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searchingforstarss · 5 years ago

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you heal me like the light of day

the third fic in my febuwhump/fluff series is here :)) this is written for the fluff prompts sick day + waking up together and the whump prompts graceless + stabbed.

ps there’s mild injury description in here as well as a super brief mention of violence and shootings in schools. look after yourself x

posted on ao3 here

---

Scaring Morgan half to death really wasn’t part of Peter’s plans when he agreed to go outside and play pet hotel with Gerald after dinner in the dying autumn light.

He was in the middle of getting the alpaca ready for his spa appointment (aka Morgan brandishing a bucket of soapy water) when he lost consciousness.

It’s not like he did it on purpose. It just sort of... happened.

---

There’s a hand pressed across his forehead. It’s nice, cool - cooler than he feels anyway. He leans into it.

There’s a brief moment of confusion in which all of Peter’s thoughts jumble together and when he blinks his eyes open again, he’s not in Gerald’s pen anymore but spread out across the couch in the living room. Morgan’s there still, standing off to the side with strands of hay still stuck to her shoes while Tony is hovering over him closely, concern etched all over his face.

Peter is about to ask him what’s wrong before something is being pushed into his ear and he frowns, trying to squirm away.

Tony rests a hand on Peter’s shoulder, applying just enough pressure to keep him in place. “Just a sec, Pete. Gotta check your temperature.”

Peter scowls weakly. “Not sick.”

“You fainted, bud. I thought Gerald had bitten Morgan’s hand off or something judging by the way she was screaming.”

Guilt washes through Peter as the tinny beep echoes through his ear and Tony pulls the thermometer away. There isn’t much he hates more than scaring Morgan.

Tony glances down at the screen on the thermometer and Peter doesn’t like the brief look of worry that crosses his face as he does. “Not sick,” Peter mutters again petulantly.

“Not sick, huh? The thermometer and I beg to differ. You’re running a pretty impressive fever, just about to hit 101 degrees.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, oh. Reckon this is the flu?” Tony asks, voice still gentle even despite Peter’s clear attempts to push him away. He really doesn’t need hovering over right now. “Have you got a headache? Sore throat? Feeling achy?”

Tony’s taken a seat across from him on the coffee table, reaching out a hand to brush it over Peter’s forehead again, thumb smoothing a few strands of hair away from his eyes. Peter just reaches up to bat it away weakly.

This isn’t the flu, Peter knows it isn’t.

The only part of him that’s aching is his side, just above his hip bone, but in all honesty that’s a secret that Peter was really hoping to keep to himself - for his own good. He's starting to doubt he'll be able to though, judging by the way that Tony’s staring him down and how his brain is starting to feel like it’s melting a little inside his own head.

Peter flounders uncomfortably under Tony’s gaze, suddenly wanting nothing more than to get up off the couch and get out of this situation.

He’s always been hopeless at keeping secrets from Tony. He only didn’t cancel this weekend at the lake house because he knew cancelling would be a sure-fire move to make Tony suspicious. Now, he’s wondering whether that was the right call at all.

“I, uh, you know what? I think you’re right. My head’s really sore, it has been all day actually, and I think that’s… that’s my stomach now, feeling really queasy. The flu really is the worst. I really should be in bed right now, shouldn’t I? Sleep cures all ailments or something like that…” Peter trails off awkwardly. Tony carries on staring. He’s suspicious now, Peter can tell, and he curses himself. He must have taken the flu thing too far. Damn it.

“Peter, if there’s something I don’t know about then I need you to tell me.”

Peter shifts. He fidgets with his fingers, tries to stall having to open his mouth and say anything else. His eyes dart over to Morgan, who’s now made herself comfortable on the armchair in the corner, distracted by a couple of animal figurines now, completely oblivious that her older brother is about to get himself in a lot of trouble.

Tony takes a gentle hold of his chin and tilts it back towards him so he’s got no choice but to look the man in the eyes. Peter exhales slowly. His side really does hurt and he wonders whether he tore a few of his (very shoddily done) stitches when he collapsed. He really doesn’t remember it throbbing this much before then.

“Peter,” Tony says again, and Peter pulls his chin away from Tony’s grip so he can avert his eyes down to his lap.

“Iwasstabbedafewdaysago” Peter blurts, and Tony’s eyes narrow infinitesimally as if this wasn’t what he was expecting at all.

“I don’t know if I quite got that, you wanna try slowing it down this time?” he says carefully, very clearly daring Peter to repeat what he’s pretty sure he heard.

Peter swallows. He dares. “I was stabbed. A few days ago. I took care of it, I promise, but it’s not, um, not really healing?” Peter says, voice rising at the end like he’s questioning.

“You were stabbed,” Tony repeats slowly, and Peter nods. “Okay. Wanna tell me how?”

Tony’s still staying fairly calm and measured. Peter isn’t sure where the angry reaction that he’d been expecting is.

“It was, um, look, it’s not that I wasn’t listening to you, but there were these guys and I overheard these things and I couldn’t just not-”

“You were out as Spider-Man?” Tony’s voice is lower now, just a touch more dangerous and Peter thinks ah, here’s the anger.

See, this is the issue. He’s kinda, sorta, definitely not meant to be out at Spider-Man at the moment.

He and Tony made an agreement a few weeks ago. After Europe and the whole Beck fiasco happened, Tony thought that Peter could really use the time out. Something about how being away from the Spider-Man suit would help him become clearer in his own head and himself again. The idea was mostly born out of the worry and panic that had resided inside Tony since the second he found out Peter was in trouble halfway across the damn world and he couldn’t do anything but sit back uselessly while Rhodey and Happy went to his aid. Tony doesn't like being useless, and he definitely doesn't like seeing Peter hurt.

Peter hadn’t thought it was too bad of an idea at first. He did really need the break at the time, but it was foolish to hope it would last. He wasn’t going to just sit back while everything was happening, not while there were men with weapons, not while they were threatening-

“Peter,” Tony snaps, waving a hand in front of his face. “Are you listening to me? I asked you a question. Were you out as Spider-Man?”

Peter rolls his eyes, against all his best instincts. He feels like shit, he’s being interrogated and all he wants is the waves of red hot pain to leave him alone. “I… ugh, yes, okay? I was. When the hell else am I going to be stabbed?”

Tony raises his eyebrows at Peter’s tone but doesn’t do anything to reprimand it. “This is New York City we’re talking about. I was going to give you the benefit of the doubt but apparently, that was absolutely the wrong thing to do.”

Silence.

“See? I told you anyway. Not sick,” Peter mutters suddenly after a moment, and Tony makes a slightly choked sound of outrage.

“Not sick? Peter Parker, in what world can you not see that maybe hiding a stab wound is worse than just being sick?”

Peter just shrugs. He could really use a nap right about now. This conversation is officially right down the very bottom of the list of things he wants to be doing right now.

“Let’s see it then.”

Peter pulls back slightly. “What?”

“Where you were stabbed. I need to see it.”

“It’s taken care of. You don’t need to-”

“If you’ve got a fever, I have a feeling it might not be nearly as well taken care of as you think,” Tony says sternly and Peter realises that he’s backed into a corner. There’s no way he’s leaving the room, or even getting up off the couch, without letting Tony examine him.

“But, Morgan…”

Peter hopes she hasn’t been listening in too closely, but for better or for worse, she’s fairly desensitised to hearing about Peter’s escapades by now. That doesn’t mean he wants her to see the consequences of them though.

Tony glances over his shoulder as if he’s just remembered that his daughter is in the room. “Hey, baby? You wanna go find Mom for a second?”

Morgan looks up from the animal figurine clutched now in her fist - a zebra - and shakes her head. “Petey’s hurt. Wanna stay with you.”

So she has been listening.

“I’ve got a really important job for you that you could do for me and Peter, though. Reckon you could tell Mommy we might need her down here with the special spider first-aid kid?”

Morgan jumps up and dashes from the room just as Peter protests, “I don’t need the first-aid-”

“Kid,” Tony warns and Peter shuts up. “Right, show me what we’re working with.”

Peter grimaces, but reluctantly tugs up the hem of his jumper to reveal the white bandage he’d adhered slightly wonkily over his wound. Pus and blood leak from the edges, but Tony barely even flinches until he reaches forward to slowly pull the bandage away, revealing the swollen, angry-looking skin underneath. There are red streaks that travel from the wound, further up Peter’s side.

“I - okay, Jesus, fuck,” Tony breathes out, jerking his eyes away from the injury.

Peter just looks down at it with an almost morbid fascination. He’d figured that his healing was working a bit slower than usual and that was why he was feeling run-down, but he didn’t think it was this bad.

“That’s infected, Peter,” Tony says shortly.

“I thought it would heal.”

“Yeah? Well, it isn’t and you know what sepsis is. I know you do. That can kill you. Is that what you want?” Tony presses, leaning in a bit closer to Peter but he pulls away from the man.

Peter freezes. “N-No, it’s not, I - I didn’t mean for this to happen. I just had to-”

“You didn’t have to do anything. What you were meant to do was remember that we had an agreement - which is clearly defunct now - about you and Spider-Man. So why are you sitting on my couch with a stab wound in your side?”

“It’s not what you think, Tony, I-”

“I think it’s exactly what I think. I know you, Peter, you have a hero complex the size of Manhattan but you need to learn that you don’t have to be the one throwing yourself down on the wire every damn time. You and I both agreed that you were going to have this break because you were worn down. You needed it.”

Peter’s too tired to even try and explain anything to Tony anymore. He knows nothing will get through, and he feels sick to his stomach but he’s not sure whether that’s from the weight of Tony’s disappointment or the infection.

“Did I really need a break? Or did you just need a break from having to worry about me?” Peter dares to ask. His voice is quiet with the knowledge that he's stepping into territory that he's not even sure he wants to be in.

Tony’s head shoots up and an odd mix of hurt and indignation twists on his face. He considers his words.

“I’m not doing this with you, not while you’re hurt. I’m going to call Bruce. I’ll get Pepper to come and look at that for you.”

As Tony gets up off the coffee table and turns to leave the room, his shoulders are pulled up in a tight, defensive posture. Peter almost wants to ask him to come back. He doesn't. Pride lodges itself in his throat instead and stops him from calling out.

He slumps and presses himself further into the couch. Slightly deliriously, he thinks that if it wasn’t for Gerald and his damn spa evening then maybe he wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place.

Pepper’s in front of him a few minutes later. She takes one look at his wound before declaring that there’s no way she’s going to deal with it on the couch because "blood truly is a pain to get out of these cushions.”

They end up in the spare bathroom downstairs, Peter perched precariously on the edge of the bathtub. His head is still spinning a little and he keeps a tight grip on the sides to try and stop himself from slipping backwards.

“Let’s have another look,” Pepper murmurs, and she helps Peter lift his jumper off over his head, wincing in sympathy as his face screws up in pain at the movement.

“Tony said you tried to take care of this yourself?” she asks once she’s fully removed the bandaging, "you stitched it up at home?" Peter gives a feeble nod in response.

“Okay. Clearly, your body didn’t love that, but your healing has definitely been trying a little bit. It’s healed enough that we won’t need to re-stitch this up once I’m done. We have one positive,” Pepper tells him, clearly trying to keep her voice light.

Peter tries for a laugh, but it comes out stunted and forced.

He sits as still as he possibly can, teeth digging into his bottom lip as Pepper cleans the wound with warm water, using some mild soap to wash away all of the gunk and fluid clogging it before she examines it closer.

Pepper focuses on the task at hand, but every so often Peter catches her looking up at him slightly questioningly as if she’s trying to figure something out.

