#reminded me about my beloved's fic teleporting

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

marijon

They're very similar and I think they'd made a cute couple. But also. I think it would be way funnier if they absolutely hated each other's guts.

[casinoquartet]

[long] U TURNED ON ASKS YIPPEE!!! hi i’m that recent anon, i love ur posts so much :))) thank you for everything, and the fic you linked was incredible! that facet of swagdoons in which red is so so painfully genuinely in true love with ash, under all the layers of power plays, through the real pain of each and every one of ash’s betrayals… i will die!!!! and thank you (& your friends) for posting about the casino quartet, i am soooo thankful for the introduction to the best polycule ever. one thing i love about the casino quartet is how clown and branzy are obnoxiously public (people know so many details that they really did not need to know) (hence people feel so confident that they’re genuinely devoted & reliant on each other that they’ll try to use one against the other) (prime example: the season 3 obsidian trap), while ash and red are obnoxiously private (no one understands what the fuck is ever going on between them) (no one knows how to manipulate their dynamic, no one can properly account for their incomprehensible relationship while trying to strategize) (prime example: boosfer’s phobias video). i like to imagine that clownzy are the closest people to the internal workings of swagdoons (they see the domestic arguments & the intimacy behind closed doors, listen to their private rants about each other, were present for some of the loaded swagdoons history that ash and red don’t even really talk about themselves). also i watched zam’s first stream of the hardcore smp yesterday [8/21/2022] and i find it so funny how ash will bring up clownzy and clown will bring up swagdoons. (ash announces he’s going to recite “the bible: part 2” and reads aloud a clownzy angst fanfiction; clown says in the middle of a formal meeting that red should sit on ash’s lap because they’re swagdoons). why are they always like this. and idk if you feel much interest in the latest season of the kaboodle smp but i’m really hoping for some clown x ash homosexualities, to fill out the casino quartet dynamics. as of now, we’ve got clown immediately showing vaguely gay interest towards ash, the mysterious teleporting guy in a suit who violently glitched into a server-wide campfire meeting out of nowhere. (clown: “ooh, who are you~?” ash, who otherwise doesn’t show interest in anyone or anything besides gaining riches: “…where do i know you from?”) (ash: teleports in, kills someone’s pet cat, teleports out. everyone, rightfully: WHAT THE FUCK?! clown: shocked delighted laughter.) (everyone is stuck unable to interact with ash, who keeps ignoring all conversation to ask for valuables. but clown swiftly catches on to ash’s rhythm and uses an emerald to try to bribe ash to follow him & tell him his name, as if ash is a cat. it somewhat works.) (after ash leaves, clown tells the others that he’ll “keep an eye on” the new stranger, who will be “safe in [his] hands”.) i watched this all go down from our beloved ivorycello’s POV [7/1/2023]. anyway uh. hiiii and thank you & all you other regular swagdoonsers on tumblr for the friendly reception :) i’m so excited for lifesteal season five plotlines. for some reason i’ve been Thinking about the intro to season 5 in which everyone gathers around in a circle waiting to start, ash sees this and places himself at the center to make an impromptu dramatic speech LOL, and red is the first to step in with him to tell him to go back to his spot. i’m choosing to imagine this as another instance of the god complex bf with enough power to back it up x the only guy who can rein him in and is bizarrely casual & familiar about it dynamic. ok i’m out ✌️ love you /p

[very long response under the cut]

HI ANON!!! glad that you enjoyed my post and the fic i recced in the tags!!! it’s one of my fav fics and your post Really reminded me of it so!!! i’m glad you enjoyed it!!!!! (loves reccing fics) me when reddoons and loyalty and how it plays into swagdoons . (<- i remember i made a post responding to something i found on lsheadcanons about vampire!ash and human!red that Could be used for a metaphor about swagdoons and loyalty . something something about red Literally fueling ash out of choice)

anyways!! WELCOME TO THE CASINO QUARTET ENJOYER GANG!!!! they r my absolute beloveds, god bless. and you’re SO RIGHT clownzy would do so much pda in public and be all mushy (but in the Worst times possible . i am talking about mushy flirting while they are being chased down by the authorities while ash and red are screaming at them to stop and focus on running away. anyways) but i think?? you’re referring to the trap where branzy is held ransom by purple duo and heh as to get clown to “save” him? but yeah . they’re always so closely associated with each other that even in small things (ex someone in the start of s5 warning someone that branzy “knows a guy” in reference to clown) and since branzy is the “weaker” of the two tbh i’m not surprised if someone holds branzy for ransom again this season (i’ve heard whispers of them teaming up again this season so !!!)

but even though there’s been a lot of acknowledgement by other cc’s, there’s not any. record of someone taking advantage of their relationship yet? like you said the closest thing is the one of them is lying video but like, that video was arguably where swagdoons showed their trust the Most (esp with cheating during spilt or steal . that was SO them) but. yeah the way their relationship is very subtle . there’s no real massive declaration of love but small moments (which. i think why there’s SO many swagdoons clips that r just small gestures but swagdoons enjoyers still go BONKERS over <- big enjoyer of their streams for that reason) (and as a result i associate the song “no big deal (i love you)” by dodie with them . a lot of the one is about not verbally saying i love you but. yk. the love is still there and strong . love that song in general so <3) but Yeah i do also like the idea that clownzy r one of the Only people who see swagdoons be domestic with each other in full . something something about casino quartet being domestic and trusting each other so much here willing to stop all of the facade and be vulnerable with each other

but LMAOOOOO that hardcore stream goes so hard . the bible part 2 caught me so off guard when i watched it like LMAO????? it’s fantastic . also in that same stream zam is like “the bible part 3: ash nd red were walking down the street” and swagdoons are INSTANTLY shutting him down and telling him to stop (this is a recurring thing for some reason apparently zam mentioned swagdoons during vidcon and got hit with a ball i response but also zam did say swagdoons made out in the dennys so ???? idk anymore) but ooooo i didn’t know about clown mentioning swagdoons . maybe i should check that out (i was only skimming through the void so…that is something for me to check out)

and i am watching kemp rn too! except i am only watching from ash’s pov, which is. a time for sure. he has already made a deal with god and figured out how to exploit his glitching thing. but ash WAS looking at clown when he teleported into the campground and defrost was like O_O at clown so. tbh i’m kinda excited to see where they go since they might have a “hold up…do i know you?” moment (and if ur interested there is a fic of them …….clown and ash my beloved) (and here’s the clown and ash meowing clip if you so desire . this clip is the clip of All Time) but hearing what the rest of the conversation with the ksmp members afterwards is INTERESTING when i just watched ash teleport away and go “i hate it here’ LMAOOO ……..that is interesting of clown though……..i wanna see them together more ……like an enclosure

AND S5!!!! i am so excited for s5 of them …..idk who’s pov you watched but in ash’s pov he Did mention wanting to team with branzy, red, and clown SOOOOOOOO ………. <- he also said this last season and that didn’t end up happening . i am going off of copium /silly

but i Do think swagdoons r gonna have a more power dynamic-y relationship this season esp with the whole free market stuff (and at least. according to red’s stream today he Said that lala legion were trying to look for camelot’s old base so…….. eyes emoji. what’s up with that) BUT YEAH!!!! lots fo exciting stuff bc i’ve also heard clownzy might team up again. …….. casino quartet nation is winning

IDK IF ANY OF THOSE RANTS MADE SENSE hopefully i didn’t miss anything and i was. semi on topic BUT !!! YEAH!!!!!! love u 2 anon /p ur asks r lovely :)

[ladyhoneydee]

30 Day Song(fic) Challenge: Day 30!!!!!!

Ahhhh this is it!!!! Finally the last day of my Song(fic) Challenge! It's been quite the ride, and while I might do a little self-indulgent reflection post tomorrow, tonight I am going to try to get this done before it's literally 2am the next day where I live lol.

The prompt for today was "A song you want to share". I couldn't pick one, and so I ended up synthesizing two: "To Be Enchanted" by Sleeping at Last, and "4 O'Clock" by V and RM from BTS. "To Be Enchanted" is a more recent song discovery for me, and one I've related as it comes to feeling pessimistic about myself and my journey and needing to remind myself of the joys in living; by contrast, "4 O'Clock" has been a beloved favorite of mine since 2019, and I've listened to it as a soothing entry on hundreds of night walks over the years.

Shadows and Sorrows

Game: Ocarina of Time

Pairing: Sheik & Link (although Sheik/Link is endgame to me ofc)

Word Count: 2430

Keywords: angst, hurt/comfort, healing

The comfort ached like too much sugar in the center of a molar, but he clung on for Link’s sake, as he squeezed Sheik’s hand so tightly the bones ground together. They sat in heartbroken silence: the boy who had to grow up too fast, and the boy who had forced it upon him.

Read the fic on Ao3, or under the cut!

Bright light, shaded in blue, illuminated on the Triforce mosaic over Lake Hylia. Sheik shaded his eyes as he leapt behind the withered old tree just behind it, alarm and adrenaline pulsing through his body. That was Link’s teleportation magic, from the Ocarina of Time Zelda had tossed him all those years ago…but the timing was wrong. The lake hadn’t been restored yet, as Sheik anticipated would happen with the purging of the Water Temple and the awakening of Princess Ruto as a Sage. Worse still, it was still night, with hours yet until morning; Sheik had calculated, based on Link’s speed at completing the two previous temples, that if he emerged successfully, it would be along with the rising of the sun.

He was too early. Far too early. Was he hurt? Had something gone wrong? Sheik rummaged in his bindings for potions, gauze, anything that could help the hero, as the light gave one final, blinding flash, and flickered out. Sheik swore he could hear the echo of the final note of the Serenade of Water in the air. 

Link’s silhouette, recognizable by his pointy hat, the breadth of his shoulders, and the glow of his white tights in the moonlight, crumpled to its knees with a wretched cry. Sheik gasped, and forfeited the meager cover of the tree to race to his side. 

“Link?! Are you alright? Where are you hurt?”

His hands hovered over Link’s body, desperate to run along the planes of him to ascertain that he was okay, but terrified of hurting him further with careless touches. 

Link looked up, and Sheik flinched back at the tear-soaked hollowness in his eyes and the dark puffiness of the skin beneath them. A bloody line, thinner than one of Sheik’s throwing needles, traced the curve of his right cheek, and he could make out the shadows of a bruise blooming on his lower neck just above where the collar of his tunic could hide the rest.

“I’m okay,” Link whispered hoarsely. Sheik had never heard him sound so incredibly ragged, as though his throat had been scoured with sandpaper. “I’ve had worse.”

Sheik’s head, which had been craned down to scan Link’s torso for any obvious injuries—damn the dark blue of the tunic, making it so hard to see bloodstains in the dark!—snapped back up. “I have seen you with a bone sticking out of your leg and most of your body covered in third-degree lava burns, before your last fairy got to you. That does not give me confidence!” Sheik clenched his hands into fists to keep from closing them around Link’s shoulders and shaking them. “Are you as far gone as the Fire Temple, or not?!” 

Link blinked at him, wide-eyed, and Sheik felt the skin of his palm burn beneath his nails at the shrieking silence of not knowing. 

“No, it’s not,” he finally said, head drooping down as if it could not lift even the weight of Sheik’s fearful, furious gaze. “I only have a few cuts and breezes. The worst is on my stomach, but it’s not deep at all.”

The heat of Sheik’s anger whooshed out of him with his heavy exhale. “Thank the goddesses.” He retrieved the only potion he had on him, its crimson shade gone grayscale in the moonlight, and thrust it towards Link. “Drink.”

“I wouldn’t want to waste—”

“You have a cut on your stomach. I don’t think even you know where that tunic has been, so you have a good chance of infection if you don’t treat it or at least clean it.” The potion pressed none-too-gently into Link’s unbloodied cheek. “Drink.”

Scowling, Link took the potion from him, and uncorked the lid. Two swallows, and he lowered it again.

“All of it.”

The scowl deepened. The potion disappeared. Sheik took the empty bottle back, and watched Link as the agony of feeling his skin knit back together twisted his face and made him double over with a wail. A shiver of sympathy crawled up Sheik’s spine with spider-like legs.

Even after the last trembles of the painful healing worked their way out of Link’s frame, he remained hunched over, his long blond bangs obscuring his face. It took a few moments and for a new sort of jolting to begin for Sheik to realize that he was crying.

“Oh, Link…” 

Sheik wrapped one arm around Link’s back, and guided him to the ground. Link followed limply, as if he were nothing more than a puppet, the only fight in him the shudders of his sobs. Sheik crouched before him, brows knit together, heart like a dark, cold stone in his chest.

“What happened?”

Sheik didn’t get an answer for a long while, as Link cried and cried. Even after he ran out of tears—which was very concerning, didn’t the boy carry any water with him?—the seizing wheezes of his lungs and sniffling of his nose continued far longer than Sheik had thought possible. (Of course, Sheik hadn’t allowed himself to cry like this since he was eleven, so he had no guidelines for what could be considered ‘normal’.) 

Eventually, Link wiped his nose with the sleeve of his white undershirt, leaving it glistening in the moonlight. With a final sniffle, he began to speak, or try to.

“In the temple…”

Fresh tears. Another few moments. Sheik’s thighs began to burn from the strain of holding his crouch for so long, and he reluctantly lowered himself to sit fully on the ground as well.

“In the temple, I met…me.”

“Like…your reflection?” Sheik’s brows wrinkled. “Yes, water is prone to that…”

“No, not…it wasn’t the water. It came from the water, but it wasn’t the water. It was me.” Link paused, as if realizing what he was saying didn’t make any sense, and let out a heavy, wet sigh. “I mean, it looked like me. It was like…my shadow, given shape. Physical form. With a sword just like mine.” One hand rose to brush the familiar pommel hovering over his right shoulder. 

“A shadow given form…” Sheik pondered this. Growing up, he’d heard legends of a Realm of Shadows, a place where monsters were eternally reborn to infest Hyrule, and where ‘shadows slept’. He’d had nightmares about it that upon awakening only increased his terror, that these dreams, too, might be prophetic. 

What a wonderful world they lived in, where the every nightmare of a disbelieved child came to life to stalk the earth and haunt the ones who had hoped to put them to rest.

“I think it was more than just my shadow, though.” Link hesitated. “When I looked at it…it was like looking at the darkest parts of me.” His voice quivered. “It was so…sad. It had this longing in its eyes, and it looked…haunted. And angry. But not at me.

“I thought I had to kill it. It was in the same sort of room that I’ve faced minibosses in before, big and empty besides the entity. And I…I wanted it gone. I didn’t want to look at it anymore. It was just…too much like me. So I drew my sword and I slashed at it, but when I did, it mirrored me, exactly.” He motioned towards his abdomen. “That’s how I got cut.”

