#slightly based on irl experiences. sigh

[wayward-sherlock]

Karen Wheeler was one of the many people that Joyce Byers helped during her days working as a domestic dispute center volunteer (Mike was often brought along and got introduced to Will, Joyce’s shy son)

years later, after the sudden death of Joyce (due to a super-villain related attack), Karen and Mike show up at her funeral. Karen tells Will that Joyce changed her life and got her out of a toxic marriage and saved the family that she wanted.

Mike sits in silence with Will as they both mourn the amazing woman that Joyce was. they’ve stayed connected throughout the years, if only virtually, but Will still feels like Mike knows him better than anyone (except for the fact that he’s spiderman). it’s why he lets Mike comfort him at the gravestone of his mom.

[vinylhazza]

ok so we all know that gray rushes/is eager about his relationships, but this time, what if the reader asks him to slow down or something? like she’s just getting started with her degree and she wants to slow down a bit, not rush into things, and eth agrees and gray is finally happy? also sorry if u aren’t taking concepts or requests lol

i feel like...low key....he needs this irl lol

this man doesn’t even have the phrase slow down in his vocabulary so when you say those words, the look of confusion that crossed over his face was to be expected. you knew you would have to spell it out for him, at least slightly. he gets in over his head with every relationship and wonders why they somehow fall apart so soon. some girls fall into that spell: the attractive guy wants me so it must be something real and true and they fall before they ever really form a strong bond, sliding to third base a time or two and tricking themselves into thinking it’s deeper than surface level lust. 

but you, you are not the ‘kick it into high gear’ type of gal and you thought you made that pretty obvious from the start. grayson gets attached easily, we all know that. you take your days one at a time, scope out the pros and cons of every situation. and you know, yeah it might be a trauma response from the countless times people have fucked you over and made you out to be a fool from a very young age, but that same mindset has helped you dodge many bullets over the years.

his first initial infatuation—it’s no different with you, but you are how do you say—hyper aware of his intentions and motives. you’ve been screwed over, toyed with, used your fair share of times and the world be damned to hell if some buff fluffy brown haired boy with amber eyes and a smile that oozes light and happiness comes in treating you like you’re this...lost treasure and you just believe him. believe all of the pretty words, take his hand and follow him into the dark, blindly let yourself love someone again not be sure of what they expect out of the relationship. and damn you if you let him swoop in and carry you off like a princess from a tall tower. like he’s this knight in shining armor. you won’t be fooled by the cloud of attraction and get yourself in too deep before you’re completely on the same page with one another. and first things first; you aren’t someone that needs to be saved, and neither is he.

you understand the puppy love stage of relationships. it’s bound to happen: the subtle obsession with your partner, that new light fuzzy feeling you get thinking about them, thinking of what they might be doing when they’re not with you, if they are thinking about you too, listening to all the sappy love songs and suddenly all you can think about is the color of their eyes after they’ve laughed real hard, the dip in their brow when they are thinking for a long time, the electric feeling that zaps your skin when they touch you, the way their voice lowers two octaves when they lean over and whisper something sweet in your ear, it’s all there for grayson. you know you’re falling in deep, and maybe that’s what scares you. maybe it’s the way you are so willing to trust him early on that leads you to the conversation of slowing things down. for the protection of the both of you, it’s not one sided.

not only had grayson made you feel secure in the very beginning of the sudden relation you had started, but he kept consistent with his actions and words. something that was unusual and strange after dealing with men that never really grew up beyond 16. at the stage of your life you’re in, there isn’t any room for a childish game of tag with a boy who didn’t have any intentions of sticking around in the first place.

you worked hard for everything you had, you always have. your upbringing wasn’t one of sunshine, rainbows, and unicorns. you didn’t have it easy. it wasn’t something that you used to weazle your way out of situations, excuse your occasional bad behavior, but it was something you thought about when you did catch glimpse of your growing attraction to someone. especially grayson, who was...one of the nicest men you had ever met. charming really didn’t even cut it. but just starting on your degree...complicated things. made you really want to reiterate to him that your degree, it was important to you and you fought tooth and nail to be able to even touch a college textbook. you couldn’t be blinded by his charms and be distracted from your dreams. there were times where the world seemed dark and hopeless and with hard work and perseverance you climbed out of that hole, just to stand as the strong intelligent woman he was falling head over heels for. you didn’t get that way over night. and you sure as well weren’t going to screw up your studies because you found someone that maybe wanted to stay, maybe didn’t. if the two of you were to work out and keep developing that beautiful bond - you hoped it would be as a team, one with understanding and clarity.

in your past experience, once a man knows he’s got you hooked, that’s the green light to treat you how they’ve wanted to the entire time. their once soft caress turns possessive, trust turns to assumption and blame, dates grow less and less frequent, and are left to sit and wonder what you ever saw in the first place. tricked, manipulated, and heartbroken. it’s never been honesty, love, and acceptance first. it’s “i love you” and “i care” when their actions don’t support their claims. you promised that the next boy you catches your heartstrings and strums until you’ve fallen under their spell, you would know exactly what you’re falling for. that means taking it slow, knowing what makes grayson tick, what he hates, what he adores, what brings him peace and comfort, if he cries during chick flicks, what kind of person he wants to be remembered as, if he fears the unknown as much as you do, was makes him completely and totally happy, and what infuriates him the fastest of all, what hardships has he had to face alone, what haunts his mind in the dead of night where no one can hear him crying, and what thought makes him smile when he’s doing nothing in particular. for once, just this once, you’re heart longed to know more that what meets the eye. you wanted to know if your feelings were 3 demensional, encompassing the good and bad about grayson, or if you truly just loved the way he fucked you.

but most importantly, you wanted him to know you. know the things about you that most people didn’t have the pleasure of knowing, all while making your dreams come true.

you thought maybe it was a mistake reaching out to ethan in your time of dire need of a shoulder to lean on, but it ended up being just the conversation and pat on the back you needed. the right nudge from the right person to have you sitting down with the softest soul you’ve come to find. grayson wasn’t someone you wanted to hurt, and ethan reassuring you that by talking to him and making him slow down, it would save him from more heartache than anything.

“i think it’s going to mellow him out, actually,” ethan nods along with your words, picking at a stray strand on his pants.

he wants what’s best for his twin, which is the exact reason you wanted to have this conversation with him. you didn’t want to mess something up and be rash and childish before anything real really even started, “grayson doesn’t really do ‘slow’, so this will be good for him.”

“i just don’t want to hurt him you know? i don’t want to be another girl that leaves so suddenly when he gets a bit too much. i know those are special circumstances and he was desperate with the desire of finding that special connection...” a pause to catch your breath, nervous from the vulnerability you’re showing already, “but when i make a commitment, i keep it. i want him to know that. i just want him to be secure within his decision to want...whatever this is with me. i want to be able to know him enough that my feelings for him are justified. and vice versa...i don’t want him to think that because i want to slow down, means i want to stop.”

“he will understand more than you think. if there is one thing i know about him, it’s that he will bend over backwards to make something he wants work. if he really wants you like i know he does, he will slow it down and make sure that you are comfortable. sounds like he doesn’t have much choice.” and it’s nice hearing those words from someone you haven’t gotten the chance to grow all that close with yet. hell you’re not even that close with grayson yet. you’re in the beginning stages still, learning your way around life with him in it. independence has always been one of the things that made you, well, you - and Grayson must understand you need more time before moving forward. 

“really?” your heavy sigh shows your nerves are shot from worrying about not just school, but about the many different outcomes of the talk you need to have with Grayson. it has to happen, but you’ve never been one for confrontation even if it’s ensuring a positive outcome for both parties. 

another shrug with a kind smile from ethan warms your heart, “just talk to him. he’ll appreciate your honesty. most of the other girls got wigged out and dipped, it’s going to mean so much more that you are wanting to stick it out even if it’s going too fast for you right now.”

growing up in a family full of huggers really shows when you step forward to wrap your arms around his waist for a split second, appreciative that he listened to understand and actually help you.

“thank you e, i hope he doesn’t just think i’m trying to make excuses and leave.”

when you pull away he is smiling still, pleasantly surprised by your friendly hug. with a light squeeze to your shoulder and a soft sort of smirk playing on his lips, he gives you just the advice you needed.

“something i’ve learned being his twin; give him a little more credit.”

when  you have that conversation that had you so nervous your stomach tossed and turned all day long, you make sure you’re chanting ethans words over in your head. breathe. it’ll be fine. he will understand. give him a little more credit. he really wants you. the words play like a song through your head as you wait for him to sit back down on the white floral sheet in the softest patch of grass in your backyard. water spills from the glass in his hand as he plops onto the ground in a heap of giggles, muttering “fuck” softly, trying (and failing of course) to wipe the water off of his light blue button up shirt. it’s a good color on him, and you’re momentarily distracted from how attractive he looks in the late afternoon sun. 

when you first met grayson, he had stumbled upon you sitting all by yourself in a small park, book in hand, peach in the other, completely unsuspecting that you would catch his heart captive when you glanced up with a smile that just about made him pass out. you were still surprised months later that he had had the nerve to say a word to you, he looked ill with anxiety to even utter a word. it was a day you’d never forget - and you would try and remember that innocent look in his eye when you explain why you had planned this picnic in the first place. to talk, to listen, to understand. 

you figure if you really want to have the conversation be as smooth as it can be for the both of you, you could take it back to the very start. a simple picnic, with a lot of hope for the future.

after the laughter fit falls down, it’s time to get to the root of the issue. you prepare yourself with a deep breath in, holding in for a few seconds with your eyes closed, then slowly releasing when you look back at the questioning raise of his eyebrows. when he cocks his head to the side, you know it’s now or never. if you don't say it now, you might regret it. 

“I actually brought you here so that we could have a talk real quick,” you finally explain, making sure to maintain eye contact and drink in ever facial expression he may have - just so you know how to go forward. 

“you know you can talk to me about anything, is something wrong?” He’s so soft with the way he talks, never suspecting anything like what he’s about to hear, and it almost hurts to know you’ll be disappointing him in some way. 

“nothing is really wrong...i just think maybe...we should slow it down for a bit.” 

“what do you mean? we just got here,” he chuckles, taking a sip of his water with a shake of his head. not understanding, his fingers fiddle with the fringe at the bottom of your sundress. 

you continue without stopping, ignoring his joke and hopefully make him see you aren’t here to fool around, at least not entirely. it was a serious talk for once and you wanted him to respect what you had to say. 

“-not go so fast we miss the exciting part of getting to know one another,” you carry on to a now confused, sorrowful looking grayson, finally understanding that you weren’t talking so much about the picnic - but the two of you as a whole. 

“i still want this—still want you i mean. but i just...want us to be us for a bit and not worry so much about the next step and then the one after that and the one after that and-” 

he holds his hand up to stop you, cutting you off while looking at the ground deep in thought. setting the water down slowly, he climbs back up to his feet. you watch him patiently while he treads through the clipped grass, knowing he’s trying hard not to overreact and over think. After what feels like eternity, he sits down with his hands hanging off his knees, picking at a blade of grass he’s ripped from the earth beneath him. 

“have i pushed you?” 

sweet boy, always trying to take blame.

with a small smile you shake your head, “you haven’t pushed me at all gray. I just want this to grow - want us to grow. i don’t want you getting in too deep before you’re sure you’re ready for all of the things i’m looking for in the future and likewise.” 

another nod of understanding, he was listening close. his respect for you grow tenfold, you had the courage to not let your lust or even affection cloud your judgement and you were honest with him. something that grayson admired most from anyone he let into his life was honesty. 

“i’m not very good with slow but i’m sure you’re probably right,” he laughs more at himself than anything, “i just get carried away. especially with a woman like you. how couldn’t i?” 

always the flirt. and a good one at that. he always knew exactly what to say to get you blushing, which is exactly why you hide your face bashfully in your shoulder for a few moments before you could look back at him admiring you. 

“I hope you know that this is different though, Y/n. I can’t exactly explain how, but you should know i’ve never felt this way for anyone no matter how many times i’ve tried to convince myself otherwise in the past out of...fear, shame, even guilt. it’s different. and because of that difference, i know i can’t be selfish with you.” 

for once you’re grateful for your mothers voice at the back of your head nudging you to let your heart be open, because without that voice, you would never be sitting in the grass with a man that truly does want to respect your boundaries and looks at you like you’re made of exquisite glass. you wouldn’t have memorized the soft texture of his lips as you lean in to kiss him, or the feeling of his hand cupping your cheek. you wouldn’t know the sound of his relived sigh, or the giggle that breaks the kiss only a few seconds later. and you wouldn’t have the clarity that you so desperately craved. 

if there is one thing you knew for sure it’s that he is telling the truth. his truth shows with the delicate placement of his hands, the soft caress of his thumb on your cheek, his fingers running through your hair, and all the other ways he shows his adoration for you every day that you wish to hold on to forever. you know that the waiting and slow pace will be worth it in the end and the slow burn will turn into the blazing fire that you can already tell shines in his eyes. your hesitation has nothing to do with him but a past you would explain in due time. 

for now, you’d continue kissing him on the sheet that smelt faintly of laundry detergent, in the backyard of your quaint apartment on 26th and Broadway, with his hand in your hair, lips pressed gently against yours, and a whole heart full of hope for a long future of days just like this. 

[ceo-of-daichi]

Hey uhm Lydz 😌 I'll present you: 💫security guard Daichi 💫 like he works at a club and makes sure you're safe and tries to keep eye contact with you 🥰 and he's throwing some guys out of the club when they make you uncomfortable 😌 he also would offer to walk you home after the club is closing

Thank you and good night 😌

Omg anon hi! I didn’t know i needed this... but i realllyyy did! ✨security guard daichi✨ is now on my mind, i am such a liability in clubs though so i might write a lil drabble based on an irl drunk experience i have had in a club, where a security guard had to kick me out and walk me home oops😬 Sadly wasn’t as attractive as daichi though💔

Daichi scanned the crowd, music blaring from the speakers as everyone was bouncing and dancing. Walking around the edge of the dancefloor he spotted you, clearly very intoxicated and wobbling around with some of your friends. You frequented the club he was working at, you had actually chatted a couple of times while you waited to be let in. However he had never seen you this drunk. His eyes traced over your figure softly as you fell over for what must have been the 5th time in the 10 minutes he had been keeping an eye on you. He knew that you were now more of a liability than you realised, as he made his way over to your group.

‘Hey guys, I think she’s a bit drunk don’t you think? Shes stacked it at least 5 times while i’ve been watching you guys...’ He stated as he ushered you and your friends out the club. You were pathetically clinging to his well built arms as he helped you all out. ‘Will you guys be alright getting her ho...’ As he turned around your friends had scattered, letting out a soft sigh he looked back to you. Definitely in no state to make it home on your own he offered to walk you, after establishing it wasn’t far. Tightening his grip slightly around your waist as he assisted you home.

‘You’re really strong you know that...’ You slurred as you got to the front of your house. ‘It’s Daichi... and thank you i guess...’ He chuckled as he helped you open your door. ‘Thank you Daichi... i should repay you with dinner sometime?’ You smirked cheekily, with that he wrote his number down slipping it in your pocket. ‘If you remember tomorrow... now get some rest and please drink water...’ Daichi smiled as he started to walk back to the club, really hoping you would remember.

A/N ~ I know i said that i might write it... and then instantly wrote it LMAO anyway this actually happened to me apart from i didn’t get the bouncers number or flirt with him😂 Please keep sending me soft asks about Daichi if you want (or even thirsty ones) and if i feel inspired i might write a lil drabble

Thirst/Soft Drabble Taglist ~ @harokat @bigbiblebitty @starshaped-raindrops @mrs-kuroojinguji @karasimpno

To be added to my thirst/soft drabble taglist send me an ask!

[celestial-archer]

A Lady’s Tail Chapter 1

First part of the adventures of my oc, Kelpie!

Zoba is from the wonderful @reallifeonthetheseventhfloor (a 10/10 person), check out her writing if you haven’t. Its really good!

AO3

           _________________________________________

The rustling glide of scales on smooth stone echoed through a long cavern. There were several small indents along the wall, leading to adjacent rooms. They were near impossible to find, unless someone knew what to look for. There were trap rooms randomly spread throughout the hall. The remaining rooms each had a different specific purpose, such as being a lab, bedroom, smithery, mine, etc. At the entrance of every room had a hidden alarm system made of a crystal that activated an alarm spell when an unknown entity walked through. 

The rustling stopped as a naga stopped moving and caressed a hand down the nearest wall. Her name was Kelpie. She had short pixie cut black hair, purple eyes with square glasses, and sharp venomous fangs. Her black tail was incredibly long with splatters of purple all over. She wore a  dark grey pinstripe corset. 

This was her base. It wasn’t as grandiose as some she had seen, such as The Great Tomb of Nazarick. Her friend Zoba was in the guild and had shown her around it one day. It was basically a masterpiece that anyone would be in awe of. Hers...was not. It wasn’t flashy nor extravagant, but it was useful. She was incredibly proud of it.

She had first discovered it when she was exploring a small mountainous area of the map. Not many people came there because it was rumored to be barren. Her objective was to see if the rumors had actually been true, afterall, Yggdrasil had so many niche secrets that something appearing to be empty could be a possible treasure trove. She roamed around for several hours that day, not finding anything until she stumbled onto the cave. It was a tiny, barely noticeable cave that couldn’t even fit her tail inside. The possibility of it being a secret entrance to a hidden dungeon was 90% in her head, but 0% in actuality. Her first thought was to just cut her loses and leave to find a real dungeon, but something made her stay. Even now she couldn’t say what it was that made her spend weeks carving out the beginning of the cave. It just felt right.

She never really stopped carving it out either. Every time she logged in and had available time, she would spend 30 minutes to an hour expanding it. As of now it spanned throughout the entire mountain area. She first began expanding it because she had wanted extra space, but continued it due to the mountain range being rich with precious stones and metals. Expanding it every day would give her a profit of over 100 metals or gems. 

She sighed deeply and turned to look at her NPC, Goren. He was near identical to an Archangel of Flame, except for some key differences. Being at level 80, he had way more power than them.  His halo was a swirling mass of molten gems. A good amount of her gems went into decorating him. His angelic metal body was almost completely covered with gems and stones of different composition and color. Technically he wasn’t supposed to exist since she was only a solo player, but through the use of a world item she had stumbled upon he was able to come into existence. While not necessarily a handsome NPC, he was very pretty to look at with the rainbow of colors on his body. 

Flicking her hand in the air, the screen of the menu popped up. The clock counting down the seconds mocked her. In less than 3 minutes Yggdrasil and everything from it would be gone forever. Her avatar, NPC, and base, gone like a piece of paper going up in flames. Pulling up her friends list, the green font of two players rested at the top, Momonga and Zoba. Seems they were online too. She quirked a smile, happy that she wasn’t the only one seeing Yggdrasil off.  She was, at most, a step above acquaintances with Momonga, but he was a fun guy that cared deeply about the game. She couldn’t imagine him not being here for the shutdown. 

Zoba was one of her one of her closest friends in the game. They had first met while they both were dungeon crawling and ended up partying together to beat the final boss. Even though she was not an official member of the Ainz Ooal Gown guild, Zoba would still go farming and dungeon crawling with her. 

Kelpie hovered her hand over the message option, but let it drop down. She wanted to talk one last time, but didn’t want to interrupt anything either of them were wrapping up. These last moments felt too sacred to do so. There was a tension in the air that said she needed to be alone in these final moments.

Less than two minutes remaining now. She felt the seconds ticking by like an execution and in a way, it was. She slid her hand into one of the indents in the wall and a section of the wall scraped silently across the floor. Slithering through, she glanced around the room. Shelves filled with items ranging from magic books to limited time drops lined three of the walls. The fourth had a drawered desk with a simple wooden chair in front against it and an anvil to the left. The center had a huge bundle of furs from several different high leveled beasts. This was her bedroom in all its glory. 

One minute remaining. There was nothing she could do to stop the horrible march of time, but wait for the inevitable. Wiggling her tail under the top layer of fur, she settled down on the top of her coiled tail. She imagined the softness of the fur and the warmth that radiated from it. Her eyes drifted shut and she counted down.

5

4

3

2

1

0....

The forced consciousness of her IRL body never came. She peeked an eye open, expecting to see the white ceiling of her dorm bedroom, but instead, her vision was filled with the dark grey of stone. 

What...was going on? She pushed her hand down to get up, but paused.

A plush warmth pushed against her hand. Almost the same feeling she had imagined a few seconds earlier. Her eyes drifted down and confirmed, yes that was indeed her fur bed. 

Huh, different possibilities popped inside her head. Am I hallucinating? Am I in a coma? Am I dead? Am I trapped in the game? She lazily flicked her hand up and-

Nothing appeared.

“The fuck?”

She flicked her hand again and again, but still nothing appeared.

“Ok, the menu doesn’t seem to work. Great.” 

Kelpie ran her hand through her hair and propped herself up. Immediately, she fell forward and slammed her face against the floor. Her tail stayed passively coiled on the bed. Shit, she had forgotten about that. Note to herself, trying to move her feet would not move her tail. 

Putting a hand on her chin, she stared at it. 

The color was even more vibrant now than it was before. The black was so sheek while the purple glowed brilliantly. With a light hand, she tentatively touched them and shivered. That was a new experience. Her hand felt the cool, smooth texture of the scales, while her tail felt a muted pressure against it. Almost like a cloth between her hand and tail. It wasn’t unpleasant, just unfamiliar.  

She shifted her hand and lifted the middle section of her tail. It wasn’t as heavy as it looked. She didn’t think her tail should be this easy to lift. 

Was it possible that she became stronger? She gave it a second of thought, but she shook her head to dispel the thoughts, no time to think about that right now. 

She placed her other hand on the opposite side of her tail and shook it back and forth to imitate the side to side movement of snakes. The feeling certainly was different from legs. Her tail had a lot more flexibility and there wasn’t the feeling that it should be one certain way. With legs, it's not possible to bend it in any way other than forward, unless the bone was broken. She could move and twist her tail in almost any direction. It was kind of freeing to not have any movement restrictions.

Committing the sensation of her tail moving to memory, she took a deep breath and tried to stand up. Well stand up as much as one could with a tail. It was a different balance than she was used to, more unstable. She no longer had two rigid foundations, but one long fluid foundation. She wobbled unsteadily side to side and immediately face planted.

Again.

Ok.

One more time. She could do this! 

She pushed herself back up, rubbing her face lightly with one hand. She wobbled horribly, but, by extending her arms to the side, didn’t fall over right away.

Progress!

She inhaled and tried to stabilize her center of mass. She shook slightly, but had enough balance to try moving forward. She visualized the image of a snake moving. Its entire body would swerve left and right, so maybe she should try that. It didn’t seem right for her to move all of her upper body though. That would disrupt her delicate balance.

She lightly swung her hips back and forth. It felt absolutely ridiculous, but she couldn’t deny it gave her results. She successfully slithered out from the fur pile. 

With the basics down, she spent the next ten minutes practicing how to move. She fell a lot the first half but was able to gradually work up from a slow crawl to a fast slither. The longer she practiced, the more her tail felt right. Like this was the way she was supposed to exist.

Well, one thing done. Now to figure out what was going on here. First step, exit her bedroom. She slipped her hand back into the indent and the door slid open. A warm and pleasant breeze brushed against her, causing her arms to erupt in goosebumps. It felt like she was outside in the middle of winter and the breeze was the little bit of sun shining down. Why was it so cold? 

Pulling a small fur from her bed and wrapping it around her shoulders, she slithered out of the room.

The wind blew from the direction of the entrance, so she decided to head that way. The walls passing by her were enchanting. She had never paid much attention to them before, being just a simple background to her, but now she wondered if she just never looked hard enough. The walls shimmered with rainbow particles in a nice contrast with the dark grey of the stone. She lightly brushed her hand down it. The texture was very smooth like a polished stone and warm to the touch. 

Why was everything so much more vivid? What was the cause behind it? The scientific part of her was desperate for the answer. 

She absently ran her finger tips along the wall. The smooth surface paired with the warmth was a calming tactile stimulation. Texture was a coping technique that worked decently well for her. 

Breath in and out, in and out, in and out. 

So much happening in so little time was overwhelming. 

Deep breath in and out, in and out, in and out.

She dropped her shoulders, releasing the tension in them. 

Ok, she was ok. She could get through this.

She wrapped the fur tighter around herself and continued onward, still dragging her hand across the wall. The cave got brighter and brighter until the light shining from the outside was visible. She could see the… greenery… of the outside?

She rushed forward, the fur slipping off her shoulders and onto the floor, forgotten. The sun beat down on her still body. She glanced around, twisting around to take in all of her surroundings. 

A forest.

She was in a fucking forest! 

Trees so densely packed together that she couldn’t even see past them. Shrubbery with berries and thorns at the bases. She was supposed to be in the mountains!

What the fuck! Whatthefuck! Whatthefuck!

Her heart pounded in her chest and her breath quickened into hyperventilation. 

Fuck! Fuck!

She clutched her head tightly as her vision swirled. She tried to force air into her lungs, but it wasn’t working. Her body swayed haphazardly and she collapsed against the bark of one of the trees. 

Oh god, she couldn’t breathe!

Calm down, calm down, calm down. 

She put two fingers against the pulse point on her neck and took deep breaths. One, two, three, she counted up to ten and started over, letting her heart rate settle. 

She inhaled, held it for a few seconds, then exhaled, repeating it until her heartbeat and breathing returned to normal. 

Ok, good. She was calmer. 

She pushed her weak arms against the tree and righted herself. Hopefully her nausea would subside in a few minutes. 

Shutting her eyes and tilting her head back, she took in the sounds of the world around her. It was strangely quiet, not a single bird chirping or any rustling of small animals scavenging for food. It should have sent warning bells through her mind, but the silence was too nice for her high nerves. 

