#until i get the groove again i guess *sighs*

[starkeygirls]

i n v i s i b l e s t r i n g

chapter 1

rafe cameron x pogue!reader

summary: really bad at these!

wc: 2.5k

warning: none! i haven't written in a while, this is a rewrite of a story that i started in 2020, so please bare with me as i get back in the groove of writing.

a/n: guess who's back, back again. determined to finish this series. rafe and sofia in s4 really inspired me to get back into this fic, hope you all like it ◡̈ pls reblog/comment/etc.. would love to hear your thoughts ◡̈

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Sometimes you really fit into Figure 8. Sometimes you all did. Like when John B was off with Sarah and he was wearing the clothes that she had bought him to go out golfing or go to brunch at the yacht club. Or when Kie was dragged to a kook event by her parents at the country club. Pope wore his suit when he had different scholarship and college interviews- and he really gave the kook boys a run for their money with how good he looked in his steamed suit. JJ was the least likely to really look like he would ever fit in on Figure 8, and that was because he never wanted to. He reserved his ‘money suit’, as he called it, for when he had to work as a busboy, and occasionally picked up other gigs. You, however, were fitting in more often than you would have liked. 

You tucked your white cashmere sweater into your long, green pleated skirt. Letting out a small huff as you sprayed your perfectly curled hair one more time. Throwing your purse over your shoulder, you trudged down your hallway, your sneakers cost more than $400. You could still remember how your jaw dropped when you saw the pricetag, and apparently the kooks ate these shoes up. They needed them in every color, every new style that came out. It was madness, if you were being honest. It was like they were just giving away money. 

That’s what it seemed like, at least. You had been working at a retail store in the main strip of Figure 8 for over a year now. It was the only way you could afford the clothes you were wearing. You got a steep discount off the price, and you knew how to shop sales better than anyone. 

Your kook masquerade was always squished the moment you walked out to your car. The old beat up Honda that was always parked out front was nothing like what a kook would drive. It was too old. A 2005? The kooks didn’t know what anything from that year was- maybe only their participation trophies from little league that had the year engraved, that was about it. 

Unlocking the car, you tossed your bag onto the passenger seat, closing the door and buckling up your seatbelt. 

“Please start, Hilda..” You mumbled, closing your eyes and taking a deep breath as your hand turned the key in the ignition. She did, as usual- but you would never forget the time that she broke down. You cried for the ten minutes it took John B and JJ to rescue you. They were like your own little mechanics. Pope had called you in the car for the ten minutes while you sobbed and tried to calm you down- it didn’t work. Nothing worked until you saw your car fixed. You still owed them for saving your ass that day, regardless of how many times they assured you it was really nothing.

Crossing over the bridge from The Cut to Figure 8, you sighed: traffic. You knew by now the traffic was always bad as you headed into the main strip of town. It was the most popular place. Coffee shops, restaurants, stores.. Who wouldn’t be there if they had the money and time? Yeah, the coffee was overpriced and no one knew how to drive in their expensive cars, but it was still nice. Nicer than The Cut where people revved their engines when you scurried across the street.

–

It took you a half hour to finally pull into the parking lot behind your store. Saturdays were always the worst traffic wise, but boy, was it a good sales day. Checking the time, you bit your lip as you contemplated running to the cafe a few shops down to get a coffee. Technically you had time- you were always early. You had a fear of being late if you were being honest. You knew it looked bad, and it wasn’t hard for you to just leave a little early for wherever you were going. It took you two minutes to walk to the cafe, and you would give yourself ten minutes to be in the cafe, another two minutes to walk back, and you had twenty minutes until you had to clock in. What if the cafe was busy? What if it took you fifteen minutes in there? 

You slammed the car door and walked towards the Cove Cafe. The bell dinged as you walked in, a smile pressed to your lips as you pushed your sunglasses to your head. It wasn’t busy. What a relief. You smiled at the barista as you walked up to the counter. You and Gabriella had become good friends from your constant stops to the overpriced coffee shop. 

“The usual?” She asked with a grin, scribbling onto the cup as you nodded your head. You still had ten minutes to get back to the shop before you had to clock in. You smiled and waved back to Gabriella as you left the shop, sipping on the drink that had become a staple to your routine.

–

This Saturday was not a good day for sales. The weather must’ve been too nice, or everyone had gone to the mainland. The traffic you had fought through died down, and the small shop was deserted. Main Street in general was deserted. You and your co-worker, Abigail were basically staring at each other for four hours. It was painful at this point. You both had resorted to hiding off to the side hall to watch Netflix shows, peering your heads out when you heard the door open. 

Most of the time it was one or two people wandering in- usually tourons who just looked around and pulled you away from the show. It was your turn to walk out there when the door dinged, watching as two people walked in. Your eyes squinted as you looked to the security camera before heading out from behind the curtain. 

You tried to hide your surprise- and disgust- as your eyes glanced over to see Topper Thorton and Rafe Cameron in the small store. What did they want? Were they making rounds because Sarah was complaining about something John B had said? You knew it wasn’t a good idea John B was hanging around her. Were they threatening your group? 

Was it too late to shove Abigail out here? Was it too late to lock the doors and pretend you never opened? Were you allowed to not greet them? Spit in their faces? 

“Do you have this in a large?” Rafe’s question knocked you from your thoughts, blinking a few times before you furrowed your brows. 

“Let me go check for you.” You smiled at the two boys before heading behind the curtain where Abigail was. “How did I get so unlucky to have to deal with Topper and Rafe? How come you got a Hollywood directors cousin and I get two assholes who aren’t going to spend any money?” A groan escaped your lips before you brought yourself down the stairs to the stockroom. 

– 

“So you’re going to take the three shirts, the sweater and the two pants and then we’re going to order you the polo in the salmon color, and the sneakers, right?” You ran by him one more time. 

“Yeah, and ship it to the store if you can.” Rafe nodded, tapping his American Express Platinum card against the wooden counter. You nodded, typing away on the ipad register. It was a relief to finally be getting them out of the store, though they were a lot less of a pain then you had originally thought they would be. In fact, they were really respectful a complete 180 from what you were used to experiencing. They had hung back up everything they had tried on, and made sure to get a full glance of everything they could want in a different size or color before making you run to the stockroom once they were aware it was in a basement.

The only awkward part of the whole interaction was when you had absentmindedly walked back to the fitting rooms and saw Rafe shirtless as he spoke to Topper about the shirt he had on. 

“Pants fit well.” You awkwardly smiled, diverting your eyes from Rafe’s toned chest. You didn’t hate having them in the store, and he was about to drop a lot of money which was only going to be more money in your pocket.

“You’re all set. Everything should be here by Wednesday the latest. I’ll give you a call when they get here.” You smiled, watching him tap the heavy card against the card reader. His blue eyes glanced up to meet your own eyes. 

“Could you text me, actually? The number on file is my cell.” Your eyes glanced to Topper as he smirked, eyes glancing your way. To be honest, you were surprised. It wasn’t like you weren’t allowed to text customers for outreach or order updates- but it was the look Rafe was giving you, it was the smirk Topper had plastered to his face, it was the way Rafe was leaning on the counter. 

–

“And then as if spending an hour with them wasn’t bad enough, he asked me to text him when his order got to the store!” You were pacing in the living room of the chateau. You had driven straight there after work, it was a bit of a usual for all of you. After work on Saturdays, everyone would meet at the chateau and unwind, usually a beer or two, and pizza. 

“Why are you dressed like you’re from the 60’s?” JJ asked, as if he hadn’t been looking at you for the past fifteen minutes you had been ranting. 

“That isn’t the point, idiot.” Kiara chimed in, shaking her head at JJ’s comment. “Love the sweater by the way.” She smiled. 

“Dude, it retails for like three hundred, I almost threw up when a woman asked me where it was in the store the last time I wore it and then she bought it in the three colors we have.” You smiled back, finally plopping onto the couch next to JJ. His eyes were wide as he looked to your sweater, before petting it. 

“Fuck, it’s soft.” 

“It’s cashmere and get your grubby hands off of it. You probably have oil or beer on your hands, and it’s dry clean only.” Your hand smacked at his.

“So when’s your first date with Rafe.” JJ teased, a groan leaving your lips as your head fell back.

“Where the hell did a date even come into this? If he gets my number that’s just another way to threaten us.” 

“I wish John B and Sarah were here to hear all this.. Sarah would lose it.” Kie laughed. “But, we would probably get to the bottom of it. She would just text him and see what was up. Either we’re overthinking it, or we’re perfectly on track for whatever his twisted mind is thinking.” 

“So are you going to wear cashmere on your date with him? Do you think he’ll pay?” JJ continued, a grin planted to his face. He wasn’t going to let it die down, which you should have expected. Jeez, where was Pope, John B and Sarah when you needed them? 

– 

Your fingers hovered over your phone after you had texted Rafe, the chat bubble signaling he was responding - and fast. There was no need to be nervous about whatever he was saying, it was your job, after all. Texting him as he requested for the order he placed - you hadn’t done anything wrong or out of the ordinary. 

You jumped a bit feeling your phone vibrate in your hand, eyes scanning the text saying he would probably show up right before you closed because he was busy. Your lips pulled into a tight line, preparing yourself to have to stay past close. You hearted the message without even thinking, all sense of professionalism threw itself out the window. “Fuck,” you muttered under your breath, too late now to undo what had been done. 

–

The store was in nearly perfect condition, you had told Abigail to head home, that you would wait out Rafe’s arrival on your own, assuring her he would surely only be about 5-10 minutes. You finger spaced the racks twice, re-folded your tables and even dusted off the mannequins as you waited for his arrival. It was now thirty minutes past close, the doors had been locked, your fingers tapped along the desk as a sigh escaped your lips, eyes rolling. Pulling your phone out of pocket, your fingers fired off a message to Rafe. 

hey! i’ve gotta close up, we’re open from 9-7 tomorrow, just tell the associate you’re picking up :) 

Grabbing your things from the back, your keys twirled around your fingers, jumping as a figure was looking into the glass doors of the store. A gasp escaped your lips as your eyes looked to Rafe’s, a smile pressed to his lips as he caught the panic course through your body. A small debate ran through your brain, should you even let him have his things? He should and could wait until the following day. Teach him a lesson on being punctual. 

His hand knocked on the door, smile still pressed tight to his lips. It was almost cocky, like he knew that you would let him in. Before even making a conscious decision, your feet were carrying you to the door and unlocking it. 

“Maybe we should add a watch to your order, seems like you could use it.” Your tone was a bit harsher than you intended, but at this point, he was wasting your time. Holding the door open, you quickly locked it after he entered. 

“I’m only thirty minutes late.” 

“You knew when we closed, you’re abusing my kindness.” 

“Is that what you call the attitude?” Your eyes were glaring at this point, feet carrying you quickly to the back where Rafe’s items were packaged neatly, a bow around the handle of the bag and all. Grabbing it, you gasped yet again as he had been closer to the curtain to the back than anticipated. A chuckle escaping his lips. “You look like a deer in headlights.” 

“Can you just take your things and go? I’ve spent enough time in this store.” A huff escaped your lips as you shoved the bag to Rafe, already walking towards the front door to escort him out. “And don’t worry, I’ll send you watches during my next shift so you can work on being on time.” 

“So you want to see me again?” Rafe’s eyebrows raised, smirk pressing to his lips. He clearly was in no rush to leave, or leave without frustrating you any bit he could. 

“Right now I would love nothing more than to watch you leave, Rafe.” Unlocking the door, and opening it you motion for him to leave, your patience growing thin as he took his time walking from the store. “Thanks for shopping with us today.” You mutter before closing the door behind him and locking it. 

–

Scrolling through your phone, a text pulled your brows together. 

so, how’d i look walking away?

[waitimcomingtoo]

Kept Me Like a Secret When I Kept You Like An Oath

Pairing: Peter Parker x Stark!Reader

Synopsis: Tony has a strict rule against you dating, so when he finds out you and Peter have been dating behind his back, he comes up with a lie to keep you apart

Masterlist

“Hey love bug, do you know the Hulu password?” Tony asked you once you opened your door for him.

“Oh, yeah. It’s flower power boo boo foot. No spaces.” You quickly answered and tried to shut the door on your dad.

“I thought so too. But I tried that and it didn’t work.” Tony sighed and pushed your door right back open.

“Did you capitalize every first letter?”

“Yep. No dice.”

“Try “smithereens”. I think that’s the new one.” You told him and tried to shut the door again.

“I tried that too. That’s the Netflix password.” Tony shook his head, oblivious to the fact you were trying to get rid of him.

“Oh darn. I guess I don’t know it then.” You faked a laugh and tried to close your door.

“Didn’t we change it at some point to America’s ass? No spaces?” Tony asked and pushed your door back open.

“We did. But then Steve got mad so we made it “Steve’s a Virgin” for a couple weeks. Then he got more mad so we made it “smithereens”. If it’s not that anymore, then I don’t know it.”

“Huh. Then I’ll just change it to “buckysucks” and write it down.” Tony decided.

“Good plan.” You nodded quickly and prayed he’d leave.

“All right. Thanks, kiddo.”

“Bye, daddy.” You smiled sweetly and shut your door with your free hand.

Your other hand, which had been out of sight that whole conversation, was covering Peters mouth as he hid from Tony. His back was pressed against the wall beside your door and he was holding his breath to be as quiet as possible. He placed his hand over yours to keep quiet, his hand that was still covered by his Spiderman suit.

“That was a close one.” You said as you took your hand off his mouth.

“I know. But how exciting was it?” Peter grinned as he scooped you up. You shrieked in excitement before pulling Peter into a kiss. He never broke the kiss as he walked you over to your bed and laid you down on it. Just when you were getting into a groove, you heard a knock at the door. Peter flew to the ceiling and stuck to it as you sat up and smoothed your hair.

“Honey, one more thing.” Tony said as he opened your door.

“Yes daddy?” You smiled sweetly and tried to discreetly catch your breath.

“Can you send me that chicken recipe again? I want to make it for dinner tonight.”

“You mean you want our chef to make it for dinner tonight?” You raised an eyebrow.

“Precisely.”

“I’ll send it to you.” You told him and immediately sent it to get rid of him quicker.

“Are you feeling okay, pumpkin? You look a little sweaty.” Tony asked, making you gulp. Your eyes flicked to your ceiling, where Peter was hanging upside down and holding his breath.

“I’m good. Probably just coming down with something.” You laughed nervously and wiped your forehead.

“Oh no. I’ll make you some tea.”

“Thanks daddy.” You blew him a kiss as he shut the door. Once he was gone, Peter dropped down from the ceiling and landed on your bed.

“You really need to get a lock on your door.” Peter chuckled and leaned in again.

“Where’s the fun in that?” You scoffed and cupped his face to kiss him. As much as you hated hiding your relationship from your dad, the thrill of having a secret made it all that much more exciting. It had been three months of you and Peter sneaking around now and you were starting to get less careful.

A couple days later, Tony went into Peters room to talk to him about upgrading his suit. He wandered around and looked at the various things on Peters desk as he spoke until something caught his eye.

“Now this is interesting.” Tony said as he leaned over Peters desk.

“Tell me about it. That’s not even the first flock of birds to drop out of the sky this year.” Peter answered, thinking Tony was looking at the science magazine he had open on his desk.

“Actually, I meant these.” Tony said and held up a lavender pair of your underwear.

“Oh my God.” Peter gasped as all the color drained from his face.

“You know, Parker, I had you pegged for more of a boxer briefs kinda guy.” Tony chuckled and dropped the underwear back onto the desk.

“Those aren’t mine.” Peter quickly explained.

“Really? I thought Victoria Secret No Show panties would be perfect for you in your skin tight suit.” Tony teased.

“Sorry about that. It won’t happen again.”

“Well don’t stop doing what you’re doing on account of me. I am many things but I am not one to blicken anyones chicken.”

“Blicken - oh. Cock block. I get it.” Peter sighed in disappointment.

“So who’s the lucky lady?” Tony asked and took a seat on Peters bed.

“Oh, uh, we don’t have to talk about this. Don’t worry. May already had “the talk” with me.” Peter laughed nervously and hoped Tony would get the hint to drop it.

“I don’t mind it. You’re the closest thing I have to a son and I always thought I’d be really good at giving the sex talk.”

“You’ve always thought that?” Peter scrunched his nose.

“Let’s just talk basics so I can get out of your hair. Are you guys being safe?”

“Yes. Totally safe.” Peter assured him.

“Good. Because we don’t know how radioactive your web fluid is, if you catch my drift.”

“I wish I didn’t but I do.” Peter grimaced.

“So is it just one girl or are you running some kind of brothel in here?” Tony questioned.

“Just one girl. My girlfriend.” Peter said with a shy smile.

“Well I’ll be. You’ve taken a lover.” Tony smiled proudly and patted Peters knee.

“Yeah, I guess I have.” Peter laughed and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Oh, I get it. I recognize the blush of a smitten man. I get the same blush every time I catch my reflection in a building when I pass by it. How long have you been seeing this girl?”

“Three months. But the…other stuff only started recently.”

“Good for you for waiting. I’ll have you know that Pepper and I waited. I’ll also have you know that Pepper couldn’t stand me for the first few years she knew me.”

“Yeah. She’s mentioned that.” Peter chuckled.

“Do you love her? And follow up, have you told her if you have?”

“I haven’t told her yet. But I do. I love her with all my heart.”

“Then why haven’t you told her?”

“I’m scared too. I’m scared she doesn’t love me back yet.” Peter admitted for the first time out loud.

“Peter, she’s been dating you for three months and is willing to sneak into the highly secluded Avengers tower just to bust it open for you. I think it’s safe to assume she loves you.”

“Maybe.” Peter laughed shyly and started to feel a twinge of guilt for lying to Tony about who he was dating.