Sheik sucked air through his teeth and winced in sympathy, but said nothing, letting Link take the space he needed to continue. 

“I kept trying to attack it, but I was scared. I didn’t want to get hurt. It was just as good as me, and I didn’t know how it was doing that…and as I got more scared, it got more…sad. I could see its eyes. They were so…” Link stiffened in remembrance. “It…pitied me.”

Hesitantly, Sheik reached out and patted Link’s knee in comfort. Link gave him a wan smile, but dropped it again almost immediately.

“Eventually I stopped. And it stopped too. And it started…talking.”

At this, Sheik couldn’t hold back anymore. “Talking? What did it say?”

Link flinched back at his volume, and bit his lip. “It said. It, um. It said.” He paused, and Sheik saw the sobs building again, the jolts of his diaphragm beneath his tunic. “It said that I couldn’t defeat it. And I got mad, and I told it, I told it ‘How dare you!’. All righteous. And it saw right through me. It…it took my hand. I saw its hand around mine, but I couldn’t feel it.”

Sheik could picture it. The shadowy grasp around Link’s own, thunderclouds obscuring the sun. The alarm and fear Link must have felt, when most every touch he ever experienced was intended to hurt. Sheik’s heart ached for him. 

“It said it knew me, because–because it was me. And it said that I could never defeat this part of me.” A thick sob snapped Link’s voice like a twig, and when he spoke again, it was in a croaking whisper that made Sheik lean in closer to be able to hear properly. “I thought I’d failed. I thought I was going to die, that it was going to kill me. Because, because that’s what defeat means!” 

Sheik swayed back in alarm at Link’s sudden shout, at the dried-blood panic encrusting his expression. Link flinched immediately as well, and crumpled again, chest caving in and shoulders slumping.

“And then…it touched my face. And it told me that I needed to ‘realize why I’m here’. Well, I didn’t know what to say to that, and I told it so. I said that I was there because of Ruto. Because she needs help. I said I was there for—for you, because you said I needed to do this. I said I was there because of duty and fate and all those things Rauru said. I said I was there because of Zelda.”

Sheik kept his face stone-still, but inside was sent reeling, as if pitched from a cliff into the void. The first time his old name had been used around him in years, and it was in—what even kind of context was this? Did Link resent him? Hate him? He must, to keep Zelda in the same company as duty and fate.

…It didn’t matter. Bury the feeling, bury the guilt. Bury it beside Zelda in the grave she needed to stay in, until she was needed once again. Right now, Link was the important one. 

“It wouldn’t tell me what it thought. It just begged me to–to keep trying. It sounded so desperate, as if it was hurting even more than me. And then it…it just melted away. Into me.”

“Into you? Nayru’s love, Link, are you alright?”

He nodded miserably. “It didn’t hurt. I just…felt cold. And I just…all at once…” Link made a motion with his hands resembling a storm and a spiral in one. “I couldn’t stay there anymore. I had to get out. So I…came here.” He cast bloodshot eyes in Sheik’s direction. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me too,” Sheik whispered. And for the first time since he was eleven…he reached out and took someone’s hand.

The comfort ached like too much sugar in the center of a molar, but he clung on for Link’s sake, as he squeezed Sheik’s hand so tightly the bones ground together. They sat in heartbroken silence: the boy who had to grow up too fast, and the boy who had forced it upon him.

“Link?” Sheik whispered, after what could’ve been one minute or one hour.

Link wiped away another trickling tear with his free sleeve. “Hm?”

“I don’t know if this is what the—what your shadow meant. But…I think…I want to say…” He trailed off, frustrated. “There’s no good way to say it, so just—Link, you don’t need to defeat the part of you that’s scared and sad and angry. You don’t exist to fix the messes other people made. You exist to be happy. To take in the enchantment of every moment. To be able to take time and heal when something hurts you. And I, I’m so fucking sorry that you don’t even know you can do that. No one should grow up thinking that life exists just to hurt.”

Link had gone wide-eyed at Sheik’s swearing, but as tears of Sheik’s own welled from red that had stayed dry for so long, they rounded further into shock. Sheik wanted to scrub away the liquid vulnerability tracking down his face, to pretend it had never happened, but…it wouldn’t be right. Somehow, tonight, they were both tearing holes in their personas, exposing the feelings underneath the masks. And Sheik couldn’t bare everything to Link the way Link had to Sheik, even if he wanted to, so…the least he could give him in return was his throbbing heart.

Link blinked those wide eyes at last, and his long lashes glistened in the moonlight with new wetness. “Now why are you crying?” he teased brokenly. The words fought through a throat bubbling with mucus. 

“Because I’ve never related more to anything or anyone before,” Sheik whispered. He squeezed Link’s hand in his own, gently. 

They both deserved enchantment. It was the cruelest trick of the gods that all they could manage was shattered fragments of honesty under the cold light of the moon. 

Link reached his free hand behind Sheik, and despite the slowness of the motion, he had to remind himself not to jump or wrestle or cut down. But Link’s touch never landed on Sheik’s back or shoulder. Instead, it lightly patted the golden harp strapped to Sheik’s back. 

“Could you play something for me?” He bit his lip. “Just until morning comes. I don’t think it’s far off now.”

Somehow, he was right. While they had cried together, the moon had quickened its descent towards the western horizon, and the croaking of the last surviving frogs in the muddy puddle that had been Lake Hylia had traded out for the melodic calls of the earliest songbirds. 

He unslung the harp and strummed the strings. “I’ll play for you as long as you want.”

And Sheik would. Fuck the temple, fuck the timeline, fuck the shallow poetic beauty of shooting an arrow into the sun that Sheik had planned for Link. They’d get to it all when they were ready. For the rest of tonight, they didn’t have to be. 

He played, and the stars faded. He played, and Link’s head became a warm, sticky weight in his lap as he finally collapsed into sleep. He played, and the red flush of dawn finally freed them of their moonlight blues.

[sourdough-morbread]

📓📓📓📓📓📓!!!!

ASHLEY MY BELOVED!!!! thank you so much!!

honestly the fic/scenario i mostly daydream about is the round table from canon getting teleported to the role reversal au im writing. i dont know how detailed this is supposed to be so im just gonna ramble lmaoo

so one day the roundtable (sans merlin) are on some random quest that has something to do with helping merlin, around the edge of the perilous lands and stumble into this abandoned magic workshop/lab. everything's put away neatly but things are dusty and full of spiderwebs and some vines and moss growing in places. and there are pieces of paper stuck on things as reminders and logs left open and unfinished. the last date entered on most of these are on the same day 23 years ago, all the others a previous day that same week. presumably the person or people who were in charge of this space were killed when they were away and nobody else came to continue or remove these things. like there are ledgers open to pages, with stuff like "need the supply from silverwell. send a crow." silverwell was destroyed by camelot 15 years ago.

mordred warns them to leave because he can see there is a lot of decayed spellwork around, experimental decayed spellwork. and they are dangerously close to the perilous lands, so its just flat out not a good idea to be near this place, let alone in it. this place didn't used to be this close to the perilous lands, but perilous lands borders have been very slowly but steadily creeping outwards for years. that on its own is very Concerning™ but mordred's priority is making sure nobody dies.

arthur doesnt really heed the warning just says he knows what he is doing. the others are not taking him that seriously either. mordred keeps insisting they leave. okay they will not touch anything. mordred again is very adamant they all leave right this second. eventually he pulls the im a druid so i know magic better than you card, which he has never ever done before. that gets the knights to go like. ok maybe we should leave if mordred is freaking out this much.

arthur goes, mordred if you know there is a trap it is your duty to tell me. low key accusing mordred of lying by omission (because he is projecting. arthur feels a lot go guilt whenever magic is mentioned because he knows he is not doing anything but hes also in denial and the whole thing with the disir, its very complicated in his head.)

mordreds like there are no traps. why would there be traps. why would you think i wouldn't tell you about it if there were traps?

it turns into a little bit of an argument, something gets knocked over— big flash of light, and suddenly the room is tidy and well kept.

after everyone takes a few breaths and calms down from their mini heart attacks leon says they should leave and leave any discussion about it after they do what they came for and return to camelot.

but as soon as they leave, they notice the edge of the perilous lands is nowhere to be seen and their horses are gone. and it just keeps getting weirder. its like they're in north camelot, but at the same time not in north camelot.

they continue on their quest like nothing is wrong but eventually the hear some fighting and run to check it out.

they find morgana, in red gambeson armour, fighting off a few bandits with magic and a sword. gwen is also there obviously using magic to fight them off. they are all too stunned to see their queen doing magic to react before morgana spots them as she kills the last of them. but she doesnt go back to fight mode. instead sighs, sheathes her sword and says, 'i thought i told you to stay with merlin.' because, you know, thats not high priestess morgana, but queen morgana of camelot, who had indeed told her big brother to stay in camelot with merlin.

arthur is just frozen because this is worse than what he thought his worst nightmare was. mordred is panickedly looking around and putting the pieces together than they are not in the camelot they know.

and it all goes from there. sometimes gwen tries to approach them because arthur looks unwell, and morgana stops her. sometimes the other way around. because its extremely suspicious from their perspective for arthur to be here in armour without telling them. sometimes arhtur draws his sword. sometimes mordred jumps in. sometimes elyan does. idk. depends on my mood.

[spammingitsobadly]

Not a requested story or anything, but I’m not doing too hot and wanted to write about my biggest comfort characters since I’ve read every fic this site has to offer, hah. Also I finally found out how to make an under the cut thing on posts so now my fics don’t have to automatically take up all of the screen :-] 

“Long Day” Pairing: Wu Chang x Hunter!Reader Category: Comfort

Warnings: None I think? Fan does start to get a little.. kissy.. but it lasts like one line and doesn’t go further than that. All still SFW.

Reader Pronouns: They/Them

It was quiet. Xie Bian sat comfortably upon a chair in the livingroom of the manor as a fire crackled and licked at the brick interior of the fireplace. He’d been enjoying a novel for most of the day as neither him nor Fan Wujiu had been called out for a match. Xie flipped through the pages of the novel as Fan lay bored on the couch, fiddling with his bell. 

Fan placed the bell upon the wooden flooring with a soft ring and sat up with a huff and a sigh. He looked through the frosty windows and noticed how dark it was outside. The sun had rested below the skyline long ago and the stars twinkled and stared down upon him. Snowflakes floated down gently from the skies onto the slumbering flowers and gardens, marking the first signs of the upcoming winter. Fan rolled his eyes at the sight.  

He hated this time of year. It was far too cold to do anything and it was such a pain traveling through the thick white snow. Teleportation was almost a necessity to get to one survivor to the other as chasing them was near impossible at this rate. Fan sighed once more and flopped back down onto the couch. Then he remembered you. You’d been called out a great deal today, chasing and fighting in the freezing fall air. You must be miserable, he’d thought to himself.

As Xie flipped through another page of his book, he glanced over at the manor doors as laughter echoed from outside. Fan glanced over as well, trying to take a gander at what the commotion was. A group of survivors pushed through the heavy doors, laughing like there was no tomorrow. Fan sneered at them. What happened?

“I still can’t believe how well done that counter attack was, Norton!” A figure cloaked in green chuckled, patting the prospector on the back. A smug smile was spread across Norton’s face as he chortled and wiped the light snow off of his shirt. Rolling his eyes, Xie continued reading his novel but Fan squinted, annoyed at the group.

“I didn’t even plan it. We were just in the right place at the right time, I suppose,” Norton replied gleefully. Following angrily behind the group of cheerful survivors was the hunter of the final match that day. You. 

You were soaked from head to toe and shivering immensely. Your usual smile was nowhere to be seen as you glared bitterly at the giggling bunch, growing more and more irritable by the second. You threw your weapon down at the ground in a fit of rage with a loud clang, startling Xie who jumped in his seat. Without hesitation, he sprung up from his chair, tossed his book upon it, and hurried towards your shivering figure.

“Oh, my dear, what did those hooligans do to you?” Xie asked worriedly, ushering you towards a spot in front of the fireplace. Fan rose from the couch and walked towards you and Xie. He didn’t show much emotion on the outside but inside he was fuming. What did those fuckers do to his love? Kneeling down, Xie sat you down at the fireplace and began wiping the snow from your hair and clothing before you swatted your hand at him in annoyance.

“It’s nothing, I’m fine,” you snapped, crossing your arms with a huff. Xie looked down upon you, his fuchsia pink eyes filled with nothing but worry. He began to wipe the snow off of your form once more, though this time you didn’t stop him. You just stared quietly into the fire as it ate at the wood in the center. The room was silent besides the distant laughter of the survivors echoing against the manor walls. It remained such for a few moments before you calmed and gathered your thoughts.

“The prospector attached one of his magnets onto me while I chased him,” you began. Xie and Fan looked down at you as you spoke.

“The lawyer was typing in the code for the exit gate. I would’ve gotten them if it weren’t for those damn magnets.” Xie tilted his head at you, he’d grasped your hands and held them tightly in his as your shivering began to calm. You didn’t make eye contact with him. Your eyes were fixated on the blaze in front of you as Fan stared down at you, arms crossed.

“I got too close to the other magnet and it shot me backwards. I couldn’t regain my balance and slipped into a puddle. It was a rather nasty fall. And it was the last straw for me. Those fuckers had been teasing me all day and I just had it. I gave up. I let them escape. I was too cold to do anything at that point.” You let out a soft sigh as Xie rested a hand upon your ice cold cheek. You turned your head towards him, closing your eyes and leaning into his touch.

Fan huffed angrily. Oh, they were going to have the beating of their life next time they were paired with him. In fact, why wait? Rage induced thoughts echoed in his head like a static as he stomped towards the chair Xie had been sitting at previously. He grabbed the black umbrella left aside the chair and gripped the handle tightly, planning his revenge before Xie stopped him.

“Leave them be. It’s all part of the game,” Xie reminded the black guard, his tone soft yet strict. Fan stumbled his words, unable to come up with a proper counter argument as his head was only filled with the ungodly punishment he was about to lash out at every survivor that sat calmly at the dinner table. Xie turned towards his fuming black and white haired lover, a light glare in his eyes to show that he wasn’t going to repeat himself. Fan pouted and crossed his arms, umbrella still in hand, complying with the white guard’s wishes.

“I’m sorry your day went this way, my love,” Xie whispered, turning back to look at your saddened face. You finally looked up at him and gazed into his rose colored eyes. He smiled softly. God, you were just so beautiful to him. Even when soaked, tired, and unkempt, you were still so marvelous to him. He rested his hands back onto yours.

