#you gotta admit this chant is pretty metal

[recurring-polynya]

Been looking at kidou incantations (for reasons), and I got really fascinated with this one, which Rukia starts to cast during the Grand Fisher fight.

In the manga, Ichigo cuts her off before she can finish casting it, so we don't actually know the name of the kidou or what it's supposed to do. In the anime, this chant shows up twice. The first time, it's in the same place, but Rukia finishes casting it: it's identified as Bakudou #9: Geki, and it paralyzes an enemy. However, I guess maybe they forgot they did this, because Momo casts it again during the Beast Swords Arc, where it is still Bakudou #9, but now it's identified as Hourin, which, despite translating to "Disintigrating Circle" seems functionally identical to everyone's old friend Hainawa.

That's not the point I am stuck on, though, which is, who, or what does "Rondanini" refer to??

I did a bunch of googling, and the two most likely sources I could find are:

The Palazzo Rondanini, a palace built in 1764 to house the art collection of Marquis Giuseppe Rondinini. Several famous works of art are named for this, most notably Michaelangelo's Pieta Rondanini and the Medusa Rondanini.

The Vigna Randanini, which are ancient Jewish catacombs located in Rome. These contain a lot of animal decorations, including dogs, but as far as I could find, there aren't any that are particularly notable that Kubo might have drawn inspiration from. I realize the spelling is off, but the kidou chant spells the word phonetically, so I think it's within the bounds of possibility.

We know that Kubo is into art history and architecture, given that he named all the Espada after architects, so it's certainly possible that he pulled the name out of one of these two places. Neither of them seem to have any particularly mystical or spooky associations, but I wouldn't put it past Kubo to just use the name because he thought it sounded cool.

Anyway, I am distinctly not well educated in art history or the classics, so if anyone has more insight into this, I would love to hear it!

[the-one-where-casey-watches-tv]

Jury Duty episode 1.03 "Foreperson"

This is the funniest thing I’ve seen on tv in a really long time. I’m so happy for Ronald- literally no one else in the world has had this experience and he was such a champ. I was pulled in by the premise- a guy reports for jury duty and essentially walks into The Truman Show. Ronald Gladden was appointed to a jury that was sequestered for 17 days, without access to his phone, and without knowing that the case is fabricated and everyone he interacts with the entire time is an actor. It actually sounds crazy to describe, and I initially started it with morbid curiosity because I didn’t see how this could possibly be an okay thing to do to someone.

But Jury Duty is somehow an incredibly wholesome, heartwarming, and hysterical piece of work. I can’t get over how much they lucked out with Ronald- he was so genuine and present and really did his best with all these bizarre situations. Just down for anything. This could definitely have gone another way with a different type of person, but the acting feat involved with the rest of the cast staying in character for days on end is also almost shocking.

Ronald’s laid back and willing attitude put my concerns for his wellbeing to bed pretty much immediately, but this episode is where I got fully invested. Ronald had just been appointed foreperson of the jury, which seems to just mean that he has to handle it when everyone else does weird stuff during the case.

To start with, Todd is wearing his chants (chair pants) to court today. No description can do them justice, you gotta see them, but they’re basically crutches with kneepads on top that attach around his waist so he can lean back into them and sit. He’s really proud of his invention, but he makes a scene everywhere they go because “the only part that is slightly inconvenient about these is interacting with other chairs while you’re wearing them”. When attempting to walk through the metal detector at the courthouse, the security guard just says “no”, and Todd then spends several minutes removing them inside the courtroom at the judge’s request. This all sounds too silly to believe, but I think David Brown’s performance is so realistic. And what would it take for you to start wondering if everyone and everything around you is fake?

Susan Berger, Ronald Gladden, Mekki Leeper, Ross Kimball, and Edy Modica in Jury Duty. Image courtesy of IMDb.

Todd is embarrassed after having to take off his chants in front of everybody, which makes Ronald feel bad- and admit that he may have given Todd the inspiration for chants when he showed him A Bug’s Life over the weekend. He thought that Todd might appreciate the nice tale “about the bug who’s making these inventions. He’s trying to introduce technology into their lives. That’s exactly what Todd is trying to do. You know, that’s what he’s passionate about. And I think it’s really cool. So I showed him that movie to kind of let him know that, you know, those people tend to be misunderstood in society, just like it’s portrayed in the movie. You know, he’s kind of an outcast. And all he’s trying to do is just help in his own way.”

This is both the funniest and sweetest thing I’ve ever heard. It’s such a funny, silly thing that it’s amazing it wasn’t scripted. Ronald just decided to show this guy A Bug’s Life over the weekend. And David Brown hung out with him and watched it, in character.

Barbara, meanwhile, can’t stay awake during the depositions. Ronald taps her several times to wake her up, but the judge finally adjourns for a coffee break, telling Ronald to keep his jury in line. He understandingly pleads with Barbara to stay awake, and she reassures him that she just ate a cookie that has “sativa and Dexedrine in it”. Ronald was asked to keep her awake, not monitor her drug use, so he just laughs and says “as long as you don’t fall asleep”.

Barbara doesn’t fall asleep. Suddenly, she is very invested in the case, gasping and reacting to every twist in the testimony. Afterwards, Ronald gushes about how proud he is of her, innocently saying she must have taken a new interest in the case.

This stand-up behavior from Ronald continues throughout the case, even as the situations get weirder and weirder. The concept of Jury Duty seems like it’s opening new doors in comedy, but I can’t imagine this ever being replicated. It was a really involved, risky experiment that managed to turn out perfectly. Please watch it and tell me your favorite part.

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Since security breach is able to be written for may I kindly request

Headcanons for a reader tryna help comfort Roxanne, Monty, Glamrock Chica, and Sundrop cuz like... They need emotional support and I wanna give them that lmao

- Salt Anon

Oh for sure. This got long so beware of spoilers!

............

Roxanne

The wolf was usually so confident in herself. Never letting anything get her down.

But during a boy's birthday party (which you supervised), she was heartbroken when he demanded Foxy the Pirate, not some "weird girly dog".

You tried fixing the situation, but this spoiled brat said he'll only like Roxanne after she "loses an eye and an arm" first. Even the parents made some rude remarks about her and asked about the "original gang".

In anger you kicked them all out of the mall before going to look for Roxanne. She was back in her room, crying with oily mascara running down her face.

You reassure her that family is permanently banned, but she admits that it wasn't their insults that hurt her. But the reminder that she's a replacement of Foxy--a haunting fact she's known ever since her activation.

You had no clue she knew that all this time. But now it makes sense. She's been torturing herself trying to be that popular lovable old fox and live up to all these expectations she put on herself...and it's just not working in her favor.

Even if nobody outright says it, she's certain they all want Foxy, and to know she'll never be like him crushed her spirits.

She just sobs into her hands after finally spilling everything to you. "I-I can't be him, Officer [Y/n]. I want to be him, but...I can't!!"

"You don't have to be him, Roxanne. Nobody's forcing you to."

"Wh..What? But..th-that brat wanted-"

"Sooner or later he'll learn that he can't get everything he wants. You can't make every single child, or adult, happy."

"W-Well..obviously but.." She sits in her chair and stares at the mirror, watching you brush out her hair. "How do I stop feeling this way?"

"Just be yourself. Focus on those who love you. The kids who chant your name. The teens who buy your merch. They're the real fans. They don't want some rusty scary pirate, but a beautiful wolf who rocks the keytar."

Freddy did warn you about feeding into her ego, but this is what she needed to hear. And she stuck to your advice ever since.

Monty

The gator didn't know why he was so full of....anger all the time. Hell, a tiny scratch mark on his favorite glasses seemed to be a good reason to punch a nearby Mapbot.

So he didn't quite understand the need for those "No Monty" signs on the metal gates. Though he suddenly felt like defying every last one, especially in his pursuit of Gregory.

How dare they treat him, a rockstar, like he was an animal?!

But the one time he accidentally scratched you while you tried explaining why they were up...that was his wakeup call.

He carries you all the way to first aid and sets you down, looking over the injury.

Now that he's angry with himself for getting so angry and hurting you..you gotta stop him from repeating that same mistake.

Something was definitely off about his systems, especially with recent concerns of his aggressiveness towards guests and STAFF alike.

"Monty, what helps calm you down in your free time?" You ask while patching yourself up.

"What calms me down....?!!!!! Erm, probably..tuning my guitar?" He answers as he scratches his scales. "And reading about golf."

"Then how about we go do that in your room?"

"..it's a total wreck, though."

"I've already sent STAFF cleaning bots to take care of it."

"Ah jeez. You're pretty cool, Officer [Y/n]..thank you."

Your patience and understanding despite all that happened helps him calm down even in that moment.

Glamrock Chica

All of the trash she was eating made her feel absolutely sick.

But she couldn't stop herself, even though none of it satiated her.

It distracted her from socializing with her bandmates, and even you, one of her biggest fans (although you're human STAFF you enjoy her shows a lot).

She didn't want you to see her like this. But you inevitably did and all she could feel was shame and anger as she hurled the trash can towards a poor Wet Floor Bot before fleeing.

You made a Security Bot call her back to you by force and she braces for another scolding, like Vanessa always did, calling her actions "disgusting" and "unsanitary".

Instead you just take her to the virtual pizza-making system and have a Pizzabot craft a proper meal for you both to share.

She ends up devouring it all, but you don't mind. After that she feels guilty for lashing out, and you suggest having a look at her systems to figure out why she had this strange hunger.

"If I had to guess, it could be stress."

"Wait..I've been eating nonstop because I'm stressed?" This new info seemed to be eye-opening for her. "Is that actually a thing??"

"Yeah, but we humans typically don't go around eating garbage when we're stressed. It's not good for us nor you."

"But it doesn't make me sick."

"Maybe not physically, but I know up here it does." You tapped the side of your head, and at that point Chica finally admits she has a problem. But she's willing to work it out with you.

Sun

All you wanted to do was test the functionality of the generators in the event of a blackout.

But Sun wouldn't let you near that light switch, having a full blown panic attack (on top of him tripping over the stacked cans and needing to immediately clean them up).

He's acting like the same toddlers he's taken care of, screaming and flailing about while he tries tossing a handful of googly eyes at you as a diversion.

Thank god all the kids went home. Or else they'd either be joining in the chaos or absolutely terrified (again).

"KEEP THE LIGHTS ON!!! ON!!! ON!!!! I BEG YOU!!" His voice sounds shaky, as if he's crying, and you couldn't understand why he was suddenly acting this way.

"Sunny..it's only for a few minutes. Are you scared of turning into Moon?"

His head shakes frantically as he rambles on and on. "He's no good [y/n]!! I dread the night cycle now! Every time I become him..I feel like I....I...." He abruptly sits on the colorful mat, and you join him, hoping to calm him down.

When you encourage him to continue talking, he finishes by saying that, as Moon, he feels like hurting the children who aren't resting. As if they deserve some cruel punishment for it.

He doesn't want to be around you when the lights are off, fearing he'll hurt you, too.

Since Mega Pizzaplex was closed, you were able to take Sun out of there and to your lit office, where he stayed while you tested the generators.

Upon returning you found him curled up in your chair, hugging a plushie of himself and smiling, finally calm again.

Maybe you can troubleshoot Moon's AI somehow, though it'll take a bit of convincing on Sun's part since he's wary of being repaired.

[tbmunson]

Eddie Munson is a Hero.

I do in fact hate myself for this.

S4V2 SPOILERS!!!

Eddie Munson x Henderson!Reader.

This piece contains spoilers from Season 4 Vol 2. It also made me cry a lot. This is a very very emotional piece about what happens to Eddie.

WC: 1800

Warning: Swearing, death.

Masterlist

You, Eddie, and Dustin started work on securing the Upside Down version of his trailer. The work was quiet and focused. You felt sick to your stomach, begging, praying for everything to be okay for yourself, your brother, and the boy you'd fallen in love with over the last week.

You hadn't told Eddie how you felt. You felt it was inappropriate, considering everything happening at the moment. The three of you stood on the roof, glancing around when the crackle of radio static disrupted you.

"She's in. Move onto phase three." Robin's words only made you more nervous.

"Copy that. Initiating phase three." Dustin nodded at you. "Let's hope they hear this." He said as you connected the power cords.

The amp whirred as Eddie prepared for his moment. Dustin turned the volume all the way up.

"Chrissy. This one's for you." Eddie said, grabbing the guitar pick off of his necklace.

He didn't see the look of hurt that spread over your face.

You wanted to badly to stop him right there and tell him you wanted him, that you were in love with him, but you couldn't. Not now.

His fingers began to move wildly against the strings of his guitar as the familiar tune of Metallica's Master of Puppets rang through the stale air.

Dustin nudged you, bringing you out of your moment of self pity.

You smiled at him, feeling your heartbeat pick up with adrenaline. You threw an arm around Dustin, bumping your head to the music. You watched Eddie, but kept a constant look at the sky.

You pointed at the flock of demobats heading your way.

"Eddie!" Dustin yelled, catching the metalhead's attention. "We gotta lock down in T-minus 30 seconds!"

Eddie gave him a quick nod, letting him know he heard him.

"T-minus twenty!" You yelled out as the cloud grew bigger, closer to you.

"T-minus ten!" Dustin's voice was getting more strained as they got closer to us.

"Five!" You counted, grabbing onto your brothers shoulder.

"One!" He finished, looking at Eddie.

Eddie slammed the strings one last time letting it reverberate around you.

The three of you jumped from the roof onto the truck, making a mad dash to the porch which you had covered in fencing.

"Move, move, move!" Eddie yelled, ushering you and Dustin in front of him.

"Eddie, come on!" Dustin urged as you added a quick "Hurry!"

"Eddie, shut it" Dustin screamed.

With exactly no time to spare Eddie slammed the gate closed. The bats immediately began slamming into the metal separating them from us.

"Come on!" I begged, opening the door and rushing inside, the boys behind me.

"Dude..." Dustin breathed, resting against the wall. "Most metal ever!"

"Oh my.. Oh my god."

The boys jumped up and down with the adrenaline rush they both no doubt had, screaming as they jumped.

You couldn't help the smile that crept its way onto your lips as you watched them. "That was pretty fucking cool." You admitted as the boys brought you into the circle. "Now, come on." You added, pulling them into the living room.

The sounds of the bats screaming and slamming into the walls echoed through the silence, making you uneasy. The three of you stoon back to back, spear in one hand and shield in the other. The only thing scarier than that was the moment they stopped.

"Hey dipshits!" Dustin yelling, hoping to antagonize them. "Give up that easy, huh?" He added.

"Shh." Eddie shushed, looking around and meeting my terrified eyes. "Is that really necessary?"

You sighed, looking at Dustin, wondering the same thing. "They're on the roof." You stated, looking up to where the noise was coming from.

"Shit. Shit. Shit." Dustin chanted, looking upwards.

You all made your way slowly to the origin on the sound

"They can't get in through there, can they?" Dustin asked, motioning towards a vent.

Just as the words left his mouth the vent clattered to the floor, revealing an ugly bat head.

You couldn't help the scream that left your lips as you jumped.

Eddie reached out to steady you before the three of you jumped into action, spearing at the bat. Dustin repeatedly screamed "Die!" as he stabbed at the bat's head.

Eddie stepped back and looked around, leaving you and Dustin to keep the creatures out of the house.

"Eddie! We need you!" You screamed, begging for his help.

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way!" Eddie yelled, running towards the two of you. He slammed a chair down, quickly standing on it to shove the shield to cover the hole.

There was a brief moment of silence, only the sound of your breathing and Eddie mumbling "Holy shit."

"Nice." Dustin said, earning a "Thanks" from Eddie.

"Are there any other vents?" You asked, bringing yourself back to the reality you were facing.

"Oh shit. Shit. Shit." Eddie jumped down from the chair and sprinted towards his room in just enough time to see the bats burst in from the vent and slam the door as he closed it.

The three of you retreated as you watched the bats begin to easily break down the door.

"That's not gonna hold!" Dustin yelled, triggering Eddie to yell back "Let's go! Let's go!"

Dustin was first up the rope and back into reality. "Come on!"

"Ladies first." Eddie demanded, letting you grab the rope and hoist yourself through the gate.

"Eddie! Come on!" Dustin yelled as you slammed into Eddie's mattress.

He tossed down the shield and spear to grab the rope. He reached upwards only a couple times before turning his head to look at the door.

"Eddie, come on!" Dustin yelled.

"Please, Eddie! Come on!" You begged, grabbing onto Dustin.

"Eddie, you're so close! Eddie! Let's go!" Dustin's screams cut you deep, watching him beg his friend to hurry.

Eddie looked down, making you sick to your stomach, even more so as he dropped back down the floor.

"Eddie no please. Eddie. Come on." You found yourself begging, clutching the rope in your hands, Eddie's just on the other side.

Eddie released the rope and dipped out of sight.

"Eddie!" You and Dustin both screamed.

"What are you doing? Eddie, no!" Dustin begged as Eddie let out a yell and cut the rope, his half falling to the ground and the other falling into your hands.

"Eddie!" Tears pricked your eyes as you watched him move the mattress out of the way.

"Eddie stop." Dustin begged, watching what was happening before him. "Eddie, what are you doing?" Dustin demanded, finally getting Eddie's attention.

"I'm buying more time." He answered simply before running off.

"No!" You screamed, falling to your knees, still clutching the rope in your hands.

Dustin was still begging but you couldn't hear what he was saying as your blood rushed through your body, the thump of your heart drowning everything else out.

After a moment you stood. "We have to go get him." You said, looking around, searching for something to get you back into the Upside Down.

Dustin pushed the mattress out of the way as you moved a chair to directly under the gate.

"Screw it." Dustin then screamed as he ran, using the chair to propel himself. He grabbed ahold of the gate and pulled himself through, landing with a thud being matched with a scream of pain.

"Dustin!" You yelled, as he rolled out of the way. You followed behind, landing on your knee and releasing a similar pained scream. "Come on, we gotta go." You urgerd, helping him to his feet.

It was obvious where Eddie was as soon as we stepped out of the door. The bats were swarming him.

"Eddie!" Dustin screamed as we limped, hurring as quickly as our damaged bodies would take us.

His screams echoed over the creatures as they did god knows what to him.

"Eddie! Goddamnit!" You screamed, picking up the pace even though it hurt. You had to get to him.

The bats suddenly dropped, showing us Eddie's body laying scrawled out on the ground. "Eddie! Oh god!" You screamed, getting closer to him.

Dustin dropped to his knees near Eddie's head, you right behind him as his side. "Eddie. Oh god, Eddie."

You took in the deep cuts and the blood in his mouth. You looked into his glassy eyes as he asked. "That bad, huh?"

"No." You whispered, resting a hand on the side of his face.

"You're gonna be fine. We just gotta get you to a hospital, okay?" Dustin spewed, giving his friend a false hope.

"Okay." Eddie agreed as Dustin tried to get him up

"I think... I think I just need a second, okay?" Eddie said, unable to move himself.

Eddie looked back at you. "I didn't run away this time, right?"

You broke, the tears that welled fell down your dirty face as your caressed his. "No. No." You choked out.

"You didn't run." Dustin added, resting his hand on your shoulder as you comforted his friend.

Eddie's eyes moved from your to Dustin. "You're gonna have to look after those little sheep for me, okay?"

"No, you're gonna do that yourself." Dustin argued as you worked to clean the blood from Eddie's face.

"Nah, man." Eddie shook his head a bit. "Say, 'I'm gonna look after them.' Say it."

"I'm" Dustin started but he choked. "I'm gonna look after 'em."

"Good. 'Cause I'm actually gonna graduate." Eddie offered a weak chuckle.

Even knowing he wasn't going to make it, he managed to bring a small smile to your face.

"I think it's my year, guys. I think it's finally my year."

You couldn't stop yourself. It was now or never. "I love you, Eddie Munson." You bent down, pressing a shaking kiss to his lips.

"I love you too, Y/N. And I love you, man." His voice grew weaker and you looked at Dustin, who had tears falling freely from his eyes as well.

"I love you too." He mumbled out, unable to being his voice any louder.

A few tears slipped out of Eddie's eyes before he went still in your arms, the raspy gurgle from his blood silenced.

"Eddie? Eddie?" Dustin asked pitifully. "Eddie, come on." He begged shaking him gently.

You gripped his jacket and screamed. You knew it came from deep deep down inside of you. It was guttural, animalistic as you pulled yourself to meet his chest. Just as quickly as he came into your life, he was gone. You turned to your brother, wrapping your arm around him as he did the same to you.

You held each other for god knows how long until you gathered the strength to move. You removed Eddie's class ring from his ring finger and slipped it onto your middle one. "You're getting across that stage, Eddie. I swear to you." You whispered, resting your hand on the side of his face for another moment before closing his eyes. You pressed another kiss to his forehead before removing yourself from his limp body.

Dustin chose his necklace, kissing the pick before tucking it into his pocket.

"Come on, Dustin." You stood, ignoring the stabbing pain in your knee as you and your brother made your way back to the trailer, tears still falling and cleaning trails down your dirt covered faces.

I will apologize for any mistakes as I could not write or read it without crying.

[plush-rabbit]

Dirty Talking - Mammon

A/N: I simp for one demon and it’s ya boi Mammon (i also simp for the rest, poly demons, all of ‘em) I also did headcanons cause I felt like it fit better but if you want a fic, just drop an ask;P

Mammon is a nervous wreck at first, struggling to find the right words to say to you first but the second the words leave his mouth, he’s rambling. He’s nonstop, brushing his lips against the shell of your ear, burying your face into the mattress and cooing about how good you feel around him. If he’s allowed to choke you, he’s commenting about how tight you’re clenching around him.

“Ya know, I should choke ya more often. You’re clamping around my dick and fuck, you’ve never felt tighter. This is what ya like, isn’t it? You’re practically milking me.”