“How does she get in here anyway? I’ve never seen a girl around here.” Tony realized, making Peter gulp.

“I swing her up to my window.” Peter quickly lied.

“Aw. Like Rapunzel.”

“Yeah. Exactly like Rapunzel.” Peter nodded in agreement.

“Well I’m happy for you, kid. I really am. Any girl would be lucky to be dating a man like you. And I know if my daughter ever brought home a guy like you, I’d be damn proud of her for picking a good one.” Tony said and patted Peters shoulder. Peter looked at Tony’s hand on his shoulder and felt like he could cry. It was one of the most sincere and heartfelt things Tony had ever said to Peter and it killed Peter that it happened because of a lie.

“Do you really mean that?” Peter asked quietly.

“I do. I saw greatness in you the day I met you, kiddo. And I’ve seen in everyday since.” Tony said with a fond smile.

“Thanks, Mr. Stark. That means a lot to me.” Peter answered and put his hand over Tony’s. Inside, it was absolutely killing Peter to lie to Tony’s face in that moment. His guilt doubled and he knew he had to come clean as soon as possible.

“Well now I’ve made myself uncomfortable by expressing my feelings. I’m gonna leave now before an awkward silence settles in. See you at dinner?” Tony cleared his throat awkwardly and stood up from Peter’s bed.

“See you at dinner.” Peter nodded and felt relived that Tony was leaving.

“K. Love you.” Tony said as he walked towards the door.

“I love you too.” Peter said sincerely.

“Gross.” Tony grimaced. He then winked at Peter before leaving his room. Once he was gone, Peter felt himself get emotional as tears slipped down his face. He couldn’t believe he just lied to a man who had given him so much. Peter quickly wiped his face and went to your room to settle this before it went any further.

“Hey.” You smiled when you opened your door and saw him.

“Hey. Can we talk?” Peter asked as he came in and shut the door behind him.

“Oh. Yeah, sure. Is everything okay?”

“No, it’s not okay. I just talked to your dad.”

“Did you tell him about us?” You worried and sat on your bed.

“No. But he found your underwear in my room.” Peter sighed as sat beside you.

“Oh no. What did you tell him?” You laughed, still not understanding the gravity of the situation.

“That I have a girlfriend.”

“Okay. Maybe this will work in our favor. It’ll be easier to sneak around if he knows you’re dating someone.” You shrugged. Peter kept his eyes on his lap and you noticed that his leg was bouncing nervously.

“What’s wrong?” You asked and placed your hand on his knee to calm him down. Peter sucked in a sharp breath before getting emotional again.

“I don’t want to sneak around anymore. I can’t keep lying to your dad like this. I can’t do it.” Peter said with watery eyes.

“Peter, we talked about this. He can’t know about us. He made it very clear that I’m not allowed to date until I’m 21.” You sighed and withdrew your hand.

“I know we talked about it. But he and I had a great conversation and I really think things will be different. He just told me he’d be proud of you if you brought home a guy like me.”

“Peter, he says that now as a hypothetical but if he knew we were actually dating, he would feel differently.”

“I cannot keep breaking his trust like this. It’s killing me to lie to him. And I don’t know what’s gonna be worse. When he finds out I’m dating you or when he finds out I lied to his face about it.” Peter got off your bed and started to pace your room in a panic.

“If he finds out about us, he’s just gonna flip out and tell us we’re too young and too dumb to date. He’ll never be okay with this.” You reminded Peter as you got off your bed. You put your hands on his shoulders to calm him down and he stopped pacing.

“I know. But what’s he gonna do? It’s not like he can force us to break up.”

“Maybe not. But he can take your suit away and kick you out of the tower. Or make FRIDAY lock you out of my room permanently. Or make sure we are never alone together. He’s Tony Stark. He had infinite resources and time on his hands. If he wants us to break up, he will find a way.”

“Then we will just find a way to be together. No matter what he does.” Peter promised as he took your hands.

“But it will never be the same. Isn’t it better to lie to him so we can be together like this for as long as possible?”

“I’m not a liar. And he knows that.” Peter shook his head decidedly and let go of your hands. You folded your arms and stared at Peter for a minute, knowing he had already made up his mind. You hated lying to your dad just as much as Peter did, but you knew it was the only way for you to remain together.

“Can you just give me a little more time? Just in case he forces us apart?” You asked quietly and took Peter’s hands again. He looked at your hands and sighed before nodding his head.

“Okay. We’ll keep it a secret for a little longer.”

“Thank you.” You smiled and cupped his face to kiss him. When you pulled away, Peter got a look on his face that you didn’t recognize.

“Was there something else?” You asked him.

“Yeah. I…” Peter began but trailed off when he lost his nerve. He wanted to tell you he loved you, but his fear stopped him once again.

“Never mind. I’ll tell you later.” Peter faked a smile.

“Okay. Tell me later.”

The next day, you left to go on a recon mission with some of the other Avengers. Peter stayed back at the tower since his powers wouldn’t be useful and spent the week listlessly lounging around as he waited for you to come back. Finally, he got an alert that the quintet had landed on the rooftop. Peter excitedly jumped off his bed and ran into the foyer to see you. When he got there, he saw Tony and some other Avengers, but no you.

“Hey. Did the mission go okay?” Peter asked as he scanned the room for you.

“For the most part. Until Y/n got hit with a missile.” Tony said causally.

“What?!” Peter shrieked. “How did that happen?”

“She stood right in front of a middle launch pad.” Steve answered like it was the most simple thing in the world.

“Yeah. It was 100% her fault.” Tony chuckled. “She’ll be okay though. She’s recovering in the medical wing.”

“I have to see her.” Peter said and tried to push past Tony.

“Slow your roll there, Parker.” Tony stopped him. “She’s got open wounds so the doctor doesn’t want any outside germs in the room with her. You can see her when she’s out in a couple days.”

“No, no, no. I need to be in there with her.” Peter started to panic and tried to go towards your room again.

“No, you do not. You can see her after.” Tony pushed Peter back again with an annoyed laugh.

“You don’t understand. I need to see her now.” Peters eyes teared up as he tried one last time to get around Tony. By this point, Tony was more than suspicious and had a sinking feeling in his stomach.

“What don’t I understand? Why exactly do you need to see her so badly?” Tony questioned as he folded his arms. From the desperation in Peters voice, Tony had figured out what was going on. And from the tone in Tony’s voice, Peter figured he knew exactly what Peter was about to say. Peter stared at Tony for a minute as he went over his options in his head. He knew you didn’t want your dad to know about your relationship yet, but it might be his only chance of getting to see you while you were hurt. With the knowledge of you being hurt clouding his judgment, he made a snap decision.

“Because I love her.” Peter said quietly. Tony’s jaw locked as his suspicions were confirmed.

“Excuse me?” Tony asked in a low voice.

“Mr. Stark, I am in love with your daughter. And I need be with her. Please.” Peter pleaded in a shaking voice.

“I thought you had a girlfriend?” Tony asked as he folded his arms.

“I do. It’s her.”

“You’ve been dating my daughter behind my back for three months?”

“Yes. I have. And I know you’re going to yell and scream and throw things at me but before you do, please understand that I never wanted to lie to you. She asked me to keep our relationship a secret so I did. Because I would do anything for her. Absolutely anything.”

Tony stared at him for a long time but said nothing. Peter didn’t know this, but Tony was tallying up in his head all the times you and Peter had lied to him to keep your relationship a secret.

“Okay. You can yell at me now.” Peter said and braced himself.

“I’m not going to yell at you.”

“You’re not?”

“You didn’t tell me for three months?” Tony asked again, sadness in his voice this time.

“No. I didn’t.” Peter admitted, making Tony nod his head.

“I expected more from you.” Tony said without looking into Peters eyes.

“I know, and I’m sorry, but-“

“You will move all your stuff out by tonight.” Tony cut him off. “You will go back to living with May. Happy will call you if -and that’s a big if- I need you for a mission. Other than that, you are not affiliated with the Avengers. You are not welcome in this tower. And you are never, ever, to speak to my daughter again. Do you understand?”

“Mr. Stark, I know you’re mad but-“

“Do you understand?” Tony cut him off again by yelling. Peter felt tears come to his eyes but he nodded his head.

“Yes sir.” Peter said quietly.

“Good. Now go.” Tony said and pointed to the door. Peter noticed Tony’s finger was shaking but said nothing. He reluctantly walked towards the door and before he could open it, he heard Tony’s voice again.

“I am so disappointed in you.” Tony said, delivering the final blow. Peter quickly left the room before Tony could see him cry.

By the time you woke up, Peter was long gone. You struggled to sit up and winced when you felt the wound on your side.

“Daddy? What happened?” You asked as you rubbed your eyes.

“Hey sweetheart. Welcome back. You got absolutely wasted by a missile.” Tony said in a soft voice.

“Typical.” You sighed. “Are there any major injuries?”

“Your ear is shot but the doctor said it’s only temporary.”

“Good thing Clint taught us all ASL.” You signed to Tony.

“Yeah. Good thing.” Tony signed back. You smiled and squeezed his hand before looking around the room.

“Has anyone come by to see me?” You asked, but meant someone in particular.

“Everybody has. This is the first time your room has been empty since you got here.”

“Aw. I can’t wait to see them all.” You smiled softly when you noticed the cards and flowers in your room that the team had left.

“They can’t wait to see you.”

“Did Peter come by?” You asked, making Tony’s smile drop.

“No. He hasn’t.” Tony said quietly.

“He hasn’t?” You frowned. “Does he know what happened?”

“Well he’s been a little busy so I’m not sure he heard the news.” Tony lied to you without even thinking about it.

“Busy? With what?” You laughed skeptically and looked around for your phone to text Peter.

“Well you know how he has a girlfriend?”

“Yeah. I heard about that.” You replied without looking your dad in his eyes.

“Well the security cameras caught Peter sneaking her into the tower while we were gone. I found that a little disrespectful so I told him that if he wanted overnight guests, he’d have to bring them to his own home. He agreed and said he’d be sleeping back at his apartment with May from now on.” Tony lied to you as he said the first thing that popped into his head.

“Wait, what? You saw Peter with a girl?”

“With his girlfriend, yes.” Tony continued to lie. He knew you were Peters girlfriend, but you didn’t know he knew, so he was taking advantage.

“That isn’t possible.” You laughed uncomfortably.

“Why not?” Tony played dumb.

“Because…” You began then trailed off. You didn’t know Tony already knew about you and Peter so you were still determined to keep the secret. So as much as you wanted to tell your dad that what he was saying meant Peter was cheating on you, you had to keep quiet.

“Nothing. No reason. I’m just surprised he brought a girl here. And now he’s moving out?”

“Yep. He moved all his stuff out already. He was being weird about the whole thing. He seemed super freaked out when I told him that I knew about the girl. He even begged me not to tell you. Isn’t that strange? I don’t know why he thought you would care.” Tony shrugged as he fed you more of the lie. He watched your face crumple and knew he was hurting you but decided it was for the best.

“Yeah. Me either.” You said quietly as you fought back tears.

“Well I’ll let you get some rest, kiddo. See you in the morning.” Tony kissed your forehead before leaving your room. As soon as he was gone, you pulled your comforter over your head and cried yourself to sleep.

Tony’s plan worked and you ended up blocking Peters number before he had a chance to reach out to you. And while kicking Peter out kept the two of you apart while you recovered from your injury, Tony didn’t account for the fact that you and Peter went to the same college. Peter finally saw you again on your first day back at school and pushed people out of the way to get to you.

“There you are. I’ve been texting and calling you like crazy for the past two weeks. Why haven’t you answered me?”

You ignored Peter and continued putting your books away in your locker. Peter blinked a few times in confusion before trying again.

“Are you okay? I never even got to see you after your accident. Is everything all right with you? I was so worried.” Peter asked and rubbed your arm. You pushed his hand away and slammed your locker before walking away. Peter shook his head in confusion before running after you.

“Hello? Can you hear me?” He asked and stepped in front of you.

“What do you want Peter?” You sighed.

“What do I want? To talk to my girlfriend, maybe. I’d like to start there.” He said sarcastically.

“Oh, your girlfriend? Which one?” You asked and folded your arms.

“Huh?”

“My dad told me about the other girl. I know that’s why you moved out. Did you really think you could cheat on me in my own house and I wouldn’t find out?” You asked before walking away again. Peter looked up at the ceiling to ask the sky what the hell you were talking about before running after you. He caught up to you and placed his hands on your shoulders to stop you.

“What the hell are you even talking about? Cheat on you? With who?” Peter exclaimed.

“I don’t know her name.” You rolled your eyes. “All I know is my dad said he saw you with another girl when I was gone on the mission.”

“What?!” Peter shrieked. “That never happened. All I did when you were gone was wait for you to come back.”

“Then why did you move out?”

“Because your dad kicked me out!” Peter exclaimed before looking around for who might be listening.

“Because your dad kicked me out.” He whispered, making you roll your eyes again.

“Why would he do that?”

“Because found out about us. Or, I told him about us. But only because you were hurt and I was scared so I panicked and blurted that I…”

“That you…” You urged him to finish his sentence once he trailed off. Peter looked at you for a minute and decided that the only way to get you to understand what happened was to tell you the whole truth.

“That I love you. I told him that I loved you. That’s how he found out.” Peter admitted. Your angry expression immediately melted to one of confusion as you dropped your guard.

“You told my dad you loved me before you told me?”

“It wasn’t exactly planned.” Peter said quietly. Your face lit up in a fond smile as peters face burned bright red.

“You love me?” You asked and took peters hands.

“A whole lot, unfortunately.”

“Peter.” You gushed and wrapped your arms around his neck. He immediately hugged your back and melted into your touch after weeks of silence from you.

“Wait, I’m mad at you.” You remembered and let go of him.

“Baby girl, do you think it’s possible that your dad lied about me cheating to get you to hate me?” Peter asked slowly.

“Why would he want me to hate you?”

“Because if you hate me, you’re not gonna beg him to let us be together. It was kind of a genius move if you think about it. You didn’t know that he knew about us so he made up a story to get you to hate me. That way, he didn’t have to break us up or hear about why we should be together.”

“Damn it. He is a genius.” You whispered when you realized Peter was probably right. Peter stepped forward and cupped your face in his hands so you’d look at him.

“I didn’t cheat on you, honey. I swear. I think we both know I’m not organized or coordinated enough to pull that off.”

“You’re right. I don’t know why I believed him so easily. Maybe because he told me while I was still high on morphine.” You sighed and wrapped your arms around Peter again.

“So we’re okay?” He asked hopefully. You broke into a smile and kissed him before pulling away.

“I love you too.” You told him before kissing him again.

“Now let’s go kill my dad.” You said sweetly once you pulled away.

“Aw.” Peter smiled. “Wait, what?”

~

“I don’t think this is a good idea. He’s gonna kill me.” Peter whispered to you as you walked hand in hand to the main room of the tower.

“Probably.” You whispered back, making Peter stop in his tracks.

“What?! So why are we doing this?”

“Because it’s what’s right. He can’t get mad at us for lying to him and then turn around and do the same thing to me by lying to my face. We are in love and there is no reason we shouldn’t be together. And that’s exactly what I’m gonna tell him.” You said as you grabbed his hand to continue pulling him. When you got to the main room, you saw most of the team sitting around.

“Oh good. Everybody’s here.” You said, getting everyone’s attention. Tony’s eyes went from Peters face to your intertwined hands before he stood up.

“What’s he doing here?” Tony asked angrily and pointed to Peter. Peter looked at you in fear but you squeezed his hand to let him know it was going to be okay.

“Everyone, Peter and I have something to tell you. We are in love and in a relationship.” You announced and waited for reactions. Everyone looked at each other but no one seemed particularly interested.

“Um, congrats? Is that really something that needed to be announced?” Natasha laughed awkwardly.

“Yeah, no offense guys, but I don’t think anyone cares that you two are together.” Steve said and everyone nodded in agreement.

“Oh. Damn. Anticlimactic.” You mumbled under your breath. Tony, on the other hand, was not as nonchalant.

“Like hell you are.” Tony scoffed. “This is not happening. Not under my roof or anywhere else that I own. Which is a lot of property, by the way.”

“Dad, you can’t keep Peter and I apart. Especially not by lying to me and saying he cheated on me.”

“Yeah, I kinda can’t believe you bought that. I came up with it on the spot.” Tony dropped his anger for a second to snort.

“Oh my God.” You face palmed.

“It wasn’t fair to me. I’ve been nothing but loyal, helpful, and respectful towards you. You had no reason to kick me out and lie about me.” Peter spoke up, getting everyone’s attention.

“Uh, here’s a reason.” Tony scoffed and held up a finger. “You had sexual intercourse with my off spring. I freaking found her panties in your room next to your Lego police station!”

“Your “off spring” is my girlfriend, okay? It’s not like Y/n and I are just hooking up. We are dating and in love and it is none of your business. So I’m sorry if you don’t like that we’re together, but I’m also not sorry. Because you need to get over it. She’s an adult and she can date whoever she wants. So you can kick me out of the tower and try to keep us apart, but you’ll never be able to break us up. We love each other and we don’t care how that makes you feel.”

“Yeah.” You chimed in. “If you kick him out, I’ll just go with him. And I don’t care if you emancipate me because of it. I’d rather be poor with him than rich without him.”

“Did you just stand up to me?” Tony asked with tight eyes.

“Did you just call me poor?” Peter asked you.

“Yes?” You answered both their questions with a question.

“Wow. Things are becoming clearer. Words are being processed. Previously held opinions are being changed. Gasp! I realizing that I was…wrong?” Tony gasped and sat back down on the couch with a dumbfounded expression.

“He is unbearable sometimes.” Steve groaned and rubbed his eyes.

“Yeah, wait a minute. Tony, did you really do that? Did you really kick Peter out and lie to your kid?” Natasha asked.