“Come along now. Let's get you changed,” Xie said, pulling you up from the floor. He guided you to your room, a hand on your side. Fan followed swiftly behind, shooting a final sneer at the survivors as he walked by. Fan walked aside you and Xie, rubbing your sore back reassuringly. The floorboards creaked gently as the three of you traversed through the corridors to your living quarters. Your shivering had died down as your two beloved partners comforted you.

Fan opened the door to your room. The door creaked on its hinges as a cold breeze sent shivers down his spine. You and Xie took a step back as Fan peered in the room. The white curtains that covered your window waved gently as the crisp fall air trickled into your room.

“Stupid, what did I tell you about leaving your window open this time of year?” Fan asked rhetorically, walking inside and shutting the window. You rolled your eyes. The black guard rested the umbrella against the wall as Xie escorted you inside, shut the door, and sat you upon your bed. He fumbled around the room for a way to light the area as Fan looked around for dry clothing. 

“Aha,” Xie whispered to himself, finding a small box of matches. Striking the tip of the match against the edge of the box, he set it alight. He lit the few candles that were placed accordingly around your room before extinguishing the flame from the match. Fan found a large shirt folded neatly in your dresser drawer. He recognized it. You stole this from him, didn’t you? Ah, it didn’t matter. He also grabbed a pair of pants from the dresser, walked towards you, and placed the dry clothing upon the bedsheets. 

“May I?” Xie offered to help clean you up. You nodded your head, not saying a word. You were too exhausted and sore to do anything yourself at this point so you gladly accepted their help. You had known them long enough to be comfortable with them seeing you in a state of undress.

Xie began unbuttoning and untying your wet and unkempt clothing, averting his eyes respectfully. Fan snuck a peak as Xie helped dress you, but the white guard knew Fan’s little antics.

“Wujiu,” he teased in a sing-song voice. Fan turned his head away, sat down upon a chair that sat beside the window and glanced away with a sigh. Xie placed the wet clothing onto the floor and pulled the large shirt over your head. You pulled your arms through the sleeves and pulled the pants over your legs before making yourself comfortable. 

Fan looked over to see that you were done getting dressed and stood up to reach for the hair brush that lay upon your nightstand. He removed his shoes so as to not muddy up your sheets and climbed onto the bed with you, brush in hand. He began combing through your hair which had gotten a bit messy due to the winds that came in like waves during the matches that day. Unlike his attitude, Fan was very gentle when he cared for you. He wants to make sure that his partner is calm and happy and if that means swallowing his pride or calming his nerves for you then so be it. He ran his fingers through your hair as he brushed it, admiring how gorgeous you looked with your hair all down and neat.

Xie sat upon the edge of the bed next to you without much to do, but he was fine with that as he got to see your beautiful face as his loving partner combed through your hair. He admired all of your features as you sat there. Your sparkling eyes, your soft skin, your form, all of it.

“How were your days?” You spoke, breaking the silence. 

“Boring,” Fan answered, still brushing your hair.

“It was nothing eventful. However, I did catch up on my reading,” Xie replied, before remembering he had left his novel back in the living room. Ah, no worries. He could get it later. Fan finished up brushing the last section of your hair and placed the brush back down onto the night stand. You were suddenly jerked backwards and pulled up onto the black guard’s lap as he began to massage your shoulders. He noticed there had been slight bruising and a few scratches upon your skin from the palettes the survivors slammed into you. He ran his fingers over them delicately as his anger came flooding back to him.

“I’ll make those boneheads pay. Just you wait,” Fan muttered, leaning down a bit to plant a soft kiss upon each bruise and cut. You chuckled to yourself as his nose tickled at your skin. He rubbed his hands against your arms as he kissed at your shoulders and back. He’d begun kissing and nipping at your neck playfully, but you kindly asked him to stop before it escalated further. Not tonight. Respecting your wishes and boundaries, he stopped and wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you into an embrace from the back. He rested his head upon yours.

“Don’t hog them all for yourself now,” Xie joked, crawling up towards the two of you on the bed and laying down at your side, resting his head on a soft white pillow. Fan chuckled and shifted his position, still holding you close with an arm. He laid down on his side and pulled Xie closer to the two of you, planting a kiss upon his forehead with a soft smile. Xie smiled back in return and wrapped his arms around both you and Fan.

There you lay, sandwiched tightly, yet comfortably in between the two guards. In between your two lovers. In between the two men who would do absolutely anything for you if it meant it would bring a smile to your face. Oh, how they loved you dearly. Xie ran his gentle fingers through your hair as he gazed into your kind eyes lovingly. He traced your facial features with his fingertips over and over, admiring your charm. Fan grumbled, hungry for affection. The white guard snickered softly and ran a finger over his nose before resting his palm against his cheek, rubbing his thumb over it affectionately. Fan leaned into his touch, shutting his eyes, and letting out a calm sigh. 

As all three of you hunters began to grow tired, Xie pulled the blanket over your bodies and you snuggled into each other like a batch of kittens. The white guard placed a chaste kiss upon your lips and ran his fingers through your hair a final time.

“I love you so much,” he whispered, a smile on his face.

“I love you too. I love you both so dearly,” you whispered in reply, resting a hand on Xie’s side. Fan hummed in response, too tired to speak. You drifted off into a quiet slumber as your lovers followed soon behind.

[epicfangirl01]

Castaways- Mammon x GN! Reader

Chapter Three

"Why didn't you fucking tell me earlier?!?" Mammon beams, holding you close as he kisses your head. You chuckle, combing your fingers through his snowy hair.

"I wanted it to be a surprise. On your birthday, you said that your dream day would be spending time alone together. I wanted to make it extra special, so I got a job at Ristorante Six to rent a beach home inthe human world for the weekend. There is a private beach, miles away from anyone else. There are also caves and a tourist town nearby, so we can do whatever we want."

Mammon's eyes glisten with tears, and he holds them back with everything he has. "Thank you, Silver..."

You smile, glad to see your beloved demon so happy. The two of you Thank Diavolo for his help, before making your way back home, too excited to let Lucifer's lecture get in the way.

------------------------------

The next morning, you rush downstairs to the dining room for breakfast, your duffle bag in hand. The seven brothers are already at the table, starting to serve breakfast. After a quick meal, you wish everyone goodbye as Mammon walks with you for his "punishment". With your bags in tow, the two of you make your way through the city to Diavolo's castle.

The demon prince is waiting for you upon your arrival, and he smiles as Barbatos gets a door ready for teleportation.

"Ready for your trip, you two? You have three days to yourselves, away from all of your worries. I hope you enjoy yourselves. Y/N, watch Mammon and keep yourselves out of trouble, alright?"

You nod, lacing your fingers with the demon of greed. With that, Barbatos opens the door, revealing a bright, sparkling beach. You look I to your boyfriend's eyes, reassuring each other, before stepping into the Human Realm.

-------------------------

The sun shines brightly as you step forward, holding a hand over your eyes. "We're finally here. It took a month to get here, but I just hope I can give you the weekend you've dreamed of."

Mammon beams, looking at the bright blue sky before turning to you.

"It's perfect. Because I have you...." He kisses you gently, cupping your face, and you sigh as his fingertips brush against your hair. You pull away after a moment, taking his hand.

"Come on. We need to drop off our stuff and get changed. We're going swimming!" You both run to the beachsode house, picking up the key from under the patio, before going up to the door.

"Okay. I need to say this now." Mammon looks over at you, unsure of what is wrong. "This weekend is a belated birthday wish that took a lot of time and planning. I already put a lot of work and money into this, so please don't steal anything. If you want something, I can buy you a few souvenirs of our trip, and that's all. I have some cash left for food, fun, and emergencies, so we have to be careful. If I find out you stole or sold something, I have no problem calling Diavolo to actually put you to labor. I trust you on this, so please don't break it, okay? This isn't the Devildom, so we have to watch our behavior."

Mammon rolls his eyes, shaking his head as he mumbles.

"I thought we were leaving Lucifer behind." Your eyes narrow as you glare at him, and he waves his hands. "Kidding! I'm just kidding. I... I really appreciate everything. I'll do my best. Only for you, though..."

You smile a little, loving your troublemaker, and you push the door open to reveal an upscale, yet cozy interior to the beach house. The walls are painted a crisp white, while the bottom of the wall changes to an ombre blue, reminding you of the ocean.

"Woah! They have a 98 inch flatscreen over a fireplace. AND surround sound! This is the life!" You notice the gold flecks in Mammon's eyes grow wider with greed, and you can't help but chuckle.

"Mhmm. It's yours for the whole weekend. Speaking of yours..." You step closer and take the demon's hand, bowing and kissing it gently. "How may I serve you today, my king?"

Confusion spreads all over his face, followed by a blush. "Don't you remember? You said that you wanted to spend time alone with me, relaxing while I 'dote on you for the whole day.' Today I serve you. Only for today, though. You need to save some greed for me." Mammon melts, loving you with his entire being, until he snaps out of his admiration.

"Not so fast. You're mine, alright? For now and for always. But... I guess I can spare you some greed."

He wraps his arms around you, grinning as his lips meet yours. You sigh, and Mammon takes the chance to slip his tongue into your mouth, tasting his beloved treasure. He hums and pulls away, still blushing.

"Okay. We should drop off our bags in the bedroom and get changed. The sun is out and the waves are coming in. And then, you can get a view of The Great Mammon that not even Majolish gets to see."

He smirks, and you follow him to a beautiful bedroom with a glass wall and balcony, overlooking the ocean. After getting settled, Mammon takes his swimsuit and heads to the bathroom while you look for your swimsuit. You went shopping with Asmo just to find the perfect one to impress, one that compliments your features, yet also makes you feel comfortable. Of course, he didn't know that it was for Mammon, but for your trip back to the human realm. He didn't mind keeping your plans a secret, as long as you told him the results of showing off.

You walk down the hallway to change in the bathroom, before finally coming out to show Mammon.

"Hey, Y/N! You almost done? It's a swimsuit, not a-" The demon stops dead in his tracks, his eyes taking in your outfit and features while you looked back at him.

He was perfect. His swim trunks are a nice yellow with green palm leaves and beach themed cocktails, matching his personality like a charm. Although the trunks are nice, they weren't what caught your attention. His chest and abs are strong and defined, as if they were carved by god himself. Then again, that wasn't exactly wrong. His arms are slender, yet muscular, and your eyes catch on his strong calves and thighs. Mammon has always been extremely fit, like the other brothers, but you could definitely tell he started working out more. And he did it just for you.

"Y/N... You look beautiful. Dammit. Now I kinda wish we were doing more than swimming..." Your face feels hot at his compliment, and you smile. Your hand slide's into Mammon's, and he laces his fingers with yours.

"Come on," you laugh, "Let's enjoy some sun."

--------------------------

You spend the rest of the day in the sun with Mammon, making him human world meals, giving him massages, and collecting shells for mementos of your time together. As the day begins to come to a close, the two of you sit on the beach, watching the sunset by a warm bonfire. Mammon watches in awe, holding you close as the sky turns from orange to pink, and finally purple.

"Today has been perfect. The beach, the house, the weather, the food, you... I never experienced or felt anything like this before. Y/N... I want to spend every day like this. I want to spend every day with you. Well, if you wanted to... I don't want this day to end."

Your chest aches as he looks away from you shyly, still a tsundere even after all this time.

"Mammon," you murmur, "I would love to. You treat me so well, and you never fail to make me smile. You make every moment special, and I hope to do the same for you." You smile, and hold your guardian demon close.

"As for tonight..." You lean forward and kiss him, licking his lips teasingly. "The night is still young."

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

Thank you guys so much for your support! I just wanted to give you a quick update to let you know that the next chapter is going to have Mammon smut 👀, so I wanted to let you all know how that chapter is going to work. It's going to take a little longer for me to write that chapter, since not everyone can read it for age reasons, so I wanted to post a one shot story of MC taking care of sick! demon brothers to enjoy instead. That way everyone can enjoy some sort of content, whether they are into/able to read that content or not. That chapter will have a bold warning, and a cut off to help catch attention before reading too much. I will also link that sick brothers fic to the beginning as an alternative in case. One final note about the smut character is that there will be NO PLOT WHATSOEVER. So if you skip that chapter, you won't miss a thing. Also, a big thanks to CottonCandyPony on AO3 for their idea/request for the sick fic.

Sorry again for the rambling! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. If you want to be updated, comment below to be added to the taglist and please reblog to show your friends. Thank you!

Taglist: @classictrash @santa-denise

Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three, Chapter Four (Smut w/o Plot), Chapter Five (Coming Soon!)

[mooncademia]

I Wanna Dance With Somebody

pairing ~ idol au!jungkook/reader

genre ~ uhm, fluff!! 

summary ~ deep talks and reassuring hugs aren’t the only solutions to cheer your boyfriend up. No, for jeon jungkook, you knew you had to do something more to turn that frown upside down, and lucky for you, you know exactly what to do ;) 

word count ~ 1.5k

Author’s note ~ hello everyone! this is my first fic ever posted here, there may be a few grammatical errors (English is not my strongest pursuit) so please bear with me >.< I hope to slowly improve my writing in the future, but till then, please enjoy reading this fun little story I wrote! 

“Y/N, you know you don’t have to do this.” Jungkook—your boyfriend—assured you as you leaned over to grab your phone from his desk. You connected the bluetooth to your boyfriend’s very! big! red! speaker! You honestly didn’t understand why Jungkook has an obsession with bluetooth speakers but anyway… that wasn’t the point.

“And you know you don’t have to ask that question every time right?” You said as you gave him a peck on his right cheek with a smile, but Jungkook barely smiled back.

Jeon Jungkook. An idol. In a boy band called BTS. Your boyfriend. Jungkook, beloved by millions of girls and boys all around the world, known as the ‘golden maknae,’ his life has been actively shared across the globe (well, except the fact that he has a girlfriend, lets keep that low-key for now, shh! Dispatch, who?). But despite all the characteristics and known-facts shared on the news media and interviews, no one can understand your boyfriend better than you.

In fact, you knew him too well.

You knew your boyfriend’s hidden vulnerabilities, his darkest emotions as well as memories, and today just happened to be a day where you walked into cold rain when you opened the door to his new studio. Namjoon had warned you about Jungkook’s mood before you entered his studio, something about “making errors on stage?”

And yup, you totally understand why Jungkook will be so upset about this. Because you see, Jungkook could fall down the stairs but still manage to dance for 5 hours straight when he realized there were no broken bones but bruises. But when it comes to performances, his bandmates, and his fans.

It becomes serious.

And it’s not about just singing songs and going on tours, you knew your boyfriend too well for just that. Jungkook loves his fans with all his heart, you could see the passion just exploding in his eyes. He sings songs not because he “just likes singing,” but because he wants to share his message. He wants to touch people’s hearts and give invite his fans into a world where they want to escape from what reality is throwing at them. His message is to teach the world about sensitive topics—like when it comes to self-care or self-love— and to let the world know that the most important person in the world is yourself.