Dirty talk from him ranges from many things but it all revolves around possession. He’s talking about how you’re his, how he’s going to mark you to show others you belong to your first. He’s a greedy demon and he’s going to want to keep you around. If he could, he’d make his pact mark visible, plastered on your neck, hands, anything that you can’t be able to hide easily. 

You both are in an empty classroom, he’s humping against your sex, his member hard through his pants and hands pawing under your shirt. “Fuck all those demons who were around you.” He nips at your neck and his mouth has a slight taste of metal. “They don’t even know their own place, eh?” You whimper under him, eyes brimming with tears when you tell him people might come in. “Like I give a fuck- it would put them in their place. They’d finally learn to stay the fuck away from you.” When you leave the class, you’re desperately wishing you had brought a scarf to his all the red and teeth marks that decorate your neck.

Mammon is going to be into breeding. The thought of releasing his seed inside of you is enough to throw him over the edge, but if he gets to do it, gets to fill you to brim until his load is spilling out of you and he gets to see your belly swell, then his greediness really rears its head.

He’s pumping into you, his cock stretching your inner walls and your nipples between his fingers- his fingers are fast and circle around you. The stimulation is all too much and you can feel the heat in your lower burn and mark your skin.”Fuck,” he curses, “I’m gonna fill you up with cum,” he buries himself all the way, “you’re gonna take my seed and you’re gonna have my fucking kid- cause I’m your demon and fuck- you’re my human. I’m gonna love seeing you fill with my cum and my kid.” He places feverish kisses across your face, teeth that press across your soft flesh and with a snap, he releases inside of you, chanting your name and resting his hand against your belly. You can feel his smile when he kisses your neck and tells you that he can still go another round. “Everyone’s gonna fuckin’ know that you milked my cock good.”

His dirty talk rarely involves degradation. He isn’t a fan of putting you down. He’ll talk about how you feel, how beautiful you are, how you belong to him and what not, but rarely will he degrade unless you ask for it. 

“You fuckin’ slut,” his voice is hoarse and he’s behind you, his hand oon the back of your head and gripping your hair. He gives you a slap sharp on your bum and you squeal into the mattress. “Squealin’ and shit, actin’ like it hurts but I can feel your grip tighten.” His movements are fast, and he hooks your body up, sliding a hand to grip your chest. “You’re a filthy whore for liking this- getting off on me- shit I wonder what else you’re into?” His moan breaks his sentence and his nails dig into your skin. “Maybe I should do this in front of others, eh? Let them see what a whore you really are.” When you moan at the thought, he gives you another spank but you can feel his cock twitch inside at the thought.

He’s going to want you to hump him- ride his thighs, his crotch while your sex is barely covered. He wants to see how desperate you are while you’re riding him, begging for release. 

“Like a bitch in heat,” he says in a low voice, watching your face scrunch as you try to reach your high. “That’s right baby, keep fucking yourself on my thighs. Let me see those pretty eyes sweetheart.” His hand is hot on your sides as he keeps a controlled grip on you. “If you’re lucky, I’ll let you suck my cock when you cum. So be a good cumslut and beg will ya?”

When you ride Mammon, he’s gonna be spitting how good you feel while he has a smug look on his face. You’re doing all the work, riding him, moving your sex on him, your hole clenching and pulsing as he moves inside of you. 

“Look at you bounce,” his eyes are on your face, tongue out and brows furrowed as you ride him. “Moving yourself on my cock, finally getting all of me in you. Remember when you cried when I was halfway in but still begged me to go? Muttering that cock was too big but now with your pretty hole all stretched, I can go all the way in. And you’re even the one moving. Damn baby, gotta admit, I’m impressed.” He lets out a shaky breath and his eyes flutter to a close. “Oh fuck, that hits the spot, you’re so squishy inside, so fucking hot and wet, other demons don’t even come close to this feeling.” He’s impatient, grabbing your hips and guiding you on his length, hissing with each thrust, every time your hole moves and lewd noises fill the room. “Next time, we’re recording this because fuckin’ hell baby, you look so hot like this.”

[bookishbarnowl]

“I’m a person!”

The intimidation technique didn’t seem to phase the cocky teen. He smirked. “Techno, you gotta show me what’s wrong,” he goaded.

Break his leg, the AI suggested, but he blocked that out. He refused to play charades with the pint-sized terror.

In a post-apocalyptic world where the remaining survivors live in secure underground bases, Techno is a metal heart among dozens of warm, beating ones. That doesn't stop him from embracing his humanity, but it also means he has a few weaknesses others don't.

Warnings: Mild dehumanization (resolved)

Relationships: Technoblade & Tommy, Techno & Tommy & Wilbur

Word Count: 1,849

Ao3 Link: Here

Here’s a Wingdings translator if anyone wants to follow what Techno’s saying, but don’t feel like you need to, it’s not really plot relevant. Almost all of it is him threatening Tommy. :)

https://lingojam.com/WingdingsTranslator

Technoblade stormed down the hallway, mechanical limbs pounding against the floor of the bunker with resounding clangs as he stopped bothering to lighten his footsteps. Stealth was not a priority right now. He cranked up the volume on his voicebox, uncaring that no one could currently understand him. He was sick and tired of his Tommy’s ridiculous pranks, and changing his language settings while he was recharging was the last straw.

“❄︎□︎❍︎❍︎⍓︎!” he roared in his default android language, slamming doors open and shut as he searched. Other personnel quickly caught on to his current temper and promptly got out of his way, retreating to the parts of the base he’d already searched.

Yeah, faster, the broken AI jeered in the back of his head, spurring him on. He growled and tried to ignore it, but picked up the pace anyway. He was done.

He finally found Tommy and Wilbur in the latter’s bedroom, playing a video game together and bickering happily. He flung open the door with a bang and grabbed the remote, turning the TV off as they both yelled indignantly.

“✡︎□︎◆︎🕯︎♎︎ ♌︎♏︎⧫︎⧫︎♏︎❒︎ ♐︎♓︎⌧︎ ⧫︎♒︎♓︎⬧︎ ❒︎♓︎♑︎♒︎⧫︎ ■︎□︎⬥︎,” he snapped at Tommy, positively radiating anger.

The intimidation technique didn’t seem to phase the cocky teen. He smirked. “Aww, Techno, I can’t understand you. What exactly is the matter?”

“👍︎◆︎⧫︎ ⧫︎♒︎♏︎ ♍︎❒︎♋︎◻︎📪︎ ♓︎⧫︎🕯︎⬧︎ ■︎□︎⧫︎ ♐︎◆︎■︎■︎⍓︎📬︎ ✋︎🕯︎❍︎ ♎︎□︎■︎♏︎.” he replied, his face darkening. He wasn’t going to negotiate.

“Techno, you gotta show me what’s wrong,” Tommy goaded.

Break his leg, the AI suggested, but he blocked it out.

“✋︎ ❒︎♏︎♐︎◆︎⬧︎♏︎📬︎ 🕈︎♏︎ ♌︎□︎⧫︎♒︎ 🙵■︎□︎⬥︎ ⬥︎♒︎♋︎⧫︎🕯︎⬧︎ ⬥︎❒︎□︎■︎♑︎ ♋︎■︎♎︎ ⍓︎□︎◆︎ ♋︎❒︎♏︎ ♑︎□︎♓︎■︎♑︎ ⧫︎□︎ ⬧︎⬥︎♓︎⧫︎♍︎♒︎ ♓︎⧫︎ ♌︎♋︎♍︎🙵 □︎❒︎ ⬧︎□︎ ♒︎♏︎●︎◻︎ ❍︎♏︎-” he broke off, gritting his teeth and distractedly registering the AI trying to convince him to commit a war crime. He crossed his arms, resentment and fury pooling in his stomach. He was not playing charades with the pint-sized terror.

Wilbur was looking back and forth between the two of them, observant enough to piece together the situation. He was also partially fluent in the android tongue, enough to probably pick up one or two keywords in Techno’s rapid-fire speech.

“⬧︎ ◻︎ ♏︎ ♏︎ ♍︎ ♒︎ ⬧︎ ⧫︎ ◆︎ ♍︎ 🙵,” Techno enunciated clearly in his direction, slow enough that he could pick it up, then switched back into his regular talking speed. “❄︎□︎❍︎❍︎⍓︎ ✋︎ ♋︎❍︎ ♎︎♏︎♋︎♎︎ ⬧︎♏︎❒︎♓︎□︎◆︎⬧︎📬︎ ❄︎♒︎♓︎⬧︎ ♓︎⬧︎ ■︎□︎⧫︎ ♐︎◆︎■︎■︎⍓︎.”

“Voice… trapped? Stuck?” Wilbur translated. “And something about death? I heard the word Tommy…” He rounded on his brother. “What did you do to him?”

Tommy was trying hard not to laugh, which only made Techno feel worse. “It was just a prank,” he defended. “Isn’t it hilarious? Go on, try and say something else,” he prodded.

Techno didn’t move, mouth stubbornly shut. Some of his anger was eating away into humiliation, which he was sure was the worst emotion in existence. He quashed the feeling and tried to get back to being infuriated.

Oooh, someone’s embarrassed, the AI mocked. Scared, even? Ah, and there’s the helplessness.

Sometimes the voice cut deeper than it had any right to. Techno growled again, the sound rumbling menacingly through his entire body as he determinedly refused to dwell on those statements. He fixed Tommy with a glare that would have most people in the base quivering in fear, but he had the audacity to grin back at him.

“Techno, you’ve gotta ask me for help if you want it fixed,” he taunted, standing up with a hand on his hip as Wilbur looked torn. “The great Blade’s gotta admit he needs help.”

That was the tipping point for Techno.

“G̵͙͊ẽ̷̮t̵̜̽ ̶̬̆r̵͉͐i̸ḑ̴͂ ̶̧̂ō̷̜f̷ ̵̼͘t̷̑h̶̽is ̵͎̾n̸̠͑o̷̦͘w̸̠̃,” he snarled, brute forcing his way through the sloppily installed language blockers in sheer rage. His eyes flashed red and the claws stored in his finger joints slid out against his will, the voice in his head cackling as oily tears started leaking from his eye sockets.

Wilbur’s eyes widened and he jumped up, grabbing a screwdriver off of the desk and cautiously approaching the crying android. Tommy looked taken aback, his expression dissolving into something more sheepish.

“⚐︎ ■︎ ❍︎ ⍓︎ ♌︎ ♋︎ ♍︎ 🙵,” Techno instructed Wilbur carefully, directing him to the detachable panel on his lower back. He closed his eyes and tried to get a grip on his emotions, retracting his claws and silencing his snickering commentator.

“I didn’t mean anything by it,” Tommy sputtered, backpedaling.

“Then get over here and fix it,” Wilbur told him severely. The teen hung his head and came over to help Wilbur get the panel off, revealing the computer screen embedded into the metal there that Tommy had used to hack into Techno.

Techno shivered as he felt the two of them start going through the code looking for Tommy’s software, exceptionally conscious that they literally had his entire being at their fingertips. A few malicious clicks, and he could be altered in any number of ways.

Phil had tried to help him update the security on his data so things like that wouldn’t be possible, but his system seemed to vehemently reject any permanent alterations to his code and always did a system reboot afterwards to purge the new protections. He suspected the busted AI he shared a headspace with was behind it. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to care about short-term add-ons like the one Tommy had undoubtedly used.

He trusted both of them. He did, and no amount of pranks would change that. If he didn’t they wouldn’t be behind him right now, painstakingly removing the last traces of the language blocker. But sometimes they went too far. He felt used and taken advantage of. And that was not okay with him.

As soon as they got his back panel reattached, he left, ignoring their worried questions about if he was okay or not. He needed some time alone, and there was only one place no one would want to follow him.

He made his way to the airlock and grabbed a pack, slinging it over his shoulders and grabbing a blaster off the rack on the wall. Pulling a shield down over his face, he punched his code into the computer by the exit and signed himself out, then allowed the airlock to seal behind him.

The huge door slid open with a hiss in front of him, letting him out into the wasteland. The face shield protected him from the dust particles the inexhaustible wind dragged across every surface, and his metal body meant he didn’t have to deal with an oxygen tank or protective suit like the rest of the residents in the base. He scanned the area around the base with a keen eye, clipped his blaster to his hip, and set off into the desert.

He didn’t go far, barely beyond the next hill, but it was enough to make him feel like he was the only one in the world, which was what he wanted.

Lonely, lonely, lonely, the AI chanted in his head, and he pushed it away. Solitude helped him think.

But his peace didn’t last very long. The sound of clumsy footsteps stumbling through the dirt reached his ears, and he bowed his head and internally groaned. Someone had come after him, and it sure didn’t sound like Phil. A few more seconds of waiting would tell him which of the two less tolerable options he’d gotten. He considered running farther away, certain he could outdistance whichever it was, but if it was Tommy he’d just doggedly follow. And Wilbur would feel hurt. So he stayed put.

Leave him behind, the voice commanded. Shut up, he told it.

Sure enough, a moment later Tommy all but tripped over the crest of the hill and joined him at the bottom with a little help from gravity, breathing hard through the oxygen mask and making a vain attempt to brush the sheen of sweat off a brow covered by his helmet.

“These suits are so awkward to walk in,” he started, voice coming through the speakers in the aforementioned suit with a slightly tinny distortion. It was obviously an attempt to break the ice, though a pretty terrible one since Techno had no need for the bulky garments. He took the bait anyway, might as well get this over with.

“You were still pigheaded enough to come after me in one,” he replied.

“Well, uh, Wilbur put me up to it, y’know, and Big Man TommyInnit’s never one to back down from a challenge, eh?”

“Did you at least sign out a firearm before you left?”

“Nah. Who’s gonna mess with these guns?” he cracked, flexing non-existent arm muscles. Not that you could tell through the suit. The thick fabric made even someone like Phil, one of their best scouts, look like they’d rolled in marshmallows. The corner of Techno’s lip twitched in spite of himself.

Heh, Lonely Man thinks the Stupid Child is funny- He shoved it back again. Get some more creative insults, he thought.

“If you get jumped by a monster I will laugh at your corpse,” he warned.

“You wouldn’t, you love me too much,” Tommy sniggered, punching his shoulder.

“You’re right, I do,” he responded, unexpectedly serious.

The change in mood was not lost on Tommy, and his laugh quieted. “I love you too, man,” he returned. “I’m, um, really sorry about earlier. That was too far.”

“It was,” Techno agreed noncommittally.

“I shouldn’t mess with your code.”

“You shouldn’t.”

“I’m not going to stop playing pranks on you.”

He sighed. “I knew my expectations were too high.”

“But I won’t hack you again.”

“Thank you,” he said, accepting the apology. “Messin' with living code is a serious invasion of privacy.”

“Yeah,” Tommy whispered, guilt heavy on his tone. “But I wouldn’t hurt you, you know that right?”

“Of course I do,” he reassured him. He was rarely the one to initiate physical contact, but this time he made an exception, leaning over for a one-armed hug. Tommy leaned into him, but his personality wouldn’t let the silence continue for long.

“So whaddya say we go back and make Wilbur wish he’d never sent me out to reunite the dream duo?” he blurted, grin wide and looking like it had never left.

Techno didn’t bother hiding the upward quirk of his lip this time. “Let’s go beat up a nerd.”

[nephilimsarchive]

Chaos is a ladder | Joker x reader smut | NSFW

Summary: The riots have never been more crazy, yet the only thing the Joker can focus on is a beautiful stranger. He gets what he wants, when and where he wants. Even if it’s in the middle of a street. 

Note: I’m back for good, sorry to keep you waiting. Hope you enjoy. x

Warnings: unprotected sex, (very) public sex, voyeurism

Word Count: precisely 3700

Writing for the Gotham Times. It was what you always wanted to do for a living, being the aspiring journalist you were. But once you got the job you questioned it all.

Your superiors either treated you like you didn’t even exist, or like trash, they criticized every word you committed to paper. Over time, you got used to spending more time preparing coffee than articles. That was until that day those three men in suits were killed by whatever guy dressed as a clown. It was one hell of a story, and as soon as you heard from it you started gathering information. You drove to the local police and you started writing. Hours were spent sleepless, typing word after word until sunrise. In the morning you stormed into your boss’ office, plopping your work onto his desk.

With his eyebrows raised he glanced at you skeptically, but started reading. Studying his expression as he read, he seemed.. almost impressed. Like he was seeing you for more than the pretty young thing that brought him coffee each morning for the first time.

From then on, you were assigned to keep up with the clown vigilante and his followers. Your articles were finally published, and you even got promoted. In a way, you acquired a sense of gratitude for those revolutionists and their unknown leader. On the one hand you felt like you understood them, you began to like the idea of wanting to change the society you lived in. But maybe, just maybe you were slowly making your way up to the top yourself. And that, on the other hand, was thanks to them. You pondered all of this as you sat on your sofa, clutching a mug of hot chocolate. The telly was on in the background, notes sprawled out in front of you when something caught your eye.

The Murray show was on, and in strut a guy clad in an outrageous outfit: His hair was colored green and slicked back, his makeup was like those clowns that you saw everywhere. He flicked his cigarette away and danced in wearing a red suit, blue button up and a bright yellow vest. He seemed confident beyond belief, and you just knew that this guy was exactly what your article needed.

You watched his every move and took notes, listened to his every word intently until the conversation turned much more threatening than witty. You remembered his face then, his video had been on the show before. He was the same guy who was made fun of for his comedy show at Pogo’s, that Club right around the corner. But that man sitting there, the joker, seemed so very different than the one from the video. He just admitted to murdering people. He seemed colder now, calculating, dissociative. The joker said it himself then. He had lost it all, nothing can harm him anymore. And you felt for him. People screamed and ran out of the studio after he shot Murray, and as much as you should’ve been creeped out yourself, you were more intrigued than anything. His first shot landed on the hosts forehead, then another three into Murrays chest. The joker held everyones attention as he made sloppy steps towards the camera. His hands clasped around it and you almost felt as if he was looking right into your eyes as he mocked the jingle of the show.

The program shut off then, bringing you out of your trance. That was him. The infamous clown vigilante was a guy like anyone else, pushed into madness by the community surrounding him.

You gasped as the sound of glass shattering made your head whip to the side, almost straining your neck in the process. Something broke through your window, glass shards were scattered over your floor. It took you a second to realize that orange fume was steadily rising in your apartment. Only then you perceived all the turmoil outside, you heard crashing sounds followed by screams, tires were screeching, sirens distantly rung through the air.

You grabbed your jacket and stormed outside. Your mouth dropped open as you perceived the mess. Gotham stood in flames, shattered glass from broken windows lay all over the busy streets. People in masks were everywhere, breaking into cars and shops. They were stealing, screaming on top of their lungs, anything to protest against the oppressive system they lived in.

At first you had thought these people were insane, dreaming of a revolution they couldn’t achieve. They’re no better, you had believed, using physical violence against suppression. But much to your surprise, within the past days and weeks of studying their motives, you had understood them more and more.

For a while you just stood there, letting your gaze wander as you tried to take in all the things that were happening at once. A police car turned into your street then, the sirens painting the walls of your house red and blue. When you noticed who was inside, time seemed to stand still. The joker was leaning his forehead onto the window of the backseat, an expression of pure joy graced his features. He must enjoy being the cause of all this madness, finally being noticed, being worshipped. You were pulled out of your thoughts when his eyes shifted to yours. Your lips parted involuntarily as you held his piercing stare. They drove by in what seemed like slow motion and he didn’t once break eye contact. You felt like he didn’t even blink. The last thing you saw of him was how the corners of his mouth turned into a satisfied smirk.

Your eyes lingered on the car for a few seconds, finding yourself in a trance-like state once again. Something about him just seemed to have that effect on you.

Suddenly, an ambulance drove right onto the side of the police car, crushing its side and dragging it to a halt. Your feet acted on their own, sprinting, bringing you closer to the vehicle. Closer to him.

A crowd gathered in no time as the jokers limp body was pulled out of the car window and laid onto the hood. You didn’t notice any of them, he was the only thing you could focus on right now.

Blurred chanting rang in his ears as the opened his eyes, the metallic taste of blood on his tongue. He remembered were he was then, and what.. or who he had seen. „Get up!“, they shouted.

And how they cheered as he did. His back was turned to you as he lifted his arms, basking in his audience’s reaction. In a swift move he turned, owning the stage he created on the car as his fingers traveled to his mouth, smearing the blood to his cheeks into a devilish smile. This whole time he had been looking up over the crowd, into imaginary spotlights and cameras. Slowly his head turned down, and his eyes immediately landed on you again.

The way his eyes wandered over your smaller form made your knees grow weak. In fact, you didn’t even notice how some people ran on again, continuing their rampage. You saw nothing but him, and how he stepped down the car casually as if he was walking down stairs, striding towards you. He stopped right in front of you and you felt nothing but him, his hand traveling up to your hair, twisting the end of one of your locks in his fingers, then moving to your chin. Were you feeling anticipation or fear? You didn’t know.

“What’s your name, Kitten?” The way he spoke sent shivers down your spine. A million times you had thought about how it would be to meet him in person, but now that he was so close to you, a wild stare in his eyes and an amused smirk on his lips, you felt nothing but questionable lust for this man. “F/N.. I’m F/N L/N.” He let the hand that held your chin fall.

“Y/N.”, He repeated your name, tasting it on his tongue, “Pretty name for a pretty face. But.. I feel like I’ve heard that before. F/N L/N.” He saw the blush rise to your cheeks, your breathing accelerating as you avoided his eyes. You felt like a hormonal teenager in his presence, he chuckled at your nervousness. “So you are the mysterious lady who kept writing about me in those newspapers, huh?”

