#the yellow one punched me in the eye and i started to chase him out of anger only to start fake-crying when my dad came into the room

[byfulcrums]

I just saw a fanfic that had the Ahsoka/Anakin sibling trope but they kept on calling each other ‘bro’ and ‘sis’ and I'm so angry now

[vxnuslogy]

— unfinished business.

starring: stellaron hunter!sunday x gn!reader + the other stellaron hunters.

premise: on his first mission with the stellaron hunters, sunday hesitates, unable to push through. frustrated, you step in, taking on the task. when danger strikes, Sunday becomes your unexpected savior. the mission succeeds, but sunday is left wondering about your unfinished business in the capital of passion and your mysterious past before you joined the team.

— warnings: slight angst + arguments.

— author's note: another sunday fic to the collection yippie. pic credits to @helen_zzhao. | ~3.4k words.

the capital of passion always looked magnificent at night. here you were with your fellow hunters and your boss - in his cat form - standing above the capital at its highest peak. flashing lights of neon blues, pinks, and yellows obscured the night sky you preferred to look at when the moon was present. you were sitting on one of the ventilations of the building you were all standing on, silver wolf leaning on the railing playing video games, blade in some corner with his sword close to his chest and eyes strained away from the bright lights, and sunday stood awkwardly standing next to you with elio perched in your lap.

“you already know what to do right, mister?” silver wolf suddenly looks up from her game and drops a silver disc right in front of her. a hologram of the city below you showed up and two glowing yellow dots were running away from the blue dots who you assumed were the public security regulation. “we split up and corner the messengers, interrogate said messengers for more information about the supposed discontinued project, and leave before security catches us. ”

silver wolf looked at sunday with a different glint in her eyes. “you can do a simple task like this right?” 

the man beside you crossed his arms together over his chest and gripped them tightly. brows knitting together in contemplation as his mouth opened just to close again. continuous beeping noises that sounded like alarms from the disc made you suddenly stand up. “they’re changing their course. i thought they mostly traveled in the skies? why are they suddenly using the alleyways?”

“we don’t have time.” blade interrupted with a pointed look to sunday. “can you or can you not do it? the clock is ticking.”

you look at sunday worriedly who has still yet to say another word. “i–”

“mister make up your mind, we’re going to lose them!” silver wolf shouted in worry. taking out her phone and quickly punching a few buttons. red rectangles appeared on a holographic map of the city, closing any passages the messenger could take to escape. “we need to go, like right now!”

you looked towards blade who was already getting ready to jump off the rooftop to chase the messengers. his intense gaze never once left sunday’s figure who continued to shrink more into the shadow. 

“i can’t… i’m sorry.” sunday murmured, hand tightening their hold on his arms. you try not to show how your  eyes widened in disbelief but with the way he avoided looking into your eyes, you couldn’t help the bubbling of frustration that started to fester in your chest.

silver wolf was always calm under pressure so it was strange to see her so shaken. “are you kidding me?!” she stomped towards sunday and pointed an accusing finger to sunday. tapping at his chest multiple times to emphasize her frustration. “you said you were ready! we did not just waste weeks worth of our time to train you for this mission only for you to say that you can’t do it?!”

“silvy come on, give him a break.” you tried to but in, keeping your own frustration hidden behind an understanding smile. “this is his first mission; a complete one-eighty of what he’s used to.”

“you’re being too soft on him, [name]!” a timer of 15 minutes suddenly appeared on the map. “we’re here on a mission. we could get caught!”

“silver wolf is right, [name].” you look at the black cat that sat by sunday’s legs. their head turned to look at sunday but the man only looked away in shame, wings covering his face. “you’ve agreed to become a hunter, mr. sunday. and you’ve also agreed to participate in this mission. need i remind you of the consequences when you don’t follow the script?”

elio never truly intimidated you, not when you first joined, on your first mission, or just in general. but with the way he was sizing up sunday with such judgement made the hairs on your arms and neck raise in realization. elio might have been kind to you, but they weren’t so much with others.

you look back to the map and blade, and then the timer that continues to tick. “i’ll go.”

“what?!” silver wolf’s attention was now on you. and so was everyone else's. “no one knows you’re a stellaron hunter! if anyone were to catch a glimpse of you all your hard work will be for nothing!”

“do you really want to risk that, [name]? ” blade asked, pushing you back to where sunday and elio stood. you felt their gaze on you as you stepped forward and pushed past blade. with a single tap on your earpiece a visor appeared in front of your eyes and showed you the map of the city. the same glowing yellow dots.

“[name].” elio warns.

“i’ll take the one in the west, the rest of you take the north.” you heard a collective shout of your name but you already jumped off. 

the city was more jam-packed than you had imagined. though you were in the alleyways of the capital, bags of trash, old mechanical parts, and even trashed prosthetics laid on the ground making it hard to navigate through the already dimmed path.

you kept a close eye on the yellow dot just a few feet in front of you. furrowing your brows in confusion when it suddenly turned around and started charging in your directions. too focused on the map showing on your visor, you fail to notice the glinting piece of metal that was thrown straight at your head. 

something warm encapsulated your body. you suddenly felt an arm wrap around your waist and your head as the figure in a cloak jumped over your body. a grunt left your savior’s lips making you turn around.

“sunday?!” he only gave you a flustered smile as you sat on his lap. 

“hello…” he replied as you quickly stood up and helped him up. checking over your visor just to see that the yellow dot had taken a different route that you predicted. a curse left your lips as you kicked the trash bags in front of you.

“bladie they're coming your way. be careful, they're armed.” you heard a soft roger from the other end as your visor shut off. you look back to sunday who was dusting off his clothes. your brows knit together in confusion. “what are you doing here?”

he looked shocked by your question but quickly masked it. “i’m here to finish my mission.”

“i thought you said you couldn’t do it?” you wonder what kind of expression you were making to suddenly make the ever so composed sunday squirm.

“blade is right.” he takes a step forward and pushes your hair out of your eyes. wincing when his gloved finger suddenly grazed over the scratch you didn’t even know you had. “you’re too soft on me, [name].”

you raise a brow at him. “would you prefer i be a bit sterner then?”

sunday must have taken your words lightly because he only shook his head in amusement with a small smile on his lips. normally you would smile with him but this time a deep frown tugged at your lips. “i’m being serious, sunday.” 

he ceased his silent laughter and looked at your eyes. “because i will be more strict with you if you’re going to continue acting like this in future missions.”

his shoulders tensed when you turned around, back facing him as you started to walk away back to your meeting point. no doubt silver wolf and blade must have caught one of the messengers and brought them back to the rooftop. 

“let’s go back to our meeting point.” you didn’t wait for his reply when you started scaling up the walls of the alleys. clicking your tongue in disgust when you felt the grime stick to your fingers. 

“are you mad?” 

“excuse me?”

the both of you stopped. just a few feet away from you, you catch a glimpse of elio playing with the holograms. signaling you both to return to continue the interrogation. the night is going to be over soon and you’ve spent enough time running around trying to catch a wild goose.

“of course i’m mad!” you looked at him in disbelief as your voice raised in volume. “sunday, we're in a capital that's being run by a government body who doesn't care about privacy. the fact that we haven't been caught yet is a miracle!” you take a deep inhale and pinch the bridge of your nose. “you said you were ready. that you can finally start taking missions. elio prepared you a script and we helped you train for weeks. so i’m sorry if i’m mad that most of our efforts are going down the drain.”

sunday looked away. he almost looked bashful with one arm brushing up the other. “i apologize. i truly thought i was ready. but with the way you’re treating these people, i couldn’t help but think you’ll–”

“kill them?” he winced at your blunt reply. you continued making your way back to the rooftop, not bothering to slow down your pace as sunday followed you from a good distance. “we’re going to interrogate them. this is your first mission, we aren’t going to make you dirty your hands this early.”

sunday stood incredibly still. as if he's only realizing now what he's really gotten himself into. “so you do plan on making me a murderer.”

you scoffed as you pushed back your hair. taking a deep breath, you steadied your voice. “sunday, we’re wanted criminals.” your eyes narrowing down to glare as sunday tried to challenge you. “why do you think everyone has a bounty in the millions? of course we’ve murdered people. that’s our job.”

“this isn’t right.” he argued. 

“well tough shit.” his eyes went wide, mouth opening slightly but closed just as fast. you weren’t one to curse or even raise your voice but tonight you were losing your cool. “sunday, you agreed to join us. of course you’ll have to get your hands dirty later on. you should be grateful elio gave you such an easy mission that doesn’t require that much force.”

“then what about you?” sunday knew he was pushing his limits, but he still continued. “if you’re all criminals then why have i not seen even a single wanted poster of you?”

sunday quickly regretted asking that when a wave of sadness washed over you. lips pressed together into a thin line as your hands curl into fists, knuckles turning white and slightly shaking. the two of you would’ve stood in silence forever if it weren’t for elio playing with the hologram. you quickly teared your gaze away from him and started to walk away in silence.

“we’re trying to do what’s best for you, sunday.” you say softly. “the consequences of the script getting derailed are catastrophic. trust me,” there was a certain edge to your voice when you turned to look at him. the bright lights of the capital casting a faint glow over your figure making the air sunday tried to inhale get lodged in his throat. “i know what kind of cataclysm might fall if you go off script.”

you reached the meeting point roughly 5 minutes later. elio was licking at his paw and meowed when they saw your figure approaching. squatting down to pet their head, you allow them to rub at your legs before clawing at sunday’s pants and climbing to his shoulders. the halovian let out a sound between a squeak and a groan, normally this would rip out a giggle out of you but your eyes remained focused on the man sitting by the ventilation with his arms tied behind his back. the man cracked one eye open and when his gaze fell over you he started scooting backwards.

“I-its… you…” your brows furrow together as sunday came to stand beside you, the same expression on his face.

“do you know him?”

you shake your head. “no, i don’t.”

taking a step forward, the man cowered and shook like a leaf, leaving you and sunday confused. “how are you alive?!” you were about to question him when he quickly followed it up with something you believed you wouldn’t ever hear again. “you’re that doctor from the train! you were supposed to be dead, i saw the explosion and you were caught in it!”

a lodge appeared in your throat. no sound left your lips when you squatted down to the man’s height to question. suddenly, sunday’s gold eyes felt too heavy and questioning even though you couldn’t see them. you curl your hand into a fist and let out a shaky sigh. closing your eyes to calm the drumming in your ears and heart. this was not the time to look back on the accident that happened amber eras ago.

“oh triple-faced soul,” you hear sunday approach from behind. “please sear his tongue and palms with a hot iron,” the air suddenly turned warm as a gloved hand wrapped around your arm pulling you up and tugging you to his side.“so that he will not be able to fabricate lies and make false vows.”

elio jumped into your arms, tapping a paw at your chin making you look up at sunday with worried eyes. “this will be faster.” he said, waiting for you to ask the question you had prepared beforehand.

taking a deep breath, you take out your phone and give it to sunday. he nodded at you, a hand came to the small of your back to steady you. your mind swam with questions on how this man knew about the explosion, you were very sure that no one was there to see it. “come to my office after the mission.” elio spoke softly, breaking you out of your nightmares.

“question: what do you know of the windborne project?” sunday questions, his golden stare narrowed dangerously at the man’s figure.

“it’s a discontinued project,” the man gulped before continuing. “there were too many errors and too few researchers. the blueprints were leaked by an old messenger and not long after, the others were captured by the public security regulation.”

“do you know who leaked the blueprint? what about the original creator?”

“we don’t know! everyone assumed that a rat had gotten in through some means and leaked it.”

“do you possess the blueprint of the windborne project?”

the man hesitated. he started taking sharp inhales and let out shaky exhales. hands started shaking in his restraints as sunday took a step forward and kneeled to the man’s level. golden eyes not once faltering.

“i will ask you again, do you possess the blueprint of the windborne project?”

“y-yes!” the man cried out. “it’s in my bag, you can have it, so please, spare me..” 

you let go of elio gently and made your way to the stray bag in one of the corners. zipping it open you pull out a gray cylinder and wouldn’t you know, the words “windborne” were written in white marker. taking off the lid and sliding out the paper, you open it and let out a hum.

“continue with the interrogation,” you tell sunday, taking out a pen from your pocket and started writing on the blueprint. circling and crossing out words like the materials needed, the measurements and instructions on how its supposed to be used.

“where can we find the holo-wings?” you felt sunday’s eyes flicker over to you but you pay it no mind.

“the tech labs in arcadia research department. they’ve been manufacturing them in secret and selling them in the underground markets.”

you hum and write more stuff down. “ask him about the nano-actuators.”

“and what about the nano-actuators? where can we get them?”

“cybernetic shops. their found all across the capital.”

“cybernetic shops…” you mutter after circling another portion of the words on the blueprint. after a few more notes, you roll up the blueprint and put it back in its cylinder. “you can let him go now, we’re done here.”

sunday stood up and dusted his pants, letting go of the man from his trance. a shiver went up your spine when he looked at you, the remnants of the order’s power swimming in them before they all vanished when he blinked. you follow his gaze towards the cylinder in your hand but made no move to question it.

“i told you everything i know, so please let me go…!” the man cried out with tears in his eyes.

“not yet,” you reply with a monotone voice. “my other friends still want something from you.”

his eyes widened and continued to thrash in his restraints. you only shake your head and pull out your phone to text silver wolf and blade for any updates. “are you really a nameless?” the man beside asked with so much gentleness. your initial frustration washed away completely you began to wonder if he was using his powers on you. but when you looked at his eyes, you saw nothing but sincere concern.

“was, sunday.” you look away from him and look over to the horizon, the sun is rising. 

“is it connected to the explosion the man said?” he asks, voice laced with concern and curiosity.

you press your lips together, looking down at the cylinder container in your hands. “it’s all in the past now. irrelevant pieces of information.” elio meows at you both and starts walking to where the stairs are. “this is a story better left unfinished, sunday. so please don’t try to see how it ends.”

the trip back home was quiet and awkward. you sat in the passenger seat this time while silver wolf and sunday sat in the back. every so often, sunday’s eyes would flick over to you. silently looking out the window, the cylinder in your lap as you drummed a beat on it to try and distract yourself from the fatigue of last night’s mission.

an elbow to his side made him wince slightly. he turned to glare at the girl beside him who showed her phone. sunday squinted his eyes in confusion when he read the message silver wolf sent to him.

favorite?

“we’re here.” blade’s voice cut through the quiet and still atmosphere. both sunday and silver wolf looked up from their phones just in time to see you leave the car with elio in tow. 

when everyone entered the building, you put the cylinder on one of the couches and greet firefly and kafka in the kitchen. briefly excusing yourself from the two and following elio down a corridor he’s never gone through before. 

sunday’s eyes never once left your figure even after you disappeared into a room with destiny’s slave. mind swimming with more questions about your past and yourself in general. he pondered on what silver wolf meant when you were elio’s favorite. not to mention the sudden info dump on you being an old nameless from the astral express. 

who exactly are you, [name]?

© vxnuslogy 2024. please do not copy, repost, or translate any of my works.

[thatgenericwriter]

I'm Eepy || Gregory House

Paring: Dr. Gregory House x fem! reader

Summary: House and the reader have a 4 year old child that definitely takes after her father

Warnings: Children, House, Swearing

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You took your eyes away from your kid for 10 seconds. 10 fucking seconds! And when you turned around she was no longer playing with her monster trucks by the nurse's station. You immediately start to panic, frantically searching the entire floor you're on.

Normally you wouldn't be this panic, she runs off all the time, except the last time she wandered off in the hospital she got into the drawers of a patient's room and almost took an entire bottle of pills thinking they were candy.

You collect House's fellows and make them split into teams, sending them to scour the different floors in search of your daughter. By this point, you're on the verge of a panic attack. Your daughter is missing in a giant hospital with so many ways of hurting herself, or getting kidnapped, or just leaving on her own, or---

Your hysterical train of thought is interrupted when you hear your name called out from behind you. Whipping around you find that the source of voice is none other than House. You practically sprint towards him throwing yourself into his arms.