“I will admit that I lied to my beloved daughter about the loyalty of her boyfriend to split them up. And that I may have slightly overreacted when I heard Peter and Y/n were an item.” Tony confessed, making everyone groan.

“Is that it? You’re just admitting to something we already know you did?” You asked and folded your arms. Peter put an arm around you to show that he supported you and judging by the looks of everyone else’s faces, they supported you too. Tony looked around the room before letting out a sigh.

“I ran so hot when I was young. I didn’t think I’d ever be able to settle down and start a family. Not because I didn’t want to, but because I didn’t think anyone would want to with me. So when your mother got pregnant, I swore I would be the most devoted and loving father I possible could be. And once your mom and I split up, I worried that I’d be your father but I wouldn’t be your dad, you know? I was so excited that you chose to live with me. I thought it would always be the two of us. Plus the 10 adults who also live with us.”

“I think we’re up to 12 now.” Sam mumbled.

“I wasn’t expecting a boyfriend.” Tony continued. “You’re still 6 in my head. You’re still my little girl. And I just didn’t know how to handle finding my little girls drawers in Peters bedroom.”

“Little girls grow up eventually.” You told him.

“I know.” Tony sighed. “But eventually is a lot different from actually.”

“Well just because you didn’t want me to grow up doesn’t excuse what you did.” You stood your ground.

“I see that now. I’m sorry that I lied to you. I did it without thinking it through and it was wrong of me.” Tony apologized and you nodded in satisfaction.

“Okay. Now Peter.” You said and pushed Peter forward.

“Excuse me?” Tony raised an eyebrow.

“What’s that now?” Peter turned to you to ask.

“Apologize to Peter.” You told him. “I wasn’t the only one you wronged.”

“She’s right. How could you kick Peter out? He’s the only one who knows the HBO Max password.” Natasha pointed out.

“It’s “fuckyfarnes”.” Peter said quietly.

“Yeah. That wasn’t cool Tony. You better apologize to him.” Steve agreed. Tony rolled his eyes to the ceiling and swung his arms like a little kid before looking at Peter.

“I’m sorry, kid. I shouldn’t have kicked you out like that. It didn’t bother me as much that Y/n lied. Daughters lie to their dads. It’s human nature. But when I realized you’d been lying to me…I don’t know. I felt betrayed. You weren’t my kid lying to me. You were my friend.”

“Well I’m sorry I lied. But we wouldn’t have had to lie to you if you didn’t have a crazy rule have against Y/n dating anybody until she’s 21.” Peter defended.

“Wait, you seriously made that a rule? Did you lock her in a tower too and tell her not to let her hair down for anybody?” Sam snorted.

“It seemed like a good idea at the time, okay?” Tony defended. “I didn’t want her to end up like Taylor Swift. Taylor’s heart was broken way too many times as a teenager and then again on her 21st birthday. I didn’t want the same fate for my daughter.”

“How do you know how many times Taylor Swift’s heart was broken?” Steve asked in confusion.

“Clearly you’ve never listened to her discography because she is very specific about the ages to weary of.” Tony said with a roll of his eyes.

“It’s true. She is. 7, 13, 15, 17, 18, 19.” You listed off.

“22.” Tony added.

“I thought 22 is the good age?” Steve asked.

“Not according to “Nothing New” it’s not.” Tony scoffed and you nodded in agreement.

“Can we circle back to the topic anytime soon?” Peter asked but everyone ignored him.

“Why are the years from 17 to 21 so perilous?” Bucky raised his hand to ask.

“Because at 17 you don’t know anyhting and nobody understands. 18 is actually good because you know everything but 19 is bad because you dance with the devil while you’re too young to be messed with. 20 is a year of neutral good but 21 is when Jake Gyllenhaal takes your virginity and your scarf and then doesn’t show up to your birthday party.” Tony explained.

“I gotta start listening to this girls music because what the actual fuck?” Steve blew out a breath of exhaustion.

“Who is Jake Gyllenhaal and does he take everyone’s virginity at 21 or does he pick and choose?” Bucky raised his hand to ask. Tony started to answer but Peter cut him off.

“SHUT UP ABOUT TAYLOR SWIFT.” Peter shouted and everyone went silent.

“Never.” Tony whispered after a beat of silence and then looked around as if to find who said that.

“Sorry Peter.” You said. “Daddy, you may proceed with your apology.”

“Look Peter, I’ll admit that what I did was wrong and an overreaction. But I’m also not totally comfortable with you living here knowing you and my daughter are fadoodling.”

“But dad.” You whined and stamped your foot a little.

“She makes a good point there.” Sam said and pointed to you.

“Nope. Absolutely not. You are way too young to be living with your boyfriend.”

“But Mr. Stark.” Peter whined. “May already turned my room into her crafting center.”

“I don’t care. That’s my compromise. You can date my daughter but you cannot live under my roof.”

“What if I don’t date your daughter and continue living under your roof?” Peter asked, making everyone go silent.

“Okay. That was a hilarious joke but fine. Don’t laugh. I don’t even care.” Peter mumbled under his breath.

“Final offer. Take it or leave it, kid.” Tony said and held out his hand.

“What if Peter moves back in but we set a curfew for when we can be in each others room until?” You suggested.

“What if I move out because living here is constant drama and I find you all unbearable?” Sam asked with a smile.

“Fine.” Tony reluctantly agreed. “Peter can move back in but there will be a strict curfew enforced. And I better never find my daughters underwear in your Legos ever again.”

“I can promise you that.” Peter said and eagerly shook Tonys hand.

“So we’re good? Everybody forgives everybody?” You asked hopefully.

“I think so.” Tony said and patted Peters shoulder.

“Me too. And hey, maybe this curfew will prevent us from having another pregnancy scare. Remember how scary that was?” Peter joked to lighten the mood. Tony’s smile immediately crumbled as his grip on Peters shoulder tightened. The rest of the team cringed and braced themselves for Tony’s reaction.

“What did you just say?” Tony asked through clenched teeth.

“Oh my God.” You whispered. “Peter, run. Run fast before he kills you.”

Tag List 🏷️

@awesomebooklover17 @thebookwormlife @imanativeofswlondondahling @serendipitous-amor @tom-hollands-wifey

@whatareyouhidingpeter @takenbyheartstrings @ultrunning @imyourliquor-youremypoison @andreasworlsboring101

@letsloveimagines @peterparkoure @a-villain-vying-for-attention @justcallmehitgirl

@jackiehollanderr @maryjanee23 @geeksareunique @emmamarshmellow

@unbelievableholland @flixndchill @sovereignparker @every-marveler-ever

@undiadeestos @caelestii-e @eridanuswave​ ​ @fiantomartell @solarxmoonchild

@canyouevencauseicant @illwritetomorrow @thehappygrungelife @saysomethingspiderman

@smilexcaptainx @quaksonhehe @kelieah @seasidecrowbar @lovelessdagger

@electraheart-3174 @unbelievableholland @yourtypicalhotmess @horanxholland

@thesuitelifeofafangirl @marshxx @heyheycharlatte @nooneinvitedfascistbarbie

@maybemona @alexxcorona113 @lethal-wisdom @xo-spidey

[kpop---scenarios]

It's You

Pairing: Choi San x Reader

Warning: Violence, Smut, Unprotected Smut [18+ ONLY. MINORS DO NOT READ]

Word Count: 1.2k

A/N: This sucks, and I know that, plz don't hate on me too much. Trying to get my groove back lolol

“You're not going.” San says, crossing his arms, standing in front of your front door.

You laugh as you grab your purse from your table, slipping on your heels. “San, it's just a date. We're only going to get a drink.” You say, rolling your eyes.

“Y/N. Mingi is in a frat.” San sighs. “Those guys are douchebags.”

“Aren't you also in a frat?” You giggle. San scoffs. “Yeah, that's how I know. Anyways it's besides the point. I'm not a douchebag. And I had something I wanted to tell you tonight…” he trails off.

“Stay here. I'll be back in a bit and then we can talk.” You say, giving him a small peck on his cheek. He groans as he moves out of the way, watching the girl he was so fucking in love with, walk out the door to a man he knows is only going out with her for one reason.

You smile and laugh to yourself as you walk to the bar, thinking about how San was acting. The only reason you were going out with Mingi tonight was because you were tired of waiting for San to make a move on you. You have had a crush on him for at least the last year, and you knew he liked you too but he never did anything. While you could make a move on him, you wanted him to be the one to do it, and honestly Mingi was the perfect way for this to happen.

“Hey, gorgeous.” Mingi smiles as you walk up to the table. He's already got a couple drinks on the table in front of him. He must have gotten here early and started drinking right away. You were beginning to second guess your decision to go out with him, especially after 5 minutes, he moved seats to sit beside you, his hand resting on your knee. You had barely finished one drink, while Mingi was on his fourth and with every sentence, every sip, his hand inched up your bare leg a little more. You made a poor choice in wearing a skirt today.

“Can you move your hand please?” You ask, looking down at it now half way up your leg.

“Move it up? Yeah I can.” He chuckles, doing just that.

“No, move it off.” You say through gritted teeth.

“Oh, c'mon, don't be like that.” He chuckles, leaving his hand on your leg.

You roll your eyes, grabbing your class to take another sip of your drink. The second the glass touches the table, Mingi leans in, trying to kiss you.

“What the fuck. Get off of me.” You yell, pushing him away. “You're out of your fucking mind.” You snap.

“Don't be a fucking prude.” He spits, trying to kiss you again.

“Do your fucking ears not work?” You hear from behind you, when suddenly Mingi is ripped off of you. You look up, shocked, seeing San hovering over Mingi.

“No, means fucking no! Or were you not taught fucking manners.” San yells, landing another punch onto Mingi's face.

“San! San, stop. Stop, please.” You say, grabbing his arm. He instantly relaxes, letting you pull him back.

“You ever go near her again, I'll fucking kill you.” San spits, turning around to look at you. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah… yeah I'm fine. Are you okay?” You ask, looking over his body to make sure he's not injured.

He just stares at you before he squats down, quickly and swiftly, throwing you over his shoulder. “San!” You giggle, playfully trying to fight to have him put you down. He takes you out of the bar, walking down the street until he turns into the alley. San sets you down, pushing you against the brick wall.

“What's going on?” You whisper, looking him in the eyes.

“I'm so fucking in love with you, Y/N.” He sighs, smacking his hand against the brick, leaning in closer to you. You smile widely, biting your lip as San breathes heavily, inching closer.

“Finally.” You breathe, just before San crashes his lips onto yours, pressing his body against you. You move your hand between you and San, moving it to his stomach, inching your way down to his crotch. You feel the bulge in his pants growing with each desperate pant, as he slides his tongue into your mouth. San doesn't say anything as he pulls away. He turns you around, pressing your face against the brick wall as he hikes up your skirt. He kneels down, gently and slowly pulling your panties down your legs, making you step out of them before he shoves them in his pocket. You hear the jingle of his belt being unbuckled as you gasp against the wall, desperately waiting for whatever San was going to do with you. You feel San press up against you once more, his lips brushing against your ear.

“Spread your legs.” He whispers, sending shivers down your spine. You do as you're told, spreading your legs as you feel San's fingers lightly graze against your cunt before he pushes his fingers deep inside of you.

“Fuck.” You gasp. San presses up against you again, breathing heavily into your ear as he thrusts his fingers deeper inside of you. He groans as he feels you clenching around his fingers. His cock twitches in his pants, urgently wanting to be buried in you.

As quickly as it began it ended, San pulls his fingers out of you, pulling his cock out, using your juices to lube himself up. He lines himself up with you, pushing his cock into you. You let out a small squeak, trying to stifle your moans. San wraps his arm around your head, covering your mouth with his hand as he thrusts faster and harder. You move your hand between your lips, rubbing your clit fast.

“Such a good girl.” He groans. “You take my cock so fucking well.” He moans into your ear, pushing himself inside of you deeper.

“Mhmmm.” You moan, his hand pressing harder against your mouth.

“Quiet down, baby.” He grunts.

Your hand moves faster on your clit, your orgasm building with each thrust of San. He releases your mouth, grabbing a clump of hair, pulling your head back. You can't stay quiet any longer, pant loudly, screaming out as you cum, hard. “Oh…my fucking… god.” You scream out, clenching around his cock. San’s pace increases, ramming himself into you, his orgasm right behind yours.

“Shit.” He cries out, cumming, shooting his load deep inside you.

He thrusts gently, milking himself for everything he has. He pulls out of you, cum seeping down your leg as he pulls your skirt down before he tucks his cock back into his underwear and pants. He pulls you from against the wall and into his arms.

“I'm so happy.” He murmurs, nuzzling his face into your neck.

“Me too.” You whisper, holding him tightly.

“Come on, let's get you home.” He says, pulling away from you, but you hold onto him.

“Yes please… but I'm gonna need you to carry me again.” You whisper, your knees buckling. “I can't walk.”

San laughs as he throws you over his shoulder again, smacking your ass as he makes his way to his car.

“I can't wait to make you not walk again, later.”

[lysol1201]

Thirty, Flirty, and Thriving: Holding Out For A Hero

Vendetta!Leon Kennedy x GN!Reader (can be read platonically or romantically)

A second part to Thirty, Flirty, and Thriving, but can be read on its own.

Summary: You see Leon again, but you’re both on the clock.

Word Count: 1201

Genre: erm idk fluff i guess, depending on how you read it

TW: Mentions of drinking, cults, blood, erm fighting, badly written fighting, this is very poorly written imo. i’m tryna get back in the writing groove. anyway, lmk if more, not beta read we die like luis

++++

It had been 6 months since your 30th birthday. You had never heard from Leon since that day. Although a good time, the two of you went your separate ways (play separate ways) without any contact information. There was that mutual understanding that it was the one night you two needed. You didn’t know if you’d ever see Leon again.

Well, until you did.

“Oh, hey!” You greeted the blue eyed man who looked at you in shock and confusion. “Nice to see you again,” You smiled as he ran over to you.

“What the fuck is going on?” Leon shouted. You may have been used to it, but seeing you tied up in a sack with a bloody face and ritual paintings all over, he was very fucking confused.

You chuckled. “How else did you think you found this location?” That’s when it clicked in Leon’s head. Bait. “Oh, they’re coming. You don’t know me,” You spoke with a serious tone, and before he could respond, you began to scream. “Who are you? What are you doing? Get away from me!”

In shock, Leon looked at you as if not sure how to play along. “Fuck,” He muttered under his breath, turning around to find more fucked up people in some sort of cult. He thought he was over it, but turns out the world refused to stop being stupid.

He had his pistol in hand and prepared, raising it up to shoot those who ran at him. While he shot, ducked, and kicked, he realized the amount of those after him just kept growing and growing. He turned around to find you, but to his dismay, you were gone.

Leon wanted to shout for you, but remembered what you had said. “You don’t know me.” He groaned at the words you had told him, but obeyed. He didn’t shout for you. And before he could complain to himself even more, big stomps were heard. He turned to the side, and there he was faced, again, with some giant pain in the ass.

“God, give me a fucking break,” Leon sighed, frustrated, and annoyed by his surroundings. Fear no longer filled him, it was just irritation. “Fuck off, already!” He raised his deep voice, shooting at the large creature headed straight for him, somehow managing to successfully use whoever tried to attack him as some sort of shield for everything thrown at him.

While Leon fought, he looked down quickly at his watch. 11:58 pm. “God fucking damnit Chris, hurry your ass up.” He grumbled, regretting ever choosing to help Chris with this mission. Or, maybe he didn’t.

He saw you again.

Wait a minute. Speaking of you, where the fuck were you?

As soon as that thought popped into his head, a grenade was thrown into the crowd that went after him, blowing up a good chunk of those who were just trying to kill him. Then, right after, something was thrown right at the giant creature. It stuck.

“Leon, run!” He heard the familiar voice. Yours.

“Don’t have to tell me twice!” Leon shouted back, immediately turning around and running before the large explosive went off, tearing the creature to bits, throwing Leon across the platform from the force. The world was hazy for a moment as he tried to keep consciousness, but from the amount of times he had been thrown, he was hard headed.

Soon enough, an arm forcefully lifted him up. “No sleeping on the job, Leon.” The gruff man spoke. Leon felt his senses return, as he turned to face Chris.

“Where are they?” Were the first words Leon mumbled.

Chris furrowed his eyes, opening his mouth to respond, before he was interrupted. “Right here,” Your voice boomed through behind him.

His head quickly quipped back to view you as he called out for you, rushing to tackle you in a hug. “Where the fuck did you go?” Leon asked. His tone couldn’t show if he was worried or pissed, but you could tell it was a bit of both.

“I’ve been to this rodeo before, Leon, you just gotta trust me.”

“You know them?” Chris approached the two, confused, and almost concerned by Leon actually hugging someone.

Leon had let go of you to turn to face Chris. “You know them?” He emphasized the question, directing it back to Chris.

“They’re working on this case with us,” Chris explained, the “us” referring to the BSAA. He walked past Leon and went straight to you. “Do you have it?”

You scoffed. “Of course I do,” You proudly assured, taking a small chip out of your pocket and handing it to Chris. “Should have all the information you need on whoever the guy is you’re after, whatshisname. Josh. Let’s call him Josh.”

“No. Not Josh.”

“But-“

“Another name.”

“Fine… um… Paul.”

Chris only groaned, changing the topic. “Since this area is cleared out, let’s get back to safety. Need to get you two patched up before me and Leon enter the main building.” Chris explained.

“Wait,” Leon quickly turned to Chris. “What about them?”

“Their job is done, they can get patched up and go-“

“No,” Leon blurted out. He wasn’t entirely sure why. “I mean, I just... I…” He tried to find the words. To find the words that wouldn’t embarrass him, make him look like a pathetic fool.

