi responded. “Are they, alright?”

“Maybe, we didn’t stick around to find out!”

“Sounds a little hard to believe.” Said a low voice from above them. Gruffi Gummi sat on a branch of the Great Gummi Tree, whittling something from a small chunk of wood he held in his paws.

“It might sound that way, but we saw it!” Cubbi insisted.

“Actually, this sounds just like the warrior Sir Thornberry and Gritty told us about.” Zummi said thoughtfully.

“What, when?” Cubbi asked.

Zummi scratched at his neck. “They arrived this morning while you two were out. They were bringing word from Ursalia about a monstrous brute who attacked their home, looking for powerful magic. That was close to ten days ago. The rest stayed behind to make repairs while Sir Thornberry and Gritty came here to warn us. We had been talking earlier about heading out to Ursalia to see about helping.”

“Last I checked, ogres are too dumb to know how to use magic.” Gruffi grumbled. “What would it even be after?”

“Assuming it’s the same one, this is no ordinary ogre, as Cubbi has already said. Our Ursalian friends are calling him the ‘Ogrelord.’” Zummi said and shuddered. “And if it wants powerful gummi magic, I think we all know what he’s after.”

“Well, what should we do?” Tummi asked. “We think he saw us, and that’s why we ran all the way here!”

“You what?!” Gruffi barked, hopping down from his branch.

“We think we lost him in the forest though!” Cubbi said in defense.

“You ‘think?’” Gruffi repeated.

The birds near the glen had gone silent, and Zummi was about to comment about it when there was a strange sound, like something very large falling from a great height. It whistled. The four bears looked up, just as a great shadow blocked out the midday sun.

“Watch out!” Cried Gruffi in alarm as the others bounded away, mere moments before an immense green something landed with a mighty crash in the midst of the clearing. The log where Zummi had been sitting exploded into splintered bits while the ground shook under the weight of the monster who now rose before them.

“To the little cub’s credit, he and the chubby one did prove somewhat difficult to follow.” The ogre said, his voice deep and rumbly. It was menacing enough to make the fur on the bears’ necks stand up.

“W-what do you want?” Asked Gruffi, trying to keep his voice from shaking.

“Someone who gets right to the point, I like that.” Said the huge ogre. He gave them a wide grin of sharp and uneven teeth amid a wild dark green beard. “I am told that the Gummi Bears who live in this forest have a powerful magic artifact.” The Ogrelord told them as he looked at each of them in turn, as if sizing them up.

“Oh yeah? And where’d you hear that from?” Asked Gruffi defiantly.

“Some of the humans at the castle were… persuaded to tell me.”

He picked up the scrolls near the remains of the log that Zummi had been looking over in his huge hands. “What have we here?” He snorted.

“Those are merely some nooking cotes.” Zummi told the beast. “I mean, cooking notes!” He corrected himself.

“They have the feel of magical residue on them old bear. Do not lie to me again.” The ogre narrowed his eyes at the small purple magician.

“What you want isn’t here!” Gruffi said sternly. “So there’s no need to stick around, scaring everyone else.”

The Ogrelord gnashed his teeth and lunged forward, smashing a powerful fist into the trunk of the Great Gummi Tree, causing it to shake and drop a rain of leaves around the frightened gummi tribe.

“I said don’t lie to me!” The monster bellowed. “I can sense the magic coming from within the tree! It’s so powerful, I must find the source, and if you won’t help me, I will reduce this proud tree to ash!” He reached over his shoulder and grabbed the handle of the axe strapped to his back, to emphasize his point.

The four of them looked at one another before Zummi spoke. “Please, Mr. Um, Ogrelord, don’t damage our home anymore. It’s not much, but it means the world to us.”

“Then you have a pretty simple choice to make.” Said the massive green ogre. “Bring me the thing I ask for and I will leave all of you, and your home, as they are now. Fail to do so, and you will see what it means to anger me.”

“You shouldn’t just order people around like that!” Shouted Cubbi, as he found his courage.

The Ogrelord looked down at the small pink gummi bear, examining him with flashing ochre eyes, but said nothing.