"She's missing and I can't find her and I have everyone looking for her and she's gone and I'm an awful mother and I should have never let her out of my site and how could I---."

"Calm down!" House pushes you back slightly and leans down to be face-to-face with you. "I know where she is."

You look into his eyes before punching him in the shoulder. "Why the FUCK did you not tell me that in the first place!"

"Well I was going to but then someone got all weepy and pathetic so I didn't get the chance."

You roll your eyes at him and scoff, but then you lean back in for another hug. You feel him run his hand along your back soothingly before pulling away and turning towards the elevator.

"Come on I have Thirteen and Kutner watching her right now, but I'm not sure how long they can last around her before their feeling are hurt so bad they cast her out of my office."

You grab his hand and walk to the elevator while picturing your daughter making fun of Thirteen and Kutner. She definitely took after her father in the 'making others feel like trash for fun' category. Something you were trying to teach out of her, but someone keeps teaching her more and more curse words.

As the elevator doors open you let go of House's hand and run to his office. You throw the door open and look around for your daughter. All of the fellows have gathered at the table and give you sushing gestures before pointing behind you.

You turn around to find your daughter lounged in House's yellow chair, her eyes fighting to stay open. You quietly walk through the connecting door and crouch by your daughter's head.

"Hey pretty girl," you stroke her hair lovingly, "you know you can't run off like that. Mommy was so scared. You don't want to scare me do you?"

She groggily shakes her head no before letting out a yawn. "I'm sorry Mommy, but I'm soooooo eepy."

You shake your head with a small smile before kissing your daughter's head lightly and watch as her eyes finally close. Standing up you turn and look through the glass to see House standing there looking at you and your daughter with the most content look you've ever seen on his face.

Turning off the lights and closing the blinds you give one last look at your daughter before walking through the conjoing door and into House's awaiting arms.

"Get a room you two!" Everyone whips their head around to Chase with a furious look on their face.

"Shhhhhhhhh!"

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Author's note: i did not prof read this so if it sucks don't tell me... also I'm going to write more I swear! plz be patient with me as I get through requests!!

[lavenderfilledcoffin]

apologies

noun

a regretful acknowledgment of an offense or or failure.

•*¨*•.¸¸♪✧•*¨*•.¸¸♪

Sebastian Solace.

Your heart ached for him.

He was perfection in itself—no, he's better than perfection.

Your sole purpose in life is to love him, you're sure of it.

How could someone like you deserve someone like him?

He's too good for you.

You never deserved to be with him.

There will always be someone better than you.

The thoughts turned sour immediately, running through your head all at once.

Your heart hurt, too heavy and fragile to handle these horrible thoughts that plagued your very being.

You needed Sebastian's attention, bad. You craved it. It's all that gave your life purpose and meaning.

Why does your mind have to spiral when he's gone?

"I'm back—oh." Sebastian's eyes ran over your body. Your face was tucked into your knees, arms hugging your legs closely.

"You hate me, don't you, Seb?" Your voice felt small, too weak to be deemed a voice. How pathetic could you possibly get?

"I—" You cut him off, "don't lie to me." Your eyes stared into his bright blue ones, you couldn't even recognize him. His face was nothing but a giant mess, obstructed by your tears of pure anger.

"[Name], I love you, don't say that." His words felt like a lie. Everything he told you felt like a lie. How could he hurt you like this? Didn't he love you?

"You're a fucking liar." You spoke through gritted teeth, angry tears streaming down your face.

The only thing circling in his head was what could have possibly went wrong. You were so sweet and happy earlier, what did he do wrong? Sebastian tried to reason with you, but you stormed out of his hideout. He didn't bother chasing you, figuring that you needed alone time.

Sebastian stared at the spot you were curled up in. He knew you didn't mean those harsh words... Right?

You ran as far away as you could from his hideout. You hated him. You hated Sebastian. You wanted him dead.

He didn't care about you. He wouldn't even run after you. You would have done it in a heartbeat—

Oh.

Oh.

You ruined everything. You sabotaged a beautiful relationship because of your selfishness. Why...?

You hadn't even realized it. Your legs gave out, stopping right in front of an office room.

You quickly scrambled into it, hiding in the corner next to a locker. Your body curled up into fetal position.

Everything hit all at once.

Guilt.

Anger.

Sadness.

It felt horrible. Your emotions controlled you as if you were some puppet. Why? You felt so helpless. You just wanted to be in his arms in the safety of his hideout.

'Shit...' Sebastian was getting lost, he realized he shouldn't have let you run off like that.

"[Name]?" His voice called out for you, yet there was no trace. It was almost as if you had vanished into thin air.

His tail slithered faster and faster, desperate to find you.

Something bad could have happened. Had an angler come by? Oh, fuck.

Muffled sobs stopped him in his tracks, he followed the noise.

Sebastian had to catch his breath before he entered the opened room. "[Name]?" He spoke softly, noticing your once again curled up body.

"D—Don't look at me! Go away!" You cried out, hugging your knees even tighter.

The sight made his heart break. Sure, he's seen you like this numerous times, but that doesn't lessen the reality of the situation.

He moved closer to you, scooping you up into his arms despite your broken sentence telling him not to.

You punched his chest, sobbed, and screamed while he held you. "I— don't deserve..."

Your cries came to a halt. You had exhausted yourself enough to where you fell asleep.

Your cheeks were tear stained, but Sebastian wiped them away.

"I got you."

You woke up, were you dead?

A blinding yellow light came into view. It was Sebastian's lure.

The memory of your actions came flooding back, and you nearly started crying again before he held you close.

"It's okay. I promise. I love you, and I always will no matter what."

"You don't mean that." You sniffled, a tear falling from your eye.

"I do. I mean it. I love you with every fiber of my being." His left hand made its way onto your face, gently caressing it.

"I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." You shut your eyes, hot tears falling down your cheeks.

"It's okay, I promise. I know you don't mean it." Sebastian leaned back so that you would be half lying on him.

"I love you, okay?" He pressed a small kiss to your forehead.

In the blink of an eye, you felt somewhat better. No hatred or guilt enveloped your being. Ah. Finally.

Peace in your mind.

[tiredsmashbros]

Memories : part one

2k words ; tsb fanfic

the battle was intense. that's all smg4 could think about. chest tightens while engulfed in fear as he dodges the attacks of a giant mallet aiming at him. barely escaping the impact by an inch. the mallet belonging to non other than the person who has been impacting smg4's life into a spiral of endless stress. the suspicious behavior pattern, lack of consideration of others, unrealistic cartoon language and logic, and even his mysterious background are what made smg4 legs shake. yet the fellow still showed acts of kindness, thoughtfulness, a sense of genuine... nothing made sense! what's worse, smg4 never expected anything weird coming from this guy from their first introduction, he genuinely was quite excited for a new friend who seemed so silly, and intrigued by the memes he shared. yet... here he was now. fighting what felt like for his life. he didn't know what to do but be on the defensive side as he grew tired and weak. doing his best to sustain stamina as the yellow, blue maniac wasn't even breaking a sweat.

"stop this man! this isn't like you!" smg3 shouted, in the hope of verbally knocking some sense into the propeller-wearing individual, despite already countless efforts beforehand. striking a punch on tsb's face, losing his grip on his mallet.

"you don't know him." the body of tsb responded, his voice giving an unusual echo, eyes narrowed exposing his brown iris, accompanied by an uncanny smile that spread across his face. letting out a childish chuckle, tsb pulls his head back and strikes onto smg3 with a head-butt move. receiving a pained groan in response to the quick attack. smg4 rushed over to aid smg3 from falling over, standing beside his guardian partner, yearning to protect him but fueled with caution of the maniac man in front of them.

"let's try our meme powers again!" smg4 suggested to smg3, catching his breath in between.

"that method is futile." tsb spoke, almost monotone, his head dripping from the side of his shoulder, "you are too tired. you don't have enough energy to input something effective." he added.

smg3 clicked his tongue, eyes filled with anger yet with a touch of sorrow. seeing tsb talk and act this way made smg3 feel uneasy. something felt off by the way he spoke and the usage of vocabulary. his mind clouded with memories, being reminded of the silly obnoxious man that would bounce out of nowhere, someone he'd spent having long talks of comfort, a bro to always be there to help... to now him aiming to beat him down till he couldn't stand on either foot. "he's right," smg3 softly spoke, "nothing we do will work. we can't beat him..." smg3 added in a defeated tone.

"finally that's progress into your head!" tsb exclaimed, adding in a child-like giggling, giving the two guardians chills down their spines. till suddenly a lightbulb sparked inside smg4.

"wait that's it!" smg4 said. "into your head!"

"what in the hell are you-" smg3 spoke, but he was interrupted by his hand being pulled away by his blue counterpart.

puzzled yet intrigued, tsb grins and starts the chase after the smg's. staying somewhat close behind, but far enough to make the chase more of a game instead. dragging his body unnaturally on purpose.

smg3 got a hold of his stance, running behind smg4 but flustered by the sudden hand grab turned into holding. "b-baka! w-where are we-"

"while i was locked up by tsb and by that weird pink sand time guy," smg4 interjected, "right before you guys found me i was starting my escape when i accidentally stumbled upon watching him put a weird helmet device onto tsb's head." the two running out of the dark void they were formally at, to a slim hallway of the same black stardust material on the walls, floor, and ceiling. "and that is relevant how?" smg3 queried, puzzled, taking a mental note of tsb following them behind. yet tsb wasn't close enough to listen to the smg's conversation.

"that helmet device is the key! i overheard that sand guy its used to go into memories of mortals!"

"so why did he put one on tsb? to manipulate and control him or some shit?"

"m-maybe? i don't know yet! but it's our ticket to hopefully stopping this rampage of his before that cartoon legit kills us! you're close with him, maybe you can try punching his chaotic shit out of his mind?" smg4 quizzed.

"pfftha! that i can do!" smg3 cheered, a smirk blooming across his face. becoming aware of the possibility of potentially saving his friend who may be mind-controlled, it just made sense! the tsb he knew would never act this strange or dangerous. an observation thought the purple guardian kept to himself, fully aware of what his partner may have opinionated if spoken aloud. smg3 may love his guardian partner, but he knows for a fact from the small crescent of his emo heart who tsb truly is as an individual. even if smg3 lacks personal background and proof to support his belief, he would curse smg4's name for believing it. he only hopes that one day smg4 could realize for himself, how wrong he is about the silly looney toon. only time could tell as smg4 continued to lead them to what seemed like an endless dream space. seeing the same black void tingled confusion in his mind, it felt like an illusion even seeing the same thing repeatedly. his eyes giving a sense of lost in reality.

finally, smg4 jerked into an open room of an iron door, a space surrounded by chalkboards, paper, technology equipment, and science shenanigans smg3 took note of. smg4 immediately began searching for one of the helmet devices he mentioned, successfully within seconds smg4 found it and held it high in accomplishment. it was shaped and looked like a thick, solid helmet made for riding bicycles, painted all white accompanied by a red, yellow, and blue stripe down the center of the headwear. immediately, smg4 began searching for a second one to complete the mind transaction process. just as he does, tsb creepily walks in announcing his entrance, "back by popular demand...ME!" the 'me' delivered in an almost demonic-like vocal expression.

smg3 let out a small cry in surprise, retreating to smg4's side, praying now that smg4 was right about this plan. "alright 3, you grab ahold of him as best you can in a still position so i can input this on top of his stupid head!" smg4 ordered, moving to the side cautiously eyeing tsb.

smg3 nodded, "got it." he spoke not as enthusiastic as before, as he began to mentally prepare to hold that crazy cartoon maniac down after already a long fighting session as his life seriously depended on it. he prepped his stance, knees bent down at a 90-degree angle, spreading his legs for a wider range. "come on now then, big boy! show daddy how much you love him!" smg3 shouted, fanning his hands as a motion to invite tsb to come at him.

tsb manically laughed, full sprinting and pouncing at smg3 letting out a fnaf 2 foxy jumpscare scream. immediately the two began wrestling hitting and smacking down tables and chairs that flooded the room, papers flying above as cords being detached were heard. smg3 attempts to land punches to only then be received with a bite on his arm instead. smg3 bit his lip in an attempt to hold in his screams of pain and instead used it as the perfect opportunity to flip their positions with smg3 now on top of him. pressing his arm further back into tsb's mouth to stabilize him with his head in an upward locked position, despite the bottom half of his body being twisted the other way due to his unnatural body physics. using his other hand to aggressively stabilize tsb's hands, whereas his foot locked down tsb's legs.

smg4 stood on the sidelines, patiently and anxiously waiting for smg3 to hold the cartoon still, and just as his partner did smg4 rushed in without a second thought placing the device on top of tsb's head. swiftly removing tsb's propeller hat to prevent it from getting in the way. remembering how the pink sand man did it on him by pressing a black button on the side to activate it. after it was finally set on tsb's head, smg4 took a step back watching as the man pinned on the ground attempted to remove the helmet to no avail.

"now what!?" smg3 yelled with a struggled tone, growing anxiously impatient and mentally screaming in agonizing pain, grinding his teeth hard as tsb only dug his teeth deeper into the purple guardian's arm urgently attempt for freedom.

"okay, okay, i just need you to hold your head still and i'll place the second helmet on you so you can mind travel into his crazy brains or whatever!" smg4 hurriedly said, just as panicked as his guardian partner. swiftly grabbing the second helmet he had behind him and rushing towards back to smg3.

however, tsb did not like the plan these partnered guardians were cooking up. this time, putting all his energy into brute force to twist smg3 down to the opposite side of smg4's path to prevent him from putting the helmet on.

the purple meme guardian screamed in agony as his head harshly hit the floor, his body positioned awkwardly to be kept down by tsb. smg4 jolted from the sudden change of control and stood frozen in fear. to tsb's misfortune, smg3 was still holding onto tsb's hands enough to continue to prevent him from manually removing the helmet. yet the catch was there was no safe possible way to input the helmet onto smg3's head without tsb interfering.

"smg3! i-i can't find a safe spot to put the helmet on you!" smg4 said worriedly, fearful of his plan coming to a defeat. it couldn't end like this, he needed to think of something! tsb only laughed to himself, concluding by default victorious without the consideration of smg3 coming to a concluded thought. a thought that not only would help them win on top but a thought that may finally answer his prayers for the person he cared most to finally understand.

"s-smg4," the purple counterpart started, "YOU have to put the helmet on!" this suggestion surprised both his partner and the animated cartoon. "you can't put it on me, but it's not impossible for you to put it on yourself. YOU got to go inside this dumb dr. pepper loving asshole's brains and fix him!"

"i-i can't do that!" smg4 stuttered, shaking anxiously realizing the aim smg3 was getting at.

"yes you can! you can do it for me or for hell's sake do it for tari! she needs out help! we can't waste anymore time smg4!" smg3 exclaimed impatiently.

"i don't know how-"

"NEITHER DO I!" smg3 bursted, "but you trust and believe in me enough to do it anyways from the start! i trust and believe right back at you man." smg4 stood idly shocked, and to his surprise so did tsb. catching himself staring into tsb's eyes, they were still narrowed like before but... this time he could see a white arrow-shape glimmer in them. it almost felt like he was pleading for him to do so, to put on the helmet... but why? as if lost time on a timer, tsb's eyes reeled back to maniac mode, and resumed his attempt to freed himself from smg3's bearable grasp. "DO IT NOW FOUR!" smg3 yelled as he pushed in all his remaining energy to hold tsb down.

in a hesitant instance, smg4 removed his hat and put the helmet on. "NOOO!" screamed tsb in a higher echoed pitch, an unrecognized voice that didn't belong to tsb. with one more glance at his best friend, the two meme guardians gave each other an agreeable nod as smg4 pushed the button. with one final physical motion as smg4 could hear the technology within the helmet activate, smg4 raised his arm up, and gave a thumbs up.

to be continued...