You looked him in the eyes at that, noticing that he seemed even closer than before. It never really crossed your mind before that the mysterious clown vigilante could be reading your articles himself. „Yes.“, you exclaimed, voice steady in an attempt to regain some of your confidence. „I gotta admit, you’ve really done your homework. All of that research you must’ve spent hours on, hmm?“ he laid his hand on your cheek, gliding his thumb over it soothingly. You almost felt ashamed at the heat that started pooling in your belly at his actions. He stopped to look at your lips, tracing them with his thumb. You caught your own stare shift to his parted lips, feeling like you two were playing a dangerous game. Anticipating each other’s next move. He ran his hands down your arms, intertwining your fingers and pulling you flush to his chest. A breathy whimper escaped you at the sudden proximity. „I bet there’s some things about me that you are still dying to find out.“, his face inched closer, his lips centimeters apart from yours. He licked his lips. „Isn’t that so?“ You dared to look up at him then, suddenly aware of how much your breasts were pressed against his torso. His pupils were blown wide, a mixture of various greens swam in his orbs. Fuck it, you wanted him. You nodded.

Immediately, there was that damn evil grin again. He’d won your little game, and you were his prize, his prey. His lips claimed yours shamelessly, and he tasted like pure sin. The smell of cigarettes filled your nostrils as you could make out the metallic taste of blood on his tongue. Kissing him felt like he had never done anything else in his life. Skillfully, he was drawing little noises from you, seemingly without an effort. He was all over you, gripping your hips and neck, spinning you around, then forcefully backing you up against the car. You felt the cold metal and glass on your lower back as he had reached his destination. Every now and then someone would whistle as they ran past. Fuck, for all you knew there could still be people watching somewhere. His senses felt heightened as he held you trapped between the car and himself. You tensed anyway, and he noticed. Slowly, as sensually as he could muster he withdrew his lips from yours, searching for the expression in your eyes. His voice was husky, „Having second thoughts, kitten?“, he raised his brow slightly. For a split second you wondered whether it was a hint of insecurity, or whether he was amused at you trying to resist him. His lips brushed your cheek, interrupting your thought. „Can’t blame you.“ He moved to your kiss and nibble at your neck between each of his sentences. His right hand moved from your hips upwards. „I am a stranger, after all.“ He was just under the curve of your breast now. „And we’re in the middle of a street.“  His voice vibrated against your skin as his other hand travelled from your neck to your shoulder, further down until he was right over your tailbone. The tingling feeling in your core got worse with every second, especially with him being so close to where you wanted him to touch you.

He knew exactly what he was doing when he found that sweet spot on your neck, pulling his lips away way too soon, clicking his tongue. His thumb brushed over your breast, feeling your painfully hard nipple through your shirt, „But isn’t that…“, pinching your sensitive bud, „…exactly…“, his other hand cupped your ass suddenly, squeezing it „…what turns you on so damn much right now?“. You couldn’t stifle the loud groan that escaped you then, and seeing his reaction didn’t make you want to hold back anything anymore. He growled dangerously, grinding his hips into you, making you feel how hard he was for you. If anyone would have told you something like this would happen and that you’d damn want it, you wouldn’t have believed a word. But here you were, his little teasing was all it took to make your caution fly out the window. The city was on fire, who would give a fuck if you’d let him take you right here? In fact, who’d dare to mess with you if you were with him?

Fueled by a sudden rush of adrenaline and confidence you grabbed his tie, pulling him close again and smashing your lips on his. He was stunned for a second, kissed you back for another. Too soon he gripped a fist full of your hair, pulling you back just a bit. „Tsk, tsk. Feisty, kitten, are we?“, he was trying to stay playful, keep his cool, but you could see the ever growing darkness in his eyes when he pushed one of his knees between your legs. His index finger was cold against the burning hot skin under the waistband of your jeans. „I gotta admit, I do like a woman who knows what she wants, but right now I need you to …obey.“, he drew out the last word longer than necessary. The sound of him pulling down your zipper made you want to press your thighs together, anything to ease the building pressure on your core, but you couldn’t. „Hands behind your back, Y/N. And you better keep them there.“ You did as he said, eyes looking up at him pleadingly, waiting.

„Good girl.“ With that, his hand disappeared under your panties, rough fingers finding your clit in no time. You cried out and bucked your hips at the sudden stimulation. The joker growled at the wetness that coated his fingers, rubbing tantalizingly slow circles. Your eyelids closed shut tightly, the pleasure he was giving you almost painful to bear. „That’s right. Let me hear those moans of yours. Don’t you dare hold back.“, he ordered. All of his focus was on you in that moment. A whole city burned for him, but his eyes were glued to your flushed face. They trailed to your parted lips as your more frequent and louder moans signalized how close you were. Your head fell back, you were so close you could almost taste it.

Just then he pulled away.

You were left with a throbbing core and soaking wet panties. Enraged and done with his antics, your gaze fell on him again. He was smirking - still, or again. And licking his fingers clean. My god, that view did not help your case. He looked horribly, dangerously sexy. Your anger melted away, just like your inhibition.

„Undress for me, kitten.“, he rasped huskily. His eyes seemed darker now, and the painfully obvious bulge in his pants made it clear that he wanted, no, needed this just as much as you did. So this time, you didn’t hesitate. Looking him in the eyes your fingers slipped under the hem of your sweatshirt, pulling it up slowly. Paying attention that your hands barely hovered over your skin, brushing against it every now it then. You just broke eye contact once - shortly - while the fabric was in front of your face. He had been undressing you with his eyes the whole time, but the way he licked his lips as he saw you drop the shirt carelessly, mixed with the cold air of the night made goosebumps rise over your skin.

After that you turned around, fingers wandering over your waistband, bringing your pants over the curve of your butt. Bending over, you swayed your hips as your jeans brushed against your thighs, finally slipping your legs out, one after the other. Thank god you had chosen to wear flats before you left your apartment, you thought and turned around. Shooting him a sexy grin he cursed under his breath, and closed the distance between you again. His hands were everywhere, groping your breasts, your bottom, painting a map of your body with his fingertips. Lifting you up with strength you didn’t know he possessed, you were more than happy at the effect your recovering ego had had on him.

His manhood was rock hard and throbbing, you felt it after you had wrapped your legs around his middle. Turning around he sat at the edge of the hood, you straddling him. A part of you wondered what he looked like underneath the suit he was wearing, but another part liked the way it was right now. In a way you were vulnerable, being almost naked in front of him, in the middle of the city streets. And he, he was dominant, in control, fully dressed. Nonetheless, he somehow made you feel both powerful and protected.

Your hand travelled up his torso, clasping behind his neck while he trailed open mouthed kisses over the exposed flesh of your cleavage. His lips found yours again, teeth grazing your bottom lip. You kissed him back hungrily, grinding yourself against him to relieve yourself of the aching in your core. Low moans escaped him at your actions, leaving you panting when he finally pulled back.

„Ride my cock, babygirl.“, the Joker ordered, holding you close by your hips. For a short moment you almost felt embarrassed at how very wet you were in this peculiar situation. There was a literal riot going on, cars were crashing and buildings exploding. Yet the only sound that mattered to you right now was him unzipping his pants. He stared at your face as he aligned himself with your pulsing entrance. Pushing your underwear aside, you let yourself sink down on him completely and every sound you perceived was drowned out at once. Everything but you and him. He let out a throaty moan as you took him in. Reveling in the feeling you threw your head back, being filled up completely by his length. You felt amazing around him, clenching tightly around his cock as you came to a quick and steady rhythm. The sight before him made him feel like every weak moment in his life is compensated by how powerful he felt with you right then. You held onto him, tits bouncing and carelessly moaning his name. Until a low whistling sound coming from somewhere next to you made you snap out of your ecstasy.

Someone had been watching you. You were aware this could happen, but.. god. A shiver ran down your spine as your face turned a shade of red you hadn’t thought humanly possible. The joker could read the emotion on your face. „No need to be embarrassed now, babygirl.“, he noticed the way your hips slowed, lifted you slightly and thrusted his hips up instead. You struggled to stifle your gasp. He craned his neck then, shooting the unlucky soul who disturbed you a furious glance. „Fuck off“ Barely escaped the Jokers lips before the intruder had run away.

„Better?“, he asked, with an amused but somewhat sincere expression, pushing in and out of you the whole time. „Yes.“, you nodded, feeling your juices slowly dripping down your inner thigh. You were getting close as he picked up speed and he knew. Hell, this turned you on more than you’d like to ever admit. His hand flew to your hair, tangling in it and making you look him in the eye. „Yes, what?“, he demanded, slowing his pace again until he heard what he wanted to hear from you. „Yes, sir.“

„Good girl.“, he said but pulled out anyway, leaving you whimpering. His hands found your butt then, squeezing before switching positions, laying you on your back on the car in the process. The tip of his erection was pressed onto your entrance again, making you wiggle your hips in anticipation. Nothing happened. The joker stared down at you almost lovingly, a wicked glint in his eyes. „Beg for me.“

“Please”, you didn’t even care anymore, “Please, fuck me. Please make me cum, sir.” The look in his eyes at you being so willing in front of him was priceless. His mouth opened slightly, licking his lips instinctively. For a split second there it was again. You thought you saw a hint of insecurity in him, before the gears inside of him shifted and he rammed himself inside of you entirely. Not a trace of shame was left within you as you screamed his name. He was pounding into you mercilessly, chasing yours and his release. The words and exclamations you moaned turned into absolute nonsense as you were getting close, hearing him letting out more and more groans himself. His thrusting became slightly erratic when he bent down to speak into your ear. “Come for me.”, he said in a low but stern voice, and your body obeyed. You let out an inhuman scream, him working you through your orgasm. You clenched around him uncontrollably, completely overwhelmed with the sensation. A string of obscenities mixed with your name left his lips. You felt his cock pulsating inside of you when he spilled his load.

He was hovering over you for a while, catching his breath. You didn’t mind, you liked the heat that radiated off him. You liked seeing nothing but him in front of the night sky in that moment. After a bit he pulled out of you, a smile lit up his face when he drew back. Your eyes met and your expression matched his, an ecstatic glow surrounding you. He outstretched his hand to you, helping you get off the car while he looked around. “What a night, hm?”

You laughed as you collected yourself, trying to look like you didn’t just have the best sex of your life in the middle of the city.

“What a night, indeed.”

[archonssun]

Fleeting Beauty Ending 1

Fleeting Beauty Ending 1

I really didn't feel like writing two completely different chapters for the first and second ending, so they’ll have the same build up for the most part but will split off in different directions pretty early on. Also, I’m modelling Prompto’s anxiety attack off of what I’ve experienced in the past, just so ya know...

ya should probably read this beforehand, so ya know what going on...

Ending 1

WC: 1580

TW: angst, character death, panic attacks

Waiting for the sun to rise the next morning was utter torture for the blond. He couldn’t help but beat himself up over the fact that one of his best friends had disappeared without him noticing.

Maybe if I hadn’t been so busy trying to impress Cindy, then--

Prompto’s thoughts were cut short when he was blinded by the sun creeping over the horizon. He hadn’t slept at all that night, his mind not once shutting off. It was like it was trying to make the blond marksman feel guilty about the past few weeks. After all, he had been the one to beg with Noctis and the king to let (Y/n) join them on their journey.

As soon as the sun hit his eyes, Prompto was jumping to his feet, going to wake the others.

“Iggy, come on! Wake up!” he ordered, shaking the tactician by the shoulders. It didn’t take too much to wake him -- he was a light sleeper -- but it still felt too slow to Prompto. He wanted -- no, needed -- to find (Y/n), and the quicker the better.

Ignis said nothing as he rose, then promptly went to wake Noctis while Prompto woke Gladio. After what felt like hours -- Ignis insisted that they all eat something before they leave on their search -- the group of four trekked across the deserts of Leide. Their first stop -- the Bandersnatch behind Hammerhead.

***

Prompto was moving with a speed the others had never seen before, not even in training. It was heartbreaking, really; the blond had been so preoccupied with his own interests that he hadn’t realized just how much (Y/n) meant to him until it was possibly too late. All of the boys had seen the way she looked at him, except for him. And their hearts felt for the young woman.

Noctis, while also being in love with someone, didn’t have to worry about said person not feeling the same way. He and Luna had held feelings for one another way before this arranged marriage.

Gladio, well... He would recognize the look in (Y/n)’s eyes even if he was blind: it wasn’t one of familial love, like what he shared with Iris, and the love the small girl held for Prompto went far beyond that of a caring friend. Fuck, Gladio had felt that same kind of love a few times before, back when he was a teenager.

And Ignis? He made it a point to keep an eye on all of his comrades, so it was rare that anything slipped past him. He had been the first to notice the longing in (Y/n)’s gaze when she would watch her best friend, and his suspicions had only been confirmed when she had put herself between Prompto and an MT instead of going to protect Noctis, who had been indisposed. But he could never hold it against her; she was Prompto’s childhood friend, after all, and she hadn’t made an oath to protect the prince with her life like the others had. And besides, he and Gladio had gone to protect Noctis in her stead.

And now, as they followed after Prompto, just barely keeping up with him in his frenzied state, all they felt was a sense of dread. As they crested the ridge, their eyes were met with a horrific scene.

The bandersnatch lay in the small water source in the crater, the water turned red with blood. It was unsure whether it was the creatures or (Y/n)’s, and that sent Prompto into a panic once more. The blond jumped into the crater, his legs carrying him across the desolate earth until he came to a stop at the monster’s body. Eyes wide, he whipped his head around, searching for any sign of the girl. When he saw nothing, his mind went into overdrive.

Prompto’s surroundings became brighter and it became harder to stand on his own. His limbs tingled with a feeling he hadn’t felt in years -- and he hated it. He sank to the hard-packed ground, fingers curling inward unconsciously as the numb feeling spread throughout his body. His limbs felt like lead, and he wouldn’t have been able to move if he tried. He tried to speak, but found that -- like with his limbs -- the muscle had turned to lead. Fuck, he couldn’t even feel it against the inside of his cheek anymore. Unknown to him, his teeth had started to work on his cheek, and he only realized it when the coppery taste of blood landed on his numb tongue.

Prompto sat frozen as he gradually lost control over his body, and he couldn’t help but think:

Is this what it’s like to die? Being unable to move even a single finger? Being unable to speak even a single word?

“Prompto,” Noct’s voice pulled the blond from his musings, and he found that he could now move just a bit. Turning his head towards the prince, the blond couldn’t help the whimper that escaped his lips.

“She- she’s not--” His voice crackled and his tongue felt heavy once again. Noctis could only watch on helplessly as his first friend broke down in front of him. Prompto had always been so vibrant, so happy when they were in high school, so seeing him this disheartened was a new feeling for the prince -- and he didn’t like it.

“I know, Prompto,” Noct whispered, a hand coming to clasp his friend's shoulder. His fingers dug into the material of the blond’s vest as a pained expression flitted across his face. What am I supposed to--

“Prompto, if she is not here, then that doesn’t mean she isn’t alive,” Ignis interrupted, and the blond’s head whipped up and blue eyes met green. “We must continue on with the search. She might need our help.”

Unable to speak, Prompto only nodded, and Gladio helped him stand, pulling him up by the arm.

“You good, kid?” the shield inquired, his hand not once leaving the marksman’s upper arm. Gladio would never admit it to the others, but he was afraid that the blond would fall again if he were to let go. Again, Prompto nodded. For a few seconds, his eyes were trained on the ground as his teeth pulled at his bottom lip.

“Alright, let’s go.”

***

If they had thought the Bandersnatch had been mutilated beyond recognition, then the behemoth was no more than shredded paper once (Y/n) had finished it off. Ribbons of flesh were strewn around the area and dangled from the building's ruins like streamers at a party. Blood splattered the walls and ground surrounding the dead beast, and the first thing Prompto was able to focus on was (Y/n)’s dagger sticking out of the behemoth’s left eye. Unlike he and the others, she wasn’t able to summon her weapons from the Armiger, so she always had various projectiles on her -- like that dagger.

Prompto stood in front of the beast’s head before he even realized he had moved, a gloved hand coming to caress the intricate dagger. Even now, encased to the hilt in an eye, it gleamed in the early morning sun. It was as if it were mocking him, punishing him for taking his eyes off of her. Fingers touched the cool metal, and when Prompto drew his hand back, they were stained red.

Panic set in shortly after, to the point where he almost had another panic attack. It was only due to the efforts of Ignis and Gladio that he didn’t collapse for a second time that morning, and instead he chose to survey the area.

“She-she’s gotta be here!” he ground out, eyes wide and hands shaking. Blue orbs scanned the battlefield until they landed on a small path of red leading away from the behemoth. Without a second’s hesitation, Prompto kicked off the ground, following after the trail until he came to a hidden corner of a destroyed building. Straining, his eyes barely picked up on the small body nestled snugly against the wall. He approached the prone figure, but as he drew closer he felt his heart leap into his throat.

“(Y/n)!”

(Y/n) sat huddled against the wall, the hand pressed to her right side stained red with blood. A pained smile was etched onto her face. He crouched next to the girl, his hand coming in contact with her cheek. He hissed and recoiled; her skin was ice cold. Just how long has she been out here?! Shaking his head, Prompto pulled (Y/n) into his lap, hands rubbing up and down her arms in a feeble attempt to warm her up.

His cry had drawn in the other three, and their breaths collectively stopped at the sight that met their eyes. (Y/n) was situated in Prompto’s lap, the blond trying desperately to keep her alive, a look of pure pain decorating his face.

“Come on, come on, come on,” he chanted, hands gripping her forearms when she didn’t respond. The longer she was silent, the more Prompto’s heart broke until finally it was completely shattered. His upper body came to wrap protectively around hers, breath hitching when he didn’t feel hers on his cheek. The tears that had threatened to spill since last night finally fell, landing on her pale cheeks.

“I’m sorry, (Y/n). I’m so, so sorry…

“I love you, chickadee. I’m so sorry I couldn’t protect you…”

[pangtasias-atelier]

7 Contracts

Warning: This story contains fetish content, specifically male weight gain.

So I've been playing Ob/ey M/e! recently and I love the cast. Even if the game is pretty standard oto/me fare.

Did not feel like describing 7 characters appearance, especially since this was a sour of the moment thing that I'm not sure if I'll continue so here's an an image of what they look like lol.

Left to Right

Lucifer, Mammon, Leviathan, Satan, Asmodeus, Beezlebub, Belphegor.

Wg is kinda just there but not much. This was more of a silly thing

_______________

"So, any plans on fixing this?" Satan grabs his stomach, the fresh layer of pudge slotting itself in between his hands, and shakes it. "Cause last I checked, and last you checked, and last everyone else checked, that human had no ability to take advantage of our pacts," Satan vehemently spits out the last word, teeth clenching. He stares at Lucifer who merely continues to sit at his desk.

Lucifer puts his pen down, the metal utensil clacking against the wood. "I don't know how to fix this, Satan," Lucifer impassively stares back at Satan, his shoulders sagging. Lucifer puts up his hand as Satan goes to speak. "And no, I will not go to Lord Diavolo concerning this matter. Drop the issue," Lucifer the eldest and strongest, Satan bites his cheek.

"Doesn't matter if you go to Diavolo!" A new voice sounding through, Asmodeus cheerfully walks inside. Smiling, his skimpy crop top shows the noticeable bulge of his stomach, his booty shorts rising up on his ass. "The dumb human is too busy with stupid Mammon," Asmodeus puffs out his cheeks. "So I decided to see what other interesting things were happening,"

Lucifer stands up, glaring down at Asmodeus; Satan moves to the side, no longer in the way of a sudden tackle or blast of energy. "Asmodeus, explain. And quickly please,"

"Well, Diavolo made you make a pact with the human in exchange for forgetting about the whole matter of treason," Satan's eyes widen from Asmodeus' words.

"Of course, Lord Diavolo was kind enough to lighten-"

"Diavolo can discern the truth. He knew this was going to happen," Satan holds his head with his hand, staring at the floor.

"Lord Diavolo would never do such a thing!" Lucifer shouts, eyes on Satan now.

"I guess you're right," Asmodeus shrugs. "But!" He puts up a sausage finger. "We'll never know unless we ask Di-"

Satan preemptively turns around, barely flinching when he hears the crunch of the wall.

Lucifer holding Asmodeus' wrists, he pins him to the wall, a sizeable portion dented. "You are expressly forbidden to do such a thing," Asmodeus grins up at Lucifer. "Am I clear, Asmodeus,"

"Clearer than a sunny day!" Lucifer lets go of Asmodeus. "I'm sure we're all fine without any help, none of us are complaining~," Asmodeus winks at them.

"I've been complaining!" Satan denies.

"You only started once the human got bored with you," Asmodeus only slightly weaker than Satan, he dodged out of the punch thrown his way. "That's the way the cookie crumbles, sadly," Asmodeus frowns, pushing his bangs out of his eyes. "Us three don't exactly personify the best trait for what the human is doing to us," Asmodeus sighs as he rests his hand on his cheek, his other hand on his gut.

"Lucifer is pride, so it's no wonder he's still as slim as ever," Asmodeus ignores the spike of energy that surges behind him from Lucifer's glare. "You're wrath; which isn't bad but it's not good. But me! I'm lust! The human should be putty in my hands. It's not fair," Lamenting his cruel fate, Asmodeus melodramatically puts his arm to his forehead. Asmodeus turns from a hand placed on his shoulder

"Asmodeus, get out of my room," Lucifer commands, irritated. "Satan, you as well,"

"He's probably mad cause I pointed out how little time the human has spent with him," Asmodeus 'whispers' to Satan, Asmodeus barely bothering to lower his voice.

"He did form a pact last," Satan retorts back, the two grinning as they scamper out of Lucifer's room.

The door slammed shut behind them, the two look at each other.

"Well, I'm going back to the human!" Asmodeus announces, about to scamper off again before Satan grabs him by the wrist.

"I'm going too," Satan looks the other way, blushing. "And shut up, so what if I was jealous? So is everyone else in this damn house,"

"Glad you could finally admit it," Asmodeus gloats before rushing off.

Satan growls. Childish behavior expected of Asmodeus, he can't really share in his idiotic antics. Letting Asmodeus reach the human first, he follows him.