“Listen, we need to discuss this first, amongst ourselves.” Zummi said. “The Great Book of Gummi is very important to our people.”

“So it is a book then.” Said the Ogrelord.

Zummi gritted his teeth, knowing he had said too much. “Yes, and it will take awhile for us to bring it to the surface. Please allow us the time to do so.”

The beast stretched before sitting down in the middle of the grassy grove. “You have until the sun touches those mountains.” He said and pointed over the treetops to the West. It gave them a little under an hour. “And old bear?”

“Er, yes?” Asked Zummi, not much liking the name.

“Spend your time preparing the book for me. If you try to trick or trap me, or destroy the book, it will be the end of your home.” The ogre said.

His threat now weighed heavily on the four of them.

The gummi bears moved swiftly inside, through the tight tunnels that began in the tree and continued deep underground. It took a few minutes to reach the heart of the gummis’ home, the main den. They moved about the living quarters, shouting and looking for their kin until they found Sir Thornberry, a grizzled gummi swordsman, Gritty the one-eyed warrior, and Gusto, a carefree artist.

“What’s going on up there? What was that thunderous sound? Felt like the whole tree was shakin’!” Sir Thornberry said as they all gathered into the den.

“The Ogrelord punched the tree! He’s up there now!” Cubbi exclaimed.

“What?! Not here too!” Gritty said, his shoulders slumping.

“That’s right, and he’s going to destroy the whole place if we don’t bring him the Great Book of Gummi within the hour.” Gruffi said and folded his arms.

“Aww, man, why didn’t I choose to go berry picking with Grammi and Sunni today?” Gusto complained to no one in particular. “Would be a lot better than this.”

“That ain’t a thing to say!” Sir Thornberry scolded the young artist. “It’s lucky we’re here, cuz this is gonna be a heckuva fight! Better if we had more gummis!”

“We’re going to, f-fight him? Really?” Tummi said and gulped.

“We can’t just give him our book! Where’s yer sense of honor?” Thornberry said.

“Sir Thornberry’s right, we can’t just give him the book. But, a fight isn’t something we should be fangling or, er, angling for either.” Zummi told the rest.

“So where does that leave us?” Asked Gruffi.

“He means we have to be smart! Figure out a plan!” Right Zummi?” Cubbi asked.

“Quite right, and I think one’s coming to mind…” Zummi said and began to pace in a tight little circle. He stopped and turned to regard his friends. “What do we know about the Ogrelord?”

“He’s big!” Tummi said.

“He’s smarter than other ogres, maybe smart as us.” Gritty offered.

“He’s a bully.” Said Cubbi.

“He’s a capable warrior, I seen him fight in Ursalia.” Sir Thornberry said and nodded to himself.

“And we know he can sense magic somehow, the stronger, the more it attracts him.” Zummi added.

“Well that’s… a lot.” Said Gusto. “Any ideas?”

“As a fatter of mact, oh gee, a matter of fact!” Said Zummi. “I think I do have an idea, and it’s going to require your help, Gusto! Follow me, I’ll explain on the way.”

“Well what about the rest of us?” Gruffi asked.

Zummi looked at his fellow gummis with a serious expression on his face. “Find something to defend Gummi Glen the best you know how, because it might come to that.”

***

The Ogrelord had risen to his feet, the cloak attached at one side of his chest armor blew out over his right arm with a sudden gust of summer wind. The sun had nearly reached the mountaintops in the distance when Zummi opened the small door at the base of the tree and stepped out into the clearing. He was followed closely by Cubbi, Tummy, Gusto and Sir Thornberry.

“New faces, but aren’t we missing one?” The Ogrelord asked.

“The others are stayin’ below, where it’s safe!” Sir Thornberry shouted back.

“Maybe not so new. We meet again, swordsman. I suppose you didn’t get enough at Ursalia?” The ogre asked the grizzled bear.

“You remember, huh? Well, it’s your lucky day, not having to fight me twice!” Sir Thornberry said.

“We’ll see how lucky I am, once I have acquired your book.” The monster said, focusing his gaze on Zummi and the cloth-wrapped parcel he carried in his arms.