And all of those things are all under the list that you made in your head titled:

“REASONS WHY MY BOYFRIEND IS THE BEST IN THE WORLD”

But even though his heart is all for his fans, bandmates, and music, he becomes very very determined and sensitive in the sense that he wants everything to just be well, perfect. You know this when you see him dance by himself at the dance studio in the middle of the night, reviewing the choreography over and over again. But when it comes to a single mistake, oh ho ho, Jungkook never stops. He reflects, and you mean, REALLY reflects on his mistakes and plays the error again and again in his head, like watching a horrible movie in your head on loop. And when you first dated him, you were in complete shock to see him go full-out to get everything perfect. He goes through the rehearsals countless times to make sure everything is in the correct order and in the correct position. And despite the fact that practicing is not a bad thing, Jungkook sometimes overdoes it and ends up sulking alone in his studio feeling guilty for all the mistakes that he made on a performance. He will list all his mistakes (mentally AND physically) and even bring up past ones to compare. You remembered one time, he wrote all his mistakes on sticky notes, placed them on the wall, and you thought you teleported into an espionage dimension when you entered his room.

However, today, even after you tried to talk to him and listen to his feelings, you could still see the sadness swirling in his dark chocolate brown eyes.

“Music always does the trick, doesn’t it?” You say as you scroll through your playlist on your phone.

Jungkook let out a puff of air through his nose and rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, until you mess it up and let millions of people down.” He scoffed as he flicked his head so his bangs could cover his eyes.

“Just…listen to this, maybe this can lift the mood a bit,” you said. You put down your phone as you clicked on a specific song, hoping the beats could lift the cold/heavy emotions swirling in your boyfriend’s chest.

“Whitney Houston?” Jungkook said as he leans behind on his gaming chair staring at you with his gorgeous puppy eyes when the beat begins. The high-energy music bounces off the walls of Jungkook’s studio, thumping away like a big tantrum, but you loved it and you know he did too.

“Yup!” You squealed. “WHOOOOO~” you screamed trying to match your oh, so perfect harmonization skills with Whitney Houston. You jumped on his couch and started to lip-sync to I Wanna Dance With Somebody. You grabbed a water bottle from the table and pretended to use it as a microphone as you wiggled your hips (just for good measure ;) ) The beat was extravagant, but that wasn’t the reason why you chose this song. You chose this song because it was the song that was played when you screamed “I LOVE YOU” for the first time to Jungkook. You could still remember his eyes blowing 10 times the size when you said those three words, his hug that he pulled you in, and most of all, remembering him repeating those three words back to, casting sweet euphoric emotions to dance in your heart.  It was one of the best moments you ever had in your life and it was a memory that will forever be engraved in your heart.

“COME ON!” You shouted through the loud beats, smiling as you reach for Jungkook’s wrist. You could see a small crease forming on Jungkook’s face as you grabbed his hands pulling his body up as you jump around his studio. Jungkook stood up, crossing his arms but you could see a hint of happiness in his eyes.

~Dont-cha wanna dance?!~ you screamed with a bright smile plastered on your face as you use your amazing exaggerated facial expressions to really emphasize your awesome lip-sync abilities, and your oh, so attractive dance moves which consist of numerous amount of hip wiggles, jumping, and body rolls.

Now Jungkook was really smiling and laughing. The wrinkles near his eyes is your everything. He grabs your waist suddenly to pull you closer, making you gasp. You could smell the fresh scent of flowers of his black sweatshirt—maybe it was because of the Downy Adorable Fabric Softener that he uses religiously on his clothes.  But as the song continues, you realize that your chest was pinning his and your breathing was heavy from all the silly jumping that you did. His arms were now hovering you as he rested his chin on your head and closed his eyes. You hugged him back, smiling. You guys stood there, swaying your bodies back and forth softly to the beat of the song. And as the Whitney Houston’s voice slowly starts to fade and as the last rhythm comes to an end, your phone jumped to the next song:  “I Will Always Love You”

Ah, and you have to admit, this was the best moment. Your boyfriend, your favorite person in the world, your best friend, despite all the tough times you both endured, you both always managed to find the light at the end.

No matter how long it takes, no matter how bummed either of you are, both of you will do everything and anything to make the other person happy—even if that's just a small smile or a warm hug.

Jungkook leans down to whisper a small thank you in your ear, making your cheeks sting with warmness as you smile—your face buried in his chest. Now you both were slow dancing as Whitney Houston’s voice echoes around your boyfriend’s small studio.

“I’m always here for you, you know that right?” You said with your eyes closed, inhaling the fresh detergent smell from Jungkook’s black hoodie.

“I know” Jungkook replied timidly, kissing the top of your head. “Me too”

And you hum a satisfied replied, still smiling.

You both slow dance away as the chorus of the song continues.

Steps short and slow but meaningful.

As if each step slowly added color to your life, reminding you that no matter how hard life is, as long as your love is by your side, you can always make it till the end of the line.

“I love you Y/N” Jungkook tells you, arms still wrapped tightly around you.

You smile. “I love you too, Jungkook-ah”

And that feeling of welcoming warmness pouring back into Jungkook?

Now, THAT'S the best feeling in the world.

A/N: if you actually read the whole fic, i-.. *gives you a BIG virtual hug* Thank you so so much!! Please feel free to message me what you think about this story or leave a message saying whatever you want, I’ll be very happy to message you back! Have a lovely day~~

[allie-and-her-fandoms]

Encounter With My Beloved Sin

Author's Notes: Hello, guys! This is another NNT fic, this time featuring my favorite pairing, Banlaine. With the occasion of @banlaineweek, I decided to write it down, as I always wanted to write about these two cuties. Also, huge shout outs to @ship-ambrosia, @but-iamadisaster-blog, @sesshlidia and @galfridus1 for beta reading it and pointing out the flaws this fic had. I can never thank you enough, girls. Without taking more of your time, enjoy (or endure)!

“My dear comrades, tonight we all gathered here so we can bid our farewell to our friend Ban, the Fox’s Sin of Greed. We are going to miss you so much, my dear friend!” Meliodas sniffled, as his hands quickly managed to cover his emerald eyes.

“I cannot believe that we got to see the day Undead Ban will pass away! It’s… unthinkable” said King in his solemn voice, his black suit trying to suit his… eccentric new hairstyle, as he accidentally transformed into a human and into a fairy again, for the third time that night.

“My guess is that no one expected this twist.” Escanor murmured, biting his lower lip. “Oh, my dear bandit, / All greedy and proud, / This earth, tonight you’ll leave it, / Can you hear this sound?” His melodious voice could’ve been heard throughout the Boar’s Hat, alongside the flutter of King’s wings and the sound of Meliodas opening yet another bottle of booze.

“Oi, cut it out! Don’t make it sound like I just kicked the bucket!” Ban exclaimed angrily, his face paling with every second.

“Actually, according to my calculations, and considering the circumstances, I’d say you still have less than 12 hours of this life of yours. Kyupin!” Gowther intoned, as he stroke a pose.

“Here’s for Ban! Rest in peace, my precious friend!” Meliodas cried as he raised his Aberdeen ale bottle, in an attempt to toast. He knew this one was his best friend’s favorite.

“Cap’n, you’re overreacting! I am not dying!” Ban hollered, the sweet scent of the ale dancing in his nostrils.

“This version of yourself is dying, Ban! Shut up!” said Meliodas, wiping a few tears quickly - even Ludociel’s Grace wouldn’t have rivalled it - before Ban’s punch sent him flying to the closest wall.

“Oh, for the love of… Cap’n, I’m just getting married! Stop acting like I’m dying in front of you!”

“Well tonight, all of… THIS” King pointed at Ban, “is dying. And let me remind you… that if you hurt Elaine, I will not hesitate to turn you into stone.” King glared at his future… brother-in-law. Oh, God. THIS is how he’s gonna call him from now on?!

“Who the hell are you again?” Ban asked while patting King’s pompadour, making his best friend laugh out loud and Escanor chuckle; even Gowther tried his best to hide a forming smile.

“You lousy liar! You know very well who I am!” King stuttered, and for the rest of the night, the guys have been drinking and having the time of their life making fun of the Fairy King’s haircut, because you only live once. And Ban was okay with that. As long as he lived it with her by his side.

**

In the meantime, Elaine was also enjoying her bachelorette party, when Merlin had just teleported in the chamber with a bottle of Merlot.

“Oh, come on, Merlin! You are always the one arriving late to parties! You could’ve arrived earlier this time!” Diane pouted, trying to braid the golden locks of her sister-in-law’s hair.

“I don’t mind her coming a bit later. Come on, Merlin, or we’re gonna start the game without you.” Elaine claimed, as her wings were fluttering happily, their sound accompanied only by the murmur of the wind outside.

“Elaine, careful! I know you can’t wait for the wedding, but let’s keep the hype to a minimum.” Diane struggled so she wouldn’t damage Elaine’s silky wings.

“Oh, right. I’m sorry. Also, thank you for letting us have the party here, Elizabeth! Are you sure no one will mind that we’re having a bachelorette party in your chambers?” Elaine asked the Goddess.

“There is no issue with that. My sisters are on a trip with their own loved ones, and as long as we don’t make too much noise, Father is okay with it.” Elizabeth explained, her kind smile illuminating the room.

“Good to know.” Elaine smiled as well, her golden eyes catching a glimpse of one of Elizabeth’s paintings. A forest.

As soon as the picture caught her attention, flashbacks of Elaine guarding the Fountain of Youth for seven centuries have started playing in her mind, and finally that faithful encounter. As she was brutally reminded of her past in solitude and what followed, Elaine’s wings stopped altogether, her eyes losing their sparkle, her smile turning upside down, and her lower lip starting to quiver. The rose-scented room had become silent; something the girls noticed in a heartbeat.

“Elaine… Are you okay?” Elizabeth rushed to the Fairy Princess’ side, putting her hands on Elaine’s petite shoulders, as sobs were shaking the latter’s body, as she tried to shake her head.

A stray tear rolled down the blonde Fairy’s cheek, and others followed suit, as a soft sniffle escaped her lips. Elaine started crying as she remembered what they’ve been through: her death, her vengeful resurrection, Ban giving up on his immortality so he could revive her… All of a sudden, it was too much for her.

“Elaine…” Elizabeth and Merlin rushed to the Fairy’s side, as the Giant girl, who had stopped braiding her hair, didn’t hesitate to hug the little girl, taking a breath of the scent of lilies – Elaine’s scent. They were family, after all.

“Are you remembering about the past?” Elizabeth asked. And as soon as Elaine nodded, she started caressing her hair. “Elaine, stop dwelling in the past. No matter what happens, we can’t change it. However, we can change the future. We can make it better for us. Leave the pain behind.”

“Elizabeth is right, Elaine. We don’t say that you should forget about what happened, but forget about the pain. Say farewell to those awful moments, and leave place for new, and hopefully, happy ones.”

“What they say is true, Fairy Princess.” Merlin continued. “Life is neither pure pleasure, nor endless pain. It’s a mix of both. What you and Ban have gone through was indeed beyond painful, but what happened helped in building this future. And I can feel it, the two of you have a bright future ahead.” The mage finished, smiling compassionately at the blonde girl.

At that moment, Elaine realized they were right. And she didn’t need to read their hearts to realize that they weren’t lying. There was no need to suffer because of the past. They had suffered when those horrific events happened, and that was more than enough.

“Thank you. You are right. Like you said, the past is in the past, and this moment is now. Let’s turn it into a memory we’ll fondly remember of.” Elaine acknowledged, a smile finally on her lips. And that smile grew even bigger as the girls approved rather loudly.

“Well then. Let’s drink this wine already. While I do enjoy older wine, I believe that this one has spent over 1000 years in the cellar; I’d say that’s enough.” Merlin stated, eager to fill her glass with the blood red liquid.

The other girls applauded the idea, ready to keep the party going, by discussing about their own loved ones and maybe some baby names, because while she didn’t show it, Elaine definitely couldn’t wait to have a nephew or a niece or maybe, a little bundle of joy on her own.

“Farewell, pain. Welcome, bright future.” Elaine resolved, and deep down, she knew she was right. Because Ban will always be by her side, and she couldn’t be happier at the moment.

***

As Ban was waiting at the aisle for his beloved Fairy bride (“Because seeing her in her wedding gown before that moment was bad luck”, as stated by Elizabeth), he realized that while many things would remain the same, others would change. And now, there he was, waiting for his future wife.

Lost in thought, he almost missed Elaine and King’s entrance. God was she beautiful! No, beautiful was an understatement. She was gorgeous, and only his.

Once King walked his sister to the aisle, so he could hand her to Ban, he whispered in Ban’s ear:

“Hurt her and I’ll turn you to stone with my Chastiefol. Again.”

After getting an exasperated “Brother!” from his sister (mentally, of course), he hurried up next to Diane, so he can witness the happiest moment of his younger sister’s life.

As Ban and Elaine recited their vows and were declared husband and wife by the King Bartra Liones, they hadn’t looked away from each other, and decided to seal their vows only after Jericho yelled “Just kiss!” at them, followed by Meliodas’ “How about no?!”, and him getting punched in the face by Diane and scolded by Elizabeth.

After a long moment of silence followed by their kiss, Ban realized that this was his new life. And so, his words were whispered in a low voice, a stunning smile on his lips and his forehead touching Elaine’s.

“Hello there, my beloved wife.”

Elaine was confused. Why was he greeting her? And why didn’t he simply call her by her name, like he’s done so many times?

“Because this is our first encounter as husband and wife.” She heard his reply. Did he really not have the power to read one’s heart?! This human was so weird, but he was HER weird human, and hers alone. And she was his.

With a smile on her face, she finally replied. “Hello, my dear husband.”

Because they were both greedy, and they would remain like this until death would do them part.

[sleepyfan-blog]

Regrets and Wishes - Confession verse chapter three

first chapter >> last chapter 

Fandom: Dreamtale AU

I would like to thank @trashydragonartist7 for editing this fic

warnings: cursing, mention of murder, threats

word count: 3,877

summary: Nightmare talks to Dream’s statue and figures out how to create portals to other universes. 

edit: AO3 link here

As the days turned into months and then into years, Nightmare found himself visiting his other half less and less over time. At first he couldn't go more than an hour or two without teleporting back to where Dream's... Statue? Stood. Checking to make sure that no one had tried to do anything to him, or tried to steal him away and hide the other from him. Hoping that Dream would shake off the stasis spell that Nightmare had unintentionally cast on the other. Still... Even as his visits became less frequent... The negative guardian couldn't help but keep up his practice of playing Confession Time with Dream at Sunset whenever he visited. Even if he was the only one playing, and all he could do to cuddle afterwards was to wrap his tentacles around the other's stone-bound form and lean against the other, occasionally whispering apologies for trapping the other in such a way...