...

...

...

fri: “watchman” was an outworldly entity, one could even label a god, but they were much more than that. an entity by physical appearance built up by particles of pink fluidity sand. as if a piece had its own consciousness. watchman was a playful being, understood empathy, sympathized with others, and yearned to nurture those suffering in pain. romantical pain even. always watching love play… always… watching… tick tock. 

[sunflowergirl522]

Great Friends

Pairing: Hobie Brown x spiderperson!Reader

Summary: You and Hobie meet

Word Count: 1415

One use of Y/N I barely write in his accent again. Let me know if you want more Hobie and Honeybee

Hobie Masterlist

“The portal should drop you off in the sewer systems. Your teammate for this one will meet you there.” Jess explains through Hobie’s watch as she sends the coordinates through.

“Why am I goin’ in the damn sewers?” 

“Because that’s where the anomaly is. Miguel and I would take care of it if it weren’t for one of the Kravens somehow getting out here. Just go and take care of it, Hobie.” She hangs up then leaving his watch to blink with the awaiting coordinates.

“Why did I agree to this stupid club?” Hobie mutters to himself before opening up the portal and stepping through it. He immediately plugs his nose at the strong smell of his new surroundings not even wanting to think of the residue from the walls he’ll have to clean off his boots. “Bloody hell, what kind of villain wants to have his lair ‘ere?” He’s heard stories of course from other spider people of chasing a Lizard variant into a sewer but never thought he’d be getting thrown straight into one.

He follows the animal-like noises and rats through the tunnels to find an open area with a giant rat man monster in the middle of it. The rats surround him and follow his movements like a commune.

“The hell am I looking at mate?” Hobie’s question gets the creature's attention and it turns its whole body to look at him.

“Who…are you?” It grumbles out. “Where am…I?” He glitches after speaking.

“Not your universe, you make this easy and we’ll both be back home ‘fore you know it.” He takes a step toward the creature who lets out a growl feeling threatened and before Hobie knows it rats are swarming him. He cusses under his breath as he jumps to stand on the ceiling and shoot a web at the monster wondering where the hell his partner is.

“Sorry I’m late to the party!” Your voice rings out and echoes off the walls a bit as you make your appearance. “Hey there Vermin, you’re a long way from home aren’t you?”

“Honeybee.” Vermin growls before lunging for you.

“Ah ah, that’s no way to treat the person trying to get you home is it?” You playfully scold him as you dodge, your wings fluttering behind you keeping you in the air. Hobie chuckles at your words while staying crouched there watching you fly about dodging Vermin's attacks. Hobie’s eyes are transfixed on the wings jutting out from your back wondering if they’re real or part of your suit. He hasn’t seen a Spiderperson with wings before.

Your costume fits the name Vermin had called you, the body of your suit is black with your sleeves being yellow with the exception of the palms of your hands and your legs are adorned with black and yellow stripes until the solid black from your knee down as if you had boots on. Your black mask doesn’t cover your whole face, leaving your mouth to show.

“C’mon Verm, don’t make this hard. I was in the middle of baking when I got the call to come get you.” You land on solid ground and when he goes to throw a punch you let the stinger in your right arm free, slicing through his arm as you dodge. “You gonna help at all Spider, or are you gonna make me do all the work?” 

“On it.” Hobie swings over, landing a blow to Vermin's head with his guitar. “You supposed to be some sort of pixie or somethin?” He asks as he lands next to you and takes in the very real wings sticking out of your back.

“Cute, but no.” The two of you dodge another blow leaving Vermin’s fist to go straight into the wall. “Excuse me Verm, we’re trying to have a conversation.” You shoot what looks like honey onto his face causing him to stumble back trying to get it off. You’re back in the air behind him in no time. “You like my new trick, Vermin? Got the idea from my fellow spiders. Now let’s get you home yeah?” You toss the electric cage device underneath him as he starts to glitch again. “You’ll be back in your own sewer soon enough.” Hobie opens a portal back to headquarters while you flit around Vermin in his part time prison making sure he’s secure.

“Hobie Brown, Earth-138.” He holds his hand out as you land next to him again.

“Y/n Y/l/n, Earth-1203.” You shake his hand and smile, keeping your voice low enough that Vermin can’t hear. And Hobie notices the small fangs between your teeth. “You wanna swing him through with your webs or should we push?”

“So, you a spider person? Because you don’t look like one.” Hobie asks after the two of you follow the anomaly through the portal.

“Yes and no.” You wait for Margo to give you a thumbs up that Vermin is all situated before turning and start to leave the ‘cargo area’ as you liked to call it and motion with your head for Hobie to follow. “I’m the spider person of my universe but I’m not a Spider Woman variant or anything, I’m just me.”

“What’s your story?”

“It’s similar to almost everyone else's here. I was interning at Alchemax helping bioengineer plants that grew at an extremely rapid rate when I was stung by one of the bees they were trying to modify to help with the pollination. Next thing I know I’m waking up in the morning with wings, fangs and these cool ass retractable stingers.” As you mention them you let them out of your forearms to show them off. “They’re super similar to Kaine’s, if you know him. Anyway, I’ve been the one and only Honeybee in my universe for the last almost three years. What’s yours?”

“Homeless teen turned Spiderman from a spider bite.” Hobie shoves his hands into his vest pockets and sniffs. “Not much else to it.”

“Well I like your costume, it’s pretty cool.”

“Are the two of you done chatting?” Miguel asks as the two of you approach him. “You have a mission to debrief.”

“What’s there to debrief? We got him and I brought him here instead of home like I could’ve.” You cross your arms across your chest in an annoyed stance as you speak. When you found out you were going after your Vermin you had argued with Miguel over even bringing him back to headquarters when you could easily shove him in a portal back to your own universe. It’s why you were late.

“Fine, just get out of here. I don’t want to deal with either of you.”

“Wanna get food at the cafeteria?” You ask Hobie as you turn to leave.

“What’s the deal with the tension between you and boss man?” Hobie asks as he spreads out in the plastic cafeteria chair across from where you set your side of fries down.

“Well for one I refuse to just take his shit like everyone else seems to. And for two,” you hold up two fingers with one hand while the other peels off your mask revealing two big space buns along with the rest of your face, “he doesn’t believe me to be a ‘spiderman variant’ even though I have similar canon events and there’s no such thing as spiderman in my universe. Jess was the one who recruited me and all Miguel wanted to do when he first met me was send me home. Which as you can see didn’t work out.” Hobie follows your lead and takes his own mask off before leaning forward and stealing a fry. “What about you?”

“I don’t care what he thinks and he hates it.” 

“It’s so nice to meet someone around here who also won’t let Miguel walk all over them. I like all your piercings by the way. I always wanted to get my septum pierced but, well, I’m not sure why I never did.”

“You like to talk, don’t ya?” You shrug.

“I don’t get out a lot back at home so when I find someone here who’s willing to let me I talk their ear off. You don’t seem to talk much.”

“I do ‘ere and there. I like listening when the person's worth listening to.” 

“Am I?” He nods, you definitely are, he finds your voice very soothing to listen to. “Then I think we’ll be great friends, Hobie.”

Hobie Taglist: @notbeforelong

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Everything Taglist: @matchamunson​ @bubsonnobx​ @practicalghost​ @katsukis1wife @crustyowos @yourfavdummy @protecteddiemunson4vr @kennedy-brooke @m00nkn1ghts

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[banned-for-horny]

How Does That Make You Feel?

Robin needs therapy after the dock events. Dr. Harper is happy to help.

tw: noncon, terrible therapy advice, description of abuse/violence, Sorry Robin

I'm gonna consider this my final bit of robin whump to cap off the sorry robin save file before starting a new one lol. happy halloween!

The office is...cozy. Clinical, with its white walls and sterile smell, but softened by the yellow glow of a standing lamp and the giant couch that sinks under Robin's weight. It's different from the office that you described when you attended counseling sessions, but you also paid your rent on time and didn't need such comforts like this. You didn't feel the need to keep your back to a wall with your eyes on the door at all times.

"Are you sure you don't want a snack?"

Robin flinches, spine snapping to attention. "I-N-No, I'm fine. Thank you, though."

Across the room, sitting back in his own overstuffed chair, is Dr. Harper. He gives Robin a pleasant smile as a pen twirls between his fingers. "Of course. Remember, it's free. All you need to do is ask."

Robin tries to smile at that. It's a kind gesture, but taking food from strangers still doesn't sit well with him. "I'll...remember."

"Good. Now then!" Dr. Harper shifts, just enough to allow his left ankle to rest on his right knee. "Why don't we get started? How have you been since our last session?"

"I've..." Robin stalls, nails biting into his knees. "It's been...bad."

Dr. Harper's brows lift. "How so?"

"I-Well..." Again, he stalls, more out of guilt than actual hesitancy. He's gotten better at this, collecting his hazy thoughts and molding them into proper words. When he'd first had his solo sessions with Dr. Harper, it took him an hour just to stop sobbing. But those had been about the...the memories at the docks. This time..."I-I had a really bad dream. It's been...bothering me ever since."

"Oh?" Dr. Harper twirls his pen. "Describe it to me, if you can."

And, really, Robin should have been prepared for this. Dr. Harper likes to hear things in vivid detail. He says it helps ground a person to reality, keeps them from dissociating or avoiding the truth. It does help, but just thinking of what Robin is about to say makes his stomach churn. "I-It...It was about my friend." His gnawed nails scratch his palms as he pulls his feet onto the couch, tucking them under his thighs. "The one who recommended you?"

"Ah, I remember them," Dr. Harper says with a fond smile. You were an excellent patient, apparently. It doesn't make the knot in Robin's stomach any looser. "What happened in your dream that involved them?"

Robin hugs his stomach, slowly hunching over in some attempt at shielding himself. Phantom aches begin to throb under his skin, fists and rods and whatever toys they could find beating into his torso until he could barely breath. Details, he tells himself. Details.

Click!

"I-I hurt them," Robin forces out. "I would...We were in a room, a-and I was ch-choking them. I don't remember why, but-" But he was squeezing hard and tight, sinking his fingers deep into the back of your throat. Even now, he remembers the way your muscles convusled under his palms.

"Focus," Dr. Harper calls, followed by another click! of his pen. "What else happened?"

Robin's stomach only sinks. No matter what he did, you wouldn't stop thrashing. He remembers that. He tried to punch you, but pulling a hand away gave you to opening to get away, and when Robin tried to chase you, he-

Click!

"I-I was stuck." Robin's voice catches in his throat. "There was this-this chain and when I tried to follow them I couldn't run and they..." You didn't wait for him. You ran and ran and left him behind. Robin doesn't realize he's crying until the tears hit his pants. He grabs the tissue from its box and dabs at his cheek, struggling to breathe through his clogged nose. "I...think I woke up after that."

Dr. Harper hums, twirling his pen as Robin grabs another tissue. "It sounds like you have some budding resentment towards your friend."

"What? No," flies out of Robin instinctually. "T-They're my best friend. I-We've been together ever since I can remember."

"And yet you dreamt of hurting them. Why do you think that is?"

"I-I don't know."

Dr. Harper's smile thins. "May I posit a theory, then?" At the orphan's nod, the doctor sets his foot down and points at him with his pen. "You're upset at them because they're the reason why you were sent to the docks."

Click!

"W-What?" Robin recoils as Dr. Harper nods, apparently satisfied with his assumption. "I-That-it wasn't their fault. It was my own-"

"But they're responsible for you, aren't they?" Dr. Harper asks. "I recall you mentioning that they help pay your rent at the loft."

Ah, right. That little lie. Robin almost forgets that you and he had agreed to not tell the doctor about Bailey's payments to avoid even more threats on their life. Still, Robin nods slowly, massaging his legs. "Right. Why would I-I hate them for helping me?"

"I don't think they're really helping you." Dr. Harper frowns, now, apparently serious enough to open his eyes fully instead of remaining half-lidded, like he's finally awake instead of operating in a dream. "Let us change subjects for a moment: Why do you think you've been targeted more often?"

Because I'm weak, Robin thinks. His mouth falters, but from the way the doctor's frown deepens, he doubts he'll need to say it aloud.

"Perhaps," Dr. Harper says, "but in comparison to who?"

"To...my friend?" Robin guesses.

"Precisesly. Now, if you don't mind, could you stand?" Dr. Harper rises from his own seat in time with Robin. The doctor is quite small compared to him, but that is to be expected; Robin is one of the tallest orphans-actually, he's one of the tallest students in the school, beaten out only by Whitney and some upperclassmen. The only thing stopping him from really filling out his frame is his restricted diet courtesy of Bailey. "You make for quite the intimidating figure at first glance. Your friend, on the other hand..."

You're shorter than Robin. You're smaller than Robin. In fact, Robin knows he can pick you up easily and has done it plenty of times before. Outside of physicality, though, you...you trump him. You've put people in the hospital before. The police haven't been able to put you away simply because you had enough connections to get rid of evidence, and if the evidence can't disappear, then you just use your fists.

Click!

"They only target you because your friend is too dangerous to hurt." Dr. Harper lifts his pen and presses into Robin's sternum. All it takes is a single tap - with a click! of his pen, he pushes the orphan back into the couch. "You're kind, Robin. Too kind."

Robin's protests escape him when he lands. The doctor stares down with a frown.

"Your friend is supposed to protect you."

Click!

"And yet all of this has only come about because of them."

Click!

"Does that not annoy you?"

"I..." Robin wants to say no, it doesn't, but that smoldering heat he'd buried in his gut is starting to spread, eating away at the guilt until his fingers curl. "Y-Yes."

Dr. Harper steps back, twirling his pen as his brow lifts. "Yes, what?"

"It annoys me."

Click!

"Then why not tell them?"

"Because I can't," Robin says. The heat claws up his chest, circling the point where Dr. Harper had hit him with the pen and bleeding into his lungs. "T-They're just trying to protect me-"

The doctor frowns at that answer. "And they didn't do a very good job of that, did they?" He leans down this time to stare Robin right in the face, pen clicking behind his back. "How long were you at the docks, Robin?"

Robin's blood freezes. Five days. The sun rose and set five different times.

Click!

"What did they do to you, Robin?"

Hurt him. Beat him-no. Details. They started with treating him like bellboy on a cruise, made him walk around naked and serve the people while their hands scratched and slapped and punched. And when he dropped a bottle of wine worth £20,000, they forced him to kneel in the shards and clean it with his tongue. And after that, they used whips and rods and laughed when he couldn't keep count. Someone slathered him in some pink cream and taunted him when his cock felt like it was going to explode from how hard it pulsed. Before that, though, they used clothespins to pinch his foreskin back and after that they'd used ropes to strangle him and see how close they could get him to pass out before loosening up just enough to breath before trying again.

Click!

"And why did they do all of that, Robin?"

Because of you.

Ding!

Robin blinks as Dr. Harper's waist chimes. He reaches for his pager, grimacing at whatever notification flashes on his screen. "Seems we're having an emergency," he says and pockets the device. "I'm afraid we'll have to cut this session a little short."

"That's okay," Robin says slowly, thoughts still a mess of his own anger. He rises and clears his throat, massaging the ache out of his hands. "I-Um...what should I do next time? Or..."

Dr. Harper hums, tapping his pen against his lip. It stretches into a chipper smile that shuts his eyes and sends shivers down the boy's back. "Why don't you invite your friend to the next session? Sometimes it's easier to tell someone how they feel when there's a third party to intervene if something goes wrong."

-

Robin is a XX-year old male student with a prior history of social instability. He is an orphan with no known relatives. His legal guardian is the orphanage's caretaker. He lives in a flat with a roommate, who also lived in the same orphanage. Robin attends classes regularly at the local school and works part-time at a café. Recently, Robin reports feelings of insecurity and self-doubt, with the source of these feelings stemming from his roommate. Robin

Dr. Harper huffs, glaring at the report before him. He never was one for writing case summaries. Much of his work required direct, hands-on approaches and left very little time for him to accurately write down notes. He could have an assistant do it for him, of course, but...Robin is a special case.