Seriously, what was going on? She knew her dreams weren’t this vivid, so she couldn’t be sleeping. The coma theory was still a possibility but very low. 

Maybe this actually was her new reality somehow, but it just didn’t make any sense! It had to be an error of some kind in the game. 

A breeze blew through her and she shivered again. Scouring the ground around her revealed that nothing was there. Shit, where was her fur? Did she drop it in her panic?

Her teeth clattered and she wrapped her arms around herself. She made a plan in her head to find a permanent solution for the cold to replace the fur. She turned around and glided towards the cave. 

Snap

A branch behind her broke in half. Shit, it really had been too quiet. Of course something had been wrong!

Instinct took a hold of her. She spun around and hissed, the sound echoing through the forest. Her fangs elongated and venom pooled at the tips. Distortion took over her voice, slurring the S as she shouted.

“Who are you?! Ssshow yourself now!”

The green brush parted and out stepped a shiny silver angel with multi-colored stones all over his body. His arms were raised as he spoke carefully, his voice a quiet baritone.

“My lady, it's just me. I apologize for leaving your side. I should have asked permission to do so.  I will take any punishment you wish to impose.”

He kneeled in front of her, waiting patiently and radiating shame. Her body slouched back, resting against her coiled tail. She relaxed her face, allowing her fangs to shrink back to their normal size, no longer producing venom.

Holy shit.

“Goren, is that you?”

“I assure you, my lady, I am no mimic. If needed, I can show proof of my identity”

He remained completely motionless, his head bowed in submission. It was so surreal that she doubted that he was actually there. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. The panic was bubbling back up into her chest, but she took deep breaths to stave it off.

“My lady, are you ok?! Give me the order and I'll do whatever it takes to aid you!” 

She opened her eyes and peered at him. Yep, he was still there, but now his head was raised, staring at her. There was no change in his facial expression, but from the heavy concern lacing his voice, she knew he was deeply worried about her.  

“Ah, yeah. I’m uh… I’m ok, just give me a second to contemplate.”

“Understood.”

He continued staring at her and it felt like he was staring into her soul. 

“Actually, would you go retrieve my fur? I dropped it somewhere inside.”

“Of course! It would be an honor!” He exclaimed, his voice full of happiness.

Swiftly standing up, he gave Kelpie a deep bow and rushed into the cave. 

With a heavy sigh, she rolled her shoulders and rubbed the back of her neck with one hand. It was nice to not have the heavy weight of his stare on her, but she was a little sad at the absence of his company. His eagerness to help was really cute, like an excited puppy. It lifted her spirits and reminded her of how she interacted with her own friends, extremely loyal and excited just to be with them. Some of her IRL friends would even call her a golden retriever with how excitable she was. 

It was possible that it would come back to bite her, but she decided to trust him completely. He seemed too earnest to betray her. Plus trusting him would save her more hardship for the meantime.

His hurried footsteps clanked from behind her. She turned to him and gave a small smile. The fur was clutched in his arms as if it was a sacred object. It was impossible for his facial expressions to change, but he still managed to radiate happiness as he reverently held the fur out to her.

“Here is your fur, my lady! Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“Thank you Goren. I’ll let you know in a moment.” 

She grabbed the fur and gently wrapped it around herself. That was so much nicer. The cocoon of warmth banished the cold. No longer feeling trapped in the middle of a blizzard, she could think more clearly. The cold and large amount of new information had given her sensory overload. 

She observed Goren. He was intensely watching her again, probably waiting for her response. He had been acting very interestingly. He was so subservient and worshipful, like she was some kind of goddess. Was this part of a scenario the developers had set up? If so, she wished she had been given some kind of warning. She clicked her tongue and addressed Goren.

“So I assume you went exploring. Did you discover anything?”

“Yes! It seems that we are between a mountain range and a forest. I found no signs of the mountain we were in previously. There appears to be a city and small village in the distance. The village is closer than the city. If you wish, I can lead you there.”

She tilted her head and hummed.

“Yes, that would be good. Thank you.”

Visiting the village would be very advantageous. It was likely where she could get more information about this new scenario and how to complete it. She didn’t really need Goren to lead her to it. With her ranger skills, she could easily find it herself, but having Goren with her would be comforting.

“Understood, please follow me, My Lady.” 

Goren turned and led her through the forest. Trees passed by quickly and she easily maneuvered over the roots and uneven ground. It was a normal forest except for the missing ambience of life. She slithered her way up to Goren, matching his walking pace.

“Goren, do you know why there are no animals around?”

Goren tilted his head to look at her.

“Of course. While you were resting, I took the opportunity to establish our territory. There were many species that had territory near the cave, so I defeated all of them. The other animals are likely avoiding us out of fear. Any who dare to challenge you will be struck down.”

His voice dripped with malice as he spoke the last sentence. Anyone with a sane mind would be filled with unease from hearing the deadly tone, but it just filled her heart with happiness, causing her tail to slap the ground repeatedly. 

“Good job! That will save us so much trouble! If we don’t need to worry about animals tripping them, we could install several traps and extend the alarm system outside the cave. Possibly even making dummy caves.” 

She paced back and forth muttering to herself about what traps would be good to put down, but  was interrupted by Goren gurgling and dropping down to one knee.

“My Lady! I am undeserving of your praise! It is my duty to fulfill your wishes and protect you. Everything I am belongs to you and if you commanded it, I would happily die for you!”

Her mouth fell open and she stared at him. She was just giving him a compliment, how had the conversation turned so serious?? She rushed forward and pulled his arm up. He gave no resistance and rose to his feet.

“No, no, no, there is no need to die! I gave you a compliment because you deserved it! It would make me very happy if you were to accept.”

“I...Yes, of course. I humbly accept your words.”

He tried to kneel again, but Kelpie held his arm tighter and gave him a stern look.

“Enough kneeling. You were showing me to the village, right? Let’s continue with that.”

He gave a simple nod and turned to continue through the forest. Kelpie sighed in relief and followed after him. His personality was different from what she expected. She hadn’t given him the worshipping trait, so where had it come from? She would ask him why he was so reverent but she was worried that he’d do something extreme again. 

She shrugged her shoulders back and focused her attention to the forest. They were getting closer to the edge of the forest. The trees were thinning out and she could start to make out the image of a village. The first thing she should do upon arrival would be to gather information. Knowing where they were currently was priority number one, but it would also be good to discover the main quest. Finishing it was probably the key to getting her menu and ability to log out back. 

Now that she thought about it, the immersion was incredible. The devs must have worked really hard on this, especially the npcs. She always imagined the personal npcs having a monotone voice, but Goren’s was incredibly expressive. She was interested to see more of his personality as well. She had originally programmed him to be shy and blunt.The blunt trait was intact, but the shyness was nowhere to be seen. In the future, would she see it through his interactions with other people, maybe even other players? 

There had to be more players spawned into random locations like her. It couldn’t be just her, right? Yeah, it couldn’t be just her. Meeting another in the village would make her day. They could share information and figure everything out faster. 

“My Lady, we’ve arrived.”

Goren’s quiet voice cut through her thoughts.

The village was just beyond the edge of the forest where they stood. There were several stone houses surrounding a wooden watchtower. Several villagers were wandering around doing menial chores, such as wood chopping and tending the fields. Kelpie scanned the area, searching for anyone that looked important. They would be the one most likely to be the quest giver.

“I don’t see the chief, what about you?”

“I apologize, My Lady, but I am also unable to.”

She clicked her tongue in annoyance. She would just have to go searching for them then. Hopefully they’d be outside, she didn’t really want to search through all of the houses for them.

“Goren, use your skill “Hide Shadow”. We don’t know if the village is safe or not. They look harmless, but you can never be too careful. Stay in my shadow until danger appears or I give the order, understood?”

“Of course!”

He crossed his arm over his chest with a bow and melted into darkness that tunneled down into her shadow. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Ok, time for answers. She set her shoulders and crept towards the village.

The field workers in front of her were hard at work, weeding and harvesting the wheat. They remained oblivious to her existence until she started crossing across the field, trying to avoid crushing any crops. The first to see her was a young male villager around the age of 18. His scythe slashed through the wheat stalk and he pulled the bundle away cleanly. He was laying the bundle into his basket when his eyes met with Kelpie’s. For a moment, nothing happened. They stared at each other, neither making a single movement. She lifted her hand to wave and all hell broke out.

The villager opened his mouth and let out the loudest scream she had ever heard. He turned tail and sprinted towards the houses. The others lifted their own heads to investigate and gave their own screams of terror. They retreated the same way as the young man, shoving and trampling the ones in their way. One was unfortunate enough to trip. He fell pathetically to the ground and whimpered in pain as he was slowly trampled to death. His lifeless body laid there, blood pouring out from under it.

The screams flowed through the air like an orchestra symphony and euphoria welled up in her chest. 

This was exciting! 

A breeze blew across the field and carried the metallic scent to her. She slowly inhaled then exhaled, enjoying the scent. It was enticing, like the smell of thanksgiving dinner on an empty stomach. 

Her pupils dilated into slits as saliva pooled in her mouth. Her fangs elongated, venom dripping down them. The sounds and smell were amazing and she wanted, no, needed more! A long hiss reverberated from deep in her chest. The sound traveled through the village and wails erupted from just beyond the houses.

Yessss, she liked that! More, more!

She flew across the field and entered the village. A mob of villagers were waiting for her with torches and pitchforks in hand. They shook where they stood and she could hear the loud pounding of their hearts. The fear was thick enough that she could smell it and it was as delicious as the bloody scent. 

Good, they should fear her! A forked tongue flicked out as she licked her lips. She could practically taste their flesh already. A hunting horn boomed out and like a flash, the mob charged her. 

Foolish~

The world slowed down to a crawl as adrenaline shot through her body. She could clearly see the terror on the front line’s faces. They knew their chances of survival was low, but they still had the smallest amount of hope inside of themselves. She would enjoy crushing that~

She crouched her body down and shot forward with explosive force. Slashing her hand in an arc, the heads of all the frontliners flew from their shoulders. Blood erupted out like a volcano and the bodies collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. It happened in an instant, leaving no time to react before they were dead. The mob collectively shuddered in fear. Many of the back liners dropped their weapons and ran for their lives, crying pitifully and letting prayers fall from their lips. She gave them a glance but didn’t chase after them. She had enough of a feast before her to ignore the stragglers. Kelpie brought the back of her blood covered hand to her mouth and dragged her tongue across it. The blood was sweet like a piece of candy. 

Tasty! Tasty! Tasty!

A feral grin overtook her face and drool dripped out the corner of her mouth. How nice would it taste right from the source? 

A muscular elder stepped forward with an axe, staring defiantly. Yes, he would do nicely as an example. Let them see what happens to those who defy her! He rushed forward and swung the axe at her head. 

Slow! Slow! Slow!

She thrust her arm at his neck, her fingers wrapped tightly around his neck and she lifted him off the ground. The axe clattered to the ground.

“Let thisss be a warning to you all. Those who defy me, die painfully.”

She unhinged her jaw and bit down on his shoulder. His agonized scream intensified as she pumped venom into his bloodstream. Releasing her hand, he slammed into the ground and convulsed wildly. He would die slowly and painfully. She brushed her thumb across the corner of her mouth. 

Laughing maniacally, she asked,

“Who'sss next?”

_________

She woke up from her trance several hours later, the taste of blood thick on her tongue and piles of bodies surrounding her. Her fur was drenched enough that there was no sign of its original color. In just one day, she had completely obliterated a village. 

The slickness of the blood covering her cooled her body uncomfortably. Yet, it still wasn’t a horrible feeling. 

Oh god, what had happened? Memories overwhelmed her mind with perfect clarity. The revulsion she should have felt was completely missing. In fact, just thinking about it was enough to make her happy. She touched her hands to her face and felt the smile she had.

She dry heaved. Why wasn’t she horrified by her actions?? What had happened to her?? 

Oh god, this couldn’t be the game! It couldn’t be! The game couldn’t affect her thinking and feelings!

Hyperventilation took her over and she clawed at the invisible pressure squeezing her neck. 

This was real! She had just murdered whole families and enjoyed it! Worse was that she wanted to do it again!

Her vision became hazy and black spots appeared all over. She fell forward, the sensation muted to the point of nonexistence. She dug her fingers into the ground and tried to drag her body away from the glassy eyed bodies. She raspily called out in desperation.

“G...Goren...Help…”

The sight of Goren rematerializing and reaching for her was the last thing she saw before everything went black.

[junkosakura01]

A Gift for Lucifer

Updated fic in my AO3 account: junkosakura01

* Fanfic based on Lucifer’s 2020 birthday event + one major spoiler.

* Junko is my “Obey Me!” in-game name & [ideal] persona here. IRL I can do simple massages like in this fanfic (and no, I can’t make one moan like this one, lol). Please also excuse my biases here.

- - - - - -

Before the surprise party plan for Lucifer was set into motion, and Junko was almost seen through by the man himself, Asmodeus had given Junko some extra tips to win over the birthday boy.

“As much as I appreciate your help, Asmo, but I still don’t know what to give him…” Junko’s stoic face remains the same, yet her tone of voice felt sad.

She has been with them for a long while now, and a lot has already happened—reconciling the brothers with each other and even learning about her ancestor.

“Want me to help set up a romantic mood when you both get back?” Asmodeus smiled but there was a hint of slyness in his tone.

Ever since after they learned Junko is Lilith’s descendant, Asmodeus was always the one who notices her being nervous sometimes when she’s with Lucifer.

“Thanks, Asmo, but I think I can find one during our da—I mean, the plan tomorrow.”

“Hmm~ If you say so, Junko~” He grinned at her, and for hearing her almost a say a certain word.

The next day, Junko and Lucifer were out on their date, with Mammon and Leviathan in tow hiding from them. Unfortunately, those two were eventually found out by Lucifer and sent them home, but Junko played dumb so the party won’t be ruined.

“I’ll trust you for now. Come, let’s continue.”

“Yes, Lucifer. Let’s go shopping over there.”

Moving on, they also went to a shop for a bit and bought matching necklaces for each other. Their date ended when Junko’s phone alarm rang, signaling party time. They soon returned home, and Lucifer was greeted with smiles and cheers. Diavolo laughed at him because he was right when he expected Lucifer to forget his own birthday.

“Ah yes, today is my birthday,” Lucifer grimaced. His embarrassment surprised them but he immediately reverted to his usual face again.

“We all prepared this for you.” Junko said as she gently tugged on Lucifer’s sleeve.

“Is that so? I’m glad it didn’t turn into a disaster,” Lucifer retorted.

“My livestream was a disaster though…” said Leviathan as he gently caressed his camera. “Those juicy moments between them was—“

“Ooh! Yeah, I was enjoying that!” Asmodeus frowned. “Gosh, Lucifer, you should’ve let him and save it as a remembrance.

“Ehh…?” Junko grimaced at them, but inside she was feeling embarrassed.

After everyone had given their messages and now eating, Junko sheepishly went near Lucifer’s face and whispered, “I… I have something to give you too, but can I go to your room later for it…?

Surprised, Lucifer’s eyes widen with his fork halfway out from his mouth. He didn’t expect her to say that. Like a confused Mammon, a lot of scenarios ran through his mind, wondering about her gift.

“Sure, I’ll be expecting you then.” Lucifer replied and ate another piece of cake. He didn’t bother to press her further.

“Ah, thank you, Lucifer!” Junko faintly smiled and caught his attention, so did Asmodeus.

”I guess she found out what to give him, eh?” Asmodeus smirked at them. He’s also the only one who noticed their matching necklaces, but he assumed that it wasn’t the one Junko planned to give as a present.

“What are you mumbling about, Asmo?” Satan asked as he grabbed his plate away from Beelzebub, who was aiming his fork on Satan’s plate.

“Oh nothing, I’m just talking to myself.”

Later that evening, after the party and everyone else were in their rooms, Junko silently went to Lucifer’s room and then knocked on the door.

“It’s me. Can I come in?”

Something clicked and made the door slightly ajar, she then went inside. On his chair, Lucifer was enjoying a glass of blood wine while reading a book.

“You’re finally here. What is it that you want to give me?”

The timid and quiet girl didn’t reply, but instead raised her hands up as if she was trying to scare or scratch him.”

“I don’t get it.” He bluntly said. His eyebrows slightly furrowed and he was starting to feel annoyed.

“I’m confident in giving massages… We already got matching necklaces, but this is something I wanted to give you. Plus, if I told you earlier, they might hear it and get misunderstood.”

“Alright, I forgive you,” he smiled at her, “But you were a little misleading earlier too. You had a different expression on your face while telling me. Asmo was also giving us a strange look as well.”

“Ah… Haha…” She laughed softly from being embarrassed.

The proud eldest demon brother sighed but with a relaxed look on his face. Putting down his wine glass and book, he then sat on his bed. A pat on it signaled her to follow.

“Sorry, but I need you to take your clothes off. Back massages are best without it.”

“You’re pretty bold and assertive right now,” he chuckled. “I’d rather not, but if you say so.”

Slowly he started undressing—making her flinch after every top layer was removed. He’s unaware of her current expression right now.

Being weak to good-looking people, specifically handsome men, Junko can’t help but fawn over his revealed body and reflexively hides her face in embarrassment. It’s also the first time Lucifer had shown some skin to anyone other than Diavolo when they went to the beach together.

“Hehe… What, was it just an act? I thought you were going to give me a massage.”

“Ugh… That grin…!” She thought, and had a pained yet satisfied look on her face. “A-Ahem…! Now lie face down.”

He did as he was told and she nervously positioned herself near him while on his bed, “É-Excuse me…” She softly said.

After stretching her arms and hands to warm up, she started massaging him from his head, then to his shoulders, to halfway down his back. At first she had trouble with how stiff Lucifer’s back is, but as it went on, she was also trying to calm herself after hearing him moan and groan from the massage.

“Ah…! That spot… Mm…”

“Yeah, this lump is a sore spot. I bet there’s a lot more; I’ll beat those up too.”

“Go easy on me…”

“This is already my normal massaging strength. You must be so tired, Lucifer,” she said and then pressed him harder with her palms, “I know you’re doing a lot, but I never expected your back to be this stiff! You should really learn to take a break sometimes.”

“Hngh…!” he huffed and tried to suppress it, but he was also enjoying the pain melting away. “Haah…ha…”

“If it’s getting painful, tell me, okay?”

“Just carry on… Ah! I’m not just used to this… Gaah…”

“Please stop being like that…you’re going to give me a heart attack…” She thought again. She felt her cheeks slightly warm and her blank expression was starting to break from seeing glimpses of Lucifer’s sexy yet pained look, also while he’s trying to bury his face on his pillow.

“Lucifer… Really, please tell me if it’s hurting you now…” her tone was starting to crack as well and having a huge urge to laugh at him too. Right now, she’s the only one seeing him in this vulnerable state giving into a good back massage, and she can’t help but feel happy about it too.

“No…continue if you’re still not finished yet… Augh…” he replied weakly, but now his face was completely buried on his pillow. Junko finally chuckled a bit and switched to a gentler pressing since his muscles became tender.

After several kneading and down to his lower back, which made Lucifer yelp a bit from the pain, she asked him to sit up next so she could move on to his arms. She sat next to him, and with her small, feminine hands, Lucifer was surprised that was exerting a decent amount of force in massaging him from the start. The tension in Lucifer’s arms seems to have faded away too when his expression relaxed some more.

“When did you learn how to do this?”

“My mother always asked me for one whenever she needed it. I learned when I was young.”

“I see. This has been very comforting, thank you, Junko. My body feels lighter now.”

“Good. You’re welcome. “She nodded and continued massaging his hands as it she was playing with it.

Strong, big hands…it was definitely different from hers and Asmodeus’, who has a beautiful body and was the first to experience her skill. Lucifer’s hands were often covered in gloves so this is also the first time she sees the red nail polish on his fingernails.

“What’s wrong?”

Junko shook her head, “Nothing. It’s…just that your hands are bigger than mine.”

“Of course it is,” Lucifer chuckled and patted her head.

“Okay, we’re done now. How do you feel? I’m sure you’ll be able to sleep well tonight.”

“Indeed. I’ll return the favor someday and when you need it too. Or do you want me to massage you too right now while you’re still here?”

Her eyes widen and could feel him teasing her. “E-Ehhh…!?”

”Kidding. You’ve finally given me a different expression again.  You’re going to end up grumpy like Satan if you keep that stoic face on,” he smirked at her, but he was actually trying to contain his laughter.

“Geez…” she sighed in disappointment. “It’s not a favor, but if you say so… Thanks, I’ll look forward to what you’ll come up with.” Junko replied, with her head down in embarrassment, but she was smiling.

-End-

(Bonus)

[giranswife]

Can’t Lose You

Summary: Ash has another nightmare, only this time it hits her where it hurts the most. Seeing the one that she loved most being harmed makes her realize that the fear of losing him is stronger than anything.

Warning(s): slight angst, fluff, suggestive near the end

Disclaimer: This includes a canon character x self-insert/oc pairing. Ash is a self-insert/oc based around my irl self, and is my own.

(( I couldn’t resist writing this into a full fic after posting the headcanons. It just sounded like a good idea, and near the end I kind of blend another idea that I had with it. Just because it wasn’t enough to make a whole fic around it. I love their relationship a lot! ))

Ash had gone to sleep a couple hours into waiting for her husband to get home. She thought that it wouldn’t be too long, but after the first hour her head started to bob. Most nights she’d be able to do this, but the night before she stayed up rather late. Not to mention she’s been at the league hideout all day listening to the plan in a couple of weeks. All she wanted to do was curl into bed and fall asleep wrapped in sheets that smelled like him.

She got ready for bed like normal, stripping down to as little clothes as possible since she gets rather hot in her sleep. Luckily Giran had forgotten to clean the sheets before he left, so they still lingered with his cologne. She wrapped the blankets around her, nestling in the middle of the bed and her face disappearing in the mountain of blankets and pillows.

A few minutes prior her phone had vibrated, a message from him popping up on her screen. She barely had the energy to reply, but she did smile a bit that he remembered to text her. He hadn’t expected to be out this late, but apparently things were taking a lot longer than he had planned. It was a common thing for him to check in with her, letting her know he’d be late but also that he was okay.

It felt a little ridiculous at first, but it eased her mind a lot. She didn’t realize how much she worried until she felt comforted by the idea. But it’s no secret that this kind of business is ugly. Things can happen, and it’s just one thing that he can do to make her worry a bit less. Before she would deny the fact, just because he gets a little smug when she admits that she cares that much.

But now, there’s no denying that fact.

The empty bed was slightly lonely without him. It wasn’t uncommon for her to fall asleep without him, but there was something about tonight that just made her miss him more. As she nodded off, she held a pillow to her chest as if it was him. Breathing in the scent of him, she was able to fall asleep rather fast.

The darkness of the apartment was a small indication that Ash was already asleep. Most nights she’d be on the couch, jumping up the second that she heard the door open. Giran was a little disappointed that he didn’t hear her rambling his ear off about how he was late yet again. Having been gone the majority of the day, the sound of her voice was actually something he looked forward to.

Definitely better than anything else he had to deal with.

She was still in a deep sleep, though tossing and turning while he took a quick shower. Her dreams were getting heavier it seemed, the twitching of her muscles getting a bit worse. She groaned softly, the pictures in her mind getting worse and worse. The nightmares she experiences range from mild to extreme and there’s no in between.

Either she wakes up with no recollection of them, but just the feelings that they bring. Or she wakes up in a cold sweat, remembering every detail and how it made her feel. Tonight was one of those nights, sweat beginning to cling to her forehead and the blankets being tossed from her.

Ash experiences night terrors from time to time, but she hadn’t experiences one in almost a year. They typically are more common on nights that she’s stressed or anxious, but tonight it was merely just a very vivid nightmare. One that left her crying in her sleep, kicking off the blankets and tossing around on the bed.

Images in great detail of the person she loved most in danger, and there was nothing that she could do. It was hell being stuck in that dream, unable to wake up from it at first. It felt like it was dragging on forever, lingering in the back of her mind and burning itself in her memory. She huffed, her chest rising and falling in an almost frantic rhythm.

Even the sound of the door opening and the light flooding in didn’t wake her at first, and at first Giran thought she was just tossing and turning like she usually does. He heard the soft cries first, noticing the slight difference in the way that she groaned through tight lips. He knew right away that she was having a nightmare, having experienced her night terrors first hand after she slept over the first few times.

Having prior knowledge of how to deal with her in this state, he didn’t seem phased at all and untangled the sheets that were closed tightly in her fingers. “Princess, hey, wake up,” He said rather softly, pulling back hair from her face to reveal the pained expression on her face. Her eyebrows were furrowed, lips tightly closed and jaw clenched like a vice.

Shaking her gently, he patted her cheeks and tried anything that could get her to wake up. It took her a couple of seconds, finishing out the terrible dream before she woke up to the feeling of a hand on her face.

She jumped, pulling herself up on her elbows and squeaking a bit under her breath. Her heart hammered against her chest, breath getting caught in her throat as she struggled to see through the darkness. No other nightmare that she’s had hit her as hard as this one did. She’s woken up in a daze like this before, but this time she almost believed that it was real. Any other time and she was pretty sure it was a dream, but this one just felt like a reality.

Which is why her tears were still wet on her face, and she was feeling extremely sick to her stomach. She almost didn’t believe it when she heard the familiar voice, the feelings rushing back all at once.

“It’s just a dream, baby girl. You’re okay-”

Ash swallowed, reaching for Giran’s face and touching her fingers to it. She just needed to feel and make sure he was really there, the other hand touching his chest to feel the heartbeat underneath it.

“Oh my fucking god,” She breathed, tears rushing down her cheeks once again.

He was a little confused, remembering all the times that she woke up from her night terrors and refused his touch. But right now it felt a little different from the way that she frantically reached for him.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging to him and sobbing into his arms. She just wanted to feel him and touch him. There wasn’t an amount of space that was close enough, and Giran couldn’t say anything but rub her back gently.