“What?”

Pepper looks up again in surprise.

“Sorry,” Peter mutters, already regretting his abrasive tone. “I just - I, you keep looking at me funny.”

Pepper considers for a second.

“Sorry, no, I just wonder - why don’t you get May to do this? With her job and all. You don’t need to do everything by yourself, Peter, not all time…” Pepper says, trailing off at the end with worry that she’s overstepped but Peter just shakes his head to tell her it’s okay. He doesn’t mind. It’s only Pepper. He trusts her.

“I - I can’t.” He pauses. He fidgets with his fingers then stops because he knows he’s meant to be trying to stay as still as possible. “It's just, um, I don’t want her to worry, or have to see things like this when it’s me, y’know. Not after my uncle.”

“That makes sense,” Pepper says softly. There's a sort of underlying understanding clear in her voice and it fills a need for validation inside of Peter, that he’s doing the right thing by trying to look after himself, that he didn't know he had.

The bathroom falls into silence after that, and Pepper pulls what Peter thinks must be an antiseptic cream out of the first-aid kid, because when she applies it, as gentle as she is, it stings. Peter can’t stop the groan of pain through his gritted teeth.

A few minutes later there’s a thumping on the stairs above them, just as Pepper sits back. “There, we’re all done. We just have to leave it a couple of minutes to air dry and then we can bandage it back up again but I’ll use gauze this time. It’ll breathe easier.”

“Thank you, Pep,” Peter sighs, more frustrated with himself than anything but she just shakes her head.

“It’s nothing. We can’t be perfect all the time.”

Peter scoffs humorlessly. He’s perfect approximately none of the time.

The thumping sound stops and now there’s footsteps running down the hallway. Pepper gives him a small smile. “Looks like we’re just in time as well.”

“Peter! Daddy says it’s time for bed so I wanna say goodnight,” Morgan exclaims, bursting into the room just at the same time as Tony, a few paces behind her, lets out a slightly suffering sigh.

“You need to slow down on the stairs, Morgan. Mom and I keep telling you. You'll fall down them one day.”

Morgan doesn’t even turn around to grace him with a response, all her attention focused on Peter. “I’ll do the stairs super slowly once I’ve given Peter all his goodnight kisses!”

She wastes no time in reaching up on her tiptoes to capture Peter’s face between both her much smaller hands and press six kisses all over his forehead, nose, cheek and jaw.

“Six magic kisses to make it all better! Six is my lucky number,” she explains, before adding, “because I’m six years old now,” in the same proud way she’s been doing since her birthday a few weeks ago. As if Peter could ever forget. He spent the day letting himself be showered in confetti and his face assaulted with face-paint by the gaggle of Morgan’s tiny friends that were running around the garden, cake induced sugar-rush in full swing.

“I feel so much better,” Peter says, mustering up as much energy as he can to sound enthusiastic. It’s worth it for the beaming grin that Morgan gives him.

“Love you, Petey.”

“Love you too, bug,” Peter murmurs into her hair. It’s a little damp and it smells of her strawberry shampoo.

Tony’s standing in the doorway watching the scene with an unreadable expression on his face. He won’t look Peter in the eyes. “You feeling any better?” he asks plainly as Morgan pulls away and reaches up to give Pepper her goodnight kiss as well.

Peter’s not sure. He still feels kind of dizzy and a little bit out of it, but the antiseptic cream has soothed some of the hot pain that had been radiating from his side so he guesses that’s a good thing. In the end, he just raises his shoulders a little in a shrug.

Tony nods in response to this and opens his mouth as if he wants to say something else before Morgan is springing out of Pepper’s arms and back over to Tony, latching her hand inside his.

He closes his mouth again, words left unsaid.

They leave the room and the bathroom sinks back into a silence that’s more uncomfortable this time, as if Pepper doesn’t know quite what to say to make up for Tony’s clear cool demeanour.

“Why don’t you head upstairs and get into bed, honey? I’ll bring you up a glass of water and some fever reducers soon.”

---

Peter’s still awake half an hour later, staring at the ceiling, when there’s a knock on his door.

“Yeah, Pepper, I’m awake,” he calls out. He could really use those fever reducers right about now because his body can’t seem to make up its damn mind. He keeps throwing his blankets off when he gets too hot and then having to endure the searing pain when he gets too cold a few minutes later and he has to lean down to pick them up off the floor.

The door cracks open.

“Not Pepper,” a voice says. Peter looks up and - oh, okay, it’s Tony. He steps in the door. “She did ask me to bring you these though.” He raises the glass of water he has in one hand and an assortment of colourful pills in the other up slightly. “I’ve got fever-reducers and some of your pain killers. I spoke to Bruce before and he recommended these. He’s sending up a course of antibiotics to start you on tomorrow as well.”

Peter nods slightly listlessly against his pillow, trying to process the information through his fever-addled brain.

“Okay. Thanks,” Peter says eventually. He’s not sure what else to say. Is he meant to apologize? He doesn’t think he wants to. He’s not in the wrong, he had to do something.

“No problem.”

Tony sets down the glass of water on the nightstand, and Peter reaches out to grab it, downing a few gulps and swallowing the pills that Tony had set down next to it at the same time.

“You need anything else?” Tony asks.

Peter shakes his head. “No, I’m good, thank you.”

“Have a good sleep then,” Tony says, turning to leave the room. The unsteady waves of anxiety that have been sitting at the pit of his stomach suddenly rear up as he sees Tony’s hand hovering over the door handle.

“W-Wait, no, Tony?” Tony glances back and he meets Peter’s eyes properly for the first time. “Are you, um, are you mad at me?”

Peter hates the way his voice sounds small, childish, unsure.

Tony's silent for a few moments.

“I don’t know, Peter. I don’t think mad is quite the right word. But we had an agreement, an agreement that was solely to keep you safe." Tony sighs. "It would make me feel a lot better to know I could trust you to stick to your word."

Only ten minutes ago, Peter had been dramatically musing what could possibly be more painful than the throbbing in his side. He knows now. Tony’s words. Tony’s words are more painful.

Peter doesn’t respond. He doesn’t know how.

Tony leaves the room.

---

“I’m just about to crawl into bed, you need anything?”

Peter turns his head against his pillow to see Pepper at his door about an hour later. He shakes his head, but she crosses the room anyway and lays a hand on his shoulder.

Peter sort of feels like he shouldn’t, that he doesn’t deserve it, but he can’t help leaning into the way her palm cups his forehead gently before she leans down to press her lips to the same spot.

He looks up at her, and he knows defeat is probably shining in his eyes.

“S’Tony really mad at me?” he asks quietly.

Pepper gives him a sympathetic smile. “You know how he is,” she murmurs, “he can’t do the whole superhero thing himself now, so watching you out there getting hurt when he can’t protect you is hard. He wants to keep you safe. That’s all it is.”

Peter finds this kind of hard to believe but he doesn’t ask any more questions. Pepper squeezes his shoulder and wishes him a good sleep before ducking out of the room, leaving him alone once again.

---

Peter’s freezing, icy water surrounding him.

It’s filling his throat.

He doesn’t know where he is, the stormy waters that surge around him have long since risen up over the tops of buildings, only the roofs visible.

He kicks out desperately to try and reach one of them for a moment of respite but just keeping his head above the water drains all the energy from him. He has to find a vantage point, he has to find Tony, find May. They were just here, they all were. Pepper, Morgan, Happy, Tony, May. They were just here. Where are they?

A shape forms in front of his eyes, flailing arms, a body and a head appearing out of the water.

Its arm reaches down for him and Peter turns, wants to run, willing his weak and shivering legs to carry him but he’s still surrounded by water, still drowning, and he can’t push hard enough-

He’s knocked down.

His head is submerged, water rushing over the top of his head, filling his nose. He tries to push to the surface, to gasp, but water just rushes down his throat.

“Peter!”

Peter hears the scream before the elemental, the Hydro-Man, knocks him back down and the screams become garbled background noise to the water gushing past his ears.

He kicks to the surface again and swallows down a huge lungful of oxygen.

“-eter! Over here!”

Peter turns his head frantically, battling the waves to try and search all around him. Where are they? They have to be-

There!

Happy, May and Pepper are huddled on a rooftop not far away. The water’s rising up towards them quickly. The Hydro-Man turns as he hears them yell and he’s heading towards them. Peter barely has time to yell out before the creature is bringing its force down onto the roof.

The roof crumbles into the stormy waters. Pepper, May and Happy disappear with it.

“May!” Peter hears himself scream. “Pe-” he coughs violently, water clogging his airways, “P’pper! Happy!”

They’re gone though. Swallowed up by the water.

“Kid!

That’s Tony’s voice. Peter has to get to him. He can’t lose everyone he loves. He won’t survive it.

Tony’s on another rooftop, feet slipping over the shingled roof. One hand is clinging to what looks like a piece of wrought iron fence while Morgan is wrapped in his other.

Peter swims and swims and swims, never daring to take his eyes off them even as the water stings his eyes, splashing up into them as he tries to keep them open.

He grasps onto what he thinks might be a bit of the roofs guttering, only feet away from Tony and Morgan now. He pants, chest burning-

The water is rising up around them, trying to drag Peter away. He clings on tighter.

“Tony, T-Tony, I don’t know what to do,” Peter wheezes.

The water level reaches the roof, the singles disappearing underneath a dangerous sea of blue.

Tony slips a little. A scream catches in Peter’s throat and he shoots out a hand to try to grab him.

“Take Morgan,” Tony’s saying desperately, pulling his own hand away from Peter’s and motioning hurriedly for him to take Morgan’s.

“Ton-” Peter starts, Morgan’s wrist wrapped in his precariously slippery grip.

The Hydro-Man raises his aquatic fist again. He brings it down, and the force from it knocks Morgan’s hand from Peter’s own. He fumbles, opens his mouth to yell her name-

When the water calms again, she’s nowhere to be seen.

Instead, Beck’s there. On the rooftop in front of him, having absolutely no trouble whatsoever weathering the stormy waters around him. There’s a sick smirk on his face.

He flickers for a split second, and a cluster of drones appear in his place before he’s back, reaching, always reaching, leering as he does, arm closing around Peter’s throat and-

Peter lurches awake, pathetic whimper choked in the back of his throat.

Beck’s here. Tony and Morgan, Pepper and May and Happy. Everyone is gone. He’s on dry land again. The water has retreated and they’re still gone, washed out far away. Nowhere to be seen. Nowhere to be found.

Dry land. He’s not drowning. His feet are brushing against something solid. He chokes down a gasp and his hands shoot out to find the crumpled cotton of his bedsheets swimming around him. He grasps at them with shaking hands. They’re dry, mostly save for the clammy feeling of his own sweat that he can feel seeping into them. He’s not underwater.

He’s… he’s in bed?

He lets himself take in his surroundings properly this time. He dares to open his eyes for longer than a few seconds now that he’s sure he’s not going to be snatched away by the tide, even though he’s still shivering, can still feel the icy water lapping at his skin.

He counts five things he can see, a technique Tony has always encouraged him to do to ground himself after nightmares throw him back to a hellscape of places and memories he would rather never experience again.

The curtains.

His backpack shoved into the corner of the room.

The empty glass of water on the nightstand.

The Lego set sitting on his desk that he and Morgan were planning on building this weekend.

The bedside light. It casts a soft glow around him. It’s warm, so far away from the cold blue he’s been submerged in that Peter closes his eyes for a second again, lets the golden light wash behind his eyelids so that’s all he can see.