The Ogrelord reached down, having to stoop to bend low enough to receive the book. “Hand it here.”

“I, need your word.” Zummi began. “Once we give you our treasure, you will leave and never return, and you won’t harm any of us.”

The beast regarded him, considering his request. “Though you are not in a position to make demands of me, I will do as you say. I care little for what happens here once I have what I want.”

Zummi moved to give the ogre the parcel he carried but held back at the last moment. “Why do you want our book so much anyway?”

“That is not your concern, bear.”

“Well, in fact it is.” Zummi said. “This book is all of our lore, magic and heritage. To lose it is more than mere tragedy to us. It’s losing something important of ourselves that can’t be replaced. So I ask you again, what do you want it for?”

The ogre sat himself on his haunches, balanced on his toes as he knelt down to look at Zummi more closely. His face wasn’t angry, in fact, Zummi pondered briefly if he could understand how they felt.

“I wonder how much you really know of loss and tragedy, old bear. And I wonder what lengths you would go to in order to stop such things from continuing.” The Ogrelord said calmly.

“We gummi bears aren’t many in number any longer, having been separated, run off, captured and sold. So, believe me, we know more than our shair fare, I mean, fair share of unhappy days. But you still haven’t answered my question!” Zummi told the creature.

“Give me the book.” The Ogrelord stated.

“Will we ever see it again?” Asked Zummi.

“I won’t ask twice.” Said the ogre, menace seeping into his voice.

“Just give it to him, Zummi…” Gusto said quietly, nudging his friend in the gut.

Zummi sighed and handed the wrapped magical item to the hulking brute.

The Ogrelord stood upright, tearing the wrappings off with a claw to examine his prize. He sniffed the book that sat in his palm and carefully opened the cover.

“You have what you came for! Now leave us alone!” Cubbi yelled.

“In a moment, tiny one. It would be a waste to leave before I know this is the real deal.”

The gummis collectively held their breaths as the Ogrelord flipped through the pages. For a few precious moments, it seemed like it might be alright. But then, as he continued to turn them, one came away from the binding of the book, attached to one of his finger pads. He scowled when it did.

“The book is very old, please be careful!” Zummi called up to him.

“Very old? The glue is still wet, these pages are new and crisp! The feel of magic on here is simply an enchantment to make it seem powerful!” The ogre became more angry as he fully understood the trick. He threw the book aside, and as it hit the ground, several more pages suddenly tore from the book and fluttered to the grass.

“Hey! I just made that, be careful with it!” Gusto said.

“You’ve sealed your fates!” Growled the monster as he lunged toward the mighty tree.

“Now!” Called Sir Thornberry as he withdrew his sword from its scabbard and rushed the monster.

High above, Gruffi and Gritty each quickly downed a small vial of gummiberry juice before leaping into the air and descending on the ogre. For gummi bears, they were both powerful, and heavy with muscle, so their combined weight on the Ogrelord’s shoulders and head forced him to the ground. He sank to his knees with a shuddering thud.

“Get off me!” He roared.

“Tummi, get that rope around his legs!” Sir Thornberry instructed as he slashed with his sword near the ogre’s face, keeping the beast distracted and defensive.

Tummi bounded over the ogre’s legs and began tying knots in the rope he had pulled from his satchel only moments ago. Already the ogre had gotten his right foot to the grass, but the chubby gummi was able to throw a few lengths of the cord around the giant’s left calf and ankle and hold him to the ground. The Ogrelord tugged the leg forward, but Tummi dug his heels into the soft ground, seemingly able to hold the creature down.

Gruffi and Gritty did their best to keep their positions atop the monster, punching and kicking at the large ears, nose and eyes of the beast. The ogre roared as Gritty tugged back hard on one of his sensitive ears and he swiped at him, but the capable bear with the eyepatch, deftly bounded out of reach. Gruffi did the same, being as much of a nuisance as he could manage atop the beast’s other shoulder.

Cubbi followed Sir Thornberry’s lead, brandishing his wooden sword as he swiped at the ogre’s thick leather armor.

“Keep it up!” Instructed Zummi. “Be careful, but stay at it, I think he’s weakening!”