The human unaware of the two approaching demons, he simply keeps feeding Mammon.

Currently lying down, Mammon rests his head on the human's lap with his eyes closed. Gargantuan gut rising far above him, it spreads out far, his shirt too small to contain it. His pants busted at the seams, bits of his boxers are visible, Mammon's fatty thighs seeping through the tears.

Mammon lazily lifts up an arm, the effort taxing at his size, and pats his stomach. "It's great to see you appreciate how wonderful I am!" Mammon gloats, the occurrence often now. "The handsomest, smartest, intelligentest of us, I, the great Mammon," Leaving his mouth open, he closes it as the human lowers the grape vine.

"Boooring," Popping through the open door, Asmodeus frowns at the sight.

"I was thinking pathetic," Satan adds, snickering. "Stupid Mammon doesn't even know it's most handsome and most intelligent,"

"Hey!" Flailing, Mammon struggles to bring himself up, out of breath. His gut wobbles in the air as he remains stuck on his back like a turtle. "A little help here," He whimpers, lightly sweating.

Satan and Asmodeus ignore Mammon; instead, they keep their attention focused on the human who smiles at Mammon.

"You, you gotta be stronger than that!" The human's hands holding Mammon's he tugs to help him up. Mammon's gut in the way, he gives up. "Too tired, I need more food," He whines.

"Talking about nothing but food is Beezlebub's shtick," Satan rolls his eyes at Mammon's helpless state.

"He is the demon of greed; guess he went from being greedy for money to being greedy for food," Asmodeus giggles, hand brought to his lips. Walking up to Mammon, Asmodeus leans on him, digging his elbows into his stomach. "Good thing you're so dumb and left yourself helpless, cause we're taking the human for ourselves,"

"Get off of me!" Mammon continues flailing. "And like hell you will!"

"We will," Satan smiles, placing a hand on the human.

"It's supposed to be my turn," Waddling through, Leviathan struggles with the doorway, his hips getting themselves stuck. "And if you take away my turn…" Leviathan bares his teeth at them, shaking as he clenches his fists. Breaking himself free, he stands right in front of the door, blocking their means of escape. Obese, his body is pear shaped, his thighs clashing against each other as his bell shaped stomach sags halfway to his knees. In lounge-wear, his sweatpants cling to and accentuate his wide hips; his sweatshirt rests somewhat loosely on his body.

"Now Levi, just cause you're the demon of envy," Asmodeus backs away, hands up. "There's no need to be upset, besides, it was all Satan's idea!" Asmodeus hides behind Mammon.

"Hey! I'm not some inanimate object to do whatever you want!"

"Unless it's the human," Satan quips, smiling as Mammon gets red.

"He should be happy that I even offer to spend time with him, if-"

"Shut up!" Angered from hearing them talk about the human, Leviathan takes a step forward.

Satan pushes the human to Leviathan, hiding behind Mammon as well.

"What are-" Mammon ends up silenced as Satan and Asmodeus roll him over and help him stand up.

"You're stronger than Leviathan, so do something about him!" Asmodeus pushes Mammon, Mammon not even budging.

Leviathan meanwhile happily smiles at the human, his prize obtained. "I hope those brutes didn't dirty you in any way. I'd be no worse than stupid Mammon if they did,"

"That's not possible," Satan and Asmodeus reply, Leviathan agreeing.

"Do you want me to help or not?" Mammon sighing, he rests his hands on his knees. "I think I need to lie down…"

Asmodeus and Satan busy making sure Mammon doesn't quit on them, Leviathan ignores them.

"Let's go, you owe me a handmade bento just like in episode 7 of-" Leviathan bumped into, he glares behind him, tugging the human closer to himself.

"You're all too loud," Belphegor yawns, his doughy arms sagging as he lazily lifts them. Fat, he moobs bounce as he makes his way to Mammon's bed and lies down on it. Simply wearing boxers, modesty unimportant, his nearly nude body jiggles as he makes himself comfortable.

"The human is here, where's the food?" Beezlebub shows up after Belphegor, munching on pizza. Beezlebub's metabolism working against him, he remains chunky, his paunch of a stomach resting snugly in his shirt.

"Great, like we really needed sloth and gluttony here," Asmodeus murmurs to himself, talking about Belphegor and Beezlebub respectively.

"Too many people here…" Leviathan groans, clenching his teeth.

Everyone chiming in with their own complaints, the room ends up in chaos. No one paying attention, none of them notice the human chanting under his breath.

A black puff of smoke appearing catches all six of their attention. Lucifer summoned, he scoffs at seeing all of them.

"Are you all so pathetic that I need to fix your mistakes?" Lucifer grinds his teeth as their whining continues. "If you intend to act like children, then like children I'll treat you," Lucifer shouts, his voice booming throughout the room.

Everyone now quiet, they wait for him to speak.

"Everyone will get one day of the week with the human," He stomps his foot as the volume picks up. "No complaints,"

"And to end you're bickering for today, the human shall accompany me for tonight," Poofing away, Lucifer takes the human with him.

The two now alone, Lucifer lets go of them. "Don't believe that I'll prostrate myself before you like the rest of them," Heading back to his desk, paperwork from Lord Diavolo more important, Lucifer ignores the human as they leave.

Too focused on paperwork, it feels as if the human returns in mere seconds, a platter of decadent sweets in their hand.

Lucifer eyes them as they leave the platter on Lucifer's desk before leaving. Checking them for magic, he finds nothing. Sniffing a muffin, he glances to make sure no one else is in the room. Taking a small bite, he closes his eyes as the sweet chocolate melts in his mouth. Nibbling the rest of it as he continues his work, the platter ends up empty far too soon.

The day already near its end, having to wait a week to try more of the human's food sounds like an ordeal.

[loxonstag]

It all started on the kind of summer evening you'd expect the heroes to ride off into at the end of the movie.

Jasp was staring at the sunset as we approached. He was standing at the peak of the slope, a tapedeck perched on his shoulder squawking the kind of music you might hear at some arcane ritual, all harsh chanting and dissonant strings.

Luc had to tap him on the shoulder before he'd even acknowledge we were there.

"Brought it, have you?" Jasp cawed, dialling down the volume knob but only a little.

"Right here," I said, rummaging through my pack.

The star-fragment was wrapped in cloth, but Jasp recognised it straight away.

He snatched it away greedily and crammed it inside his own satchel, full to bursting with ill-gotten gains.

We all gazed at the sun for a few moments as it crept below the town.

"My price has gone up," Jasp said the very same moment I was about to clear my throat and ask him to live up to his end of the deal.

"How high?" I croaked.

"High enough that I'll need one more item from you before I consider parting with..." he reached into his shirt pocket and produced a packet of pills, "these."

"That's not fair," I said. "Luc needs those."

"No," Luc said quietly. "It's OK. One more job."

"Promise me you won't won't raise your price any more," I snapped, still gazing at the sun-gilt buildings of the town below.

"I'll only need one more thing," Jasp assured me.

The discordant ritual music reached an ear-rending crescendo. Jasp closed his eyes and allowed it to dissolve into a subdued, hummed coda before he bothered to explain.

"It's a wand," he said simply.

"A wand?" I said.

"A magic wand," he went on, "that sits inside a display case at the Masterford Manor."

We'd heard things about the Masterfords.

Nothing good.

"Jasp..." I murmured wearily. "We've given you enough."

"Just one more thing," Jasp repeated. "I like to charge a fair price, but inflation's inflation, and you gotta keep up with the times."

By now the sun had fully set, and Luc was going pale, the kind of pale he got when he was about to have an episode.

"You're a monster," I muttered, storming down the hill.

I looked back just long enough to see Luc shoot Jasp what seemed to be a sympathetic glance, but it couldn't've been.

Could it?

"Come on, Luc," I called out, and the two of us descended the trash-strewn slope until we found ourselves at the outskirts of the town, all run-down buildings and picket fences with pickets missing.

"You OK?" I asked Luc, who was visibly wincing.

He shrugged off my concern, still wincing every bit as much.

We staggered toward the bus stop, reaching it ten minutes early for the last 55, which would take us close enough to the Masterford Manor that we could walk the rest of the way.

"You sure you're OK?" I said, collapsing on the cold metal bench. "I can drop you off home, do this thing solo."

"I'm OK," he assured me, "I'm OK."

Half an hour later, we realised the bus wasn't going to come.

The trip to Masterford Manor took us more than an hour by foot, and we were both dehydrated by the time we reached the front gates.

We were in the rich part of town, guard dogs and security cameras everywhere.

We were probably known as delinquents around here, having broken several laws in several different houses, but even in the rich part of town, the law these days was a pretty symbolic affair that the state expected you to take into your own hands as long as you had the means to do it, and too bad if you didn't.

As long as you could outrun it, you were safe.

Colonel Masterford, we'd heard, was an expert sniper. He'd fought on the losing side of the last war and so held a grudge against society, as if there were much of society left to hold a grudge against.

We took it as a blessing when we scrambled over the gates and found ourselves un-shot at.

The next step was the front door, which had too many security cameras, so we tried a side door, which only had one, and then none after I'd hurled a rock at it.

Luc, with surprising dexterity given his condition, managed to pick the lock in under a minute, and there we found ourselves in a dimly-lit corridor of the Masterford Manor.

We stumbled around for hours, searching for a display case among cartoonesque suits of late-medieval armour, and paintings so vivid and fantastical they almost seemed like windows into other worlds.

Eventually we crept down a stairwell and into a basement, piled with gold coins and stray artefacts of immense value and even a display case...with nothing inside.

Luc slumped to the floor, sweating hard.

"I'll come back for you," I promised him, and crept back up the stairwell, desperately searching the manor's many empty rooms for another display case.

Eventually I came across what must have been a dining room.

The shadow of what looked like a horse trotted back and forth beside an unlit fireplace.

Tentatively I approached. The creature was the colour of moonlight, and not a horse, I realised...it had a silver horn protruding from its head.

And something else, sharp and needlelike, protruding from its shoulder.

I threw up my hands in a gesture of goodwill, which the creature

seemed to intuit.

I got close enough to see that the sharp thing protruding from its shoulder was a wand.

It turned its head to look at me, sad, defeated, pained eyes.

I'd seen eyes like those before, in my brother. I cursed myself for having left him there, in some hostile stranger's basement.

Very carefully, I reached out to touch the wand.

A sudden surge of ethereal warmth came over me, and a cool, disembodied voice resounded in my head.

"You've found my device," said the voice. "Well done. I grant you three wishes."

"I wish my brother was safe and happy and healthy," I uttered, hoping all that would count as a single wish.

Apparently it did, as the voice did not say anything further, as if awaiting my next wish.

"I wish Jasp no longer wanted this wand. In fact," I had to stop myself at the last second from wishing him dead. "I wish he never wanted anything ever again, and desire was something that passed through him like clouds on a mountaintop."

"Very good," said the voice. "And your last wish."

I patted the horse-like beast and smiled.

"I wish this creature was back home, wherever it's from, free to roam, and no longer in pain."

The creature seemed to nod at me in gratitude before vanishing, along with the wand.

I stood there in a stupor a while, before a horrified notion struck me.

I raced downstairs to the basement to find Luc gone as well.

It was morningtime now, and I heard footsteps resound from some passageway far above, and I knew Colonel Masterford would catch me if I lingered here a moment longer.

I burst open the side door, only to find myself pursued by guard dogs, who bit at my ankles and tore into my flesh as I tried to climb the front gate.

I made it, managing to outrun the hounds, only to find myself in a world of fog, the endless streets that made up the town where I had lived all my life, yet at the same time everything was new to me, and the routes I had known by heart yesterday had turned into a labyrinth of cul-de-sacs and dead ends.

I was alone, a stranger in the only place I'd ever known.

I limped through the morning mists until I found a public library, and sat stooped in a corner between two bookshelves for a while, trying to figure out my way home, until I could only admit there was no home left to go back to.

I wondered if the slope was still there, or if the sun would ever rise above it.

[mischiefandspirits]

Rescue to the Rescue (3/3)

Peter puts E.D.I.T.H. to work on the Elemental’s case and something doesn’t seem to be adding up.

“No matches found under Quentin Beck. Expanding search.”

“That’s alright, he’s not exactly from around -”

“Match found in Stark Industries database.”

Part 1, Part 2, and Also on AO3

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“And remember to stay in groups of three or four at all times,” Mr. Harrington lectured. “Also -”

“Have fun!” Mr. Dell cut in, moving towards the doors. “Now let’s go.”

“Petey, can I have a bracelet, too?” Morgan asked as they started to follow the teacher out, pointing up at one of the glow bracelets he’d bought at Ned’s insistence.

Most of the class were decked out in the glowing jewelry being sold by the hotel for the festival, but Peter had settled for just a pair of bracelets and a single necklace. Morgan, on the other hand, had on a pair of glasses, three necklaces, and a crown Zoha had constructed for her using a necklace and a bunch of interwoven bracelets.

“Sorry, I don’t think they’d fit you,” Peter apologized.

“Oh, here,” Yasmin said, taking off one of her necklaces and wrapping it around Morgan’s wrist thrice before snapping it closed. It was still a bit loose, but a much better fit than a bracelet would have been. “There you go!”

“Thank you,” Morgan chirped with a wide smile and Zoha, Yasmin, and Betty cooed.

When they reached the crowded street, Peter let the small girl climb onto his back. “You’re a ham,” he chuckled, quiet enough that only she could hear.

“Just like daddy taught me,” she whispered back before loudly saying, “Love you, Petey!” and pressing a kiss to his cheek, earning more cooing.

“You’re going to grow up to be just like your mother,” he chuckled, poking the manipulative girl in the side to hear her squeal.

“Mommy says daddy wasted all his dumb on you and Harley so I’ve gotta be like her,” she giggled, poking his cheek.

When they reached the main carnival area, Morgan immediately pointed out the Ferris wheel.

“I’ll go with you,” MJ offered. “So you don’t get in trouble for going off on your own.”

“I’ll come too,” Brad quickly added.

“I don’t think we’ll all fit,” MJ just said with a shrug. “We only need to be in threes, so we’ll be good.”

“Right. We can catch up after then,” Brad said, voice even despite sending Peter a look.

MJ was right, in the end. The gondolas were two people only, or three with small children, so her, Peter, and Morgan barely fit. The three watched the fireworks in silence as they rose into the air, but as they neared the top Morgan turned to Peter and quietly asked, “Are you going to tell her now?”

Peter, and MJ who could easily overhear given how closely packed they were, looked down at her with bemusement. “What?”

“She’s the scary one, right? I heard Aunt May and Uncle Happy talking about how you were going to tell her that y-”

Peter blushed and cut her off. “Yes. I mean, no. I mean, Morgan, not right now!”

MJ raised an eyebrow and Morgan pouted. “Why?”

“Yeah, Peter, why can’t you tell me whatever you wanted to tell me now?” MJ teased.

Peter squirmed and he could feel the tin holding her necklace in his pocket.

“Tell her! Tell her! Tell her!” Morgan started chanting and MJ joined in. “Tell her! Tell her! Tell her!”

“Alright, alright!” Peter groaned and they immediately stopped, staring at him, waiting. “I, uh… I’ve wanted to tell you for a while, but didn’t know how to say it. It’s just, um, MJ, I -”

“Am Spider-Man,” she finished for him and Morgan gasped.

“What? I’m not -- No, of course not!”

“I mean, it’s kind of obvious,” MJ said.

“No, it’s not, because I’m not Spider-Man.”

“Oh really?”

“Yes. I’m definitely not Spider-Man.”

“Right, so you just happen to get an internship with Tony Stark at the same time that he recruited Spider-Man to help out, and then proceeded to have, in the words of the wonderful Pepper Potts, a father-son relationship with him.”

“Yes?” Peter squeaked.

“What about how you disappeared on the trip to D.C.?”

“I had that-that stomach thing!” he said. He glanced down at Morgan, to see the girl watching them with the same expression that she gives the tv when one of her cartoons are on. Something occurred to Peter and his heart sank. “Have you been watching me because you thought I was Spider-Man?”

MJ shifted in her seat, ducking her head slightly. “Yeah, why else would I?”

Silence fell over the gondola and Morgan looked between the two with a frown.

The sound of arguing came from below and the three looked down to see a woman arguing with the guy running the carousel as he started making everyone get off.

“What’s going on?” Morgan asked and the teens shrugged.

Once they got closer to the ground, Peter recognized the woman. “Ms. Drew?”

The woman looked up at his voice for only a second before turning back to the man.

“Who’s she?” MJ asked.

“Former MI6, works with Europol now, I think. She’s a friend of Pepper’s.”

“I like the outfit.”

Ms. Drew’s blazer and business slacks were gone, replaced with a red and black leather jacket with yellow accents, sleek black pants, and red boots.

“What’s going on?” Peter asked as they reached the bottom and were let off.

“My people got back to me. Your energy anomalies are back. They won’t evacuate the city, but given both my team and Fury’s are calling for it, they gave me the okay to clear out Old Town Square since it seems to be the center of the anomaly.”

“Nice spider,” MJ commented, nodding at the spider design on Ms. Drew’s jacket.

“Long story, tell you later,” she said with a wink towards Peter.

The group turned as people started screaming and they spotted molten metal climbing up the Jan Hus Memorial.

“You kids need to get going,” Ms. Drew said, running forwards to help someone who’d fallen trying to get away back to his feet. When Mysterio came flying in, she looked over her shoulder. Her hand came up to her glasses, which lit up and expanded into a face mask. “Get Morgan out of here, this is being handled. Pepper, can you hear me? They’re both here.”

Peter bit his lip, but nodded. He held Morgan close with one arm and grabbed MJ’s hand to keep her close as they took off down a side street. A part of him was screaming to go help, that Mr. Stark had made him an Avenger so he should be fighting, but he knew he could leave it to Mrs. Potts and Ms. Drew. His focus had to be on protecting Morgan and getting her somewhere safe.

He took a deep breath and pushed down all the grief-guilt-pain, focusing solely on the weight against his side and warmth in his hand.

“Is that Iron Man?” someone shouted and Peter glanced up just long enough to see the blue and silver of the Mark XLIX flying past before leading MJ down a less crowded alley.

They stopped for a moment to give her a chance to catch her breath and Peter shifted Morgan so she was on his back again. “You alright?” he asked them both.

Morgan nodded against his shoulder and MJ panted, “Yeah, you’re just a lot faster than you look.”

"I lost my glasses and crown," came Morgan's muffled whine.

Peter opened his mouth to comment, but suddenly he got hit by a very bad feeling. His hand shot out, shoving MJ back while his feet sent him the opposite way.

A blast of fire shot past where they’d been standing a second before.

“Oh my God!” MJ groaned from the ground.

“Sorry,” Peter said, eyes darting about as he dug the glasses out of his pocket.

“I’m pretty sure you just saved me from being burned alive,” she pointed out, getting back to her feet. “No apologies necessary.”

“E.D.I.T.H.,” he called as he got the glasses on his face. His wrists came down against each other.

“Hello, Peter.”

He felt another tingle against the back of his neck and webbed Morgan’s arms to his shoulders before scooping MJ up. He jumped into the air just before another blast of fire swept over the alley, landing on a fire escape. Another leap and they were on the roof.

“I was right?” MJ said in disbelief, clinging to his jacket and staring at the webbing keeping Morgan from falling off his back.

“You said you knew!”

“I was only like sixty-seven percent sure,” she admitted, getting down and taking a step towards the edge of the building to peak over. “What was that?”

“Mysterio.”

“The superhero from Venice?”

“He’s not a superhero, he’s a fraud,” Peter said, now convinced. “The water monster was fake, holograms. He’s just some illusionist with a petty grudge against Mr. Stark.”

He felt a twinge and was already turning when a voice called out, “Petty? That hurts, Peter.”

Mysterio glared at them from across the roof and Peter placed himself between the villain and MJ.

“You know, I was just starting to like you, but then you had to drag Potts into this.” He smirked and tilted his head. “You didn’t honestly think I wouldn’t find out about you talking to her, did you? I’ve got eyes everywhere.”

“Don’t do this, Rinehart. We both know you can’t win.”

“Do we? Why?” Mysterious chuckled. “Because I’m not a drunken playboy in a fancy suit or a freak who’s daddy gave him a tactical intelligence system as a reward for not being able to keep the guy alive?”

MJ set her hand on his shoulder and it was probably to give him support after the last part of Mysterio’s comment. However, Peter hadn’t noticed it, too focused on something else.

Daddy? How could Mysterio know anything about that? He knew the man wasn’t anywhere near as omniscient as he was trying to make himself out to be so how could he know about Peter’s supposed father-son relationship with Mr. Stark.

Unless he was in contact with someone who knew what Mrs. Potts said about him and Tony to his class.

“Big words coming from a glorified special effects artist,” MJ scoffed. “Peter is more of a hero than even your fictional counterpart could ever be.”

“Petey’s going to be the best, just like daddy was,” Morgan agreed, peaking over at Mysterio for just a second to glare before burying her face back in Peter’s shoulder.

“Just like daddy, huh? Well far be it from me to stop a kid from growing up to be just like his father.” A half dozen drones suddenly uncloaked themselves to show they were surrounding the kids. “How about we skip to the end?”

MJ tucked herself against Peter’s back and he was both glad Morgan had a little more cover, and terrified for his crush. Why did his Peter Tingle -- and yeah, he was never letting Aunt May name anything ever again -- have to be messing up right now? He thought it was finally coming back, but he didn’t feel anything from the drones, even as they readied to fire. All he was getting was the growing nudging from Mysterio’s direction.

Wait.

“Goodbye, little Starks,” Mysterio said, tapping at something on his wrist.

Peter’s hand shot out and a string of web flew past the drones, over Mysterio’s head, and hit midair. He pulled down.

Mysterio and the drones disappeared in a shimmer of blue as the drone he’d hit slammed into the ground.