His head is still muddling all his thoughts into a panicked mess. All he can hear is the echoes of terrified screams in his ears. The screams of the people he loves that he couldn’t save, that he let fall to their death in the arms of the elementals, of the Hydro-Man, of Quentin Beck.

So much for grounding. He can’t breathe again.

It’s not real. They’re safe. It’s not real.

The elementals are illusions. The elementals aren’t real.

It was just a dream. The dream wasn’t real.

Beck is dead. Everyone you love is okay.

It’s not real.

Peter sucks in a few deep steadying breaths to appease his quivering lungs and burrows back under his comforter to try and find some source of comfort.

Then he sees it out of the corner of his eye.

At first, it’s just the flickering of a grey storm circling in the corner of his room underneath the window. Lightning flashes from within it and Peter swears when it does, he can see a face within the darkened swirling clouds. It reaches for him, and god, it has arms now as well, just like Peter’s dream, just like the elemental in London had. Peter flinches back and-

It disappears.

It’s like it was never there in the first place. Peter dares to blink a few times and drones take its place, hovering menacingly.

Someone has to be controlling them. Peter’s eyes dart around, searching and searching, not sure exactly what he’s looking for but then finding it anyway when he lands on Beck standing at the foot of his bed, only a few feet away.

Fear freezes like ice in his chest.

They’re here. In his room. The drones, the elementals, Beck. He could get to Morgan, and Pepper and Tony. He could hurt them.

Peter shudders. It can’t be real. It can’t be. Beck is dead.

But he’s here. In Peter’s room.

Peter forces himself to close his eyes. He can feel his entire body trembling with tightly-wound shivers. He’s not sure whether it’s from the cold or the fear anymore. He closes his eyes for a long moment and when he re-opens them, Beck isn’t there. The room is empty.

But there’s a flash to his right and he jerks his head around just in time to see fiery orange molten lava creeping through the cracks in the floorboards. It rises and rises, slowly forming into a threateningly recognisable figure as Peter’s rapidly beating heart crawls further up his throat.

Peter was stupid to think he could ever be rid of Beck. He’s still here, he’s still controlling everything and Peter doesn’t want to be a pawn in one of his games anymore.

He wants what he couldn’t have the first time.

He wants Tony.

Peter tries to swing his legs over the edge of the bed but he can’t quite get them to cooperate. He’s tangled in the mess of his sheets, and he kicks out against them, panic still coursing through his veins. No, no, no. Get me out of here. I can’t do this. Not again. Tony. Tony.

He opens his mouth but no sound comes out. He wants to call for Tony. He needs help, but he’s too choked with terror.

Tony.

Need to get to Tony.

With one last fumbled kick of his leg, Peter throws himself from the bed, almost managing to catch himself but his limbs collapse beneath him, knees hitting the ground with a lump. Lava is still rising from the floor, and it towers over Peter now when he’s this low, taking on a burning figure of destruction.

Peter manages to make it to his feet, wrapping his hands around his nightstand to pull himself up. His legs feel weak beneath him, barely holding his weight. He knows he can’t afford to fall, not again, not when he has to get out of here, has to find Tony.

He fumbles a hand out until he finds the wall to his right, and he uses it to keep himself upright.

The hallway is darker than his bedroom once he throws the door open, but he lurches out and pulls the door hurriedly closed again behind him as if that will keep the monsters contained. As if a closed-door has ever stopped Beck.

He can’t see where he’s going. Everything is blurry. He wants Tony. Tony’s room is at the end of the hall, next to the landing at the top of the stairs. He knows this.

He just needs to get there.

Peter can’t remember the hallway being this long. Has it always been this long? His legs shudder and nearly give way as he nears the stairs, but he just shoots out to grab at the wall to steady himself again.

He’s so close.

He makes the last few steps and closes his hand around the door handle. Usually, if he was in a sane state of mind, not riddled with a high-grade fever and the claws of his trauma that have latched on and refused to let him go, he would be far more apprehensive about entering Tony and Pepper’s bedroom in the middle of the night for comfort. He’s basically an adult. He shouldn’t need it.

But right now he does. He needs Tony more than anything.

But when he yanks the door open and stands in the doorway, Tony isn’t there. His side of the bed is completely empty, still made up.

Pepper’s there though, and she stirs at the intrusion. She sits up and looks blearily towards the door. “Peter? S’that you?”

“T-T’ny? I need, I, um, I just - Tony,” Peter stutters out, eyes wide and pleading.

“Honey, take a breath. Is everything okay?”

“Tony,” Peter repeats again. It’s clearer this time, his desperation ringing clear.

“He’s downstairs,” she tells him, voice worn with sleep. “I can help you down there if you want?”

Peter shakes his head in the darkness. He doesn't want to be a bother. He’s already been a bother. He’s woken Pepper up. He didn’t mean to. He just needs Tony.

“No, it’s o-okay. Thank you,” Peter whispers.

Peter’s bedroom door is still closed at the end of the hallway when he retreats from Pepper’s room, but he still doesn’t feel safe.

Beck and his monsters could be lurking anywhere.

The stairs are his next big challenge, and logically Peter should probably be more worried about the challenge of navigating them when his entire body feels like it’s barely functioning and he’s in danger of collapsing at any second. He’s just focused on getting to the bottom of them though and he grips the railing for dear life as he makes his way down, barely registering the wood splintering a little beneath his grip.

He stumbles down the last few, clumsy footsteps thudding against the rug at the bottom of the landing.

He’s downstairs.

Tony. Where’s Tony?

“Peter?”

That’s his voice. Peter tries to follow it, unfocused eyes searching until he lands on the dim light of the TV. Tony’s sitting in front of it on the couch and Peter’s lungs feel like they almost collapse under the weight of his own sigh of relief.

“Hey, Peter. Kid? What’s going on?”

Peter realises he’s just standing there, swaying and staring like an idiot. He takes a few tentative steps forward, and then he’s moving and he can’t stop himself.

He’s only a few steps away from Tony when he all but collapses, the tension in his legs from the fear and trembling finally flooding out and it’s like his strings have been cut.

“Whoa, whoa, steady on there, Bambi,” Tony rushes out, both arms wrapped around Peter to stop him from falling. He pulls him closer to him to steady him and gets him settled in the spot next to him on the couch. This is nice. Tony feels strong and steady when Peter is sure that he’s neither of those things right now.

“We’re not exactly feeling very graceful tonight, are we?” Peter hears Tony muse. He’s only half paying attention, eyes locked on the singular one of Beck’s drones he can see suspended in the corner of the room.

He was right. Of course a closed bedroom door was never going to hold back Beck and his horrors.

He shoves himself closer to Tony’s side, a whine escaping from the back of his throat before he can help it.

“Hey, no, that’s okay,” Tony placates, “that’s what I’m here for.”

Peter shakes his head. No, no. That’s not what he’s worried about. Beck followed him, he followed him downstairs and Peter led him straight to Tony.

Peter flinches as more drones appear overhead. Beck must be controlling them, making them disappear and appear at will to mess with him. They circle above him and Tony, green lights glowing eerily.

“No, no, no,” Peter mumbles, eyes fixated on the drones above them. He can feel himself shaking again.

Tony’s eyes follow his up towards the ceiling.

“Peter?”

“Make it stop, p-please. Make them go away.”

“Make what stop? I can’t help unless you talk to me,” Tony says gently. He draws his eyes back down to focus on Peter’s face, the way his eyes are darting around in an almost crazy fashion.

“I keep seeing things. I-I don’t know if they’re real. Beck’s here, he’s everywhere. He’s gonna hurt you, he’s gonna hurt e-everyone, I-”

Tony’s face softens in a sort of understanding, and Peter doesn’t get it. How is he not scared right now? Can he not see what’s going on right in front of him?

“Pete. There’s nothing there, I promise.” Oh. “It’s just your fever messing with you, buddy, you're hallucinating. You’re safe - nothing’s gonna get you here.”

It’s not real? Peter tries to remember the mantra he’d been repeating to himself earlier in his bedroom.

It’s not real. It’s not real.

Beck is dead. Everyone you love is okay.

It’s not real.

“How do we know?” Peter asks, voice small. “He’s clever, he could hide them, he could hide them from you if he wanted, how do we-”

A sudden thought catches Peter off-guard and he drops off mid-sentence. Tony’s voice doesn’t sound angry anymore. He was so angry with Peter before, disappointment dripping from every word he spoke.

He doesn’t sound like that anymore.

Peter hasn’t done anything to redeem himself, anything to make Tony forgive him.

What if this isn’t his Tony?

His breathing catches and he stares up at Tony - illusion Tony? - with wide eyes.

“You’re not real,” he murmurs. He shakes himself a little and it makes him dizzy again. He can’t believe he fell for it. “You’re not real. The real Tony is angry with me. This isn’t… you’re not - not him. You can’t fool me, Beck.”

Peter only has a short second to see the way Tony’s face falls with anguish before he’s being tugged towards whichever Tony is sitting in front of him.

Real or not, he feels real enough as he threads a hand through Peter's hair. Peter should pull away, shouldn’t let himself fall for this so badly, but he can’t help it. It even smells like Tony, like home, and he buries his face into the gap between his shoulder and neck, lets himself hide there.

Darkness envelopes him, and even though it’s not real, he feels safer, Tony’s arm curled protectively around him.

Then Tony starts speaking.

“God, kid.” His voice sounds so distraught. “I’m right here. I’m real. There’s no room on the planet for more than one Tony Stark, you know that. You got the real deal right here.” He pauses. His fingers carry on running through Peter’s hair. It feels so familiar. “I wasn’t angry with you, you know. I don’t know what it was. I was scared, probably. But it doesn’t matter how I was feeling, it never does and it never will when it comes to you. If you need me, that’s more important than anything.”

Peter tries to pull away, to look up at Tony, to meet his eyes. He wants to see if he can let himself believe that this is real but Beck still lurks in the corner of his mind. Tony must see the fear still lingering on his face because he tucks him back closer to him.

“Keep your eyes closed, okay? We’re just gonna relax for a bit, give your fever a chance to stop kicking everything into overdrive. You’ll feel better in a minute,” Tony promises, and Peter so badly wants to believe him, wants to believe that it is him.

The room is quiet for a few minutes. The television is still murmuring in the background. Anxiety thrums steadily through him until Tony opens his mouth to start speaking.

“Remember when we did the road trip to Massachusetts to pick up my stuff from that MIT alumni exhibition? I could have had it delivered, you kept telling me that, but I kinda wanted to show the campus off to you, see what you thought. I mean, after everything, you staying closer to home doesn't sound half as bad as I thought it would, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

Tony chuckles. It reverberates in his chest and Peter feels it against his ear. He knows what Tony's doing. He's reminding him who they are.

Peter and Tony.

Not illusions. Both real, both alive. Warmth blossoms in his chest and banishes some of his nerves.

He continues. “And then the car broke down on the side of I-84 on the way back? The tow truck took hours and you told me it was too dramatic to ask Bruce to come down with a quinjet so you dragged me down to that McDonald’s because you wanted me to try that god-awful thing you do where you dip your fries in your milkshake. I still don’t understand how you like that.”

Peter makes a slightly indignant noise.

He’s breathing easier now, the illusions, his hallucinations - whatever they were - slowly loosening their hold on him. Peter focuses in on Tony’s heartbeat. It sounds like the one he knows so well.