"Rob-Ghck!"

Dr. Harper looks up just in time. Robin's right hand crushes your mouth while the other frantically claws at his shorts. Your knees are hiked, legs kicking, but whatever hits you land only spurs the orphan on. The curve of your waist bucks and twists, muscles taut under your exposed skin. Huh. Seems you really do have the better physique.

A muffled hiccup draws his gaze to your face. There are tears already spilling down your cheeks, hands clawing at Robin's wrist. His mad fervor begins to slow. The hand crushing your face begins to relax.

Click!

Robin's nails bite into your cheek, and the struggle renews in earnest.

Dr. Harper shifts in his seat, sitting up to ease the strain of his trousers against his erection. Where you have your strength, Robin outweighs you in his rage. He frees his erection in a few frantic tears of his shorts. He doesn't even bother looking for a condom when he sinks into you. It's not like those dockworkers would have used a condom on the poor orphan.

The pained wail that escapes you makes his blood sing.

Dr. Harper readjusts his clipboard to shield himself, then quietly unbuckles his belt. He doubts he needs to be careful, really, but Robin is a bit...tetchy. Best not to draw his attention right now.

Click!

He palms his erection just as Robin begins to thrust, each snap of his hip jolting your entire frame. The orphan's body nearly covers yours as he curls into you. Your legs have frozen around his sides - out of pain or fear or resignation, Dr. Harper can't tell. Your hips, though, jerk with each thrust, up and into Robin's own. You must be more into this than he thought. Perhaps you'd expected it earlier, when the orphan had yelled and yelled about his memories at the docks. After all, you are Robin's closest friend. It would only be the right thing to do after everything you put him through.

Click!

Robin finally releases your face in favor of caging you in his arms, burying his face against your throat and swearing with rage. You let out a pained whimper and scratch at his shoulders. It only leaves thin, red lines that, really, probably feels incredible.

"I-Hah-Fuck-" Robin practically crushes you beneath him, hips a blur. A pulse runs through Dr. Harper's cock at the sight, stomach knotting as he jerks his hand faster and faster. He pants between clenched teeth, a beautiful harmony to the melody of gasps and groans before him, and when your desperate, tearful eyes meet his, the doctor twitches and sends his cum splattering against his clipboard.

From the way Robin buries himself into you not a second later and moans, Dr. Harper can't help but chuckle. He tucks his cock away and slips an extra sheet of paper over the report. The cum begins to smear the fresh ink, but he sets it aside in order to lean forward with his pen.

Click!

Robin slowly unravels in your arms, muscles going lax as he pulls his hips back. His cock slips out of your stretched hole with a soft shlick, sending a jolt through the doctor's spine. Anger still simmers in his gaze when you start to sit up, pulling your shirt up to shield your bare chest. Dr. Harper's smile only grows at the sight.

"I think," he announces, "that should be good for today. You've made some excellent progress, Robin."

Robin's slow blink does little to clear the fog in his eyes while he smiles. "Yeah...that's good."

"As for you." Dr. Harper points his pen at you and smiles when you shrink back in fear. "Thank you so much. Robin really needs your support, and this was a huge help."

Click!

"You're such a good friend."

Your puffy lips part, waver, then seal shut, head bobbing in a tiny nod before turning to Robin. The boy is already dressed and ready to leave the office, a dreamy smile on his face as he offers a hand to you. It takes you two seconds too long to take it.

Dr. Harper clicks his pen, smiling when two different pairs of eyes land on him. "Same time next week?"

"That works," Robin answers with a happy nod.

Beside him, your knuckles tighten. The smile you show him doesn't quite reach your eye. "I-I think I'll be busy-"

"Nonsense." Dr. Harper waves his hand and scoffs, thumbing the top of his pen until it clicks. "What could be more important than supporting your best friend?"

Under Robin's expectant gaze, you shrink back and whisper, "Nothing."

"Exactly." With that, Dr. Harper rises from his seat and presses a hidden button on his pager, the ding! resounding through the cramped office. He makes a show of grimacing at the blank screen, then offers the same apologetic smile as before. "Well,  I'll see you two next week then. Take care."

Once the door is locked, Dr. Harper picks up the report and grimaces. For Robin's file...eh, he can have an intern pen it out for him. You, on the other hand...Dr. Harper smiles and fishes out a blank report sheet, mind abuzz with treatment plans. Your hesitancy, non-compliance, neglecting the needs of your friends? All the signs of a troubled patient in the making. Hopefully he'll be able to intervene before you end up like Robin.

[bittersweetbeet]

Okay so thoughts about the building contest and such, here we go–

(this turned out so long, I'm so sorry–)

I applaud Alan and his team, because the only reason I'm able to infer so much from these wordless videos is because of their body language animations and clever world building.

Okay so I went back and rewatched (my favorite thing to do). The beginning of this portion of Green's arc starts in "The Building Contest", aka AvM 2. Which takes place approximately two years after the og Animation vs Minecraft. We are early in the timeline.

Anyway, Orange begins the contest, and Green is seen to be very particular about what blocks he uses. He lays down some blocks, looks back at the reference picture, and then apparently decides they aren't good enough. He starts over.

End of the video, Green has created a lovely build, earning himself the trophy. He is very excited about this; he dances around, punches the air, etc. In response to this, Blue and Yellow work together (like the dynamic duo they are) and toss TNT onto his build, blowing it up.

A fascinating start. In simply this video, you could defend Green with "Well, Yellow and Blue were just being bad sports. He earned the win!" That may be true. Let's carry on.

Next video: "Build Battle", aka AvM 17. Two years later (approximately). They've lived through that first big adventure: The Nether, Purple and the End, Skyblock, all of that.

Green's first build this time around is extremely detailed, and he receives the trophy once again. However, his attitude seems challenging. Almost a "what are you gonna do, not give it me? Look what I did." kind of attitude. And then he Fortnite dances on the losers. Not a great look, Green.

Now, the video isn't over, but I have to mention something. I believe that we can infer at this time that this has happened before, and has been happening, from Yellow's reaction.

Yellow approaches Orange and begins to scheme a way to get Green to lose a build battle. I don't think someone would plot their friend's downfall unless 1) the winning had gotten to the point where the game was no longer fun, and 2) if the winner's attitude was one of annoyingly-confidant arrogance.

The next challenge for the build battle is a toy robot. Machines and robotics are Yellow's thing– literally two episodes before he'd taught his friends the basics of redstone. Should be an easy win, right?

Well.

Yellow makes a working robot; its eyes light up, the limbs move, it can jump up-and-down. Yellow seems proud of himself, and he and Green share a moment of tense eye contact before they move on. Blue's robot build is good, but then Green brings out his robot.

This is where we delve into one of my headcanons for this scene. I believe that Green cheated here. You simply can't build a robot that complex in vanilla Minecraft, and Green been shown to have cheated in contests before (remember his Minecraft simulator in "Redstone Academy"? I don't think either Green or Orange were being honest there)

Even if Green didn't cheat, and created his robot through completely legitimate means, that doesn't excuse his taunting of his friends after his win, and the fact his robot chased Red and Blue with a diamond sword after they tried and failed to blow it up.

On to another build battle. Interestingly enough, it seems as though Yellow and Co have stopped trying to sabotage Green's success. They continue through the building process as normal.

And then Green summons a Wither. Completely by accident, he was thinking only of what would look most authentic and didn't realize what he was doing. Regardless, the Wither is here and it demolishes most of Green's build and starts to fight him.

While this is going on, the rest of the Color Gang are carrying on as if nothing is happening. They inspect Red's build, then Yellow's (complete with redstone-activated teeth and claws!), where Green attempts to get their attention before getting chased by the Wither. They ignore him. At Blue's build, it is even more clear that they are doing this on purpose. Part of Blue's build gets disintegrated but Blue just casually rebuilds it. Doesn't even look in the direction of the fight in the background.

They continue to Green's... remains of a build. They are not impressed, and then Orange presents the trophy to Blue. Which I think was a fun way to subvert expectations that Yellow would have won because he'd been set up to rival Green in this episode, but we carry on.

What next? The Wither attacks them and the video ends. We have not gotten a build battle video since.

So what do we make of this? Green technically got what he deserved, being all cocky and such. I find it fascinating that we haven't gotten more build battle videos. Sure, it might be because Alan prefers the Noteblock episodes, but in universe?

I think the Gang might have stopped doing build battles, or at least made them less of a deal. They have other things to compete about; see "The Ultimate Minecart Race". And I think Green may have mellowed out a bit.

It is very interesting that between these videos and "The Prank", where his smug personality was on full display, that there was a trend in the Actual Shorts where he would keep getting hurt. Or at least be the butt of the joke.

This was early on. They hadn't gone through some of the craziest adventures yet, where their friendship would be tested, and their very lives put in danger.

I think Green has matured; yes, he's still ridiculously competitive and has an arrogant streak a mile long. But he seems to have focused his skills– honing them, instead of trying to the best at everything. Specifically with music, something that can be done together. Even if he still manages to make it competition. It is still something that brings people together– after all, it's how he was able to reach Purple.

Green is still competitive. But he has become so much more than that. He is focused, determined, confidant, kind, compassionate. A wondrous musician, and likely a terrible cook. He is nuanced and I love him for it.

DONT APOLOGIZE FOR THIS BEING LONG HELLO I AM EATING THIS UP

You sent this at the right time tbh I needed a break from my final paper-

GOD I LOVE THIS ANALYSIS SO MUCH I never noticed that Green mellows out and matures throughout his arc and that’s so real omggg. The idea of Green honing his skills in music not for the sake of being better than anyone but because it brings people together is so good omggg im injecting this into my blood stream.

IT ALSO NEVER STRUCK ME THAT THEY STOPPED HAVING BUILDING CONTESTS AFTER THE LAST ONE THATS TRUE they probably were looking for other ways to compete with each other that’s fair for everyone involved.

And I love love LOVE how Green’s competitive nature is still there even when he has become more compassionate and mature. Since it feels that’s a pretty big stable for his character; being the one that’s good at everything and brags about it.

It’s kinda like how Purple is still a trickster/schemer at heart even though it’s clear he’s much happier and isn’t afraid to be more expressive now. Cause without those traits, the characters just kinda lose the charm and nuance they initially had. So I always get very happy when characters development as people but that trait that gives them so much charm is still there in a way.

[ploxpoke]

Don't you dare (make me fall in love with you)

I wasn't going to finish this but thanks to @linpunny I did!

yes the title is from that one Kadyen MacKay song (LISTEN TO IT WHILE YOU READ THIS PLEASEEEE)

This is Taiju x gn!reader bc I'm in love with big soft men

it is based on a little imagine I did lolz

Tw- choking (non-sexual), descriptions of violence, mention of blood, cussing, reader briefly passes out (as a result of non-sexual choking)

Let me know if there's any trigger-warnings I missed, I don't think there's any but I could be wrong

You were by yourself in the park, your destination unknown, you were simply taking a walk to calm your nerves after a long day, as you did everyday, an your walk was going as usual until you heard a loud noise and yelling that sounded painful coming from behind a nearby building. It looked abandoned with its windows busted in and the walls crumbling.  

"What is going on?" you said softly to yourself, but your words were drowned by the yelps and grunts that came from behind the building. You could hear scuffling and running as well as a bunch of cussing. You felt a pang of fear shoot up your body as well as a chill down your spine as you guessed what was going on.

You couldn’t help but to investigate and slowly approached the source of noise, walking around the corner, you saw several people fighting and your body tensed. You couldn’t help but to stare as these people fought. Your eyes drifted across the scene, settling on a tall figure with blue hair and piercing yellow eyes. He was gorgeous, and all you could do was stare at him as he sat there punching any poor soul he could get his hands on.

You could feel your stomach tighten in a way you hadn't felt in a long time, a small blush crept up your face as you stared in shock and awe at the man before you came to your sense and realized what was happening. You were watching a gang fight and your heart dropped to your feet as you processed the danger you were in. You quickly left, your heart beating out of your chest as you did.

"Oh shit, shit, shit-" You whispered to yourself as you walked away quickly, not wanting to get involved in that mess of blood and punches.

As you walked away, Taiju noticed you. He noticed as soon as you showed up. He could feel your eyes on him and once you turned around he decided to look at you, his eyes following your figure as you disappeared around the corner.

The leader of the Black Dragons, stood up and motioned for his men to stay there and wait for him, leaving the bloody scene he had started behind to follow the stranger he had seen. 

“Well, well, well…” he growled to himself as he caught up to you on  the other side of the building. Seeing your smaller frame quickly walking down the sidewalk made him feel something he could put his finger on. He felt the need to make you look at him but he also wanted to just let you walk away, but his pride wouldn’t let him just let you go.

As you kept walking, you suddenly heard footsteps behind you, turning back you saw the same tall man, this time closer than before. Now you could really appreciate his looks, but you also realized he had seen you.

 Your breath hitched in your throat and you prepared to run or scream or both, but the man stopped in front of you and stared down at you with an intense gaze. Before he had the chance to say anything you turned around and ran. It was the only thing you could think to do.

"Nope, nope, nope" you said to yourself as you ran down the street, not daring to look behind you. You didn’t want to know if he was chasing you, but you knew he was. You could feel it and you knew you wouldn’t outrun him. There was no way you could and yet you still ran.

The tall man; Taiju, chased after you, his strides long and powerful, catching up to you easily. He grabbed your wrist firmly, spinning you around to face him and pushing you up against an alley wall with a force that left you breathless.

His hand clamped around your neck, cutting off air supply as he pressed you to the wall leaving you no room to wiggle out of his grasp. He leaned in close, his face mere inches from yours. He studied your face, his eyes scrunched in a focused sort of way that would be cute if he wasn’t choking you out right now.

 "You really shouldn’t have run away…," he growled, "you’re quite pretty, I was going to be nice if you just stayed put.." 

Your eyes widened in fear as you struggled to breathe, your hands clawing at the hand that was suffocating you as your vision started to blur. "Please I wasn’t gonna say anything-" you said but he wouldn't listen. You tried to reason with him, but the sound was muffled by the tight grip around your throat.

 Taiju's face was twisted into a cruel sneer, his yellow eyes burning with intensity as he watched you struggle. 'This can't be happening no, no, no-' you thought to yourself as you felt the world start to fade out around you, tears forming in your eyes, you realized he was saying something to you but you couldn’t hear him over the ringing in your ears.

“I c-can’t breathe” You gasp out, but it was too late, the lack of oxygen caused you to pass out, tears rolling down your cheeks. You slumped forward and Taiju caught you, releasing his hold on your neck instantly, a look of dread and guilt on his face.

Taiju was frozen in that moment, he hadn’t realized he was being so rough with you but there you were limp in his arms. He could see the gentle rise and fall of your chest and felt relief knowing you were alive but all he could think of was the guilt forming within him.

He’d never felt guilty for beating someone up, it was just what he did but this was different. He didn’t mean to hurt you, in fact when he realized you were watching he didn’t look at you so you could get away.

Taiju carried you bridal style through the streets, his grip tightening around your waist as he made his way to a safer area where his crew waited.

The men parted to let him through, their expressions a mix of confusion and anticipation as they saw the person he was holding so tightly to his chest. He sets you down roughly against the wall, releasing you from his grasp but not before giving you one last glance 

"What are you looking at? Back off, go make sure nobody bothers me!" He tells his men and he sits down across the alley from you as he waits for you to wake up.

When you opened your eyes slowly, blinking several times as you regained consciousness, the world swimming in front of you as you tried to make sense of everything.

 You found yourself against a wall in an alleyway, alone with the tall man that had choked you earlier. Your breathing was ragged and uneven, and you coughed slightly, trying to regain your bearings as well as remember how to breathe properly "W-where am I...?” you asked softly, your voice cracking slightly, looking over at the man in front of you with wide eyes, tear stains down your cheeks. 