“Where’d the bad man go?” Morgan asked, looking up a little.

“He wasn’t real,” MJ said shakily, still clinging to Peter’s sides.

“It was another trick,” Peter confirmed. “We need to get out of here before he sends more.”

“Where do we go?” MJ asked, releasing her grip.

“E.D.I.T.H., can you connect to the Mark XLIX?”

“Of course.”

“E.D.I.T.H.?” MJ asked, while Mrs. Potts picked up at nearly the same time to say, “Peter, what’s wrong?”

“Gift from Mr. Stark,” he explained quickly, gesturing to the glasses. “Mrs. Potts, we were right about Mysterio.”

“I know. I’ve managed to hit a few of the drones on accident. F.R.I.D.A.Y. is trying to scan the drones’ signal so she can target them, but whatever energy pulses their using to disrupt the surveillance systems are also effecting the suit’s scanners. Wait, how do you know that?”

“He sent a drone after us.”

“What!?”

“We’re okay,” Peter said quickly, holding up his hands even if she couldn’t see them. “I took it down. But he knows we’ve figured him out, and also apparently he found out about you calling me Mr. Stark’s kid so he’s really not happy with Morgan and me.”

“F.R.I.D.A.Y., let Jess know what’s happening and give me the Unibeam. We’re going to just take them all down at once.”

“Got it, Mrs. Boss.”

“Peter, try to find somewhere to hide yourselves. I’ll be there soon.”

“Alright,” he agreed. He looked around with a frown. “E.D.I.T.H. what would be a good place to hide?”

“Searching… There appears to be some reasonably abandoned warehouses a mile away that could provide cover,” she said and a navigation arrow appeared in his view. 

“That’ll have to do.” He turned to MJ. “You should go. We’re the ones he’s after.”

“Yeah, and he also saw me with you and knows I know how shady he is,” MJ said with a shrug. “You can’t get rid of me that easy.”

Peter wanted to argue, but couldn’t. Instead, he picked her up bridal-style and started running.

“Hey!” She shrieked, wrapping her arms around him and Morgan.

Peter leaped over a small street to land on a roof across the street. 

“Nevermind,” she breathed, shoving her face into his neck. “Tell me when it’s over.”

“Sorry,” he said, not stopping. He glanced over his shoulder at Morgan for just a second before refocusing. “How’re you doing, Lady Morgana?”

“Is the bad man chasing us?”

“Not right now, but we need to hide before he can find us again.”

“Okay. Petey?”

Peter carefully ran across a pole that bridged two buildings across a larger street. “Yeah?”

“Can we do this again when a bad man isn’t chasing us?”

MJ gave a choked laugh.

“Yeah, milady,” he agreed. “As long as your mom’s okay with it. Maybe I can even take you swinging around New York.”

“Can we swing now?” the younger girl asked, fully pulling her face away from his shoulder for the first time since Mysterio had attacked them.

“I don’t think MJ’d like that, sorry.”

“I will kill you, Parker,” came MJ’s agreeing growl.

“Please, MJ?” Morgan pouted.

“Don’t bother. I have to see Peter every day at school. I’ve developed an immunity to puppy faces.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Peter asked, hopping down to the ground outside the warehouses.

“You have the biggest puppy face.”

He set her on her feet, frowning. “No, I don’t.”

She gave him a haggard smirk. “You’re literally doing it right now.”

“Am not.”

“Are too,” Morgan giggled.

Peter glanced between the two girls before sighing. “Let’s just find some cover.”

Morgan held her hand up as high as she could with her arm still attached to Peter and MJ gave her a high five.

Making use of a broken window, the three slipped inside a warehouse full of crates.

“I’m going to call Ned, see if he and the others got away alright and let them know we’re okay,” Peter said, but MJ shook her head.

“I’ll do it. You keep an eye out for Stan Winston.”

Peter shot her an affronted look. “Don’t sully his name like that!”

MJ rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone.

As she walked off slightly to make the call, Peter paced around the warehouse. He considered putting Morgan down, but he felt more comfortable having her close.

“Everyone’s fine at the hotel,” MJ said, coming over. “We were the only ones missing. Ned’s telling Harrington we’re taking shelter until the danger’s gone. He acted weird about it until I told him I knew you were Spider-Man. Then he got all diffident, talking about how he knew first. It was great.”

A twitch near his ear.

“Have you heard anything from -” MJ started before immediately falling silent as he swung around.

“It didn’t have to be this way,” Mysterio’s voice called out, echoing around the warehouse. “The plan was only to destroy Stark’s legacy. All you had to do was give us the glasses. But you just couldn’t help yourself, and now I see the truth.”

A figure stepped out of the shadows and Peter’s throat closed up.

“The true Stark legacy,” Tony Stark said, arms held wide. “A pair of brats just as whiny and selfish as their father, constantly dragging others into their problems.”

“Daddy?”

Anything Peter felt from seeing Mr. Stark in front of him again was washed away in a wave of pure fury at the small voice right in his ear.

Peter slipped his arms out of his jacket so he could pass Morgan to MJ. “Watch her for me.”

Anger danced in her eyes as she took the younger girl. “Kick his ass. I got her.”

She ducked behind some crates as he spun around and jumped. His hand shot out, grabbing the ceiling with one web and a drone with the other. Closing his eyes, he let his sixth sense -- Spidey-sense? -- take over. With a twist, the drone crashed into another while his foot hit a third.

Then he was dancing through the air, taking down drone after drone with feet and fists and the occasional web when one would get too close to the girls’ hiding place.

The fight felt like it was over in a heartbeat and soon enough Peter was perched on the ceiling, his shoes having been lost somewhere in the scramble. He carefully scanned the warehouse, taking in the dozen or so drones smashed on the ground.

“MJ?”

“We’re okay,” she called, stepping out from behind the crates.

Peter lowered himself on a web before flipping onto his feet. “Hey, Morgan, how are you feeling?” he asked, looking over the two for injuries despite MJ’s assurance.

The younger girl looked up at him with wide eyes. “It was just like one of daddy’s stories!”

He wasn’t sure if he should be worried or relieved that she was excited about the near-death experiences of the night. He ran her fingers through her hair and gave a hesitant laugh. “Yeah, I’ll bet. How about we call your mom now?”

“You know, maybe you’re not as much of a waste of time as I thought you were.”

Peter spun around with a gasp, surprised to see the fake Tony Stark leaning against some crates on the other side of the warehouse. His spidey-sense hadn’t picked up the figure at all. No, wait, there was a low buzz in his head. Whatever this illusion was, it was threatening, but not a current threat.

He stepped forward, keeping himself between the girls and Tony. “It’s over, Beck.”

“Over? Hardly. You might have Rinehart and his little film crew running for the hills to lick their wounds, but they’ll be back soon enough.”

“You say that like you’re not one of them,” MJ said.

Tony shrugged, and then with a holographic flicker, it was Dimitri standing in his place. “I’m not, though I certainly let them think I was. It wasn’t hard. Let them think I had a grudge against Stark and they let me right in.”

“If you don’t hate Mr. Stark, then why are doing this? Who are you?” Peter asked.

“Who am I?” Dimitri smirked, then it was Mysterio smirking at him, then Fury, Hill, Pepper, a few people Peter recognized from Ms. Drew’s photos, a few people Peter didn’t recognize at all, before the figure finally settled on someone in a grey and blue suit wearing a featureless mask. “I’m whoever I want to be, kid,” a modulated voice answered. “As for joining up with Rinehart, I knew he’d be able to get me close to my real target: You.”

“Me? What would you want with me?”

The figure stepped away from the boxes and held out their arms. Their form changed to Spider-Man, in all his red, black, and blue glory.

“The Amazing Spider-Man,” he said and a shiver went down Peter’s spine at hearing his own voice coming from the imposter. “An Avenger recruited by the late, great Tony Stark himself. Capable of easily stopping a speeding car with his bare hands. Can go toe-to-toe with the likes of Captain America and the Winter Soldier. Videos of the airport battle are everywhere, and they all show you holding your own against multiple Avengers, all on your first day on the job. Then there was your face off with that alien arms ring. It’s no wonder my brother took an interest in you, even before this whole The Next Iron Man thing started up.”

“Your brother?”

“You should have seen how disappointed he was when he realized you got swept up in the Blip,” he said, shaking his head. “Then we got the confirmation you were back and, well, can't say I’m surprised he called me up first chance he got to do a little scouting for him.

“Of course, I was a bit disappointed when I finally found you. Just a simpering kid playing pretend in daddy’s suit, calling up mommy as soon as you don’t get your way. Figured I’d just hand you over to Rinehart and not waste any more of my time. This, though,” he gestured at the drones, “is far more promising. No suit, no fancy tech. Just some webs and your own skills. Guess you might be worth a hunt after all.”

“What are you talking about? Who are you? Who’s your brother? What do you mean hunt?”

“You’ll figure it out soon enough.” He gave a salute then darted behind the crates.

Peter tried to follow, but all he found was an open door leading to a semi-crowded street. He looked around, but knew the stranger could be anyone. “Did you see where he went, E.D.I.T.H.?”

“I’m sorry, Peter. He disappeared into a crowd. I’ve taken a sample of the energy output of his suit for future use, but he is out of range of my short-range scanners and the output is too weak for my long-range ones.”

“That’s alright, you did your best.”

“Peter!”

Relief washed over him for only a second when the Mark XLIX landed next to him before he was back on alert. He took a step back into the warehouse and held up his hand. “Are you real?”

Mrs. Potts’ helmet retracted and she gave him an understanding look. “The first time Tony and I had you over for dinner, you walked in on me lecturing him about how pizza wasn’t a proper meal for a growing boy, especially given your enhancements.”

“But a supreme pizza covers all the food groups,” Peter recited Tony’s response and she rolled her eyes.

“Are you okay? Where’s Morgan?” she asked, stepping inside to get away from the gawking crowd.

“I’m fine. We all are. MJ has her. Some drones showed up, but I took them down,” he said, leading her around the crates.

“Mommy!” Morgan shouted as soon as they came into sight. She wiggled free of MJ’s grip and ran towards them, skipping over the broken drones.

Pepper’s armor peeled away, the nanobots reforming into a briefcase, which she set down to catch her daughter.

Peter immediately picked it up without thinking.

“Is he gone?” MJ whispered, giving Pepper a suspicious look.

“He’s gone, and I made sure she was really Mrs. Potts,” he whispered back.

She bumped her shoulder against his. “I think between that weirdo and Mysterio I’m going to be suspicious of everyone for a while.”

“Tell me about it. Maybe we should come up with secret code words.”

MJ snorted. “You’re such a loser.”

Their gazes met for just a second before they both looked away.

Pepper finished giving Morgan a thorough look over, sighing fondly at her still webbed up arms, then set the girl on her hip and turned back to the teens. “Come on, Happy should be here to take us back to your hotel.”

“Happy’s here?” Peter asked as the headed back to the door.

“Yes. He was with May when I called her to let her know what was happening and insisted on coming along.”

Peter’s face screwed up at the reminder of… whatever it was that was going on between Happy and Aunt May.

A limo was waiting for them when they came out and Pepper opened the door so the teens could climb in first. “What about Mysterio?”

“I just got off the phone with Fury and Agent Arachne,” Happy called from the front. “They found the EMP that was disrupting the surveillance systems, but he and his crew are in the wind. They’re trying to work with Europol and the Czech government to set up some stop points to help track them down.”

“But you kids don’t need to worry about any more of that tonight,” Pepper said, tapping away at her phone. “I’m having F.R.I.D.A.Y. send some room service up to your rooms. You kids just eat then get some rest, okay? We can talk about what happened tonight in the morning. Ms. Jones, you’re a flexitarian, correct?”

MJ blinked. “Uh, yeah, how did you know?”

Pepper gave her a smile. “Peter has told us a lot about you. It’s nice to finally meet you?”

MJ looked over at him and he made a valiant effort to become one with the car seat. “It’s nice to meet you too,” she said, turning back to Pepper. “You’re one of my favorite female icons.”

“Thank you, I try to be a good role model.” She gave Peter a wink and stage-whispered, “I like her.”

Peter buries his face in his hands. “Happy, can I climb up there with you?”

The divider rolling up was his only response.

One of these days, Peter was going to remind the man that he had super hearing and could easily hear through the divider. It did nothing to stop him from hearing the man listening to cheesy pop music and it did nothing to stop him from hearing the man laughing at his misfortune.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Since Peter’s room was past MJ’s on the way from the stairs, he had the perfect excuse to walk her to her room.

“Hey,” he said as she opened her door. “I’m, uh, sorry about tonight. You shouldn’t have gotten dragged into all that. I -”

Peter was cut off as a pair of lips brushed against his own.

“Just,” MJ started, pulling away, “never carry me around like that again and we'll call it even.”

“O-okay… what?”

She shrugged and looked away. “I might have been lying earlier. I wasn’t just watching you because I thought you were Spider-Man.”

“Oh, that’s okay. Great. That’s great!”

She nodded, a smile peeking out. She gave him another chaste kiss then quickly disappeared into her room.

By the time Peter remembers the necklace in this pocket, he’s already laying face down in his room with a wide grin on his face.

Five words: Dimitri was in the bar

[paintedface]

la belle du bal

summary: it’s new year’s eve, and you’re not keen for the ball that tony’s decided to organise, but going to it is totally worth it for the reaction that your boyfriend has to seeing you dressed up for one of the first times

pairing: bucky x reader

word count: 2008 words

warnings: none, just fluff! and sap

notes: thank you again, @buckys-fossil for being my beta and helper for this fic. she always helped style the reader, so bless her for your amazing outfit! here’s to an amazing 2018! also thank you to @dheyline for the correction of the title!

Permanent Tags are OPEN | masterlist

“Tony, are you kidding me? We’re having a fancy dress party for fucking New Year’s?” You exclaim, crossing your arms.

He shrugs lightly as he uses his StarkPad to order a brand new chandelier. “Yeah, of course! And it’s not fancy dress, it’s being formal. Ball gowns, expensive suits, how else would we start the new year?”

“By staying in and watching Netflix?”

“Nope! You’re gonna do some real socialising.” Tony adds a custom made six tier chocolate cake to his cart, and you groan, shaking your head.

“I don’t have a dress, Tones, so h-“

“Pepper’s taking you out dress shopping tonight, it’s on us. You’ll blow the whole room away, especially Barnes.” He interjects, moving away before you can protest.

Sighing, you rub a hand over your face and calling JARVIS to ask where your boyfriend is.

“To be perfectly fair, darling, I’d love to see you in a beautiful dress.” Bucky mumbles as he cards his hand through your hair. You tilt your head up to glare at him in annoyance.

“Did Tony bribe you to get me into the idea?!” You whine, before thumping your head back onto his chest. He lets out a soft chuckle, pressing a kiss to the crown of your head.

“No, he did not, I just really wanna see you all dolled up!” He says defensively, moving the two of you over so he’s spooning you softly.

You roll your eyes, before giving in, grumbling, “Fine, but you owe me.”

Bucky grins, nipping at the skin behind your ear as you squeak, batting him in the chest.

“This, is beautiful.” Pepper announces, and you give her a withering look.

“You really want me to walk into the room wearing a fucking blown up parachute with pillows on top, Pepper?” You ask sarcastically, and she grimaces, before putting it back on the rack.

You’ve been shopping for two hours already, yet you’ve found absolutely nothing. You’ve gone everywhere, looking at every dress, but nothing’s working for you.

“This will be the first time Bucky’ll see you in a dress like...oh, my, god. Y/N.” Pepper’s almost breathless as she looks up at the dress on display. You follow her gaze, and your mouth parts slightly, because it’s fucking perfect.

It’s a classic ball gown bodice and skirt, in shades of red, though most of the red is a crimson colour. With off the shoulder short sleeves, they connect into a sweetheart neckline, the silk like bodice comes in and then extends into a chiffon skirt, trailing on the floor with soft pleats woven into it. There’s subtle gold detailing at the waist, hem of the skirt and the bodice. You don’t even have to try it on to know that it’s the one.

Pepper turns to you, both of your eyes alight in excitement. She calls over one of the employees and they make you strip to your undergarments before fitting the dress of your size, onto you. You step up onto the platform, mirrors surrounding you, and you’re itching to buy it already. You never knew you’d be so keen on this.

“Y/N, you’ll knock Bucky right off his feet.” She says in awe, tracing a gold swirl on your waist.

You can’t help the giggle that slips out of your mouth at the thought of his reaction. You slip your feet into open toe, gold kitten heels, because you actually want to be able to dance, and Pepper sets aside hair clips with intricate golden flowers and leaves adorning them.

You’re ready for this.

“Stop fussing, you look fucking incredible!” Natasha tells you, as you check your makeup for the 100th time. You nervously adjust a clip in your hair, elegantly swooped back into a delicate arrangement, stray strands of your hair framing your face perfectly.

“Alright, now let’s go! We can’t be late.” Wanda tugs at your slightly bejeweled wrist, and the three of you can be heard squealing as you make your way to the party floor.

Tony decided to host it in a level of the Tower that you never knew existed, which was similar to a ballroom, but slightly more modern. But you weren’t looking forward to that, you just wanted to see your boyfriend.

“Ready?” Wanda whispers, and you nod.

“Ready.” You take a deep breath, and the bouncers, of sorts, check your passes, before pushing open the enormous, wooden doors.

Blinding light hits you almost immediately, from the brand new chandelier that Tony ordered. There’s so many goddamn people, but they’re all associates of the Avengers, such as friends, SHIELD agents, and more.

All eyes are on the three of you as you enter, and you can feel so many gazes upon you, especially, as you take the group in stride. The click of your heels disappear into the music playing in the background, and a smile touches your lips, feeling a swell of confidence in your chest.

Luckily, people begin to turn away eventually, and Wanda branches off to find Vis, Natasha going god knows where. You’re on your own, scanning the crowd to find Bucky, noticing on the giant countdown clock on a big screen that there’s only a few hours till midnight.

Your eyes drift over to where a loud, booming laugh is heard. Steve. You begin to make your way over to him, the crowd parting immediately for you, as you’re a known Avenger, and the fact that you made a really grand entrance. You spot Steve and beside him, Bucky and Sam.

Bucky pauses mid-sentence when he sees Steve and Sam look in your direction, their mouths agape. He turns his head to look at you, and his eyes widen, dropping his champagne glass in a way that would’ve been comical if it hadn’t been in this situation. It shatters on the ground, but he pays no notice to it as he moves toward you almost as if in a slight trance, lips trying to form words and cheeks being touched with pink. 

You give him a shy smile, feeling your train drag behind you as the two of you finally meet. You look him up and down, resisting the urge to lick your lips. He’s wearing a pitch black tuxedo, with a black shirt and tie, as well as black suit pants and polished shoes. His hair is swooped back into a neat low bun, and his hands take yours. You notice that his handkerchief in his breast pocket is white with gold detailing, as well as the buttons of his suit being gold. It compliments your dress perfectly.

“Holy shit, Y/N, you look…” He manages to choke out but trails off in awe, eyes still enormous, pupils dilated.

You laugh softly, cheeks warming instantly. “You too, Buck. You look amazing.” You’re unsure why you were so apprehensive to the idea of this party, but right now, you couldn’t regret any single decision you’ve made.

He holds out his arm and you take it gently, grinning at Steve and Sam’s agawk expressions.

“She’s mine, fellas!” He calls, winking at them, before swooping you onto the dance floor.

His flesh arm snakes around your waist and his metal hand takes your right hand as you put your left hand on his shoulder. You lean into his touch, as he takes the lead, twirling you around and watching as your skirt floats around you.

“You look like a princess, darling.” Bucky murmurs in your ear and you close your eyes, smiling.

“You look like a prince, Buck.” You reply and he chuckles, shaking his head.

“No, but your dress…” He trails off, running his hands down your side and you shiver as he gives you a sly smirk.

“Don’t get too NSFW here, Sergeant Barnes, it’s New Year’s.” You laugh softly and he lets out a small whine, leaning in to kiss you gently.

“You’re no fun, Miss Y/L/N.”

Hours pass, and your feet are practically screaming at you to stop, and you accidentally stumble into your boyfriend. He grips you tightly, letting out a loud laugh as you groan, trying to shake out the pain in your feet.

“You wanna stop?” He asks, peppering soft kisses over your forehead, and you shake your head. Bucky raises an eyebrow, but smiles, tilting his chin in the direction of the clock on the screen.  

“It’s almost midnight, anyway, doll, and you know I gotta dip you when the clock strikes 12.” He says cheekily, and you roll your eyes, but smile back at him affectionately.

“ATTENTION, EVERYONE!” A deafening voice yells and you wince getting ready to throw your hair clip at Tony, standing on the platform with a megaphone to his mouth.

“Pepper didn’t allow me to do a chandelier drop at midnight, I don’t know why, so we’re going to have a countdown! So don’t be alarmed if your eardrums get blown out!” He says cheerfully, dropping the megaphone and skipping off stage.

You snort, leaning your head on Bucky’s chest. “Why is he allowed to organise things?”

“You have to admit that he did a pretty good job on this one.” He shrugs lightly, enclosing you in a gentle embrace, swaying you to the music.

“Mm, I guess.” You agree, twirling so you hit him with your skirt, making him pout as you laugh.

You swear to god that you are going to kill Tony for the fucking ear-shattering microphone squeal that sounds as images flicker to life on the screen.

“Sorry for that! There’s a minute till midnight, and our screen is getting jazzed up for the final countdown!”

You can feel the anticipation bubbling up inside your stomach, and you wrap your arms around Bucky’s left one, feeling the metal underneath the suit’s sleeve. He leans down to kiss your hair, before watching the countdown intently, grinning down at you when everyone begins chanting down from ten.

“I can’t wait to spend another year with you, Buck.” You tell him, and his eyes light up, telling you with ease, that he replicates the feelings. As the clock hits three seconds, Bucky twists you off his arm and uses his right arm to support your back. You gasp, confused at what he’s doing, until he hooks his metal arm underneath one of your legs, effectively dipping you.