“Y’know, I still think about the first convention Bruce and I took you too, as well. We worked on that biomechanics paper and I thought you were gonna vomit on my shoes before we went out to present it but turns out Bruce was the front contender for that one right before we got on stage. He made it to the trash can. Thank god for that, those shoes cost-”

“I don’t wanna know how much the shoes were, Tony,” Peter mumbles in protest. Everything Tony wears - or, maybe, used to wear - probably cost more than months rent for his and May’s old apartment.

“Okay, yeah, sure, we can do that. I just need you to know that they did not deserve to be vomited on.”

Peter chances taking a glance out of one eye. The drone has disappeared from the corner, and a little bit of the last tension he’s been holding onto dissipates. Tony carries on anyway, voice calm and soothing.

“What about the first time you and Morgan did me that joint Fathers Day present? I dunno if I ever told you how much I love that. I still have it hanging on the wall in my office. It really should be out here in the living room somewhere, pride and joy and all that, but Pep reckoned the colours would clash with her cushions. We’ll blame Morgan for that though, between us, we all know she can get a little bit over-enthusiastic with the paints.”

“You kept that?”

“Course I did. One of the best gifts I’ve ever gotten.”

“But it’s awful.”

Peter feels Tony shrug, his head shifting a little where it’s resting with the movement of his shoulder.

“Doesn’t matter," he says, laughter in his voice. He doesn't bother denying Peter's statement because it really is true. It is awful, splotches of paint in mismatched colours, something that's maybe meant to be a stick-figure family in the foreground. It's chaotic. That doesn't mean Tony doesn't absolutely love it.

"It's still the best,” he says, not a shred of doubt in his voice as he sits up slightly. Peter frowns at the movement but lets Tony maneuver him a little so he’s resting against Tony’s side rather than hidden in his neck. “I want you to open your eyes properly for a minute now, bud. Anything there?”

Peter does. He tentatively casts his eyes around the room, but there’s no one there apart from him and Tony.

“No. No, it’s just us,” Peter says, tone awash with relief and tiredness.

Beck isn’t here. This is all real. Tony’s here. Tony’s real.

He lets himself go lax. “Thank you, Tony.”

Tony just waves off his thanks with a lazy hand movement. The man kicks his legs up onto the coffee table and lets his head fall to the side, cheek resting against Peter’s curls.

It’s nice, Peter thinks. The feeling of Tony curling around him, protecting him from the demons that he knows are just in his head now, but are still his demons nonetheless.

“Any idea why Europe’s in your head again all of a sudden, buddy?” Tony asks breaking their quiet after a while. “It hasn’t been this bad in a few weeks.”

Peter considers whether he really wants to divulge and bother getting into it. He doesn’t want to bother Tony with everything, but maybe he owes it to him to let him know what’s going on after he’s just spent fifteen minutes talking him down from whatever the hell his fever was putting into his mind. The rational part of his brain tells him he doesn’t owe Tony anything. Tony would hate to know that Peter ever thought like that, even for a second.

He wants to tell Tony though.

Now that Beck and the drones and everything has vanished from where they were lingering in the corners of the house, taunting him, this feels like their familiar brand of normal.

He’s pressed to Tony’s side on the couch, there’s shitty late-night TV playing in the background and one of them is tangled up in their trauma. That’s Peter, tonight. He should let Tony play his part, help him sort through the mess and untangle whatever’s in his head. Peter would want Tony to let him do the same.

“I had a nightmare,” Peter admits, finally.

“You wanna tell me what it was about?”

“Yeah.” Peter stays silent for a few moments and Tony lets him. He doesn't push, just wraps his arm more securely around Peter and rubs a thumb over his shoulder absent-mindedly. He’s still way too hot even through the fabric of his pyjama shirt.

“I, uh, I couldn’t save you guys,” Peter offers up eventually. “You, n’ Morgan and May and everyone. There was all the water, like in Venice and you all needed me and I couldn’t help any of you. I… Morgan was the last to go. I tried to save, um, get to you but you told me to help Morgan instead and then you were gone and I tried, I did, I p-promise but there was too much water and she fell and I couldn’t… she didn’t… she was just gone. Everyone was gone.”

Tony sucks in a quiet breath. Peter watches him carefully. He doesn’t want him to be disappointed. It was just a dream but he didn’t mean to not save Morgan. He’s always trying to look out for Morgan - even when it results in a stab wound in his side.

“M’sorry, I tried. I just, I thought I did a good job the other day, with the guys n’ the bombs, but… but I couldn’t save her now and I think I’m still just so worried about that, that I’m-”

Tony holds up one hand to halt him and Peter bites down on his bottom lip nervously. He knows he's let his fever-addled mind and desperate need for Tony to not be disappointed with him get away from him. He wonders whether he’s disclosed too much.

“Peter,” Tony says carefully, “we’re being honest with each other right now, right?”

“Uh, yeah?” Peter says, but that sounds a bit too unsure so he tries again. “Yeah, yes, definitely.”

“Then I need you to tell me this, what are you talking about? Guys with bombs?”

Peter swallows.

“I promise I didn’t mean to go out as Spider-Man, I really didn't, but I just overheard this conversation the other night and these guys sounded kinda sketchy so I put one of those trackers you gave me on one of their cars without them noticing and I went out there later that night.”

“Okay…” Tony says. He sounds unsure as to where this is going but he nods as a signal for Peter to keep going anyway.

“They were, uh… they had this warehouse, super typical I know, nothing we haven’t seen before. But there were guns n' bombs, all that sorta stuff, loads of it. I was going to leave, I swear, I was just gonna call the police but then I heard them talking. They were going to - they were, um, gonna use them to target schools so I had to do something. I couldn't... couldn't not."

“They were going to use them in schools? To try and take out school kids?” Tony asks slowly. Peter looks up at him and he considers the words for a second before he nods his head.

“Elementary schools.”

“Pardon?”

“Elementary schools,” Peter repeats. “That’s what they were saying. And I couldn’t, I couldn’t just not do anything because I was there, and what if they got away and if anything ever happened, to anyone, to Morgan… I would never forgive myself, Tony. Never.”

This seems to shock Tony into complete and utter silence. His jaw goes slightly slack and if this was any other night, any other scenario, Peter might be pleased with himself for being able to invoke this sort of reaction out of Tony.

“You got the guys?” he asks eventually.

“Yeah. Webbed ‘em up - that's when one of the guys got me with a knife. The police swept the place out, got all the weapons.”

“Good. Good.”

“I really was going to try and stick to this whole no Spider-Man thing, I promise, it’s just-”

Tony holds up a hand.

"No. No," he says, taking a steadying breath. "I want you to be able to admit when you're wrong and that means I have to set a good example, right? I was probably too rash. I should have heard you out. It sounds like you did good, kid.”

“So we’re okay?” Peter asks tentatively.

“Of course we’re okay, bud. We’re always okay, even when I throw a bit of a strop. If you ever need anything, I don’t want you to ever not come to me about it. I just, seeing you hurt is a little harder now that I'm like this," he says, raising his prosthetic arm. "And now that we're all, uh, everything is like this..." he finishes, gesturing around the cabin, Peter’s shoes and textbooks strewn around, Morgan’s toys covering the rug. Now that we're a family, is what Peter thinks he's trying to say.

“It’s okay,” Peter says. He knows what Tony is trying to say. He remembers Pepper’s words earlier. He kind of gets it, in a weird way. He always used to hate when Tony used to jet off on missions he was barred from due to inexperience. “I know you worry.”

“Who told you that?” Tony says with a gentle scoff.

“Pepper.”

“Of course she did. That woman knows too much.” There’s a mock scowl on his face and Peter is relieved to have some sort of lightness injected back into the conversation.

They can talk everything out once they’ve both gotten some sleep. Peter knows Tony. He knows that he’ll probably spend hours on the phone to the NYPD tomorrow to make sure that they got every single explosive and firearm out of that warehouse.

He’ll then probably spend multiple more hours on the phone to Morgan’s elementary school trying to convince them to up their security or at least let him donate the equipment.

That sounds like exhausting work for a worried father. They both need rest.

“You making yourself comfy here then?” Tony asks as Peter buries himself further into the couch cushions, head still resting on Tony’s shoulder, the spot he fully intends to keep it in.

“Kinda planning on it. S’that okay?”

“Course. Mind if I join you?’

He couldn’t leave even if he wanted to. Peter’s trapped Tony’s arm between him and the couch, and he hopes he doesn’t try to tug it away. He likes the little bit of extra comfort.

“You were here first.”

“Touché.”

Tony turns the television on mute but doesn’t turn it off. Peter appreciates the light that the TV exudes into the room, and he knows Tony probably did it on purpose.

As soon as Peter lets his eyes close, drowsiness begins to ebb its way in. He’s content to let himself fall completely into it this time. He’s safe and warm. He’s real. This is real. They’re okay.

“Pete?”

“Mm?”

“I don't know if I say it enough, but I'm proud of you.”

---

Peter’s muscles are stiff when he wakes up, a drowsy yawn escaping his mouth without warning. He’s shifted in the night, somehow ended up with his head shoved up against the side of Tony’s leg. There’s a throw blanket over him that he doesn’t remember being there before.

Tony shifts beside him.

“What’re you doin’ awake, Pete?”

“Dunno,” he mumbles back dopily.

“If you want any more sleep, I’d get it now. The little monster’ll be up soon.”

Peter knows he’s right judging by the gentle morning light starting to creep in through the curtains.

“M’kay. You too.”

Tony threads a few lazy fingers through his hair in response and he closes his eyes.

They both drift back off.

#my writing #irondad #irondad fic #febuwhump #febufluff #i like this one #:))

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creepyalienghost · 5 years ago

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🌽Corn Maze🌽

It was the last class of the week for all four of the boys. Joey’s history class was watching a movie for free day. He couldn’t wait for school to be over because they were all going to the corn maze. It was the perfect autumn day to go. The sun was hiding behind the clouds and the the air was cool.

Over the lunch periods earlier, the boys had texted about it and decided to go today after school do to it be storming tomorrow then going over to Joey’s parents house.

Norman has been watching the clock all class. It was easy given the fact that it was algebra and he hated algebra. Once the last minute ticked Norman started stuffing his notebook and text book in his bag.

Once they bell rang Norman got up, swinging his bag around his shoulder and went down the hall to the band room where his boyfriends last class is.

Sammy delicately places his violin in his case and added the bow then closing and locking the case before putting the case on a shelf. He grabbed his book bag and went out to meet with Norman then his other friends for the corn maze.

Joey meet Henry at his locker putting his books away. “Hey Henry.” Joey leans on the locker next to his.

“Hey jojo.” Henry closes his locker and gave Joey a kiss.

“You ready for fun?” Joey ask after they finished.

“Oh I am!” Henry sighs in relief. “I worked my ass off all week on these assignments and projects!”

“Aww!” Joey wrapped his arm around Henry’s shoulder. “Let’s go have mindless fun now.” Henry nodded, leaning in some as they walked to Joey’s car.

They two couples meet out side by Joey’s rich parents car and all piled in. Joey started the car and drove out of the parking lot. His left hand on the wheel and his right in Henry’s hand. Joey glances in the mirror and peaks at the two in back.

Sammy was cuddled in the arms of Norman and was reading a book appropriate to the season. Norman might have been reading it to. Joey smiled and glances back to the road.

In no time Joey pulled up into a parking spot and killed the Engine then getting out with Henry and Norman. Sammy put his book mark on his page and closes it, clawing out to.

“Ohh I see the corn maze!” Joey said excited.

They could all see the corn maze in the vary back. there was also a filled of pumpkins you could buy, an area were you can feed baby animals, a little park for kids, places for pictures and a scary hay ride but that doesn’t start tell 8, and a concession stand.