Once the anger and fear had died down in his mind, Nightmare knew that Dream would have never gone against him - even as the whispering, seething voice of maddened corruption urged him to ensure that the stasis spell would never break. His newly granted powers will be able to weaken you. Keep him trapped forevermore, so that you can rule this world and the pathetic mortals who tormented and mocked you without contest. But Dream wouldn't fight him, they loved one another too much to do so. As long as he didn't immediately attack the other once he broke free of the spell... Which Nightmare had no idea how he'd cast it, much less how to reverse it. From what he had read from the spell books that he came across that weren't completely destroyed by panicked mortals fleeing from him, such spells needed to wear off on their own time - as early reversal could have unintended and potentially devastating consequences. The very last thing that Nightmare wanted was to further harm the love of his life.

He walked through the barren, lifeless landscape, first through the long-abandoned and broken-down hovels that the villagers had once lived in, their dust and even the human's bones having long been blown away and turned into nothingness. Nightmare hasn't killed all of the mortals who live in his timeline (and not just because it was one of the last things that Dream had begged him to do, before being turned to stone), because if they were all dead, who would he rule? He made his way over to where Dream stood, the frozen expression of fear and hurt confusion on his other half's face not causing him to flinch or pause the way it had at first. The castle that he was having his terrified subjects build for him was well under way, and he was paying them for their time and effort, as Nightmare figured that they would be more motivated to work quickly that way.

One of his hands came up to rest on one of Dream's shoulders, and Nightmare murmured quietly, "Confession time... I killed another three mortals today. They were trying to start a rebellion amongst the other mortals. I dragged them, kicking and screaming from their little plotting room into the center of the town square. I ordered the Dark Papyri to round all of the mortals up and bring them to the town square. I informed them of the crimes that the three fools had committed and I executed them quickly. The rabbit monster first - straight through the soul, quick and clean. The wolf-monster bit me so I... I indulged in a little bit of petty vengeance by strangling him to death. The human was struggling and pleading at that point, but I shattered their yellow soul. I almost didn't kill them, as it was such a pretty color. The hue reminded me of your magic and eye lights... But that human would have continued to cause trouble. Yellow-souled humans are almost more trouble than the ones with Red souls now."

Nightmare paused for a moment, shivering a little. He was grateful that Dream couldn't hear him. He could almost imagine the horror and sorrow that his lighter, better half would have reacted if he'd heard he had done such a thing. But, he could also imagine that moments later, the other's sweet voice would speak up and say something along the lines of: "I... I wish that you wouldn't have to kill so much.. B-But I'm glad that you didn't make their deaths painful... Do you... Do you want to talk about why you did that so publicly?"

He huffed a little at the imagined question, answering it. "Of course I executed them publicly. I've crowned myself king, remember? Those mortal idiots have no way to possibly go against me... And I killed those three rebellious mortals in order to firmly dissuade any others from trying to do the same. They can't kill me, no matter what magic they think that they can bring to bear, or the weapons that they craft with the sole intention of trying to end my life."

Dream would likely be choosing his words carefully, were he able to respond. Something like: "I... Okay. So you're trying to make sure that you don't have to kill more people if they try to do something dumb? I... That's... That's better than just killing them as they try to rise up against you." his aura would show his worry and concern - not only for the mortal fools, but also for him as well. Perhaps Dream might even say something along the lines of "I wish that there was something that I could do to help..."

"I keep this place free of mortals, Dream. Though knowledge of you does seem to be fading, belief that you do exist somewhere is strongest amongst those who have rebellious sentiments against me. I do not know what would happen, were they to find your statue and I want to keep you safe. I fear that they might try to reverse the spell or... Or harm your statue to see if you will wake from the stasis spell." Nightmare murmured, realizing after he had spoken that he was treating the imaginary conversation he was having in his head with Dream as if it was actually happening. It was very likely that the other couldn't see or hear anything... But he might sense his presence, despite the stasis spell because of how profoundly linked the two of them are. Nightmare can still faintly sense the other's presence within the stone prison he's encased in. "I hope that you know that I love you. I never stopped."

"I love you too, Nightmare!" Dream might respond, shifting behind the tree or whatever they were hiding themselves behind, likely wanting to teleport to the other side and hug him. Maybe give Nightmare a couple of kisses. Stars above and below,  he missed his other half desperately. "You mentioned something about a castle, Nightlight? Seems kind of excessive to me..."

"Hey now, I am the king of this world... And speaking of such things, once it's fully built. I intend to carry you to a spot close to where it's being built. I want to be able to visit you every day and I... I have an idea that I think that you might like..." Nightmare murmured quietly, leaning around Dream, unable to resist the temptation to curl his tentacles around the other's stone form, his arms wrapped around his waist securely in a hug that the other couldn't respond to. The negative spirit was unsure as to whether or not he was thinking wistfully... But for a moment, he thought that he felt Dream's presence within the statue strengthen for a couple of moments... Perhaps reacting to him being closer.

"What is it? Nighty please tell me!" Dream would ask, his golden eye lights full of the curiosity that he could keenly sense in the other's emotional aura, gently tugging at him to explain. He might see the other peek at him from the other side of the tree before going back to the other side.

"Hmmm... I did intend for it to be a surprise for you, Dream... So you'll just have to wait." Nightmare murmured quietly, pressing a gentle kiss to one of the other's stone cheeks, struggling not to cry or to start screaming in frustration. Why did his beloved have to be trapped in stone? How long would it take for this wretched curse to end, and the two of them to be together again? Then again... "Confession time - though I look forwards to you finally waking up... I'm also terrified that you... That you will try to fight against me when you wake. It would tear me apart for you to do so but... Given what all I've done... The demonic villain that I have so clearly become - at least in the eyes of the mortals - I don't... I don't want to lose you again, my daydream..."

"Nightmare I... You know that I wouldn't fight against you, no matter how dark you have become. When I do wake up, I'll try to get you to be nicer to people, but I... I don't think I could fight you. I wasn't going to when you put that stasis spell on me. I was just... Scared and-and I had to protect the last golden apple. I wasn't keeping the power from you for selfish reasons I was just.." Dream might explain, fidgeting with his hands and looking away from him, still leaning comfortable in his grasp, perhaps. Guilt and uncertainty, mixed with protectiveness and love.

Or so Nightmare would like to imagine. "To preserve some positive feelings in the multiverse. Yes, I am... I am aware of this. At the time I was too consumed by the power that I had so recently acquired I lost control of myself... My deepest apologies for doing so. I will apologize to you, should you not immediately run upon waking. I really hope that you don't, though I will understand if you do..." The lord of darkness murmured softly, holding the statue of his beloved a little closer, the thought of the other trying to flee from him almost too awful to contemplate - though it was something that he worried about rather a lot. The mortals seemed convinced that he'd either killed or imprisoned Dream... A few held out hope that their beloved beacon of light and love had simply fled after being terribly injured, and would come to their rescue one day, to triumphantly strike down the demon of darkness.

"Confession time... I - I still want to wander across the multiverse. We know it exists, because of the skeletal bodies that the previous guardian made for us! I want to know what it's like in other worlds - do they have important places to protect, or are they free to live their lives however they want? I'd never leave your side but I... I want to wander, if we can." Dream confessed - having said much the same thing once, as snow had begun to fall around them.

Nightmare had been surprised to hear that at first - it was another hint that his other half was almost as unhappy about being tethered to this tree and constantly pestered by the mortals as Nightmare was - though the positive spirit was worshipped and his very presence coveted. As he grew older and gained more perspective, Nightmare could only imagine how difficult that must have been for Dream - who he had known, was perfectly content to stay by his side and tend to their duties. He liked to interact with others well enough but... Dream had been unable to show any emotion around the mortals that wasn't entirely positive or happy - lest they seek retribution on Nightmare, who was clearly at fault in their eyes.  "I'm still trying to figure out if we can cross universes. Given that the previous guardian was able to do so at least to some degree, it's very likely that we can... I'll just have to give it more thought."

Dream might hum thoughtfully, his golden eye lights bright, though he wouldn't be able to see because they'd be still on opposite sides of the tree, wanting to adhere to the rules of the game. "Hmm... It's a mystery... Still, I believe that you'll figure it out! You're very smart and you read all those books all the time... Or at least you did. Do you still read, or are you too busy as the king of our world?" Nightmare was fairly sure that his beloved would tease him a little for the title, a bit of mischief in the other's magical aura, though Dream would mean it lovingly. Everything that Dream did was done with love and concern for someone - he was a genuine ray of light and warmth in a world that, for the negative guardian, had been miserable and full of pain.

"Hey Dream, you had said before... Before you'd turned to stone that you had an idea as to how to get the villagers to leave me alone for good. But you never told me what it was - you said that you were trying to come up with how to phrase your idea properly... I would have helped you, had you told me your plan." Nightmare murmured quietly. It was something that he genuinely wanted to know - because unless Dream's plan was to somehow banish them from their presence by at least several days' walk or riding... Which would be unlikely that his generally gentle beloved would actually be able to enforce with any true ferocity... It probably wouldn't have worked. Not for very long as mortals could be so terribly forgetful of the promises that they made.

"Yeah, and I was working on it! I just... I was working on how to tell you the plan so that you might agree to it... But you figured out how to make them leave you alone on their own..." Dream might remark quietly, going quiet for a couple of moments. "N-Not that I’m... I'm mad at you f-for killing most of them... They would have... They would have tried to kill us if you didn't strike them first. I just wish that there would have been a peaceful solution to this."

"I know, Dream. But that's because you've got an overdeveloped sense of Mercy and forgive far too easily." Nightmare answered back, shaking his head a little, knowing that it would make his other half sulk a little. He knew that he spoke the truth. Dream gave so much of himself to other people (including Nightmare himself) and seemed to expect nothing in return... Or at least, that's how the other had been before he had turned Dream to stone. Nightmare stiffened a little as he sensed several very agitated beings headed in his direction at high speed and cursed lowly before remarking, "I'm sorry Dream, but there's someone headed this way, and I do not want anyone to know where you are. I will attempt to spare them, as I know that's what you would want."

"Thank you, Nightmare! I hope that they're just running this way because they need your help... Rather than because they're here for something... Not so good..." Dream might respond, perhaps even peeking around their tree and nodding a little. "I'll hide here. Be careful Nightlight!"

"I will, my precious star." Nightmare responds quietly, pressing a gentle kiss to one of the other's cheeks before teleporting to where the charging monsters were, a smirk on his face, his tentacles sharp and at the ready.

~

Three weeks later, and Nightmare found himself in a very desolate and hopeless Alternate Universe. The lord of darkness had realized that he could sense other places that were filled with Negativity and create portals to lead him to these places. He walked as quietly as he could through the desolate, snow-covered forest, his senses on high alert as he searched for one of the inhabitants of this world. He saw a crude shelter in the distance, and could sense that someone sentient was currently staying there. He could sense anger, despair and a frantic, desperate desire (or perhaps need?) for something within the being.

Nightmare decided to be dramatic and teleported directly in front of the crude shelter, taking in the appearance of the being. A tall, broad-shouldered skeleton monster with a single, glowing red eye light and a huge crack in his skull. Leaning against the far wall of the shelter was a chipped axe. The mortal monster startled a little, reaching for his axe. "Who the fuck are you? You... You're new here. I don't think I've seen you before, and I've met a lot of monsters. Those of us who are left." The mortal swore, rearing back a little.

The lord of negativity chuckled lowly and grabbed both the skeleton monster and the other's axe with his tentacles, pulling the other from his supposed spot of safety and smirking at him. "You would be correct, I am not from this world. I am Nightmare, lord of Negativity. I am curious as to why your world is so full of despair and misery. Care to tell me? If you entertain me well enough I may just deign to help you."

The Sans glowered at him before reluctantly explaining about The Barrier and the human souls they'd painstakingly collected over a thousand years of imprisonment. "And then the seventh human fell - but they had a Determined soul, so every time the little shit died, they were able to turn back time to before they died. They made their way through the underground, killing the king and stars fuckin' know what happened to the human souls we previously collected. Then Empress Undyne took over and imposed several laws - including strict food rationing which has led, along with the decreased Hope of ever getting out of this shitty prison, to most of us twisting.. That and I fucking hate her for what she did to my baby bro... Twisted his gentle innocence into what it is now. You want my loyalty? We need food, freedom and for that fuckin' Empress to die. I guarantee that you'll have more than just my loyalty, but everyone else's as well." Sans also explained about Loads and Resets - shuddering in fury and unhappiness.

Nightmare hummed a little, nodding in understanding. "Are there monsters who are loyal to this Empress Undyne? I may have to kill them as well - otherwise they could try to ferment rebellion which will lead to more unnecessary deaths. I've never heard of Loads and Resets - while some of the humans in the world I am from have magic, and some even have a magically Determined soul,, they've never been in control of my world. The only one in control is myself, and Resets are impossible in my timeline due to what it is. There never was a human-monster war, and everyone lives on the surface, as they always have."

The other's red eye light widened before shrinking down a pinprick and the other went limp and still in his grasp, he looked down. A clear sign of surrender. "I... Please... I'll... I'll do anything you ask, just... Please take my brother with you to this timeline of yours. I want him to be safe, to be free of those who can turn time on it's head and play with our lives and hearts, killing and saving on a whim. Papyrus is still a gentle soul, and I'm pretty sure that I can convince him that your humans are friends, not food. Your world sounds like a fuckin' paradise. Use me as you please, I don't... I don't care."

The other's pleading was wonderful to hear - the villagers who lived around the castle had long since gone quiet, turning into limp dolls whenever he tried to torment any of them, which was boring. Nightmare considered letting Sans beg and plead for his brother's safety and security for a while longer, then decided against it. "In exchange for your people being freed - I may simply bring them all to my timeline and have them settle in villages that suit their varying needs due to monster type, rather than unsealing the barrier above -as I do not know how the humans of your world will react to monsterkind after being so pushed aside for so long. The humans of my timeline have long lived peacefully with monsters and the races mingle freely - and your brother being safe... Perhaps I would have him work as a member of my staff on the council? What does he like to do? You will work for me - fighting when needed. Is this understood?"