Taiju walked over to you, his brow furrowed as he studied you, concern evident in his gaze despite the fact that he was the one who caused this in the first place. He reached out and brushed a finger under your chin, tipping it up so you had to look at him. His tightened in his chest as your eyes fluttered.

He admired your face, unable to help himself from thinking you were the most precious person in the world. It took all his self control for him not to squeeze your cheeks between his fingers and instead he let go of your face.

"You're safe now," he told you softly, even though you were in a back alley with a stranger. He glanced over his shoulder at the men standing guard behind him, making sure they knew not to approach any closer. He wanted to talk to you and you alone.

"Do you remember what happened? I didn't want you to panic anymore by asking you a thousand questions as soon as you woke up…." He looks remorseful as he notices the bruise forming on the side of your neck.

He bit his lip, feeling even more guilty and he crouched down in front of you. He pushed your chin up slowly and ran his finger down the bruise, taking note of how you winced before pulling his hand away. 

Your voice was small and quiet, you didn't dare to look at him directly, you could feel the intensity of his gaze on you. You coughed again and you could feel pain shooting up your throat, as you put your small hand on it.

You looked at Taiju with wide eyes, and you nodded slowly. "Y-yes, I remember. I saw you and your men fighting and I panicked and ran away…, then you caught me and choked me..." 

You trailed off, looking down at your knees, fidgeting with your fingers "I don't know why I deserved that... but I'm sorry..." You started to tear up again and your voice shook as you spoke "I-I really didn't mean to make you angry-"

Taiju frowned deeply, his expression softening somewhat as he saw your tears, he couldn't help but feel protective towards you. He crouched down in front of you, pulling your chin up again so he could look you in the eye.

 "It's okay," He said softly, "I didn't mean to scare you like that. You didn't do anything wrong; you didn't deserve what happened. I over reacted...So I should say I'm sorry." He surprised himself with how kind he sounded and even more so when he apologized. He never thought he would but here he was.

"But if I hurt you because of something you didn’t even do, then I need to make it right somehow." He hated how he had acted towards you and how it made him feel, but something about your innocent apology made him feel even worse, his throat was tight and his chest hurt when he realized you were blaming yourself for what he did

He pulled you into his arms, wrapping them around you protectively and holding you tightly against his chest, his large frame enveloping your tiny form.

"You don't need to be sorry at all. I shouldn't have handled things like that, but you didn't deserve to be treated like that either. It's not your fault." He wiped your tears away from your cheeks, his expression soft and understanding.

"Please don't cry-" He couldn’t stand seeing you cry and he didn’t understand why. He’s never felt like this after hurting someone so why now and why you?

After that Taiju insisted on making sure you were safe and sound. He would have Kokonoi or Inupi escort you around when he couldn’t and he made sure that nobody could lay a finger on you.

His whole demeanor changed around you, his voice quieting and the roughness he used on others was absent around you. You were oblivious to Taiju’s obvious crush and Taiju denied even liking you anytime it’s brought up. He refused to even entertain the idea and would fight anyone who dared to bring it up.

One day, you were walking home alone when someone decided that you’d be a good target to rob. A person in a mask runs up behind you and pushes you to the floor and steals all the money you have, but not before beating you up. When you arrive home in tears with bruises on your body and dirt on your clothes, Taiji's brain goes blank except for one thing.

“Who fucking did it!” He yells as he rushes over to you, doting over your injuries. He cups your sweet face that he loves so much and wipes the tears away. He sets out on a man hunt, calling in several favors and hunts down the person who dared put their hands on you. 

Once he gets his hands on them he doesn’t hold back and you have to hold his hands back from killing the person. You were crying, again, and you had your arms wrapped around his arm preventing him from punching without hurting you in the process

“I’m fine! I swear I am, that’s enough!” You plead, almost begging him to stop and he does immediately lest he upset you anymore. When he looks at your face his entire body lightens and he stands up and takes a step towards you, grabbing your shoulders and leaning down to you.

He kisses you sweet and slowly, taking his time. He moves his hands from your shoulders to your waist and you wrap your arms around his shoulders for support. When he finally pulls away from you and he stares down at you with pure admiration in his eyes “How did you manage-” He pants as he lifts you up in his arms, not bothering to finish his sentence, his voice shaking with emotion

“How dare you make me fall in love with you…”

 He whispered in your ear as he kissed you again. You could feel the raw emotion behind the kiss as he grabs the back of your head. Taiju deepens the kiss, his tongue tangling with yours as he runs his hand through your soft hair.

He pulls back and looks down at you before cupping your cheeks and kissing you all over your face, a broad grin on his face.

"You're free tomorrow right? I'm taking you out" Taiju says it in a way that leave no room for debate.

[famina]

Late night walk

*TRIGGER WARNING* This one is serious ! Since it involves the Vigilante, the story starts with a troubling encounter that could get uncomfortable for some. If it is your case, please skip to "=============THIS SING DOWN BELOW=============" Thanks. I hope you like it !!

There are no stars out tonight, the sky is a dark purple mass. Only the million of streetlights and neon signs lighten your path. Cities glow at night. The darkness hides all the dirtiness and let’s shine the rest.

As you walk along the pavement you breath in the night city air ! It’s cold and a bit metallic. You were out with some friends and what was supposed to be a little get together ended way later than anyone expected ! But you don’t care, you don’t work tomorrow. All you’ve got to do now is return home and sleep. But the night was so fun that you want to stretch it out a bit longer. You decide to take a detour by the park just for fun ! You think it should look magical on a night like this.

And you were right ! The warm yellow lights of the old streetlamps reflect on the fountains water and gives it a enchanting look. It’s just you, alone, in your own glowing kingdom.

Sundenly, a clank sound ! You turn around to see a person in the distance. You almost forgot you were in a public place and start to come back to reality.

“Hey!” Says the stranger. You don’t respond.

“I said HEY ! What a…What.cha doing here !?” You start to make your way out of the park.

“Wait ! I said WAIT !” They start to chase you. You are now running; you don’t really know where. You are not familiar with this part of town.

You end up corned in a little alley way and the stranger is still approaching.

“C’mon ! Why you..T’fuck is wrong with you..” The stranger is now very close.

“S-Stay away please !!” You say to them but to no avail.

“Hey ! I-I’m not bad…see !?” They make a gesture to show themselves as if that was a reassuring answer. They were clearly not sober. You don’t know what to do and start panicking.

“P-Please…Leave me alone !”

“Oh ! No ! No ! Ssshhhh…’s okay !” They get uncomfortably close. You froze up ! You close your eyes tightly and get ready for the worst.

================HERE YOU GO, ENJOY !===============

Then in an instant, you hear the wind whistling and the body of the stranger is forcefully pushed away. You open your eyes to discover a young man has interposed himself between you two and kicked the assailant a good 3 meter back.

Your pursuer is stumbling back up. “HEY !” they scream to the young man “T’HECK D’YOU WANT !!??”

“I believe this person told you to not approach them !”

With difficulty, the assailant gets back to their feet and seems to get ready to punch him.

“I do not want to harm you !” Said the man “But I must warn you that I WILL defend myself if need be !” At these words, the young men place himself in a combat position, he seemed to have experience in fighting.

To that, the stranger lost all confidence and turned away. “Whateveryoufuck…Idon’teven…” And so they left while still mumbling insults along the way.

You calm down a bit. The young man seems to do so too. He turns around to look at you :

“Are you hurt in any way ?”

“W-wha ? N-No !”

“Good…” He then turns around and is about to make an exit.

“W-Wait !” You stop him !

“Hm ?” He seems genuinely surprised at your action.

“Well hm…thank you I guess.”

“Don’t mention it. It is my duty !”

“Oh…….is that so….” You think to yourself that maybe you exchanged one weirdo for another. “W-well…” You start “..H-Here ! As thanks, I could give you-..”

“No!” The man stops you sharply “I never take from others ! I’m not a thief nor am I a beggar.”

“O-oh….I see..s-sorry..”

“Don’t be…I-I’m sorry for my strong reaction…” He backs away shyly.

“D-Don’t worry about it.” You say with a smile.

“Well I should be going now.” He starts walking with a determined walk when “AAAAH !!” He sundenly feels to the ground clutching his abdomen.

“W-WHAT’S WRONG ! A-Are you hurt ?!” You run to him, worried.

“N-No…this is nothing…I’m simply..AaaaAAAArgh !!”

GGRRRRRRrrrrrrRRRROOOOOooooooOOOOOOOOOOOoooooWWwwwwwwwl

“Han ??”

The young man is red as a tomato and tries to hide his face in his collar. “I’m….a bit hungry…..That’s all…”

GGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwl

“You sound a more than a BIT hungry.”

“It’s…not as bad as it sound…It’s fine really…I’ll just…hmm” He tries to stand up and run away but he fells back to the gound after tree steps.

“H-Hey !!” You run to him again . “You shouldn’t do that ! You’re clearly too weak to run at the moment.”

“My…..bad…” He seems VERY lightheaded now.

“Alright, let’s get something to eat, okay ?”

“I-I don’t need-..”

gggGGGGGggggGrrrrRRRRrrrrrOOOOooooooowls…

“Mmmh…”

He’s stomach disagrees and so do you. “Come on ! Up we go !” You put him on your shoulders and start walking. Since he seems good in a fight, you’re surprised to find out how light he is. That’s not good. “Don’t worry, I know a good pizza place near by ! I’ll take you there.”

“I can’t….”

“Yes you can !”

“…Got…no…money..”

“Oh…Well I’ll be treating then ! It’ll be my thanks for earlier !”

“N-No ! I don’t take from others ! I refuse to-“

GRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOWWWLS

“Hm-mmmh…” He’s overflowing with embarrassment.

“Well if you don’t want to die you’ll have to accepte. Besides, your not taking, I AM OFFERING ! So no more complaining, got it ?”

“………………………………………..got it…….”

“Good !”

You make your way to the pizza place ! It’s one of those open 24/7 restaurant. It’s not the fanciest place but the pizza is good and it’s the perfect place for late night snacks. There’s only one person behind the counter and they’re not paid enough to pay attention to you until you place an order. You put the young hero on a chair and take the plastic menu.

“So, what do you want ?”

“………………….” The hero has turned his face away. He’s clearly uneasy about you buying him food. But you can’t just leave him be.

“…If you don’t tell me I’ll just take an all-dressed !”

“…………………”

“Alright ! All-dressed it is !” You stand up to go order when the young men pulls on your shirt to stop you. You turn around. He’s still hiding his face in his collar.

He shyly says : “C-could you…ask for no peppers…..p-please…?”

You laugh a bit : “ Yeah ! Sure thing !”

You go order the pizza and return to your seat while you wait for it to be done. After a little while, you hear a certain sound.

Grrrrrooooooooan….

“O-oh !?...” The young hero turns red again. “S-Sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize ! It’s perfectly norm-“

GRRRRROOOOOOooooooowl…

He get’s even redder and hides as he can under his bangs and collar. “Sorry…”

This continued for a little while and your companion seems more and more uncomfortable so you decide to break the ice to distrack him from his hunger while you wait.

“So, my name is (Y/N), what’s yours ??”

“O-oh..I don’t use my real name when I’m on duty.. sorry..”

“Oh okay…so, what should I call you ?”

“You can call me the Hero or the Vigilante…if you want..”

“You don’t even have a hero name ?!”

“I….haven’t settle on one yet….”

“I see…So..hm..Vigilante..Do you, do this sort of things every night ?”

“What sort of thing ?”

“Swooping in and beating the bad guys ?”

“Well, yes ! I do this most nights.”

“Really ? When do you sleep ?”

“During the day…But that’s not always possible. After all…Crime never sleeps !..”

You suspect he wanted to sound cool. But you can’t help your self to laugh.

“H-Hey ! That’s not…mmmh..” He pouts. You then notice that he has deep dark circles under his eyes and that stops your laughter.

“Well it’s not healthy. You should sleep 8 hours a day you know ?!”

“I-I know…”

“And you should try to eat more properly too ! You seem pretty strong but depriving your body of food for a long time is not good !”

“I….I’ll try…”

Now you feel like you’re moralizing him. “sigh Sorry it’s just…You seem very nice. And I think you should try to take better care for yourself ! That’s all.”

“Y-You think I’m nice ?!”

“Well…yeah ? Is that odd ?”

“Well…it’s just…people usually think I’m a weirdo….” He slumps his head down. This surprise you, sure he’s not…the most normal person you’ve met but he clearly means well. Does he get a hard time even tho he’s trying to do good ?

“H-hmm..” He perks his head back up. “T-thank you…By the way…for the food…”

“Oh ! No problem !” You smile at him and your pretty sure he smiles back from under his collar.

The pizza finally arrives at your table. The vigilante suddenly gets all excite like a little dog. He thanks the worker who brought it about 5 times and then is about to take a piece when he suddenly stops.

“O-Oh ! H-hmm…M-my bad…You paid for it. Y-you should serve yourself first…”

“Oh no no !” You say. “I’m not hungry ! I ordered it for you ! Take it all !”

“R-Really ?..” He looks at you with surprise. You reassure him by nodding and smiling. He starts beaming with joy and starts eating the pizza with vigor. You are happy to see him enjoying a good meal. You have a feeling he doesn’t often do so.

In a few minutes the whole pizza has disappeared. The vigilante breaths a sigh of relief. “This was…really really good. Thanks again….I-I’ll repay you of course !”

“Oh ! So you do have money ?”

“N…no…Well, not now…But hmmm…one day ?” He looks at you with an awkward unsure smile. You smile back.

“It’s a promise then.”

And so, you make your way home. The vigilante insists to walk you home like the gentleman that he is. It IS getting very late so you actually enjoy the reassuring company. You wish each other goodnight and you make the Vigilante promise to go straight to bed after this. And you make your way to your bed. One day he’ll pay you back, huh ? Well…let’s hope this day comes soon so you can chat with him again.

[megamindsupremacy]

Do you have any Spiderman fic recs? (Preferably not MCU but. I'm not picky)

YES ofc. Let me dig through my bookmarks for some. Warning- most of them will be Team Red fics because that’s where I interacted most with the Marvel fandom back in the day. Also, coming back after making this, unfortunately most are at least a little bit MCU influenced but I tried to stay away from the tropier/irondad/ooc fics

-

Inimitable by deniigiq

“Peter, is it supposed to be doing that?” One of his students asked him. He looked up to see the industrial-strength magnets he’d collected for this lab trying to crack through the glass between them to be reunited. The glass splintered.

“Yeah, no. That’s totally fine,” he lied. Then he inconspicuously chased everyone to the corner of the lab, donned a glove, and smashed the glass so that it wouldn’t splinter and stab someone in the eye in its explosion.

His students cheered.

He needed a drink.

(Peter gets called back to the city at the age of 25 to help mitigate the rapidly increasing crime rate. He's in way over his head, so he sets out to re-establish Team Red.)

(Classic Team Red fic, this author got me into the fandom years ago and I’ve been stuck since)

-

Say You Will, Say You Won’t by Traincat

Johnny Storm found him on a Friday afternoon, wearing the kind of beseeching look that filled Peter with dread.

“I need to ask you a favor,” he said.

“No,” Peter said, swinging away.

__

Peter and Johnny get married, really-not-really.

(A classic Spidertorch fic, absolutely hilarious and not even a little bit MCU-touched)

-

Peter Parker: Legend of Empire State by Popjeckdoom

There was a dorm room, at the end of the third floor hallway on the male side of student housing, that was a mystery to all the students of Empire State. #339, Peter Parker.

The dorm itself wasn’t strange. It wasn’t haunted or cursed in any way, or as far as anyone knew. The door looked like everyone else’s; a doodle of Spidey on the whiteboard, a random scratch at the bottom left corner of the door, likely from someone moving in, etc. What made this ordinary room into a legend was it’s mysterious inhabitant, whom many believed did not even exist.

Peter Parker. The Criptid of Empire State.

(Technically incomplete, but it’s a series of oneshots so do with that what you will)

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Dumpster Fires Verse by deniigiq

Peter and May receive a notice to vacate.