I don’t want them to go. He thought.

You just smiled a bit at him, turning around to walk away. Then, he panicked. “Wait- don’t leave!” He walked over, grabbing your arm to keep you from walking away.

“Woah,” You turned to face Leon. “I’m not leaving?”

Ada. He thought to himself. I can’t let them leave… not like Ada. Not again.

“I- um-“ Suddenly, he felt embarrassed. You’re not Ada. “Nothing, I don’t-“

You could tell something was bothering him. That turmoil in his head that you had seen before in the countless random drunk conversations you two had months ago. You knew when it was time to derail the conversation. “I’ll be getting patched up, and I’m going to be looking out. I finished my job, I’m no longer bait. So, now, I’m just a backup distraction, if need be.” You explained. “So, team, are we ready to party?”

++++

Leon didn’t know how to feel after the mission, on the ride back to safety. He didn’t know how to feel about seeing you battered and bruised, talking to a more battered and bruised Chris. It wasn’t jealousy, no. Of course not. Unless?

“Hey, Leon?” Your voice snapped him out of his trance. “When’s your birthday?”

“What?”

“Well, it’s been 6 months since mine. Yours has to be soon, right?”

You were right. His birthday was soon. He’d be 38. “Yeah.” He spoke, letting you know his birthday. Yet, he said it so solemnly.

“Hey, don’t worry. We can go drinking again if you like. And look, you’re still in your 30’s,” You smiled at him, pushing him with a playful punch.

Leon scoffed with amusement. “Yeah.”

“Thirty, flirty, and thriving, right?”

He smiled.

“Thirty, flirty, and thriving.”

Leon chose not to drink that year. That time, he had something worth remembering.

You.

[glitching-out-common]

Part 1 Part 2

Part 3 - The Locket

Mala glared at the underside of the bunk above her. Two hours until morning call and she knew she wasn’t getting anymore sleep. Not that she’d gotten much anyways, only an hour or so scattered throughout the night. With a soft sigh, she turned and slipped her shoes on, making sure to not make a sound as she slipped out of the dormitory.

She weaved through a familiar path around the cameras. One thing the higher up didn’t seem to account for when teaching the classes stealth manoeuvres was that they might use it to sneak around base.

Eventually, she found herself at the edge of the training forest, sitting on a tree branch, well worn grooves had made climbing it a mindless task.

“Couldn’t sleep?”She groaned and looked up to see shining green eyes framed by strawberry blonde curls.

“What do you think, Chess?” She rolled her eyes and glared lightheartedly at the figure.

“Come on Vers whats got you all pissy?” Chess chuckled quietly, a comforting lopsided grin never leaving their face.

“It’s graduation.” Chess rolled off the higher branch to sit beside her.

“I thought you were excited?” Mala sighed and leaned on her friend’s shoulder.

“I… I am. Of course I am. This is what I’ve spent the past almost eight years for.”

“Then why so glum?”

“Well I’m going to get Unlocked and Evaluated and then… then I’ll be sent into Gates and I know it’s an honour to serve and protect everyone and fight off the Damned but…” Chess smiled softly at her and ruffled her hair.

“It’s all you’ve known since the shelters, yeah?” Mala sat up again and ran a hand over her face.

“I guess so… it’s just going to be so much different and I- what if I’m not enough? What if something goes wrong with my Evaluation and I’m not as strong as everyone thinks I’ll be and… and what if I never see you again? There’s no guarantee I’ll ever come back here-“ Chess nudged her shoulder before she could spiral any more.

“Hey. Vers. You’re brilliant. You destroy all of your lessons and even with only a fraction of your energy and not a skill to your name you’re still one of the strongest people at the Academy including the mentors. You’re gonna do just fine. And don’t worry about me. I may be stuck here but you’re not and I’ll be happy just knowing you’re out there somewhere showing the world just how strong you are. So go out there and kill some monsters for me. Okay?”

“But-“

“No. Vers. No but or what if or anything like that. Look I was gonna wait to give this to you after the ceremony but I think now’s a better time” Chess fumbled with their pocket for a moment before producing a loop of twine with a small circular charm on it and handing it to Mala.

“Here I know it’s not much but… you’ve been by my side through thick and thin these past five years and I could never even begin to imagine what life would be without you. You’re my best friend. I mean you gave me a name for crying out loud. So… I just wanted you to have a piece of me with you. I’ll never be able to catch up with you but even if this is the last time I see you, know I’m always by your side. You’re only turning eighteen next month and you’ve already taken the world by storm.”

Mala looked at the locket in her hand, a picture of her and Chess in one side and a sealed vial of golden liquid fitted into the other. “I- Chess-“

“The sun’s rising. You better hurry back.” Chess smiled at her, the usual cheer in the expression seeming almost mourning as the first rays of sunlight peaked over the horizon. She slipped the twine necklace over her head, tucking the silver locket under her shirt.

“Thank you, Chess. I’ll do my best to see you again.” They gave each other a nod before she scaled down their tree and began to run back to the dormitory.

Mala was seventeen when she graduated from the Academy. She was seventeen and had only just begun her story.

[randomvarious]

Today's mix:

Headliners: 01 - Live at the Gallery by Tall Paul 2000 Progressive House / Trance / Progressive Trance / House

Ugh. I really hate to besmirch the often excellent and eclectic DJ Tall Paul here, but this man was simply *not* bringing it for this Ministry of Sound double-disc back in 2000. What we have here to kick off this ultimately fleeting Headliners series is an unfortunately jumbled up and incoherent mess of house and trance tunes from the turn of the millennium, some of which are quite good, but most of which are quite bad 😑.

And that, more or less, really just seems to sum up Ministry of Sound in a nutshell; some bangers to be sure, but also, a lot of these hulking superclub-type entities that operate branches in multiple cities—while also having their very own record labels too—seem to have this inevitable penchant for pushing out a whole torrent of mind-numbingly tacky crap, don't they? 🤷‍♂️

*sigh*

Anyway, with all that in mind, I really did enjoy certain parts of both of these discs. Paul chooses to close out each set with conventionally great trance runs, with the finale on disc 2, Rob Searle's remix of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's "The Power of Love," probably being the best of the bunch. But the paths that he takes to get to both of these runs are largely windingly unentertaining, with yawn-inducing turn-of-the-millennium progressive house marring disc 1, and then a spat of mindlessly bouncy Euro gunk in the middle of disc 2. And to jam all these different types of dance music in here like this just feels so forced and awkward in the first place, resulting in a classic case of failing to please anyone by trying to please everyone 👎.

But actually, the variety was totally winning me over in the beginning, mainly because Paul was keeping steady and connecting good tunes together from different genres that you wouldn't be likely to hear in succession otherwise. He opens up the first disc with a satisfyingly quirky bit of quiet, eerie, and jazzy deep techno from the great Laurent Garnier, then follows it up with a pulsating and wavy piece of breakbeat-infused trance from Germany's Nalin + Kane, and then gets into a literally bubbling and locked-in house groove with UK duo Tin Tin Out. But after that, he departs from this fun grab-bag, genre-hopping concept, and just proceeds to dig himself into a pit mainly comprised of progressive house emptiness, until he finally decides to climb his way out and finish up the first set with some quality trance tunes 🫤.

So, there's definitely some great y2k-era dance music on here—and the totally memed-to-a-bloody-pulp Darude's "Sandstorm" too!—but really not worth the listen, overall. A genuine miss from the legendary and beloved Tall Paul 😔.

Listen to CD1 here. Listen to CD2 here.

Highlights:

CD1:

Laurent Garnier - "The Man With the Red Face (Original Mix)" Nalin & Kane - "Superfly 20019 Live at the Crystal Palace (Alternative Club Mix)" Tin Tin Out - "Anybody's Guess (Mr. G's Out Dub)" Cygnus X - "The Orange Theme (Solar Stone Remix)" Chris + James - "Darkstar (Original Mix)" Moonman - "Galaxia (Solar Stone Remix)"

CD2:

Agnelli + Nelson - "Embrace (Original Mix)" Darude - "Sandstorm (Original Mix)" Push - "Till We Meet Again (Original Mix)" Parker + Clind - "Cosmos (Original Mix)" Frankie Goes to Hollywood - "The Power of Love (Rob Searle Club Mix)"

[top-tier-tickles]

Make the Spider Sing

This is a FNAF: SECURITY BREACH tickle fic requested by an anonymous user. I hope you enjoy it!

______________________________________

"GAHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

That melodious laughter erupted from the dance floor of the west arcade. It was loud, the sound only amplified by the echo the walls provided.

"D-DEEHEEHEEHEEHEE JAHAHAHAY! STAHAHAHAHAHAP!" Glamrock Freddy cackled, squirming in the giant animatronic's grasp.

"Not until you dance!" DJ Music Man said, using two of his six hands to poke and tickle the bear.

Earlier, Freddy had decided to pay dj a visit, as Gregory was hanging out with Monty. The Gator had wanted to show him a new obstacle in his golf course.

After thar disastrous night, the virus was eradicated from everyone, along with new upgrades. One of the few upgrades was that Freddy could now control whether or not he dances on the West Arcade dance floor. An upgrade he- and everyone else - was rather thankful for.

Well, maybe not everyone...

DJ Music Man had always enjoyed the bear's company, he hadn't visited in a long while due to the bug being quite embarrassing to him. But DJ always liked it, it was amusing to see Freddy dance and groove along with him.

Now on this particular visit, the spider begun practically BEGGING Freddy to dance. Of course the bear refused over and over again, which of course lead to-

"GAHAHAHAHAHAHA! NOHOHOHOHOHO PLEHEHEHEHEHEASE!"

-this.

The DJ chuckled, continuing his ticklish assault. "You gotta dance at some point, fred."

"FIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHINE JUST PUHUHUHUHUT ME DOWN!"

DJ Music Man laughed triumphantly, gingerly putting Freddy back on the floor, letting him compose himself, eagerly waiting for him to bust a move.

Of course, Freddy did, he danced every dance that could possibly fit within his catalogue. The floor shook from the heavy pounds of metal stomping around, by the time Freddy stopped dancing, both animatronics burst out in laughter, clearly amused by the silliness of the situation.

Pretty soon, their laughter died down, and the pair sat together, calmly talking as DJ idly played with a record.

"I still cannot believe you managed to make me dance..." Freddy sighed.

"Hey, it's a dance floor, you gotta dance."

"I suppose..." An idea popped into the bear's head.

"Actually, DJ, I'd like to ask you a question..."

"Shoot."

"Are YOU ticklish? If so, where?"

"Ah...Honesty, I have no clue. Heh, I've never really felt anything like that."

"Oh, really? C'mon, my friend, there's gotta be somewhere you're sensitive."

"Nah man, You don't gotta do that... You and I both know I'm too big for anythin' like that."

"Thats not true!"

"Yeah, it is. Plus, I don't wanna end up hurtin' ya."

"I promise I'll be careful, no one will get hurt."

The giant spider thought for a moment, then sighed, lying down so Freddy could reach him easier.

"Go for it, man." He confirmed.

And so, the glamrock bear did, he tried every possible spot that could be vulnerable to tickles, even some not-so common places, only to get nothing but silence the entire time.

"Wow, I suppose you really aren't ticklish..."

"Yeah, I guess they thought since I'm so big that I didn't need that feature..." honestly, DJ Music Man was a bit saddened by this, he'd observed the others tickle each other, and it honestly looked a bit fun!

DJ sighed, resting his head on the floor, one of his massive hands next to it, giving Freddy an idea.

He turned the hand so the palm was facing up, and began gently running his claws along the palm.

DJ let out a rather loud squeak, quickly pulling his hand away and rubbing it.

"What was THAT!?" the spider asked.

"Hehehe! I believe we've just found your ticklish spot, my friend!" Freddy chuckled.

Freddy pulled the hand close again, scribbling his fingers on the palm.

"Ahehihihihihi! Thahat feels wieheheherd! Hihihihi!"

"Yes, that sensation is called tickling!"

"Ihihihi know whahahat it's cahahahalled!"

"I don't believe presenting sass is the best option right now." Freddy chuckled under his breath, digging his claws into DJ's palm.

"AHAHAHAHAHA! WAHAHAHAHAHAIT! WAHAHAHAHAIT! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" DJ's laughter had a slight autotuned sound to it, like he was singing without actually singing.

"It sounds like music!"

His laugh went in waves, high notes and low notes bounced about the walls, until finally, Freddy let up.

The spider's hand went limp, he panted despite not requiring oxygen.

DJ collected himself, and he and Freddy sat calmly for a few minutes.

"Heh, thanks, I needed that laugh..." DJ said.

"Anytime, my friend..." The bear replied.

______________________________________

THE END.

[brokenmusicboxwolfe]

GAH! I always forget how much I hate drawing! Sculpting is soooo much easier!

See, a couple years ago (at least) I doodled up a drawing on the lid of one of the wooden boxes I occasionally paint. Trouble was, unlike most boxes where a dream triggers it, I had no ideas for the rest of the box. Worse, as my life has spiraled I’ve become short on ideas generally. So it sat, gathering dust.

Well, now I am almost out of sculpey and what little I have is damn near unusable from age. I decided that to satisfy my desperate need to make things I should maybe go back to painting boxes**.

If I was going to paint boxes I really should paint this one first. I like the drawing and pencil marks are starting to fade. I just needed ideas for the other sides and inside***. I set it on the armrest tray I use for my sculpting stuff and drinks (it’s crowded! LOL). I always figure these things out, so it shouldn’t be too long until I had an idea…

Two weeks later, and NO ideas at all!

Today, for the first time in too long, I took a break from my tasks to go to the woods and really take my time. With that hurricane heading up through here**** and a lot to do right now I probably wouldn’t get to go again for over a week. I actually spent a whole hour sitting on the ground by the swamp, which I haven’t done since…I dunno…and WHAM, I finally had an idea for the box!

Then tonight, I had to draw it.

UGH! The poor box has been drawn on and erased so much now I’m starting to cut grooves in the wood!

The simple fact is, sometimes I can draw, but most of the time I can’t. Drawing is so unnatural! We live in a 3D world! I understand 3D! Translating 3D to 2D isn’t just like going into another language like Spanish, it’s like going into another species like trying to talk dolphin!!

Why do I do this to myself??? And stay up late doing it???

**sigh**

**Not the best idea since the paint I have is starting to dry up and the brushes all bushed out. But I do have a large stockpile of blank boxes, so it’s still cheaper than buying more sculpey.

***I always paint the sides and inside, and almost always the bottoms. I guess I treat them like comic panels really.

**** Yes, MORE things to worry about. On the plus side, I spent a day last week using the pole saw while on the porch roof cutting limbs off Mom’s house. On the other hand river flooding is likely, and that could be disastrous for the boat and I have no one to even help me deal with it. I am going to be having nightmares even when I’m awake!

[skylermadness]

Subcontracted (Itzamna TF/MC)

(Original Date of Upload: July 12, 2023)

Original Description:

A random story of mine I wrote a couple weeks back but never got to uploading until now. Laziness I guess. I mainly wrote this out because I was in a rut at the time and needed to write something to get myself in the groove of things. As a result I just wanted to write something short and not very intense in regards to what is going on and such. Plus the Guild/Affiliation feature was added to Housamo at the time and I really gravitated towards the phrasing of one of the items (whose description I used in the introduction of this story)! Funnily enough I think the Akihabara Creators are probably one of my favorite Guilds in the game. Although I had trouble deciding which of the Creators I wanted to do a TF on. The main split was between Tindalos, Itzamna, and Catoblepas, but Itzamna ended up winning out after I asked a few of my friends some stuff. Plus I feel like there's already so many Tindalos TFs; and Catoblepas wasn't that much of a mood for me at the time. So here we are! Although I might do something on Tindalos one day. I have gotten a few silly ideas in mind before... Lastly, this may be my first in-universe style TF I think I've uploaded! In-universe TFs admittedly aren't my biggest expertise, especially since they can get complicated to deal with from a storytelling standpoint. But honestly Housamo has so much going on that in-universe stuff is a bit easily to handle with it. Plus it meant I could use one of the Protagonist-types as the TFee here! In this case it's MC3. Either way, was very fun to write out. I still hope to do a lot more Housamo TFs in the future!~ ...also what species of lizard is Itzamna-

   'This contract serves as a binding agreement of temporary guild membership. Your signature signifies that the undersigned has delegated their original guild responsibilities to one of their guildmates for the time being while they themselves are temporarily recognized as an official member of the listed guild.'

   Rhys had found himself eyeing the terms and services of the contract for about… twenty minutes, was it? It felt like an eternity honestly. The behind the scenes of all the interguild stuff tends to be, though. One of the downsides of having to be the Guild Master to the Shinjuku Summoners.

   Then again, it wasn't the worst thing to think about when it came to him.

   He leans back in his seat and lets out a sigh, casually eyeing the bunker that the Summoners Guild happily call their base. With all the chaos happening between the triad calling themselves the True Guilds, it's unsurprising that a lot of the smaller guilds had found themselves creating a form of interguild alliance to fight the looming threat. It would surprise someone like Rhys, who had a lot of contacts between the fourteen or so guilds he's had contact with so far. But after the incident with the Genociders, along with all the threats that occurred after that thanks to both the Warmongers and Invaders guilds, it'd be kind of stupid not to band together simply out of survival.

   …survival.

   He leans back in and stares at the contract again. It's no doubt that the last true Guild, the Rule Makers, are planning their next move. And of course there's no doubt he'll be involved. With this in mind, a plan was developed amongst the Summoners (well, mostly Shiro) in order to stall the inevitable that was the World Representatives hunting him down to do who knows what. Admittedly it was a repeat of their plan back during the whole DOXing incident, that being having Rhys lie low with another Guild for a while. But, well, it did work that time… mostly…

   Well that's why they said it's a stalling tactic more than anything!