As the crowd around you screams the final number, Bucky leans down and locks lips with you, literally taking your breath away as you hear fireworks exploding outside the tower, probably from the tower, knowing Tony. But you don’t hear it, instead focusing on the pounding of your heart and the pounding of your boyfriend’s heart, being able to hear it because you’re pressed so closely together, as you’ve always meant to be. He’s intoxicating and you never want to let go, and you wrap your arms around your neck, feeling safe in his hold. He smiles against your lips, but before he can murmur something to you, the microphone squeals again and you can hear Tony speak.

“EVERYBODY TURN TO LOOK AT THE POWER COUPLE OF THE NIGHT, MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE AND QUEEN Y/N AND…” Bucky looks up from your kiss to viciously glare at your obnoxious teammate, and Tony’s eyes widen, before hurriedly squeaking out, “shit, don’t kill me Barnes, please!” and running off the stage.

Your boyfriend huffs, before pulling you up from the dip and enveloping you in a tight hug, nose nuzzling your hair.

“I can’t wait to spend a lifetime with you, babydoll.” He tells you, and you smile up at him, almost flushing at the love in his eyes. He takes your hand gently and leading you out to the balcony, where everyone’s gathering, the cool night air hitting your face. Fireworks shoot up into the sky and decorate it in vibrant colours as Bucky slots you in his side, the two of you silently watching the display. Because you don’t need words to explain your connection that’ll last beyond the tick of a clock, or the fireworks finally fizzling into the sky.

if mutuals see this, follow me on IG at alias.erin !!!

permanent tags (OPEN): @vibranium-arm / @gallifreyansass / @omalleysgirl22 / @girlwith100names / @buckysinthesinbin / @cameronahugenerd / @imsecretlyromanburki / @megan-atthedisco-blog / @buckys-fossil / @iamwarrenspeace / @alohabucky / @buckyappreciationsociety / @debbielovesbucky / @metal-armed-dino / @helloitscrowley / @sebastian-stans-thighs / @fantastic-fantasy-fanfics / @itallavengers / @feelmyroarrrr / @mjuikoli / @meganliiz / @yoyolovesbucky / @srgntjbarnes / @carriefish-er / @jurassicbarnes / @ssweet-empowerment / @shieldagentofthemonth / @palaiasaurus64 / @i-love-superhero / @infiniteholland / @ailynalonso15 / @bywonater / @vanillaicecrusher / @titty-teetee / @breezy1415 / @captain-amelia-bradley / @thewinterswimmer / @bioticgoddess / @thewonderfulworldofafangirl / @whatthehellisacastiel / @memory-of-a-goldfish / @amynotsantiago / @bandbooktvaddict / @edgyroses / @buckysmaingirl / @thefridgeismybestie / @cumonbucky / @untimelyideasforstories / @ridingmoxley / @jadalecki-jackles

(strike through means I couldn't tag you, sorry!)

[rickstexaschick]

Rick’s Texas Chick: Chapter 22

This was originally posted on AO3 at:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15183545/chapters/35775684#workskin‘

Rick woke up late in the morning with a huge hangover.  And a warm body pressed against his back and legs.  It felt good.  Had she returned, come back to him in the middle of the night?  Reaching behind, his hand encountered a soft, furry body curled against the small of his back.  Another, larger one was stretched out and lay heavily along the backs of his legs.  He shifted away from them and rolled onto his back, disturbing two more bodies.  The black one was curled up above his head on the pillow, and the fourth had been lying on his feet, resting it’s head on his toes.

Christ.  Fucking cats.  They’d never slept with him in her bed before, except for the black one.  Well, Rick had never slept alone in her bed before, so maybe this is how they slept with her when he wasn’t around...And lately he’d been sleeping over a lot.  Almost every night.  Those fucking nightmares were happening more and more frequently.

He sighed and stretched.  The cats were in various stages of getting up, stretching deeply with great silent yawns then snapping their jaws shut with clicks of their teeth and jumping off the bed.  As if they had all been on guard duty and were now dismissed.  Only the black one stayed curled up on the pillow, refusing to budge.  Rick reached up behind his head and gave it a rough rub with his hand.

”Hi, cat.”  His voice was gruff.  Too much whiskey.  He sighed and got up, went to take a leak.  He needed coffee.  And something for this hangover.  And food.  Maybe Beth had some breakfast leftover.  Or he’d just fix himself a sandwich.  He got dressed and portalled across the street.

****

He was sitting at his work table in the garage, fiddling at the back of his portal gun with a screwdriver, adjusting the timing.  Sometimes she was still a little slow walking through with him — still hesitant, perhaps?  He needed to talk to her about that, remind her that she, or parts of her, could get left behind.  Maybe putting it that way would make her more afraid. He’d have to think that through...

A sizzling pop and the slight tang of ozone caused him to look up in time to see Harley stepping through a portal over in the corner of the garage.  His eyes narrowed and he picked up his flask for a huge drink.

”Welllll, i-i-if it isn’t ‘Easy Rider.’  Coming to gloat, are we?  Tell me all about the great ‘ride’ you took last night?”  He sat back on his stool, scowling.

”No, dickwad.  She’s been fucking crying for the last hour.”

Rick stood up, making the stool topple behind him with a clatter.  He was across the garage in a flash, grabbing Harley by his throat and squeezing.

”Asshole! Wh-wh-what did you fucking do to her?  Did you hurt her?!  D-d-did you fucking make her take it up the ass?   Did you?!  I told you she wasn’t ready for that yet!!”  The two men grappled with each other and slammed against some metal shelving, making a box of parts fall to the floor with a crash.

Harley took hold of Rick’s wrists and twisted, wrenching Rick’s hands off of his neck and shoved him away.

”Christ, no, fuckwad!  I-I-I would never hurt her!!  S-s-settle -- calm the fuck down, man.”

They stood facing each other, breathing heavily.  Rick shook out his wrists, glaring at Harley.  Harley coughed and rubbed his neck, he’d probably have bruises.  Asshole.

”You didn’t tell her shit about us, did you?  J-j-just got her drunk and dumped her in my lap, right?  And-and-and left me to deal with the explanations and the fucking fallout.  Sh-she damn nearly had a nervous breakdown!  You never even told her about her ex.  She still thinks he’s gonna show up at her — on her goddamn doorstep someday!”

Rick blinked, absorbing this.  He walked back to his work table and picked up his flask and took a huge slug, still deep in thought.  He had to admit, that’s pretty much how this had played out.  Got her a little tipsy to help her relax, because he knew from experience that otherwise her inhibitions would work against her...But he hadn’t realized she was still afraid of her ex coming around.  She never talked about him.

“L-L-Look, man,” Harley continued, his voice lowering, “y-y-you gotta come back with me, help me fix — straighten this out.  Carry this thing through.  And she doesn’t have any clothes — y-y-you didn’t tell her to bring any, dumbshit.”

Rick sighed.  Well, he didn’t have anything else going on.  And if he played his cards right, he could work this to their advantage.

Right then Beth came into the garage from the kitchen to investigate the angry voices and noises.  It had sounded like her father was arguing with...himself.  She stopped, looking at the two nearly identical men.  She’d never seen multiple versions of her father before.  She knew they existed, Morty had told her about them.

Rick turned to look at Beth, “Hey, sweetie, I n-n-need you to go across the street and pack some clothes and things.  She’ll be out of town for the rest of the week.  And-and-and Morty and Summer need to take care of those cats of hers while she’s gone.”

Rick and Beth talked about the details of packing clothes for her, arguing, with their quick tempers flaring. (What kind of clothes does she need?  How the fuck should I know?  Just pack her some shit...)

Harley watched silently, suddenly lost in thought.  So, this is the daughter he would have had, if his Diane had lived...  He wish he hadn’t seen her.  It made his heart hurt to think about it... Rick started speaking to him and it brought him out of his sad reverie.

”Ok, I guess it’ll take a few minutes for Beth to get some shit together for her.  You wanna...have a beer or something?” Rick rubbed the back of his neck. He wasn’t used to having other Ricks around. Or anyone else, for that matter.

”Nah, man.  I gotta get back, buy some food.  That’s where I told her I was goin’.”  He aimed his portal at the wall and stepped through.

Rick sat back down at his work bench and took a thoughtful swig from his flask.  He believed Harley when he’d said he hadn’t tried to force her to do anal sex.

Rick had tried to “knock on her back door” a number of times.  In the beginning she’d burst into hysterical tears the moment he’d touched her, and cowered away from him in the bed as if she expected him to start beating her next.  She sobbed and begged him repeatedly, “Please stop, it hurts, please stop...”  Like a recorded chant that was stuck on a loop in her mind from some past event.  And he hadn’t even done anything beyond stroking her once or twice.  It fucking freaked him out.  He’d had to calm her down, holding her in his arms, kissing her, speaking softly to her, waiting for her to stop shaking and crying.  It was a boner killer, if ever there was one.

Only the last one or two times it was she who’d suggested trying it again.  He knew she was only doing it to please him.  She didn’t cry or cringe away from him like a beaten animal, but the moment he touched her she still asked him to stop, saying she wasn’t ready.  Then she started crying anyway, ashamed and apologizing.  Total boner killer.

He wondered if it was too soon to try again.

He sure would like to know what that bastard had done to her...

tbc

[faunusrights]

Nora/Pyrrha, loudly so that everyone can hear

I don’t know why my mind immediately leapt to ‘Pyrrha and Nora in an arcade’, but it did and here we are. So have 2064 words of shenanigans! I’m also gonna make this today’s RWBYAC fill??? MULTITASKING.

You’d seen the claw machine before - it’s hard not to have, really, since it’s huge and sticks right out of the arcade on the boardwalk. Plenty of kids like to try their luck and plenty more have come away empty-handed, but you’ve never seen reason to have a go yourself. Some of the toys are cute, sure, but even if you could get one out of confinement (which is unlikely anyway since all these machines are, in Jaune’s own frustrated words, completely fricking rigged up to the armpits) you’d have no real need for it anyway. Your dorm room only has so much space to offer when it’s shared between four people and, besides, you don’t even want to imagine trying to get all your stuff back home to Mistral as it stands right now.

So there’s a claw machine on the boardwalk that you’ve never had any interest in, but then Nora decides she’s having a really lucky streak after beating Ruby to the last of the morning pancakes and she declares she’s gonna win something this time. Even if this is, like, the fiftieth try! She’s feeling good about it! And Ren doesn’t want to go because he wants to study (he says, but you think he probably has other plans that include throwing an impromptu congratulatory/consolation party depending on Nora’s success) and Jaune’s been dragged off to spar one-on-one with Ruby (an idea that, quite frankly, brought tears to his eyes) so it’s down to you to chaperone and make sure any frustration doesn’t end up with a fist-shaped hole in the glass.

Besides, it’s a nice day for a walk anyway.

So the pair of you board the afternoon airship down into Vale because Nora is kind of in love with the very concept of Beacon having its own airship service just to ferry kids around in, and you both end up looking down to all the people on the ground and start to make up stories about what they might be doing, or going, or whatever.

“That guy down there-” Nora prods at the glass, leaving a fingerprint on the otherwise pristine surface. “He and his dog are vigilantes at night. He chases the criminals and his dog cuts ‘em off and bites at their ankles.”

You laugh airily, mostly because you’re thinking of Zwei and also thinking that it’d still be the least weird thing this city has to offer, if it were true. “Okay. I think… I think that person there?” You motion towards a fisherman at the end of a narrow, wonky dock. “Years ago, a fish stole his left boot and he’s still fishing for revenge.”

Nora gasps so loudly it’s almost like she just got shot. “And! And and and, whilst fishing today a second fish will steal his right boot.”

A Yangism pops into your head, and you grin. “Leaving him without a leg to stand on, hm?”

“Pyrrha.” Nora’s delighted, and her freckled cheeks are pink with it. “You’ve been hanging out with Yang too much!”

You’re guilty as charged, so you just laugh again instead, the airship humming as it turns around to dock below.

Once both of you are back on solid ground Nora takes point, leading you through crowds of people with only minimal amounts of shoulder-bashing, but you still follow with strings of apologies anyway. At some point Nora’s hand finds yours and she pulls you along easily, feet thudding along as sandy tarmac turns to wooden slats, and the crowds taper off a little until you can easily swerve around those slower than Nora.

Just over the salty tang of the air and the rhythm of the waves beneath your feet comes the sweetness of sugar and ice cream and the chipper notes of music, and when Nora lets go of your hand to enter a even faster sprint you know the arcade must be just a few meters away. So, you slow down a touch, able to see Nora’s bright head of orange hair as she bobs in front of the machine. Even though you’re walking at a pretty decent pace she still waves you over, pretending to tug you over with some invisible rope when that fails to speed you up.

“C’mon Pyrrha! You’ve gotta be my witness to my victory!”

Your eyeroll would make Weiss proud, but you finally jog over until you stand side-by-side, looking into the glass box as Nora presses her face against it.

“Oh man, what should I go for? That bear is super duper cute, but that kitty is so- oh! Pyrrha, they have sloths!”

“I see it.” True to her word there’s a few fuzzy, sleepy sloths scattered amongst the other prizes, and you already know she’s committed to them. Without another word she’s pulling out her wallet, emblazoned with the Beacon logo, and it jingles with change.

A Lien goes in, and chirpy music starts to play over low-quality speakers. Nora takes control of the crane like a seasoned pro - which she kind of is by this point - and you’re content to lean against the machine as the crane practically crawls into position above a sloth coloured an eye-searingly bright shade of pink.

“Here it comes, here it comes-” Nora’s chanting under her breath as she drops the crane, and there’s a moment where you hold your breath as the claws tuck beneath the prize, starting to slowly lift it from the other toys.

Judging by how a dog walking by with its owner just turned its head to you, Nora’s squeal of excitement was beyond your hearing range.

The claw takes its sweet time dragging back over to the bucket, though. Even you’re feeling an infectious itch of impatience as the sloth gets closer and closer to the bucket… and then, hardly an inch away, it slips just a little out of its metallic grip.

“No! Ren Junior!” And, just like that, the claw gives up entirely and the sloth falls, falls, falls, all the way back with the other prizes just in time for the music to stop and the crane to slide back to its starting position.

You’ve never heard Nora make such a horrified cry before and maybe you should comfort her, but the fact she’d already given the sloth a name just makes you snort, and then snigger, and when Nora’s wide eyes slide from Ren Junior over to you it’s inevitable that you’ll just start losing it. So you do, hands on your knees as you bend over with a cackle that’s practically bursting from your chest in a rush to get out into the world.

“Pyrrha, my child just died a death and you’re laughing at me?” She must know she’s just making you laugh harder, because when she grasps your shoulders to pull you upright she’s smiling too, even if she’s trying her hardest to keep it down. “The great and wondrous claw deemed my only child not worthy.”

You’re going to get hiccups at this rate, so you try and take a breath, swallowing it down. “I- hehe- I’m s-sorry… I just-” Your words fall into a long snort, body shaking, so Nora lets go and gets out another Lien, shoving it through the slot to start the music up again.

“No sympathy in my time of plight on this team… never any darn sympathy…”

Still, it soon proves that the first attempt had also been Nora’s most successful. The second attempt misses Ren Junior completely, and the third sees the claw not even manage to get a decent grasp. The fourth and fifth see Ren Junior get lifted a little before falling back down, and the sixth sees the claw stoke the fuzzy fur like some weirdly affectionate four fingered monster before rising back into place.

Nora’s too distressed to try a seventh attempt, your claims that seven is a lucky number aside.

“He’s lost to me!” Her broken sobbing is very realistic, you have to admit. “His father will never know what he looked like!”

The people in the arcade are also looking pretty distressed, so you pat her back and tug her away from the machine with gentle hands. “You can try again another day, you know.”

A sniffle, resigned. “But what if someone else gets him first?”

Patting her again, you glance towards the end of the boardwalk, noting the ice cream stand you’d seen - well, smelled - before. “Listen, hey. Ren Junior might be a lost cause, but you know what isn’t?”

“What?”

“Ice cream. Which is always accessible even in the dead of winter.”

Just like that, Nora’s eyes light up and her persona falls away as easily as a coat, so you continue. “If you go to that parlour over there and get something, I’ll join you in a second? I promised Ruby to get one of those silly hats with the drink holders for Weiss.”

“Sure thing!” And then Nora’s off like a bullet down the boardwalk, disappearing amongst the throng of people, but with a hum you turn on your heel and head back towards the arcade.

Maybe it’s not Nora’s lucky day, but with a bit of help from a certain semblance it might just be yours.

When you enter the parlour not a few minutes later, Nora’s got a chocolate wafer cone with more scoops towered on it than physically, gravitationally possible. Your hands are tucked behind your back, but Nora doesn’t notice when there’s a scoop of marshmallow chocolate bigger than your fist calling for her, so she doesn’t even really glance your way when you slide into the seat next to her.

“Having fun?”

“Mm-hm!” A dotted napkin comes up to wipe off a bit of ice cream just out of reach of her tongue, and she grins. “They’ve got butterscotch there if you wanna get one too!”

You mentally calculate how much sparring you’ll have to do to burn it off, and find it’s probably worth it. “I will in a moment. I was going to tell you this weird thing that happened when I went back-”

“Weird? Weird how? Like a Grimm rose out of the ocean wearing a hat kind of weird? Or just you saw a woman with three legs kind of weird?”

Privately, you wonder which outclasses the other. “More like as I was walking I heard this little voice crying your name, and when I looked down I happened to find this.” From behind your back you pull out Ren Junior, in all his fluffy pink glory, and Nora just stares open-mouthed, heedless of the dripping ice cream that’s falling onto the table. And then, she turns around sharply, tapping the shoulder of the person sat at the table over.

“Excuse me- hi, yeah, sorry, can you hold this real quickly? Thanks.” Nora turns back to you with both hands free, and she cleans them on the napkin seconds before launching herself at you like a cannonball, paired with a face-splitting grin and a roar of your name.

“Pyrrha! Pyrrha!”

She’s heavy enough that your chair falls back and ends up propped on two legs against the wall in a way that makes you very nervous, but she’s squirming and hugging you until your ribs are creaking and she’s laughing too, Ren Junior squashed up where you threw your arms around her in a panic. The guy holding the ice cream is waiting patiently with half a grin, but you shoot him an apologetic smile anyway and wonder for a moment if this is a place you can ever return to.

When Nora pulls away just long enough for your chair to thud back onto four legs she takes your hands in hers, squeezing until your knuckles pop, and her face settles into an expression so serious it feels like you’re being proposed to.

“Pyrrha, I’ve not said this enough, but I want everyone here- everyone!” The shout attracts pretty much all the attention of the parlour, and you blush so hard you can tell it’s matching your hair. “I want everyone to know that this woman right here, that this perfect teammate? This brilliant friend? I love her more than anyone in the world!” Then, she pauses, blue eyes falling to the prize trapped between your palms. “‘Cept maybe for Ren Junior.”

You don’t even bother trying to hide your laughter this time. Some things are just too impossible to stop.

[mackenzieintherain]

Needs a better title

Catnip

A Whateley Academy Fanfiction

By Mackenzie

I remembered this place. I'd spent a lot of my childhood here. This man was new, though.

“Hello. It's nice to meet you. My sister has told me a lot about you.” He's very broad. Almost as wide as he is tall. It's a little intimidating.

“I understand you're a mutant?” How did he find that out?

“Oh, I assure you, no mutations are minor. Cellular adaptation is incredibly useful. In fact, you could be of great help to me. My nephew is about to turn thirteen, and I'd like to do something nice for him. Could I ask you to assist?”

Suddenly, I remember a thin little boy with glasses that I look after. Yes, I'd like to do something nice for him...

“Wonderful! Roll up your sleeve-”

He's saying something else, but I can't make it out. The Garbled voice turns to laughter, sinister laughter, and the blackness comes again...

Bubbles...bubbles floating close, it's like sitting inside a glass of pop where am I Agh! Face! Who is that? Stupid hair. Stupid beard. Like a chinstrap for a pube helmet. Why is he pointing at me? Where am I...? Oh god, it hurts-why does it hurt? Like mice gnawing on my brain! The mice ran away...that cat must have chased them off...Cat? It's looking at me. Look at all those teeth...Oh god, oh god, it's going to EAT me!

I jerked upright in my seat, the sound of my own screaming ripping me out of the depths of sleep. I looked around frantically, but I couldn't see the lab that had kept me prisoner for close to a year, or any demon cats. Just the interior of a train car, and disembarking passengers. Who had all stopped, and were staring at me.

Crap.

I shrank back down in my seat, willing the ground to swallow me whole. After a painfully long time, they all started moving again, though murmured whispers and sidelong looks continued. Fortunately, I was saved from death by embarrassment as a cheery, bespectacled face with a deranged shock of chestnut brown hair poking down into my field of view.  

“Blimey! That was quite a yelp. You all right there, Mac?” A British kid I'd made acquaintance with the ride down, Russell Smith was a relentlessly friendly sort. If he'd been perving on my seatmate and I, he did a good job of hiding it. He made a grand show of clearing his ear with a pinkie finger, then disappeared from my field of vision for a moment, walking around the seat to face me, naked concern on his face.

I wasn't really sure what to say to the question, both the unspoken and the spoken one. He'd chatted with my seatmate and I as we made the trip to Dunwich, and was a really nice kid, but I didn't know how to address his concern without inviting questions that I really hadn't decided how to feel about. “Fine...fine. Just a nightmare.” I managed finally, sighing heavily.

“'Just'?” He echoed, and I could almost hear him pronouncing the quotes.

I shook my head, looking away, and in the process, my eyes fell on the empty seat beside me. Where did she go? Had I chased her away...? He smiled, taking my refusal to engage with good humor.