"Yes, yes sir! I'm a good fighter, despite my low stats, sir." Sans responded, nodding frantically in agreement. "Papyrus likes to cook. He hasn't been taught how to cook well, but if he's taught by someone who actually knows what they’re doing, I'm sure that he could get loads better." Nightmare was the single most powerful being he had ever sensed before - including the determined human whose name Sans refused to acknowledge. Papyrus was also a good fighter - but Sans would rather the other not gain any more LV than he already had. Undyne had forced his brother to kill and it was the worst thing that Sans had ever experienced - and that included dying by the human's hands that one time. Going to a world where time was linear and couldn't double back on itself, or stutter backwards and forth for hours and days at a time? There was nothing that Sans wouldn't do to earn a place in such a world for his brother and himself. "As for who's actually loyal to her... Alphys, maybe? She's our Royal Scientist, but I'm not sure. I can send out some feelers, talk to some good friends of mine... Grillby is an excellent friend, an fantastic chef and a powerful fighter - he'd be useful to you as well."

Nightmare's visible eye light lit up, glad the other was taking his offer seriously. He noticed something and murmured, "Before we continue this conversation - perhaps I should show you to the world that you and your people will be moving to... Are you well enough aware of the needs that the monsters in the underground require to speak to me of such things?"

"I... I believe so, sir." Sans answered back with a nod, his emotions a mixture of hopeful, terrified, suspicious, and determined.

A small smirk appeared on the Lord of Darkness' face as he opened a cyan portal, stepping through it with Sans in his tentacles, setting the other down as the portal closed behind them. "Welcome to my world, Sans. Shall we begin?"

"Yes sir." The Sans from Horrortale responded, nodding again, feeling a little bit like one of those human toys that had a head that bobbled and wiggled up and down, side to side. But he'd do what he could to get his people safe and free - even if it meant sacrificing what was left of his soul to this... Strange being.

[luciisthebest]

Ashes To Ashes, Dust To Dust

Pairing: Loki Odinson x Reader

Request: @alangel1895 - Open requests woop woop ^^ Seriously I need some Marvel fix-it, I'm still not over Infinity War. So here's an idea you could work with: Think of any way Loki could have faked his death once again and reader knows it, but she chooses to make a stand against Thanos with Thor instead of going into hiding with Loki. Will he join the fight and maybe even safe the day or will he stay hidden and loose the one he loves?

Warnings: Angst, violence, character death, mentions torture, mentions of blood, language, Infinity War spoilers, some fluff.

Word Count: 2,837

A/N: Sooooooo this might not be your fix it fic. Umm I tried??? Anyway this is my first Marvel fic so it was kind of trial and error. Shout out to @thedapperdemon she helped me soooo much with this piece. It’s also my first fic in a really long so be gentle. Feedback is fuel so please feel free to leave some.

“You talk too much.”

Thor’s words seemed to echo through your head as you tried to pick yourself off the floor. Your ears rang and blood poured down your face as you watched Thanos grab your closest friend.

“The Tesseract, or your brother's head. I assume you have a preference.” Thanos glowered at Loki.

“Oh, I do. Kill away.”

You watch as Thanos placed the Infinity Gauntlet to Thor’s forehead, the power stone glowed brightly making Thor scream in agony. “No!” You threw yourself at Thanos. With the flick of his wrist, he backhanded you and set you flying. Landing among your fallen kinsfolk, you locked eyes with Loki. You could no longer see Thanos or Thor but you could still hear Thor’s screams. Loki’s eyes gave away every little thing he was feeling, the pain he felt for his brother’s torment and the fear he held for you.

“Alright, stop!”

“Loki, no!” You screamed. “Loki look at me, don’t do this.” Loki ignored you, his eyes locked on his brother.

“We don't have the Tesseract. It was destroyed on Asgard.”

Your stomach rolled with nausea as you tried to scramble to your feet, the pounding in your head echoed the pounding of your heart. You had to stop Loki, even if it killed you. “Loki…” Your desperate plea finally grabbed Loki’s attention. His eyes locked with yours right as you collapsed back to the floor, with a small sad smile he turned back to Thanos. He lifted his right hand into the air and revealed the Tesseract.

“You really are the worst, brother.” Thor’s voice sounded broken. You knew he had finally started to trust Loki again, hell he had trusted you and you had lied to him about the Tesseract.

‘I assure you, brother. The sun will shine on us again.”

“Your optimism is misplaced, Asgardian.’

“Well, for one thing, I'm not Asgardian.” Loki smirked at Thanos. “And for another, we have a Hulk.”

Out of nowhere the Hulk attacked Thanos. You watched as Loki grabed Thor and dove out of your sight. You could hear the battle raging between the Hulk and Thanos but all you could do was focus on staying conscious. When you heard Thor’s tormented scream, your heart shattered. Heimdall was gone.  “Heimdall…” His name came out as a wheeze as your head lolled back and you found yourself face to face with another dead Asgardian.  “I failed you, I failed all of you.” You whispered as you rested your hand on the dead woman's face, “I’m sorry.” The edges of your sight started to go fuzzy and quickly began to change into a ring of darkness.  You knew as your eyes closed you were going to die. THe worst part was you never had the chance to say goodbye to Thor or tell Loki you loved him one last time.

“Y/N!” A pair of hands shook you. “You will not die Y/N!”

“Loki?”

“I’m here my love.” He pulled you further away from the raging battle, hiding you from sight before he settled behind you, your head in his lap.

“We’re going to die.”

“No, we’re not, I promise you we will make it out of this.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Thanos has another stone he’s going to destroy us.”

“Not if I have anything to do with it.” He gently lifted your head off his lap and leaned down giving you a passionate kiss.

“Don’t leave me!’ You grabbed him trying to keep him close. “He’ll kill you.”

Loki smirked at you, “no, he won’t.” With his words, a clone appeared next to him. “I love you Y/N, don’t ever forget that.”

Pulling away he and his clone strode back towards Thanos and his minions.

“Loki, I lo-”

Loki turned back interrupting you, “tell me that when this is all over, but never as goodbye.”

You could hear Thanos giving orders to his children and that seemed to spur Loki back into action. Turning from you again, he and his clone disappeared from your sight.  

“If I might, interject… If you're going to Earth, you might want a guide. I do have a bit of experience in that arena.”

You would not let him do this alone, digging deep you began to drag yourself towards where you knew Thanos was.

“If you consider failure experience…”

“I consider experience, experience.” Loki’s haughty voice gave you strength to keep pulling yourself closer and closer. “Almighty Thanos. I, Loki, Prince of Asgard, Odinson, the rightful King of Jotunheim, god of mischief,” with one more mighty have, you managed to pull yourself far enough forward to see the scene unfolding before you. Thor was on his knees, entrapped in metal and Loki, your love and idiot, had a small dagger hidden in his hand as he approached Thanos.  “do hereby pledge to you, my undying fidelity.” With those words, Loki swung his dagger at Thanos but he was no match for him. With a smug look, Thanos wrapped his hands around Loki’s neck.

"Undying. You should choose your words more carefully.” Thanos began to tighten his grip on Loki’s neck.

“No!” You screamed as you watched Loki struggle against the Titan’s hold. Thor’s cries joined your own as he began to struggle trying to save his brother, but it was all for not.

Loki seemed to know he was beat and stopped struggling. “You… will never be… a god.”

With the coldest of looks, Thanos snapped Loki’s neck and then dumped his body in front of Thor.  “No resurrections this time.”

With that, Thanos and his children teleport away. Pain like you had never known overtook you as you screamed your rage and sorrow. Loki, your love was dead and you didn’t even get to say goodbye. The ship around you began to explode and you couldn’t care less. All you could do was scream and stare at Loki’s dead body.  Just as the ship finally began to explode you felt the softest brush of a hand on your cheek, and the whispered words “I will find you again.” Then in a flash of brilliant purple, your world exploded.

“Did you really think escape was that easy?”

Loki just gave his trademark smirk as he discreetly glanced around the doorless room. “I see you found the reality stone.”

“She was there you know. She and my daughter are both such fierce fighters.”

“What did you do to her?” Loki stalked closer to Thanos not caring about the potential consequences.

“Nothing. I got what I was looking for, she was of little consequence.” Thanos lifted the gauntlet and Loki watched as the reality stone began to glow. “She knows you’re alive and yet she chooses to fight, why is that?”

All around Loki the world began to contort and take shape into his worst nightmare. Y/N was on the ground, blood was everywhere, Y/N was gasping for air and obviously moments from death.

“Why would she fight when this is her future?”

The landscape changed. Y/N was fighting alongside the Avengers, looking as fierce as the day Loki met her. Behind her Ebony Maw appeared and with the wave of his hand, sent a piece of twisted metal right at her piercing her straight through the heart.

Colors swirled again and Loki was back on the Asgardian ship, but this time Thanos had Y/N by the throat. Weak whimpers escaped her lips as her eyes locked with Loki’s. She opened her mouth to cry out to him, but Thanos tightened his grip snapping her neck.

“No!” Loki screamed as he watched Thanos drop her body to the ground.

“Poetic isn’t it?”

The room changed again, this time Loki found himself back on Asgard. Y/N stood before him in a gorgeous wedding gown wearing beautiful smile on her face. “To us.” She raised the goblet in her hand to her lips and took a drink. Moments later the goblet fell from her hands as she began to convulse making her fall to the ground. Loki fell to his knees as he watched the poison darken her veins and move through her body until she became still.

“Why? Why are you doing this?”

“This is just a reminder of what happens to those that fail me.” Loki couldn’t see Thanos but his words rang loud and clear.

Before he could respond the scene before him changed yet again. Over and over again he watched Y/N die one gruesome death after another. A thousand times over he felt the agony of watching his beloved die while he stood by unable to do anything to stop it. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore. Y/N had just been torn to shreds in front of him and he was kneeling in the pool of her blood. “Please stop.” Loki’s voice was quiet but filled with unending suffering.  To his surprise, the scene before him disappeared and instead of a new one appearing he found himself in front of Thanos’s throne.

“Go.” Loki stared up at him in confusion. “Someday soon the universe will finally have balance, balance that you helped put in motion.” The space stone on the gauntlet began to glow, and within moments Loki found himself standing in New York. Now his only goal in life was to find Y/N and save her from the fate he had seen over and over again.

Standing beside Steve you waited. The fight for Wakanda was over but the fight for the universe had just begun. Thanos was coming. You had watched friend and foe alike fall in battle and you couldn’t help but wonder if this was all hopeless. But that didn’t mean you wouldn’t give your life to stop Thanos.

As you heard Steve warn the other Avengers, your mind went back to Loki. Somewhere out there he was alive. It was probably better he wasn’t with you now because you couldn’t bare to watch him die again. The agony you felt when you thought he was gone would haunt you forever. Not that forever seemed like much of a guarantee at this point.

An eerie silence fell as you waited. Then he appeared, Thanos walked forward like the smug conquering hero he thought he was. Without thought, you launched yourself at him, and he simply swatted you away like an annoying fly. One by one each Avenger gave everything they had, and each time they were pushed aside. Somehow Wanda was holding him back with her powers and when you saw the agony on her face your heart broke for her. This motivated you to pick yourself up, and again launch another attack on Thanos. With your daggers aimed at his necked you finally had the advantage. With his back to you and his focus completely on getting to vision he didn’t expect the attack from behind.  You howled in victory as one of your daggers sank into the side of his neck and he groaned in pain. He threw you off him, slamming you into a tree. You slid down the tree noting your leg and possibly your arm were broken. You were definitely out of the fight but it didn’t matter. Thanos was too late. With an explosion the mind stone and Vision were gone. “You’re too late you asshole.” You croaked with a smug smile.

Thanos didn’t acknowledge you. He simply lifted the gauntlet making a green glow encircle his wrist. Suddenly everything was in going in reverse.

“No!” You realized he had just used the time stone to bring back Vision. Wanda desperately tried to stop him but he simply threw her aside. Biting your lip, you pushed your back against the tree and tried to get enough leverage to get your feet. A loud whimper escaped your lips when you put pressure on your broken leg and tears of agony filled your eyes. Just as you were going to try and take a step, a flash of green caught your eye. Jerking your head to the right you saw him. “Loki…” You gasped at the sight of him. This was the first time you had seen him since the ship and you couldn’t help but drink in the sight of him.

Loki quickly ran over to you and lifted you up, helping you stand. “I told you I would find you.”

You gave him a small smile. “We have to stop Thanos.” You both turned your attention back to Thanos.

“We’re too late.”

Thanos had the last stone and you watched in horror as he placed into the gauntlet.

“We have to go Y/N.” Yelled over Thanos’s roar of triumph.

“No!” You jerked away from him making yourself nearly topple over. “Don’t you get it? There’s nowhere to go.” You grabbed a dagger you had strapped to your arm and aimed it at Thanos.

As you let your blade fly, a massive bolt of lightning struck Thanos stopping him from snapping and also deflecting your blade. Thanos sent a blast of power at Thor, but with a mighty throw, Thor threw Stormbreaker and embedded it deeply in Thanos’s chest.

Thor walked up to Thanos, his expression thunderous. “I told you, you’d die for that.” And with those words, Thor pushed Stormbreaker further into Thanos’s chest.

The Titan panted and crumpled forward struggling to speak. “You should’ve gone for the head.” He lifted his hand and snapped his fingers.

“No!” You, Thor, and Loki all cried out at once.

“What did you do? What’d you do?” Thor raged at him. Thanos just looked at Thor, lifted the now damaged gauntlet and disappeared.

“Y/N we’re leaving now.” Loki swept you up into his arms.

“Too late.” Your words came out as a soft sob. You lifted your hand up for him to see and you both watched in horror as it turned to dust.

Loki sank to his knees, his face devastated. “Y/N no,” Loki cradled you in his lap, “I can’t watch you die, not again.”

You cringed in pain as more and more of you faded into dust. “I love you Loki, this isn’t go-” Your words were lost as the rest of your body turned to dust. Leaving behind a broken Loki and a broken universe.

Tags:

@mogaruke @msimpala67 @percussiongirl2017 @meganwinchester1999 @ria132love @lucifer-in-leather @impala-dreamer @idreamofhazel @helvonasche @distinguishedqueenofbooks @faith-in-dean @docharleythegeekqueen @nanie5 @amotleyworld @abbessolute @mrsbatesmotel53 @chaosinacoffeecup @saoirsewhittle  @bobbysingerismybaby @capsofwinchesters @nyxveracity @x-waywardaf-x @hobby27 @ravenesque @andkatiethings @his-paradox @sassysupernaturalsweetheart @supernatural-strangerthings-1980 @straight-outta-charming​

[rosyredlipstick]

merlin fic rec list - starter pack

@trueloveorsomething told me she’s never really read a merlin fic and my heart, that is still stuck in the blissful ignorance of november 2012, couldn’t accept that. I promptly told her I would make her a starter pack of some of my favorites and completely forgot about it until she reminded me like, an hour ago. So sorry bout that. Rina puts up with so much of my shit and deserves a nice fic rec list considering I call drunk call her at 4am and she still answers.