“well what should we do first?” Henry ask once they paid to get in.

“Let’s do the corn maze first.” Norman suggestion. “It’s the longest and it would be worse at night if we get lost.”

The ethers agree and head to the corn maze and going in. When they got far enough in it was like all sound -screams, laughter, talking and the animals- was gone. it felt like they were on there on in the world. The corn stalks were towering over each of there heads so there was no seeing the outside ether. But it was fun, that Erie feeling in the pit of there stomachs and they continued down the long path. Then they went left.

They became lost in the corn maze. Of corse they did. It was part of the experience. Joey had been secretly wanting to get lost and Sammy notice they haven’t came across anyone else in here ether. “What if everyone is is dead.” He said in a spooky voice.

“Or they been sucked up in a spaceship?” Joey added and they other two laughed.

“I can do one better.” Henry said. “What if were the ghost and this Is our afterlife.

“Ohh that is a good one.” Joey replied then kisses Henry.

Sammy turn to Norman to see if he could do better but he wasn’t behind him now. He looked left then right. “Guy. Did he lose Norman?”

“Oh crap. When was the last time he was hear?” Henry ask.

“I- just a few minutes ago I though?” Sammy replied.

“Norman! We’re over here!” Joey called out. “Follow me v-

Norman jumped out at them from behind, making them all scream in fright. He cracked up laughing from how scared everyone was.

“You dick!” Joey said but was laughing.

“I think my heart stop!” Henry had his hand over his heart.

“You mean.” Sammy who had fallen back in fright, pouts.

“Yikes. Sorry Sammy.” Norman helped up his boyfriend. “And stop being a drama queen Henry.” He joked.

Sammy cuddles into Norman chest. “Hmm you should be.” He looked up and smirked.

Norman leans down and kisses him on the nose. “Forgive me now?”

Sammy blushes and nodded. “your forgiven.”

Norman smiled down at him. “Great!

The four continued on down the paths of the corn maze and soon came up to the scarecrow. Sammy pulled out his phone and got a few pictures with it. One of all four. One of him and Norman and the last with Henry and Joey. He sent the two pictures to both Henry and Joey and sent 2 to Norman.

It took another 30 minutes before they found there way out. “ yay freedommmmm” Henry Said being a drama queen again. Joey playfully rolls his eyes as they all laugh.

Then next activity they choose was the animals. Sammy got a lot of cute and funny moments from this activity. like Norman feeding a pig and petting it. The pig was found of Norman and crawled into his lap. Norman petted the pig for a long while, Henry holding a baby chick then getting swarm by it’s brothers and sisters, surrounding Henry. and Joey getting chased by an Alpaca because he was afraid to feed it and held on to the bucket. Norman even recorded Sammy feeding and petting the sheep. They were his favorite.

They all decided to get the pumpkins last so the only think left is the haunted hay ride! But you had to wait 30 minutes for the next ride so while they waisted they got there dinner ant ate it.

Once it was time they packed in with others. Sammy and Norman huddle on one side while Henry and Joey we’re huddled together across form them. Soon the ride began. It was quit fir the first few minutes but then out of no where came a guy with a chainsaw running toured them, making them all scream. Sammy got closet to Norman and felt his grip tightening a bit, letting him know that he won’t let nothing bad happy to him.

There was so many more scares, screams and laugher from the others scared look. The ride sadly had to come to an end though. With having done everything they all went to the pumpkin patch to find there perfect pumpkin. Norman found his in two minutes. With Joey being the next one having his, Sammy followed with Henry being the last.

They all paid for there pumpkins and went to Joeys house to stay the night. They all out there pumpkins in the Garage to do tomorrow when it’s raining.

For now Joey made a fire in there pit outside. Sammy cuddled up next to Norman in the bench, Norman wrapping his arms around his waist. Henry and Joey sit close on the two Single chairs. They begin to tell ghost stories with Joey being the first. And his mother coming out with hot chocolate for them.

#bendy and the ink machine #joey drew studios #joey drew #henry stein #henry x joey #sammy lawrence #norman polk #norman x sammy #sammy x norman #joey x henry

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milkykoarts · 4 years ago

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My Introduction

hi, im a young and small artist who is getting clip studio paint soon WOOHOO! If you want to follow me and i promise to bring out more quality art soon im using a free art program called sketchbook also known as fire alpaca and i know that once i get a higher quality program the quality of my digital art will go up as well i also got a new tablet for christmas i was using a Wacom comic intuos but now i am using a m10k gaomon to do my art i mostly draw anime and different fan art but i also draw other things i love webtoons and hope to create my own one day i love anime, manga, games, art,webtoons, kpop, kdramas, a lot of genres of music except country (SORRY I HATE COUNTRY MUSIC) but i also go to school and wont have a clear posting schedule if you took the time to read all of this thank you and i hope you will stay a while to see me improve at art. also here is my instagram i dont post much on it but here you go if your interested https://www.instagram.com/voodoobunny00/

#artist #artists on tumblr #artistonistagram #anime #anime fanart #videogames #gamer #musiclover #lol #introduction #welcome #tumblr #follow #like

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omniheim · 5 years ago

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GET TO KNOW THE BLOGGER.

can be used for RP && non-RP blogs to get to know a bit about the person behind the screen !

1. FIRST NAME : ashe .

2. STRANGE FACT ABOUT YOURSELF : i was born with a weird disability called septo - optic dysplasia ! i’m visually impaired with low vision & no peripheral sight as well as no sense of smell .

3. TOP THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU FIND ATTRACTIVE ON A PERSON : bc of my bad vision i don’t rly pay much attention to physical attributes , but if i had to choose : hairstyle / colour , height , and ... idk what else SDFGSYUDF , face shape maybe ?

4. A FOOD YOU COULD EAT FOREVER AND NOT GET BORED OF : teriyaki chicken donburi !

5. A FOOD YOU HATE : mushrooms , which sucks bc i used to like em but my ma gave me buttered mushrooms once and just the thought makes me gag SDYFUGSUYDF .

6. GUILTY PLEASURE : i guess some franchises that’re looked down upon ? like esp mlp , i feel like everyone will assume i’m a creep for watching it bc i’m a guy so i don’t like to mention it much but i just think it’s cute and the art style is amazing .

7. WHAT DO YOU SLEEP IN : ok so i shit u not i have a sleeping bag on top of my bed . i have a single size bed and i move around so much in my sleep that the sheets always ended up on the floor so eventually i just went fuck it and used a sleeping bag . i plan on stopping when i get a bigger sized bed bc the sheets will actually fuckin fit .

8. SERIOUS RELATIONSHIPS OR FLINGS : i’d like to say both but i don’t think i have the heart for flings , i would love to be more free with exploring tho bc my sexuality is still a big question mark .

9. IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN THE PAST AND CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT YOUR LIFE , WOULD YOU AND WHAT WOULD IT BE : to stop being so dependent on my mother due to my lack of eyesight , learning independence is tough after being overprotected and i feel like i’m behind as an adult as a whole .

10. ARE YOU AN AFFECTIONATE PERSON : yes ! but i’m also very bad at keeping in touch LMAO .

11. A MOVIE YOU COULD WATCH OVER AND OVER AGAIN : final fantasy vii advent children , dragon ball z battle of gods , disney’s moana .

12. FAVORITE BOOK : i don’t rly read but i wanna pick up the harry potter series one day !

13. YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO KEEP ANY ANIMAL AS A PET, WHAT DO YOU CHOOSE : an alpaca bc they’re my favourite but i also rly want a dog !

14. TOP FIVE FICTIONAL SHIPS ( IF YOU ARE AN RP BLOG , YOU CAN USE YOUR OWN SHIPS AS WELL ) : cloud / zack is my favourite ship Ever even outside of this blog , but to stay on the cloud train ... cloud / aerith is probably my second biggest ship love the idea of cloud / barret being a very very slow burn , just two dads holdin hands i will admit cloud / reno also sounds fun to explore i’m kh trash and could literally ship him with any of the kh main groups adults if u allowed me to i feel like this is an extremely unpopular opinion but i like exploring ideas of a toxic cloud / sephiroth ship bc rly how can i say no to pure unfiltered Pain with the manipulation and the ‘ good boy ’ calling and the whole ‘ on your knees , i want you to beg for forgiveness ’ line was Too Much Fuel to the problematic fire .

15. PIE OR CAKE : cake but i’m picky .

16. FAVORITE SCENT : can’t smell ! but i think i would enjoy citrus .

17. CELEBRITY CRUSH : um cloud strife ? that counts right ?

18. IF YOU COULD TRAVEL ANYWHERE, WHERE WOULD YOU GO : japan or america .

19. INTROVERT OR EXTROVERT : introvert due to my own anxiety but i feel like i’m an extrovert at heart .

20. DO YOU SCARE EASILY : ooohh yeah .

21. IPHONE OR ANDROID : both for different reasons .

22. DO YOU PLAY ANY VIDEO GAMES : what the fuck is a video game ( yes . yes i do . the wait for animal crossing and 7r is killing me slowly )

23. DREAM JOB : working for nintendo or square enix as a character designer or writer !

24. WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH A MILLION DOLLARS : help my parents move into homes of their own then move country and get myself comfortable , likely blow a shit ton on games and merch bc i’m terrible with money , try to set up an online merch store since i could afford packing and shipping .

25. FICTIONAL CHARACTER YOU HATE : hate is a strong word , there’s probably someone but idk who off the top of my head . as far as ffvii goes hojo can eat a dick .

26. FANDOM THAT YOU WERE ONCE A PART OF BUT AREN’T ANY LONGER : outlast ! i miss it sometimes everyone there was amazing , one day i might rp waylon again . one day .

tagged by : @ofnibelheim & @stormdive !

tagging : @giftedlegacy / @hivemined / @hercbled / @lunaendowment

#& out . ╱ i’m so fucking gay for cloud my guy holy fuck .#/ thank u for the tags guys !! /