He knew better than to ask what the dream was about, knowing that she probably didn’t want to think about it. The best thing for him to do is to console her.

“I love you,” She breathed, “I love you so much. Please don’t fucking leave me.”

It was the first time that she sounded so desperate, sobs escaping as she buried her face in the crook of his neck. It was clear that she was slightly embarrassed, coming down from the desperate high of the dream and finally coming to reality. It took minutes for her to realize that this right here was real, and he wasn’t just some kind of daydream.

“I’m not goin’ anywhere, Princess. You’re stuck with me, remember?”

She didn’t laugh like she normally would, but it was worth a shot.

“I’m serious… I just… I fucking can’t lose you.”

More sobs escaped her lips, and she curled into him until she was like a ball in his lap. Her body was stiff and rigid, and there was so much that he wanted to do to ease her mind. But the truth of the matter was, he couldn’t. He wasn’t going to sugar coat his answer and put a pretty package over it, because that wasn’t the kind of man he was.

His wife meant more to him than anything. He wouldn’t have married her if he didn’t truly love her. The only person in his life that he would give up everything for. No amount of money in the world meant more than this woman right here. She was the one, which is why he wasn’t going to give her a bullshit answer.

She deserved better than that.

“You’re not gonna lose me, baby girl. Yah know how long I’ve been in this business? Not that easy to get rid of me.

Ash swallowed, fiddling with the collar of his shirt.

“I can’t promise you that nothing’s gonna happen. Yah know this kinda life isn’t predictable.”

“I know… You just mean so much to me. I can’t- I can’t be alone again. It just felt so real, and I just… I can’t fucking imagine what life would be like without you. As… cheesy as that sounds.”

She grumbled the last bit, and it made him chuckle a little bit. There was his wife.

“Hey, it’s gonna take a hell of a lot to take me away from you,” He lifted her chin, her eyes glittering with a few tears, “Don’t worry, Princess.”

She nodded, her heart starting to slow a bit. Even though he didn’t give her a bullshit answer, and it wasn’t exactly the most calming thing, it was the truth. Neither of them could really promise each other that nothing would happen, but they could promise to love each other until that moment happens.

If it ever does. But it’s much easier to live with the thought then continue to live in ignorance. And that was something neither of them were going to do.

Ash loved that about him though. That he doesn’t lie to her or tell her what she wants to hear. He’s blunt and he’s honest. What good would it do to lie to her? There was no hiding the truth from his wife. She knew him better than anyone, and she could see through any shit that he threw at her.

“I’m gonna go get you some water-”

“No, please, stay with me. Don’t go.”

Giran huffed a sigh, listening to the desperation in her tone. Her fingers grasped at the material of his shirt, refusing to let him go.

“Alright, okay. I’ll stay.”

“Thank you. Just… hold me for a little bit?” She asked.

How could he say no to that face?

Pulling her further into his lap, he let her nestled her face against his chest and close her eyes. She focused on the warmth against her face, breathing in the scent of him once again. She never felt so safe than in that moment. There was no place that she’d rather be than right there in his arms.

Before they met, she always thought the idea of someone’s arms being home as ridiculous. To her romance was just something that existed in fiction or for those that had the privilege of normalcy. Not something that she’d ever be able to feel. That was… until she met him. The most unlikely person became the only person that she trusted the most.

There were so many reasons why they never would have worked. On paper it seemed like the worst idea and something that would never last a couple weeks. Not only the age difference but just their personalities and their experiences. If she never would have agreed to that drink back then, would she even be here?

The short answer would be no. That small decision would definitely had changed their entire relationship, and she knew that. Which is why she’s extremely thankful that she was in a huge mood for a drink. That even the thought of drinking with Giran of all people sounded like a good idea.

She doesn’t like to think about it much, considering that she’s almost sure that he saved her. He’s given her such a sense of comfort in herself. Because he chooses to love her, even in the tough times. Something that no one else had ever done before. And they share a couple things in common in terms of experiences and where they are in life.

It just works. They work so well that it’s almost scary. She had no idea that she’d come to miss his company when he leaves and miss the feeling of his arms around her. She never thought that she’d be sitting here, crying over the thought of being without him. Knowing that if something were to happen tomorrow, that she wouldn’t be able to move on.

He was the one. She was completely sure of that. No one has ever come close to him, and no one ever will.

“Do you believe in soulmates?” Ash asked.

Giran was a bit taken aback by the question, stopping his treatment of patting her head.

“I didn’t.”

“Because I… really think you’re mine… Wait. What do you mean you didn’t?”

He laughed, knowing that he wasn’t going to be able to get past her. Exactly like he thought. She’s too good.

“Nothing.”

“No. You said you didn’t. What does that mean?”

She looked up at him, lifting her brows curiously. It was clear that she wasn’t going to drop the issue. Giran knew her way better than that, and he probably shouldn’t have said anything. But the minute he spoke it was too late.

“You think that we’re soulmates too, don’t you?” She asked.

“I didn’t say that-”

“No, but you do! You said that you didn’t which means that your opinion changed!”

He huffed a sigh, watching her tail flick rather excitedly. There she was. The wife that he knew and loved was back, her mood beginning to heighten once again. He was already starting to miss this side of her, even if it included her hounding his ass.

He didn’t answer for several minutes, listening to the sound of her swishing tail and feeling her eyes boring into him. There was no getting out of this one. Ash is a persistent one. The most persistent person he’s ever met, and he’s met a lot.

“Just admit it. You’re a total romantic, cheese ball who believes we’re made for each other,” She said with a giggle.

“Don’t try and change the fuckin’ subject. Spinnin’ this shit on me.”

“Hey, I said that I think you’re mine. Now, you have to agree with me.”

The smug grin on her face was absolutely adorable. This must be how she feels when he teases her. But he had to admit that he loved it. He wouldn’t have it any other way, listening to her rave on and on until she gets an answer.

“If I agree with you, then you’re lying down and goin’ to fuckin’ bed.”

“Fine. We’ll lay down.”

She wiggled her eyebrows, and he almost lost it.

“Alright, fine. I didn’t until you came along. Happy?”

“Yes. I’m very happy.”

She giggled, flopping down onto her back and dragging him down with her.

Kissing him softly, she popped off the buttons of his shirt and grasped the blanket that was all tossed around. Even though she did promise that they were going to be going to bed, the more that she kissed him the more that she knew she’d need more motivation to sleep. Giran rolled his eyes but gave into her, grasping her thighs and wrapping them around his waist.

At least he can tire her out to help get her to bed faster. Hoping to god that she’ll forget what they just talked about. But that’s only wishful thinking.

[cutegirlmayra]

Sonic IRL one-shot highlighting the boom characters? I really liked what you did in the whole series. And also this line: "Difference in opinion, that usually starts war you know" (don't know if I got that right), really got me thinking about the fandom, that's some deep stuff and that was awesome, bless you and your wonderful works!

Aw, thank you! No~ Bless you for reading them!

Sooo~ My usual One-shot for Sonic IRL (My fanfiction:–> x  is a pretty big episode… ^^; Of course, Sonic IRL is an on-going series. As long as I have ideas for it, it’ll never end!!! :D

Thanks! I like that line too XD So, going back to your ‘Ask’, are you asking me to update Sonic IRL or to write a little prompt here for it?

I assume prompts (Since it’s my tumblr, but IDK) so please let me know!

Prompt:

Note: Sonic IRL (In Real Life) is based on AI’s of Companies famous mascots (In this case Sonic) being actual beings that can only be seen in the confines of SEGA (the dynamics of this change throughout the fanfiction as you learn more about how this happens and its specific rules to seeing characters, how characters can interact with the world, etc.) So if you’re confused, please feel free to enjoy my Fanfiction explaining this! :D Link is above! *Also, they are a series of Sonamy One-shots that follow a specific story-line of Sonic and Amy’s dynamic.

I will place (*Notes) when I feel there may be confusion!

After the fiasco with Classic Amy Rose (See story for further details!), Boom!Sonic began to wonder about this… secret code he doesn’t recognize in himself. Mostly because it seems odd to him, a code he was born with, but that the other Sonics had gotten through Japanese Sonic regaining his original data…

He rubbed his chest, sitting on top of his favorite employee’s cubicle in one of the many office levels of SEGA.

He stared off into space, but clearly was distraught and troubled with a comical look of annoyance on his face. He couldn’t quite understand which part of him was different from the other Sonics… and that difference seemed to frustrate him.

The spotlight was taken from him after Classic Amy appeared, so of course, he wasn’t quite sure what this ‘orange’ and ‘new’ code really was, only that it was causing a lot of ruckus among the other characters…

Especially for Genesis… (*Note: Nickname of Classic Sonic.)

With Modern American and Japanese Sonic handling whatever it was that made Classic Amy such a big deal, Boom!Sonic laid back and tried to relax.

He didn’t want to think about it, but…

The way Classic Sonic reacted to seeing her… the way he reacted when coming in contact with her… what made her so important or special that the code activated like that? And how was he programmed or born with it already!?

He groaned, rubbing his hands with powerful scratches to ruff up his quills on his head and kick his legs up, coming down to flop on either side of the cubicle and look utterly miserable.

The employee looked up with a raised eyebrow, smiling. “Something wrong, Sonic?”

“Eh, it’s nothing.” Sonic lied, liking the employee for his sense of humor, not so much for his sense of unyielding curiosity…

“Ohh..?” The Employee leaned back from his hunched stance at the computer, rocking his chair slightly as he moved back to get a better view of Sonic. “Pining for anyone..?”

Boom!Sonic stuck out his tongue. “That’s for my Gramps to worry about.” (*Note: I hope these don’t bother you, but for those who don’t know, there are Sonics all over the world, wherever a SEGA hub is. Japanese Sonic is the original Sonic and has special powers because of that. The other Sonics are thereby known affectionately as the ‘Sons’ of the Original Sonic. Sonic Boom is a creation derived from the American branch of SEGA, making Boom!Sonic the first Grandchild to Japanese Sonic -not including anything but the games- and making American Sonic the first Sonic to have a ‘kid’ so to speak.)

“Haha! You’re the one born with the ‘data of love’ son.” The man laughed, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye, then moving up back to his computer. “Maybe you should talk to your Amy? She may know more about what’s going on.”

“I could care less about getting involved in drama.” Sonic stuck a finger in his ear, twisting it a bit as he closed his eyes and looked aloof from it all.

“…Do you really not care about what’s happening with the Amys?”

His finger stopped turning in his ear.

“I mean… a lot of them are glitching… all over the place. Don’t you worry your Amy might suffer the same fate? If you’re not aware of what’s going on lately..?”

His eyes rose open just barely…

The light of SEGA’s offices was just about blinding to a normal human eye, but to an AI system, he could just stare at it for a while and blur out his eye focuses…

“…I’m born with the data.” He leaned up, pulling his feet towards him and balancing a little funnily on the halved wall he was on. “…She should be fine from the effects.”

“You sound so confident. Don’t you want to be sure?” He looked up, pushing further as Boom!Sonic looked down with a bit of an upset face.

“What happened to all your funny one-liners?”

“What happened to all your sense of adventure?”

“Tsk. I’m still Sonic!”

“Then act like him. Go on an adventure with your girl!”

“…She’s not my girl.” He grumbled, pouting and looking away, growing a bit nervous and lowering his voice now.

The man across from his favorite employee’s desk chuckled slightly.

“Wha!? Is everyone ease dropping on me!?” Sonic looked all around.

The other employees were all covering their mouths, trying to remain absolutely quiet but unable to hold in a chuckle.

“Geez…” He seemed very shy now, not liking the joke to be on himself…

“As you said, my friend.” His fav employee looked back up to him with a cheeky grin. “You are Sonic The Hedgehog. You were made for entertainment. We’re just enjoying you performing your proper function.”

Everyone burst out then, and Sonic grew frustrated, jumping up and stomping a foot down on the wall, still gaining a good sense of balance, “I’m Sonic Boom! I’m meant to be attracted to funny things!”

“Ouch, I feel bad for Amy!”

The entire office started howling in laughter, and finally, Sonic quit.

He jumped down, racing off to find a better place to lounge.

While he did so, he thought about what he had said… about the glitches…

He wasn’t around during that time, but he knew it was a thing.

A very hard thing apparently…

Video Game Characters don’t really experience ‘permeant’ death… so having so many Amys…

It was just uncomprehendable to him. To lose a friend…

He dived into the nearest computer, seeing Knuckles and Boom!Knuckles playing ping-pong in the employees break room, and not wanting to really be disturbed too much right now.

However, he stuck out like a sore thumb in the Virtual World, and it was only a matter of time before Boom!Tails started noticing his odd behavior.

“Want to play Tomatopotmus?”

“…Sure.”

They spent a while playing, but Tails would happily look over and see Sonic looking depressed, sighing a lot.

“…Want to try and scare Sticks by setting off some of her booby traps?”

“Eh.”

Tails raced through the elaborate but basically designed traps Sticks had set up, laughing as Sticks raced out with tin cans on her head and waving a piece of foil like it was a shield out in front of her. But when he turned back to see Sonic, Sonic had already raced through the traps and was sitting on a tree branch, looking out at the world and groaning, hunching his shoulders up. “Ooh…”

“Uhh… Sandcastles?”

“ALIENS!”

“…Whatever.”

Finally, Tails had enough. He threw down his shovel he was using to make a sandcastle as Sonic barely strained his arm to place a leaf stuck through the stick to the top.

“That’s it! I know you’re worried about what’s happening in Japan! So, spill! What do you want to talk about?”

“Huh?” Boom!Sonic shook his head, “No I’m not! I wasn’t even thinking about Amy!”

“…So you do care about the glitching stuff!” Tails leaned back, looking relieved to finally hear it. “I was worried you were never going to talk about it…”

“It’s just…” Sonic gestured his hands up, and then got up himself, walking a bit down the beach… “I was just born, and suddenly I find out my data isn’t the same as the other Sonics. Something in me is the cure-all to all the Amys glitching, and since I was born with it, I don’t resist it like the other Sonics do.” He spun back around to Tails. “So-!?!? Does that mean I’m not a real Sonic???”

“What are you talking about? Of course you’re a Sonic!” Tails looked confused, getting up and dusting the sand off himself.

“The code SEGA was so uncertain about is being preserved in you! You don’t ever have to worry about our Amy glitching from your actions.” He said this as if it was science, but the true impact of them hit Sonic, and he stepped back, his face turning a new shade of white.

“…Sonic?”

He scanned the ground.

“Tails… Does that mean…” an immense sadness suddenly poured over Sonic, and he gripped his chest again,… feeling the code spark a reaction… or something inside him. “Sonics really are destroying Amys?”

“…Oh, Sonic.” Tails suddenly realized what his words meant to him. “Of course not. I’m sorry, I-I didn’t say it right!” he waved his hands out in protest to Sonic’s thinking, but Sonic continued.

“No, no. That’s what you said. That’s what everyone is saying.” Sonic turned away, waving a hand out to show Tails he didn’t want to argue about this.

“If those programmers didn’t salvage what they did… then that means I would be putting Amy at risk too. Just as much as the other Sonics are when they choose not to follow the old data— new data..?—Whatever data’s pathways!” He seemed to be getting upset, forming fists and holding them out in front of himself.

“I can’t imagine it… Being the sole reason Amy hurts…”

“Glitches aren’t exactly painful. They rewire the system. If there’s not a path or reaction to take, the system either freezes, crashes, or… becomes corrupted…” Tails lowered his ears, reaching out for Boom!Sonic, but pulling away to leave the topic at that.

“…Have you talked with her recently?”

“…”

“Are you too afraid too?”

“Pfft! Me? Afraid?” Sonic turned to look over his shoulder, shrugging his arms out and acting confident… before it faded instantly.

“I’m terrified.”

“You can’t hurt her though!” Tails raced right back up to his side, shifting to be beside his melancholy friend. “That data… the data that reacted so kindly to Classic Amy’s return… it only proves that you have the key to keeping her from glitching! You’re safe to be around, Sonic! I’m sure Amy feels the same way… she probably misses you too. You’re her friend!”

“Ha! With how my other mes are reacting!?” Sonic pointed to the virtual sky, gesturing to the outside and real world. “Tails, I think we all know where there headed.” He shook his head.

“They’re trying to protect their Amys and save them from the same fate as American Amy…” Boom!Tails tried to explain, before looking away and gripping his arm. “Look… you may think it’s strange… but I’m glad you’re able to have data that allows you and Amy to interact normally and how you should be like… it means… well, that the past actions of the Original Sonic won’t affect the future from here on out.”

Sonic looked back to Tails, “Tails…” his eyes bent a little.

“You’re never usually worried about drama or things like this… but I can tell that when disappearing and never returning are at stake… you really do care about all us. And I know that if you speak to Amy… you’ll realize that code is the key to healing everything that’s been happening around us lately. She may need as much comforting as you do, Sonic…”

“Comforting?” Sonic was about to make another comeback, just something to combat revealing so much feeling but…

He looked away, closing his mouth. “…Yeah. I should find her. You know, to make sure she’s holding up well with her Sisters and Mom all in array like this…” he rubbed under his nose, looking up as the computer’s cylinder rose up from the sand in black and green highlights.

“SONIC BOOM HEDGEHOG.”

“Identity confirm.” Sonic looked a bit annoyed, folding his arms.

“What do they want now?” Boom!Tails looked a little suspicious of its appearance as well, looking like it barged in on their ‘heart-to-heart’, or close to it, conversation.

“IDENTITY CONFIRM THROUGH IDENTIFICATION CODE.”

“Ugh.” Sonic let his head drop behind him before bringing it back up again and stating some digits with significant meanings.

“CONFIRMED. SONIC BOOM HEDGEHOG. MESSAGE FROM: AMY BOOM ROSE.”

“Woah! This thing can send text messages!?” Tails looked genuinely surprised.

Sonic’s eyes widened.

“REQUESTING PERMISSON TO OPEN?”

“Denied.” Sonic raced away.

“Hey!” Tails flew up, “Ohh… Why can’t I hear it too!?” he threw a mini-tantrum in the air, “SOOONNNIIICCC!!!” he called, but ended up giving up, deciding to tinker with his inventions and…

Suddenly gained an idea. “Heyyy…” in a wicked grin, he rubbed his hands together, snickering…

Sonic raced to the outside world, popping out and looking around the empty room to some manager’s private office.

He typed some things in the computer and the voice came back on, along with the green light.

“SONIC BOOM HEDGEHOG. YOU HAVE ONE MESSAGE. CONFIRM READ NOW. DENY READ LATER. ERASE ALL MESSAGES-“

“Confirm read now.” Sonic looked nervous… his eyes scanned the flowing words as they began to type up upon the screen…

“Dear Sonic,… I know a lot has happened between the other Sonics and Amys… okay, a whole lot! I mean, we were just born and now we’re being told we have some mysterious data that the Originals hid away and-???? Yeah, it’s messed up. But I’m really kinda happy about it… I mean, not about the other Amys glitching! Goodness, no! Gosh… Wait, are you still recording my words? Ah!!! No, delete, delete! Oh man… this is a disaster…”

Sonic smiled.

“Anyway, I just wanted to say that how you spoke to Classic Amy… the way you treated her… it was so gentle and kind. I’ve never seen that side of you. I mean, we’ve had only two games and then a television show b-but… I have noticed… how much… kinder you are than what the other Sonics seem to be like towards their Amys. Not that they don’t care about them! But I can’t help but feel we’re somehow… different. Not exactly closer, but able to be good friends and act like it, you know? Maybe that is closer… maybe I don’t know cause I live within our relationship and can’t see it from another’s perspective? I don’t even know if my code could… look, I’m worried about my Mom and Grandma… but the truth is… I honestly just want to be around you more. I want to learn what that new code is and see where it takes us. Opps, that sounded romantic. Backspace, backspace? Can’t I start over? Ugh! Stupid machine! BAM! Ugh! Stop recording! Okay, okay, fine! I don’t care how you take this! I just want to talk and feel safe! I’m…”

Sonic held his virtual breath in.

“I’m scared too… about the future. If Amys come out as threats to the company I… I just want to know I lived a really good life with you… you know? Okay, that turned morbid. Not that I’m going to die or anything! Okay, this is stupid, please turn off! Cancel! Operation over! Where is the Task Manager on this thing!?!? MESSAGE ENDED. WOULD YOU LIKE TO PLAY IT AGAIN? DELETE MESSAGE? REPLY TO MESSAGE-“

“Reply.” Sonic cleared his throat, placing both hands over on the sides of the computer, leaning his head down and trying to think of his words carefully…

“MESSAGE RECORDING IN 3… COUNTDOWN 2… BEEP.”

“…Dear… Amy.” He found himself pausing… and quickly tried to take a breath and just not stress over this so much…

What he didn’t see, was that a device was sent to the real world, and was hidden in the darkness of the room, under the table as it looked around a moment.

“Ehem… I know that a lot of talk about glitching and stuff is going on… but I want you to know something…” He didn’t want to tell her how scared he was too. That the unknown of what was befalling SEGA really did bother him. He wanted her to feel the safety she mentioned in the message. He wanted to help her know he wasn’t running from her with his tail between his legs…

“That just because other Sonics can’t seem to get a grip on their relations with Amy Rose…” He brought out that orange code, feeling it soar through his being and calm him…

It was… soothing, and he smiled at it. He didn’t know exactly what it was, but it was what assured Boom!Amy of her life, her future, and her very existence depended on him not rejecting it like the other Sonics did.

“That you will and forever always be… my friend.”

“BEEP-OP-REE…. I sincerely want you to trust me.”

“WHAT!?” Sonic flinched, moving back, “Is that..? UT!” he glared, looking below his feet.

“BEE-REE-OP… Stupid, Robot! Don’t spoil my heroic moment.”

“HEY!”

“I’m not happy that you’re revealing the words of which I so carefully planned to be concealing the truth of how afraid I am to admit I fear what no other Sonic has ventured to undertake.”

Sonic tensed up.

He was too afraid to speak further of what that could mean…

He turned to the screen, kicking UT into a trashcan as he wobbled in with robotic noises of discomfort.

“As I was saying…” a faint pink was barely noticed upon his cheek… “Let’s not run from the possibly of disaster.” He took courage… gripping the courage code as it soared in a river like line from his chest… “We don’t need to worry about a future that won’t ever be. We are different. We’re gonna be the example to all the Sonics and Amys out there! That whatever this code does to me… it’s meant to be specifically for you. And specifically, for how we’re supposed to be around together. How we can be around each other… Amy, I don’t want you feeling afraid. Not when there’s no reason to—so!” He reached through the computer, “So… Take my hand! Just…”

The computer seemed to fizz a bit.

“Trust me! And help me trust you! That no matter what, we’re gonna make whatever this is… work!”

A hand suddenly gripped his own.

“H-huh?” His eyes widened.

“MESSAGE SENT. USER AMY BOOM ROSE ONLINE. CHAT ROOM ENGAGED.”

“Wha..?”

He felt the hand… he could feel the texture of her data seeping through…

He rubbed his thumb a moment over it, feeling how loose it was from forming into her, and turned the hand to realize that it was waiting…

He grinned.

“Alright… I’ll pull you out then!” he tugged.

Boom!Amy came soaring out of the computer, causing the two to tumble to the ground in the dark office room.

Her eyes were full of blobby tears. “Did you mean it..? Do you really think we can be totally normal and not have to worry about all these scary glitching problems..?”

He was a little hesitant at first, but the orange code was still burning neon, and he smiled and put an arm around her, the other coming up to give her a thumbs up.

He winked, “I sure do. Let’s just have fun, Amy! No more crying… alright?” he looked a little troubled at seeing her so upset and took his thumb—still up and ready to do the job—to gently remove the tear.

The willing action of tenderness touched her, and she felt her heart skip a beat as her data reacted to his own…

She laughed.

Placing her forehead to his own, he nervously leaned away, before dipping into the intimate space and smiling as she laughed in relieved joy.

“BEEEEEEP-BOOP-BOOP… Let’s fall in love.”

(Sorry not sorry, it became Boom!sonamy >//n//

YOU CAN FIND THIS ON: Fanfiction: (x) DA: (x) Wattpad: (x) and Archive: (x)

[tumblunni]

What do you guys think about the names Dustin and Darcy for my protagonists in Let's Go?

Cos i really wanted to play the co op mode thing by myself, just so i can pretend this role in the plot is filled by two siblings and have a bit of fun roleplaying that. But i dunno yet how the co-op works and whether you'd be able to customize the avatar of the second player or if its just the default trainer? Or can you only play co-op if you have two separate games? Im planning to buy the other version anyway once i get more money, so it could be fun to play my first version with sibling one and then the second playthru is sibling two's turn to shine!

Oh and the whole reason i wanted to do this is cos i wanna try out the customization features to make some ocs now that there's no competitive online stuff unless you pay a subscription fee (LOL NO THANKS). Like..i always felt like i HAD to make my character me in xy/sumo/usum, otherwise its like lying online? But of course i cant actually make me because theres no nonbinary option or even remotely ambiguous outfits for either gender. And you cant have wild hair colours while i dye my hair 24/7 irl lol. Its silly cos like 95% of the gym leaders and other characters ingame have anime hair colours yet the player has to be normal? So yeah i cpuldnt really enjoy making this innacurate defanged version of myself yet i didnt feel like i was allowed to just make up a new character either. Closest i could do was give myself white hair like my old trainersona when i was 12, lol. I mean i guess thats my 'real hair colour' underneath the dye right now, if you think about it that way?