SO HERE’S A REC LIST THAT IS VERY LATE AND TOO LONG ILY AND I HOPE THESE BEAUTIFUL MERTHUR FICS SOMEHOW CONVEY THAT

For Your Information by reni_days (ao3 no longer available)

Summary:

Merlin sighs. "After your...announcement," he explains, "your father decided he needed a bit more information. Which is apparently where I come in. I'm sort of like his gay tutor, it's hard to explain."

-

Okay so this was one of my all-time favorite merlin fics because I HAVE NEVER READ A BETTER UTHER!! WHO IS TRYING TO LOVE & UNDERSTAND HIS SON!!! But recently the fic was taken off ao3 and I was desolate for numerous days UNTIL I REALIZED that the author had still left up the original livejournal post from 2012. Wow. flashbacks. Anyways, this is def in my top five I adore it.

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A New Low by Rosie_Rues // @rosierues

Summary:

Written for this prompt at kinkme_merlin, which asked for diabetic!Merlin stuck in a lift with Arthur. It grew from there.

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God. GOD. secretly caring Arthur Pendragon is LITERALLY MY SHIT. The dialogue & character interactions are SO FUNNY and I swear I laugh on every read through (which is often tbh). FLUFF!

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A Modern Manservant by Mamalazzer

Summary:

A modern magical comedy very loosely based on Ugly Betty. Publishing king Uther Pendragon has had enough of his playboy son seducing every female assistant he has ever had so he hires Merlin, a man he is sure Arthur will never sleep with. Merlin would be more insulted by this fact if he wasn’t so busy trying to juggle his duties, save Arthur's skin from ruthless fashionistas and keep his magic a secret at the same time. Expect appearances by oil-lathered knights, the occasional mad druid, a perverted Will and a mental caretaker who lives in the basement and keeps harping on about coins and destiny.

-

I honestly think about this fic constantly. I’ve been meaning to reread it for like, a month and my time has finally come. An Ao3 legend. Wow. I’m in awe of this fic. I love it so much. Please Read, I’m Begging.

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Dying to Return by StormDancer // @hurricanedancer

Summary:

When they try to hang him, he floats.

*

They put him on the pyre at dawn.

He doesn’t burn.

-

Canon-divergence is one of my fav tags and this fic does it SO WELL! Also BAMF!Merlin bc OF COURSE and again, this fic just shows their relationship and Arthur’s inner struggles/thoughts  so well as he deals with this ~~~mysterious~~~ mage. Wow. You’ll be screaming the whole time.

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The Weight of Words by Waldorph // @waldorph

Summary:

Arthur knows how to use words just as well as Merlin, and he knows about the magic.

-

One of the best character studies I’ve ever read. Also done by a fic legend, and it SHOWS. I never know how much i craved the tag “Smart!Arthur” bUT I DID! Also Morgana is my favorite. She needs more love.

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How to Untrain Your Dragon by Teumessian

Summary:

Merlin has many secrets but Arthur sees more than anyone knows. This is the story of a prince and a dragon. A canon changeling!verse AU, deviating around season 2.

-

In case you haven’t been able to tell, I’m a bITCH for magic revealed fic. And I seriously loooove when Arthur already knows. Wow. Plus this is a great twist with the changeling AU. Check it out!!!

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Emrys Ascending by tricksterity

Summary:

In the depths of the Crystal of Neahtid, Merlin sees the resurrection of Lord Voldemort, an event that will tip the balance of the world so far out that only he has the power to intervene and set it right, or stop it from ever happening. For that, he'll have to pose as a student and attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The only problem is, he's been chosen instead of Cedric Diggory as a Triwizard Champion, and there's a recently reborn Arthur Pendragon in Gryffindor House.

-

*lays out cards on table* you want some character development? Some of that good BAMF Merlin shit? Some of that reincarnation? Magic revealed? 100k+? A HOGWARTS AU? Have I got the SHIT FOR YOU! Pls scream about this fic w me.

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Keep the Magic Secret by orphan_account

Summary:

For the prompt: Someone tells Arthur about the legends of Emrys, an all-powerful warlock whose destiny is to protect Arthur and his kingdom and help bring about an age of peace. He is told that Emrys is someone close to him, and has hidden his identity and trials over the years to protect himself and make sure he can continue on at Arthur's side. When Arthur asks who it is, the person turns to Arthur and shrewdly asks: "Arthur, who do you want it to be?" ... Arthur's mind automatically goes to Merlin.

-

ASDGL;DKLD WOW. I ADORE how the author wrote Arthur’s mindset, and the plot is so well done and fleshed out I’m totally obsessed. Wow. Such an intense slow burn I’m sure a small village went up in flames. Wow. Also, I love Gwen with my whole heart and this fic treats her RIGHT w/out ignoring her whole canon storyline. Great work!!!

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All’s Well That Ends Well by StormDancer // @hurricanedancer

Summary:

Merlin spent the week and a half that Arthur was gone splitting his time between crafting careful explanations that never ended up explaining the important things, the things that would make Arthur listen, and making half-baked plans to escape to Ealdor. He found a number of fire-proofing spells that would have no effect if they decided to cut his head off, and figured out how to adapt an invulnerability spell he had been trying to find a way to cast on Arthur without him noticing so that it would protect him from being decapitated, but it would have no effect on anything but metal. Despite all his frantic searching, he did not find a teleportation spell, because that would have been too simple and if there was one thing Merlin had learned in his years at Camelot, it was that nothing was ever simple.

-

A classic magic revealed fic that handles emotion - both Merlin & Arthur’s - extremely well. I’m a big fan of this author, so check out their other works if you’re interested!

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Strike of Lightning by helloearthlings

Summary:

Uther's commandment was very simple: If there should come a day when Arthur met his soulmate, he would drive a sword through their chest and kill them on sight.

-

EVERY fandom has their own soulmarks fic AND THIS IS MERLIN’S WOW! I love it. I adore it. I’d frame it and put it above my bed if it wasn’t 4k words.

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1609, 5280, 63360 by Sham

Summary:

When they were young, Arthur had gone running. Morgana discovered that early into her tenure at the Pendragons; shortly after the car crash, when she was swathed in a bed with silk sheets with the memory of Uther standing awkwardly in her doorway, old face creased with the vestiges of grief and uncomfortable concern for the fragile girl in his house.

-

I haven’t read this one yet - it’s next on my to-read list! - but it seriously looks SO GOOD and once again I LOVE MORGANA and plus there seems to be a somewhat sympathic Uther in this which, once again, I would die for.

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Fathom Me Out by supercalvin // @supercalvin

Summary:

After ten years, Arthur thinks he has Merlin all figured out. But as he watches Merlin, he finds out that he has more questions than answers. The longer he thinks about it, the more uneasy he feels. So he pushes it aside. Except, he can no longer ignore the questions he has about Merlin.

Not your everyday reveal!fic.

-

Great character study & development and I loooove how the author writes their relationship. Also, it’s not required, but the prequel to this fic is also very very good and I highly rec it! Check it out here - Laundry’s Hard Work.

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It’s Nice to Finally Tweet You by Pendragons Dragonlord // @pseudoauthor

Summary:

Merlin's eyes scan the headline.

Arthur Pendragon reveals mark in attempt to find the one.

"I pity the guy who's unfortunate enough to get him as a soul mate.”

In which Arthur is a famous celebrity, Merlin is a beloved teacher, and they break Twitter once. Well, twice. Okay so it's a whole bunch of times actually but it's not their fault. Really it's not.

-

Read that description and try not to explode over your excitement for this fic. Really, I dare you. It’s such a good balance of fluff, plot, and soulmarks. Also, Merlin is a schoolteacher and if that doesn’t sell you on it I have nothing else to offer.

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Until You Do (I’ll Bring You Tea and Honey) by TheAvalonian

Summary:

Modern AU: Everyone keeps assuming that Merlin and Arthur are together, so as a joke, they start pretending it's true. And then, suddenly, it is.

A story of giant teddy bears, meddling sisters, nonexistent homoerotic subtext (or is it?), and accidentally falling in love.

-

So much fluff you’ll get a toothache. The best Friends to Lovers fic I’ve ever read ever in my life. Wow. WOW. This tops the cake not only with a cherry but like, a hundred dollar bill (iDK WHAT'S BETTER THAN A CHERRY JUST DO W IT) READ THE FLUFF.

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License to Thrill by lady_ragenll // @theladyragnell

Summary:

Merlin's employees bet him the recipe for the most addictive cocoa in the world that he can't find out what the hot blond who comes into his chocolate shop does for a living within the month. He ends up getting far more than he bargained for.

-

This was such a joy to read like, all the dialogue? Is SO GOOD. Also, I love Merlin so much in this fic wow. Omg. I’m in love with this fic and we’re getting married this weekend.

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Not In This Land Alone by torakowalski

Summary:

Modern AU. When Merlin Emrys gets a summer job at Buckingham Palace, he doesn't expect to even meet King Arthur, let alone become involved in protecting him from a plot to overthrow the monarchy.

-

I’m finishing off this list with a Merlin fandom CLASSIC. Admittedly, it took me a while to get around to reading this but by the time I was a few paragraphs in I was instantly wondered WHY bc it’s SO GOOD AND I WAS MISSING OUT SO MUCH. So much drama I was thriving. The plot? Perfection. Wow.

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Okay I think that’s a decent start for a starter pack - Rina & everyone else who reads this, I hope y’all enjoy! Remember to kudus & review for any fics you enjoyed!!! Also I found like, seven new merlin fics I somehow haven’t read yet soooooooooo another list may be on the way soon omg.

[irenemarkone]

Part Two of my sleep-deprivation fuelled angst-fic

TW: sewerslidal thoughts

He broke the kiss quickly, placing both hands by her shoulders and saying, "This isn't right."

She blinked at him and said, "Why the hell not? You had no qualms about seducing me before."

He frowned and said slowly, "Because… you don't love me. I know you don't." She smirked (he was seeing himself in her more and more and it scared him) and said, "Wasn't it you who told me 'what's that got to do with it?'"

He couldn't deny that logic.

She tugged him in for another kiss, harsher this time. He returned the kiss and as he gave an inch, she took a mile.

---

Their first few encounters were strained and almost cold, purely filling the emptiness she felt with something resembling companionship. He accommodated her in every way he could because he couldn't imagine losing her after all this.

He kissed her, he held her, she made it so he could feel what she needed and he always did his best. She always left right after, never lingering in his arms for long. He supposed it was best for her, but each time, he found himself wishing she would stay.

He wished he could tell her, but he knew she would hate him for it. Sometimes he felt her probing, and it was all he could do to keep her out.

Being with her felt like ecstasy, but when he remembered how it came to be, the scarce bits of positivity vanished and left behind a hollow sort of sadness. Now that he could have her, every part of him begged for her, but deep down he knew that she didn't want him the same way. He knew he was a distraction, but he could never refuse her.

Slowly, their encounters grew warmer, and their walls began to fall. She let him hold her for longer afterwards, staring listlessly at the void as he made it his task to cover her body in gentle kisses. He tried his best to show her what he couldn't say, with soft caresses and eagerness. He tried not to say anything at all, in fears that she'd remember herself and who she was with, or simply that he would mess up. If he did let something slip, it was always her name, gasped or sighed or moaned.

He was careful to keep it that way over the course of the next million years, but she always made it difficult. "Q" never sounded better than when she said it. Her touches were like lightning, when she decided to touch him at all. She was art and music (melancholy as it may be) and beauty and strength, all in one. The small bit of sensation she allowed herself to feel shone from her like sunlight, and he basked in it.

It was only when she came to him and kissed him slowly, cradling his face in her hands and filling the space around them with the soft glow of contentment, that he finally let it slip. He had broken the kiss and let his mouth wander along her jawline when he caught himself muttering against her skin, "You'll be my undoing, Kathy-"

If she thought anything he said was odd, she didn't betray it besides the slightest of pauses before she tilted her head back. He laid a heavy kiss over her pulse(?) and given her silence, he thought nothing of it.

Moments later, with her legs draped over his shoulders and her hands buried in his hair, she grew curious and probed for his feelings. She was taken aback by the adoration that filled his actions, so much so that she overlooked the remorse and the guilt. It wasn't long before she ignored the physical feelings entirely and probed deeper, reading his thoughts and even living through them like a holonovel.

She didn't know what she expected, but she certainly hadn't expected to hear 'I love you' in so many ways. She saw all the times they'd been together, even some instances before she was Q, only he thought of telling her every time. She dug even deeper and felt it for herself, and it was genuine, although it was twisted and confused from an eternity of not feeling anything at all.

She withdrew from his thoughts like something had burned her, shoving him away with wide eyes. A split second of confusion flashed across his face before he realized what she did, but she didn’t stay long enough for him to call after her.

She didn’t find him again for a couple million years, and for once, he felt every miserable second of it.

---

Kathryn had forgotten just how much change could happen in a million years, and when she went back to exploring, she found that almost everything was different. The human race had gone extinct. She was surprised to find that she didn’t want to look back and see what had happened.

She left the Milky Way and rediscovered some of the worlds she had lived on, seeing the races she’d befriended had evolved or gone extinct. She simply befriended the new ones.

She hated how much of Q she heard in her own voice, so for a couple hundred years she hid in the Continuum, playing the role of the scarecrow, the truck, even the road and the sun that burned in the sky without end. Now more than ever, she could understand why Quinn had wanted to die. She couldn’t fathom how one could spend eternity like this; she hardly even felt pain anymore. The only thing that came close was the dull ache left behind whenever she remembered her crew, and even that was slipping away. She went back out into the universe and found another species to aide, trying desperately to find some small fragment of purpose again.

Whenever she didn’t quite feel like showing herself for a millenia or two, she spent the time conjuring stars and scattering nebulas through space, creating beautiful sights but never life. She crafted entire galaxies, star by star, watching them turn in the void before holding them in her hands and vanishing them with a thought.

When she finally showed herself, she was always benevolent, refusing to toy with lower lifeforms like the other Q had done. She solved some of their problems but never allowed herself to get attached.

She filled entire corners of the universe with wondrous stars and anomalies, braiding the fabric of space and undoing it just to do it all again. Time slipped by with her hardly noticing the centuries, but at the same time she felt every minute pass with agonizing clarity. Time was also beginning to be a bit of a nuisance, so she spent another million years mastering it.

She explored every aspect of existence itself, down to the most minute detail, until one day(?) she realized there was nothing left to explore. She wandered around in denial, thinking that surely there must be something left, but over the course of another century her fears were confirmed. She'd mastered it all.

For a couple dozen years, she even tried to kill herself. She knew that if a veteran Q like Quinn couldn't manage it, then she couldn't possibly hope to, but now all she had was time so she reasoned that it couldn't hurt to try.