   The main thing that's left Rhys stumped was which Guild he'd even temporarily switch over to. The Berserkers, Missionaries, and Tycoons were a no-go due to their already noticeable prominence in the war behind Tokyo. The Outlaws and Gurus would be good choices if they were still outside the events of the Game. The Beast Tamers are too close in proximity to the Rule Makers, and the Wanderers are too close in combat.

   That only left the two guilds in what could be considered neutral zones: the Crafters in Kamata, and the Creators in Akihabara.

   The Crafters would be a good choice, but it seems evident that if a Guild wants something they'll ignore the neutral territory system. And considering how recent the incident in Shinagawa was, Rhys would rather not have to deal with being close to Invaders territory that easily for the time being.

   Then again, the Creators aren't really the best option either. Especially considering the fact their Guild Master works for the Invaders. Then again, Rhys definitely recalls the fact that said Guild Master barely kept track with the Guild itself, if at all. And considering how the Creators function, it'd be way too easy to forge another alternative identity for a short amount of time. 

   Then again, Curren did find him the last time and-

   Rhys cut his thoughts off there. Stalling for time, that's all this was meant to be. And between the Crafters and the Creators, the latter was the least risky for the time being. At least that's what he'd hope would be the case. 

   Softly exhaling, Rhys signed his name on the contract alongside the name of the Guild he was subcontracting himself out to. With that out the way, he clicked his pen shut and sat back in his chair again. Not really relieved, mainly just glad to get that out the way so the Summoners could plan out their next step. They could probably get in contact with Catoblepas tomorrow and…

   A soft itch entered his face as he thought, causing Rhys to raise up a hand and scratch it. His mind momentarily diverged as he felt a few bits of scruff beneath his fingers. Had he forgotten to shave that day…?

   In truth, and currently going unnoticed to Rhys, the suspiciously appearing stubble was a byproduct of some hairs starting to grow on his face. Soft and… white hairs.

   At the same time a swath of changes began entering his hands as well, although these were more noticeable and more rapid in formation. It started out with his nails thinning out and lengthening. The tips were sharpening at the same time, curling out over the tips of fingers. A red tone then seeped into the back of his hands, the prominent star-shaped mark on his right hand seeming to fade beneath the new hue. At the same time the fronts of both lightened to an ivory coloration as well. The size of both were also subtly increasing in size, gaining a few more centimeters in size.

   His skin was also shifting alongside these changes, softness becoming lost as the backs grew increasingly harder, the newly forming redness being a byproduct of their transformation into thick scales. Deeper red plate-like scales had also bubbled out the back of each finger and hand, a lot harder and more noticeable. All the while a softer type of scaling was what became of the skin atop his palms, giving them a much rougher texture.

   The sea of scales cascaded upwards, moving past his wrists rather quickly. Following not far behind were the almost hexagonal-shaped scute plating, emerging from the tops of each arm. As the reds and creams consumed his arm the already established muscle mass that Rhys possessed seemed to alter slightly. While his arms were already bulky they only seemed to get slightly larger and longer in size. Meanwhile the muscle mass within them seems to diminish slightly, losing its more significant tone.

   Despite that there was still a level of muscularity still remaining within each arm, his biceps and triceps still slightly stretching out the rolled up sleeves of his button-up. The scales would soon run beneath the sleeves with the scutes not far behind. And as it went beyond his deltoids and reached his shoulders, a more drastic set of changes entered his form with the scales moving closer towards his neck. A certain broadness was steadily entering his frame with a level of thickness beginning to insert itself within his neck.

   Rhys let out a deep grunt as one hand continued to scratch at his stubble, the hairs still seeming to be slowly getting longer. Meanwhile his other hand seemed to slip down to his neck and started scratching that region as well, the man noting that a level of toughness was entering his skin. 

   "Damn it, why am I so… itchy?" he inquires to himself. His mind blanks for a second before a random thought comes back. "Perhaps I need to wash out my scales… better…"

   His mind was starting to feel a little bogged down by a haze. Scales? Did he have those?? He's human, he doesn't have scales. He then stops scratching his face for a moment and lowers his arm, instantly proving his affirmations wrong.

   "I…" he then stops scratching his neck and places the other hand on his head instead, his hazy feeling in his mind intensifying. "Nngh, feeling… strange…" he croaked out, his voice deepening for a moment near the end. His eyes stayed fixed on the one unoccupied hand however. Scales… Rhys was in a paradox of it feeling so wrong and yet so… right.

   While Rhys pondered, the changes within his skin and body remained persistent. Especially as both halves reached a point of convergence on his torso. The flush of red and formation of scutes etched their way across his widening shoulders and broadening back. Meanwhile the softer cream tone of scales slowly made their way across his thickening front.

   The buttons of his shirt were straining as his form was widened, and this straining only grew in intensity as his torso shifted. His thick pectorals getting thicker, size bulking up with significant mass that they pushed into the fabric of his shirt. But it wasn't long before a second change started to enter into them with fat steadily accumulating above the muscle and causing his pecs to soften. They still attempted to squeeze into his shirt, but it seemed the extra addition to his chest caused a button to snap off and reveal the newly changed set of pectorals.

   It appeared this scattering of buttons only progressed, his shirt increasingly unable to contain his increasing size. Plastic softly pinged against the table and wall, an event being caused by his swelling abdomen. His six-pack set of abs were easily getting subsumed by fat, and that fat only got more and more prevalent as his gut grew thicker. Rounder. A significantly plumper physique in comparison to his previous body type.

   Another chorus of clothing destruction soon followed as soft, sequential rips pierced from directly behind Rhys. While bits of his shirt were already tearing against his broader lat muscles, it appeared that a small set of sharp and rigid protrusions were emerging from the middle of his back and piercing his shirt. They seemed to be relatively short spines, not unlike those that might be on a lizard, and it seemed their size only steadily grew as they moved upwards towards his neck and downwards towards his rear.

   Rhys groaned a bit, standing up from his seat with a hand placed on the table to support him. The hand he was staring at had fallen to his belly, softly squeezing the fat while feeling the scales that had overtaken it. His mind felt like a vortex of entropy, constantly confused and warped as he was unable to grasp what was going on. It didn't really leave him feeling panicked, but it did cause an immense amount of bewilderment. Humanity only felt far behind him as his mind twisted and turned, as his hand brushed against his scales and his eyes laid on his thick claws and shining scutes. A fragment of him still felt like they were not his and yet a more prominent thought pattern was overtaking that.

   And then, for a moment, Rhys' thoughts were broken as he felt a massive pressure begin to well up behind him. The chair that he had only just got up from got pushed back a bit as one of his feet knocked into it. Something was swelling from the base of his spine, and it felt unable to escape the confines of his pants as it persistently pressured up against them. Seconds pressed on as he gripped onto the table, claws digging into the wood. All his feelings of itchiness and bloating subsided as the only thing that mattered was this constantly increasing pressure behind him.

   Another rip pierced the air as the undergarments he wore seemed to tear, the steadily increasing pressure appearing to manifest as a bump that was increasing in size each passing second. And increase it did, getting bigger and bigger, growing more and more visible in the fabric of his pants. Rhys could only grunt as he felt it continuously build up until…

   Shrrp! Crash-

    A massive tear emanates from behind him, the chair that was there being knocked back into the opposing wall as well. The cause of this was a massive tail that had burst from Rhys' rear. It was long and starts off chunky while steadily thinning out the closer you get to the top. Scales like those all over his body covered the tail: rough and red on top while the bottom was cream tone. Multiple spines not unlike those on his back also adorned the top of the new limb as well.

   The changing man let out an almost euphoric sigh of relief at the feeling of his tail escape from his behind. He could even sense it slowly moving around, with him already feeling like he could easily control it as if it was his. It was his, right? It had to be…

   A couple more sounds of rippage emanate from around his waist shortly after, his girth inevitably increasing and causing the button to snap off his pants while his belt splits apart. The cream-colored scales continued to rush downwards, steadily beginning to shift positions as they moved to cascade down the back of his legs while the red scales took over the front.

   As more hard scutes thickened out from his legs, the muscles within them were doing their own thickening. His legwear was filling out as the musculature in his legs increased. Creases forming within the fabric as his thighs bulked up, quads and hamstrings growing in conjunction with each other. The overall wideness of his legs only became more prevalent as well, especially as things ran closer down to his feet. The crus of his legs broadened and the bones within his legs extended slightly, both vertically and horizontally. A certain level of strength had entered them as they grew more accustomed to holding up his new bodyweight, especially the massive tail that he now sported. 

   His shoes didn't get much time to resist as the widening of the circumference of his legs also prompted an increase of his foot size as well. Both of his footwear had only moments to try to contain his feet only for the sides to split apart after mere seconds, the toecap tearing just moments later. The golden buckle that held the shoes together seemed to creak and rupture as the shape of his feet bulged and shifted. Two of his outer toes merged together into a single one while the big toe moved positions, steadily pushing itself outwards and to the side. The size of his toes practically doubled as they grew into thick, almost sausage-sized masses. All the while the bridge of both feet swelled as the red scales made their way down and overtook both of them. Their shape lost all association with that of a human's foot, now appearing to look more like that of a lizard's. This only got solidified by the toenails transforming, growing outwards and curling into claws like his fingernails had done earlier.

   Rhys took a couple steps away from the table, unconsciously making sure to move his tail around in order to maneuver properly. He could feel his shirt stretch out a bit more as his neck thickened into a more trunk-like size, and it seemed to push his head a bit higher than it was before. 

   All the while his thoughts spiraled. All the stress and worries regarding his future in this city were being muddled, buried, and replaced with a different interpretation of the world. Of himself.

   "U-urgh, how… late is it…?" he asks himself, voice only prominently growing deeper than it was before. It was also developing a wisened tone of significant age within it.

   This was followed by another mixture of itches and pressure wracking his skull. Rhys raised a claw hand and scratched away again with his only reaction being, "I… really need to wash my scales better, eh?"

   Arising from his neck first was the swatch of cream scales, which steadily encompassed his lower jaw. The stubble that had formed on his face, some of the earliest changes he had garnered, had already reached a somewhat significant length as bits of it spiked out from his chin. More facial hair had found its way growing out the sides of his face as well, fluffing up and curling upwards as it steadily halted its growth. In sharp contrast, the red colored scales were moving up from the back of his neck. Clumps of black hair steadily shaved off as the scales took their territory. The itchiness started growing more prominent in that area as a result, causing him to scratch his scalp and slough off more and more hair. He didn't seem to notice though, as the hair faded from existence a few moments from falling off his head.

   Concurrently, the shape of his head was changing. His face pushing out into a muzzle, jawline rounding out a bit as his face pushed forward more and more. As it did so, his nose sunk into it until all that was left was nostrils at the muzzle's tip. His lower jaw steadily reshaped itself to allow a couple of his sharpening teeth to poke out from it. And as the scales moved forwards to the ends of his muzzle, one stringy whisker emerged from each side of the muzzle and lengthened, continuously doing so at a rapid rate for a couple seconds before stopping at a rather tremendous length.

   After about a minute or so everything was beginning to settle with the last fragments of the physical transformation settling within Rhys' face. His eyebrows lost their hair as the brow ridges themselves jutted outwards into a more triangular shape. His ears rapidly shrunk away until all that was left would be small holes used for auditory input. And with all his hair gone, a set of lengthy spines like the ones of his back made their way up his neck's behind before stopping a quarter of the way into his scalp.

   All that had seemed to visibly remain of his former self was his clothing, but not even that seemed to be staying for much longer. His button-up was the first to change, its rips and tears restitching together as its size increased to much better fit his body. The material of it appeared to change, white cotton slowly shifting to a brown wool. As it did so the sleeves unfurled until they reached his hands, and the split the shirt originally possessed sealed as the buttons and eyelets closed into the changing fabric. The shirt's collar shrunk away with the neck itself deepening to a V-shape. The outline of the neck, alongside the cuffs of the sleeves, gained a separate ridged wale texture to them that differentiated them from the rest of what was now a sweater. Lastly came a set of designs on the upper arms of the sleeves, darker browns composing a geometric flower-like design that was sandwiched between two bars and wrapped around once on each arm.

   Shortly after that another layer of fabric began manifesting beneath the sweater. Darker brown in coloration, equally long sleeves, very noticeable some kind of button-up as a collar arose and went around his neck while the two front panels of it poked out from the bottom. As the shirt buttoned itself up to the collar, a string-like object emerged from beneath the collar and gently wrapped around his neck while a red elliptoid gem manifested to finish the wrapping off, giving him a fancy looking bolo tie.

   The changes to his pants were a bit less complex. The material hardened to a denim while the gray coloration lightened to a blue. The legwear lengthened a bit, and the back of them repaired itself as it stitched to create a massive tail hole for his new tail. By the end of their changes, they had become a fairly accommodating pair of blue jeans. However the remains of his footwear underwent a more significant transformation, the torn up remains stretching wrapping around his feet in mere seconds. The brown leather retained its coloration, although its material seemed to alter a bit to something softer. The wrecked buckle fixed and softened as well, becoming a set of strings for the shifting footwear. Perhaps the most different change was the extra toecap though, wrapped around his dew claws and completing his new set of loafers.

   The newly manifested lizard blinked his eyes, white sclera changing to golf while both pupils became slits. Memories and thought processes and perceptions were ending their shifts as everything was grinding to a halt. His own name seemed to change in his mind as it changed to fit this new identity.

   Itzamna…

   Itzamna finally comes to, a slight haze still evident in the older reptile's mind. "Mmph, did I stay up late grading again…?"

   He then looks around, slowly coming to the realization that this isn't his abode. It did have a sense of familiarity at first, but that sense was evidently fleeting the longer he stood there. Although there was a part of him saying this appeared to be a Guild Bunker of some kind. Although it was definitely different from the one the Akihabara Creators were supplied with.

   "Now how did I get myself here?" he said with a hum. He tried to recall the last thing he did before waking up here but his mind was a bit too bogged to properly get something back. Guess he'd just have to find the nearest exit and walk himself back home then.

   With that in mind the anthropomorphic reptile began his search for the bunker's exit, unaware of the events that had ensued to bring him here. He was also left oblivious to the paper that had sat on the table that was just a few inches away from him, said paper now possessing an unnoticed sentence written beneath the signature line.

   'With your signature, your transfer as a member of the selected guild will last a maximum of one month.'

   …and with that, Rhys' one month journey as a member of the Akihabara Creators began.

[crescentblossom66]

Dead Bird Metro: The Tale of two Girls Chapter 22

The rain pattered softly again the ground outside, a few small drops hit the window as the wind turned and blew them against it. It almost felt like a rhythm of some kind, one that soothed his racing mind only a little bit. The thoughts wouldn't leave him alone.

'The bow lassie isnae as innocent as you paint her. Just like me Hattie, she has killed, it's what ye have ta do ta survive in this world. If ye cannae understand that even now, this life will teach ye sooner or later.' The words that the Conductor practically spat at him that day wouldn't leave his mind, they continued to swirl around in it, never giving him much time to focus if he was idle.

He clenched his flipper a little as he watched the drops slowly run down the window, he rubbed his eyes after pushing his shades up a bit. What had he done? What had he done to her all those years? The DJ knew that his rival was right, he had always known, yet he had pushed the thought away, but with all of this Nyakuza business happening, and the very real chance that Bow could get harmed badly or even...die, he really came to a terrible realization.

He has been terrible to her! He had forced her into this dangerous and unforgiving world, he robbed her of any chance of leading a normal life! The worst thing was that Bow had no idea! That to her, this was normal now, that this horrible stress and danger were just part of her life...she was a kid, a KID! She should have never been involved into this mess in the first place!

DJ Grooves sighed heavily as his head drooped down a bit. This had all escalated way too much. He knew that his own decisions had led him to this outcome...yet...he couldn't quite believe it, the owl was right, there would always be death for as long as the gang wars continued. There would always be bloodshed and violence...his penguins would bleed and die...Bow would get hurt.....This needed to end, one way or the other.

The tall penguin got torn out of his ominous thoughts by the door opening and Bow entering while yelling “Boom, baby” She struck a pose right after and giggled, before running up to hug him. “You're okay!” She beamed and pushed her face into his chest a bit. Instinctively, he wrapped a flipper around her to hold her.

“You're...not hurt, are you, darling?” There was even more concern audible in his voice than normal. Bow picked up on that.

“It got a bit messy, but...that cat took a nice bullet between the eyes!” She winked and he shivered...It was only now that he noticed, for the first time, that she was speaking about someone dying horribly...like it was just a normal everyday occurrence. Bow sounded as chipper as always, even after something so traumatic.

“I see, darling, I guess that's one less thing to worry about.”.....What had he done to her!

He softly pet her head, he couldn't keep his tears at bay, even with all his willpower. All those years...All those years she had to fight, she had to escape death...and it was his fault...His alone! He could hardly even see Bow through his shades and his thick tears now. The girl looked confused, but just thought that it was due to all the stress and that he needed some comfort, so she just hugged him close. “It's okay, we'll win for sure, the Penguiads will come out on top!”

...The Penguiads...'ye cannae deal with the harshness of this world, peck neck! No matter how hard ye may try, there's always gonna be death, and it will hurt...' Once again the yellow bird's words reached his inner ears. The old owl was right, he couldn't deal with it. All those penguins that believed in him, in his leadership...quite a few died or ended up behind bars, yet their faith never wavered...

He had to do something, he had to!

He cradled the young girl until she fell asleep due to her exhaustion and his warm feathers.

-

Hattie found the owl exhausted, sitting at one of the desks on the first floor of the building, he looked a bit...pained, was he injured? Hattie ran over to him and stopped in front of him, her arrival startled him, which was unusual as hardly anyone could ever sneak up on him, let alone startled him by approaching in plain sight.