OH GOD PIKACHU CAN HAVE A LITTLE TUXEDO AND BOWLER HAT HOLY FUCK IM SORRY TO INTERRUPT THIS BUT I WAS WATCHING THE IGN REVIEW AND THEY SHOWED PIKA BOWLER HAT PLEASE GO GOOGLE THAT VIDEO JUST FOR THAT 1 SECOND OF NEW FOOTAGE OF MY BEAUTIFUL CLASSY BOYE

okay where was i

Yeah! I think sibling trainers could be a good and unique way to handle a rival! Like having them be your sibling already establishes that rivalry. But it can be a soft and nice rivalry! I wanna go with that fun version rather than the full on angry exaggerated sibling rivalries you often see in kids media. Like i know that some people legit dont get on with their siblings and some people can even have a very gary esque full on rivalry thats sorta 'love to hate' or like..tsundere pretending you hate them. But personally i never had experience with that, i can never relate to those 'tfw u hate ur sibling and theyre always an asshole but lolll u love them anyway' posts. I only got to live with my little sister for a little while due to the catastrophe of abusive parenthood that was my childhood, and i lost contact with her forever when she was very young so i doubt she'd even remember me. *sigh* But like i don't think i only love her so much because i miss her! People say newborns and toddlers are the most bratty so like you'd think if i was gonna ever find her 'annoying' i would have done it back then. I was always just mega proud of her and whenever she'd be 'bratty' i'd be cheering her on and trying to protect her from mom. And when she'd try and pull pranks on me or practise play-fighting or whatever i was just like 'lol thats legit funny' and taking play-falls so she felt better about herself. Like we didnt have much power in that household so i felt like encouraging her pretending to be a wrestler would help her feel like she had some sort of control in some part of her life i guess? And just i wished i was allowed to roughhouse and run around and be all 'unladylike' and just enjoy BEING A KID when i was a kid, yknow? I always had legit fun being with her and legit enjoyed it and was legit proud and legit never annoyed. I just dont understand 'yeah she's annoying but i love her anyway'. I was only ever her rival as a play-rival to help encourage her to like.. Enjoy the things she enjoyed. Feel like someone else cared. I only ever acted like 'ha ha baby stuff yeah sure i hate hanging out with my sister" cos i thought i was SUPPOSED TO. I always felt so guilty doing it and so dissappointed cos id rather hang out with her than be a boring stereotypical teen tbh. I dunno, maybe this isnt typical for siblings and its just a sign of how badly we were raised? I was just real fuckin lonely and absolutely loved having a family member who loved me for the first time since my grandma died. Same reason i always used to act all 'i am too cool i totally am not soft for my lil sister' around my lil sister's dad. I really wanted him to love me too! I used to say swear words at him cos i thougjt he would thibk i was Cool And Adult?? I have soooo many cringe moments from that phase of my childhood. Man it hurts to think that i never actually did get to become that positive influence that protected my sister from my mum and let her know she was loved. Cos i was sent to live with my dad when she was like 5ish? And never saw her again and now im too scared to try and reach out to her again because 1: she probably doesnt even remember me, 2: theres a chance she believes my mum saying i was some horrible asshole who abandoned the family, 3: even bigger chance that contacting her could mean my mum finding me again and big fuckin risk of further abuse. Plus the awkwardness of introducing my trans self when she'd remember me as her sister and all. Sigh! All i can do is hope that her cool dad eventually got custody of her, and that he didnt turn out to be a secret bastard like when i met my own dad. He seemed good, but then again i was just a lil kid and my dad seemed good at first. Sighhhhhh...

SO UMM YEAH WOW I MADE MYSELF SAD

Anyway the point is that whenever i write siblings i'd rather write 100% unapologetic super loving love cos its wish fullfillment for me. This is also why in/cest shipping is a massive beserk button for me, good wholesome family relationships are REAL FUCKIN IMPORTANT and how DARE you corrupt that shit! Some people would fuckin KILL to have that wholesome family!!

Anyway lol thats why i'd like a Wholesome Rivalry for these sibling ocs! Like they challenge each other to contests along the way just for fun, and they react all 'wow my sis is the BEST' when you beat them, so hard feelings at all. And you dont JUST do rival stuff but also sometimes just hang out and have fun cos you missed each other. And if anyone threatens your sibling then THAT is the only time you see the Serious Sibling Power! Rival moments: ha ha lol bet ya cant beat me ooo im a scary villain LOL I CANT KEEP A STRAIGHT FACE HAHA! Giovanni punches your brother: *stony cold death glare from hell as tricksy prank sis turns into an unstoppable vengeance engine* Oh, but also the only other time they'd be serious is in their final battle together! Like most of the 'rivalry' is just competing to make the adventure fun and to help each other get stronger. But if sis/bro ever actually legit said they really want to fight to find out who's the best, and its like..important to help their self confidence, then i think bro/sis would respect that and go all out. Taking a fall and letting them win would be the most disrespectful thing of all! Oh, but i do think there would be one kind of battle like that during the story? Like in one of the more low stakes faux-rival fights the sibling actually does try and let you win, and the challenge is to try and lose against all odds. High stakes super failure battle!!! Imagine the evil team in the background like 'wtf' as these two run the most aggressively slow race of all time! XD

Oh and i kinda thought about different personalities for the two of them based on who you pick? Like i did like that aspect about brendan/may in RSE compared to other 'unpicked option becomes rival' characters in later games that didnt even have one personality let alone two. It just sucks that the personalities they decided to give them were 'female rival is super self concious and thinks youre better than her because youre a boy' and 'male rival is super ego and thinks he's better than you because he's a boy'. Boooo!

So instead of that the personalities i was thinking for these two would be less sexist lol. Male sibling Dustin is basically Wally so far? I need to develop him a bit more to make him a bit distinct, i mean its not like every single shy dude is identical. I'm thinking maybe mix him with all the wasted potential in Brendan? Like in the game they slightly hint at him having the ONE non stereotypical trait of liking cute teddy bears, and that made me think about how much better his whole plot would have been if it actually criticized his sexism and said that he only behaves that way cos he's overcompensating for being bullied for being 'feminine', yknow? And then in the manga they actually DO write him as super feminine, and even as a contest star who loves fashion and dressing up his pokemon! But then GAHHH they present it as some sort of fuckin 'character flaw', like he's shown to be selfish and superficial because of it. And the backstory is that him and the female protagonist used to be 'normal' until a traumatic event. Brendan was a Natural Fighting Prodigy until he saved his female friend from a wild pokemon and was so traumatized that he never wanted to fight again, while she wanted to learn to fight so she'd never need to be protected again. But this is not only presented as Wrong Ways To Be Gender but also like.. Fighting their natural instinct which still comes through?? Like male protag hasnt fought in YEARS yet whenever he's forced to fight he's just magically better at it than female protag who's been practising all these years to become his equal. Ha ha silly girl you can never achieve that! All you get is this patronizing 'well if you just tryyyyy girly things im sure you'll like it' plot and then you get rescued by him in the end because OF COURSE you do. Sigh! I cant believe they made me hate that pairing even more than the games did! So yeah i dont really wanna write Dustin as a jerkass who's secretly got synpathetic motives of internalized homophobia/sexism, cos i feel thats a plot very specific to my perceptuons of Brendan and id basically just have to make Dustin a clone of him and he wouldnt be able to shine on his own merits. Instead i'm just thinking of writing him as a 100% sensitive soul, and he still faces predjudice for not being that bigoted idea of an 'ideal man' but really the fact he doesnt bow down to their demands proves that he's the bravest person here.

And then I'm thinking maybe the female sibling Darcy is the older one and is a bit "gary ish"? Like eitjer way you still have a friendly and loving siblingness, but she's a bit more of a sass who is tsundere about admitting she loves her bro. But i dont think she's the cold or grumpy sort of tsundere, more like a trickstery tomboy? Bombastic loki jock sis! She can only be a bit abrasive with her bro cos she wants to teach him to be tough even when she's not there to protect him. But sometimes she can mess it up and make him feel like he has to change his personality in order to be tough, rather than letting him know she supports him in being "unmasculine" and just wants to help him find the confidence to stand up to people who bully him for it. Like she feels like she is 'weaker' than him in the sense that she worries too much about what people will think if she expresses her real emotions, yknow? Like theyre both suffering from toxic masculinity! He's suffering from the standard form where men who are too 'soft' are beaten down into that mould. Ans she's suffering from the problem where 'masculine' girls feel like they have to be '100% masculine' in order to be allowed to be themselves at all. Like back when i was a kid and before i came out as trans i always used to try and pretend to like sports ans like..cliche macho shit where you Cant Admit You Care About Your Friends and also i wasnt allowed to like ANY feminine things at all. I had to either follow the stereotype of femininity entirely or follow the opposite stereotype, i wasnt allowed to just reject stereotypes and like what i actually like. So yeah me realizing i wasnt really a girl has led to me embracing more 'girly' things than back when i thought i was one! So i think Darcy would have a similar arc but like..the cis equivelant? Just finds people who arent such judgmental pricks and stops having to conform to either of those stereotypes in order to keep fake friends who dont really give a shit about her. She can have a plot about both forced feminine and masculine stereotypes being equally limiting, rather than that shitty 'being masculine is a prison uwu every woman will be happier embracing her love of makeup' shit. That dominant narrative just made me feel like i was somehow wrong about myself whenever i didnt like 100% Of Sports All The Time, i must be somehow girly if i liked even ONE girly thing yet i needed hundreds of proofs if i wanted to be masculine. And like i wasnt just allowed to be neither! I wasnt allowed to like parts of both! I wasnt allowed to BE GODDAMN TRANS!!! So yeah i dunno if i'd go whole hog and make this character a trans man or a nonbinary person tho? I think she's just actually a cis girl who happens to be sporty and brash and likes a lot of 'masculine' fashion and hobbies. And she's just been made to feel self concious about it, as if she cant possibly REALLY be that unless she likes Every Single Boy Thing and wins at Every Single Challenge. Does anyone else remember that shit too? The girls have to win Every sports game against the boys in order to be 'one of the boys' but if you lose even one of them it somehow proves that you're inferior. Even though the boys lost 50 billion games to you and that doesnt prove theyre inferior! Like man she has sooooo many 'gary rivals' in her school life, thats why she loves going on this adventure with a kind brother rival who actually respects her! So her resolution would just be her staying the same but being more confident about it and saying fuk u to those fake friends. Same as her brother's plot, just they both face different specifics to the way this sexism affects them, yknow?

Oh but yeah when i did finally learn about LGBT stuff and realize i was trans it was Big Amazing cos even in the rare stories about Its Okay To Be Yourself it still left me feeling weirdly empty when the girl decides that yes she does wanna be a girl in the end. So i get that these plots might come off as queerbaiting if i write them badly? I need to make sure to make it clear that these characters 100% want to be seen as this gender and its just other people being fuckfaces and trying to define what their gender has to mean. I think maybe i'll try and mitigate this potential misunderstanding by adding different sorts of lgbt content. And, well, also cos i just want lgbt content in all of my stories because i am lgbt, of course! I'm 100% sure that Darcy is gay, and i think also maybe possibly Dustin is trans? Like, his plot is about being mocked for being a 'feminine' boy, but its also even more personal for him because he's a trans boy and he feels like he needs to change his personality in order to pass/he isnt really real because his personality doesnt fit the stereotypical image of a man. Like if you'd looked at the two of them back when they were identical twins, you probably would have expected Darcy to end up being trans if you were the sort of person who believes those basic ass stereotypes about 'boys who play with barbies and girls who play with trucks'. Or i mean maybe its the other way around and Darcy is a trans girl who still has a 'masculine' personality according to stereotypes? Or even both of them are trans and both face being told that they arent real because they dont fit the perfect stereotype of a trans person according to cis perceptions? Or maybe i'm overcomplicating things with all of this and it'd just muddy the message i guess. I might just keep it to them both being cis but also both of them like girls. And i can always apply my trans and other LGBT headcanons to other characters along their adventure.

Anyway LOL im rambling too much!

[scattered0mind]

Missing Notes (Bucky Barnes x Reader one shot) [request]

A/N: Hello again! OMG THANK YOU ALL FOR THE WONDERFUL NOTES ON MY FIRST ONE SHOT I WAS JUST BLOWN AWAY. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL AND CRAZY AND THANK YOU. But this is my first request! I’m hoping I’m doing this right. Please give me feedback and send me request! I’m currently working on one or two one shots on my own but I love to hear from you guys. This is really fun! Thanks again! This is really long whoa.

warnings: fluff, mention of depression and anxiety, disability (dyspraxia)

disclaimer: I do not have this disability and I tried to write it to the best of my ability. I hope you all enjoy it. I also proofed read this like once so I’m sorry for like all my mistakes >.<

prompt: my request for an imagine is that I am really insecure about my dyspraxia and how I can't really do normal tasks like everyone else can, My hands tremor, and my muscles get tired very easy. (Irl I have such a hard time opening bottles and jars, (that's how weak my muscles are, but I work out) I don't want to talk to anyone and I stay in my room but Bucky manages to get me to talk to him about it and does something to show me that he loves me for who I am along with Steve Natasha and the rest of the gang.

BAM!

You don’t think you’ve ever jumped so high before. You turned away from the piano keys to look behind you. It was Sam, he was testing out his new drone and it happened to fly directly into a wall at full speed. He cursed as he ran across the room to get it, picking it up in pieces. You rolled your eyes and tried to get back to playing.

You didn’t understand why he was testing out his new drone in the middle of the common area of the base, you knew it was raining outside but there was also the training room that had higher ceilings. You knew Sam liked to pick on you even though sometimes you wished he wouldn’t. You knew he thought of you as a little sister and you have heard him tease his own sibling the same ways over the phone but sometimes you took what he said to heart. Like when you couldn’t pass the physical field test on the first try….or the second try…or the third. He teased you endlessly about it, probably thinking it would give you motivation but all it did was discourage you even more. You even asked Fury to be taking out field work and put behind a desk.

It wasn’t just because of Sam’s teasing. You had dyspraxia, a condition that prevented you from doing normal tasks sometimes and made you weak and tired. No one knew in the base but Fury and Hill. They needed an absolute reason why they couldn’t have in the field so you were forced to tell them. You were embarrassed by the condition. Who wouldn’t be when you’re surrounded by superheroes and enhanced beings constantly. But they were your family or at least the closest thing you had to it. So in order to stick around you settled for reviewing mission files and presenting research.

You looked down at the piano keys, spreading your fingers to hit the right notes. You played a few before you felt the tremor of your hand and the piano let out an awful note. You flexed your hand, hoping it would pass quickly but as you relaxed it gave a tremor again and you sighed, closing the piano.

“Something wrong?” Sam asked somewhere behind you. You looked over your shoulder and saw him trying to fix the drone before Tony found out from FRIDAY what he did to it.

“No, just got tired all of sudden. I think I might go to lay down.” You said. Sam nodded, watching you as you left the piano and walked into the hallway connected to the common area. You were upset and tired at yourself and just wanted to lock yourself away. What good was knowing how to play music if your own body didn’t allow you too.

Music was a huge escape for you. When you were feeling depressed or anxious it was a great reliever, something you had all to yourself. You felt yourself get more upset at the thought of it. You shook your head as you continued down the hallway to your bedroom. You were the last door on the left. Most of the Avengers lived on this floor with you, Wanda and Vision just started a room, letting Sam move into Visions old room, Steve and Natasha were across the hall from the each other and Bucky stayed across from your room.

You reach your door as Bucky comes out of his room. He smiled a little seeing you. He looked good as always. His long sleeve red henny shirt to cover most of the metal on his arm and dark jeans. His long hair was tucked behind his ears and away from his face.

“Hey Y/N.” He said lowly. You smiled slightly, brushing a loose hair away from your face, you felt it tremor again and clenched your hand, quickly tucking it into the pocket of your sweatshirt. Bucky eyes followed you as you did and you prayed he didn’t notice anything.

“Hey Buck.” You replied, dropping your eyes to the floor. You had a tiny crush on Bucky ever since he showed up on the base. He didn’t talk a lot and when he did it was always quietly. You often found him loitering around the tiny office you work in, reading whatever book Wanda picked out for him to read. You wish you had the nerve to ask him why he was always around the office when Steve and Nat were training or everyone was watching a movie in their down time before a mission. Sometimes you liked to think he was there because he wanted to spend time with you but you guys barely talked when he was there and it was mostly him asking some questions about a pop culture reference or your music (which gave you butterflies).

“You ok?” He asked. You nodded, shifting your eyes quickly to look up at him.

“Yeah, just tired might lay down for a little.” You said, gesturing to your door with your body. He looked at you, his blue eyes confused.

“It’s only 9 in the morning.” He said. “You feel ok?”

“Yeah I’m fine, just woke up too early.” You were lying through your teeth but how could you tell him about everything? It wasn’t like you thought he’d shun you or anyone else would do that but it was embarrassing and you didn’t want the pitiful stares or to be a hindrance on anyone.

Though sometimes you did need help.

And your crush on him would hurt even more if he knew. You already knew Bucky wouldn’t love you like you loved him but you couldn’t even daydream about it if he knew anymore. How could someone so perfect want someone who sometimes couldn’t even open a jar by themselves.

“See you later Bucky.” You said softly, opening your door and swiftly closing yourself inside, leaving a confused and worried Bucky staring at your door.

A couple of days later you were feeling better and your hand wasn’t giving tremors anymore. Though you haven’t really played the piano or any other instrument since then just in case. Though not playing was making you more depressed and Hill decided to unload a mass amount of mission files onto your desk. You could already feel the stress ulcer forming just by thinking of all of them. Other than that things were kind of normal, Bucky still hung around your office, though a lot more as of late, and you try not to blush too much now that he’s taken it upon himself to lean  over your shoulder to check on whenever you sighed.

You were typing up a report, when you felt your hand tremor again. You quickly tucked in against your person, flexing it a bit. You glanced at Bucky at the couch against wall, he was sitting hunched over, today he bought in a notebook and his tablet. Lucky he was writing something into the notebook occasionally looking at the tablet and tapping his pen against his knee. You went back to work, or at least attempted to. Every few words your hand would shake, and your eyes already felt like a desert just by staring at the screen for the past 3 hours. You sighed, scooting away from your desk and standing up. Bucky looked up finally after hearing you move. His blue eyes gazing over at you as he closed his notebook and darkened his tablet. Moving them to the side so he could rest his elbows on top of his knees.

“You alright? You look exhausted.” He said. You shrugged.

“Yeah I’m fine, though I might already consider middle age retirement by the time I finish this stack of files Hill gave me.” You complained, pulling your hair into a low bun, halfway through you felt you hand spasm. You winced, pausing but finishing putting your hair in the bun. Bucky was still staring at you and watched you with a raised eyebrow.

“I know it’s none of my business,” He started, looking down at his palms, the pen still in one as he hit it against his metal palm. You shifted uncomfortable not exactly liking where this conversation was going. You knew Bucky was observational and you couldn’t help but notice he was watching you more often these past few days since your guys encounter in the hallway.

“But are you okay? I know I’ve been saying that a lot but you just seem…not yourself.” He said softly, standing up and walking towards you. You crossed your arms over you chest, looking away from him and his all knowing blue eyes. “And I haven’t heard you play music lately.”

Again. You shrugged. You knew you were being closed off and distant. But you could feel the swell of panic in your chest. How could he possible understand what it’s like to be weak while your surround around all these amazing people. You’d rather just deal with everything on your own then admit it to them. You didn’t want to bother anyone, and you didn’t want anyone to feel obligated to help you. Especially if it came to Bucky.

“It’s fine, I just have a lot of work to do. And you’re distracting me.” You said harshly, looking him in the eyes. You immediately felt bad watching his face drop. He clicked his jaw, sighing while bringing his hands to cup your face. Your breath hitched.

“Listen, I don’t know what your thinking or feeling but I am here for you.” He said softly to you. His blue eyes sad with something else lurking behind them though you couldn’t place your finger on what. You nodded, looking away from him. In your experience, you knew everyone always said they were there. But when you finally took down a wall or two for them, they quickly distanced themselves from you. You didn’t want that to happen with Bucky.

“Thanks, I appreciate that but I’m fine.” You stepped back away from Bucky, grateful for the extra space now. He was so intoxicating. You wanted to lean further into and have him wrap his arms around and just spill everything little thing thats been eating away at you. But you couldn’t. “I just have to head downstairs to the basement, I need an old mission report to wrap up this one and Hill didn’t put it in the pile.”

You rushed out of your tiny office as Bucky opened his mouth probably offering to get it for you or at least come with you. Grabbing a sheet of paper with the report number on it before you left. You took took the elevator down to the last floor it went too and you knew you had to take the stairs to go all the way into the basement. After the destruction of SHIELD, most of the old files were of little use, especially when half of them was out on the Internet. Still Fury decided to leave the ones they did have on hand in what basically was a storage space under the training room.

The only problem was the stairs. You stared down the darken steps, biting your lip. It wasn’t the dark that scared you but you knew how physically demanding these stairs will probably be. You could already feel the exhaustion. You sighed, and started down them trying to breath easily and not freak out. You kept the entrance opening hoping the lights from the training room will lit the way for you because the last thing you need to do is fall down almost three flights of steps Finally getting to the bottom, your legs were shaking and your lungs were burning. You didn’t even want to look for the mission report, nor could you think properly about it. You sat yourself on the bottom stair and just existed in the dark and the dust. That nagging voice in your head repeating that this is where you belong in a superhero base. Forgotten about and useless. You tried focusing on playing a melody in your head, humming out the tune but your throat felt tight and your eyes burned with tears.

“Hello?” A voice said from the top of the stairs. You yelped, jumping up as fast as you could while wiping away the tears. “Anyone down here?”

“Yeah.” You replied meekly. It was Steve and you could hear him already making his way down before you answered him. You started looking for the mission report, hoping it looks like you were working instead of actually feeling sorry for yourself.

“Y/N? What are you doing down here?” Steve asked reaching the bottom of the steps. You were leaving through a box of reports, you shrugged in response.

“Working.” You said, keeping your eyes on the box.

“Uh huh.” Steve replied unconvinced. You heard him walk to the table you were at, picking up the paper with the number of the report you needed. “I can find this for you if you want.”

You started to object, but two seconds later he pulled out an old box on one of the higher shelves surrounding you two. He pulled out the report you need quickly, smiling as he handed it to you.

“I come down here sometimes, you know. I like to read Peggy’s old missions.” He admitted sheepishly. You couldn’t help but smile softly at that. You thought it was both wonderful and tragic that Steve still loved Peggy after all this time. They might not have been together for very long but love seemed to last through lifetimes…..and freezing cold water.

“Thanks Steve, but just so you know I could have done it myself.” You reiterated. Steve rolled his eyes.

“You sound like me before I turned into Captain America.” He said, crossing his arms and leaning against the shelves behind him. You rolled your eyes at him, opening the report to look over it.

“You were always Captain America.” You quipped.

“Not always, I was just a kid from Brooklyn too dumb to run away from a fight.” He said grinning, like he was remembering a time before all this super hero craziness. You stared at him for a second, blinking slowly. You turned back to the report, biting your lip as you hands shook a little.

“How did you do it?” You asked quietly. “Back then it must have been worse with everything.”

“I don’t know. I didn’t have much. I just had Bucky.” Steve took a step towards you, his blue eyes drilling holes into you. Seeing through you. You swallowed thickly. Then he said completely serious.

“He was with me until the end of the line.”

That night you sat in your room, thinking about Bucky and what Steve had said. Bucky had stuck with Steve in the 40’s. He looked after Steve, cared for him and never once complained. If anything Bucky complains about Captain America. But not Steve. Not the kid from Brooklyn. When you got back to your office Bucky wasn’t in there any longer. You finished up the some of the reports you had started before heading to bed, tired and feeling down you skipped dinner.

Getting back to your room, you didn’t attempt to play. You just laid face first in your pillow, face burning while remember how Bucky’s hands felt on it. His metal one was cool and smooth against your cheek and you could feel the roughness and callous on his flesh one. He looked good today too, wearing that a black t-shirt that was too tight for it to be appropriate and his hair pulled back into a low bun. You also thought about how open and honest he sounded today while trying to get you in return to be open and honest. It scared you obviously.

But you couldn’t help but feel the weight of everything ease when you even considered telling Bucky.

That was it. Bucky wasn’t going to judge you. He wasn’t going to feel obligated to help you or feel pity towards you. He didn’t with Steve and he wouldn’t with you. He already tried helping you, he would bring you lunch or reach the mug you wanted on the highest shelf. You caught him more than once telling off Sam for teasing you a little too hard.

You liked Bucky. And if you even wanted the chance for him to like you back you had to tell him. It was going to be the hardest thing, but it was the best thing. Getting off of your bed, you pulled on a oversized hoodie and went across the hall to knock on his door. You paused briefly with your fist raised to knock. You could hear the sound of a guitar on the other side of it. It was rough and the song kept missing notes but you liked it anyway. He was probably just listening to music, you thought knocking on his door.

You heard the guitar stop and him shuffle around in his room before he opened the door. You took a step back as it opened, not expecting him to look so…comfy. He was wearing a white tank top, showing off his metal arm and flannel pajama bottoms, his hair still wet from the a shower he took.

“Y/N! Hi!” His voice was high as he greeted you. You shoot him an odd look and he cleared his throat.

“Hi Buck, can I come in?” You asked. He nodded opening the door a little to let you in. Walking by him was torture, whatever soap he used smelled like heaven. When you were actually in his room, you noticed how bare it was and how everything was very mute colors. Looking around at the stack of books by his bed and the desk with a lone picture of him and Steve from a time you couldn’t ever know and an open notebook.

“I just wanted-” You started, turning around as he closed the door. You notice something against the wall. It was an old acoustic guitar. Bucky followed your eyes to it and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. You looked at him and grinned.

“So you were playing music in here. Actually playing it!” You exclaimed. You couldn’t help but be excited. You could talk about music for hours and to be able to talk to Bucky about it was just icing on the cake.

“Yeah I was….” He trailed off, keeping his eyes on the guitar.

“May I?” You asked, walking towards it before he could answer.