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crowsworks · 6 years ago

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The Bitty Connection

@inkswirl @firedrakegirl @nascentcreations @Space_lover @maiuoart @alpaca-keeper

After gathering samples from everyone that opted into the “bitty” party which was Maiuo, Swirl, Alp, Mimi, Space, and Fire; Crow made her way to see her favorite fish friend… Undyne, aka Kraken. She was Smoke and Indigo’s Undyne and though she looked mean, Crow knew she was a sweet loving anime geek with nerdy tendencies. Even though she hated humans she found peace in Crow’s realm. She was given a lab, she was allowed experiments, given anime. And suddenly a delivery truck was parked outside her door with a bunch of new anime, manga of her favorite ships, plus some new ones, and cups of noodles. There was even a plushie thrown in of Smoke and Crow as she grabbed them up and squealed in delight. Grabbing up some of the new manga she saw it featured all new ships. Someone named “Aritafae” and Mutt. A handsome looking skellie that was close to how Smoke looked but without a broken nasal cavity. Another manga with a bunch of other skellie boys wearing collars and living in a dorm house together with the same mysterious “Aritafae”, a cute woman that could shift into a cat. The anime consisted of new stuff she’d never seen before and was delighted to get her hands on it. But she grew suspicious…. This never happened before. She sighed anyway and the delivery driver was helping in bringing it all in. More stacks on the already overly cluttered floor, more cups of noodles piling up on the counters. Thankfully, this lab had a built-in storage room and she was able to move a lot of it into there. But just as they finished up, she heard the tell-tale sing song voice of Crow. Groaning she shut the door… of course… she accepted the damn gifts… it better not be anymore bitty requests. Sure, Bitty Dewie was sweet compared to Bitty Mol but after Bitty Mol that left a bad taste in her mouth. “Hey Kracken, I see you got the gifts. You uhh… ready for this request?” Crow asked with a smile as she leaned against the wall looking right at her with smile on her stupid human face. “No.” Kraken deadpan stared at her and flat out answered rather quickly. Pouting moving away from the wall. “Ahh, come on. I see you got the shipment.” Crow sang out to her. “Oh… please s…stop singing…” Kraken was trying not to stutter. She had been working on it. Honestly, with Crow’s help she was getting better. “Ok, fine, but please I got some bitty requests. Humans and I have the required stuff to make em. I mean you signed for the shipment and I promise no more bitties. Just please do this.” Crow wasn’t one to beg, but she was begging right now. This must be important to her, Kranken thought to herself looking at the “witch” that let them stay, gave them houses, didn’t care what they were before or where they came from. Gave them all roofs, food, jobs, even the demons and other beings smiled at them, welcomed them with open arms. Stars… how could she say no? Damn her sappy heart, damn Crow for her good-natured loving ways. But … she figured she owed a lot to her, most humans would have snubbed their noses at them, sent them away. But not Crow… she watched as Crow first day opened her arms and gave Sans… or Black or Indigo whatever he was called now and just hugged him. Watched as Black threw her across the room and stormed out. How she laughed off the pain even though she winced, how she just smiled even though she was hurting physically and said it was ok it wasn’t his fault. That she forgave him now and always. Alphys or Dina called her a softie, an idiot. That was until two weeks later when they were all invited to a celebration at the Jinia Manor and … Crow… entered battle. Magic was not allowed, no armor and but weapons were allowed, and death apparently was a no go this time. Curious she found out the Jinia; at least most of them, had found a way to bring back their dead. Using the soul and their spirit to do so. But seeing Crow battle it out, it changed the view of many of them. Crow was a warrior with a big heart. That changed Indigo’s view of her. He had once said to Dina it was like “watching an angel in battle, dancing while her soul sang.” And thus, many came to respect her more. Looking at Crow now begging… ugh “Get up come on.” “YES.” Crow called out happily and the two got everything set up and started. The baggies and one vial were all clearly labeled and marked so Kraken got to work on making the newest bitties. “Give m..me about a week? I’ll call you w…when I’m done.” Kraken told her waving Crow away with her hand as she got into her zone. Human bitties, she was working with human bitties. She was more excited than she let on. And one of them seemed to have antlers… Stars she was excited to see these bitties. Crow went home later that night and grabbed up a copy of the manga where Hal had a collar and all of them were in high school sharing a dorm living together, the antics, the collars, the little “love drama”. Snrking Crow put it in the mail and her a copy right then and there. Thinking though as she sat on the couch she heard an egg hatch and buzzing sounds. “Shadow bees.” Wrynn called from the nusery as Crow got up to look at just one of her newest creations. Shadow bee to make ashen honey. They were adorable. One giant Queen bee, a bunch of workers, and some guard bees. The Shadow Queen bee about the size of a fucking rat buzzed over to Crow curious and Crow scooping her up nuzzled that thing. Taking her to little garden outside in the back and showing her around. She hadn’t had bees before but now a little less magic would get used trying to keep everything pollenated. “I shall name you Fuzzy.” Crow declared. A black bee, with a red stringer and violet bands around her and silver blue wings. She was just cute. Fuzzy got right to work and the drones following her orders started to build nests and putting everything together and started doing their bee duties. Crow let em go at it as she yawned and curled up on the couch. HS seeing is moment moved over snuggling up to her and just smooching all over her face. The two falling asleep on the couch. It had been an eventful day.

#Crows drabbles #mai #Swirl #Alp #Mimi #Fire #Space #Bitty selves yo #Mai's shitshat discord channel #fun chaos #Kraken is my fellswap Unydne #Dina is my fellswap Alphys #Indigo is my fellswap Sans #HS is my underswap Papyrus

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thephonypone · 6 years ago

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(Previous Image that occupied this post) (this post has been reconfigured) ━━━━━━━━(image for this post will change in the future) *•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚‿୨♡ ABOUT ME ♡୧‿˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*

Zoraka | Adult | Autistic Aro Ace | Female | Any pronouns ━━━━━━━━━━━━ Occupation: • Digital Artist, Illustrator. • Animatic/Storyboard Artist • Small-time Animator • Casual Writer • Character Designer Materials: • Wacom Intuos tablet • Fire Alpaca Digital Painting Software ━━━━━━━━━━━━ Other: • Heavy Anxiety, Depression, ADHD. • Easily provoked, quick to anger. • Distant, Slow to respond ━━━━━━━━━━━━

Hello, My name is Zoraka. I'm a digital artist, I sometimes animate. I have drawn for majority of my life. I am partial to unrealistic characters and quadrupeds opposed to bipedal characters. I love my friends like family. My mental health is abysmal and I'm not the best person. I have unmedicated anger issues and am easily provoked, beware please. My Account, Jroxs12pone, was Terminated during the Tumblr Purge Crisis in December of 2018. This was a devastation of course. And Tumblr, after a long amount of time had still not responded to my report upon my wrongful termination, I wasn't gonna wait that long to know if it would or not so I made this new account in 2019 to restart on. Since then tumblr has fixed my old account "Jroxs12pone", but I am staying on this account due to this working out better as a clean start. Although I hate that I cant have my old username.

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shinyroggenrola · 6 years ago

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fire alpaca sucks ass when it comes to animation but hey, i tried fdssdf

i aint gonna bother with more frames bcus oh boy do i hate animating now

#m #these 6 or 7 frames took an hour i aint doin more #fuck that #gonna go back to hand drawing my frames from now on

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hanajimasama · 6 years ago

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So I was tagged by the amazing @madlymiho @lipstickandbarbedwire and @laws-hat-headcanons

Nickname(s): Pumpkin only to online people because I started to refer to myself as Pumpkin because of my orange hair, I’m not a person just an old rotting pumpkin.

Gender: Pumpkin haha. female.

Astrological sign: Capricorn. The water goat.

Sexuality: Heterosexual.

Hogwarts house: hufflepuff so says the books and the internet. So I’m some form of a bland badger.

Favorite animal: Corgis <3 little loaf dog. Alpacas they’re so fluffy. Also Pandas.

Number of blankets: I have broken internal heating so I have like 3 blankets, most of the year.

Where are you from: The Pumpkin Patch. haha Sunny old England. Which atm is on fire and I hate it. Is it Autumn yet?

Dream trip: Japan. Korea.

When I started this account: I don’t remember. I just wound up here. I don’t have anything good to add but I’m just here to follow all the amazing artists and writers on here! and to awkwardly lurk in a corner of fandoms. wow it’s like real life haha.

I think I’ve bothered you all enough.

I tag @dynakamikaze

#ramblings of a pumpkin

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braveskyered · 6 years ago

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Knights (Part 7)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

Shall we continue?

Part 7: People Watching Me

- - -

Running and running.

Running and running, Arthur ran through the forest path. The moonlight shining from above being his only guide, he rushed past the purple roses with thorns that can burn, the blue orchids that do not heal, and the red lotus flowers that can tear the soul apart. The flowers somehow grow amongst the shrubs and thick trees, the path riddled with petals. He had lost the correct path full of wilting sunflowers that led the way home, but he kept running and running through the path filled with a translucent green mist that reeked of evil, desperate to get away.

Running and running, it felt like the day he left since he wore his orange vest and his left arm did not have the flesh cover, exposing the metal that revealed the truth.

Running and running, with the two small bundles swaddled in white and yellow, clutched and secure in his arms, he stumbled on and kept running and running, not daring to look back. The two dark shadows were coming in closer and closer behind him. His tears fell while the newborn twins in his arms cried, which made him hold them closer. He hated that he couldn't take the time to soothe their troubles. He has to escape with them first before he could do that.

Running and running, the fangs and claws and bone and fire will tear him apart if he were to stop.

Running and running, he knew that he had to find a way to take the twins to safety, take them home where they will be safe.

Running and running, the kitsune had seen them, and he knew that it wanted its next meal after his left arm.

Running and running, he knew that the wraith, who sought his death many a time, wanted them for its own.

His tears kept falling. The babies still cried. No matter what, he will not hand over the twins to the monsters behind him to become their playthings. They are his treasures, his only two reasons of living. He had already abandoned everything else for them to take when he left, and for over a year he had nothing until he received the twin children he himself had a hand in creating.

And yet they still want more from him.

There is no end to the forest in sight. The fire started appearing ahead of him, made by either of the dark shadows chasing him, the path gradually burning as he continued to run. The adrenaline is beginning to wear off, and Arthur knew that it's only a matter of time. If he slows down even once he will be caught. If it was just him, he would've long let the monsters do whatever they wished. But with the newborn twins in his arms, Arthur knew that he can't do that. Because if he didn't protect them...

Running and running, Arthur looked up and saw what could be his lucky break. He saw an animal, which moved too fast for him to identify other than it was white, move off to another path. Seeing it, he saw the animal rush into an unused area, giving it a blind spot. If Arthur used this...

His determination renewed, Arthur made the turn and leaped into the unused path hidden in the shrubbery and spotted a small cave within a very thick tree. Giving it a quick look over, he placed the newborn twins into the small cave before crawling in himself to shield the babies from view. Miraculously, the crying from the twins have been reduced to mere quiet whimpers, and everything is quiet. ...Too quiet. He didn't hear the monsters pass. Does that mean they're lying in wait?

Where did the animal that guided him go?

He tried to keep his breathing down while finally being able to rest. How long was he running? Minutes? Hours? ...Days? He couldn't keep track of time, he lost track of home. ...Where is the way leading to home? The withered sunflowers that tell the path are long gone.

Before he had a chance to dry his tears, he heard what sounded like a heartbeat, and he looked to the back of the small cave he and the twins are hiding in.

...Was that tiny door there before? Arthur didn't recall seeing it when he came in. And... the doorknob is shaped like a purple crescent moon and located right on the center of the door itself? Arthur narrowed his eyes as he knelt closer to examine the knob. The ends of the moon are pointed upward, and there were three slits on the moon itself that resembled a sleeping face? ...Is the moon itself pulsing a gentle light to the tune of a heartbeat?

Arthur looked behind him, the area outside the cave. He didn't want to go back out on the main path to check to see if the kitsune or the wraith were still out there. If he is caught, then either the twins will be found to be taken as food or compensation, or they will be forgotten and left to die. Gwen and Percy do not deserve such a fate when neither of them have committed any wrongdoing like he had, such as running away. He knew that the monsters that chased him are anxious from their prey, so he needs to leave the twins in a place where they're guaranteed to be safe. It wouldn't hurt to try the small door to see if it would lead anywhere.

...Right? For all he knew, it might be his ticket out of this nightmare.

He picked up Gwen and Percy and crossed his arms to hold them as tenderly as he could before reaching out for the knob.

The “sleeping face” on the knob woke up. It grinned mischievously, and the door itself looked as if something was trying to beat it down from the other side. The knob and its grin and eyes slowly grew in size as each beat passed.

He felt the clawed hands of the wraith on his left shoulder, where Gwen nuzzles against his neck.

The heartbeat grew louder.

A green substance dripped down from above, melting the cave around him.

Louder.

He heard the snarling of the demon fox, the monster's tongue touching his right shoulder, where Percy rests.

LOUDER.

“...Arthur!”

The door opened, and he dashed forward.

- - - - - - -

Arthur's eyes shot open.

What just…?