The other guys on Team Red have been there before, they offer a bit of advice.

(Another deniigiq classic, it’s a series of interconnected fics that don’t need to be read together to make sense)

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Can you hear the drumming? (there’s a revolution coming) by Crescent_Blues

"You know how to throw a punch?"

Peter stops fidgeting and his heartbeat slows as he breathes deep and forces it to calm. The endorphins aren't quite there yet but he can almost taste the excitement, the hopefulness. Like carmel, like yellow, like tacky sweetness.

"Don't tuck your thumb into your hand and keep your wrist and arm straight?"

He has the basics.

That's a good start.

Right?

(Matt accidentally acquires one Peter Parker at the ripe old age of eleven and becomes the mentor he never wanted to be)

(This one comes courtesy of my friend Moon, who will kill me if he knew I was reccing his fic, but the writing style and quality is top notch so I refuse to stop. Also incomplete, but there’s 160k words before you get to the end so there’s a lot to read)

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Peter Parker’s Home for the Wayward Villain by BeanieBaby

A really long redemption story.

(Another classic, Peter buys a house and adopts+reforms like 90% of the Marvel villains)

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Roundabout by Gruoch

“Are you being killed right now?” Tony asks. “Am I listening to your final moments?”

“Maybe,” Peter chokes out, weakly pedaling his legs in the air while he futilely scrambles to pry the hand away from his throat.

Tony releases a sharp huff, irritated. “You are absolutely not allowed to die right now. Your graduation is a month away. Pepper’s moved around all her meetings to be free that day, and I’ve already given the deposit to the catering company for your party. I can’t get it back if I have to cancel now because of your untimely demise.”

***

In which Peter attempts to survive long enough to graduate, Tony moonlights as a semi-professional party planner, and absolutely nothing goes according to plan.

(This one is just. Peter Parker’s terrible horrible no good very bad day but in the best way)

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Spider Season by selador

Peter Parker is Ben Urich's intern at the Bulletin. He's alright, as far as interns go. Bad coffee, but he fights crime bosses who want Ben dead. That wins a lot of points with Ben, that's for sure.

(Mostly follows the plot of DD s1 but still a great fic)

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WHAT sugar daddy(s)??? By o1nm

"I've never really thought about it," Peter sniffs, gazing sadly into his mostly empty cup. "Maybe uh... maybe somebody who buys me milkshakes whenever I want? I don't know."

MJ's eyebrows twitch minutely. "Really?"

"Yup," Peter says lightly, "really," despite the fact that he feels like he just signed some sort of demonic treaty. "Hey, do you think we could circle back and -"

"I'll go get you another," MJ tells him as she snatches his previous milkshake, dropping it in a trashcan on her way as she sashays back to the ice-cream store.

...Weird.

(*slaps roof of Peter* this boi can fit so much autism in him. But honestly he’s so oblivious throughout, it’s amazing)

-

Always Glad You Came by aloneintherain

Spider-Man is a relatively new, controversial vigilante, and Johnny has a crush the size of the Empire Building. The Four - operating under the assumption that Spidey is an adult - do not approve.

“I just happen to think Spider-Man's cool,” Johnny says, matter-of-factly. “A hero can think another hero is cool without making it weird. I admire his aloofness. And his badass-ness.”

“His aloofness,” Ben repeats, chuckling into his mug of beer. It’s roughly the size of Johnny’s head. “Yeah, sure, I bet that’s all your admire, right?”

(Another Spideytorch classic, with So Many Misunderstandings it’s amazing they can walk straight)

[hopelesshawks]

Can I request Shoinsou giving me a flower♡

I started this literally the day you submitted it but only now am finishing it up. Don’t ask how I turned a simple plot into all of this but I hope you like it ❤️

Shinsou stares blankly out the window from his spot shotgun in the car, largely tuning out Denki’s excited rambling as they make their way back towards the city. How his friend can possibly still have so much energy after spending the whole day chasing down a villain in the middle of nowhere is beyond him.

At least the view out the window is nice…

The green fields of the countryside breeze past the window as the car speeds along the single lane road back. The sun is slowly descending towards the horizon. The sky remains blue for now but he knows by the time they make it back it’ll have shifted into reds and oranges. He can already picture how you’ll look when he finally steps back into your shared apartment: the golden light will filter so softly over your delicate skin, bathing the whole room in a warmth that will match that of your arms circling around him in greeting and your lips pressing to his. It takes everything in him not to sigh at the thought alone.

Shinsou’s just about to let himself get lost in the daydream of his arrival home when a sea of yellow out the window catches his eye. His heart thuds just a touch harder for a moment and while he can already hear Denki teasing him for the rest of the long ride home, he doesn’t quite care as he suddenly reaches over and punches his friend’s arm.

“Owww, what’s that for??” Denki whines, using one hand to rub the spot where Shinsou had hit him.

“Pull over,” Shinsou huffs.

“Why? You carsick or something?”

Shinsou rolls his eyes but a slight flush creeps into his cheeks as he explains.

“No I just want to grab something,” Shinsou explains as he jerks his head in the direction of the passing field to indicate what he’s referring too.

Denki’s eyes widen in realization before he all but slams on the brakes, making both men snap forward in their seats. Shinsou curses under his breath before shooting his friend a look.

“Go go go! Get the flowers for your girl!!” Denki beams, apparently unfazed by the whiplash he’d just given them both.

Again Shinsou rolls his eyes but he’s secretly grateful as he slips out of the car and wanders into the field of yellow wild flowers. On closer inspection he realizes they’re buttercups, the petals dancing gently in the soft wind that flows through the air. He can already picture the sparkle you’ll have in your eyes when he gives them to you and although he’d never admit it out loud just the thought of it is already making him melt a little inside.

When he returns to the car with one of the yellow blooms, Denki is already waggling his eyebrows at him.

“Shut up.”

“I didn’t even say anything!”

“Don’t care.”

Thankfully Denki doesn’t press the issue much more for the rest of the ride, although Shinsou does notice Denki keeps looking over at the flower with a goofy grin on his face. Shinsou will never admit it but it is touching how much his best friend supports his relationship. When Denki finally drops him off in front of your shared apartment, he does so with a wolf whistle and a call of “Go get ‘em tiger!” that has Shinsou rolling his eyes hard enough to damn near give himself a headache. He’ll likely never hear the end of this tomorrow and is already mentally preparing himself for everyone in the office knowing he pulled over just to grab a flower for you. But as you open the door to welcome him home and your eyes slowly widen in surprise, he knows it’ll be worth it.

Anything to keep that gorgeous smile on your face.

[kumeko]

A/N: I forgot I wrote this XD For the @giyushinozine, we had a cursed image of bald giyuu that ended up becoming a crack add-on for buyers.

…

…

…

…

1.

Shinobu tapped her fingers against her thigh, utterly uninterested in the sight before her. Dozens of men and women swirled across the dance floor, all vying for her attention. If her sister hadn’t blackmail—convinced her to attend, she’d have stayed in her dungeon laboratory, experimenting with black adder poisons.

“Anyone catch your eye?” Kanae asked brightly as she stepped beside her, her skin flushed from dancing.

Shinobu tried not to look too disgusted. “No. Why am I here?”

“Because it’s good for you to get out of the dungeons every now and then.” Kanae chuckled. “You can’t meet anyone there.”

“I meet criminals,” she pointed out flatly, rolling her eyes. “You’re the one who has to get married, not me.”

“Any of us can get married.” She gestured to the right side of the ballroom, where their other sister, Kanao, shyly took a scarred boy’s hand. “Maybe Kanao’ll beat us to the punch.”

“That doesn’t—"

Before Shinobu could finish her sentence, the ballroom doors opened slowly. A young man stepped forward, dressed in a strange red, green, and yellow dress that looked like he’d just stitched it together. Ugly fashion sense aside, there was nothing special about him and Shinobu’s eyes slid off him just like they had with the others. Another boring—

He tripped on the hem of his dress as he reached the bottom step. Grabbing the railing, he managed to regain his balance before he could fall flat on the ground. Yet that wasn’t enough to stop his thick, black hair from falling off, revealing a bright, shiny bald dome.

Shinobu’s eyes widened as the light reflected off his head. Maybe there was some merit to coming here after all.

2.

Sabito knew he was in for trouble the moment he got assigned Giyu’s fairy godmother. It wasn’t like Giyu was a bad guy; far from it. In fact, he was an honest overachiever who constantly put himself down. The kind of person who deserved a little magic after a lifetime of trying hard.

He was also the kind of person who self-sabotaged himself. Rubbing his brow, Sabito asked, “You told your stepbrother what?”

“The suit didn’t look good on Sanemi,” Giyu replied as he continued to scrub the floor. His shiny bald head reflected the candlelight brightly, chasing away all the shadows.

“And you said that because?”

“Purple is a better colour.” Giyu wrung out the cloth. “It matches HIS eyes.”

“Of course you didn’t say that last part.” Every conversation with him was a brand headache. Sabito was almost 100% certain that if Giyu either spoke less or explained himself more, his stepfamily would have been fine with him.

Still, this was where he stepped in. His magic couldn’t fix the family, but it could at least change the situation. “Alright, get up. We’ll get you to the ball.”

“No.”

“I’ll get you a dress, a wig—” Sabito blinked. “What do you mean, no?”

“I have to clean.” Giyu wiped the sweat off his smooth head.

“Seriously? Don’t you want to see Princess Shinobu?” Sabito had dealt with true love many times before now, and this was the first time he’d met someone refuse the call.

“No.” Utterly uninterested, Giyu returned to his scrubbing.

3.

Shinobu was used to fishing up strange things. It was almost impossible to spend all day out on the docks and not pull out a hole-riddled boot, a decomposing book, or tattered clothes. Once she’d even pulled up an old, rusty sword. While she only fished to get out of the house, to have a place where it was just her and her thoughts, she couldn’t deny she was starting to look forward to the strange things she’d caught.

Unfortunately, today’s item looked like a pile of seaweed. Shinobu reeled in her wire, watching as her hook dragged the dark clump through the water. Well, it was edible at least. Aoi would be happy there was finally something to cook.

Bracing herself, she yanked the reel back onto the land, the black seaweed arcing through the air.

And chasing it, a bald, naked man jumped out of the sea. Shocked, she could only stare as his momentum carried him forward, his hand grabbing the seaweed before he crashed right into her. Her head hit the wooden deck before her forehead smacked into his chest. Dazed, she lay there, staring at his chest.

Could swimmers even jump that high?

Without a single word of apology, he sighed and rolled off her, clutching the seaweed like a prize.

“What the hell?” she growled after several minutes had passed. Forcing herself into a seated position, she turned to her attacker. “What—”

The fact that the stranger was bald was the least odd thing about him. This close, she realized the seaweed she’d caught was actually a wet mass of hair. His wig. And when she followed the water dripping down his chest, she didn’t find a pair of swimming trunks. Or anything from human anatomy.

No, she found a red, yellow, and green fish tail.

Shinobu had caught herself a merman. Just wait till Aoi saw that.

[spaceumbredoggos]

So Much For Stardust Chapter Eighteen

Bee’s POV:

Kenz buckled back as Dipper lunged at them. Dipper hissed loudly, pinning them down to the ground. Kenz growled and glared at Dipper. “Oh. So you’re after Bee, eh? Why? She’s…” They were cut off by Dipper biting their neck. Kenz screeched and rolled out from under Dipper, standing up.

I noticed Dipper foaming at the mouth and hunched over, clearly delirious and not all there. “KENZ!!! BACK DOWN!!!”

Kenz wasn’t listening, got with fever and anger. Dipper’s eyes glowed a bright yellow in the moonlight. The two circled each other. Dipper charged at them, pushing them down and biting their arm. Kenz yelped in pain and tried to shove Dipper off, then started punching him.

Dipper clearly had something wrong with him. He was thin and his hair was matted even more than usual. He was pale and covered in frothy spit. His yellow eyes were crazed and he didn’t speak a word as he bit Kenz on the throat again. Kenz howled in pain and tumbled down the hill with Dipper, flailing for their life.

I chased after the two, watching out for Kenz. Dipper threw Kenz across the clearing like a ragdoll, but Kenz bounced back with a swift kick to Dipper’s face. Dipper bit their calf, drawing blood and staining the grass scarlet. Kenz hissed, clawing at Dipper’s saffron colored eyes. They grabbed a fistful of mud and chucked it into Dipper’s face, causing him to let go. Kenz stood up, but gingerly held their bitten leg. “What the fuck is wrong with you, buddy?” Kenz was panting and gasping for breath, hunched over. Dipper tackled them again, pinning them against a tree. An ugly crunch sounded from Kenz’s body as blood trickled from their mouth. They collapsed, whining in pain. Their eyes widened in terror as Dipper bit the back of their neck and shook them like a werewolf. Dazed, they flopped around as more bones crunched in their body.

Kenz kicked back at the ground and shoved themself free, stumbling to their feet. They paused to catch their breath before tears streamed down their eyes. Their face no longer had that feverish tint of red, and they no longer held themself in an uncomfortable cramped position. They shook themself as Dipper charged at them again. Kenz swiped their hand across Dipper’s body, dodging his bite with his momentum. “Dipper!!! What’s wrong with you?” Kenz backed away slowly before turning to run, limping with each step. Dipper grabbed their forearm with his teeth and jerked his head back, causing Kenz to slam into the ground. They laid there limp for several moments.

“NO!!!! KENZ!!!” I rushed up to them, only for Dipper to block the way. “GET THE FUCK OUT OF THE WAY!!!” But Dipper didn’t budge. Instead, he lunged at me, trying to bite me. I shoved him back, turning into my full demon form. I stood between him and Kenz before Kenz started to wake up. Dipper turned his attention to Kenz and bit them hard enough in their shoulder that blood stained their shirt. Out of options, Kenz bit him back, jerking their head back and forth. The froth disappeared from Dipper’s mouth, which meant only one thing. Dipper had rabies.

Dipper’s eyes narrowed to slits as he burst out laughing, circling the injured Kenz. “You think you could weaken me that easily? You’re so pathetic! Pine tree had rabies and you didn’t even know that your bite was the only cure.”

“What?”

“Umbredoggo venom. It’s the only cure for rabies.” I rushed up to shield Kenz from Bipper. His mouth started to foam again and the crazed look returned in his eyes. He wiped the froth from his mouth. “Of course, it has to be administered several times. But look at you! Too weak to transform. Pine tree is as good as gone.”

Tears streamed down Kenz’s cheeks as they gazed at Bipper, who returned to his rabid state. Kenz pushed at me to try and bite Bipper again, but their push was too weak to do much. “No… Don’t let him die!!! I’ll never forgive myself…”

Bipper lunged again, but I threw him back. I rocked Kenz soothingly. “Let me handle this.”

“But what about my venom?”

“I can get a sample when you’ve recovered more.” I rubbed Kenz’s head soothingly as they leaned on me. “Promise me that he’ll be okay. But can’t you get rabies?”

“I’m an immortal demon.”

“So no?” Kenz nuzzled me before falling asleep. I rushed them back to my house, Bipper savagely rushing behind us. I locked the door to the room that Kenz was in, covering them in blankets and setting them up with an IV. Now to deal with Bipper.

I rushed out of the door at Bipper, who lunged at me again. I shoved forward and pinned him to the ground, managing to put a muzzle on him. I tied him up and carried him inside.

I unlocked the door, waking up Kenz. They held my hand as I prepared to bare some bad news to them. “Is Dipper gonna be okay?”

“Sort of.” I sighed, extracting some of Kenz’s venomous saliva with a syringe. “Dipper will always have the virus in him. He will always carry it in his saliva and could risk transmitting it to others if he bites someone. He’ll also go through what’s called ‘Regression Phases’ where his body will return to a rabid state.”