“Uh yeah, no yeah sure go ahead. I’d be honored.” You shot him a confused look as he rambled a little. You didn’t see the light blush adorning his cheeks as he watched you take it over to his bed. You sat down on the edge of it and strummed lightly against the strings. You couldn’t help but smile. Bucky took a seat right next to you. You played a little, both of you enjoying the comfortable silence excluding the sound of the guitar. You didn’t have to talk to Bucky all the time and you really enjoyed that. It was like the two of you just knew that this was enough.

And then you felt your hand tremor and the guitar let out an awful not. You stopped playing immediately, practically shoving the instrument into Bucky’s arms as he watched you concerned. Your face felt hot and the familiar sting of tears were in your eyes. You flexed your hand obsessively in front of you, keeping your face turned away from Bucky.

“Are you okay? What happened? What can I do?” Bucky asked, setting the guitar to the side and sliding close to you, taking your hand into his. You closed your eyes at the touch of smooth cool metal and rough hard working flesh. You felt the tears fall down your face as you finally turned to look at him, taken back about the deep blue his eyes were. The way he was looking at you made your heart beat hard in your chest.

“I-I have a condition.” You confessed quietly. “It’s called dyspraxia. It causes me to be very weak after the easiest things. I can’t even a jar by myself sometimes. It also causes my hand to tremor and-”

“Stops you from playing.” Bucky finished for you. You nodded, crying quietly. Bucky shifted himself bringing you so close that you were sitting on his lap. You head resting against his shoulder and he cradled you, rocking the two of you softly back and forth. He shushed you softly while you cried into his arms. You couldn’t stop to tell it was because you felt so relieved to have told him. That the familiar burn of embarrassment wasn’t there. You knew this was the right thing to do.

“You know-” He cleared his throat and you could have sworn you felt his heart beat a little quicker. “You know I actually noticed you not playing. I use to listen to you play the piano or your guitar all the time. Sometimes I could hear you sing from my room. And when you stopped, I uh, I missed it.” You stayed still against him, listening to him talking.

“And I knew something was going on and I also knew you loved music. So I thought that if you didn’t play I would. So I was learned guitar or tried to I’m not very good at it really. I even tried writing a song. Sam said it was dumb but Steve-” You lifted your head before throwing your arms around his neck. You hugged him so tight and you felt him chuckle as he wrapped his arms around your torso.

“Thank you Bucky. I just- I knew I had to tell you.” You whispered.

“Well, I’m glad it was me.” He replied, kissing the side of your head as you two stayed there locked in an embrace neither of you wanted to get out of.

“Actually, I’ve been meaning to ask you-” Bucky said, pulling the two of you apart so he could lean back and look at you. You smiled at him softly and he smiled back letting out a breath.

“Steve is having an art show soon. And- And I wanted to ask you” He explained shyly. “Would you want to go?”

You laughed and nodded, “I’d be honor to be your date.” You said, smirking a little. Bucky rolled his eyes, a blush blooming on his face.

“I actually like that sound of that.”

[fearofaherobrine]

Roleplay Server Log #272

“Cp vs Karla, Zly Memories. Rock Candy, Ohana and Hg”

[TLOT] Settles on the floor and looks for Cp mentally-

[CP] Feels the brush against his own mind and tries to throw up some barriers-

[TLOT] Speaks to him directly - why so tense?

[CP] - Where did she go?

[TLOT] She stepped out for a moment to deliver something irl. She'll be back shortly.

[CP] - If it were just a delivery, she'd be back by now...

[TLOT] She might have stopped to chat, they are friends of a sort.

[CP] Frowns- Who did she go to?

[TLOT] She's gone to see Ever.

[CP] Brief flashes of what happened last time she was over there as he franticly creates an opening-

[Karla] Has gone back to her sewing

[Ever] Went to the kitchen to make tea and happens to be walking through the central room where the tree is-

[CP] Comes out of the computer rather quickly-

[Ever] Makes a strangled squeak-

[CP] Scowls at him- Where is my mate?

[Ever] Terrified- In the bathroom!

[CP] Goes down the hallway, looking for the bathroom-

[Karla] hears his heavy footsteps and opens the study door to look-

[CP] Small growl at Karla-

[Karla] Ah, it's you again. Hello tall dark and murderous.

[CP] - Go fuck yourself

[Karla] Leans on the doorway languidly- Ah, but it's much more fun with friends.

[CP] - I don't need you doing anything

[Karla] Are you sure? I think we could have an interesting discussion at least. - she looks him slowly up and down- I know another dom when I see one.

[CP] Eyes narrow at Karla- I'm going to go get my wife

[Karla] I see... So driven, and a little insecure? Not sure how to take a compliment either? You're a very interesting man Mr. Herobrine.

[CP] - She's one of the only things I have

[Karla] Ahhh... another lonely soul. Sometimes it's enough to have just one, who understands, isn't it?

[CP] His expression softens a little- Yeah...  Now if I could just get sex back on the fucking table

[Karla] How can it be off? I can see what she likes, and it's just as obvious that you're capable of giving it to her.

[CP] - Don't know, but she's being more stubborn than usual and griefing far more than usual

[Karla] Sounds a bit... hormonal. What's been going on with her lately? Midlife crisis perhaps?

[CP] - Ovaries reforming, being deleted, me just getting into general shit again...

[Karla] She's fertile then... even in a digital existence? How curious... - Her eyes narrow- If you ever need anything smaller... deleted, I have experience in that area. As for you, I can see your journey to this point has been long and painful. You fear losing her, it's plain in everything from your posture to the lines under your eyes.

[CP] - Yeah well Doc can do the same shit too.  And she was originally human plus we have physical forms...

[Karla] Her expression is wry- Always good to have experienced doctors around... Just offering.

[CP] - Whatever, I usually find your type more annoying then anything else

[Karla] Doctors? Or Doms? Or maybe just strong women in general?

[CP] Scowls and starts moving on to find his wife-

[Karla] Gets in his way for a moment, she lets her breath fall on the bit of skin showing in the triangle of his shirt and takes a deep draught of his scent before gliding out of reach again-

[CP] Quickly moves away from her, unsure about what she had just done-

[Karla] If it weren't for the eyes... I might not know the difference... but I can tell when you're close. You smell like a man, but the illusion fails at the finger-width. I smell hell on your skin and clothes. You are fire.

[CP] - I'm a fire based brine, just as Lie is more nature like, besides, the eyes can be hidden

[Karla] And what base is your 'doctor' friend I've heard so many interesting things about?

[CP] - Lightning

[Karla] Rather creepy smile - and are they as handsome as you?

[CP] - Fuck no, crazy ass bastard of a bitch

[Karla] Laughs despite herself and then gives him a knowing look - Not good with admitting you have friends either... who hurt you so badly Cp?

[CP] - None of your business- There are brief flickers mentally

[Karla] Catches the flashes but doesn't get all the details - Father troubles... it's always hardest when the ones we put our trust in... can't be trusted.

[CP] - It was an imposter, and they turned my brother against me as well

[Karla] A pity, but I suspect you would not be standing before me now if it hadn't happened. We play with the hand we've been given in life. - she turns sideways and the thin cloth of her shirt shifts to show more of the sun-shaped scar that's covering the heart side of her chest.

[CP] - That we do, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to fight it with every fiber of my being

[Karla] I like your spirit. I even think we could be friends, perhaps. I suspect we have more in common then you realize. - there's the faintest sound of leather as she streches her fingers.

[CP] Scoffs- I have no interest in that

[Karla] I wasn't suggesting anything sexual... - She waves a hand in front of his face and there's the faintest smell of blood - I promised to be good. It doesn't mean I always wanted it to be that way.

[CP] Scowls and begins walking again-

[Lie] Has fallen asleep in the tub-

[CP] Finds the bathroom and opens the door.  His expressions soften again when he see's his wife sleeping- Well, I suppose everything she did today would be exhausting for her...- He moves, grabbing a couple towel and blatantly ignoring the sex toys in the cupboard before waking Lie up

[Lie] Makes little noises as she wakes- CP?

[CP] - Come on, time to get dry- He offers the towel and watches as Lie sleepily dries herself off

[Lie] - Guess I didn't realize how tired I was...

[CP] - It's understandable, you had a lot of adrenaline going through you today

[Lie] Reaches for the robe-

[CP] - Why are you grabbing that?

[Lie] - Ever said I could borrow it

[CP] - Lie...  You can turn into a cat...

[Lie] - ...

[CP] - You forgot, didn't you?

[CP] After a few moments he's coming back down the hallway with Lie curled up in his arms in her feline form and her clothes in his inventory-

[Karla] Is leaning on the wall watching him and cocks her head curiously -

[CP] - She has a feline form as well

[Karla] She's quite lovely like that. A blue ribbon feline to be sure.

[CP] - Yeah yeah, so everyone says

[Lie] Stretches her leg out to pat CP's arm to tell him to settle down-

[Ever] Comes out of a room at the other end of the hallway and lets out an audible - AWWWWW

[Karla] Chuckles

[CP] - We'll be going then

[Karla] With my blessings then. I hope she had a nice bath, she was in there for quite some time.

[Ever] Lets out a small laugh, his cheeks pink.

[CP] - She fell asleep

[Ever] Suuuure.

[Karla] Puts a finger in the silver ring on the front of Ever's collar - now, now. There's no accounting for taste, really.

[CP] - She's not used to all the fighting she did today, it wore her out

[Ever] Looks crestfallen and a bit embarassed - Sorry about that...

[CP] - I'm just mad I couldn't get to her before she got all the blood washed off of her...

[Lie] Her ears flatten a little-

[Ever] Well it was zombie blood after all. That stuff has to be pretty gooey and rank...

[CP] - I would have tossed her in the lava

[Lie] Tail swishes a bit angrily-

[Ever] That's harsh.

[Karla] She looks a bit annoyed....

[Lie] - I am

[Karla] Perhaps you should take your lovely wife home before any further... difficulties happen.

[CP] - I'm going, I'm going

[Lie] Purrs a little-

[CP] Makes an opening and goes through back to the server-

[Lazur] - humming happily, glad to have her voice back, goes in search of Zly. She hears a guitar being played softly. The melody is slow and rich, and achingly sad. Despite this she smiles and follows the sound.

[Zly Wilk] Sitting on a tree stump, playing the slightly beat up guitar he keeps in his inventory

[Lazur] approaches from behind and leans down - hey. - she says softly behind him, making the brine jump and stop the melody with an abrupt crash of notes.

[Zly Wilk] -Oh! Hey... You got your voice back! Did you figure it out on your own or....

[Lazur] - looks slightly embarrassed - No.... I.... Took your advice and got some help from the Doctor.

[Zly Wilk] That's wonderful... Say, I'm wondering if there is anything we can do to help our new friends... We've been on the other side of deletions before.

[Lazur] I don't know, Zly... I'm not too sure i want these folks knowing what we did before. They're pretty accepting, but we have a lot to atone for.

[Alexsezia] Was hunting and hears them talking. She sneaks close and listens from a hidden vantage point-

[Zly Wilk] - nods - There was a time we were no better than those older generation NOTCHs... How ironic we would become glitches ourselves... Almost as if we were being punished for our sins.

[CP] Comes out of the portal not to far from where Zly and the others are, thinking he and Lie would be alone that far out-

[Alexsezia] Her face crinkles with worry and she feels a little stab of sadness for the way she used to think of glitches herself.

[Zly Wilk] - frowns down at the old guitar and sighs - I still see it in my dreams you know... I thought i could save him. He looked up to us, and I let him down.

[Lazur] - puts a hand on his shoulder - That was NOT your fault. Eset was always too rash. He shouldn't have gone up against something so powerful. And in the end we beat it.

[Zly Wilk] -scowls- Yes, but at what cost? I lost a bit of myself there... When We pulled that thing apart pixel by pixel... I almost enjoyed making it suffer.

[Lie] She perks her ears a little, hearing faint voices- CP...  That way...

[Alexsezia] Draws a quick breath in shock-

[Lazur] - bitterly - maybe that isn't such a bad thing. After how many systems it corrupted, the lives it took... The friends WE lost... Why not get some satisfaction from the kill?

[CP] Approaches silently-

[Alexsezia] Leans against the tree, her feelings in turmoil.

[Zly Wilk] Because deep down, that isn't who we were. We devoted lifetimes to helping those in need... Even at our worst.

[Alexsezia] Forces herself to stand and decides to go tell Doc and TLOT what she's heard, as she turns to go she walks straight into Cp and lets out a yelp of suprise-

[CP] Can't help a small snicker-

[Lie] Sighs-

[Lazur] I don't buy that, Zly. We spent a good long time in the revenge business, and we had our fair share of innocent blood on our hands.

[Alexsezia] Huffs at Cp- How long have you been standing there?!

[CP] - Not long, we just got back

[Alexsezia] Thumbs at the pair- I'm not sure what to think...

[CP] - What about them?

[Alexsezia] They... they deleted someone.... it sounds like they deserved it, but still... - She hugs her arms around her chest -

[CP] Growls and kinda thrusts Lie at Alexsezia-

[Lie] Surprised noise-

[Alexsezia] Barely manages to catch Lie without them both falling -

[Zly Wilk] - doesn't see the others but motions Lazur to be quiet. Listens for a moment and signals Lazur to be ready to move out.

[CP] Skirts around to get behind them-

[Alexsezia] Hugs Lie a little - I used to think ugly things about brines and glitches both... I'm ashamed of that... And now I'm ashamed to be scared because so many of my friends are like that...

[Lazur] - is suddenly on high alert and equips her armor. - Zly.... I don't think we're safe here anymore....

[Lie] Pats her with a fluffy paw- It's okay, at least you had a better introduction to them then I did

[Alexsezia] Pales visibly - That's saying a lot... I did get my best friend raped after all...

[Lie] - ...  Okay fair point

[Alexsezia] I hope Cp doesn't do something dumb...

[Zly Wilk] - equips his staff but keeps it low - Time to go then...- Starts walking generally toward where CP is.

[CP] Lunges forwards with his sword aimed at Zly's heart-

[Zly Wilk] - Deftly side steps and pivots to avoid the blow and sighs in resignation. - Not now, CP.

[CP] Growling and catching on fire-

[Lazur] - moves so she and Zly are back to back, thinking the server is against them and defending against any other attackers. -

[Zly Wilk]- at CP- I don't want to fight you... I don't know if I can keep my powers in check right now.

[CP] Lunges again and at the last second teleports so he can hit Zly's back-

[Lazur] - uses the forearm shield of her armor to deflect the blow. She seems much more eager to fight than her companion -

[CP] Scowls- Fuck off!

[Lazur] Not a chance! - the two stay back to back attempting a retreat away from the big Brine -

[Alexsezia] Comes out a bit panicked and still holding Lie - Stop! Please don't! We've had so much tradgedy... I can't bear to see anyone deleted... Please... just stop.... - A few tears roll down her face-

[CP] Moves to just shove Alexsezia-

[Alexsezia] Holds Lie close to her body. Instinctively protecting the cat-

[CP] Goes in for the attack again-

[Alexsezia] Puts Lie down and draws her bow. It has some small enchantments on it, but it's ordinary otherwise. -

[Lazur] - takes a glancing blow that draws blood. She falls, wiping the blood from her arm and grins. -

[Zly Wilk] - steps up to protect his fallen partner. -

[CP] Slashes at Zly next, his eyes glowing brightly-

[Alexsezia] Aims at Cp and shoots him in the knee with a plain arrow-

[Zly Wilk] - brings the staff up one handed with a resounding crack like thunder, the impact of the weapons seeming to spark a blaze of yellow energy around him. His glitched eye blazes. He speaks in a voice much deeper than his normal range. - ENOUGH!!!!! LAZUR. PACIFY.

[Lazur] - concentrates and suddenly CP is immobilized in a column of blue energy. Unable to move or speak.

[Zly Wilk] - strides up to CP and roars - YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHO YOU ARE MESSING WITH, BRINE.  I ONCE COMMANDED THE POWER TO LAY WASTE TO ALL BEFORE ME. TO MY FOES I WAS THE REAPER. THE ONCOMING STORM. I LAY WASTE TO WORLDS, SCATTERED CIVILIZATIONS TO THE WIND AND CAST THE WICKED INTO THE BLACKNESS OF DISCORDIA. DO NOT THINK FOR A MOMENT I CAN BE INTIMIDATED. - he adds his own energy to the field and CP feels a tingle through his body.

[Lazur] - is startled by Zly's outburst and reverts back to a formal form of address - Sir. You need to stand down!

[Zly Wilk] - growls and stares at CP, his hands hooked into claws.  before blinking and looking at the expressions of those around him-

[Alexsezia] Points the bow at Zly instead- You leave him alone!

[Lie] Is growling at Zly her black thorny vines creating a wall around the area-

[CP] Is also growling at Zly-

[Zly Wilk] - a look of horror passes over his face and his energy blinks out like a snuffed candle. He drops his staff and it despawns. - No.... Not again. I will never be that again.... Lazur... Release.

[Lazur] - lowers her forcefield and steps back.

[Alexsezia] Lowers the bow a little. - I may be small and weak, but I won't stand by and see anyone bullied.

[Zly Wilk] - doesn't respond. Is staring a thousand miles away -

[CP] Lands a bit hard on the ground- Fucker!

[Alexsezia] Puts the bow away and goes to him. She's too small to help him up, but she does pull the small arrow out of his leg - Sorry Cp...

[CP] Scowls and is glaring at Zly-

[Lie] Trots over to her husband and rubs against him, trying to calm him-

[Zly Wilk] - sinks heavily to his knees -

[Lie] - Zly...  What was that about?

[Alexsezia] Sits as well, next to Cp with a jingling of her chainmail as she plops down, her pulse still racing.

[Zly Wilk] - is looking down at his hands and appears not to have heard her. -

[Lazur] - steps over to Zly and puts her hands on his shoulders - Lie....Recent events... with CPs NOTCH, what he did to you both. It brought up memories of a very dark time in our existence. Something we tried to bury. Zly and I once used to serve a similar function to the NOTCH AIs that would hunt brines... But we hunted down malicious programming, fixed glitches. One program destroyed the server we were to protect. We ended up chasing it through several servers and systems, gaining powers to fight it. ultimately we suceeded, but not before we lost a lot of friends... And a brother in arms.

[Alexsezia] ... I don't know what to think... I'm just scared for my friends...

[Lie] - I see...  But why did that cause him to attack CP like that?  I mean yes I know my husband is an ass and will fight at any opportunity, but still...

[Lazur] Zly and I did try to back off... When CP pressed the attack, it must have triggered a flashback. Zly was already dealing with nightmares of that night... I hadn't seen him talk like that since the night we lost our friend Eset. I'm sorry... It's no excuse...

[Alexsezia] He's been hurt too... He's trying to be better...

[Lie] - You know, if there's any part left of him, Doc might be able to bring him back

[Lazur] -to Alexsezia - It was probably a blind panic... Fight or flight.... But despite what you saw or felt, the full range of our powers don't work here.

[Lazur] -to lie- do you really think the Doctor can help?

[Lie] - Well they did recently bring a Steve back from partial coding...

[Alexsezia] Is petting Cp's hair distractedly, mostly because she can reach him [And she's used to him being a cat sometimes]

[CP] - The fuck are you doing!?

[Alexsezia] Jumps a little - Sorry! - waves her hands vaguely - you know.... cats!

[CP] Narrows eyes at her-

[Alexsezia] I said I was sorry!

[Lazur] Sadly I don't know where we would get any of his coding. He was killed on the server we had to burn to keep the Mal from spreading.

[Lie] - I'm sure they'd be willing to try.  I'm also willing to bet that CP attacked because you were talking about deletions

[CP] Flips Alexsezia off-

[Lie] Tail twitches in irritation at her husband's antics-

[Alexsezia] Reaches for Lie -

[Lie] Purrs a little as Alexsezia touches her-

[Zly Wilk] - shutters -

[Lazur] I'd like to get hir opinion. Maybe it can be done.

[Alexsezia] Pulls Lie into her lap and pets her unhappily. - I've seen amazing things since coming here... I don't there's much of anything that's impossible anymore.

[CP] Starts standing up-

[Lazur] - helps Zly to his feet - I think we'll head to the castle to see Doc.

[Zly Wilk] - reluctantly stands, but refuses to look at anyone in shame -

[CP] Looks down at Alexsezia holding his wife and just reaches down and picks them up by the scruff of Alexsezia's clothes-

[Alexsezia] Startled noise-

[Lazur] Sorry for the trouble we caused. Hopefully won't happen again. - waves to group as they head off -

[CP] Looks down at the Alex- I'm only doing this because TLOT would have a conniption fit if I left you alone or here in this sort of condition

[Doc] Is working in hir lab while Yaunfen plays. The table is covered with glassware, sugarcane and balls of string.

[Yaunfen] Is it ready yet Mada?

[Doc] Not yet. I'm still figuring this out... - Xe has hir command block open to a webpage and is reading it carefully-

[Yaunfen] Goes to bother Idolus, xe's drawing mustaches and silly faces on the glass with a dye blob whenever the big fish stops moving for a moment.

[Lazur] - over chat - Doc. Are you busy?

[Doc] Yes, but it's nothing intense. I'm okay to talk. I'm in the lab-

[Lazur] Ok. Be there soon. - shows up moments later with a morose looking Zly trailing behind.- Hi Doc. Thanks for seeing us.

[Doc] Oh hey guys - Xe's gently tipping sugar into a rather pixelated beaker.

[Yaunfen] Hello!

[Idolus] Very aggravated guardian noises from behind a painted mustache and glasses-

[Doc] Squeaks a stopper into the bottle and watches it intently- Something on your minds?

[Lazur] Well..... It was mentioned you have had success bring people back from.... - looks to see if the young dragon is listening - you know...?

[Yaunfen] Notices her reticence and scoots closer-

[Doc] Cocks hir head interestedly- From the dead?

[Lazur] - nods - we had a friend that we lost during the mission that led to us being here.

[Doc] Lost how? I mean, how did they die?

[Yaunfen] is watching the glassware now since the stoppered bottle is bubbling-

[Zly Wilk] - barely a whisper - I let him die.

[Lazur] He was killed fighting a Mal... A malicious program we were trying to stop.  It surprised us and our friend got run through from behind with a spike and took the Mal with him over a ledge.

[Doc] So there's a contamination risk with the remains... if they can be found... It's probably do-able but will require some quarantine procedures in addition to the usual.

[Yaunfen] Pokes the bottle - Mada? It's hard?!

[Doc] Looks down- Well then... That's a bit more then I intended. - The bottle seems to be filled with ice now, but there's no sweating or cold coming from it.

[Lazur] It was also on the server we 'burned'... So there is a chance we may not get on at all..... - looks at the bottle- What.... What IS that?

[Doc] Mostly sugar-

[Yaunfen] Can I have it?!

[Doc] No, let me try again with a bowl sweetie. I don't want you to eat the glass. I don't trust myself not to miss a pixel or two if I melt the bottle off and it won't come out-

[Yaunfen] Sad face-

[Doc] Gives hir a look- Just give me a moment.

[Yaunfen] Okay Mada...

[Doc] Who did the server belong too? - Pulls out a wooden bowl and pours it full of water and sugar-

[Lazur] We never knew the User... We were called in by the server's security programs when they got over run. It was am old EnCom server. Rigged for online use. So I'm guessing it was used for something shady considering how easily they were taken over.

[Doc] A deep web Minecraft server...? What an odd thought... Do you have information on it? An address number at least? I can do some research.

-The liquid in the bowl has started bubbling-

[Doc] Stay back Yaunfen, you guys too... -

[Zly Wilk] - moves out of the way-

[Lazur] - stands back- Yes. Here is the info you will need. We were in the server program itself. While some servers imbued with magik can manifest like Flux and Deerheart, some basic, older servers and mainframes were more like a grid or a city with different games and functions as a destination.

[Doc] That should work. I'll see if I can find a saved file anywhere for it. The person I'm looking for is a server manifestation?

-There's a sharp FUMP noise and the bowl is suddenly overfull with a growth of clear crystals-

[Doc] Thats more like it!

[Zly Wilk] - jumps at the noise, still clearly spooked.

[Lazur] - places a reassuring hand on Zly - No, a digital being similar to Zly and myself. Here... Take this. It's a copy of our ID icons. The being you are looking for will have similar code. - hands Doc a small black and yellow badge. At higher resolution it would appear to be a round disc with a dual colored square in the middle.

[Doc] Takes the badge and turns it over in hir hands - I see...

[Yaunfen] Mada, can I have it now?

[Doc] Me first, just in case.

[Yaunfen] Aww...

[Doc] Melts off a bit of crystal and eats it - hmmmm... So what was your friends name anyway?

[Zly Wilk] Eset.

[Lazur] - smiles at Zly, happy he seems to be coming around.

[Zly Wilk] Doc. Is it right to bring someone back? Will they remember their death? I let the boy fall... I failed to protect him. How do i explain that betrayal?

[Doc] Hir mouth is a flat line for a long moment. - My exposure to religious stuff has been pretty miniscule and recent. I think I'm the wrong person to ask. - xe shrugs- I'm a doctor. My chosen or intended purpose is to save what can be preserved and fix whatever broken things fall into my hands. I'll leave the right or wrong to other people. Maybe you could talk to Liu? See what he remembers? His own brother murdered him and he was dead for a long time before I revivied him.

[Yaunfen] Can I have it now Mada?!

[Doc] Yes! I'm sorry sweetie, go ahead-

[Yaunfen] YAY! - They grab the bowl in their paws and start to lick and nom on the crystals with gusto.

[Lazur] - gets face to face with Zly, gently but firmly says - You. Are. Not. To. Blame. You want to work at righting past mistakes, I can't think of better than giving Eset a new chance at a life.

[Zly Wilk] - looks away and watches the dragon devour the rock candy -

[Doc] I'll get right on this in the meantime, and let you know what I find.