“Miss Naokawa asked me to let you know she was absolutely famished, and needed to make a detour to the Station's newsagent to pick up some sweets. She'll meet you at the baggage claim.” He offered.  

I let out a sigh of relief, and let myself smile up at him. “Thank you, Russell.”

“Just Russ,” He corrected, winking at me. “Or Counterfeit. Only my Nan calls me Russell.”

I nodded agreeably, pushing myself into a standing position. “Russ.” I repeated. “I should head off, then. I'll see you at school?”

He smiled widely, flashing a grin. “Oh yes. I look forward to it, Mac. Cheers.” He tossed me a two finger salute and turned away, disappearing in the throng of disembarking passengers. Thankfully, the gawkers I'd attracted by screaming as I woke up had all dispersed as well. I bent down to collect my backpack and begin stuffing the books and Gameboy that I'd been using on the trip into it.

I can't believe how weird this is. I'm going back to school! I mean, I'd been wanting to for awhile, but not HIGH School. It was bad enough the first time! And I've gotta do it again, this time at mutant high. Jebas. I paused in the introspection, looking up at the window of the train out onto the station. A translucent reflection stared back at me. Boyishly short jet black hair, big green eyes, high cheekbones, and stupidly pouty lips...And just for the icing on the crap cake, I have to do it with someone else's face. My eyes fell down to my neck, and the long, livid scar tracing the side of the white skin. At least that's still mine.

The repacking of my stuff finished, I joined the crowd jostling each other to get off the train. Just gotta be positive. I decided, moving with the throng. In he back of my head, the remainder of the programming was trying to tell me to change my walk, that I could manage this crowd much easier if I behaved differently. I viciously squashed it, and kept moving. This is a fresh start. Admittedly, I wouldn't have picked going back to high school for a fresh start, but it wasn't exactly up to me. And I'm away from everyone who knows about...that time-

That last thought hit me as I stepped out of the train into the cooler, but somewhat musty air of the train station platform. I stepped to the side, out of the path of the milling throng disembarking from the train and stretched. A fresh start, huh? Maybe this won't be so bad.

“Selina!”

“Oh, -crap-!”

-   -   -

I hate him. I hate him SO much. It was repeating over and over in a litany in my head, almost a marching chant as I hurried into the station to get away from him.

“Selina! Selina, wait up!”

Fuck! Take a goddamn hint and go AWAY, you ass!

“Se-”

Gritting my teeth, I spun sharply on my heel, turning to face him. He was running to meet me, and as soon as he came within reach, I picked up my foot and drove the heel of my boot down hard on the shiny leather loafer. He hissed in pain, stumbling to a stop, and I took the moment of his distraction to grab his necktie and use it as leverage to propel him hard into the temporary use lockers that lined the walls of the Dunwich train station. I could hear the general buzz around us dim as the metallic thump of his body against the lockers drew attention, but I was far too angry to care. I used his tie to pull him down to me Why is he so tall my life is not fair and I glared at the criminally stupid jackass with all the heat and fury I could muster.

That may have been a mistake.  

I took a breath and suddenly his scent was filling my nose. It was a heady mix of Old Spice and some sort of...guy smell. Leather and soap with the tiniest bit of sweat. It was like a shower of sparks on my nervous system, and my stomach fluttered, and my cheeks flushed.

It just made me madder. Hate him hate him hate him want to stab him kill him and possibly rip his clothes off and screw his brains out claw his back and I hate that I want that-

“First, Leonard-” I hissed, but somewhere, the stupid little...okay, big prick oh my god stop thinking about screwed up the nerve to interrupt me while I was talking.

“Actually, It's Bruce-”

I drove the heel of my boot onto the top of his shoe again and yanked on his tie pulling it snug around that stupid designer shirt to cut off the cry of pain-I'm pretty sure I felt some of the bones crack, but I was too livid to care. “First, LEONARD-” I snarled, “My name is not Selina. Second, like I told you back in Burnaby, you are not Batman. You're a fourteen year old with more hormones than brains, and a criminally insane bio-devisor for an uncle. I try very hard not to hold that against you, but you're really, REALLY pushing your luck. THIRD, I told you I never want to see you again in Vancouver. This is Massachusetts. This is some fairly creepy stalker crap, and-”

He was turning red, and those stupid, manufactured, rugged good looks were puffing out slightly, but he wasn't fighting it and meekly held up a finger like a schoolboy asking to go to the bathroom. I was still furious, but I relented, easing his tie loose enough for him to speak.

“I didn't actually follow you.” He pointed out meekly. “I mean, I did, but only from the platform. I'm enrolled in Whateley too.”

“...You're fucking kidding me.” I blurted. He took the opportunity to grab my wrists and twist, breaking my hold on his tie. He straightened up to his full height, and I could hear the crowd noise around us beginning to pick up again as the looky-lous hoping for more violence were disappointed. I was getting into the habit of making scenes today. He stood up straight, wincing a little as he favored his foot.

“I think it might be broken. And no, I'm not kidding.” He told me reproachfully.

“Cry me a river, Regenerator-2.” I snapped. “Why are you enrolled at Whateley? Your mom was talking about getting the changes reversed, and you weren't a mutant to begin with.”

“I didn't want to, but she did try.” He admitted, and a slightly self-depreciating smile tugged at his lips. I was suddenly hit with the urge to smack that stupid charm out of him. “According to the 'experts', Samuel Kelly's donation to Prototype's work on me caused some sort of secondary mutation. The DNA from the other donors is embedded in mine so firmly they can't tell what to remove. I'm basically stuck like this.”

“Donors? What a...sanitary word for 'the other guinea pigs'.” I grated through clenched teeth. I gave him my best disdainful look. He was a six foot fourteen year old with neatly coiffed jet black hair and a jaw that could have been carved out of granite, a smattering of stubble and startling ice-blue eyes, and an Exemplar body. We all should be so stuck. Suddenly, a chill ran down my spine as something occurred to me. If he was stuck, what about me? I'd been trying to adapt, but I'd always held out hope that one day... “Stuck? What about your uncle?”

“Hung in his cell three days ago.” Leonard replied somberly. “No one knows why. It's been ruled suicide, but I found suspicious DNA under his fingernails, and the surveillance camera footage is spotty. And when I started filing complaints, we were suddenly awarded a huge settlement, and a free ride scholarship at Whateley.”

The station began spinning wildly around me, and I was getting lightheaded. Prototype could rot in hell for all I cared, but... “That means I'm-” I couldn't bear to finish the thought. I stumbled, and my arm shot out to brace me against the lockers. He had concern on his face as he stepped toward me, but it looked much more threatening on his face than on Russell's. I skittered back defensively, raising a fist warningly. “Leonard. Stay the hell away from me.” I breathed, trying to wrestle the myriad of psychotic emotions under control.

No. Absolutely not. I survived those labs, Prototype couldn't break me, I'll be damned if I give in to a psychotic fit now.

“My name really is Bruce, you know.” Leonard told me, though he obligingly stayed back. “Paperwork for a legal name change and everything.”

“I'm not calling you that.” I replied faintly, taking deep breaths to try and get my equilibrium back. What I really wanted was to put my head between my legs, or pass out, but I was not about to let him see that. “I'm not giving in to that demented little fantasy he tried to make for us. Why are you so eager for it?”

He gave me a funny look. “Are you kidding? Who wouldn't want to be Batman?”

“You're not Batman. You're a mutant with a bunch of low level powers where his training and intelligence would be. And, the most important part, -Cease and Desist-.” I reminded him wearily.

“Alright, Bat-like Vigilante Man.” He sighed. “Lawyers. Anyway, It feels right.”

I sincerely hope that isn't the codename that he picked. “That's because of Mindfuck.” I snapped. “If you'd just...”

Behind me, a security guard cleared his throat, and I gave up on what I was about to say to turn and look at him. A burly black man in his early thirties with a barrel chest and a gut to match wearing a well tailored and well fitting uniform, folded his arms and gave Leonard a -look-. I blinked and looked around and winced. The crowd that had gathered around us had dispersed, but we still had our fair share of gawkers. In particular, a redheaded boy with a really tall, strong looking blond girl were watching with surprisingly intense interest. I hadn't been paying attention. “Is there a problem here, sir?” The guard rumbled.

“Um, no. Not at all. I'm just talking with my girlfr-I mean, Selina-” He began awkwardly, and rage spiked up in me, hot and sudden, and I stepped up to him, reached up and cuffed him on the back of the head.

“I said stop doing that.” I snapped, putting my hands on my hips. “I'm not your girlfriend.”

The big black guard stepped up, his arms dropping down. “Do you want to file a complaint, Miss?” He asked with surprisingly genteel manners. “We can have him escorted off the premises if he's threatening you.”

I hate being called that. Still, he hasn't drooled, or even looked a little too long. I like him. Should I let him...? I wondered, glancing at Leonard and sighing. The idiot was bracing for a fight. If he beat up the guard, it'd be my fault. I pasted a smile on my face, shaking my head and stepping between them, facing the guard and glancing at his name tag. “It's alright, Officer...Lewis. Leonard's a pest-” I heard a noise of protest behind me, and my smile widened at his irritation. “-But I can handle him. For now.”

Deep in my mind, the programming was talking to me again, and it was a struggle to shut it down so I could function like myself. Officer Lewis seemed disappointed, shooting Leonard another glare before looking down at me and nodding. “If you say so, miss. If you need assistance...” He trailed off meaningfully, and I stepped in closer, smiling up at him winsomely.

“...I know where to find you.” I finished in a purr, nodding agreeably, and reaching out to brush his arm. “Thank you so much.”  

He grinned widely, a sparkle of white against his dark face, and he ACTUALLY TIPPED HIS CAP. My god, someone needs to make a whole lot more of him. “My pleasure. You have a good day now, y'hear?” he added, and turned to walk away, whistling, as my face burned in shame, and I viciously locked down the behavioral programming that had gotten loose, turning around to face Leonard, who was frowning after the security guard. Again, the the curious observers had started moving on, and the low buzz of murmuring started up again. I cringe to think how many people had noticed me today. This was the crappiest fresh start ever.

“Why aren't you that nice to me?” Leonard complained petulantly, and I began counting to ten. Murder One is just going to get me in more trouble with the government, I told myself. And I don't know if he can help this or not. And it's not like I always hated him. He was actually a pretty nice kid before.

“Because you're a dick.” I told him shortly. “And because you won't take no for an answer. And because I relive those months in the lab every time I look at you.” And because stupid pheromones and behavioral programming would make me ride you like a mechanical bull if I let it. And now that his Uncle's dead and Mindfuck's still at large, I may never get it fixed.

Leonard winced. “Selina...”

“THAT IS NOT MY NAME!”

People were staring again, but I was past caring. I mean really, who gave a shit? I just saw a girl with forest green hair and Vulcan ears. Neither he nor I were -that- attention getting. Besides, it felt good to give emotions free reign. Leonard was the more controlled one, now. He stepped closer to me, and dropped his voice to a low rumble that made me shiver. And not in a fear reaction. “Do you want me to call you Samuel?” he asked pointedly, and I bit my lip, trying to get myself under control.

“I wondered if you remembered there's a thirty-one year old man in here.” I grumbled, looking away to hide the blush, hot, if not hotter than the anger.

“Of course I do.” He replied mildly. “Sam a good friend of my mom's. He used to babysit me all the time when I was little. He even taught me how to ride a bike. But you're not him anymore, are you?”

I looked up at him, faltering a little. It was easy to see why he thought that way. He was a full head taller than me now, and just...I stepped on that line of thought, hard, and began focusing on my frustration that he was giving in to the conditioning. It worked, and I could feel the discomfort swept away under a wave of fury.

“I am absolutely still him, Leonard. I always will be. Your uncle and his associate took everything from me. This part of me, they cannot have!” I was building toward a screaming fit, and with some effort, I wrestled it back under control, and went on, “This stuff outside...” I trailed off, gesturing to my body, “It's window dressing. And even if it wasn't, I refuse to let them define me. I think Catw...the lady thief would approve.”

He looked uncomfortable. “If you say so. I know who you used to be. And it weirds me out. Kinda a lot. But then I look at you here, and you're just so sexy-”

“Stop!” I burst out as quickly as I could, and sighed. “Don't finish that sentence. I'm begging you. Just stop, okay? I have no desire to be your girlfriend,” True enough “Or have sex with you.” Haha, liar-liar pants on fire. And doesn't it just send little thrills through you to know what you do to him?

I began taking deep breaths, trying to remember what the counselor told me about coping with this new twist on my sexuality that had been imposed on me without my knowledge or consent. I was coming up empty, though, and teetering on the edge of a nervous breakdown. It's not all men, it's just him, but that's really bad enough and I need a girl here, and I need to remind myself  I'm not gay. Or that I am gay. What the fuck AM I?

“Can't we at least be friends?” He asked hopefully, intruding on my increasingly desperate thoughts, his lips quirking in a subtly lopsided, stupid, cute, hopeful grin. “You used to play with me all the time when I was little, Uncle Sam. You don't hate me that much, right?”

I blushed darkly, looking around to see if anyone was listening. “Don't call me that, either.” I mumbled. “I don't hate you, Leo. I just...” I trailed off aimlessly and shook my head and sighed.

“What should I call you, then? I haven't seen you since you told me to get lost after the RCMP raided My uncle...I mean, Prototype's lab. Did you get a new name, too?”

“Mackenzie. I go by Mackenzie Grey now.” I said, sighing heavily. He tilted his head.

“Mackenzie, huh? I like that. But...doesn't it feel wrong?” He asked. I knew what he was talking about. The brainwashing had been largely undone, but there were lots of little landmines in both of our heads. They'd had telepaths stronger than Mindfuck trying to undo the brainwashing, but in their considerable professional opinion, the process of undoing what he did could cause mental collateral damage. Becoming drooling vegetables was actually the best case scenario.

I opened my mouth to chew him out for the stupid flirty comment just on general principle, but looking up at him, I was struck by his expression. That frustrating 'too cool for school' guarded confidence was gone, and he had an new expression on his face. It took me a minute to understand, but little Leo the curious rug rat was finally peeking out from under all that stupid 'Bruce Wayne' conditioning. I couldn't keep the anger going. I was actually happy to see my adopted nephew again. Really happy. I hadn't realized I'd almost given Leo up for dead, assuming he'd been replaced by a smarmy jackass with testosterone poisoning.

“Yeah.” I admitted. It felt like an itch I couldn't quite scratch. But it belonged to me, not the stupid programming. “But it's better than listening to Catwoman jokes day in and day out. How have you avoided teasing about your name?”

“You mean, when it's not appropriate to beat them up?” He grinned. I gave him a sharp look, and he raised his hands defensively. “I'm kidding! Mom didn't want me to do it, but answering to Leo was...itchy, somehow. So I changed it, but I kept my real last name. I'm Bruce Wayne O'Neil, Nice to meetcha.” He grinned and stuck out his hand. I suddenly realized he was genuinely introducing himself, and I started, reaching back to him with a faint nod.

“Mackenzie Grey.” I replied, shaking his hand firmly, squeezing a little with the boosted strength they'd slapped on me in the lab of horrors. “Eyes up here, big boy.”

He started guiltily. “I wasn't...” He began, and I couldn't help but laugh. He joined in after he understood I wasn't about to explode again. “Ha ha. So....friends? Auntie Mac?” he added, sticking out his tongue.

I fought down another blush-this was going to be a huge problem. Leo the innocent little kid is about a hundred times more endearing than charming Bruce Wayne, and I couldn't muster the same anger to keep him at bay. “So long as it's understood...friends only.” I warned. “If you try any more of that stuff you pulled when we got out of the lab...”

“I will never kiss you without permission again.” He promised soberly. “I really am sorry about that, by the way.” My mouth went dry.

“Among other things.” I added.

“Among other things.” he agreed.

“Okay, Okay. I can't promise everything will be hunky-dory, but I'll...” I trailed off, groping for words.

“Try not to be such a bitc-” He began, and I felt my temper spike.

“If you value your testicles, do NOT finish that sentence.”

“Sorry! Sorry, I really am. It just popped out...”

“The next time something threatens to 'pop' out, I want you to think of what your mother would do, and remember that we took the same martial arts classes, and your uncle boosted my strength.” I told him coldly.

He actually turned pale! I had to grit my teeth to keep from laughing and spoiling the threat. “Yes Ma'am.”

I gave in, giving him a small smile. “Good boy. Now get out of here, I have to go get my luggage.”

“But I have to get mine, too. We could walk togeth-” He trailed off as I gave him a glare that could blister paint. “Actually, I better go check to make sure my ride is here before I get my suitcase. Bye bye!” He fled and I felt my face relax into a smile. I had my doubts, but that went a lot better than I could have ever guessed. I watched him go, reveling in the warm fuzzies of an all-too-rare victory.

“So!” A perky voice sounded from behind me, breaking the reverie, so close that I could feel the exhalation of breath on my neck. “Who's your new boyfriend, Sokoke?” I whipped around to see the cheery face of the russet-haired girl with Asian eyes who'd been my seatmate on the ride down from Boston.

My face erupted into scarlet. “I just finished telling him, he's NOT my boyfriend, Tiffany. And can you please stop using code names until we get to school? I'm still not used to 'Nekomata'.”

As per usual, she ignored me, sniffing at my neck, and then my chest. I'm not -proud- of squeaking as she stuck her nose in my boobs, but it happened. “You're really turned on.” She pointed out, blithely brushing aside my complaint.

“Gee, a hot Asian girl is motorboating me, I wonder why I'd be turned on.” I murmured wryly. It's not a total fib. Praise be to Cheezus, for giving me this reminder that I still like girls. “Personal space, dear.”

She drew back, her olive cheeks coloring a little. “Sorry, I keep forgetting. Sakurako-chan likes you. Like, a lot.” It was my turn to blush, but I couldn't come up with a suitably pithy reply. Didn't matter, though, she apparently had more to say. “So I was listening in...” She began, and my mouth dropped open, a sinking feeling overtaking me.

“How...?”

She smiled gently and pointed to the top of her head. A pair of translucent cat ears popped through the wavy red-brown locks, then disappeared again. “I suppose there's a curiosity killed the cat joke to be made, but I don't think you'd kill us. Would you?” She asked, batting her eyes exaggeratedly. She was clearly looking for a laugh, and I wanted to give her one, but my heart had splashed into the general area of my stomach.

“How much did you hear...?” I asked softly, my voice sounding like it was coming from really far away.

“Enough that I'm super curious to hear the rest....'Uncle Sam'.”

I cringed, turning to look at her to gauge her reaction. She didn't SEEM upset or angry, or even very weirded out. “Um...” I hedged, wondering what I should do. On the one hand, I'd never spoken about it directly. Not to anyone who wasn't there. Gave the trauma therapist fits, but I clammed up. I had enough to deal with at the time, getting my head shrunk was just too much on my plate. On the other hand, after the incident with Leo...Bruce, I really needed to talk to someone. She really looked like she wanted to hear. Still, I hesitated. “I...I don't want things to be weird, Tiffany.” I confessed. “And if I tell you this...”

“That you used to be a man?” She asked, bluntly. “And now are currently an ovulating teenage girl who's got an amazing body?”

“Ovu---How do you...?” I sputtered. She laughed brightly and just tapped her nose. I sighed and nodded. “That kind of is what I'm worried about.” I confessed. Heat burned and crawled up into my cheeks.

Tiffany just giggled and threw her arms around me in a hug. “Silly girl, You're talking to the daughter of Japanese immigrants. I was raised a prim and proper Buddhist girl. Everyone's been someone else before. It ain't no thang, trust me.”

“California Zen?” I murmured softly, pulled back enough to be eye to eye with her, hugging back and fighting the urge to let my hands slide down to her ass. Good lord, she was exotic and sexy...and less than half of my real age. Even if she -was- interested, I'm old enough to be...well, old enough to know better, anyway. When I get some time alone I'm going to have to use that stupid toy Kristen gave me when I left, or I'll be too horny to function at all.

She grinned wide enough to expose her tiny fangs and let one pop over her bottom lip, dropping into a low, surfer drawl. “Ya gotta take each wave as it comes, man. Like, Totally.”

I couldn't help it. I laughed. I want to hit on her, but I can't tell if she's interested in girls, or just being friendly... “Deep,” I commented.

“Yer darn tootin'. Now tell me a story, Mackie. It's what friends do. Pretty please?”

“Okay. Just...bear with me. I didn't even open up to my shrink.”

Tiffany actually hesitated, but then nodded seriously and took my hand, slipping her own into it, and lacing our fingers together. “Cowabunga, dude.” She intoned so solemnly that I barked out a laugh, and we began walking together to the baggage pickup. She sensed my continued hesitation, and leaned in, brushing her shoulder against mine. “Mackie, if it's too painful...” She began, oddly softly, for such an energetic girl.

I shook my head. “It might be, but the biggest problem is that my memory of the whole time is really...patchy.” I confessed. “A batshit insane telepath stuck his fingers in my brain and swirled them all around. The debriefing team actually told me more than I told them.”

She gave me a horrified look that I tried to ignore. She already knew the worst of it, so why not unload on her? I took a deep breath, trying work up the nerve. “How to start. Um...From what they said, this is all Billie Wilson's fault. Apparently, she gave Prototype the idea of using mutation to bring comic book superheroes to life. And as it turns out, his beloved nephew was really into Batman...”

[navek15]

Fairy Tail: A New Day Ch. 6

Chapter 6: Alyssa VS Erza

Eisenwald’s failed attempt to assassinate the guild masters with Lullaby ended up being big news. It made all the papers and it seemed like everybody was talking about it. Before joining Fairy Tail, I never would’ve imagined I’d be part of such a big event. It feels awesome, but I’m not gonna let it go to my head.

It still makes my heart skip a beat when I think about everything we went through. Kageyama gave himself up to authorities and Makarov put in a good word for him, so he might be out in a few months if he behaves. They even caught most of Eisenwald, so that’s reassuring at least. Scary thing is, they still haven’t able to track down Erigor. I’m worried he might show up at Fairy Tail looking for revenge.