The sense of impending victory during the battle was short-lived indeed as the ogre, still with full control of his arms suddenly pulled a small cloth bag from his belt and tugged its drawstring open. The cloth container suddenly grew tremendously in size.

“Be careful, he’s got something there!” Gruffi called from above, but just as he did, the ogre swung the open cloth pouch down through the air towards the ground in front of him.

“Cubbi! Watch out!” Cried Sir Thornberry as he shoved the young bear aside. The ogre missed snatching the cub into his bag, but now that Sir Thornberry had moved to help him, he was able to reach down with his free hand and press the old swordsman into the soft grassy earth. Thornberry called out in pain and surprise as he felt the ogre’s weight above him, but he couldn’t move as the large clawed hand kept him where he was.

“Sir Thornberry!” Cubbi shouted as tears came into his eyes. “Let him up, you’re hurting him!” The little bear shouted at the top of his lungs, rushing the ogre again.

“Cubbi, stop!” Called Zummi.

Due to the cub’s frantic state, the ogre was easily able to scoop him up into the strange bag, and drew it shut a moment later using his teeth on the drawstring. The other bears were startled by the sudden turn in events.

“What can I do?!” Cried Gusto from the sidelines. He never liked fighting, but he wanted to do something.

“Just stay back! Let me try something first!” Zummi said as he raised his paws in front of him.

Zummi began to cast a spell he knew well, entangling root-like vines that emerged from the ground to wrap the brute’s arm that held Sir Thornberry, in an attempt to lift the ogre’s hand and free his friend.

“And here I thought you Gummi Bears were honorable.” Said the ogre as the vines began to circle around his forearm.

The Ogrelord brought his back leg in easily, tugging Tummi off his feet and into the grass. He got to his feet, then effortlessly tore his arm free of the vines that Zummi had summoned, leaving Sir Thornberry face down in the dirt where he had been pressed. Next he grabbed the clasp from his chest that held his cloak in place and turned it toward Gruffi and Gritty who were still atop his shoulders.

“Breath of wind!” Cried the ogre, causing the amulet in his hand to belch forth a typhoon of force, ripping the two bears from his body and hurtling them into the early dusk sky towards the deep forest. Though they were carried a long way, there was a lake in that direction that, if luck was on their side should prove a safe place to land.

Suddenly, it was just Zummi and Gusto before him. The others had been defeated, removed from the fight by incapacitation or captured in the odd pouch.

“The book for the cub!” Growled the ogre. His eyes sparkled with rage, as he stared through Zummi. “No more tricks!”

“Alright! Okay!” Zummi sputtered.

“Zummi, we can’t!” Said Gusto.

“We have no choice, it’s to save Cubbi.” Said Zummi sadly.

Zummi, Gusto and Tummi helped Sir Thornberry to his feet, happy to see that somehow his injuries were minor, despite seeming to have been crushed under the weight of the ogre. The Ogrelord watched Zummi carefully, as the magician opened the door to their tree den and stepped just out of sight with the others. A few moments later they returned, Zummi carrying a book again with the aid of Gusto and Tummi. This tome was much larger than the first, heavier too, with a peculiar golden clasp on its cover. Now, when the ogre sensed for magic in the air, the feel was unmistakable, stronger too.

“Bring it to me.” He ordered them. One of his hands held out the bag, which was wriggling as Cubbi fought to escape from inside.

“Release the boy, first!” Said Zummi.

“No more demands of me!” Roared the monster, causing the gummis to huddle together.

Once the book was near enough, the ogre snatched it from the small bears and looked it over. It certainly felt like the real thing. Its energies were powerful, he could feel them as they caused the hairs on the backs of his hands to stand up. He tied the bag that held Cubbi at the side of his belt before returning to the book. He tried to open it, as he did with the imitation, but to no avail.

“Why can’t I open this?” He asked angrily.

Zummi thought about trying to deceive him again, but knew it would do no good. Moreover, it wasn’t worth the risk while Cubbi remained the brute’s hostage. He let out a sigh and pushed his spectacles up his nose. “You need a mecial spedallion, well, that is, a special medallion.”

“Then hand it over.”