He started to sit up, or at least tried to. Why can't he move? He blinked, his vision is blurry, but he could tell that he is on a bed in a room with a blue-green wall and a white ceiling. He opened his mouth to speak, but could not muster any sound. He tried two, three times more, but to his panic, his voice is lost to him. Panic is starting to flow in his veins. What is happening why can't he call for help.

Right. Right, he could still breathe. The deep breathing that Elaine taught him might work. He inhaled slowly, the little relief flowing through his body as his lungs slowly expanded... until they stopped. Just, stopped. No matter how hard he tried, his lungs refused to take on more air. They weren’t exactly privy on exhaling, either, and Arthur was soon reduced to short, shallow breaths, so shallow he could choke.

Someone or something was suffocating him – it's the only answer he could muster. He felt a pressure on his chest, not unlike the nightmare he had with the wraith a few years back.

“Arthur, my knight. It's okay, take it easy.”

He felt a warm hand wrapped around the fingers of his right, another hand gently went over his eyes.

“Arthur, my star, it's all right. You're safe. Take it easy and relax, okay?”

It was at this point that Arthur found he could move again, that he could breathe again. Turning his head to his right, he saw Elaine sitting beside the bed with a look of concern on her face, her left hand obscuring most of his vision.

He tried to talk, but his throat is dry, making his voice feel raspy, “W-Where...?”

“You're inside Nana Niniane's manor, this is one of the guest rooms that she set aside for us if the kids ever needed a nap,” she paused as she pulled her hands away, letting Arthur see her deadpan expression, “Or if one of us gets a little too tipsy, you never know. Oh, and I had to take off your arm. I made sure to remove it after everyone else left, so you can rest easy on that.”

Arthur started to sit up, and noticed something soft fall on his left side. Looking at it, he saw two stuffed animals, a gray turtle and an orange alpaca, lay beside him. What are Gwen and Percy's favorite toys doing here? The twins almost never put them down unless they're outside.

“The kids wanted to stay beside you, but I had Mama Vivienne take them out shopping, so they left Boku and Deadbeat here to keep you company, instead,” Elaine chuckled with a smile, “They're on a mission to find the ingredients to make your 'Happy Food,' so expect to have that gnarly pizza of yours either tonight or tomorrow.”

He smiled back in a teasing manner, “You three like it, too, you know.”

“Oh, hush,” Elaine rolled her eyes before her smiles faded, “Arthur. If... you don't mind me asking, what happened back there? From what the kids told me, you looked really scared. Did you see something?”

Arthur went still as the memories came rushing back. Mystery.

Mystery had found him.

The adrenaline started to peak--

“Arthur, it's okay!” she held him down as he started to scramble off the bed, stopping him before he could get the covers off, “You're hyperventilating. Remember, deep breath for four seconds, hold for four seconds, let out in six.”

His breathing slowed, tears began to form as he clutched at the stump of his left arm, “Th...the fox. The kitsune. Th-the kitsune that took my arm. I saw him. He was there... by the tree... he found me...! No one noticed him! I...! I-I couldn't...!” He was too shaken to talk any further.

“Wait, you saw a kitsune at the reunion outside?” Elaine looked at the door leading outside of the room, then realization dawned at her face before slamming a palm against her face, “Oh, right! I totally-- Damn it, of all the things for me to--! Arthur, I need you to listen to me,” she held his hand with one of her own while holding his right shoulder with another, “You did see a kitsune. However, she's not who you think she is. The reason the family didn't react to her is that we all know her, and so do you. You've met with her once at our wedding.”

He looked at her, confusion overtaking his panic. He didn't seeing a white nine-tailed fox that could easily rip off a limb or bite out his throat to eat at his windpipe.

“The kitsune you saw is actually--”

A knocking startled the two.

“May I come in? It's Niniane.”

Elaine and Arthur made eye contact, the former pointing at the door and then to his arm stump and nodded, meaning that Niniane knew about it. She gestured at the door with her head while looking at Arthur. Frowning until his lips made a thin line, Arthur reluctantly nodded. In response, Elaine stood up and went to the door to let her relative in.

Arthur saw the old woman come in, and he recognized who she is. She was the Niniane he saw back at his wedding with Elaine. Curiously, she even wore the same blue-green dress with an even darker blue-green, almost black, skirt that vaguely resembled a Victorian-style ball gown. Her long black hair with a single white streak and the occasional gray hair mixed in reached down to her hips, a section of hair that reached down below her chin covering the left side of her face. Her eyes were also a pale blue, much like Elaine's. Around her neck is a silver pendant shaped like a triquetra with a fox wrapped around it bound with a thin black cord.

...How old is she if she has the “Nana” title? Something is off about her, now that Arthur has seen her up close.

“How is he?” Niniane looked down to see and let out a smile, "You are well, that is a relief,” the older woman turned to Elaine, “I wish to speak to him alone. Would you give us some space?”

“What? But, Nana Niniane,” Elaine glanced at Arthur with concern, “He just regained consciousness, he needs time! You know what happened! If he sees that--”

“I understand your concern, Elaine. But I need to speak to him privately. I promise I will not do anything that will scare him. Your mother needs you to handle Melia and her... disgraceful opinions that Eleanor and I have told you about. It might be a good idea that you set some facts straight.”

Arthur had no idea what exactly the two were talking about, but he did see Elaine look both conflicted and annoyed. She looked as if she was about to say something, but eventually relented with a sigh before giving him a hug. Arthur placed his hand on her arm to return her act of affection.

“Please do not be afraid of her,” she quietly whispered to his ear as she passed the moon pin onto his hand, “Know that she will never hurt you. Know that you are safe. I love you, my star. I love you so much.”

“Same to you,” he responded with a nod and a faint smile.

After giving him a kiss on his temple, Elaine is gone, leaving him alone with Niniane.

“She really is an amazing young lady,” Niniane smiled, “Even I can tell that she loves you so deeply. You've made her happy, more than any of us could. You have no idea how thankful I am for that.”

Her smile then faded.

Arthur rose a brow in confusion.

“You know, while I knew that you were hurt by a demon,” she came to his left side and trailed a finger against the stump of his left arm, “I never imagined that your trauma ran this deep.”

He leaned away and held his only fist against his shoulder and turned his gaze somewhere else, the moon pin still in his hand.

“You don't have to hide it from me, Arthur. I know that you were harmed by not one, not two... but three. The first, a demon that possessed you. The second, a kitsune that took away your arm to stop the first. And the third... a wraith, made from the anger of your friend for a deed you had no control over due to the first. Those scars must still hurt deeply in your heart.”

Arthur didn't say anything, for there is no point to. He can say he is gradually healing, but that is physically. He could only heal partially from the wounds that lie within his heart and mind because he drifted away from Tempo, and everyone and everything he knew by extension. He knew that this isn't the right way to heal, but it was the only way to do it without the risk of dying. Funny at how he was too much of a coward to end his own life.

He pulled his fist away and looked at the back of the moon pin to see the message of love and protection Elaine had left him.

Niniane sighed, “When you fainted, I had to look into your memories because I saw your expression. That's not a reaction one would have if they're having a seizure, or a sudden loss of blood sugar. What you had was pure terror. I had to look into your memory to see the cause, because I have seen people die in fear.”

“What?” He looked at her while trying to keep his beating heart under control.

“While I knew you lost your arm to a kitsune to stop a demon from possessing you, I didn't realize until after I saw the memory at how traumatic it was. First you get possessed, then you're forced to watch your friend die by 'your' hand, and after that the kitsune disguised as a dog takes away your arm. You have a fear of not just the one that saved you, but all of them in general. You thought you saw the one that saved you, that traumatized you, didn't you?”

He nodded while trying to process the fact that this woman knows. Knows about the numerous truths that he hadn't told Elaine yet. He hadn't told her that Lewis was killed and returned as a wraith out for unjust revenge without realizing it. He only told her that his friend got hurt as a result and never forgave him for it, which isn't too far from the truth itself. He never told her specifically that the wraith was the one who gave him most of those injuries, letting her assume that his friend did it.

Arthur couldn't bring himself to tell Elaine that he left because he didn't want to be in Lewis and Vivi's way. The wraith hated him back then, and the wraith still hated him now to this day. And Vivi... Vivi...

"The kitsune you saw earlier, Arthur," Niniane took a deep breath, “It was not the one who hurt you. You actually saw me. And before you ask,” she held up a hand to top him from talking when he whipped his head at her direction, “As I'm sure you know, all of the women here born in my bloodline except for Morgan can turn into a certain creature, primarily yokai, as a combative measure against the monsters we're destined to fight. In my case, I can turn into a kitsune. Had I known that the mere sight of my other form was enough for you to faint in fear, I would have changed back into a human sooner. I normally give my blessing to this family as a kitsune, so I can wish them protection and good fortune.”

She then bowed her head.

“I will not ask for your forgiveness, because this is my mistake. I looked through your memories without your permission in hopes of finding the solution to help you. I will not ask you to not fear me because a trauma like that is not something you can simply move on from. I understand that you're afraid of not only me, but all of the women in my family.”

She held a hand over her face, her expression full of sorrow.

“All I ask is that you do not hate me,” she gave a bow again, and turned to leave.

“Wait.”

Niniane stopped to look at Arthur, who stopped her as he stared out the window.

“I can't hate you, not after everything you and the family have done for me,” Arthur admitted, his grip on the moon pin relaxing, “It's true that I am afraid of you and everyone here. My mind knows that you won't hurt me, but my instincts are always telling me to run. I still have that issue even with Elaine whenever she transforms,” he then looked out the window, “The fact that her other form is a skeleton can be really hard for me to take in at times.”

“It's because of your former friend, isn't it? The one who came back as a wraith, and haunts your nightmares even now? ...The one who hurt you?”

Arthur didn't reply.

“I will tell you now that I have no intention of telling anyone about what I know, or what I saw,” Niniane gently laid a thin hand against his left shoulder, “Just so you know, I did see your most recent nightmare.”

He went stiff, not daring to look at her. He was only barely able to escape with the twins and himself. It didn't matter if it wasn't real, he still did not want the wraith to take Gwen or the kitsune to take Percy.

“You should talk to Elaine about this. Tell her everything about the one that hurt you, where everything went wrong. Tell her that the wraith and your friend are one and the same. Wraith or not, it does not excuse his actions, especially since his anger is misdirected and unjustified. Even after learning the truth, he still hurt you, abused you, and that woman did nothing to stop him. You are as much a victim to it as they are, if not more.”

He clenched his teeth, who is she to judge.

Of course Vivi wouldn't stop the wraith, she didn't know it was happening back then. He didn't tell her. Couldn't tell her. It was a rule since having him back made her so happy... He left when he couldn't handle the punishment of him being so weak. Life would've been so much easier had he just simply tried to forget the Mystery Skulls. Tried to forget Vivi. Tried to forget Lewis. Tried to forget Mystery. Tried to forget Tempo.

But as long as Gwen and Percy live, Arthur will never be able to forget.

It's the reason why he gave the twins their names, to remind him of the two he failed.

Upon hearing a thump behind him, Arthur finally turned to look back at Niniane, and in her place is a large white kitsune sitting by the left side of his bed, staring at him with her now gold colored eyes, the fox pendant hanging from her neck. Apprehension flowed through his back, and he tightened his hold on the moon pin. Taking a shaky breath while resisting the tears, he asked her.

“Why are you doing this?”

“I have been alive for many generations Arthur,” Niniane narrowed her eyes with empathy, “You have suffered for so long, and while I disagree with your method of coping, I still wish to help you.”

He started to lean away.