“Are you alright?” She looked concerned at him, he only let out a deep, long breath. Conductor looked at the young girl and felt rage surge though him at the new wounds he could see on her, nothing fatal, but...He hated to see her hurt. It was something that somehow only recently surface more after he got separated from the Leowles and thought more about Hattie.

'How often did you hurt her, Conductor?' He winced as the memory of the hatred-filled voice of his rival entered his mind, 'How long did it take you to break the poor girl's spirit?' He shivered which caused Hattie to get closer to him...He was right...That foul penguin was right! He...he had hurt her, all this time he had hurt her! She wasn't some cold, unfeeling monster...WHY DID HE THINK FORCING HER TO BE THAT WAS A GOOD IDEA!!! She was a child, a young girl! Peck!

His hand balled to a fist and shook on the desk, his rage almost caused him to hit the piece of furniture with enough force to either break it or his hand. Hattie noticed the unrest in him and decided to put a hand on his shoulder. “Everything went according to plan, more or less. We managed to kill the cat and DJ Grooves managed to find something, in the blue prints of the HQ of the Nyakuza.-” She smiled. “-But unfortunately, the rocket launchers were already destroyed.”

'...no young girl should have a need to be this calculated and willing to kill!' He looked back at Hattie, who was ready to kill at the drop of a hat...What the peck had he done! He remembered how shocked she had been when she had to kill that traitorous owl, where she was completely unresponsive, now, none of this seemed to face her anymore.

“...Ye got hurt, didn't ye?” Not only by whatever that cat had sent at her or done to her, but by HIM, HE hurt her, he was the cause why she was injured...The cause for ALL the times she got injured! It tore at his heart, he had to fight back his tears.

“It's okay, It's nothing grave, I'm still-” She was interrupted in her sentence when he suddenly pulled her close to himself, she only brought out a meek 'huh?' as she looked at his face with wide eyes. He was silent for a moment, Hattie noticed that he was shaking a bit.

“It's not nothin', lassie...” She wondered why he was so...emotional all of a sudden, but she didn't mind it, she just enjoyed how warm he was for a moment. He looked down at her, his remaining family, and gently started to rub her back. The Leowles girl let out a soft and long sigh of comfort, while her mentor was everything but comfortable. She was his family, he had raised her like one of his own...yet, he sent his real family away, but didn't save poor Hattie! He got so caught up in this gang war, so caught up in winning even should he die, that he forgot that his secret ace in the hole was a mere young child.

“Hattie...I-” He wanted to start to apologize to her even if it could never fix all that he did wrong, but when he looked down, Hattie had fallen asleep hugging him. He sighed deeply and looked outside at the rain.

He needed to find a way out of this, no matter what he had to do to end this, he would!

-

A few tears still rolled down his cheeks as he opened the files that he had found in the office of the female cat he and Hattie had killed. The cafeteria was empty, completely devoid of any of his penguins and not one owl in sight. He supposed that they were all asleep...at least those that weren't captured. He was startled when he heard that his one remaining close friend was captured by the cats. When the news reached them, he noticed that the Conductor's feathers rose in anger and shock, Enrique being captured must have been boiling his blood even more. It was good that Bow and Hattie were asleep at the moment, they really needed to rest for the upcoming days, he had to tell Bow sooner or later, but it could wait at least until she was awake again.

How he wished that it was different, how he wished that none of this ever happened...his rival was certainly right, he was not cut out for this. Speaking of the bird that told him that, the yellow owl looked equally as unfit to lead his gang the moment he entered the cafeteria. He looked strangely pensive, and expression that the tall penguin had never seen on his rival before...then again, seeing anything other than violent anger was already an odd thing to see on him.

DJ Grooves tried to ignore the presence of his currently strangely calm rival, whose face scrunched up in disgust the moment he laid eyes on him...yet he seemed oddly docile as he went to the top shelve to pull out a bottle of scotch. DJ Grooves couldn't help but laugh a little at the fact that the small owl needed to stretches and make himself as long as he could to even reach the top shelve. “Need help, darling?”

The owl flinched as the low-pitched voice reached his ears. He wanted to snap at the penguin, he really wanted to tell him that he should mind his own business and peck off...but he couldn't, he didn't have the energy for an argument...not with all that's been haunting his mind. Instead he growled and answered in a voice that sounded so meek and pained that it shocked himself, “Aye, if ye would.”

Catching his sunglasses that nearly fell to the ground as he jolted after hearing the response from his rival, he got up slowly. He heard that right, right? This...this owl was still the Conductor, right? The same angry owl that usually insulted him and was sarcastic every time he could. The behavior was so estranged to the regular manner the owl behaved that almost instinctively the penguin asked “Are you okay?” He almost wanted to withdraw the question immediately when he remembered just whom he was asking that.

The yellow bird only scoffed, apparently aware of how odd his behavior was. “Do I look okay, lad?” The owl looked closer at the penguin that actually got the bottle down for him. The normal flashiness and the poise with wish the leader of the Penguiads normally carried himself appeared to be gone. He looked downright...defeated...normally that would cause the yellow bird to smile smugly and ridicule him...yet he wasn't in the mood to do so, instead he tilted his head at him. “Could ask ye the same question though, ye look like 30 days o' rain. Nae a bounce in yer step today, ye ain't boostin' morale like that.” The penguin's gave him a quick glare, which turned into a sigh and the same depressed expression he wore all evening immediately after.

“Not now, Conductor, please.” He expected the owl to laugh and to throw another taunt at him, yet all the other did was take a deep breath and walk by him to one of the chairs. He opened his bottle, and wanted to take a swig, but oddly enough, he hesitated. The DJ noticed and looked at the other gang leader confused. “Don't feel like ruining your liver further?” The bottle nearly shattered on the floor as the grip the old bird had on it loosened due to him being startled at the sudden remark. The Conductor glared at his rival, not expecting to find the same solemn expression to still be present on the penguin's face.

Hattie's worried words played in his mind from the day that she requested that he stopped drinking. The memory almost caused him to shed a few tears...but he wouldn't not with his rival being in the same room. He wouldn't give him that satisfaction! Instead he just seemed to stare at the contents of the bottle as he thought about what he should do. His ear-like feathers rose up when he remembered something that Hattie told him earlier. He swallowed the spite and hatred that he normally carried for the tall penguin and spoke in an almost eerily quiet tone. “Hattie mentioned somethin' about blue prints for the Nyakuza HQ...found anythin' useful in there?”

The penguin, who had sat back down stopped typing for a moment and observed the owl with an inquisitive look on his face. “How did you know that we...Hattie told you.” The other bird nodded.

“Aye, she told me before she fell asleep...” The Conductor sighed deeply, tilting the bottle before moving it away from his grasp.

That glassy expression was so weird to see on his rival of all people, but he started to understand now, he finally started to understand that the yellow owl did care about the young girl that he had raised. What he did next would have infuriated his past self, to even think about showing sympathy to what he had considered a monster before. “Listen, Conductor, what...what I said was-” He got interrupted by the other bird raising a wing and shaking his head.

It took a lot of effort for the old owl to jump over his pride and to admit that he had wronged the penguin. “Ye were right, I hurt me lassie...an I didnae even realize that I did...-” He chuckled weakly and shook his head, “-I was such a dumb fool, a bloody idiot!” his angered seemed to flare up as he hit the table with his fist, a pained expression on his face, not from the numbness that the physical aggression had caused, but from the regret that had been festering in him for a while now.

The other leader flinched at the loud noise and showed a mixture of surprise and understanding, he felt much the same. “...I failed little Bowie, too, I was supposed to protect her, but...I turned her into an unfeeling killer.-” His voice broke as tears dripped onto the keyboard of his laptop. “-I robbed her of a normal life...a healthy environment...I-”

The foreign expression of sadness and anguish on DJ Grooves' face, caused his rival to not laugh for once, but to show him a look of genuine sympathy.“-...You were right, darling...there will always be death as long as this goes on. Neither my penguins nor your owls deserve any of this.” The yellow bird's head lowered.

“The owls...I've...I've been terrible ta 'em-” He scoffed, “-No wondered they wanted me gone fer good. All me life I've been told ta lead 'em, ta throw 'em under the bus when needed, ta see them as nothin' but tools fer a job...Ye were right ta call me out on that.”

“Maybe I really am too soft for this, like you said. I...-” He looks at the owl that had moved a bit closer to him, “-No WE have to end this.”

The yellow bird nodded. For once the owl had no snarky remark, and instead he leaned closer to look at the screen of the laptop. “What's the plan?”

[lilacastar]

KDA

Part 5: Compelled

The large stick mom handed Kalrick fit perfectly in his hand. Despite being right-hand dominant, he took the rod with his left, a smooth hold exactly where he grasped. It didn't occur to him until now, that his left palm was far more callused than the right, but this match was as if nature made the element just for him.

Mom excitedly began to walk down the driveway, hardly able to contain herself. A cold chill slowly passed down his spine, he exhaled slowly and found himself following her without thinking.

"Alright," He started, with bit of uneasiness. "What part of the walk has to do with abstract art?"

"I don't know, special K, it never made sense to me, but you're still doing a great job at whatever it is you're still drawing."

"So it's some kind of drawing?"

"It's what you're drawing now!" she cheerfully gestured to the stick.

He'd been dragging the stick behind him without thinking too much, but mom was right. This must've been exactly what he'd done while possessed. There were a prominent groove along the edge of the dirt driveway, directly where he was dragging the walking stick. And it wasn't just a slight indent, it had to have been at least 2 to 3 inches deep. How many times had his body done this?

His curiosity told him to stop and inspect the markings, but he kept his pace and continued. They steadily made their path all the way to the gate where he stopped at the very center, cold and still. Waiting. A compelling sensation crept through his muscles, and the tiredness from lying in bed for days with no sleep roared and ached. He needed to act, but couldn't figure out what. There was a need to be done, a need just as instinctive as hunger and survival, but what were he to do? Instead he waited, tense as if he should be holding his breath.

"Go on," Mom motioned, encouraging him to do something he didn't have the knowledge for.

"What?"

"Do your walk," She pleaded.

"Which way do I go,"

Her face filled with an odd expression between hurt and impatience. As if she had any right to be impatient with him, he'd only been mentally well enough to leave the house as of today. "Sometimes you just circle around the house, sometimes you do that complicated pattern."

Useless. She still couldn't seem to understand that he was literally an entirely different person, and even during those 2 years, apparently didn't pay close enough attention to be able to tell him exactly where he went. And judging by the grooves in the dirt, it was done thousands of times over again.

He gazed down at the markings. From where he stood, directly in the center of the open gate, Another thick groove impeded horizontal on the dirt driveway. Left or right. All he had to do was pick one, so he guessed it didn't matter. At this point, anything was better than nothing to help him understand where his body had been for the last 2 years.

A longing to go home, to get everything back the way it used to be, the stability of his old life all filled his chest at once. It filled him to the brim, unable to escape, forcing him to move as the only means of letting it go somewhere. His body moved right, picking up the pace that was taken to arrive there. But the urgency and homesickness still pushed and clawed at the foremost part of his skull. His legs began to carry him faster, automatically knowing where to take him, while his active brain was left behind in the process.

He decided to pause and analyze what was going on, but found he simply kept going. His legs and body against his mind, they kept on leading while the itch in his head spread through and down the rest of him, reaching each of his limbs down to his toes. He needed to keep going. Straight, looped, left, left, loop, straight, loop, down- he lost track. It all merged together as his concentration slipped, settling into the pattern and sighed. The chill down his spine was no longer bitter as he closed his eyes, allowing his instincts to finish the process.

Kalrick's urgent pace came to a stop, resting where he started at the gate. His lungs inhaled deeply, full of a deep-rooted satisfaction. He exhaled through a shudder, finally rid of the insatiable, starving, insanity in his head. He was complete, no more need to search. Even if nothing would ever be alright again, it was fine. This calm euphoria would hold him together. And all the recent days and nights without rest, released their hold on him.

He grinned, feeling afternoon wind pass through his hair, doing his best to contain content, blissful laughter through his teeth.

"Special K?" Mom said, caution bleeding through her tone.

"Hm?" He responded, finally opening his eyes.

"Are you alright?"

"I need to rest now," he nodded, with absolute knowledge he would be able to rest, then promptly returned to the house and into bed. It was so immediate, he hadn't even bothered to take his shoes off. Simply lied back down in the mess of sheets and clothes, as a peaceful, enriching sleep enveloped him.

[ym533]

Perhaps I can start writing a blog. Anne Frank wouldn't have written in a notebook, forever, right? But, a notebook is a good place to start. It satisfies the itch for me to move my wrist and grip a pen. I like to feel the friction of jotting down thoughts that arise in sounds faster than I can say. Anne Frank was a good writer. She had things to say, to say the least. Although, some would argue that she couldn't have less to write about. What is there to do, see, or say about the daily life of being all cooped up in a house, for two years? I guess it all depends on what you classify as worthy of writing, or not. That is, what you would find thought-provoking. This set of ideas or experiences could be different for everyone. I would rather have too much to say about everything than too little to think of, though. I wonder if my relatively individualistic childhood had something to do with that. I arguably was surrounded by fewer stimuli than the average child, which could have meant I had more room in my mind for insulated thought. I had plenty of time to stare out from the back of cars and ponder about my surroundings, or to read books and wonder about other people's lives. Or, I simply had the time to make any space one for my head to subsume my senses. I will be able to do that again. I will. I have also given myself to the way this world works, and I leave it with the belief that such a way is worth defying. I would reject the fanfare of this world if it means turning my ears, instead, to the rediscovery of a quiet that I've heard only from myself. This is the humming of one who watches, listens, thinks, and writes. This humming was drowned in the clacking of one who works, the strutting of one who goes, the drumming of one who delivers, and the sighing of one who provides. The humming does not grow, and I doubt it disappears. Perhaps it does not get older; it probably never moves with the grooves of the city. The humming is a timeless spectator that is present until you stop listening to it. That's all I wish to be—gone, in some capacity.

(Editing Note: This is one long paragraph that I barely understand. I wonder if I'll understand it sooner or further in the future, though.)

Life in Technicolor; an airplane window

Words run dry⁠ when, here, I thought I had already been using them in excess. I guess penning words onto a page is quite different from sneezing them out once they tickle you. I suppose peeling and drying out pages of yourself is far more uncomfortable than idly tossing thoughts into a pond, with their traces gone after a deniable ripple. I used to speak to myself, and I would listen. Sadly, it seems that I had lately lost interest in hearing my own voice—or, perhaps, having one entirely. It deceived me, maybe, the idea that instantly exhausting anything that came to mind was introspection enough. This may have been it because, otherwise, I can't sit with the possibility of my having genuinely given up believing in the need to hear myself think.

Whatever the case may be, I can't be surprised, then, that it may seem like I have nothing to say now. But, there is something there; I know it. There always has been, and I could go on about the origins of this idea. I could go on about everywhere I've been⁠ and all the things I had seen, what little and what lot I had lived through, and what I know now that I wish I had written down then. Thinking about that invites my tears. For that reason, it doesn't appeal to me to look back. In fact, I'd closed those chapters. At least, I'd dropped the pen on them. I may revisit them, someday. But, that day won't be today.

I'm going on an adventure, and I'm not looking back. This would be a final long haul⁠—a last stand against, or for, my life. The end—I feel it's near. It always seems to have been, relatively lately. This is all that it will come to, and it will be happy. It will be typical. It will knock a few people out of breath. It will prompt a search for answers. But people will realise that, with one look at me and anything one can know me for, this all makes sense. It's dramatic. It's over the top. It's uncalled for⁠—totally unnecessary. It's astounding. It's unique. It's meant to be profound. It likely can't be looked away from, and I won't try to make myself discreet. It's been a while since I'd known myself very well, but I'd assume these qualities characteristically applied to me, right?

The last thing this will be is impulsive⁠—not well-thought-through, beyond reason, or unintelligible. That will be uncharacteristic of me. That would make me ask "Is this really going to be it? Is this really going to be what everything amounts to? Is this the end for which I was living?" I might discuss, later on, the moments when I had set a foot on death's doorstep only to be met with this question. It dared me to recall that, primarily, I wanted to end my life⁠—not cause my death. It reminded me of the value of the wait. So, I got it together.

Sure, there were times when I might have thought that the potential absurdity of it all would colour nicely against the backdrop of my otherwise highly organised and rigidly rationalised life. Although, when you put it that way, the supposed nonsense of it all would sort of cancel out, right? So, we'll leave that notion behind us, for now.

[toddykun]

mask down

summary: In which New Chief Cabrera is a little worried about Duckburg’s most beloved avenger.

word count: 1156

n/a: fly-by-the-seats-of-my-pants writing.

It wasn’t the first time that officer Cabrera met face-to-face with the Duck Avenger, but it was the first time since the day she became Chief. Their actual first meeting came to her mind, shots exchange in the middle of thug war, she almost fell prey to the panic when her partner was shot and lost consciousness and her own shoulder didn’t work as good. The Duck Avenger broke in the scene like a miracle. That day she discovered she actually had the permission to cry while on duty. In looked somewhat like the scene in front of her now, the only difference was that none of her subordinates was hurt, thanks to the Duck Avenger, something that she wholeheartedly appreciated. But there was this feeling about him since the day she met him that was worrying her, and she needed to confirm it.

She walked up to him before he could hop into his mobile and disappear as always, it was now or never. “Avenger.” She greeted, hand up to salute him.

“The new Chief, I assume.” The Avenger took the cue and shook her hand. He seemed to exude confidence. Cabrera wondered how much of that confidence was real and how much was just braveness against the fear. Either way, he looked tired, victorious but tired.

“I think I never thanked you, for saving my life a year ago, you probably don’t remember me.”