“The thing is, you can’t read the ancient Gummi language anyway, can you?” Zummi asked.

The Ogrelord tilted his large, bearded head to one side and peered down at the gummi bear. “But you can?”

“Yes, well, I’m getting much better.”

“And that medallion you have around your neck, the one you touched when you called those roots earlier, is that the one I require?”

Zummi nodded his head. “This medallion will only work for a gummi magician. So take me, but leave the boy, please.” The truth was, any gummi should be able to use the necklace, but Zummi couldn’t risk the brute just leaving with Cubbi.

Sir Thornberry grabbed the purple gummi by his sleeve. “Think about this, Zummi. We can’t lose you and the book!”

“What choice is there?” Zummi said to his friend and stepped away from the others to face the ogre.

“You’re a brave little bear.” Commented the creature looming overhead.

“I’ll go with you willingly, now release Cubbi!” Zummi commanded.

Instead, the ogre reached down and snatched the magician up in one of his monstrous hands. “In fact I think I will keep both of you around, as insurance that you don’t pull anything else.” The beast said.

Zummi opened his mouth to speak, but in the same moment he was turned upside down and dumped into the monster’s pouch at his side, the book falling in alongside him. He heard the other gummi bears, his close family, calling out for him, but then the bag was pulled closed over his head and he was tumbling down into another world, one of uncertainty and darkness.

***

The old magician awoke to the sound of his own name, and the feel of being gently shaken.

“Zummi, Zummi, wake up, please!” It was Cubbi’s voice.

“Where, where am I, where are we? I feel… disoriented.” The magician said as he looked around. “I can’t see very well.”

“Here you go, Zummi. They fell off when you got tossed in here.” Cubbi said, handing the purple bear his spectacles.

“Thank you Cubbi. But just where is here?”

“We’re in the ogre’s bag.” Cubbi said.

“My goodness so we are! I never thought I would see a real bag of holding in my lifetime, let alone be put inside one!” Zummi said as the shapes around them began to come into focus.

“A bag of what?” Asked Cubbi.

“A bag of holding. A magical sack that allows the owner to store as much as they want inside, for the bag is something of a portal to a realm where those belongings exist. Though as for this world, I have no clue how different or similar it is to where we normally reside.”

All about, were piles of things, items of varying descriptions. One mound nearby seemed to be food, dried meats, skins of water, wine, loaves of bread and fruit. Another was made up of weaponry, clothing, shields and boots. Still another, the largest pile, was comprised of all manner of objects, an hourglass, a compass, a clock, goblet, spoon, thimble, many books… Zummi guessed that these were magical in nature, considering the intentions of the ogre that held them captive. The bag world’s dimensions didn’t seem to be infinite though. The sides of the pouch were relatively close in around them and Zummi made his way to the side. He found a knife amid the other strewn-about objects and picked it up, before stabbing it against the side of the bag. There was no discernible response. The fabric behaved as one might expect, pushing out with the force from the knife but clearly a stronger material than mere cloth. It was flexible but unyielding to his attempts.

“I already tried, Zummi, with just about everything I thought might work.” Cubbi explained.

“Well, we have the book at least, maybe I can try out some spells.” Zummi said.

“Yeah! I bet that’ll work!” Cubbi said, clapping his paws together with excitement.

“In the meantime, hand me one of those apples, would you?”

“You’re hungry at a time like this?” Cubbi asked in disbelief.

“Well, not especially. But the truth of it is, I’m not sure how long we’ll be trapped in here, and we need to keep up our strength.”

“I hadn’t thought of that. Well, I’m not tired or anything, but there’s a bed over there, but I didn’t see any blankets. Guess I can make that more comfortable, if we need to sleep later.”

“I think that’s a pood glan, er, good plan, Cubbi.”

Cubbi made his way through the piles covering the bag world’s bottom over to the wooden bed frame and began adjusting the mattress on top. “Hey, Zummi?”

“Hm?”

“Do you really think that mean old ogre is gonna keep us trapped down here for that long?”

Zummi tried to offer the young bear a smile, but he knew it probably looked about as genuine as it felt. “I don’t know, Cubbi, I wish I did.”

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