“I am going to place my snout against your left shoulder. I will not expose my teeth or my tongue. I am very sorry, Arthur, but this is the only way I can bless my protection to the family members that do not share my blood.”

Seeing that Arthur isn't trying to run, Niniane tapped her nose against the stump of his arm.

- - - - - - -

After Arthur came back outside to the family reunion, he immediately felt eyes watching him. As soon as the feeling of shame bloomed, Elaine was immediately at his side. It didn't take any effort to convince her that it was time to go home. Once the family of four came home, night had already fallen, and the twins were soon asleep in their beds.

Arthur detached his arm, placed it on the short dresser like he always did, and proceeded to climb into his own bed for the night. He isn't looking forward to sleeping, but he's already feeling so tired.

Soon, Arthur went to sleep, with Elaine at his left side like she always did.

He is in the moonlit forest again, but this time, the sunflowers that show the way home are blooming. He looked behind him, and there isn't anyone or anything to chase him down.

With the newborn twins in his arms, Arthur walked through the path, not looking back.

The sun began to rise.

In the morning, Arthur woke up, tears silently falling in relief.

* - * - * - * - *

Notes: Running and running~ ♫ Running and running~ ♫ Running and running~ ♫

What? You find the nightmare odd again? Honestly, I think Arthur would rather be chased by a bear than those monsters.

...Oh? You find that strange? Hmm... I wonder if we'll ever reach the truth.

Just what is Niniane, really? She’s clearly on Arthur’s side, but...

(I don’t know what colors to put for this chapter’s picture, so have a partially finished one. It should still show the mood pretty well. I think)

Part 8: Soul on Fire

#mystery skulls animated #msa arthur #msa fanfic #fanfic #arthur kingsmen #msa #msa knights #elaine knights

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luthiferx · 6 years ago

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fire alpaca is a good animation-ish software !! you can make gifs with it n then edit the gif with music in another app or somethin

I think my issue is i dont rlly like Alpaca??? I used to use it a lot and I sort of hate it now idk I don’t know, if i ever rlly need 2 animate i guess, my BIGGEST issue is i like to have the music while the animation is being made- like on flipnote, i can record the music or sound and then fit the animation accordingly, i dont like having to adjust the sound or the frames in different programs

#thanks for the help tho i'll def use it for normal animations if i decide 2!#Anonymous #pile of bones

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mzyrimworld · 6 years ago

Text

Duster Part 7 - Quadrum 6

Last quadrum was fairly harsh for our colonists with three more deaths happening on one expedition! Will they get a break this quadrum, or will the difficulties continue? Let’s find out...

Vas and Priscilla return safely from the trade mission - together with a hen they bought from the other group! Fortunately it was fairly cheap, because I don’t reckon with how long such a small and defenseless animal would survive on that planet - won’t take a very large animal to get hungry before the hen’s gone for good.

It was hot enough in Spring and will only get hotter now in Summer, so Dead’s been working on cowboy hats to replace people’s tuques and keep them cool. Surprisingly, given that Dead isn’t that good at crafting, she’s managed to create a legendary hat! Hopefully this won’t lead to a wave of raiders desperate for a decent hat...

I’m not particularly surprised that Priscilla was the one to quickly snap the hat up; I think her idol past has given her higher expectations than most. At least she has the skills to defend it well.

Just as well they started on the cooler clothes early, it was already 34 degrees at 10pm, and now it’s going to get even hotter! I don’t think any of our colonists are especially vulnerable, but it makes us wonder whether any of their animals might get overwhelmed at severe temperatures as well...

The heat wave passed surprisingly quickly and without incident, but it did result in the only wild animals around being boomalope, and one of them has decided that it’s had just too much!

It didn’t take much for Zeiph (as the nearest person) to take it down, but it got closer than ideal before it exploded on death, setting fire to a number of important things, including Zeiph and Jethro! Fortunately it’s raining, but burns aren’t pleasant...!

Jethro ran around (as well as he can on three legs) to put himself out and isn’t too badly off for burns, heading for Henry to be able to patch him up again.

Zeiph took more burns - probably not helped by the fact that he’s wearing wooden armour! It looks like he may be considering crafting steel armour next time, if only to be less flammable.

A few peaceful days pass, but now it’s all the local rats’ turns to go for the colonists! I should certainly hope they can handle those...

The only one injured is Lion (who was absorbed in farming), for the very first time since joining! But, so long as those wounds get treated, she shouldn’t get infected and should recover fine.

Its last baby is still in its juvenile stage, but the first female alpaca is pregnant once again, swelling the number of pack animals some more. I wonder if alpacas and muffaloes can have multiple births?

Speaking of pack animals, the colonists have decided that they don’t have enough and aren’t getting them fast enough, so are taming some more muffalo. From what I gather, they are hoping to move bases as Winter rolls around again, but want to make sure they can carry as much as possible given how much they’ve accumulated and built here.

The quadrum’s not far from done, and with how quiet it’s been Lion decides it’s party time! Truth be told, it didn’t seem to last long, or possibly everybody was just busy because we barely noticed to get footage. There’s just not enough social drama with these colonists for some reason!

And we have a new nineth colonist as Lucya convinces Priscilla’s old prison guard to join the colony. Lorenzo Morales doesn’t have a lot of useful skills, but another medic never hurts, and he must be one of the best socialisers since Vladimir died. Can’t blame him for getting depressed on this planet, so long as he can put it aside when he needs to survive...

Frankly I am surprised it has taken this long for another person to call the colony for help! This woman sounds potentially useful, but she speaks of two turrets and a mortar. I suspect the last turret losses may be too fresh in the colonists’ minds to take that chance again so soon...

Art in this situation may seem frivolous, but the colonists had stacks of jade lying around, and spare hands going idle in this peaceful time, so Priscilla’s made a start on prettying the place up. I expect I can guess who’s going to be given this piece of art for their bedroom...

And that was literally the end of the quadrum! What a strangely peaceful time after the Spring they just had! So we thought we’d re-examine our colonists with a bit more depth this time...

So, Henry first: she’s had two birthdays since coming to the planet, so must be a Septober or Decembary baby. Since the beginning of this challenge, her shooting and melee have each increased by 2 levels (probably hunting and defending with a pila), her animals increased from 8 to 9, her medical’s increased from 8 to 11, and her intellectual from 4 to 7. She also went from 0 plant skill to 2, probably back when the colony was desperate to grow food.

Here we see her relationships and personality. For all that she won the election, she’s not exactly popular or that fond of anyone else. Naturally, given her misandrist ways, she likes all the women more than any of the men, and I recall that she wasn’t exactly torn up about Beryl or Vladimir dying either. Just as well she has poor Jethro or her anxiety would probably get an awful lot worse without better friends...

Zeiph’s skills have improved a lot, probably thanks to being one of the only ones awake to do things at night. His shooting has gone from 1 to 7 (probably mostly thanks to hunting), his construction from 7 to 14, his mining from 3 to 4, his cooking from 2 to 8, his planting from 0 to 1, and his crafting from 8 to 11. With how much he enjoys so many important skills, he’s kind of a backbone to the colony, for the night at least. He’s also only aged by one year, so must be a Aprimay or Jugust baby.

Poor Zeiph apparently doesn’t really have anybody who likes him, though he likes the starting few. After all this time he’s not really even that positive about his family, wherever they are now. Honestly, I had hoped that he and other night owl Lucya might develop more of a friendship, but no. He’s also actually marginally more interested in other men than women - we wonder if that was a factor in leaving his family and coming out to this challenge... Who knows?

After seeing her fellow starting colonists, Dead’s development is somewhat disappointing. Her melee’s increased from 4 to 5, her planting from 3 to 7 (she was the only one they had for a while), her crafting from 4 to 6, her medical from 0 to 1, and her social from 2 to 4. Nowadays I don’t believe she’s the best at any one skill, so she’s something of a jack of all trades.

Again, she’s only aged one year, so she must be a Aprimay/Jugust baby.

On the other hand, though, she is the only one of the first colonists to have a genuinely really good friend, in Lion. Almost nobody dislikes her. Perhaps she should have thrown her hat into the mayoral ring...

And here we have the daytime backbone of the colony, Lion. Since she first appeared on a raid just a week into the challenge, she’s only aged by a year so she’s another Aprimay/Jugust baby. Her construction has increased from 4 to 12, her cooking from 7 to 8, her plants from 5 to 9, and her medical from 5 to 6. Thank heavens she didn’t get killed in that raid, or a lot less would have gotten built...

Most people like Lion, even though it’s usually not particularly mutual. Her personality helps her out, being very compassionate, generous and thoughtful. She appears to be single as well, I should pay more attention to if people are flirting with her.

Vas has been with the colony two and a half quadrums now, but has had his birthday at some point since mid-Winter. He’s built some skills too: construction from 11 to 13, mining from 5 to 6, animals from 1 to 4, crafting from 3 to 4, and research also from 3 to 4. It’s easier to build select skills when there are several things you absolutely will not do... He’ll just have to hope never to be stuck alone, or all he’ll be eating is raw meat.

Vas hasn’t built much of a relationship with anyone yet, but then he has spent a lot of time stuck alone with his ex-girlfriend, so perhaps that’s not surprising.

Lucya joined on 9th of Aprimay, nearly a year ago now, and she’s gained a few skills. Construction from 4 to 8, cooking from 2 to 6, plants from 7 to 9, and social from 6 to 7. The colonists have so much food now that it’s easy to take it for granted, but that planting skill will probably come in very handy as they move on, construction too.

Lucya likes Lion a lot, but isn’t doing well in being liked in return by anybody. She seems to be relieved not to have to deal with Vladimir anymore at least. A lot of her personality isn’t overly surprising for her religious upbringing and person that she is: pure, naive, judgmental... Maybe that’s putting the others off? Though we have seen them praying in their rooms at times too...

Sky joined the colony on the first of Spring this year and has already had a birthday, so must be a Septober/Decembary baby. Most of his skills haven’t changed at all, except from plants, that has doubled from 4 to 8.

We think it must be difficult joining a colony after being their prisoner. Sky still hates nearly everyone who was part of the colony while he was prisoner, except for the charming Dead. Lion was obviously in this situation once though and she’s doing better, so hopefully he’ll get past it?

Priscilla joined on the 10th of Spring (Septober), so she’s been with the colony a little over a quadrum, but has spent a fair amount of that travelling around, so it’s understandable that the only skill gain she’s made is plants from 2 to 4.

Something strange though - her age used to just show 49, but now it shows 49 (50) - she must have lost a few months somewhere and have a late Septober or Decembary birthday...

So far Priscilla is rather unimpressed with everyone, but at least she doesn’t dislike Vas despite their history.

Lorenzo has been with the colony less than 3 days, so understandably his skills are the same - but he has had a birthday! A late Septober birthday, apparently! Perhaps he wanted to get out of a prison in time for his birthday...

Just like Sky, it seems Morales still resents the other colonists for holding him in prison and currently pretty much hates them all. Hopefully that will change, because it doesn’t seem good for morale!

Anyway, Final Stats:

Henry: No change

Jethro: Got a bit singed, but recovered

Zeiph: Got a bit singed, but recovered

Dead: Creator of ~the legendary cowboy hat~

Lion: Got a bit bitten, but recovered

Ibex ram: No change

Lucya: No change

Vas: No change

Sky: No change

Priscilla: No change

Morales: Recruited

Animals: +1 muffalo, alpaca is pregnant again

Colony: Gained one colonist and one animal.

#Rimworld #Rimworld: Duster #Rimworld gameplay

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