“I…actually do.” Cabrera looked at him surprised, the Avenger looked embarrassed and scratched the back of his neck, and he didn’t look at her face. “It’s weird to think that someone I saved is now Chief and not just an officer. Guess functioning adults work like that, right, um, Chief Cabrera?”

Oh. Functioning adults. So, she was right after all. This man was young, way too young. Cabrera smiled, a motherly feeling encompassing her to relieve him and worry about him. “Well, I’m glad. I’m actually wanted to thank you as the Chief, in the name of the whole station, for all the services you give to the city. This city wouldn’t be so safe without you, I gotta admit that much. We’re all glad to have you.”

The Avenger flustered under the compliment. An easy guy, this one. “I’m honored, Mrs. Cabrera. Well, I’m always up to offer my help to my city.” He smiled but when she saw him almost yawning, the serious expression came back full force. That put on an idea in her mind, fueled by the new discovery.

“That actually gets me to something that I wanted to ask you about, a favor if you may.”

The smile came back. “Well, if the police need my help.”

“Good, good. Then would you rest for a while? Please.”

He stopped smiling, confused expression set on his face. “What?”

“That I think you should put that mask down for a while, be a normal civilian and rest.” He started to look at her in rage. Understandable. She should have explained better, she definitely could have phrased that better. Ugh.

“You want me to stop being the Avenger?” He sounded low, much more menacing than a man this young have the right to sound. The good thing here, Chief Cabrera was familiarized to deal with tough guys that sounded even more threatening and that were actually ten times bigger than her. So, she stood her ground and explained.

“No, God, no. Who knows what is gonna happen to this city if one of its moral pillars disappears? What I mean is, I have seen records of you around the city, almost at all hours. I know you have a civilian identity, everybody that has even glance at a comic book knows –and I have a son that does more than just glance at them so I end too–, but when do you rest? That’s the only thing I ask for you. Besides, kids need to rest.”

The Avenger pouted. “I’m an adult.” Like pouting could make that statement less funny.

Officer Cabrera let out a good-hearted laugh. “I know, but you’re definitely younger than me and that, for me, means you’re a kid.”

“Wait, how old are you? You look so young.” A pleased smile broke through her face.

“Oh, wouldn’t you like to know?” she replied, teasing, the Avenger smiled smugly in response but ended giggling. Chief Cabrera took that as her opportunity to try to convince him.

“Look, I’m glad there’s someone out there that even the police can count with but you know? With that mask up or down, I believe you’re still a civilian. It’s my duty, the police’s duty, to protect you too, even if you’re an avenger or a hero or whatever.” And Officer Cabrera didn’t beg, she never did before but she felt like doing it now. A young man like this, doing an even harder work that any adult did out there, she couldn’t stand it. He should have a normal life, they were the police for fuck’s sake, not him. She put that thought for later, now it was about this duck. “Kid, put that mask down at least for tonight and rest, I can handle the city while you’re at it. I promise you it’s gonna be there when you wake up.”

The Duck Avenger seemed thoughtful, he ended sighing and looking at her in a weird but kind of familiar grieving way. It looked like her when her boss told her to rest. She promised to say sorry to her when she met her again. “I’m not as much of a civilian as I would like, and I’m not that ti-.”

“I’m the mother of a college kid and the mother of a whole group of police officers at this point.” She interrupted, that made the Avenger laugh, Gloria took that as a good sign. And tried not to think too hard about the civilian thing. “I have seen some pretty tired eyes around my house and my job, I would recognize them everywhere at this point. What you need are some vacations, but if you are like I think you are, you’re not going to take them even if you actively wanted them. So, at least, for tonight, promise me you will have a good damn rest of sleep.”

“What’s up if I don’t do it? If there’s an emergency? If-?”

“Then you’ll have to trust me a little bit, ok? I promise you too that if I can’t handle it, I will break in into Angus’s news section and call for your help.” She earned another laugh. “But until then, what will you do?”

“Rest?” He asked, feigning innocence. Officer Cabrera raised a brow, unimpressed. The Avenger laughed this time nervously but seemed to relent. “I promise I will rest. Just for tonight.”

Cabrera smiled instantly, that motherly feeling growing on set. Feeling accomplishment over this. “I knew Duckburg’s hero was a smart guy.”

I have been trying to write for my own projects and for requests but I’m having a nasty writing block rn, so im trying to fix it with some good old ‘dont think too much’ therapy i guess lmao hope you liked this anyway, i felt it kind of weird but i guess its not that bad.

[raineydays411]

My Father's Daughter

Part 6

Tony Stark x daughter! Reader

Hey guys! So I know it's been like nine thousand years since I updated, but I honestly didn't have the motivation till now. Im sorry if this kinda sucks but I'm still getting back into the groove of things.

From the moment you arrived at the Wayne Manor, you knew you were going to be miserable.

First of all, it was incredibly different from the technological paradise you called home. This was a gothic, old fashioned manor, you don't even know if your Bluetooth would work out here.

Secondly, this manor is full of people who you would rather not have any interactions with. Including , but not limited to : your mother, who abandoned you, her husband, who she abandoned you for, her son who she abandoned you for, and so on and so forth.

And finally, if you have to deal with these stuck up, stand offish, gloomy ass kids your mother adopted for a second longer you are going to--

"Y/n?"

A voice snaps you out of your thoughts and back into the giant living area, seeing multiple pair of eyes staring at you. Mixed with concern, annoyance, and amusement.

You turn your attention to Bruce, " I'm sorry can you repeat that?"

You hear a snicker coming from one of the three million kids, whos name you really cannot be bothered in learning.

Bruce sighs and repeats goes to repeat his words, " I said, I know that this must be a change for you. And although your mother and I are ecstatic that you're here, we understand that it will take you a while to be comfortable. So when you're ready....blah blah bla"

You start to tune him out again, retreating back into your brain. Really, these long winded speeches are really annoying, especially when it could be cut short.

That's when you hear a "Tsk".

"Honestly Father, I don't understand why you waste your breath. She obviously has a hard time comprehending even the simplest of concepts."

"Damian!"

oooh you're gonna end up killing that kid.

"Keep talking like that shrimp and you'll have to comprehend my foot up your--"

"Y/n!"

Bruce shouts with an exhausted look on his face, you and Damian have been exchanging sly remarks ever since you got here....about five hours ago. Christine decided to take the rest of the kids with her grocery shopping for a special dinner for you, leaving behind only Damian and Cassie.

They really were not fond of the idea that you were biologically their mothers.

"Damian, Y/n is part of our family and you shall treat her as such. This is no different than the other times we brought in someone new to our family."

"Well I can name a few differences" You mutter, looking down as Bruce shoots you another exhausted look.

You really do feel bad for the guy. Despite everything he has been rather nice to you, and you bet his whole world has been turned upside down, once again. He's really taking this extra marital child thing with stride. Although you guess being who he is he has to be ready for the inconceivable.

Before you can say anything else however, the front door opened revealing Christine and her hoard of children. And it's like a circus suddenly burst through the door. All of them yelling at, to, and over each other. It honestly was annoying to hear. You never really interacted with other people your age. Sure there was Peter but he actually was younger than you, and when you were in the Tower was quiet. You really were going from only child to a house full of children.

"Y/n!" Christine says rather loudly, " Oh I was hoping to make it back before you go here. I guess grocery shopping to a bit loner than I expected." She giggles.

"I've been here for about five hours." You deadpan.

You catch the glare Damian shoots you as the energy in the room dims down. The rest of the kids give each other awkward glances, not really daring to say anything.

That is until Dick decides to speak up wrapping an arm around Christine.

"Well, Y/n I hope you're hungry! Cause I know Mom has a special dinner prepared for you." He smiles, "She makes it every time someone knew joins our family."

You don't know why but his overly joyous tone really gets on your nerves.

"Is it roast beef with mash potato's and garlic bread?" You ask innocently watching almost everyone in the room react in shock.

"Um, how did you know that" Dick asks hesitantly.

"Yeah every time mother dearest over here came to visit me at the tower that was her "special meal"' you say " A special meal to show just how much she missed me."

Now the room was tense.

Christine's face dropped, realizing that if she wanted to get closer to you, she can't use the same tactics she used on her other kids. So instead of saying anything outright, she takes a deep breath to regain her composer. The she smiles again

"You have a good memory Petal. How about to come help me in the kitchen?"

The children gasp, as long as they lived in they mansion, they knew to never step foot into their mothers kitchen. It was her way of decompressing, if she was a captain, that was her ship and she sailed alone. The only one allowed to go into the kitchen while she was cooking was Alfred. And that's cause no one could say no to Alfred. And because everyone was scared of him.

Needless to say, this request struck jealousy their hearts.

Dick, Jason, and Tim all were able to somewhat put it aside, understanding the situation behind the request. But Damian... he refused to see anything other than him being replaced. That was his mother, his home, his family. He doesn't understand how one girl could come in and ruin it.

And even worse, you turned it down.

"Yeah, I'm no Betty Crocker. Sorry" You say, " Is there anyway I can get settled in my room?"

Everyone looks at each other, speaking with their eyes. But before anyone could speak Alfred came to your rescue.

"It seems Ms. Stark is rather tired from her trip, I shall show her to her room. I'm sure she'd like to freshen up before dinner."

You sigh in relief, glad he took the attention off you even if it was for just a second. You were getting frustrated with the way they were looking at you. It seems that this will be a common theme while you live here.

You quickly gather your things before anyone says anything, shrugging off Dick before he's able to help you with your luggage. Then balancing everything, you march forward with a,

"Lead the way Riff-Raff"

And ignoring the confused look from Alfred and glares from Damian as you pass by. You hold your head up high, despite the looks and judgement.

Once again feeling like an outsider in a place you are forced to call home.

[monsterfloofs]

Aliens (Sil and Vessa) AxFx Female Reader

( Oh my gosh. . . this story has been a long time coming and it isn’t even done yet! It’s already almost 5k words long and I am stunned, as someone who usually doesn’t write long stories. ^//u//^ ) I guess it’s time to start posting what I have so far! I hope you enjoy!)

It has been about a week cycle until you were able to feel comfortable in the company of your new crew mates.

It was a vastly different kind of voyage than the previous ones you were used to. The last job you had taken, you had been working with beings that prided themselves in negotiations and diplomacy. They had been excited to have an Earthling in their ranks and many were quick to befriend you, even though you were registered as only an assistant mechanic.

You missed the cute beings back on your old ship, but once they reached their destination you once again had to scrounge up a new job. You had been lucky to find a mid-ranking job posted by a group of asteroid miners. While the pay was good and you were hired on the spot, you were a little wary at first by the look of the rag tag crew. Keeping a stun gun at your side while you warmed up to your position.

You first had the pleasure of meeting Sil when you were being introduced to your work partners. Sil was one of the lead Mechanics onboard and they were waved over to come and meet you. Though they did so with an air of annoyance.

At first you had thought they were some kind of cyborg, tall and slim, with the dark red chitinous plating that covered their exposed form. It traveled up their fingers, forearms, and neck, the sloping plates ending at a dark visor that was shaped over their face. You couldn’t see Sil’s eyes, or any kind of expression for that matter. Their face was a blank dark void. You had smiled and introduced yourself politely, while Sil had only grunted, waving away the hand that you had held out in a friendly gesture. “This is the add-on we hired?” Sil’s long neck swivels, his head turns towards your companion and promptly ignores you. You slowly drop your hand, smile slipping from your lips, as the two proceed to talk, the tall being refusing to acknowledge you.

Once Sil had left, your cohort had attempted to apologize, but you had shook your head and shrugged. “It’s not a big deal really, I’ve worked for worse,” You smiled and promised that you were unfazed, but in the back of your head you were giving a sigh. 

“Not all jobs are good jobs.” You told yourself, throwing your bag down once you were settled into a room. Thankful to have space to yourself. This sleeping bunker, which was a fairly large room, housed around four beds. Although from your observation, only one of those beds had sheets and blankets that looked like they had been recently occupied. You could see the resident's things settled onto the grooved shelves inlaid into the wall.

“At least I have a big room to myself. . .” You murmur, “For now. . .” 

Your thoughts trailed back to the tall spindly figure, and you snapped your fingers as your brain finally recognized the species. You didn’t see them around often, but you did remember a few that you've met in and out of space stations. They were a Kestron, mainly you've heard a lot of stories of them being stationed in scientific fields of study and research. Though you had thought if you could get a job aboard one of their scientific ships you would have jumped at the chance. They had a reputation for being sociable and extremely curious beings, hyper intelligent, which painted them perfect for delicate and intricate fields of study. It was so strange for you to see a Kestron here, you had only met them a handful of times since, many of the ones you encountered held pretty prestigious positions. But the ones you do remember meeting, certainly hadn’t been that astoundingly rude.

It was always hard to tell what expressions Kestron’s held, since they didn’t have a standard face like a lot of other species that were drifting through in the galaxy. Though, usually that meant they would go out of their way to try and communicate their feelings. A few of the ones you met previously even had little devices about the size of a name tag mounted on their clothes. The little computer monitor would emote, giving little cartoon faces and changing color, to help show what emotion they displayed.

You had gained a whole new angle from knowing Sil for just a short time.

You were changing when you heard the door open, their tall gangly frame in the doorway and you squeak. Hugging a blanket to you quickly, Sil remains unphased, They hover in the door frame for a moment before they step into the room, without any sign or visible reaction. walking over to the other bunk and flops down.

You had instantly shrunk back, gawking horror before you opened your mouth to say something. After a few unsuccessful tries they beat you to the punch.

"I am sure you aren't going to like this, but we share a room," Their voice hums as they wave offhandedly at you. "Better get used to it sweet heart." They turn their head to look over at you "Nice -- by the way," They gesture at your chest with a lazy hand, denoting the lace around your form and your throat clenches, steam building up in your temple as you grab the nearest pillow and throw it full force at them. It hits them right in the face with a satisfying *Whump* Sil pauses, hands still mid-motion in the air before they drop back onto the bed. "I guess I deserved that," Came a muffled response as you quickly got your clothes righted again. Glaring daggers at them as they lay with the pillow still over their face. 

"You b-better believe it," You stammer angrily, "The next time you make a snide comment like that I'm going straight to the Workers services and report harassment! Don't you dare think this is my first job with people who--”

They sit up immediately and your anger withers slightly, growing nervous at how tall they are. "I wasn't harassing you," Their voice turning icy, "Stars above--" They clip off their translator and you blink at the slew of angry chittering that spews forth from them, before they promptly turn over in bed and lay back down with their back towards you.

It was only later you found out that you had been put on work detail that they were supervising. It was bad enough to share a room, but now, you kept your head down and avoided them as much as possible. You were relieved when you were sent off to a task, all too eager to gain space away from Sil. You don your space helmet before you make your way towards a hatch marked 1-89.

The double doors slide behind you as you breathe a sigh of relief. At least you can work in peace, but dread pools in the pit of your stomach thinking about after having to see Sil after work. You shift from side to side, pressing the large button beside the doorway, a vacuum sucking the air out of the room as the hatch opens. You let go of your toolbox, as the gravitationally stabilizer in the hallway turns off, it drifts lazily beside you. You take the cord on your side, clipping yourself to the metal railing outside the hatch.

You look up at the long shaft full of hardware and computers, making sure your lifeline is secure before grabbing your toolkit. Kicking off with your feet to propel yourself up into the shaft. Grabbing the railing in front of you, you continue to push yourself up effortlessly through the large shaft full of blinking lights and flashing panels. 

You make a few taps to the side of your helmet before a favorite song of yours begins to play within its speakers. You give a happy sigh, it was just you, your music and the work in front of you. You hum softly to yourself, putting a knot in the rope tether to stop at your designated work space. Bobbing your head to the music floating around your head, you open your toolbox, taking a screwdriver from one of its straps. You begin to carefully start unscrewing the panel in front of you. Making sure to take the floating screw and stick them to the magnetized panel at the top of your toolbox.

"Hey you, newbie, Sparky--" 

You had been working on installing a new piece of hardware when you heard your helmet buzz, Sil’s voice crackling over the radio. Touching a gloved hand to the panel on the side and wincing. "Y-yes?" You mumble awkwardly, 

"Once you are done with the addition to the hardware of the data bank, I want to meet you inside. I’ll show you what I want your help with.”

Your heart sinks with dread, “Roger. . .” You reply sulkily. Looking back to your handiwork in defeat before carefully replacing the panel. You half hoped the new tech would go on the fritz, but as green lights flicker on and gleam with a steady light you grimace and groan. You flip yourself over in mid air. Letting your body freely spin in the weightless as you turn around. Hands reaching out once more to grab the handholds as you pull yourself back down to the doorway. Unclipping your lifeline and closing the hatch behind you. As you air comes back into the room you feel the ship's gravity stabilize, the whoosh of weight making your boots clomp down hard onto the floor. Woof. In all the years of going in and out of the main quarters of ships. . . you would have thought you would get used to having the gravity switching on and off in the rooms. No matter how many times you did it, it still made your stomach drop. Which only added to the pit forming in your stomach. You weren’t ready to be on the offensive yet, you had just got here and started your new job. You haven’t even had the chance to make any friends.

“Where did you want me to meet you?” You mumble over the intercom.

You were directed where you needed to go without complaint, keeping your head down as you went about your business for the rest of the day. Most of the tasks you were given seemed to be standard maintenance, hardware updates, and rewiring. Thankfully many of these tasks were a one person job, and you were happy to be left to your own devices.

When the small group disbands for the rest cycle, you wrestle with your nerves, you weren’t exactly ready to head back to your room into the uncomfortable air that had permeated within only a few days. You can feel your anxiety raise at the thought, making your throat tighten. Your direction of your feet changing, instead of heading back to your assigned bunker, you go the opposite way. You walk for a while, getting yourself familiar with the ship's internal map as you fight a wave of nausea.