But I’ll be okay, cause I’m with Team Morningstar. Alyssa, Zeke, Natsu and Happy all have my back no matter what. Not mention Gray and Erza, who are still trying to come up with a name for their team. Fairy Tail is awesome, and my fellow members are really great people. So don’t worry Mom, I’m doing fine.

P.S. Please don’t tell Dad any of this, kay?

Lucy sighed as she sealed the letter in an envelope. It had been three days since the battle with Eisenwald and Lullaby and she was looking forward to a relaxing day. As she stretched, she heard a knock at the door and walked towards it. She opened it and saw Zeke and his dad.

“Morning, Lucy.” Zeke greeted with a smile. Lyle whistled as he looked the apartment.

“Not a bad place for 70,000 Jewel a month.”

“Oh, hey Zeke. Mr. Hudson.” Lucy greeted back. “What are you guys doing here?”

“We came to remind you about the fight.” Zeke stated, confusing Lucy.

“What fight?”

“Don’t remember what happened before we left for Onibas a few days ago?” The archer asked. The celestial wizard thought for a second before remembering Alyssa challenging Erza to a fight when they got back.

“They’re seriously going through with that?!”

“Yup. In fact, the fight’s gonna start in about twenty minutes.” Lyle said as he looked at his watch. “Should be pretty exciting.”

A few minutes later, the three of them walked towards the back of the guild where most of Fairy Tail had crowded in a circle. Lucy looked at the center and saw Alyssa and Erza standing in the middle as several spectators cheered their names.

“Look like we made it.” Zeke stated.

“Oh, hey guys.” Mirajane said as she noticed the three new arrivals.

“About time.” A shirtless Gray stated.

“If those two value their manhood, they better fight with their all.” Elfman proclaimed.

“Um, Erza and Alyssa aren’t men.” Lyle replied with a sweat drop.

“But you gotta admit they’re both manly.” Macao replied. Suddenly, he smelt something burning before noticing the bottom of his coat was on fire. “Real mature, Natsu.” The purple flare wizard said as he put out the flame.

“Then don’t say my girlfriend’s manly.” The group turned and saw Natsu and Happy decked out in cheer uniforms (which they borrowed from Jet and Droy) while Natsu carried a flag with a chibi version of Alyssa’s face and the word ‘Victory!’ in bright red. Happy on the other hand was carrying a tambourine.

“Don’t you guys think you’re going a bit overboard?” Zeke asked.

“Nope.” The salmon-haired wizard replied as he started waving the flag in the air. “Kick her ass, Alyssa!”

“Aye!” Happy replied as he played his instrument. The orange-haired woman turned and smiled at her boyfriend and his cat cheering her one as she was putting on a pair of purple metal arm guards.

“So much for the strongest team in Fairy Tail.” Lucy sighed.

“What are you talking about?” Gray asked.

“You, Natsu, Alyssa, Zeke and Erza ya dummy.” The blonde replied. “You’re the five strongest wizards in the guild.”

“Ya right. What idiot fed ya that line?” The ice wizard asked, causing Mirajane to tear up. “Oh, you’re not an idiot, Mira.”

“Smooth move, Gray.” Zeke said.

“I’ll hand it to Natsu and Gray, they’re tough little dudes. But neither of them are even close to being the strongest. There are guys in Fairy Tail stronger than both of them combined.” Elfman stated before he pointed to himself. “Like this guy!”

“But Erza and Alyssa are in top three for the strongest woman in the guild.” Levy stated.

“As far as guys go, it’s a tough call, but I’d put my money on Laxus, Mystogan or Lyle.” Jet said, surprising Lucy as she turned towards the older man.

“You’re one of the strongest?”

The bespectacled man rubbed his head in embarrassment.

“All I meant was that the five of them work well together and they have the best team chemistry in all of Fairy Tail.” Mirajane said with overly dramatic tears.

“If you were just talking about Me, Natsu and Alyssa, then you’d be right. But throwing Gray and Erza in mix screws up our entire team dynamic.” Zeke stated. “Lucy, however, meshes much better with the team.”

“Aw, thanks.” The aforementioned blonde replied.

“Gotta say, I’m pretty synched to see how this fight turns out.” Elfman said.

“It’s a bit of a close call, but I’m putting my money on Erza.” Gray said before turning towards Elfman. “By the way, me and her are putting a team together. Want to join?”

The manly man thought for a bit before smirking. “Sounds like fun! Count me in.”

“Great. Now we just need one more member.” The ice wizard said.

“Why don’t you ask Cana?” Mirajane asked with a certain smile. “I’m sure she’ll have no problem working with you.”

Gray raised his eyebrow as he turned to where Cana was. The heavy drinker was in charge of taking bets for the fight and she was currently bending forward to take Romeo’s bet. While the younger man wasn’t paying attention, the Ice Wizard’s face reddened at the sight of her bikini-clad cleavage. “Sure, I guess.” Gray said as Mira giggled.

“It’s been quite a while since we’ve squared off like this.” Erza said as she stared down her taller opponent. “Though I hope you don’t mind me asking about those arm guards.”

“Just some extra safety measures.” Alyssa replied as she made the last adjustment. “Wouldn’t want to punch one of your swords and cut myself.”

“So you’ve learned.” The redhead smiled as she summoned her winged hilt sword. “Don’t expect me to go easy on you.”

Alyssa got into a fighting stance, giving a smirk of her own. “Wouldn’t be much fun if you did.”

“Go Alyssa! GO!” Natsu and Happy cheered as the two woman stared each other down. The tension building up.

“Round 1 starts!” Makarov said, signaling the beginning of the fight as Alyssa blasted and started throwing super-speed punches at Erza, the armored woman parrying with her swords as the clanging of the sword and the arm guards echoed through the air. When Erza swung down, Alyssa blocked the strike and smirked.

“Gotcha!” She stated, kneeing the redhead in the face.

“And first blood goes to Alyssa.” Wakaba commented.

Erza quickly recovered as her armor started to glow. “Requip: Heaven’s Wheel!” The light faded to reveal her Valkyrian armor and she took off, her many swords spinning in a clock formation behind her. “Dance, my swords!” Erza chanted as she swung, causing the wheel of swords to spiral towards Alyssa. However, the orange-haired woman had a counter for this.

“Speed Queen: Tornado!” Spinning at such high speeds caused a tornado to appear on the battlefield. The spiraling swords were sucked into the torrent of wind. Inside the tornado, Alyssa grabbed the swords as she spun and tossed them back at Erza, causing the flying woman to evaded and block her own swords as they were fired back at her. Using the last of the tornado’s strength, Alyssa shot herself towards Erza and the two unleashed their respective attacks.

“Spiral Swords!”

“Speed Queen: Hundred-Strike Punch!”

Sparks flew through the air as superfast punches and flying swords countered each other.

“Woah!” Lucy said, astonished by the ferocity of the battle.

“Now this is a fight!” Elfman commented as Natsu and Happy continued their cheering.

The two opposing wizards landed on the ground as Erza requipped to her Black Wing Armor. 'Looks like it’s time try out a new trick.’ Alyssa thought to herself as her arms started rapidly vibrating. She raised her arms over her head.

“Speed Queen…” However, a loud gong-like noise stopped the fight and drew everyone’s attention to an anthropomorphic frog creature in elaborate clothing.

“This fight is over!” The frog said in a womanly voice, not paying attention to Happy and Natsu booing her. “May I have your attention, please? I have come here on behalf of the Magic Council.”

“No way!” Levy said in surprise.

“Seriously?!” Jet exclaimed.

“Why would the council send her here?” Droy asked.

“Am I the only who noticed she’s a frog?!” Lucy asked.

“Believe it not, I’ve seen weirder stuff than this.” Zeke replied.

“As a result of the Eisenwald incident, a member of your guild has been charged with eleven counts of criminal property damage.” The frog lady stated. “Erza Scarlet, you are under arrest!”

“WHAAAAT?!” The guild exclaimed. Erza looked at the frog-woman in shock before requiping her back to her base armor and holding out her arms.

“Very well.” She said solemnly. “I’ll come along peacefully.” She stated as a pair of magic-blocking handcuffs were placed on her.

“Hold up!” The redhead and the frog turned and saw Lyle walking towards them. “I assume there’s going to be a trial, right?”

“Yes, that is correct.” The frog lady replied.

“In that case…” The bearded man said he raised his glasses, giving them a glaring effect. “I will act as Ms. Scarlet’s legal defense!”

The crowd of wizards started chatting amongst themselves as Macao and Wakaba shared a look and grinned.

And then…

It had been two hours since Erza, Lyle and the frog lady had left for the Fiore branch of the Magic Council and for most, the tension in the air was still high. For others though…

“Got any eights?” Zeke asked.

“Go fish. Mmmmm, fish.” Happy replied with drool coming down his mouth as Zeke pulled another card from the deck. Alyssa was laying her head on the bar counter, pouting as Natsu patted her on the shoulder.

“Hey, you were still awesome today!” The dragon-slayer said as he tried to cheer his girlfriend up.

“I still wanted to finish the fight.”

“Aren’t you guys worried about Erza?” Lucy asked, surprised by her teammate’s nonchalant attitude.

“Normally, we would be. But my dad knows the Council’s laws inside and out.” Zeke replied.

“If anyone can get Erza off the hook, it’s Lyle.” Wakaba stated.

“I just don’t get it.” Elfman said. “We’ve destroyed plenty of stuff in the past and they’ve never made a big deal out of it.”

“I know. It doesn’t make any sense.” Laki replied.

“You think they got some kind of ulterior motive?” Natsu asked.

“Whatever the case, all we can do now is wait and see what happens.” Makarov said with a grim expression. While the old master did have faith in Lyle to get Erza off the hook, he couldn’t help but feel like trouble was brewing.

Meanwhile, Erza was being escorted to the courtroom by the frog lady. However, the two stopped when they saw a man about Erza’s age with short blue hair, a strange tattoo on the right side of his face, black eyes and a white outfit.

“Siegrain.” Erza said in shock as the frog-woman kneeled.

“It’s been quite a while, Erza.” The blue-haired man said as he noticed Erza tensing up. “Please relax. I’m only here in spirit. I’m sending this projection from Era. In fact, all the wrinkled faces in that courtroom are projections as well. We didn’t think it necessary to be here for such a trivial matter.”

“I see. So you’re the one who’s behind this farce? You make me sick.” The redhead said with a scowl.

“Let’s be civil.” The projection said as he approached her. “I’ve always been a staunched defender of Fairy Tail. But the elders are worried that the blame for Clover’s destruction will into their laps. And the only way to avoid that is to place the blame on someone else entirely. You’re their scapegoat.”

“Enough!” The armored woman yelled.

“Just a friendly warning. In fact, it’s another matter altogether what I wish to discuss with you.” The projection said as it placed its hand on Erza’s chin, leaned in and whispered. “Don’t let a word slip about you know what. For both of our sakes.”

He ignored Erza’s glare as he walked back. “I must join my colleagues on the council. I’ll see you shortly on the other side.” And with that, the projection vanished.

“Oh wow.” The frog woman said. “You know from very important people.”

“He’s evil.” Erza replied under her breath.

“Well, that was ominous.” A piece of the wall said before it changed into a humanoid shape and then back into Lyle, who was holding a glowing lacrima. “You know, it’s people like him that make the common man hate politicians.”

“And still don’t see why you decided to hide.” The redhead said.

“Call it a hunch, but I wanted to see what kind of argument I would need to bring up.” He then held up the lacrima. “But it looks like this case is already in the bag.”

A few minutes later, Erza and Lyle were standing before the judge and the Magic Council.

“This courtroom will now come to order.” A frog person said. “Before us is the defendant Erza Scarlet. Please take the stand, Ms. Scarlet.”

The redheaded woman did just that as she walked forward and faced the Magic Council, Siegrain watching with a bemused expression.

“Erza Scarlet, you stand before the council accused of the destruction caused during the Eisenwald incident.” The judge stated. “These charges include the extensive damage to Oshibana station, the collapse of the Ryushika Gorge bridge and the complete destruction of the Clover Conference Hall. We understand that you have a legal defense with Mr. Hudson and we allow to make your case.”

“Thank you, your honor.” Lyle said as he took the stand. “Now, I can go into an argument about how all the collateral damage was purely accidental. I can say how the lives of the guild masters outweighed the integrity of their meeting hall. But that’s all things I would do for a real trial, not this nonsensical farce.”

The council members started talking with each other. “What do mean by farce?”

“Well, I have evidence that this trial is nonsensical right here.” Lyle said as he pulled out the lacrima from earlier. “If it pleases the court, I would like to present my evidence.”

“You may.” Lyle smirked as he held out the lacrima which shot out projections of Erza, Siegrain and the frog lady. The projections started to speak exactly like the real people had spoken to each other earlier.

'A recording lacrima?! But he wasn’t even in the room.’ Siegrain thought to himself before remembering what Lyle’s magic was. 'Very clever, Mr. Hudson.’

And then…

“Hear hear!” Wakaba said as the three friends tapped their beer glasses together. It was a few hours later and Lyle & Erza had returned to the guild hall. “I told these kids you’d get her off the hook.”

“I didn’t even have to bring out the handbook for this.” Lyle gloated. “After I showed them the recording and pointed out that Ms. Scarlet was never read their rights, the whole trial pretty much folded in on itself.”

“Ya, most of didn’t even notice that.” Macao said as the rest of the guild was celebrating Erza not going to jail. But then again, they didn’t need that much of an excuse to throw a party.

“So, you want to continue our fight, tin can?” Alyssa asked the redhead as she ate a strawberry cheesecake.

“Perhaps another time. Right now, I’m not in the mood.” Erza replied, making the taller woman pout in disappointment.

“Well then, I guess the only thing to do make our team official.” Gray said as he, Elfman and Cana sat in the same table as Erza. “I’ve got a few names for our team.” The ice wizard said as he pulled out a rolled up piece of paper. “Snow Storm.”

“Nope.” The other three replied.

“Avalanche.”

“Nope.”

“Tundra Blast.”

“Nope.”

“Blizzard Wizards.”

“Okay first off, that name is incredibly stupid.” Elfman stated. “Two, are all these names some kind of play on Ice or cold stuff?”

“Um, no.” Gray said as he quickly crossed off 97% percent of the names on his list.

“I can’t believe all that worrying was for nothing.” Lucy said as she laid her head on a table.

“Told you not to worry.” Zeke replied as he was drawing up some blueprints. Lucy looked at the blueprints in confusion, which the brunette archer noticed. “Just some ideas for an improved bow.”

“You can do that later!” Natsu yelled as he held up a jug of fire whiskey. “Come on! Let’s party!”

“Aye!” Happy replied as the guild continued to have a good time.

“Now this is much better.” Mirajane said with a smile as she watched her guildmates partying it up. However, she heard the master groan and saw that he was having trouble keeping his eyes open. “Are you okay, Master?”

“Ya, I’m just feeling…a bit…tired.” Makarov said as his voice started to waver. Mira suddenly felt very tired and fell to the floor. “He’s here.”

All around the guild, everyone started falling asleep left and right. “Oh come on dude, don’t be a di…” Zeke said before he passed out on the table.

As the majority of the guild aside from Lyle and Makarov were soundly asleep, a man in several robes that concealed everything aside from his black eyes and a sheathed sword on his back. He went to the job request board and pulled a poster from it. He approached groggy Makarov and placed the poster in front of him.

“I shall return.”

“Wait, Mystogan. Lift the sleeping spell before you go.” The shorter man grunted.

“He’s right.” The covered man turned and saw Lyle struggling to stay awake. “You can’t keep doing this.”

Mystogan just turned and started walking away. “5…4…3…2…1.” He counted down as he exited the guild hall. As soon as he left, the sleep spell wore off and everyone started waking up.

“Aw man. Was Mystogan here?” Jet asked.

“What a jerk.” Droy said.

“Who’s Mystogan?” Lucy asked.

“He’s a contender for Fairy Tail’s strongest wizard.” Elfman answered.

“But over the years, he’s gotten so anti-social that he casts a sleeping spell whenever he enters the guild.” Alyssa stated with a bit of gloom in her voice. “Lyle and the Master are the only ones who have seen Mystogan in the past four years.”

“That’s not true.” A voice from the second floor said, drawing everyone’s attention. The man who said that was a spiky blonde-haired man in his mid-twenties with a lightning-shaped tattoo on the right side of his face, a buttoned-up shirt, pants, spiked headphones and a fur jacket draped over his shoulders. “I saw him.”

“Laxus?” Erza asked.

“Well, this is rare.” Elfman stated.

“So that’s Laxus.” Lucy stated, remembering the name of one of Fairy Tail’s strongest wizards.

“Mystogan’s just a little shy.” The blonde man said. “You should all respect his privacy. Not it concerns any of you weaklings.”

“He’s our friend, so of course this concerns us!” Natsu yelled up at the older man. “If you weren’t affected by the sleeping spell, why haven’t you tried to snap him out of his loner attitude crap?”

“You should be careful with your tongue, Natsu.” Laxus said with a menacing grin. “Or do you want a repeat of our last fight? What was it, two minutes you lasted against me before you passed out?”

“Why don’t come down here and fight me?! See if that happens again!” Natsu growled as he ignited his fists.

“You come up to me, little man.” The feral-looking man taunted. The pink-haired growled some more and was about to charge until Alyssa put her hand on his shoulder.

“Just keep this in mind.” Laxus said as he addressed the guild. “The strongest wizard in Fairy Tail isn’t some chick in armor, a guy in a hood, or a couple past their prime. If you want to know who the strongest on here is, you’re looking right at him!”

“That’s enough out of you, Laxus!” Makarov yelled at his grandson.

“Tell me something, Laxus.” Zeke said as he walked past his downed friend and started walking up the stairs to the second floor. “How comfortable is your head when it’s shoved so far up your ass?”

“Ah, Zeke. Still overcompensating with your mouth, I see.” Laxus replied with his shit-eating grin.

“And you’re still acting you own the place, Thunder Crotch.” Zeke retorted back.

“Considering I’m next guild master, I technically do.”

“And what makes you think you’ll ever be Guild Master?” The brunette archer said with a glare.

“Well let’s take a look at my competition.” The blonde man said. “A womanizer who isn’t here half the time, a woman who spends more time with the Royal Knights than her family, an old man who’s already past his prime, an anti-social numbnuts who hasn’t spoken to anyone but the geezer in years, a redhead with severe anger issues…” He stood up, showing his large figure as he continued to mock his guildmates. “And then there’s you. The weakest S-Class wizard in the guild who only became an S-Class because Mommy put in a good word for you.”

“That’s a damn lie and you know it!” Zeke yelled as he started channeling his magic.

“So what are you gonna do about it, Momma’s boy?” Laxus smirked as lightning started appearing out his hand.

“That’s enough, you two!” Lyle shouted. Hearing his dad’s voice got Zeke out of his rage and made his magic disappear.

“That’s right. Know your place.” The blonde man taunted. “After all, I’ve taken on three S-Class missions this month. The only one you took ended in disaster.”

Zeke scowled at the taller man before turning away and walking towards the S-Class job board. He looked at the three and pulled one from the board. “Master, I’d like a word in private.” The archer stated. The old guild master looked with a concerned expression and jumped off the counter, the two of them headed for his office as the rest of the guild looked on with concern.

A few minutes later, Zeke and Makarov walked out, the archer having a determined look on his face. He held out a poster with the S-Class marking and a picture of an island. “Natsu, Alyssa, Happy, Lucy! Pack your bags! Team Morningstar is going on our first S-Class quest to Galuna Island!”

Everyone in the guild was shocked, except for Laxus, who just keep his arrogant smirk. “Better start planning the funeral arrangements.”

“Oh yeah! We’re ready for the big time!” Natsu cheered. Alyssa looked with surprise before slamming her fist into her palm.

“Finally! I’ve been waiting for this!” The speed queen said with a smirk.

“I got get my fishing gear ready!” Happy stated as he ran off.

“Wait? What? Who?” Lucy asked in confusion. “What the hell’s an S-Class?”

Lyle looked at his son with concern and saw the expression on his son’s face. His mind went to an image of his wife with the same expression. 'He really does take after you, Amelia.’

Meanwhile…

In the hall of the Tortoise Shell guild, all of the wizards laid unconscious as several men & woman in pirate attire searched the building. The floors, tables, bar, and walls had been torn up from the earlier battle as a young man was walking through the wreckage, a modified saber sheathed on his left waist and a modified flintlock in his right holster. With outfit consisted of black boots, black pants, a white buttoned-up shirt, and an elaborate red pirate coat that contrasted sharply with his short dark blue hair and right brown eye. The other one being covered by a black eye patch.

“Pathetic.” The one-eyed man stated as walked past some downed wizards. “I know Tortoise Shell isn’t a top-tier guild, but I expected a better fight than this.”

“Captain!” The young man looked up and saw an orange and black-stripped anthropomorphic male tiger that was standing on his hind legs. He wore a pair of black pants and had a few scars on his face. “I found something you might be interested in.” The tiger jumped from the second floor and landed in front of the young pirate. The tiger then handed the blue-haired man a piece of paper.

“Galuna Island? Why would that interest me, Hu?”

“Look at the reward. And I’m not talking about the 7,000,000 jewels.” The one-eyed man looked down at the reward offered and smiled.

“Excellent work, old friend.” The Captain said as he pulled out a red key from his coat. The key had a claw as the teeth and a claw-slashing symbol on end of it. “Tell the others I said hi.”

“Sure thing.” The tiger said with a grin as he vanished in a stream of light, the Captain put away the key.

“Alright, guys! Collect our fee and ready the ship!” The young pirate said with a mischievous glint in his eye. “We’re headed for Galuna!”

“Aye-aye, Captain!” The men and women replied, ready to follow their young leader.

To be continued…