“Is there anything we can do?” Kenz gazed at Bipper, who glared daggers at them. “Like, is he gonna be okay to live a normal life? I know rabies can cause brain damage—“

“Which the Umbredoggo venom mostly prevents, with the cost of these regression phases.” I noticed the defeated look on Kenz’s face. “He’s gonna be a huge danger to himself and others. He almost killed me just now. And I noticed the yellow eyes. Bill is possessing him. That means Dipper’s mindscape form is watching this. He must be so scared. Judging by the fork marks on his arms, he got himself possessed before the furious stage. Bill can’t really control Dipper’s body.” Kenz leaned on me, heavily breathing. “You’re the only one he can really be with when he’s like this.”

“Besides the fact that I am immune, can my venom snap him out of it?” Kenz gazed at Bipper worriedly. “You’ll have to let the regression phases run their course.”

Kenz sat up, pain in their eyes. “There’s so much he has to miss out on. He can’t kiss Pacifica or really anyone ever again because the virus will be in his saliva. And I’m not keen on having a relationship with him. I’m not really in a relationship mood right now that I’m not in heat/rut. I see Dipper as more of a cousin or even my brother.” Kenz sighed and leaned away from me. “But would I rather have him alive knowing that he’ll have to live with rabies in his system, poised to strike like a trigger happy sniper?”

I then remembered the merchant who contracted rabies who had a pet Umbredoggo way back at the dawn of time. She only seemed to calm down in her regression phases when the Umbredoggo was around. And gradually, the regression phases became less frequent and violent. But they never disappeared all together.

I sighed and told Kenz the story of the merchant. Hope returned to their eyes as they nodded. “I guess I’ll have to be some sort of platonic comfort to Dipper. But we have to deal with Bill possessing him first.”

“Don’t worry. Bill’s in a pretty weakened state. He isn’t fully possessing Dipper right now.” I sighed with relief, leaving the room to give Dipper the injection. I came back into the room, noticing just how bad Kenz’s injuries were. There were a couple broken ribs, a shattered forearm, several nasty bite wounds that were bleeding pretty badly, and an ugly gash on their right calf. “Kenz, can you stay still for a moment?”

They reluctantly obliged as I set the broken arm and bandaged up their wounds before healing them with some healing magic. “My healing magic doesn’t work that well. But it should keep things in place.”

Kenz nodded, losing that lovey dovey look in their eyes that they had when they were in heat. They positioned themself away from me, less inclined to cuddle. They dozed off to sleep. They’re so cute when they’re sleeping.

I felt a part of me tear in half as I noticed how differently Kenz was acting. Kenz was more reserved. More logical. Less of the impulsive mess that I knew them as. Yet I didn’t want to admit that I missed it.

Tex walked into the room in his human form. He transformed into his hellhound form, nuzzling my neck lovingly. “Hey Vortex.”

“What’s going on?” He noticed how troubled I was. “Remember how I was telling you that I had to keep Kenz from hurting themself because they were in heat?”

Vortex nodded, gazing at Kenz. “They’re a good kid from what I’ve heard. A little stubborn, but a good kid.” I nodded and kissed Vortex. Is there something more than them being a good kid? I know Vortex and I have a pretty open relationship, but where does Kenz come in?

[brainyxbat]

Chapter 1: A Town That Welcomes Pirates? Setting Foot on Whisky Peak

(episode 64)

After leaving Reverse Mountain with Mr. 9 and Ms. Wednesday in tow, the crew encountered a snowfall.

Nami watched grumpily from inside the cabin, bundled up in a green coat, red earmuffs, and a yellow plaid scarf. "What in the world is with this snow? It was warm just a little while ago."

Outside, the boys were playing with the cold, white fluff. "All right! Done!" Luffy finished a goofy-looking snowman with wooden beams for the nose and arms, a green cape, and a barrel on the head. "This is the man that fell from the sky, Mr. Snow Barrel!"

Usopp chuckled with a smirk. "That's such a crude snowman."

"What?!"

"Look at my soulful artwork, the Snow Queen!" He proudly presented his sculpture; a tall, elegant woman sitting on a round throne.

Luffy's eyes widened. "Whoa! That's incredible!"

Venus grinned brightly, as she buttoned up her bat-hem cloak. "That's amazing!"

"Thank you! My good friend Kaya, who gave us the Going Merry, was my muse!"

"Your friend Kaya? Ooh, interesting~," She teased, and giggled.

"Oh, no no no! We're best friends, and nothing else!" He insisted frantically.

"Ah. Well, that's great! And you did amazingly there!"

Through their conversation, Luffy felt challenged. "Okay then! Snow Barrel Punch!"

"How about next, I make one of-" Usopp was cut off by a beam totaling the head of his creation.

"Luffy!" Venus glared, as the sniper slowly became unhinged.

"What the hell are you doing?!" He kicked through the snowman's head, making the barrel cave in to the body.

"Ahh! Mr. Snow Barrel! How dare you!" He tackled the sniper angrily.

Usopp chucked snowballs at an incredibly rapid pace. "Damn you! Damn you! Damn you! Damn you!"

Luffy retaliated with rolling a large snowball in his direction, chasing him. "How is this?!"

Usopp pursued him with the snow boulder, now with an imprint shaped like his own body, over his head. "You bastard! Hold it, Luffy!"

As Venus pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration, Nami watched them with irritation. "How come they're so energetic when it's this cold?"

Meanwhile, Sanji was at work in shoveling the snow off the ship, and into the ocean. "Nami-san! How much snow shoveling of love would you like me to do?!" He gushed.

"Please continue until it stops snowing, Sanji-kun!"

"Yaay! Nami-san!"

"Hey, you," Mr. 9 sneered to the navigator, as he and Ms. Wednesday sat at the table, each wrapped in a blanket, "Doesn't this ship have a heater?"

"I'm cold," She complained.

"Shut up! You guys aren't guests!" Nami yelled. "Go help shovel snow, or something!"

Venus grabbed Usopp's elbow when he was still angry with Luffy. "Come on, let's drop it. Usopp, want to make snow angels?"

"Sure thing!" He beamed, quickly forgotten by the captain, and they laid down in a more clear area. As he moved his arms and legs accordingly, his mind wandered. What was Venus doing to him? Why was he so nervous around her? His heart fluttered when he saw her brightly smiling face, snowflakes dotting her ivory skin, and long green hair; what was wrong with him?

-

Later on, the weather changed yet again. "Lightning?! What on Earth is going on with the weather around here?!" She watched, as strong gusts of wind blew the flag like crazy. "It was sunny up until recently. The next moment, it started snowing, and now lightning. The seasons, as well as the weather, go around randomly. It's just like what Crocus-san said."

"That's how it is in the Grand Line," Ms. Wednesday informed.

"It seems that you guys're clueless about the Grand Line," Mr. 9 added.

"You haven't been steering for a while now," Ms. Wednesday pointed out with a devious grin, "Is that really okay?"

Nami perked up at that. "I just checked the direction." She left the cabin to look again. "Ahhhh!" She screamed in terror.

Usopp sat up with Venus. "Wh-what?"

"What's the matter?" Luffy looked in her direction.

"What's wrong, Nami-san?!"

She gaped at her Log Pose in horror. "Ahhh... no way! Turn the ship around 180 degrees! Hurry!"

"180 degrees?!" Usopp exclaimed. "Why're we going back?!"

"Did you forget something?" Luffy asked.

"The ship has turned around, and is going in the opposite direction! When I looked away from the Log Pose for a second...! The waves were calm earlier."

"Are you really a navigator?" Nami glared at Ms. Wednesday's sassy remark. "In this sea, you can't trust the winds, sky, waves, clouds... anything. The only thing that doesn't change is the direction that the Log Pose points. Do you understand that?"

Nami kicked both prisoners off the table. "Stop bossing me around in those cozy blankets, and go help already!" She then ran outside. "Brace the yard! Receive the wind from starboard! Turn the ship 180 degrees to the left! Usopp, Venus! Take care of the lateen sail!"

"Okay!"

"Got it!" He rushed to do so with the witch.

"Sanji-kun! Take the helm!"

"Leave it to me, Nami-san!"

"You guys! I'm counting on you!"

"She's such a slave driver," Mr. 9 griped, as he and Ms. Wednesday worked.

"Hey, wait!" Usopp noticed. "The wind has changed."

"No way!"

Sure enough, a warm gust came in, blowing the clouds away from the sun. "It's the first spring gale!" Mr. 9 cheered.

Nami looked on in awe. "Why?!"

To Usopp's annoyance, Zoro was asleep through everything going on. "Don't just sleep while the snow accumulates on you!"

The girls took off their winter outerwear for the warmer weather, as Luffy watched the horizon. "Hey! I saw a dolphin jump over there! Let's go there."

"You keep quiet!" Nami ordered.

Usopp stood on the rope ladder for a better look. "The waves are getting high! I see an iceberg in the 10 o'clock direction!"

"Nami-san! It's getting foggy!" Sanji reported.

"What the hell's with this sea?!"

"W-w-we're gonna crash!!" Usopp screamed. Sanji strained to pull the helm, Nami soon helping, while Venus hugged Usopp's closest leg in fear, and Zoro was still fast asleep. The ship ended up grazing the iceberg at one side.

Nami ran outside when Luffy returned from the lower deck. "Hey! Water's leaking at the bottom of the ship!" He reported.

"We have to patch it right away!"

"Got it!" Usopp ran down with tools and wood, as Venus followed close behind.

"The clouds are moving fast!" Nami remarked, as dark clouds came rolling in over them. "W-wind's coming!"

Luffy held the brim of his hat. "It's strong!"

Ms. Wednesday watched with horror. "It's coming!"

"Unfurl the sails!" Nami ordered. "That wind is too strong! If we take it directly, we'll overturn!"

Sanji emerged from the kitchen, carrying a platter with onigiri rice balls. "Everyone! Eat this! Let's gather our strength!" He set the platter on a pair of barrels, and everyone crowded over to dig in, before returning to their positions. Mr. 9 callously pushed Venus away, rendering her unable to grab any, so Usopp swiped extras to give her while they worked. Sanji glared at Luffy when he was greedily stuffing his face. "You're eating too much!" He scolded with a punch to his head.

As Nami struggled to unfurl the bigger sail through the wind, a ripping sound caught Usopp's attention. He turned to Venus, who was finishing her last rice ball while hammering nails in the wood planks. "Stay here!" She nodded, and continued hammering, as he ran up to see what happened. "Oh crap! The sail is torn!"

"Forget about things up here," Nami ordered. "Go help Venus fix the bottom of the ship!"

"There's another part of the bottom of the ship damaged!" Ms. Wednesday reported, holding the door open.

"Dammit!" Usopp leaped back down to find the poor witch struggling to patch up both damaged areas on her own. He frantically took one of the hammers out of her mouth. "Focus on one spot! I got the other!"

"Okay!"

-

Before long, the chaos came to an end, and everything was peaceful again. Zoro stretched his arms with a long grunt, and sat up from the railing. "Ahhh, that felt good." He walked around the mast to find the rest of the crew laid out on the deck, exhausted. Usopp rested against the railing, Sanji was completely sprawled out face-up, and Venus was in the former's lap. "Hey, no matter how nice the weather is, you guys shouldn't be so lazy," He chastised, and turned to find Nami with her arm draped from the upper deck. "We'd better be on the right track."

"You..." Usopp, Venus, Sanji, and Nami started seething in fury.

"Hm?" He found Mr. 9 and Ms. Wednesday laid out by the mast. "Why're you guys on this ship?"

"You're slow!" Mr. 9 exclaimed.

"We're heading to their town right now," Luffy said, "It's called Whisky Peak."

"You mean we're taking them back? We don't owe them anything."

"Right, we don't," Luffy crossed his arms.

"Well, not like it matters to me." Zoro knelt down, after they sat up. "Yeah, your faces say that you're thinking bad thoughts," He taunted, "What were your names again?"

They flinched back in fear. "I-I'm Mr. 9."

"I'm Ms. Wednesday."

"Right," He grinned, "Something has been bothering me ever since I first heard your names." They stood on their feet with nervousness. "I feel like I've heard them somewhere before, or maybe not." They flinched again. "Well, either way-" He was interrupted by a hard punch in his head.

Nami. "How dare you sleep comfortably all this time," She growled, "You kept sleeping no matter how many times we tried to wake you up."

"What?!" He looked back.

She gave him three big bumps on his head. "Don't let your guard down, everyone! We don't know what else might happen." Usopp and Venus listened, as Sanji had a smoke, still laying down, and Luffy sat on the railing with a fishing pole. "I was finally able to realize the danger of this sea just now. I was able to understand why it's called the Grand Line. There's no doubt about it since my navigation skills don't work at all."

"How blunt," Usopp remarked, as Venus sat up, "Are we gonna be okay?"

"We'll be fine!" She assured. "Things will still work out for sure. In fact... look!" She pointed to an island that appeared to be consisted of green, multi-sized cacti. "Our first journey is over." Everyone looked on in awe, as they descended closer.

Luffy returned to his seat on the prow. "It's an island!"

"Alright!" Venus cheered.

"So this is Whisky Peak," Sanji remarked, "But it's a really funny looking island."

"Those cacti are huge!" Luffy exclaimed.

"It's like a desert," Venus pointed out, "Only no sand."

"Hm?" Everyone turned around when their prisoners jumped on the railing.

"Well then, we'll be leaving now," Mr. 9 announced.

"Thanks or taking us home, honeys," Ms. Wednesday added.

"If we're linked by fate, we'll meet again!"

"Bye bye, baby!" With that, they leaped into the ocean.

"Huh?" Usopp, Venus, and Nami watched in confusion, as they swam to the island.

"They're gone," Nami remarked.

"Who on Earth were they?" Usopp wondered aloud.

"I hope they're not power holders," Venus commented.

"Who cares!" Luffy beamed. "We're landing!"

"There's a river at the front," Nami pointed out, "Looks like we can go inland by ship."

Usopp started feeling nervous. "I-isn't it possible that there're monsters, or things like that?"

"It's definitely possible," Sanji remarked, "This is the Grand Line."

"If we come across islands, we can just leave the island," Luffy proposed.

"Hold on a sec," Nami realized, "Don't forget that we have to stay on this island for a certain period of time."

"Oh, that's right," Venus nodded.

"Why?" Luffy asked.

Nami held up her wrist with the Log Pose. "Unless we store the magnetism of this island in the Log Pose, we can't go to the next island. Since each island requires a different amount of time to store the log, some islands require only several hours, while others require days."

Usopp was scared of those odds. "Th-then even when this is a monster island that we want to escape from right away, it's possible that we have to stay her for days, until the log is stored?"

"That's right."

Luffy beamed. "Well, we can think about that when it happens. Let's go already!"

"Luffy's right," Zoro chimed in, "Let's go. It's not worth thinking about."

"No matter what happens, I'll protect Nami-san and Venus-chan," Sanji vowed.

Usopp started holding his throat. "H-hey, wait. Listen, everyone; my chronic illness is suddenly..."

"You're sick?" Venus innocently turned to him in concern.

"Yes! My "do not go to the island" disease is-"

"Then we're going in," Nami declared.

"No..."

"Listen. Make sure you're prepared to run, as well as fight."

"Ah, well, like I said, my chronic illness is- well, I guess you're not listening."

"I wonder what'll appear," Sanji remarked.

"P-please."

"Guys, Usopp says he's sick!"

"Venus, I'll explain later," Zoro said.

In the fog, some local men were watching the ship with binoculars. "Hey, it's a pirate ship."

"Pirates are here!"

-

As they floated through the river, Luffy spotted something ahead. "Huh? Something's moving."

"Humans?" Sanji watched the silhouettes watching them. "Humans are there!"

"Everyone, be careful," Nami ordered.

"Gotcha," Venus nodded, and prepared her hands.

Usopp's legs shook, as he drew back his slingshot. "Ahhh, dammit! Since it's come to this, I've prepared myself. Monsters, or whatever you are, come on out!"