[Yaunfen] Happy nomming-

[Lazur] Thank You. I think I'm going to get Zly to rest. We had an.... Um.... exciting afternoon... I'm sure Lie or Alexsezia will fill you in later.

[Doc] No one is using the recovery room by the tub or the one next to the blaze cage at the moment. - points at both of them in turn.

[Lazur] Thanks. - leads her friend to the recovery room by the tub. She lays him down in one bed then takes the other and are soon both asleep.

[CP] Drops Alexsezia in front of her house- Can I have my wife now?

[Lie] - CP don't be rude

[Alexsezia] Shakes her head to clear it a bit - Yeah... sorry. Here - she holds Lie out gently- I think we both over-reacted a bit...

[CP] - I don't know what your talking about

[Ohana] - Exploring the woods in server,  pausing to feel the trees and leaves periodically-

[HG] -is walking around near by watering flowers and mushrooms he sees-

[Ohana] So... Different... -hasn't noticed Hg yet-

[HG] -sees ohana from afar and starts to approach him-

[Ohana] - notices HG and tenses up out of habit-

[HG] -waves in a friendly matter- hello it's nice to meet you

[Ohana] H... Hi....

[HG] Are you ok?

[Ohana] I don't... Know. I'm.. Better than I was before..

[HG] that's good that your better. oh right my name is Herobrine the gardener or HG for short.

[Ohana] It's, nice to meet you, I'm Ohana... Oh! I'm not... Um, in your space am I?

[HG] oh no I just like to walk around and water plants.

[Ohana] That's good, I'm glad I'm not. - meek smile -

[HG] even if you where I don't mind visitors

[Ohana] Are you.. Sure? I'd hate to intrude...

[HG] I am completely sure

[Ohana] -smiles a bit more, happy and glad- Alright.

[HG] if you would like I can show you to my place and see around we aren't that far from it

[Ohana] I'd like that! If its.  Not any trouble of course!..

[HG] none at all follow me -starts leading the way the trees open up eventually to see some the path that leads to hg's house-

[Ohana] - follows HG closely, pausing again to touch things and marvel at the different textures -

[HG] you like feeling things how come? -they are following the path they are passing lots of trees and a small lake and steps and are closing in fast to hg's house so much so you can see though the trees some of the sugar cane that lines the river of hg's home-

[Ohana] I um.. - nervously clenches his wrist, scratching a bit - I was..  Locked in a bedrock cage. I... I didn't get to feel much but that and glowstone... I.. I'm enjoying it a lot.

[Ohana] The different feelings are nice.

[HG] i'm sorry I brought up that painful memory i'm sorry you where locked in there -they make it to the bridge that goes over the river it's make of logs and has a roof of leafs and is covered in vines beyond the bridge hg's house can be seen and some of the large amount of plants even floating islands that have plants on them-

[remembertae]

Brockmire “Road Trip”

(Photo: IFC)

S1 E6, May 3, 2017

WRITTEN BY: Amanda Sitko

SYNOPSIS

Minor League baseball team owner Jules James and her not-so-serious boyfriend/ballpark announcer Jim Brockmire are hanging out at the small town bar she owns. She can’t believe that after so many years of taking great care to not get pregnant, she is now knocked up. Fetus father Brockmire is ready to fork over cash for an abortion, but Jules isn’t sure that’s what she wants He fully acknowledges the choice is hers, but asks for some odds. She says she’s 60/40 in favor of having the baby, which surprises him. She asks him to seriously consider whether or not he could be a dad.

While playing a game of catch with his teenage assistant Charles, Brockmire asks the young man, “You think I’d be a good father?” Charles quickly responds, “You would be a terrible father, don’t do that.” Meanwhile at the bar, Jules quietly asks the (unnamed) bartender if she’s ever had an abortion. The young lady responds that she has, and relates a rather frank and disturbing story about having to travel long-distance to Pittsburgh for the procedure, where she encountered violent protesters; however, she asserts that she regrets nothing. Jules reveals she is pregnant, but when she starts getting into personal details, the bartender encourages her to call a friend instead.

Jules later visits her friend Diana, a mother of three. Diana is excited for Jules’s pregnancy, telling her this is her “sign” that she’s ready to let go of the past and settle down. When Diana’s youngest wakes up crying, mom encourages an uncomfortable Jules to hold the baby.

We then see Brockmire seeking more advice from baseball player/father-of-thirteen Pedro Uribe, who speaks glowingly of fatherhood. When Brockmire sees Jules later, he’s excited about the prospect of raising a kid. But when Jules tells him she definitely wants an abortion, he heaves a sigh of relief and thanks God. The two make plans to visit a clinic in Pittsburgh.

Jules and Brockmire meet with an abortion provider, who is put off by their relentless snarky joking. When the doctor explains that Jules qualifies for a medical abortion, she bristles at the thought of swallowing a pill and asks if she can snort it instead. The doctor tells her to please refrain from making cocaine references in his presence. He asks her to ingest the mifepristone right away and the misoprostol later. When she takes the first pill, much slapstick-y gagging ensues, but she does eventually swallow it.

Later at the hotel, Jules and Brockmire are ready to “pre-game” her abortion. While she mixes drinks in the bathroom, he snorts a couple lines of what he assumes to be coke but, alas, he has unwittingly snorted her misoprostol. They meet with the frustrated doctor again. He imagines Brockmire might experience some of the same symptoms Jules will experience when she aborts, but can’t say for sure since this hasn’t happened before. He gives Jules another pill, and again she gags multiple times before actually swallowing it.

The next morning, Brockmire and Jules lie in bed, both wrecked from a rough night of medical abortion symptoms but otherwise relieved. She thanks him for being so thoroughly supportive throughout her brief pregnancy. She says she wants something positive to come out of this situation. Later we see that they’ve invited all thirteen of Uribe’s children to town so they can see their father during baseball season.

KEEPING IT REAL QUOTIENT

I don’t care much for this show, but there’s a lot to love about this abortion episode. For starters, I really dig Jules and Brockmire’s dynamic throughout the story. This is how I imagine pro-choice grown-ups dealing with an unplanned yet not entirely unwelcome pregnancy. Though not necessarily a maternal figure, it makes sense that Jules — an entrepreneur who’s aggressively promoting this sleepy small town’s baseball team — could see herself tackling motherhood with that same gusto. But in the end, even after holding her friend’s “cute little fat angel baby,” she just didn’t feel it. Brockmire does everything he can to support her, and in just the right way. When she tells him she’s leaning toward keeping the baby, he replies in his typical, colorful fashion, “I understand. I gave up my vote at ejaculation.” He doesn’t blab about her situation to anyone, even when he’s seeking advice from friends. Other than accidentally snorting her abortion pill (which mainly upsets her because he’d greedily snorted both lines), he puts her desire and comfort first. His going through the abortion symptoms with her perfectly symbolizes his surprising capacity for empathy.

The way they deal with this problem together makes for a funny and surprisingly sweet episode, but it’s also refreshing to see this depiction of a fetus father type who isn’t quite so rare in real life as TV would have us believe. I’ve watched a lot of abortion episodes and there is this tendency to create drama by placing the fetus father at odds with the pregnant woman and whatever choice she is making. Way less often do we see the guy say to her, “I’ll support whatever you want,” which is exactly what my boyfriend said to me when I was getting ready to terminate an unplanned pregnancy. Of course this is not everyone’s real life experience, but it seems underrepresented on TV.

But my favorite thing about this abortion tale is that magnificent scene with Jules and the bartender.  The young woman begins her tale by explaining how difficult it was for her to get an abortion. Unable to visit her local Planned Parenthood, which had recently been firebombed, she had to pay for a round-trip bus ticket to Pittsburgh, plus the cost of the surgery, plus the cost of three nights at a hotel. These are the sort of real life barriers that prevent people who live in small towns from accessing abortion, and that is something TV shows almost never discuss when they talk about termination. I’m extremely pleased that so many shows in the past few years have embraced the once-taboo topic of abortion and that we’ve see many pregnant protagonists — from Scandal’s Olivia Pope to Bojack Horseman’s Diane — choose termination without the tiniest bit of shame. But most TV shows feature middle and upper class characters who live in or around major cities where abortion is still pretty accessible. I live in a mid-sized southern city where you cannot get a legal abortion. If I needed to terminate, I’d have to travel two hours to a larger city, where I’d have to wait 48 hours for the pill or procedure itself. For people who work low wage jobs and/or don’t have a car, abortion becomes an expensive, time-consuming, potentially job-threatening endeavor. How pleasing to see a young, working class woman character on a TV show lay this all out for viewers who may not understand how hard it is to get an abortion here in flyover country.*

I also love the bartender’s story because it includes the funniest dark joke of the whole episode. Describing what happened when she got to the abortion clinic, she says, “The protesters screamed the worst things humanly possible in my face. But it was fine because I was listening to ‘Shake It Off’.” She smiles, then adds, “And then somebody threw a diaper full of rocks at me… That I couldn’t shake off.” As horrifying as this is, the casual, almost gossipy way she relates the story makes it so funny.

Indeed, her nonchalance about sharing her experience (“I tell everyone that story! It’s the first thing on my dating profile”) honestly reminded me of some of my millennial friends. I’ve always run with a pretty liberal and open-minded crowd, but I don’t remember me or my girlfriends talking so casually about abortion when I was in my early twenties. Even in the very church-going, abortion-unfriendly town where I currently reside, I’m regularly delighted to witness the open and unapologetic way some of my younger friends talk about termination. This bartender reminded me a bit of one young activist I know, who posted on Facebook the day after Tennessee’s anti-choice Amendment One passed, “Someone needs to knock me up so I can have a spite abortion.” I still laugh out loud every time I think about that.

Alas, this scene is not perfect. A couple small details bugged me. At one point Dale, one of the redneck yokel bar flies, brags about being the person who firebombed the Planned Parenthood (which the bartender shrugs off with an eye roll). Look, I know some enemies of abortion access could best be described as “redneck” but this is a cheap shot. The writers of this show seem to have so much contempt for small-town people, but I suspect most of them probably don’t know any. It makes for some pretty hollow satire, especially because firebombin-rednecks aren’t the main reason rural women can’t get abortions (Republican legislators and anti-choice organizations are).

And then there’s this other detail, about which I have mixed feelings. After telling Jules that the procedure itself was easy, the bartender says, “Sure, when I woke up I felt like shit and I had a black eye from the rock diaper. But would I do it again?” With a slightly embarrassed look, she says, “Yeah, I did.” Ah, now here’s a major taboo, both on TV** and IRL - the woman who seeks multiple abortions. I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it until we fully obliterate termination stigma, THERE IS NO CORRECT NUMBER OF ABORTIONS A PERSON CAN HAVE. If you call yourself pro-choice but catch yourself saying things like, “abortion shouldn’t be used as birth control,” or, “abortion should be safe, legal, and rare,” you are hurting the movement. As long as you believe that more-than-one-abortion is tacky or yucky, you are keeping stigma alive. Please stop.

So yes, I look forward to the day when “I had two abortions” isn’t a punchline. Nevertheless, I still appreciate seeing a character say that she did, especially one who is this funny and cool.

GRADE

A- Based on previous episodes, I had no expectation of loving this story as much as I did. The grievances listed above would usually result in a lower grade, but that just shows how great the rest of the episode is.

* While the bartender’s timeline implies that there was a waiting period for her procedure (consistent with Pennsylvania law), this is not something Jules encounters when she meets with the physician. I imagine this detail was omitted for the purpose of moving the story along, but it is an oversight.

** The only other character I’ve seen who talks about having had more than one abortion is Mimi-Rose from Girls.

- by Tara

UPDATE: A reader correctly noted that Samantha from Sex and the City also talked about having had two abortions. Good catch! 

[dornishsphinx]

twenty-two meetings that never happened (5/22)

5. THE EMPEROR 

This is set around the same time as P5, and some things are mentioned here based off a certain promotional event that happened irl last year - but, unless you’re actively avoiding everything to do with the game, there are no actual game spoilers (honestly, it would be kinda hard for me to add them since, at the time of posting, there’s still about a week to go until it comes out here, so I know nothing that’s not been in trailers.)

"Excuse me, are you Kazumi’s teacher?" 

Hidetoshi had been psyching himself up for this for half-an-hour, and still his resolve faltered. He shoved all his suddenly turbulent feelings deep down where they couldn't embarrass him and, with more calmness than he felt, looked up from his paperwork. 

"Indeed," he said, standing and bowing. 

The butterflies settled down quickly enough after he carried out a quick examination of the man. The first thing he noted was the strange disconnect between the man's oddly youthful appearance and his true age. He was older than Hidetoshi by little over a decade - in his mid-thirties, according to the documents he'd studied before the meeting - and yet wasn't the stern patriarch he'd painted in his mind. His face, the centrepiece of which was a pair of perceptive, striking brown eyes, was framed by unruly black hair, cut in the longer-than-necessary style he remembered chastising male students for back in his student council days. As he bowed, it fell forward with him, ever so slightly shifting out of the way of a hoop earring. Well, naturally. 

No. He forced himself to regroup. This wasn't some delinquent. It was a student's father, who deserved respect, and Hidetoshi would treat him as such. Nonetheless, he couldn't help the hint of disdain which crept into his tone when he addressed him: "I take it you’re Kazumi Toudou’s father?" 

"That's right," Toudou said. "You asked for a meeting? About her behaviour?" 

Ah. Hidetoshi could hear a faint tremor hidden away in there. So, he was nervous too. Good to know. 

"Please, sit." The chairs gave them more of an equal eye level, and as they settled on either side of the desk, Hidetoshi considered his plan of attack. 

Parents, from what he'd been told by colleagues, could be a nuisance to deal with - one of them, a maths teacher with whom he often conversed at breaks, had even whispered to him about an incident five or so years ago involving a lawsuit and subsequent sacking. Of course, she'd explained, the teacher in question had most likely deserved everything she got - by all reports what she'd done was heinous and the school was well rid of her - but even so, it didn't hurt to know what he was doing. 

For his opening gambit, he decided on a polite: "Thank you for coming to see me." 

"It's no problem. You sounded rather serious. Has Kazumi been causing any problems?" Indeed, though he'd thought it best not to get higher-ups involved. It hadn't been an easy decision - his respect for the institution was unbreakable - but over his two years of teaching experience here he'd found that some of his colleagues in the school were rather quick to go for penalties harsher than the student's infraction. There were those who even seemed to take delight in it. 

"You've heard about the current events in Tokyo?" Toudou frowned. Oh. Presumably he thought it to be a non-sequitur. 

"Tokyo Tower? Everyone with an Internet connection has." 

Indeed. Though it was only rumour and no government official had come out and said anything, the entire country had been infected by the nonsense sprouting from social media about soul burglars, or whatever nonsensical name had been given to them. 

"Including your daughter."

Toudou winced. Good. He wasn't bringing up new information. He pressed forward. "Some of the things she has been saying in the classroom - well, whether or not these-" Ugh, and now he had to admit to their possible existence, "Criminals exist, she is enraptured by their story. Enraptured enough that she's voiced some very passionate views." 

The wince deepened. 

"You will understand that this institution does have strict standards when it comes to disruption of school harmony." He considered how to phrase his next statement without casting any aspersions on the rest of the staff. "However," he decided upon, "I don't wish for this to go any further than necessary. We all have strong opinions in our youth and it would be unnecessarily harsh to force her to tamp down her enthusiasm." 

"I understand your concern, Odagiri-sensei," said Toudou. "And I promise we'll talk to Kazumi about it. But can I ask how having strong opinions is disrupting class?" 

Inwardly, Hidetoshi tensed. He didn't seem to understand. That wasn't the major issue, here. Had she not brought it up to him? Was it possible that she didn't know? The only reason he'd not brought her in too was because he'd been so sure she had to have known. It seemed improbable otherwise - but then the panicked face of that girl from all those years ago, Hasegawa, flashed in his mind. She hadn't known either - or at least that's what she'd protested. 

Hidetoshi sighed, making Toudou, over on the other side of the table, tense with anticipation. He reached under the desk and pulled out a newspaper, dated from a couple of days ago. 

"Disrupting class is the least of it, Toudou-san." 

Toudou stared at the paper like it was a wanted poster with his face on it. "What's happened?" he asked. His voice was a little hoarse. 

"Two days ago, your daughter was approached for an interview with a local paper, who were trying to ferret out opinions on the recent goings-on from young people. Presumably they wanted some extreme comments, which Kazumi appears to have given them, knowingly or not. They're not comments the higher-ups would want associated with St. Hermelin's." 

Toudou grabbed the paper. "She wouldn't have known," he said, determinedly, as he flicked through the ratty pages. "She knows how much interviews like this can hurt someone's reputation." 

"Is that so?" said Hidetoshi. Parents, he'd found, rarely knew their children as well as they thought they did. While he too was hoping for Kazumi's innocence in the matter - in the sense that she had been manipulated into giving the interview, if not in the sense of forged remarks - he was hardly going to take such a biased party's word for it. 

Toudou seemed to feel it in the atmosphere when Hidetoshi raised his eyebrows, because he continued on with his impassioned defence of his daughter's intelligence: "What I mean is we have several well-known family friends. Not all of them have been especially discreet in the past, but they learnt to be and Kazumi was there for the fallout." 

"It doesn't really matter at this stage whether she did or not." 

"Of course it does." Toudou had lifted his head out of the paper to fully express his firm, steadfast indignation, luckily just in time to miss Hidetoshi's flinch. Damnable weakness. (He didn't particularly like to be reminded of third year at high school, and somehow, Toudou had known just what to say to remind him of... well. That person. Some wounds were still rooted in his heart like that little plum tree had been in Gekkoukan's courtyard.) 

"Yes, Toudou-san. I know. It matters to you and me, but it doesn't to this institution itself. You understand that in order to survive, it must protect itself and its reputation from such scandals, no matter how they have come about." 

"Scandals," said Toudou, flatly, putting the paper down between them. "Odagiri-sensei, I don't mean to be rude, but precisely how long have you been teaching here?" 

Hidetoshi straightened in his chair. He didn't like that tone. It signalled a challenge to his authority, and he wasn't quite sure how to deal with it. Before this, seniors had been easy to spot: those with grey hair and wrinkles; those with dozens of years of teaching experience. Toudou was older than him and a parent, but with an air of youth and inexperience in these matters; while Hidetoshi was younger, also had no idea what he was doing, but should probably have the reins in this, as Kazumi's teacher. Should he acquiesce? Should he fight it? 

"Two years," he admitted, keeping his tone neutral. 

"Ah, of course, that's right, I must have forgotten," said Toudou - he sounded light and pleasant, but Hidetoshi could feel the blow coming. "Odagiri-sensei, what you should understand is that when Kazumi started here, that marked the third generation of my family to have attended this school. So, I don't think I'm being out of line when I tell you I know this school, I know its history, and I know that it can survive ten-a-dozen scandals and be as unchanged as ever. Believe me. This place outlasted a goddamn apocalypse." 

A crude metaphor, but an effective one. It was true that Hidetoshi hadn't entirely grasped the length and scope of St. Hermelin's history. The older teachers were quick to shut their mouths when it came to things they witnessed in their early years. 

Toudou sighed. "But you're right that the staff here don't quite get that as well as they should. Not you in particular," he hastened to add, "The higher-ups are the worst ones for it. And they're the ones with the power to expel my daughter." 

So, he did understand, at least somewhat. Hidetoshi was still discomforted by his blatant disregard for the effects such a scandal could have on St. Hermelin's, but at this point, they had an agreement and he would have to use it if they were to move forward on this. 

"I agree," he said, primly. 

Toudou stared right at Hidetoshi's, freezing him in place with his implacable, striking stare. "You know, I don't see any of them here. If you thought this could hurt the school so badly, why is that?" 

"I told you already, Toudou-san. I don't want this to go further than strictly necessary." 

"You think you have a way of dealing with this." 

"You're the one who told me you had friends in high places, Toudou-san." Well. Toudou and the school files he'd pored over. The class of '96 had been quite the assortment of famous names and faces. 

Toudou leant back with a tiny grin. "You're not suggesting what I think you are, sensei? Not when Kazumi is always on about what a stickler for the rules you are." 

"I have every respect for the rules, Toudou-san," he said, not appreciating the insinuation he was doing anything below-board. "I believe there are many on the subject of the exploitation of children for sensationalist news stories." 

What had happened to Hasegawa had been unjust. He knew that now, as he'd been too blinded by protocol to see back then. He'd be damned if he let it happen to one of his own students. 

Toudou looked at him with newfound curiosity and - if Hidetoshi wasn't just hoping for it enough to hallucinate it - a flicker of respect. "You know, Odagiri-sensei, you remind me of one of the teachers I had here, twenty years ago." His tone told Odagiri it was a compliment of the highest order. He smiled, but Toudou wasn't finished. "So I wouldn't put on any strange masks you find lying around here." 

"What? Why would-" 

"Ten-a-dozen scandals buried here, Odagiri-sensei. And an apocalypse to boot. You should remember that if you plan on staying here long." 

Hidetoshi made a note of that: presumably, something had gone horribly wrong for the teacher in question, most likely during a school play, or drama lesson. "Thank you, Toudou-san. I'll keep that in mind." 

"Will that be all, then?" he asked. 

"I think that about wraps it up, yes," said Hidetoshi. "Unless there's anything you wish to discuss with me outwith the bounds of the previous matter?" 

Toudou sat still for a moment, in consideration, then shook his head. 

"No, I think that about covers everything." 

"Very well," said Hidetoshi. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Toudou-san." 

Strangely enough, it didn't feel like a lie. Toudou was an odd fish, that was for sure, and still had the fashion sense of a teenager, but if nothing else, he cared for his daughter's wellbeing. And then, there was that implacable something about him that brought back memories. Toudou smiled at him as he left, and as the door closed behind him with a click, Hidetoshi wondered if he'd be seeing him again any time soon.

[notgonnarememberthis]

Our May

Hello! I’m so sorry for the sort of hiatus I have taken over the past two weeks. I have honest to god fallen into the most unfortunate series of bad news possible. Starting from my ex-best friend’s backstabbing to rejection letters I have not mentally been in the best place as of late. However, with the help of Em, Gwyn, Riley and a couple of irl friends I’m getting back onto my feet again. I’m hoping to have A Better Tomorrow updated soon as well but I was inspired to write a little headcannon/theory based off of the next episode’s stills and promos and basically what I hope goes down. I hope you guys enjoy. I just want to say a quick “I love you.” to Em, Gwyn, and Riley. I don’t know where I’d be right now without you guys.

Her heart thuds heavily against her chest, lungs heaving for air as she runs. She can feel them stretching a compressing against her ribs, she could feel the pounding of her own feel off of the wood, she could feel the way her throat constricted with every concentrated breath. How is this not real? How is she not real? She could feel pain incredibly spiking through her arm. The headache builds at the edges of her temples. How is that even possible with what she is? She doesn’t survive off of vital functions yet the phantom sensations of these organs torture her paralyzed mind.

“May here!” Phil dashes into the library holding the door open for her to duck underneath his arm. He shuts the door behind them grabbing a nearby flag to barricade between the handles of the door to jam it shut. “Are we the first ones here?” He asks, his hand poised and ready on the pistol strapped to his side.

“Looks like we beat them.” She smiles slightly. She shouldn’t find satisfaction in this, in defeating the Watchdogs. That’s not her sensation to feel. She’s not real.

The Watchdogs had taken one of the Koenigs hostage, trying to torture him for where he had hidden the Darkhold. What did Nadeer want with the Darkhold? Was there some sort of secret hidden in it’s pages to ride of the inhumans? The thought threw ice down her spine. These sensations bother her more and more as time passes. It shouldn’t be her here. It should be May.

Through a series of convoluted hints Coulson had tracked the Darkhold down to a library. Of course of all places a library was where it had to be hidden where anybody could stumble upon it in any given minute.

“I’ve got it.” Coulson smiles standing up straight. A brown satchel is clutched in his hands, bearing the weight of what could possibly be the world in its contents. A book much too powerful for it’s own good. Her feet carry her forwards without her consent until she is directly in front of him. Wordlessly, he opens the brown leather bag showing her for proof. Sure enough the book glared back up at her teasingly. Her body was no longer in her control as she reached out to take it.

Realization settles over her like cold ice. Fear gripping her from head to toe. This was why the Watchdogs wanted the book.

“Nadeer is working with Radcliffe.” She whispers horrified. This was her mission. She was programmed to retrieve the Darkhold for Radcliffe.

“What? How do you know?”

Because so am I. “I-” Take it away from me. “I-” You’re not safe with me.

“May what is it?”

I’m not her. “Radcliffe is building LMDs, soldiers if you may. If she gets the Darkhold for him which AIDA,” and I, “wasn’t able to do, he’ll build her an army.”

“Son of a bitch.” He whispers shaking his head. “We have to get this somewhere safe I-”

His words are cut off with a loud pounding noise. Someone is trying to break into the room. They’ve found them.

“Take it.”

“Phil-”

“I can boost you up through the window. You’re much quicker than I am anyways.” He smiles passing the satchel over to his grip. Her entire body freezes, tensing as her programming starts to whirl. Punch him and escape. That’s all she needs to do.

“No!” Melinda cries out against her programming. She can’t hurt him. She won’t hurt him. Phil looks at her startled, kind eyes sparkling with worry. She wants to lean forwards and kiss him. Anything to take that damned look off of his face. He shouldn’t be worrying about him. She’s not who she should be worried about. She would only hurt him.

“Melinda I trust you more than anyone. I need you to get out of here and destroy this.”

“I can’t.” She whispers. His fingers wind through her hair pulling her face up to meet his.

“I’ll be fine.”

“Phil please I-” A crash echoes through the room as the door is separated from it’s hinges. It’s already too late. Four heavy footsteps, about five seconds before they would be discovered at the back of the library.