Looking up you find the blue light of the med-bay pulse, the sign cycling through multiple languages before reaching Standardized Earthian English.

“Must be my lucky day. . .” You murmured weakly as you approached the sick bay’s doors. You knock on the door then cross your arms over your stomach, letting your gaze drift. When your gaze shifts back you see dark beady eyes peeking at you from the top of the door frame. It causes you to blink and do a double take. Is the doctor. . . standing on the ceiling?

You hear a frenzied scuttling as the door opens, a white and blue blur whizzing across the wall.

Your shoulders flinch upwards as you see a fluffy arachnoid creature wearing an extremely rumpled doctor’s coat. Presumably from spending their time crawling around on the ceiling, but your thoughts are abruptly jostled as they chatter at you.

“Esh you!” They chatter excitedly, “Th’ newbie! I wish I knew you were coming down sooner! I would have cleaned up!” From the sound of their voice, it actually sounded like they were speaking Earthian English, but the large mandibles that were on either side of their mouth made it hard to pronounce some of the sounds.

“Esh so nich to see a new fach!”

You feel the corners of your lips turn up, despite yourself. It’s been a while since you had ran into an alien that actually tried to speak another’s language and not rely on a communicator. You were a little sad you couldn’t extend the same level of hospitality.  

“Are you sick?” Their hands had already started enthusiastically pulling out drawers, “Esh got gravity gummies and nausea medishine– Em’ Vessa by the way! And your name?” 

“Anything for anxiety?” You ask shyly after you had introduced yourself, Vessa’s tear drop head tips up, their beady eyes staring at you. 

“Anxshious?” 

You give a small smile and nod sheepishly. “J-just a little, first day on the job didn’t go so well.”

Vessa gestures for you to sit down in one of the , “Sit, sit! Can get you some medishine, or if you like herbal stuff, Em can get you some tea!”

You look surprised at the offer of tea. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard a ship’s doctor prescribe tea before,” you reply with a smile. 

“Oh!” Vessa gives a purring little rev of their vocal chords. “Some workers refuse to take medishine, even herbal stuff. Unlesh they’re really sick!” They wink at you. “Em jusht covering all the bashesh!”

You catch yourself laughing faintly at their speech,  shifting on the seat of the chair. “Tea would. . . actually be lovely. Would I be able to take something back to my room too if I begin to feel nauseous again?”

Vessa nods, turning around on their thick legs to scribble out a small prescription, they were probably going to give you something over the counter. But med-bays usually had tight rules about what medicine was leaving the room to whom. You ran into all sorts of doctors while you had starship hopped. Some wouldn’t give out medicine unless you looked like you were two shades from dying, while others would give you it for every little problem under the sun. The med doctors, just like the workers who lived onboard, came in all kinds. 

You drank your tea in a sunny room that looked out at the ocean. This med-bay had a private holo-chamber which would depict different images of places for crew members experiencing homeworld sickness or anxiety. You closed your eyes and took a deep breath. Imaging the salt air that would have stirred your hair and filled your lungs. You had been a star hopper for so long, sometimes it was nice to remember the place you hailed from. Even if you didn’t have much of a memory of it. 

You walk back into the main hull of the ship, meeting a new but friendly face has been a rush of relief to your system. The ship’s doctor was not your typical ship doctor who hurriedly gives you your medicine and sends you packing. Maybe it was because of the smaller maintenance staff that gave them more time to be chatty. In any case, you greatly appreciated getting your mind off of your troubles for a little while. And the tea that they had given you in the holo-chamber could still be tasted on your tongue. It was an earthy kind of taste. . . but not unpleasant. You were going to have to ask them what plant it had been from. You might see if you can buy yourself a box the next time you reach a supply station.

The pause at the door in front of your assigned bunker, giving a jolt as you see the rusty platting of your bunker partner.

An uncomfortable silence settles between the both of you for a moment.

“Where were you?” 

Sil steps over the threshold to meet you in the hallway, your eyes flicking towards their faceplate uncomfortably, “Just went for a walk, why?”

Sil looks down at you, “. . . I didn’t know where you went. Someone spotted you headed towards the infirmary. I was concerned.”

“You don’t have to worry about me,” You muttered, visibly tensing. “I just felt a little ill,”

Sil sighs, “Look. We got off on the wrong foot, and I. . .” You heard a clicking noise before they growl, “I wanted to apologize.”

You prickle, trying to read their expressionless faceplate before you sigh, “It’s fine. . .” You rub your shoulders, “It’s no big deal.”

Sil scoffs, “Hardly, if you reacted the way you did. . . it’s obvious how people have treated you.” He scuffs his foot when you look at him. “I know I’m a crab ass. You can just ignore most of what I say when we aren’t on the job, okay?”

Your lips quirk up ever so slightly to give them a weary kind of smile. “Hah. . . okay?”

You watch curiously as Sil stiffens and turns on his heels, gruffly vocalizing over his shoulder before they stalk away. “Anyway. I’m glad you’re okay.” 

You weren’t sure what to think of this interaction. Looking back at their retreating figure before you step inside the bunker. You laid with your hands behind your head, staring up at the dim ceiling, feeling the remnants of your nerves before your eyes closed for the rest of your sleep cycle.

The active cycle came faster than you wanted, and it was hard to push yourself out of bed.

Sil kept mostly to themselves while both of you shared the bunker space, and you decided that it was in your best interest to keep yourself busy. Only interacting with them as necessary. It was awkward and it made your anxiety rise, steering well enough away from them off-duty.

“If you don’t like sharing a room, you can always ask for a reassignment.” You had just moved out Sil’s way when they tossed that comment over their shoulder.

“Huh?” You replied, nervously,

“Oh come on. It’s obvious you’re not comfortable here, you can get a new room you know. Everyone usually does sooner or later.”

“M-maybe if you weren’t so hard to get along with,” You grumbled under your breath, you froze when you realized your mistake. Sil had turned fully around to face you, practically looming over you. 

“. . . what was that?”

You jolt and stare at the floor, “I didn’t--” You start before swallowing hard, weighing your options before deciding to own up to your comment. “M-maybe if you didn’t make yourself so thoroughly unpleasant people wouldn’t--”

You are cut off by a hoarse scoff of laughter, “You were serious about that?” another sound of clenched laughter, “I don’t know if you are just naive or just stupid--”

Your expression turns angry as you turn your face to glare up at them. 

Sil shakes their head, “You’ve never heard those rumors about us huh?”

Your eyes darted around their blank face, searching for something to focus on that could give you a glimmer of understanding. “. . . What rumors? You mean your species? I’ve only ever met a handful of scientists.”

Sil’s posture changes, their shoulders sinking, the tension that had been in their back dissolving. “You really don’t know. . . that’s a first. . . People usually don’t trust Kestron’s because. . .” Sil grunted in frustration, “I guess if I don’t tell you, you’ll find out some time.” He gestured to the room, “Why do you think we’re the only ones in here?” 

Your eyebrows edge up and you shake your head.

“Because usually people think we can’t keep our hands to ourselves. Don’t ask me why, but ever since I got on this ship people think I’m--” they growl, “I don’t know, going to cart someone off if I get feeling frisky. They keep me separated, I was surprised they even let you in here.”

In a blink you were brought back to your first conversation, and the outburst that the two of you had. You nod slowly, in understanding. “You thought I knew that. . . because of before?”

Sil went silent for a moment before giving a long drawn out sigh. “I didn’t act the greatest. I was nervous and didn’t know how to respond when the door opened. I didn’t need any other questions raised about my record and I wasn’t sure what was going to happen.  So I tried to be nonchalant. . . great job I did huh? I ended up making you angry. It was pretty obvious that you haven’t had the best experience with people either.”

You gave a huff and rubbed the back of your neck. “No. . . not really. There aren’t many female mechanics floating about. . . and people can be. . .”

“Uncaring judgmental pigs. Yeah, I know.”

Sil’s voice was soft, lacking the clipped tone as it did before. Your nod, your lips form a tight line, you let your eyes close as you take a deep breath. Thinking hard before you try to speak again. “Thank you. . . for trying to understand where I was coming from before. I. . . ah. . . will try and do the same.”

“Thanks Sparky, I appreciate that.”

A small smile appears at the corners of your lips as your eyes crinkle slightly, the air still and silent between the two of you. Though it wasn’t the same tense feeling it had before, reaching an understanding between the two of you.

You feel air rush out of your lungs, as you join the other crew members for breakfast, you had been holding your breath and you hadn’t even noticed.

You had just gotten a container of food, looking for a seat when you spot Sil sitting alone, the dark face plate raised enough to fit a straw into the black space between the plating of their face. You look around, gazing at the other tables before you start to walk towards them. 

“Hey,”

Sil flinches, looking around before their head swivels back to you. “There are other free seats around you know.” They snark quietly.

You wrinkle your nose and huff before stubbornly sitting down. “I don’t like sitting too close to other people.”

“So you’re a space hog then,”

You squint at them, before jerking your head in a sassy nod. “I just might be.”

Sil huffs back at you, the tone of their voice sounding more amused than annoyed. “That makes two of us then.”

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Laisse tomber les filles 5

Warnings: non-consent sex and rape; size kink; age gap; manipulation; tags to be added as story progresses

This is a dark!fic and Lee Bodecker x (short) reader and explicit. 18+ only. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Synopsis: You find yourself ostracized on campus by your shyness, but your reticence won’t deter an unwanted suitor.

Note: That slow creep, tho

Thanks to everyone for reading and thanks in advance for all your feedback. :)

I really hope you enjoy. 💋

<3 As usual, I’d appreciate if you let me know what you think with a like or reblog or reply or an ask! Love ya!

You looked down at your body and fidgeted. The skirt was so short you pulled on a pair of stockings in an effort to hide your legs, and it was tight like the blouse. Both pieces seemed to be just a size too small. The boots were higher than any heels you’d worn before and you felt awkward in the get-up.

Noon. That was when he told you the night before as he kept stalling you from leaving. Every time you were ready to push open the car door, he had something else to say. You agreed to noon just to appease him so you could run and hide in your dorm.

You pulled on your long pea coat and stuffed your textbooks into your canvas bag with the leather straps. You hiked it up on your shoulder and slung your pocketbook from your other. You stepped out into the hallway and wobbled on the heels. You clung to the handle as you kept yourself upright.

“Wow, you look special,” Gina remarked as she peeked through the kitchen door.

“Um, thanks,” you pulled your coat closed and buttoned it, “it’s… new.”

“It’s cute,” she said as Lisa came to peek through the doorway as well.

“Where are you going?” the second girl asked.

“To study,” you said as you carefully made your way to the heavy door that led to the stairwell.

“Oh, study, huh?” she teased, “can’t be alone then.”

“I’m gonna be late,” you kept your chin down.

“Don’t let us hold you up,” Gina said as you opened the door and stepped out.

“I didn’t know she had anywhere to go,” Lisa’s trilled and her voice slipped into the hall just before the wood slid back into the frame.

You exhaled through your nose and braced the railing for your slow and treacherous descent. As you got to the bottom, you teetered and pressed yourself to the wall as two girls came through the door. You watched them flit up the stairs and scurried out into the spring air.

The weather was as bitter as before. It smelled like wet grass and mud. The sun beamed down warmly and made you sweat in your jacket. You gripped the strap of your bag and cleared the single step to even ground.

“Honey,” the voice drew your eyes up from your boots and you blinked. 

The sheriff stood by his cruiser as he watched you. He didn’t wear his uniform, instead a pair of grey slacks and pure white button-up under his usual leather. He smiled and came to the end of the walk as you hesitantly closed the gap. Your heel caught in a crack and you stumbled. He caught you and gave a soft laugh.

“You okay?” he asked as he held your elbow in one hand and his other went to the small of your back.

“I’m fine,” you righted yourself and parted from him, “just didn’t see the crack.”

“Here,” he tugged on your heavy knapsack, “let me take this.”

You let him, unsure what to say. He was early. Your watch assured you he was a whole twenty minutes ahead of schedule. Your own timing was purely habit as you hated to keep others waiting.

“Thank you,” you squeaked as he put the bag in the back seat.

“So, can I see it?” he asked as he shut the door.

“What?” your brows knitted in confusion.

“The clothes,” he said lightly, “that is what you’re hidin’ under there, right?” he pointed at a large round button on your pea coat, “it’s too warm to be wearin’ all that.”

“Can I wait… until we’re at your, um, place?” you clutched the round collar of your coat anxiously.

“Oh, for my eyes only, huh,” he teased with a wink.

“No, I just… can we go?”

“Course, honey,” he brushed by you and opened the front door, “get in.”

You sat and pulled your legs in, hooking them around the edge of the seat stiffly as you crossed one over the other. The door closed and you picked at the metal clasp of your pocket book and chewed your lip. Why were you doing all this? You were an adult, he said it himself, you could say no…

You glanced around, his sheriff’s hat sat on the dashboard and you shook your head. No, you couldn’t. He was a cop and your discomfort wasn’t a reason to be uncourteous. Your mother always told you to push yourself out of your safe zone. She hated how you always held yourself back because you were scared. It was difficult enough to get you out of the house and into a dorm.

Once he was in the car, there was no turning back. You coudn’t lie about feeling sick or claim a forgotten study group, you were on your way and suddenly you were filled with panic. What if he wasn’t taking you to his house? Did that star on his hat really mean he was a good person?

“Um,” the syllable slipped from you nervously.

“What is it, hon?” he asked as he gripped the grooved wheel.

“Um, I don’t…” you stuttered as you searched for words. You couldn’t let him know what you were really afraid of, “so, uh, I would’ve thought that… you have a wife?”

His brows flicked up as you peeked over at him. He pushed his bottom lip out and hummed. He clicked his tongue and sighed.

“Well, I did,” he admitted, “but I don’t like to talk about it too much. She, er, she’s married to my deputy now.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” you said quietly, “I didn’t…”

“It’s all over now,” he shrugged, “you know, I’ve moved on. We’re both happier for it.”

“That’s… good, then,” you murmured.

“Must be, I met you,” he smiled, “huh?”

“Well, I…” your hand shook and hid it up your sleeve, “I don’t know, I’m a bit young, aren’t I?”

“Young?” he said, “you don’t act it. You’re a lot more mature than lots of ladies I know. The way you carry yourself… you work hard I can tell. I don’t see your age, just a good woman.”

“Hmm,” you pursed your lips tightly.

“I mean it,” he insisted, “you got character beyond your age.”

“Thank you, but I… I don’t know,” you picked at the cuff of your coat.

“You brought your books?” he said, “must’ve. That bag sure is heavy. I got a place for ya all set up.”

“Oh?”

“I’ll be workin’ on supper, I hope you don’t mind the noise,” he drawled, “you know, I don’t cook often so I might be a bit… lost.”

“You don’t have to cook for me,” you offered, “really, it’s… too much.”

“I wanna, honey,” he said, “ain’t it special? A fellow cookin’ for his lady?”

“Uh, oh,” you frowned, “sure.”

“And you can turn the radio on if you like,” he continued, “it’s new.”

You nodded and listened meekly. Every argument you had for him was quickly shot down. He was so good at telling you how you were wrong or what to do while making it feel like good advice. Each demand, each want, was presented as common sense. It was impossible to argue with him because deep inside, you couldn’t argue with yourself. 

While your gut told you something was off, your head assured you of your paranoia. You didn’t know any better, did you? You didn’t know how these things worked, how men and women got along, so of course it would feel strange to you. But he knew and he was so confident about it, he must be right.

📚

Lee’s house was nice, just outside the city limits. It reminded you of the suburban homes you passed on your way to high school in your hometown. You only ever lived in an apartment with your parents and so found the place extravagant compared to boxy until attached hallways noisy with troublesome neighbours.

He led you onto the porch, the wood painted white, and opened both the screen door and thicker wood one ahead of you. You were forced to brush against him as you entered. He was quick to trail you, the screen snapping shut behind him. He hung his leather coat and tugged on the back of your collar as he plunked down your bookbag.

“Go on then,” he said, “let me see it, honey.”

You closed your eyes and steeled yourself. You forced a smile as you undid the first button and slowly turned to him. You unhooked each until the coat fell open and you let it fall down your arms. You quickly swept it up and he took it to hang beside his own.

He faced you and gripped your shoulders as he looked down at you. You shied away as his eyes roved down your body and you took a step back as you crossed your arms.

“They’re a bit tight,” you said.

“You look mighty fine,” he slithered, “look like they fit just nice.”

“Erm,” you rocked on the balls of your feet.

He smiled and knelt to untie his shoes. You unzipped the boots and stepped out of them, stretching your arches as before you brought them flat. You pushed them beside his shoes as his strong cologne tickled your nose.

“Just in here, honey,” he waved you through a doorway, “come on.”

He went back to grab your bag and pointed you in ahead of him as he returned to you. He went to the sofa and dropped the bag on the cushion. 

“You can get settled in,” he sidled away from the coffee table, “the radios there,” he gestured to the console table along the wall, “record player too.”

“Thanks, I should be fine,” you neared and sat on the edge of the couch.

“I’ll be through there, in the kitchen,” he peeked over at another door, “you need anything, just holler.”

“I will,” you twined your fingers through each other, “thank you.”

He smirked and shoved his hands in his pockets as he lingered on the other side of the table, “you do look nice in that,” he looked you up and down again, “you don’t even need the stockings with how warm it’s gettin’.”

“Thanks,” you mumbled and brought your fingers to tap your lip, “guess I should get started.”

You reached for the flap of your book bag and slid out a heavy textbook. You sensed him watching you before his feet slowly turned away and he strode from the room. You opened the book and flipped through the pages mindlessly. 

This house was far enough from the city, far enough that you were stranded, and much of the area was new to you. The realisation made you tremble as you counted the page numbers.