To their surprise, instead of trying to attack... everyone cheered! "Welcome to the Grand Line! To the welcoming town, Whisky Peak!"

"Hey, they're cheering for us!" Venus pointed out.

Usopp looked through his goggles in surprise. "Yeah! F-far from monsters, we're being welcomed!"

"What's going on?" Sanji asked in confusion.

"Pirates! Welcome to our town!"

"Hurray for the heroes on the sea!"

Sanji brightened up when he noticed some beauties in the crowd. "Whoa! There're lots of cute girls!"

"Ahh! Look this way! They're handsome!"

"Hello, cutie!" Venus blushed at the guys gawking in her direction. She didn't know why they would say it about her, but she liked it.

"Maybe pirates are people's heroes after all," Nami remarked, as Usopp blew kisses at the crowd.

"Heeeey!" Luffy cheered.

-

"Welco-" A man with giant white curls, and a saxophone started his greeting, but started to clear his throat. "Ma-ma-ma~," He sang to test his voice, then continued, "Welcome. My name is Igarappoi. I'm the mayor of Whisky Peak."

"Okay. I'm Luffy; nice to meet you. Pops, you went overboard on curling your hair."

"Whisky Peak is a town that thrives on making liquor and music. Hospitality is the pride of our town. As for our proud liquor, it's as bountiful as the seawater. Would you allow us to throw a party for you, so that we may hear your tales of-" He cleared his throat again. "Ma-ma-ma~. Your tales of adventure?"

"We'll be glad to!" Sanji, Luffy, and Usopp exclaimed with ecstasy, and started to hop away. "All right!"

"Yeah!" Venus cheered, as she followed with jumps, leaving Nami and Zoro behind.

"Four idiots," Nami remarked. "Say, by the way," She held up her Log Pose for Igarappoi to see, "How long will it take for the log of this island to be stored?"

"Log? Forget such boring stuff," He dismissed, "Please just rest after a long journey." He stood behind her, and laid his hand on her shoulder. "Now, everyone! Prepare for the party! Sing to entertain the adventurers!"

"Party time!!" Everyone cheered.

Little did the Straw Hats know... they were being watched.

-

Later that night, as the moon was in its last quarter, the partying still commenced. People drank themselves silly, and played loud music with various instruments. A drunk Usopp was telling one of his tall tales to some of the partiers. "Then I said with utter coolness, "Sea Kings, don't you touch my friends.""

"Wow..."

"Captain Usopp!"

"You're so amazing!"

"Well, regarding the Calm Belt, even though I trembled a bit, though. A tremble of excitement, that is."

"Whoa!"

"Amazing!"

"Cheers to Usopp-san!"

From the bar, Venus listened on with a smile. "The story amusing you?" The bartender asked.

"Yeah, it does. Though I remember some slight differences."

"Ah. Can I get you a drink?"

"Oh, I don't drink," She turned the offer down gently, "I never have. Ironically, I lived in a bar for a few years."

"Come on, cutie," He insisted, "You were never tempted before?"

"Cutie?" She raised an eyebrow in genuine confusion. "Why're you calling me that?"

"Just stating facts." That didn't answer her question. "Let me treat you; it's on me."

She pondered the idea for a moment. What did she have to lose? And she couldn't let such kindness go in vain. "Well... there's a first for everything!" She decided cheerfully. "Gimme one, please!"

"Great!" He poured her a drink in a barrel-like mug. "Here you go."

"Thanks!" She had a little sip, and blinked in surprise. "Not bad!" She started downing it, while leaning back.

Nami sat on an L-shaped couch, Zoro on the other side, as a full mug set in front of her. "Now, please don't hold back, drink up," Igarappoi offered.

"No, thank you," She kindly refused, "I'd rather not drink alcohol."

"Don't worr-" He cleared his throat, "Ma-ma-ma~. Don't worry. It's a special drink made of prime grapes that are used to make prime wine. Its flavor is wine itself, but it doesn't contain alcohol."

"I see," Nami had a sip, and grinned brightly, "You're right! This is delicious!"

"We had a good grape harvest again this year. Now, to celebrate the harvest, we'll have our usual toast competition!" The patrons cheered at that. "That is, you continue to toast, and the last one standing is the winner. Please join in on our competition."

"No, thanks. I can't drink that much."

"The prize money for the winner is 100,000 berries!" Igarappoi took a bag bearing the currency symbol out of his jacket.

Nami was on her feet, now determined. "Another cup, please!" She then turned to the swordsman. "Zoro! You participate too! You don't have money, do you?"

"What?!"

"Cheers!" Everyone toasted.

-

As Luffy vigorously stuffed his face, Zoro was in the competition. "Whoa! Amazing! He finished his 10th cup!" He slammed the mug on the table.

"This is it," His rival collapsed on the table. "I can't drink anymore."

"This girl's downing her 12th cup!"

Nami wiped her mouth with satisfaction, as two competitors fell behind her. "Take that!"

"More food!" A round-bellied Luffy held out his platter.

"Whoa! The captain finished a meal for 20 people!"

The chef collapsed with a grin, still holding his knife. "The cook is down!"

"Please, I can't go on..."

"Hey, the spellcaster is getting down!" Sure enough, a drunk Venus was dancing all along the bar quite enthusiastically, her plaits swinging about. "How many drinks did she have?!"

"J-just one!" The bartender sputtered, feeling shocked himself. "That prime grape kind!"

"One?! That's crazy!"

"She was so meek before; now she's quite bold!"

Usopp paused his tale, and didn't notice the listeners demanding he continue, as his eyes were on Venus, blushing. He watched her hair fly all around; the way her short bangs bounced below her brow... she was so cute.

And pretty.

What the hell was wrong with him?!

Sanji meanwhile, was in his personal heaven; surrounded by pretty girls. "Whoa! This young man is trying to hit on 20 girls at the same time!"

"What's with this gang?!"

Igarappoi laughed. "It's really a fu-" He cleared his throat. "Ma-ma-ma~. A fun night! I'm glad that you all seem to be having fun." His smile turned more devious. "Yes, indeed, I'm very glad."

-

"For that reason, we failed our mission of securing food," Mr. 9 was writing his and Ms. Wednesday's report, "However, we'd like to report that we succeeded in leading the gang to Cactus Island, baby. All right!" He finished writing, and rolled the paper up. "If we submit this, we somehow should be able to clear our names."

"Right," Ms. Wednesday grabbed the roll, "I'll drop it in the Unluckies Box immediately." She walked outside, and dropped the roll in a mailbox bearing an eagle and otter... and a Jolly Roger emblem with "Baroque" above it. "They'll deliver it for us... to the boss."

-

In the bar, Zoro finally set his mug down. "This is it. I quit. I'm gonna sleep." He flopped face-down on the table.

"Whoa! The young man is finally down after his 13th cup."

"What?!" A blushing Nami glared. "You're hopeless, Zoro!"

"There's only two left."

"They're at the 15th cup. She's competing against the sister."

The nun lifted her mug to her lips. "You should quit too, for your own sake."

"Don't be silly! I definitely won't quit, until I get the prize money." She laughed pridefully.

-

Luffy flopped down on the floor in exhaustion. "Ahhh! Thanks for the food. I can't eat any more."

Next to him, two more cooks flopped down by the first. "Three cooks are also down!"

"Glad you enjoyed it," One muttered.

-

As Nami downed her mug, the nun laid on the table. "I can't drink anymore."

She wiped her mouth, and held out her empty mug. "I won!!" She laughed victoriously, and flopped down on the table deliriously. "Ahh, what fun."

"She's finally down."

Usopp leaned back in relaxation. "What a nice town." He turned to see Venus still dancing, but now on the floor. She certainly was attractive.

Why was he having these thoughts?

She was coming his way.

"Woo!" She flopped down next to him. "That was fun."

He chuckled, as she giggled. "You're a good dancer."

"Thanks! Maybe next time... you can dance with me."

His cheeks turned red. "Really?"

She nodded. "It can go with your stories."

"Y-yeah, maybe," He stammered.

What was she doing to him?

Meanwhile, Sanji's head was happily rested on a girl's lap. "This is a paradise."

-

Deeper into the night, all the Straw Hats were out like lights. Zoro was still at the table, Usopp was leaned back on the couch, Venus' head was face-up in his lap, Nami was at her table, Luffy was on the floor, and Sanji was laid out face-down on the bench. "So, they wore themselves out partying, and fell asleep," Igarappoi remarked outside, "Sweet dreams, adventurers. Again, tonight the Cactus Rocks look beautiful, dancing under the moonlight."

Mr. 9 and Ms. Wednesday sat on the roof of the building across from where the partying was going on. "You're such a poet, Igarappoi, no, Mr. 8," He corrected himself.

"Oh, it's you guys."

They jumped down on the ground. "What happened to them?" Ms. Wednesday asked.

"They've fallen." Mr. 8 started to walk away, and turned back to them. "To hell."

The disgruntled nun stepped outside to join. "Geez... since they're a little stubborn, I added a little alcohol in their drinks. Otherwise, they might still be up, and having a good time." She took off her disguise, revealing her short, pink pigtails, muscular build, white boots, and a pink and white checkerboard mini dress with green daisies. "But was it really necessary to put on an elaborate act, for just six weak-looking brats? We should've just beat them at the harbor. This town is already short of food. Also, we didn't have our hopes up for the whale meat anyway."

"You didn't have to say it like that!" Mr. 9 glared defensively. "We did try our best!"

"Calm down," Mr. 8 ordered, "Look at this. I've checked them out beforehand." He took Luffy's wanted poster out of his jacket.

"Th-thirty million berries?!" The three exclaimed in shock.

"Them?!" Mr. 9 sputtered.

"It's foolish to judge a pirate's ability based on their looks, Ms. Mon-" He cleared his throat. "Ma-ma-ma~. Ms. Monday."

She rubbed her head sheepishly. "S-sorry."

"But we've already settled. Looks like we can send a good report to the boss. Confiscate all the money, and other valuables on the ship immediately."

"So what about them?" Ms. Monday asked.

"What do we do?" Mr. 9 added.

"If we kill them, the bounty drops by 30%. The Government wants to hold public executions. Go! Capture them alive!"

"Hey. Sorry, but..." Zoro sat cross-legged on a roof behind them, to their shock, sword drawn, "Do you mind letting them sleep? They're all exhausted from the journey this afternoon."

A couple of men rushed outside. "Mr. 8! Ms. Monday! The guy with the bellyband escaped from the room when we weren't looking!"

Ms. Wednesday glared at their late report. "He's over there."

"You bastard...!" Mr. 8 glared. "I thought you were completely asleep!"

Zoro grinned with pride. "Swordsmen never make the mistake of letting their guard down that much." He stood on his feet, as he observed their tough exteriors. "So, let's see if I've got this right. This is a nest of bounty hunters. You dupe pirates who are in high spirits after having just entered the Grand Line. Looks like there're about 100 bounty hunters here. I'll fight you all... Baroque Works!"

The agents flinched in shock. "You bastard!" Mr. 8 exclaimed. "How is it you know our company's name?!"

"When I used to be in a similar line of work, I was recruited by your company once. Naturally, I rejected it. Employees don't know each other's identities, and are called by code names. Of course, the boss' whereabouts, and his identity are also a mystery, even to them. Baroque Works is a criminal group that just faithfully carries out their orders. Humph!" He grinned. "Was it a secret?"

"This is surprising," Mr. 8 remarked, "If you know our secrets, then we have no other choice, but to kill you." Zoro stared silently, undeterred. "Another gravestone will be added to the Cactus Rocks." It was then, when the swordsman noticed: said rocks were cemeteries! The "thorns" were cross-shaped gravestones, scattered all over each rock. "Kill him!"

But Zoro was gone, to everyone's shock. "H-he disappeared!" Ms. Wednesday exclaimed, wide-eyed.

[someonestole15]

Minus one

I guess they call this fatigue.

Snow, snow everywhere, I’m starting to get a headache from the lack of colors and the cold slows everything down… From one extreme to another, sand to snow, next place we operate in better not be from either end of this spectrum.

Shaken back to the moment by a bump of snow, I caught myself by one of the handles on the back of the snowmobile and stabilized myself. Radar blip getting closer to our left, I kept watch of the surrounding forest until a vehicle finally appeared in my view.

Yellow paint and lifted with large wheels, topped off with a machinegun. It took a second for the passengers of the vehicle to spot us but once they did, the gunner swung the weapon around to us and racked the charging handle. Let the bullets do the talking, half a magazine down, the gunners body flew back and the truck pulled up in front of us.

Now down a gunner, one of the passengers climbed up through the rear window of the truck and lined the gun back up with us. Cannot fire forward from the snowmobile, not accurately, I tapped Valkyrie on her left shoulder and lined up the rifle over the right side. Barrage of bullets from the machinegun, not accurate with all that rust and poor ammunition, I managed to drop the gunner with the rest of my magazine and as I loaded a new magazine, Valkyrie sped up the snowmobile to the side of the truck.

Just a little jump right?

Not exactly as easy with the speed and instability of the ground, I grabbed onto the back cage of the truck and pulled myself up. Now onboard, another of the trucks passengers climbed out of the window. Attempting to draw my rifle, he kicked it aside and attempted to push me off. Heavy and with good grip, I turned the tables and ripped him off the bed in an arc.

Wrapping my leg over the edge of the bed, I hoisted myself onto the vehicle itself and climbed inside the cabin. Remove the driver, take the wheel and the close the door after the previous inhabitant, quick tap on the brakes and a turn around, we got some distance from the sight of the chase and caught our breaths before parking the truck in a small opening in the forest.

Before leaving the cabin, I prepared myself for the worst as Valkyrie rode up next to the truck. If Nine wasn’t onboard the truck, we had just committed grand theft truck, right, the longer I sit here, the worse it feels, I pushed the door open and climbed across the outside onto the back of the truck.

One side of the bed had been left empty with a fabric bench folded up along the side, the gun mount and roll cage seemed like they were added later, based on the welding and rust. Tarp covering a large military style container, Valkyrie climbed up from the rear of the truck while I was looking it over.

No words needed, she unlocked the latch on one side while I undid the other and we lifted the lid up.

Feels like a punch right in the gut, that sinking feeling of seeing someone close to you suffering. It was Nine all right, what was left of him. Damage over most of the chassis with some of it looking highly unnatural, almost as if something had ripped him open, one of his eyes was missing along with his jaw hanging far below its mountings.

One can feel so many emotions… I took in a sigh and turned away from the container with one hand on my forehead, attempting to process them. No… no, there would be no instant release to this, there never will be, I felt her hand on my shoulder as my hands quietly shivered.

Moments to let the cocktail of chemicals fade down, it is not safe here, and just crying over the corpse solves nothing, I gathered my thoughts and stepped back over the container. Connected to his systems through my own, the amount of red on the errors was not good, but looking over the main internals that made Nine who he was were still intact. Drives that would be harder to recover, but his AI and core programming systems were acceptable.

This frame was dead but the beauty of being mechanical in nature means we can bring him back. Boost of the mood, we loaded up the snowmobile onto the back of the truck and sealed up the container again before making our way back to the command bunker.

Breathe; the sun had set as we rolled up into the loading bay inside the truck. Silence over the bay as we lowered the container from the back of the truck onto a trolley and wheeled it over to engineering. Clearing a table and sorting out a few lamps, Valkyrie and I lifted the lifeless corpse of Nine onto the table and looked him over again.

Repairs would take weeks, maybe even months; the Renegades donated an old hard drive that fit everything inside his head. The path of finding him a new chassis would be smarter at this point. Perhaps one for myself too, this one has seen many things but it falls short against the newer models…

I am sorry I could not be there sooner friend… we have all seen scars from this trip, if we wanted them or not.

Hey, been a moment, hasn’t it? I’ve been stressed out over many things recently, one of them being that I have a new job starting in January. This writers block has been pain as well, this part of the story alone took me months and three rewrites but hell, I finally got it done.

Hopefully 2023 will be good for all of us. See you then. Fifteenth_