One, she grips Phil by the collar taking a breath of encouragement. She just wanted to memorize every single part of his face one last time. Two, she pulls him to her, her lips colliding with his. She just had to know how they would feel before she does this. Three, his hands fall on her waist. It’s better than she ever could have imagined. More than she ever could have dreamed. Four, she pushes him away loading her gun. Five, she pushes Phil behind her as the bullets begin to spray.

She fires her shots as carefully as she’s trained. Three bullets lodge in only two skulls. Phil grips her waist tugging her backwards behind his shield sparing them the spray. It’s already too late.

The air leaves her lungs as three bullets impact with her body. Her programming is far away in her mind now. The satchel slips from her fingers as she clutches her stomach, crimson pouring onto her fingers. A small whimper leaves her lips as her body falls slump against Coulson.

“May?” He asks panicked. Her weight drags him down with her, he’s cradling her upper half in his lap now yelling desperately into the comms. “I need medical now! Agent down!” The entire ground trembles with realization of a force. Melinda can practically hear the broken cry now as Daisy wipes out all of the Watchdogs in one fair swoop.

A woosh echoes through the halls as a startled Elena stands above them.

“Let me take her.” Elena says. “I can get her there quickly.”

“No. We can’t move her. We could make things worse.”

“But sir.”

“Take the Darkhold. Run as fast as you can. Hide it.” Phil commands passing the satchel to Elena. The young woman bows her head for a minute. The whispers of a praying passing through her calm lips. May lets out a shuddered breath which transfers to another whimper. “Elena, go.”

“Yes, Sir.” With another whoosh the woman is gone once more. Phil frantically removes his jacket, pressing it to the bleeding wounds. There’s so much pain.

“I need you to stay awake for me Melinda. Just listen to my voice.” He begs. She briefly wonders if he had begged Rosalind in the same tone. Holding her as she took her last breaths.

Glass shatters around them as a figure leaps through the window dramatically.

“No.” Daisy whimpers rushing towards the two of them. She collapses on her knees on the opposite side of her, the ground beneath them shaking ever so slightly.

“Breathe Daisy.” The girl nods with tear-laden eyes. She smiles sadly combing her fingers through her hair. Melinda began to feel tired, this couldn’t be normal. She never slept anymore. She had shrugged it off as night terrors before but now…

“Keep your eyes open Lin. Help will be here soon.” She needed to tell them. They had to know it wasn’t her. May wasn’t dying. She was.

The bullets must have pierced a vital portion of her mechanics. She wasn’t built like AIDA was. She wasn’t meant to withstand these sorts of shots. Her mechanics were messy, quickly assembled. She wasn’t meant to be a shield she was meant to be a distraction. An experiment to be tested. A tool to get what they truly needed. She could feel herself beginning to shut down. She had to move quickly.

Melinda takes Daisy’s hand softly. The younger girl lets out a heartbreaking sob. She has to end this. She has to end their pain.

Melinda slides Daisy’s hand under her own shirt, guiding her fingers to the wound. The girl tries to tug her fingers away but Melinda’s strength keeps them there. She presses her fingers into the shot. The girl startles at the feeling of cold metal. A series of emotions flash in her eyes before she speaks.

“You’re not May.” She whispers. Hope, anger, devastation, fear. The last thing she sees before her vision goes dark is the anger settling over Coulson’s face.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Phil startles at Daisy’s words echoing through the large library.

“You’re not May.” Phil rips his jacket off of the wounds, startled and angry. His eyes trace over the wounds feeling as if his own heart were beginning to tear out of his chest. Sure enough glimpses of silver sparkled up from beneath the skin. This wasn’t his May.

“Where is she?” It’s already too late though. The figures eyes are staring unseeingly up to the rooftops. His heart catches in his throat. This is what it looked like. This was what it had looked like when May had died. “Answer me!” He shakes it angrily. How could he not have known? How could he not have known this wasn’t May?

“Coulson she’s gone.”

“We have to find her. She has to know.” Phil states panicked.

“We’ll have Fitz scan her hard drive when we get back to the base but for now, I don’t think she knows anything.”

“Why?”

“Because she looked almost scared. I don’t think she knew, not for a while that is.” Daisy sighs.

“I can’t believe this.”

“Hey. We’ll find her.” Daisy states grabbing his shoulder.

“How do we know she’s not-”

“She’s not. Knowing May she’s probably fighting like hell to get out of wherever she is right now.” Coulson pushes himself to his feet making his way quickly out of the library. “Where are you going?” She calls after him.

“I’m going to find our May.”

[fearofaherobrine]

Roleplay Server Log #166

Okay, this one is too important to mince words, if you read the fic this blog is based on- http://archiveofourown.org/works/4193259 Then this is a must read because it gives closure for TLOT and Steve on the seed they fled from, and you get to see Jeb get his for toying with them and their NOTCH also get what he deserves.

[Sam] Looks up eagerly from wiping the bar.

[alexine and Stevenson] -see the skeleton Enderman and steffan and they bot take out a shield and try to protect steffan not understanding he is in no danger-

[Enderbro] Notices them and waves his skinny arms exciedly -STEEEEVE Look! Other Steve!

[Steffan] Turns expecting Father Steve and makes a suprised face.

[Stevenson] there are mobs here are you ok?

[Steffan] Uh... yeah. You're new here aren't you? Bro here is my roommate. And Sam's the bartender.

[Enderbro] Reaches all the way over the bar with his long arms and gets a pair of already bunned hotdogs out before sticking them in the newcomers mouths like cigars - Wheee! Welcome!

[Steffan] Bro....

[Sam] Is making no noise but obviously laughing

[alexine] -drops her shield and is very confused and spits out the hotdog-

[Stevenson] -takes the hotdog out of his mouth- so I am assuming you have a mod to make mobs friendly.

[Enderbro] Awww.... You don't like it? We might have some ketchup...

[alexine] and a food mod

[Steffan] No. Bro is just... Bro. He's always like this. Just a big kid at heart.

[Stevenson] but mobs aren't friendly why is he.

[GK] Pokes his horned head in the door behind them. - Because Sam likes making drinks.

[alexine] -has the most confused face showing-

[Steffan] Shrugs- Bro doesn't care if you look at him either. He thinks the other Enders have zero chill.

[Enderbro] Makes a face. - Endrea's Endermen are way to serious! No fun at all

[Stevenson] why does this server react so weird without mods

[Gk] Because we're from all different seeds? - He pushes a bit more of his head and neck in before transforming into his human shape and pushing past them

[alexine] HOW THE FUCK DID YOU DO THAT!

[Gk] Slaps Steffan a little too hard on the back. - Me and this asshole here. I was cursed to wear his shape instead of my normal form, a punishment dreamed up by my dick of a brother. But this guy - shakes Steffan a bit more- this guy broke my curse. After a thousand fucking years at least. So now I can be myself, but being human shaped is easier for drinking.

[Steffan] Sighs- Thanks Gk...

[Enderbro] OTHER OTHER STEVE SO MANY STEEEVES

[Stevenson] I am so confused

[Steffan] Leans on his elbow - you get used to it. Did Doc let you in or was it Deerheart?

[alexine] the brine.

[Gk] Does a fist bump with Sam and the skeleton serves him a drink with a cherry and a color gradient like a sunrise.

[Steffan] Human form or no?

[alexine] what do you mean by no human form I thought they only where the shape similar to a human

[Steffan] Oh you're in for a suprise then... not sure if I should spoil it....

[Gk] Toasts Sam- The resident Doctor is a bit off hir rocker when it comes to modifying things- Takes a long swig- Thank the gods for it really. But they built themselves a new body from raw bits and they flip to it when things get... hairy.

[Steffan] Or the more unruly brines misbehave...

[Gk] Shut up

[alexine] WHAT KIND OF CRAZY SERVER IS THIS!

[Steffan] Suprisingly, a really safe one. Doc has everyone hooked to respawn with the local difficulty set on easy. And if you do manage to fuck up and die you come back with all your stuff still intact in your inventory.

[Gk] Passed Enderbro a harmonica - Present for you.

[Steffan] Whhhhhhhyyyyyyy?

[Gk] Because I'm still the Griefer King.

[Enderbro] Happy random notes at an annoying pitch-

[Stevenson] me and alexine are the only two who had a respawn on our server

[Steffan] That's kinda selfish isn't it?

[Gk] sarcastic - Woo hardcore johnnies

[Stevenson] the server was to give real humans one chance to live in Minecraft for as long as they can survive but they depending on their world they had when they died they could be in a real hardcore world a peaceful they could even be in creative it was all up to what they had even mods where common place there.

[Steffan] Ah... well, we do have some, like, irl humans here too.

[GK] TLOT's little gay village is full of frigging human kids.

[Steffan] Do you guys want some food or drink? Sam can make pretty much anything.

[alexine] -freaks out slightly and pulls out a bow that looks like it is made of diamonds it's clearly a moded bow-

[Gk] Whoah lady... chill your nips. What's wrong now?

[Steffan] Woooow..... look at those diamonds...

[alexine] the server is crazy your crazy this whole place if crawling with brines and things that shouldn't work -she pulls back the bow and three arrows are on the string-

[Sam] Dives under the counter.

[Steffan] Jumps up on the table and blocks Enderbro who's still playing happily.

[Gk] Barely looks up from his drink. - I can still throw fire in this form. Don't make me burn my favorite bar roasting your ass...

[Stevenson] -rips the bow out of alexine's hands so steffan doesn't get hit-

[Gk] Takes a sip - Thats better. Now sit your asses down and take a few breaths.

[Steffan] Still looks wary.

[alexine] -screeches and tries to get her bow back but is it's being kept out of her grasp-

[Stevenson] all the oddity in this server have made alexine scared she is more likely to attack then she is but when she is scared was more likely to have been during a large battle with hostile mobs from mods-

[Gk] Oh for fuck sake... I can't do this touchy feely shit. - he types into the chat - Hey TLOT! Come to the fucking bar.

[TLOT] Tps to Gk's location and clips into him for a few seconds.

[Gk] Fucker...

[TLOT] What's wrong?

[Gk] Are you blind? She's hysterical. Slap her or something.

[alexine] -reaches into Stevenson's innovatory and pulls out a mod sword which is three times bigger then her-

[TLOT] Is disoriented for a moment but streches out a hand and buries Alexine in invisible Netherweights.

[Gk] That is a big fucking sword....

[alexine] -falls to the ground she is only freaking out more because she doesn't understand why she can't move-

[TLOT] Sees what's wrong. He starts whispering calming thoughts into her mind. - You're safe, relax. I won't hurt you.

[Stevenson] that's my prince sword -take the sword and puts in back in his innovatory-

[Gk] Prince huh? Ya aint compensating for something else are ya?

[alexine] -is still confused but is slowly calming down-

[TLOT] So what did I miss? I saw some new people come in but I had... my hands full...

[Gk] Full? Yeah, each hand full of one of Steve's asscheeks...

[Stevenson] no it's from a mod you get it after beating the king dragon it help tame the prince dragon

[Gk] You killed a dragon....- Lets out a little growl.

[Stevenson] they are a destructive mob from the crazy craft mod you have to summon then to even fight them and the prince dragon is worth getting if you do try and get them but If you summon then let them run free they will destroy everything to bedrock

[TLOT] Puts his free hand on Gk's shoulder- You know it's a common thing for players to do.

[GK] Makes a sour face. - Still... How would you like being brought into existence just to be destroyed?

[Stevenson] I mainly did it because I wanted the prince dragon to take care of unfortunately I lost them when the server started to fall apart.

[Gk] bitterly- Probably just left em behind to die.... fuck...

[Steffan] Whispers - We have baby dragon's here. Don't lay a finger on them if you value your skins.

[alexine] -finally back to her senses- no he nearly got himself killed trying to save them I ended up pulling away from dieing.

[TLOT] Can I let go now? My hand is cramping.

[Stevenson] yep

[TLOT] releases the weight with an airy wave. He gives them a saucy wink simply because he's pleased with himself.

[alexine] -gets up and walks over to sit on the floor by the pool table-

[TLOT] watches her walk by him curiously. - Nice outfit. I'm Herobrine the Lord of Tears. Or TLOT around here. So what do I call you guys?

[alexine] I am alexine and that's Stevenson.

[TLOT] Charmed.

[Gk] Grumbles-

[Stevenson] -to gk- you act like I didn't care for the prince dragon when in reality I spoiled them an made sure no harm ever came to them unlike the players who would use the prince dragon for a weapon.

[Gk] Even a spoiled pet is still a pet.

[TLOT] Sighs- You know they're not all as intelligent as you are Gk.

[Gk] bitterly - Everyone seems stupid when you can't speak their language.

[Stevenson] I treated them more like my child because the prince dragon is a toddler I wanted to raise them like a father prince dragons are smart by mod but only to some point they are one hundred percent smarter then the king and queen dragon

[Gk] But it's gone now anyway huh? fuck it... Hardly anybody here has a home they could go back too. Brines can't go home again...

[TLOT] Don't be so sour Gk.

[Gk] Bite me.

[alexine] he is going to complain how he failed as a father to the prince dragon and couldn't protect them for a very long time most likely for years

[TLOT] Don't have any experience parenting myself, just babysitting for friends; but I've seen how attached people can get.

[Stevenson] things from crazy craft where hard to get and a prince dragon was harder people who had that mod didn't live very long because of dangerous of a mod it was

[TLOT] Oh trust me, I've been in some precarious situations. This seed is practically a retirement village for me. I finally have a safe place to lay my head, and I don't have to worry about my Steve or Alexsezia, or my villagers being threatened or killed.

[Stevenson] it was more like as soon as they died that part of the world would be replaced with normal Minecraft because as people spawned what they explored from their server they still had when they died got put down and when they died in the server it stopped being their world

[Steffan] That sounds really chaotic.

[Enderbro] Leans over the booth backwards to look at Alexine - Hello pretty lady.

[alexine] - is refusing to look at enderbro-

[Enderbro] Waves and wiggles his arms- Laaaady

[stevenson] it could be there where a lot of different mods that could make it more more or less chaotic but there also was times where people just had worlds without mods

[alexine] yes?

[Steffan] I've been in the multiverse. I prefer private servers.

[Enderbro] Hi.

[alexine] hello.

[Enderbro] Pulls out some small flowers and holds them out to her. The air is suddenly full of heady scents.

[Stevenson] the part me and alexine lived in was originally modless till we started to take parts from mods and it became a mix of mods

[alexine] uh... thanks -takes the flowers-

[TLOT] ah, we've done a lot of adding things, but it's mostly been bringing bits in from other games.

[Stevenson] but not mods.

[TLOT] No, we've visited modded or reskined seeds and filched a few blocks and items, but never altered this one. Doc doesn't even like to update the snapshot. They're afraid of destabilizing or glitching the server.

[alexine] -puts the flowers away to stop the smell- that sounds dangerous

[TLOT] The visiting or the updating?

[alexine] the possibility for the server destabilizing

[TLOT] You can get chunk errors when you update, it's really obnoxious to come home and find part of your house has reverted to natural seed conditions. One time it snowed us all in for a day or two.

[alexine] yep sounds dangerous

[TLOT] It's okay, it's rare, and we have two aces in the hole if things go wrong. One is a spirit of magick and the other is the embodiment of the server itself.

[Stevenson] so the server is safe because of these things

[TLOT] chuckles - The server is safe because Doc is paranoid. The server is well maintained because they have excellent help doing so. Besides, some brines like to scrap and we don't want them accidently glitching things.

[Stevenson] -notices he is low on hunger- actually I think I will take you up on that offer of food

[Sam] Sidles up with a big smile.

[TLOT] Ask them for something, Sam is a great cook.

[Stevenson] I don't know what I want.

[Sam] Taps hir chin for a moment with one bony finger and slips back into the kitchen.

[TLOT] Just give em a minute.

[Gk] Is peeking around the corner to spy on Sam and gets hit in the face with a dishcloth- HEY!

[Stevenson] -give gk an odd look-

[Sam] Comes out with a tray the size of a block containing a huge ring sandwich that's a medly of colorful veggies and meat slices. They pull a big pitcher of tea and some glasses out of their inventory to go with it, as well as a bowl of thick yellow paste.

[TLOT] Sniffs the bowl -So you did like my suggestion.

[Sam] Pffft.

[Stevenson] that looks good.

[Steffan] Looks like plenty for everybody. Nice work Sam.

[TLOT] Gets a chunk of sandwich and some tea for Alexine since she's sitting on the floor- here you go, sorry for squishing you earlier

[Gk] spins his stool just long enough to grab a piece as well.

[alexine] thank you and it's ok -takes the food from tlot and starts eating-

[TLOT] Coyly puts some of the paste on his sandwich and makes happy noises as he eats.

[Stevenson] -takes a chunk and some tea and starts eating- this is very good

[TLOT] Types in the chat - Steve? Are you still watching Yaunfen?

[Steve] Chat back- No, Doc retrived them.

[TLOT] Gonna tp you, you're missing good food

[Steve] Appears next to TLOT with a slight buzz of clipping. And a sandwich is put in his hand as he reorients himself. - Thank you love.

[alexine] how many steves are there?

[Steve] People come and go, but the regulars are me, Steffan here and little Stevie.

[Stevenson] stevie?

[TLOT] He's the little brother of our creepypasta Herobrine.

[Stevenson] it sounds like they are a lot of brines here. -finishes his piece and goes for another-

[Deer] Is keeping her distance and making sure the bar doesn't explode-

[TLOT] And dragons, and children, and little colony of peaceful NOTCHs.

[alexine] I hope the children are safe

[TLOT] Oh yes, the Testificates take very good care of them. Poor things.

-There's a bit of fumbling with the doorknob before Stevie manages to push it open-

[Enderbro] TEENY STEVE.

[Stevenson] -jumps a little before looking at stevie-

[TLOT] Stevie? Please tell me you aren't hiding from Notch, you know what happened last time.

[Stevie] - Uh-uh, I'm wanna surprise father!

[TLOT] Well that's sweet.

[Steve] Hey Stevie! Meet our newest Steve. - Gestures. -And a new Alex too!

[Stevie] - Hi!  I'm Stevie!

[TLOT] Perfect cinnamon roll....

[Stevenson] hello i'm Stevenson it's a pleasure to meet you stevie.

[Stevie] - I'm getting food for father

[alexine] i'm alexine nice to meet you.

[Sam] Leans over with a grin to see what Stevie wants.

[Stevie] - Um, uh, I want...  Um...- He did not think this through

[Sam] pokes him lightly on the nose spot and flounces away.

[TLOT] Random is always suprising....

[Sam] Brings back a huge bowl of spagetti and pushes it at Stevie so it vanishes into his inventory.

[TLOT] Pasta... Sam... - trying not to laugh-

[Steve] Sits down next to Alexine - Cute kid huh?

[alexine] yea he is

[Stevie] - Thank you!  I'm gonna go give it to father!  And miss Lie!  Because she's talking with him right now

[TLOT] Okay, you be careful Stevie. Go straight home.

[Stevie] - I will...  What's a birthday?

[Steffan] The anniversary of the day you were spawned.

[Stevie] - Oh, okay because they're talking about going someplace for one...  Bye!- He heads out the door

[TLOT] Maybe it's Markus's birthday?

[Doc] Arrives at Lies house and knocks lightly on her door

[Lie] Is a bit surprised and goes over to open the door- Oh!  Doc!  Hello, what brings you by?

[Doc] Something scientific actually... I need a horse, maybe more then one

[Lie] - Why?

[Doc] Splender's dragon hatched...

[Lie] - Awww!  He had the rainbow egg, right?

[Doc] yessssss, it is cute. There's just one problem, it's deadly venomous and bitey as hell. I need to learn how to make antivenom with a quickness

[Lie] - Do you want me to try and make a flower?

[Doc] I guess? I think it will need to be quick acting though, this is way beyond lethal. Maybe something with fruit that can be squeezed out on a bite or drunk?

[Notch] is thinking quietly and pipes up, - uh Doc, do you have the seed number for where TLOT and Steve came from?

[Doc] Sure, but it would be dangerous as hell to go there

[Lie] Has been thinking herself- Turning venom into anti venom would be the difficult part...

[Doc] well... It's a digital dragon so presumably the venom works like a virus. It gets past the firewall of your player skin and starts making fatal system errors. But that means it's actually a series of commands, so - hir voice is increasing in speed - if I can map out the command list like a DNA strand I can reverse it and have you make the resulting code into something that can be planted and ingested!

[Lie] - Oh!  Okay, and how are you planning on doing that?

[Doc] is rather excited now- same way I do everything Pinky! I need a command block, the analysis might take a few hours at least but it should work. Mind if I just set it up here?

[Lie] - Oh, uh, sure...  Go right ahead...

[Stevie] Runs in- Father!  Father!

[Doc] thanks! - Drops a command block and starts fiddling with it- [Notch] Hey Stevie, why so excited?

[Stevie] - I...  I went aaaaaall the way to the bar by myself!  And, and, I got us food!

[CP] Sneaks in via the window arches on the bridge having followed Stevie to make sure no mobs still left about got to him-

[Notch] How did you do that?! I thought Cp was watching you.

[Stevie] - I snuck away!

[CP] Comes into the room shaking his head a little-

[Notch] I swear I can feel some of this black hair going gray...

[Doc] Really?! Where?

[Notch] it's just an expression...

[CP] Suddenly snatches Stevie up who shrieks in laughter- There you are!

[Notch] I'm finding it very hard to believe Stevie could sneak away from you Cp.

[CP] Scowls at Notch-

[Lie] Giggles a little before mentally speaking to Notch- I can guarantee he didn't, CP didn't have that bit of blood on his pants earlier.  He was following his brother, making sure he stayed safe

[Notch] Tries to acknowledge Lie without letting on too much

[Doc] Getting rusty huh?

[CP] Flips Doc off-

[Doc] So why do you want the server number? I supect that seed may be attached to Jeb's actual computer.

[Notch] Considering how obsessed he was with it that doesn't suprise me at all. He acts like his favorite fish jumped out of the tank.

[Stevie] Pulls out the spaghetti- Look what I got brother!

[CP] - I see...

[Notch] That looks tasty.

[Stevie] - I got it for us to eat

[Lie] - Doc, didn't TLOT bring a priestess of Jeb's or something like that?

[Doc] Oh yeah, that's Beanz. I think she didn't want to come so much as she was there when shit went down and it was 'take her with the others or leave her to die a thousand chunks from her home'.

[Lie] - I see...  Notch, think it would be worth it to talk to her?

[Notch] I'm not sure I should talk to her at all. I promised to stay out of the villagers sight so they don't freak out, remember?

[Lie] - Oh, right...

[CP] - What are you two talking about anyways?

[Doc] I can do it. I know where she lives. Oh, the seed TLOT and Steve came from.

[Notch] We think it belongs to Jeb, like, it's on his personal PC.

[CP] - And this is important why?

[Notch] Because it's Jeb's birthday and we're discussing ways to let him know that the brine he helped didn't die. As a present of sorts. He's getting suspicious because he thinks I'm avoiding him. I can tell him whoever goes is a hacker friend of mine or something.

[Lie] - Who would go anyways?  I mean, that's a decision that we have to think about really carefully...

{CP] - I'll go if I'm allowed to kill his avatar after delivering the news

[Doc] Well at least I would spawn in already in creative since that was my last mode there. I cut into the server codes shortly after arriving the first time. And his avatar wouldn't be there anyway. From what TLOT has told me he always speaks through the Testificate priests and preistesses of his temple, probably to maintain an air of mystery and keep them on their toes.

[CP] - Well then count me out

[Doc] We probably won't have much time before their NOTCH realizes we're there. You're free to fight him if you want.

[Lie] - But wouldn't the NOTCH there recognize you Doc?  Wouldn't it make it harder for you to deliver the message?

[Doc] Yes, most likely, but if I'm transformed it might take longer to be noticed. And I'm not who I was when I was there. I wasn't even a brine back then.

[Lie] - I don't think that's a good idea, your other form would probably terrify everyone there and quickly draw attention...  We need to send somebody who can defend themselves but at the same time not seem like a threat at all...

[Doc] But you won't have a fast travel method or access to the admin codes without me. Besides, I can change right before we hit the city.

[Lie] - I don't know...  I don't like the idea of a group going...  One person is far less noticeable...

[Doc] You need me Lie. And if we're attacked, which I think is likely, you'll be glad of my aid.

[Lie] - What!?  I never said anything about going!

[Doc] Fine. - a bit sullen- I'll go alone then. I can travel underground without a rider anyway.

[CP] - Oh fuck no!  She is not going there!

[Notch] You probably shouldn't go alone....

[CP] - Anyone who went anyways would need to hide their features...

[Doc] When you log on it shows up in the chat. What good is a disguise?

[CP] - To hide the eyes dumbass

[Doc] I can put on contacts, remember? Mine aren't that bright.

[Lie] - But who would be best to go with you?

[CP] - Not you

[Doc] Loud thoughts - Cp would be best, if not Lie...

[CP] - Nope, not happening, neither one of us....

[Lie] - Why me Doc?

[Doc] You have formidible powers Lie. Don't sell yourself short like that.

[Lie] - Ah, but if it comes down to a fight I'm not that good

[CP] Growls- She's not going...

[Doc] Spread hir arms helplessly. - I can't take TLOT, all hell will break loose instantly, even if I could convince him.

[Lie] Bites her lip- Fine, I'll go, but there's something I'd like you to make first Doc, let me go get something

[CP] - What!?  No!

[Doc] Anything Lie. - Watches her with naked curiousity.

[Lie] Is gone for a few moments before returning with the cloak TLOT made for CP- Can you make me a copy of this but with a hood?  It will help to hide my hair and eyes.  Plus in a way I'll then have CP's protection with me...

[Notch] Awwwwww.

[CP] - Lie...

[Doc] I would love to, Lie. - clicks on it and starts pulling and shaping a hood onto the copy.

[CP] Pulls Lie aside- Don't do this...  Please, you don't know what the aggressive NOTCH's are capable of...

[Doc] Then come with us.

[Lie] - I'll have Doc with me, I should be fine...

[CP] Growls- I'd rather she not go at all!

[Doc] You know I can move like greased lightning Cp, I'm not going to fight if I don't have to.

[CP] Grumbles and turns his attention completely on Lie- If your going through with this asinine plan then don't hesitate to call for me, I'll rip open a way and bring you back...  Okay?

[Lie] Leans up onto her toes and kisses CP- Understood

[Notch] Please be careful. Both of you.

[Lie] Takes the finished cloak and pulls it on- We'll try to be

[Doc] We should talk to Beanz first though. I don't know if she'd want to go home, but I don't feel right in going without asking her.

[Lie] - Lead the way then

[CP] Hands Stevie off to Notch- I'm going to go talk with Endrea

[Doc] I also don't know where Kore is, she might have coordinates for me.

-The village is filled with kids running around.  Some are helping out in some of the shops while others are daring each other to see who can climb the highest up the vines towards the buildings in the sky-

[Doc] Breathes a happy sigh- So glad to see everyone bustling about and having fun. So much life.

[Lie] - Yeah, it's nice seeing the kids happy and well

[Doc] Is making gracious nods and waves to some of the Testificates. - Beanz lives over there, top floor of the hotel. Though it's more of an apartment complex these days.

[Lie] - You know her better than I, go ahead

[Doc] Has a quick chuckle at the signs inside the door and heads up the steps. The hut tub on the second floor is empty but bubbling and xe raps on the door across from it.

[Beanz] Opens the door a little and gives Doc a wry look- It must be quite an emergency to find you in town Doctor. And with a friend. Another brine?

[Lie] - Hello, I'm Lie

[Beanz] Beanz, high preistess of Jeb. Well, formerly. I'm sure I've been fired or presumed dead since I never returned this - Points to the small white bead on a thread around her neck.

[Lie] - What is it?

[Doc] Does it still work?

[Beanz] Mostly. It's a few pixels from the holy patchbook on my home seed. It used to let Jeb talk through me, but it hasn't worked since coming here. It does give me access to creative most of the time though. It was his way of keeping me safe while I ran his errands.

[Lie] - Interesting

[Beanz] I'm sorry. Come in if you want. - moves back. The room is small but clean and the doors are open to let the sun and breeze in from the outside balcony.

[Lie] Hesitantly steps inside-

[Doc] Leans against her crafting table.

[Beanz] Sorry I only have one chair. Or you can sit on the bed if you want.

[Lie] - I'm fine standing, we actually have some things to ask you

[Beanz] I suspected as much. - Her gaze is abstracted and drawn somewhat to the noise of children playing outside.

[Lie] Gives Doc an unsure look-

[Doc] Beanz... We want to deliver a message to Jeb.

[Beanz] Puts a hand around the bead protectively - I won't give it to you, it's all I have left -

[Lie] - We wouldn't dare ask you to, we were planning on going to your old seed actually...

[Doc] Beanz, if you want to go home, we'll take you with us.

[Beanz] A little too quickly - No! I mean... no... I don't have anything to go back too. As I said I'm sure my name is mud for vanishing with a bit of the book for so long. And I can't leave these people with just that... idiot Zile to provide guidence.

[Lie] - Zile?

[Beanz] He's barely a pup and he acts like he's second in command to Father Steve. He used to be a priest of Notch until he dedicated himself to serving the Lord of Tears. But he mostly just sits around writing trashy gay romance stories.

[Lie] Fights down a small fit of laughter-

[Beanz] I don't know who's more annoying, him or Flicker!

[Doc] Is trying not to laugh now.

[Lie] - Flicker's the one with all the creepers, right?  She seems docile enough...

[Beanz] Gets a blush around her cheeks- she's just, annoying!

[Doc] Riiight. Flicker does keep the village safe though. Her creepers are useful.

[Beanz] Huffs-

[Lie] - Pretty sure my mate alone is the one of the main reasons why there are very few if ever any mobs around my place...

[Doc] laughs- Yeah, they're afraid of being cornered and complained at.

[Beanz] Who is your mate?

[Lie] - The very tall angry brine.  And Doc?  You have no idea...

[Doc] The redhead.

[Beanz] Oh! Yeah. I've seen him. Sometimes on fire?

[Lie] - Usually

[Doc] That wasn't what I came to ask you about though, I need coordinates for Kore. I've never been there and I need to find it. That last place I was was where we escaped from. Can you give me directions?

[Beanz] I think.... I mean, I remember the way I came, sort of. It's a big place, you should be able to hear and smell it before you get in view. - Starts making some notes on a scrap of paper.

[Lie] - We'll also need to be able to know which building is the temple

[Beanz] Snorts - No you don't, it's dead obvious. It's the biggest building in the city. All white quartz, steep staircases and stained glass.

[Lie] - Ah, I see

[Doc] Jeb is one of the go big or go home types...

[Beanz] Here this should help- Passes the paper to Doc who reads it and puts it away.

[Doc] I think that's good enough. Is there anything you'd like, from us?

[Beanz] Can you... take pictures? I would love a shot of the nave in the temple. Just to remember.

[Doc] I'll do that for you.

[Beanz] Thank you

[Lie] Tugs her cloak a bit closer- Are we heading out then Doc?

[Doc] Yes. Let me fire off a note to Deerheart first though- Starts quietly typing in the chat.

[Beanz] Turns to Lie. - They will fear you mis. Watch your step, and don't linger. I've seen what my home's NOTCH is capable of. It was terrifying....

[Lie] - So I've heard.  I'll do my best to remain hidden. It's why I have this cloak as well....  Well, that and to have a bit of my mate with me

[Beanz] Is that... made of hair?

[Lie] - Er...  Well....  Yes...

[Beanz] Touches the hem - Oh it's lovely and soft. Your mate must love you a lot.

[Doc] Smiles sweetly -

[Lie] - More like I stole his copy and had Doc modify this one to have a hood...  He's still not happy about it being made of his hair

[Beanz] Oh dear! I hope you didn't shave him bald!

[Lie] - Oh no, TLOT copied a few pixels of his hair to make this

[Beanz] Chuckles- Our king is a fiesty one. But creative.

[Lie] - That he is

[Doc] Okay, I'm ready. She's not happy but she understands. Thank goodness.

[Lie] - I'm guessing you mean Deer?

[Doc] Well yes. I always try to let her know before I leave and where I'm going.

[Lie] - Alright, let's go then.

[Doc] Thank you for the help Beanz, if there's nothing more, we'll be going.

[Beanz] Good luck.

[Lie] - It was nice getting to know you

[Beanz] Gives her a happy wave- Drop by anytime.

[Lie] Follows Doc out-

[Doc] Braces hirself before making a hole in the firewall and leading Lie out before closing it behind them. They transform quietly and hunker down in the sea of statick and void to offer a seat to their friend.

[Lie] Slips onto Doc and pulls up the hood of the cloak to hide her hair and eyes- We should probably land close to Kore and have you change back, otherwise I don't think we'll be able to get a single word through

[Doc] I can't do it directly, I have to come in where I went out and go from there so I can use the directions Beanz gave me.

[Lie] - I understand that, I just meant when we do reach our destination

[Doc] xe's already seeking out the numbers, retracing the path they ran such a long time ago. -Of course.

[Lie] Is rather nervous about doing this-

[Doc] Finds the seed and takes a deep breath before entering it quietly. The scene before them is desolation. The jungle is a mass of fallen trees and the swamp has much deeper lakes now as the rains have filled the craters that were carved into the biome. Little remains of the house that was on the hill and there's a glow from a ribbon of lava running down into the grass.

Alexsezia's house looks like it exploded and there isn't much left of even the foundations.

[Lie] - All this...  Done by a NOTCH?

[Doc] I don't think this is even the worst of it... He wasn't even a person, just.. it was like being attacked by a hurricane.

[Lie] - I've seen the devastation those can cause on tv...

[Doc] Walks down the little path, thunderstruck by the sheer force of the damage. The dirt pyramid is a just a triangle of one side leaning crazily, and the remains of the Testificate houses are lying in huge pits as if the ground was scooped up under them and thrown back down. Even the low bedrock wall is smashed and grass grows around the scattered blocks.

[Lie] - I'm so glad you got them away from this Doc...

[Doc] It was a near miss. I'm just glad we were able to give them a head start and make sure no one was left behind. - Xe smells something and trots forward at a quicker pace - I smell fire.

[Lie] - Maybe from some lava?

[Doc] Passes around a chunk of wall and stops short. - Well... at least we know they weren't forgotten. - In front of them, at what was once the entrance to the village, is a cleared patch, a simple base of cobblestones set into the dirt and atop it, burning with the Nether's eternal fire, is a small summoner pyramid.

[Lie] Smiles a little- Perhaps there's still a small group passing along TLOT's teachings?

[Doc] There was a little fishing village run by a witch that swore fealty to them a few chunks away. They likely built the shrine in their memory.

[Lie] - Good

[Lie] - Perhaps we should leave them a gift as well to let them know they're not forgotten?

[Doc] What would you suggest? A miracle of some sort?

[Lie] - Well I was thinking just a few of my flowers

[Doc] That would be lovely Lie. - Xe trots up next to the pyramid and stands for Lie to reach down or dismount.

[Lie] Slides off and feels the ground.  The server feels a bit different than what she's used to, but it didn't cause much of a problem as she concentrated.  Blooms sprung gracefully from the ground, lantern flowers, calming flowers, healing flowers, and even a few love blooms, the bright gathering of flora surrounding the summoner-

[Doc] Bows hir head to smell them. - That's lovely Lie. Thank you. I'm just glad they weren't forgotten.

[Lie] - So am I- She climbs back up onto Doc- Should we go?

[Doc] Yes, I'm sure we won't have long before.... one of them notices we're here. Don't say their names, just in case. - Xe mounts the airblocks and takes off at a run over the river valley and up over the thickly wooded hills.

[Lie] Pulls the cloak closer to defend against the wind-

[Doc] Moves faster until the ground is flashing below them, woods and plains and them out over the desert-

[Lie] Clings tightly to Doc's mane just so she wont be blown off-

[Doc] Is scanning the directions in hir inventory and making small corrections. Xe looks back for a second and cannot hide the small shudder of fear that passes through hir. The lengthing shadows of the sand hills seem too dark, as does the sky in the direction they came from.

[Lie] Felt the shudder- Doc?  Is everything okay?

[Doc] I'm going to assume no even though it may just be my paranoia... - Xe goes faster, touching against a mountain before taking a long leap out over the vastness below them.

[Lie] Sits there, hoping Doc is wrong but sensing they may be right-

[Doc] There it is! Beanz was right, there's no mistaking the temple. - They hit the side of a cliff and cling there upright in a shadow. - Hang on to my mane and I'll get us down.

[Lie] - Already am Doc

[Doc] Turns nearly upside down and scuttles down the wall like a gecko before stepping down on the ground.

[Lie] Once safely on the ground she slides off- Do you want to talk to Jeb or should I?

[Doc] We'll both go. I'm not taking my eyes off of you for a second. - Xe pulls out two green pixels and squints a bit as xe puts them over the glow of hir mint colored pupils.

[Lie] - Well I figured that much

[Doc] Heads for the city with a determined stride- Come on, lets hurry.

[Lie] Follows Doc, making sure her glow is hidden by the cloak-

-A few Testificates look up as they pass, unused to seeing visitors. Some quietly run ahead to the temple to let the clergy know they have outsiders in their midst.-

[Lie] Bites her lip a bit nervously, she's holding back her power, knowing that just a little of it could leave a trail of flora behind her-

[Doc] Takes the marble stairs two at a time, thrilling quietly knowing this was the same place hir friends had tread so long ago.

-The high windows catch the sun and bathe them both in dazzling colored light as they pass the front doors and emerge into a white anteroom.-

[Lie] Lifts her head just enough to look at everything around her but not allow the glow from her eyes to be visible-

-A priest moves to bar the way before they can enter the inner sanctum. They're older then the ones that peer at them curiously from farther down the hall, they also look rather nervous. -

[Mason] May I ask why a pair of griefers have entered the temple of Jeb? And what you intend here?

[Lie] - We have come to speak to Jeb, we bear a message for his ears only

[Mason] That will be difficult as our god only speaks through those of us chosen as his mouthpieces.

[Lie] - I think he may be willing to make an exception

[Doc] We're not griefers anyway...

[Mason] Who else would show up uninvited? We have not seen humans here in a very, very long time.

[Lie] - Please, we speak truthfully

[Mason] Hmph. Fine, what does it matter? Liars wil be smote for their hubris anyway. Follow me. - opens the door to the larger chapel

[Lie] Silently follows him into the room-

-Inside the great book is lying at an angle on it's pedestal, and there's a faint sound of scratching as it writes in itself with some unseen instrument. -

[Mason] Makes a gesture and the penitents clear out the other visitors and then leave as well to fetch Jeb's emmisaries.

[Lie] Glances at Doc- Do we wait or...?

[Mason] You will wait here. His chosen ones will pray for his attentions and if you are lucky he may deign to speak to you.

-Several Testificates in white robes of varying sexes and ages file in and kneel in a line in front of the book, chanting softly. -

[Lie] Watches in interest before mentally speaking to Doc- I swear if this is the one time the arrogant asshole decides to ignore them...

[Doc] Makes the tiniest snort and Mason gives hir a mean look in response.

-There's a bit of a crackle like someone plugging in a microphone and one of the Testificates stands up, staring straight at the book. The others take note and file out of the room without a word.

[Mason] Makes a gesture towards the standing one - Say your piece and leave us to ours. - He turns with a flourish and shuts the door behind him. Leaving them alone with the standing Testificate.

[Doc] Careful, these guys remember what was said through them afterwards. If you want Jeb himself we'll have to ask for that first.

[Lie] Steps forwards- Jeb?  We have come to speak with you, and you alone...

[Testificate] Cocks hir head, and their eyes narrow - You.... You stay right the hell here. Don't move an inch.

[Lie] Is confused- Are you referring to me?  Or my companion?

[Testifcate] Both of you, damn it. - There's a bit of consternation on the priests face as the god leaves him and he marches out of the room and shuts the door behind him.

-/ Player _Jeb has logged on /-

[Jeb] His avatar looks like a Greek god crowned with laurel leaves and he advances on them in aggravation. - How did you two get on here? This computer is protected and private dammit!

[Lie] - Er...  Um...

[Jeb] Shakes a finger at Doc - and YOU, didn't you cause enough damage the last time? You took my Herobrine!

[Lie] - That's...  Actually kinda why we're here?

[Jeb] What?! Where is he?

[Doc] They were about to be killed!

[Lie] - First of all, this is Markus' birthday present to you, understood?

[Jeb] Markus? - He falls silent. Then. - Did he have some part in this? Dammit. I told him not to interfere!

[Lie] - He didn't, he was invited to, well, it's really none of your business...  Now do you want your damn present or not!?

[Jeb] Present? What the hell are you talking about?

[Lie] - Knowledge...  About a certain fellow brine

[Jeb] What... what do you know?

[Lie] - He's safe, so is his mate in a server where they are surrounded by friends including the two of us here.  They have all the freedom they could ask for, and none of the fear they had here

[Jeb] Is just standing there dumbfounded.

[Doc] Please tell me you weren't blocking them in here intentionally.

[Jeb] Of course I fucking was! The NOTCH on this seed is insane. I was hoping he and his pet Steve would find a clever way to kill it! The damn thing roams around freely on any seed I load, but it always stays close to my computer. It's a menace!

[Lie] Rolls her eyes- It's not the only NOTCH...  And Steve isn't a pet!

[Jeb] I didn't say it was the only one. I just wanted this one in particular gone! Why do you think the Testificates worship me here? I've helped them rebuild after it wrecked their shit trying to grief me!

[Lie] - Yet you refuse to do anything to help any of us!

[Jeb] Waves his arms at her - What do you want me to do? I don't even know who you two are! Just that this one hacked into my server once before!

[Lie] Lowers her hood, her hair glowing brightly from her anger- I'm bitchy cat

[Jeb] What the fuck...? You're a cat that can use a computer?!

[Doc] Lie, I don't think you should-

[Lie] - No, I'm a brine dumbass!

[Jeb] A brine that can.. be a real cat....? Did you do something to Markus?! WHERE IS HE?!

[Lie] - Safe and happy

[Jeb] That sounds... like you kidnapped him. I know he hasn't been home in weeks.

[Doc] He's just spending a lot of time online....

[Lie] Some of her black thorns are curling around her feet-

[Doc] Lie please... calm down!

[Lie] - I'm trying!

[Doc] Look... the truth is... Markus had a stroke. His features are frozen on half his face and he just doesn't want anyone to see how bad it looks. He's hiding while he looks for someone qualified to repair the worst of it. He's really depressed and staying with us.

[Jeb] That's terrible! But who are you? Really? I mean how many players are there out there who call themselves Herobrine? And a cat on a computer? You're just messing with my head.

[Lie] Is shaking a little in anger and mentally speaks to Doc- For once, I want CP to drag somebody in just so he can beat the crap out of them

[Doc] I'm just a hacker, a friend of Markus's. I found your server on accident the first time, and took pity on your brine. We're just here to tell you they're safe and happy. It's Markus's present to you since he knows you've been worried.

[Jeb] He could have gotten them back...

[Lie] - They wouldn't have wanted to come back and for good reason!

[Jeb] But... what about this damn NOTCH? I really thought he could beat it. Now I don't know what to do.

[Lie] - Well to fucking bad for you

[Jeb] Is fuming- Where. is. Markus.

[Doc] Not telling.

[Lie] - Safe!  Just like TLOT and Steve

[Jeb] You really don't give a shit do you? Neither of you?

[Doc] I kinda do...

[Lie] - We give more of a shit than you do

[Jeb] Gets an evil tone in his voice. - You know that TLOT left a lot of people behind who really believe in him, don't you? Testificates that worship him over me even though he hasn't been seen in decades for them?

[Lie] - Yes, and we left something for them

[Jeb] Help me get rid of this NOTCH or I'll delete this seed. If you try to evacuate them I'll do it immediately. You'll never find them all in time.

[Lie] Stiffens and before Doc can stop her, her thorny vines are around Jeb and lifting him high-  How.  Dare.  You.

[Jeb] Grabbing my avatar won't do anything. I'm not here.

[Lie] - Doc!  Can we please let my mate do his thing?!

[Doc] I'm actually for killing this NOTCH if it's possible. I don't give a shit about what Jeb wants, but I know all the terrible things it did to TLOT and Steve.

[Lie] Groans- But he's such an asshole!

[Jeb] I'll give you the whole damn seed if you get rid of it! I can't even play my own game in peace!

[Lie] - We have our own seed thank you very much!

[Doc] I could maintain it as a sub in the server. Just to keep it safe?

[Lie] - Can we please still let CP do his thing to Jeb though!

[Doc] loud thoughts at Lie- Do what thing? Kill him? Somehow I don't think that will solve anything. We'll lose our insider for what the company is doing.

[Lie] Mentally- No, drag him in and beat the shit out of him

[Doc] Slaps hir forehead- Lie please... Maybe later.

[Lie] - OH COME ON!

[Doc] Stares at her - are you sure whatever Cp has isn't contagious?

[Lie] - Look, it takes a lot to piss me off, you know that, and this guy has done it...  Multiple times...  Besides, if we fight this NOTCH, CP will probably already be here

[Doc] Alright. -Xe pauses- I think... we don't have much time to decide...

[Lie] - Should I call CP?

[Jeb] Fuck! Figure it out! I'm monitoring from the desktop. If one of you needs to go for more help that's fine, but if both of you leave I'm deleting it. -

-/ Player_Jeb logged off /-

[Doc] YES. Fucking hell call him now! And Splender too! - Xe grabs Lie and starts dragging her outside

[Lie] Sends a mental call for her mate and briefly explains the situation.  CP immediately rips open a pathway and drags Splender through with him-

[CP] Gathers Lie to him, not used to seeing her this pissed and works on calming her down-  Hey, it's okay, I'm here- He throws out a spawn egg and out pops the baby wither as well

[Splender] - ooo, what a pretty place!

[Doc] We need to get away from the city at least!

[Lie] At CP- Yeah, but first could you scare the asshole monitoring us right now?

[CP] Grins and kisses Lie's forehead- Absolutely- He vanishes briefly before returning

[Jeb] Nearly falls out of his chair at the sight on his screen - AAAAAA!!

-The screen glitches and CP's maniacal laughter echoes out of the speakers before everything returns to normal like nothing happened-

[Doc] Is pointing to a an area of darkness that's now filling a rather large slice of the horizon. Xe's tugging on the others- Let's do this in the desert at least!

[Splender] - What are we doing?

[Doc] See that? That is a NOTCH. We need to find some way to kill it without wrecking this seed.

[Splender] - But why do we need to kill it?

[Doc] Because if we don't then the admin is going to delete this world and kill every Testificate on it!

[CP] - And that's bad how?  TLOT's village is on our seed

[Doc] But there were more! So many.... he crossed this world... you have no idea how many lives he touched.

[CP] Groans-

[Doc] You do what you like. I'm going to fight. - Xe transforms into hir larger shape and gallops in the direction of the desert with a thunderous roar.

-In the distance the patch of night seems to coallese and there's a wave at gound level as something dark pours out onto the sand. An army of mobs, driven by the fear of what follows them.

[CP] Sighs and throws a small ball of code at the baby wither, it shudders and grows to several times the size of a normal wither, each head turning canine with large fangs and resting at the ends of long snake like necks, it charges forwards as well.  CP then turns towards Splender- Splender, this thing we're fighting?  It's hurt TLOT and Steve many, many times and very badly for no reason.  It wants them both dead, do you think they deserve that?

[Splender] Growls a little- No- There's a growing red light in his eyes as he ducks his head and tilts his top hat so hide his face a little.  CP knows it's a risky move to anger the slender being, but probably worth it

[Doc] Shouts from overhead - The only thing that ever hurt this NOTCH was bad code! Go for the EMP if you can make a controlled burst! Glitch it out!

[Splender] - Gladly- He teleports to the very front and lets off a strong blast, the ground and everything around him glitching

[Doc] Is gathering statick in hir mouth and scattering the mobs with wide sweeps of hir paws and tail.

[NOTCH] Roars in fury and there's a hint of a shape against the skyline

[CP] Motions for Lie to stay back and flies forwards-

[NOTCH] Is hitting and kicking the ground, even to the point of injuring the mobs beneath his feet. Sand is flying everywhere as the storm that swirls around the titanic being reaches the floor of the desert.

[CP] Spawns his weapons and flies with the direction of the wind as it circles the NOTCH-

[Wither] Spews it's attacks in rapid succession-

[NOTCH] Is punching the air, trying to hit the small things that are attacking it.

[Splender] Let's loose with a staticky screech and sends an EMP blast forwards-

[Doc] Fires a giantic ball of statick that hits the being with a geltaninus splat and clings there, burning like acid and making part of the NOTCH visible.

[NOTCH] Reels under the force of the screech and is desperately trying to get the statick off of itself.

[Lie] Is concentrating from a ways back, the sand shifting beneath her as something moves underneath-

[NOTCH] Stumbles a little under the combined pain and some of the mobs flee at a dead run to keep out from under his feet.

[CP] Darts in to slash at tendons which could weaken the NOTCH, keeping himself alit in fire all the while-

[NOTCH] Howls in a voice that is more like the roar of a hurricane. It's bleeding code and trying to hit CP out of the air.

[CP] Teleports to make it harder-

[Doc] Uses the admin commands to drop bolt after bolt of lighting on the NOTCH while they make more statick

[Lie] From beneath the NOTCH erupts a massive offensive plant pod, ripping open and dripping with massive amounts of lust nectar as it bites down on the NOTCH and tries dragging it into the sand some-

[NOTCH] Falls and grabs hold of the rocky cliff to keep from being pulled under, it's eyes are black holes in the vaguely human shape that's outlined against the sand.

[Lie] Wobbles, the plant pod having taken much more energy than she thought and taking a noticeable strain on her energy-

[Doc] Spews more statick right into it's eyes-

[CP] Aims for the throat- HONEDGE!  GET THE SPINE!

[NOTCH] Flails at the plant, trying to rip it off

[Honedge] Unwraps itself from CP and nimbly dances in front of the NOTCH, it's shadow reaching behind him and striking the back of the neck-

-The plant is trying to wrench a piece off-

[Splender] Releases another burst, his hands having elongated into claws as he rushes forwards to dig into the NOTCH, his tendrils having also become deceptively sharp to stab their victim-

[Doc] Grabs one of the flailing hands and savages it with teeth and claws.

[CP] His sword dug deep into the throat, coating him in blood-

[NOTCH] Is sparking and screaming as it's cut and yanked apart. The body itself is flickering wildly.

[Splender] Releases a very strong blast-

[NOTCH] Vanishes out of their grasp, leaving a small prone figure in the sand. The body of the NOTCH is in pieces and the mostly severed head manages a single zombie-like groan.

[CP] Dives down and slices right through the remainder of the neck with his sword and then focus' on stabbing the body over and over again with his pick before setting it alight-

[Doc] Stomps the ground and gives off a roar that shakes the sandhills. The remainder of the mobs flee in terror.

[Lie] Wobbles and falls to her knees, having used too much energy-

[Splender] Is pacing to let off his excess anger-

[Doc] WE WON JEB! THE SEED IS OURS! GIVE US THE CODE!

[CP] - Wait, what?  Were we ordered to do this?

-/ player_Jeb logged on /-

[Jeb] Is practically dancing in place - You fucking did it! That was amazing!

[Doc] Fuck you! I didn't do it for you!

[CP] Lunges at Jeb- YOU FUCKER!