She hurled herself into a blackhole only to come out completely unscathed. She teleported into the center of a supernova, turned into a microbe and found some antimatter to smack around, and even provoked a species calling themselves the God-Killers. Nothing did the slightest bit of harm (not even the God-Killers, but there was no real surprise there.)

She gave up after trying everything she could, spending a century floating aimlessly between galaxies. She would have felt hopeless if she could feel anything at all.

---

She found Q in the Continuum, sitting on the steps to the front porch and staring out at the road. He had foregone his usual Starfleet uniform, dressed instead in a drab tan suit with a green tie. It took her a little by surprise, seeing him fit into a landscape rather than defy it. It was almost sad.

She stepped closer and said with a bit of the smirk (that she couldn't muster the hatred for), "I've got to admit, the uniform wasn't half bad, but green makes you almost look dashing." He looked up at her before she sat down next to him, and said with a hint of a smile in his eyes, "Who are you and what have you done with my beloved Kathy?"

A small smile spread across her face. She hated to admit it, but she'd missed talking to someone who didn't revere her as a god. It made her feel almost human again, and as that thought occurred to her, her smile faded.

"Did you mean it, Q?"

His smile dimmed, and he looked back out at the road as he answered, "Wasn't it you who observed that I might be a lot of things, but I'm no liar?" They sat in silence for a minute (or an hour or a decade, time was slippery in the Continuum) before he said with a dreadful lack of theatrics, "I meant it. I still mean it, as much as it pains me to admit."

She rested her elbows on her knees and said, "I don't know if I love you. I don't even know if I still can." He nodded slowly and began to say something but she interjected, holding up a finger and saying, "I'm not finished." He nodded again and let her continue.

"But being with you… is truly the closest thing to normal anymore." She chuckled a bit at her own statement and said, "Imagine, calling anything to do with you 'normal'. I never thought I'd live to see the day."

She paused for a second(?), staring at the road and counting the molecules in the space in front of her before saying, "I might not love you… but I'll be damned if I lose the only person I can be around anymore."

A small smile snuck its way onto his face and he said, “I can definitely live with that, for now.” If she could feel the minute bit of melancholy in his voice, she didn’t show it. She simply smirked and said, “Don’t test your luck.”

---

Kathryn was different.

Q knew it would have been foolish to expect nothing to change. It was only natural, after all, for a person who had been so unceremoniously gifted (ha) omnipotence. But she reminded him more and more of himself, and for the first time, he could almost understand why humans had found him so frustrating.

She was infinitely more nihilistic than she'd ever been, smothering the emptiness under sarcasm and searing kisses. The Indiana lilt never truly left her voice, but her whispered promises and wagers were refined with a silver tongue that easily rivalled his.

She grew bored more and more easily, sometimes spending millions of years at a time in the Continuum just to see what changes would await her once she left. This game quickly grew tiring, however, because with omnipotence she found that she already knew, even before she looked. She'd look anyway, occasionally making herself known to the civilizations that arose there. Despite Q's urging that it would be infinitely more fun, she refused to lord over them, still clinging to the last shreds of her humanity. He loved her for it.

She had always been the perpetual ice queen but where before there was warmth behind her eyes, there was nothing but a reflection of time and space. She braided starlight into the copper hair of her corporeal form, soared through the void as if it had always been her home, but there was an odd detachment in everything she did.

She gave herself the duty of protecting life (although Q argued that life was insignificant), and earned the gratitude of so many systems. It wasn't long before he joined her in her visits, causing his usual amount of mischief and getting a rise out of her. She was careful to make sure these encounters never turned into a tug of war where there might be collateral damage, but Q seemed intent on pushing her buttons.

Q had experience, countless lifetimes more than Kathryn did, but if he was an unstoppable force, she was an immovable object. However, their squabbles never went past playful banter and the occasional flung anomaly, and in the end, he always stole a kiss.

But there was always something off. When he held her, she felt almost hollow. Her thoughts and feelings were tainted by her ever-present grief, and no matter what she said when they were alone, he knew that if she had the choice, she would have died along with her crew. He could see it in the way she watched life down on the planets: she envied them. She envied mortality.

He told her he loved her almost every day (second? century?) and while she had begun to say it back, whether it be muttered against his cheek or thought to him as they watched the galaxies turn, he couldn't believe her. She felt nothing for him outside something resembling friendship, and it was beyond his extensive powers of imagination to think otherwise.

He supposed that he should have felt lucky to earn her friendship in the first place, but along with the desperate selfish part of him that always wanted more, another part mourned with her.

Occasionally she still asked him to hold her, and of course he could never refuse her anything, but he couldn't help but think that he never wanted it to happen like this.

He always thought that one day he'd arrive back on Voyager, possibly after she'd found a way home despite the crushing odds, and after some witty banter he'd ask her to dinner. Or maybe she'd ask him for help with some dilemma (unlikely) or she'd just want to talk (even more unlikely).

As much as he jested, as much as he'd flung Starfleet ships into the furthest reaches of what they knew, he'd quite forgotten how oddly fragile humanity was.

They stood in the void, watching the galaxies Kathryn had conjured. Q absent-mindedly wrapped his arms around her, and she leaned into his touch and relaxed with a ghost of a sigh. Her melancholy washed over him and he didn't fight it.

[thorne93]

Unusual Upbringing (Part 6)

Prompt: Imaging growing up with the Maximoffs and falling for Pietro

Word Count: 1527

Warning: language, poverty/despair/wartorn country, pain and violence (later)

Note: The events in this fic will take place before, during, and after Age of Ultron…Beta’d by my girl @like-a-bag-of-potatoes

Tags: @amarvelouswritings​ @cocosierra94​ @essie1876​  @magpiegirl80​ @letsgetfuckingsuperwholocked​ @harleyquinnandscarletwitch @iamwarrenspeace @marvel-imagines-yes-please @superwholocked527​ @myparadise1982sand @missinstantgratification​ @thejulesworld​ @rda1989​ @marvelloushamilton @munlis​  @thefridgeismybestie​  @bubblyanarocks3​ @random-fluffy-pink-unicorn​ @hardcollectiontrashworld @igiveupicantthinkofausername​ @kaliforniacoastalteens​​ ​

Unusual Upbringing: @ultrarebelheart @feelmyroarrrr @punkdoor @mrs-lancelot

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

A few weeks later, and a few very painful experiments later, you still weren’t capable of any powers. Every day, Pietro was your light. He almost lulled you, reminding you that you were his river and to come back to him. Whether it was pain or you reclusing into yourself, it worked, always. You knew Pietro needed you too.

Dr. List and two orderlies came into your cell.

“Good morning, Y/N,” he greeted. “Any new developments?”

“None that I can tell,” you admitted honestly.

He tsked. “That's too bad. You see because you’re the last survivor other than the twins. The other volunteers just couldn’t take it. The twins have done beautifully. So far though...you’re just...holding on.”

“I’m sorry,” you tried. “I’m trying. I don’t know what’s wrong. I want to help,” you said, trying to keep the desperation from your voice.

“We know you do. But at this point, you haven’t evolved, and you haven’t died...you’re just...useless. Despite the fact that we’ve given you every opportunity to show your powers.”

“No, no, please, I may just need more time,” you begged as you shifted on the small bed.

“Time is something we don’t have, Y/N,” he informed. “Grab him,” he instructed to the orderlies, his eyes never leaving yours.

“What are you doing?” you demanded as your eyes followed them into Pietro’s cell. Pietro stood in the corner.

“You’re going to show us that you can do something, or we’ll make sure your boyfriend feels the pain of your failure,” Dr. List vowed.

“What? No! No! I don’t have any powers! Please!” you begged as you got on your knees, panic and dread ripping through you harder than any experiment ever had.

“It’s okay, Y/N, they can’t catch me,” he said as he ran around the room, nearly too fast for you to see.

“That's not wise, Mr. Maximoff,” Dr. List cautioned. “If you evade us, I will put a bullet in your sister’s head. Now, is everyone clear?”

“She could stop you,” Pietro challenged.

“Do you really want to risk it?” Dr. List questioned.

At that Pietro stood still, his arms out to his side, his face defiant. “Do your worst.”

“No! Pietro! No!” you screamed as they started to beat him with clubs and he fell to his knees, his face remaining the same. Your stomach twisted in dread and fear. You thought you would be sick.

“You could stop this, Y/N, all you have to do is unleash your power,” Dr. List said.

“No, I don’t have any power. Kill me. Just kill me. Don’t hurt him. Please!”

The beatings continued and you felt another rage boil inside you. A new, white hot ember was growing bigger every second. Every sickening blow that came to your beloved sent a new wave of fury through you. You couldn’t take the sight of it any more. You stood up, ready to fight something, ready to hit something.

“Stop it!” you screamed again. “Please! I’ll do anything!”

“Show me!” Dr. List commanded in a shout as the beatings continued. They kicked and beat him with the clubs mercilessly, blood coming out and bruises forming.

“I...said...STOP!” you screamed as fire and ice flew from either hand and you were suddenly in front of Pietro. You were in his cell and the two orderlies had stopped hitting him, as they looked on to you with fear in their eyes.

The rage within you was still white hot so you threw your right hand out and fire flew from your hand as it pushed the orderly back, screaming as the flame hit his arms and face. You turned your attention to the other orderly and you threw ice shards at him so hard and fast they were cutting his body.

A slow clap formed from behind you.

“Well done, Y/N, I knew you had it in you.”

You turned and glowered at the doctor.

“Teleportation, fire and ice conjuration and manipulation. Very nice indeed.” He eyed you as you breathed heavily. “Today is graduation. The three of you are free to come to your new facility. Welcome to HYDRA.”

He turned on his heel as the guards eased their way around you to get out of the cell. You dropped to your knees and held his bloody, bruised, and swollen face in your hands. A tear fell from your stinging eyes.

“I am so sorry I couldn’t get to you sooner. I had no idea--”

“Shh, my flower, we are together now, no?” he eased as he reached up to lightly touch your face.

You nodded with a smile and you hugged him close, tears spilling over your cheeks, reveling in the feeling of his touch. You hadn’t felt the sensation in so long, you welcomed it gladly with open arms.

----------------------------

Dr. List had apologized for the treatment that the three of you recieved, but now, they believed the experiments were done and you just needed to be trained on how to use your newfound powers, all of you. Pietro was given utmost care as soon as they let you out of the cell. The three of you shared a new large bunking area in the compound. A medium sized one room bedroom with three beds and two desks.

Dr. List and Strucker both apologized profusely for the measures that were taken to get you to unleash your powers. You wanted to be angry, but now, now the three of you stood a chance against the powers in Sokovia and the Avengers. You were weapons. And you had them to thank for that. In war, sometimes sacrifices and tough decisions had to be made, and this was one of them.

They worked with the three of you every day, each of you building and expanding on your power in a new fashion. Wanda’s power was becoming stronger, more visible. She was able to manipulate Hydra agents to do what she wanted. She could see inside their minds.

Pietro was fast. Very fast. At one point you tested your teleportation against his speed, and he was still faster.

As one could imagine, looking past the pain of the experiments and the traumatic start of your powers, it was actually fun. You three had felt powerless for so long, no matter how hard you fought or how loud you raised your voices. Now...now you three were a force not to be reckoned with.

All of the Hydra agents feared the three of you, no one dared cross you now, but these were your brethren. You didn’t want to cause harm to the Hydra agents. For the most part they had treated you well, and they were the first thing to ever promise you compensation for the loss of your family.

Some days, after the official practice was over, the three of you stayed in the room to practice some more. To goof off. To blow off steam. To feel some semblance of normal.

You formed ice balls as Wanda formed magic around them and threw them against the wall. You raced Pietro as you teleported and he ran. Many times he would pick you up bridal style, give you a quick peck, and raced around the room. You and Wanda even dueled each other. Seeing if your fire and ice were greater than her magic skills. Most of the time it ended up being a tie. You teleported around the room to see if Pietro could judge where you would be going. If he caught you, his reward was a kiss.

Every night you could, you lied with Pietro in his bed, needing to feel his touch. The steady sound of his breathing one of your only comforts. His heartbeat was insane now, it sounded like a hummingbird’s. His hair had finally turned all blonde. To be honest, you liked it more now. It seemed to fit him better.

“I’m sorry for everything you’ve been through,” he said quietly as you laid in his arms one night, just staring at the wall.

“You’ve been through the same things,” you said with defense.

He shook his head. “Not like you, Princess.” He kissed your head. “I am so proud of you. You remained a river, and you came home to me. I’m so proud of you.” He held you closer. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” you admitted. “Thank you for keeping me...well, grounded.”

“My flower, I will always, always be your light,” he cooed softly into your ear. You smiled and rolled to face him to place a chaste kiss on his lips. He was right. He would always be the light to your darkness. The thing to guide you home to him.

You laid in his arms every night, often waking with nightmares of typical things: war, loss, pain, hunger...He always soothed you, patiently, lovingly, to sleep. Another wonderful thing about Pietro was he never saw you or your problems as a burden, something he didn’t want to deal with, because he was dealing with his own baggage and darkness as well. You all were.

[kamen-rider-zed]

Do You Believe in Miracles? Chapter 4

I’d like to first of all apologize for how long it’s taken to get this chapter published. Lots of irl crap happening to me in the last 7 months. I’d also like to give a big thanks to @ageisia​ for beta reading this and helping me get this fic out of hiatus.

Last of all, I’d like to thank tumblr for being so janky as to require some BS workaround just to get my work to appear in tag searches. So yeah, thanks tumblr you pile of utmost garbage.

AO3 FF

Chapter 4: Long Live the Queen

“Chloé, do you have an explanation for where you were during the evacuation?” Miss Bustier demanded the moment the girl in question stepped back into the classroom. “And for the first–” she looked at her watch “–twenty minutes of class?”

“I told you before I stepped outside,” Chloé mumbled, ignoring the eyes on her as she made her way to her desk. “Restroom.”

“Well,” Miss Bustier planted her fists on her hips, “you should know that when the fire alarm goes off, evacuation takes priority over powdering your nose.”

“There wasn't a fire.” She sat in her seat, rolling her shoulders again, and dug her tablet from her bag. “Some kid from another class pulled the alarm. Probably another one of Kim's stupid dares.”

“I-I had nothing to do with it!” Kim jumped from his seat and waved his hands. “I only make dares with Alix! A-and nothing reckless like pulling a fire alarm!”

“I realize that Kim, and thank you.” Miss Bustier turned her gaze back to the front row. “Now, Chloé, I can't just overlook something like thi–”

“Su-su-success!” The entire class turned to the door only to see Alya leaned against the frame, panting. She coughed and took a deep breath, then held her phone aloft, a wide grin upon her face. “F-first footage of the *pant* t- the new hero!”

“You alright Alya?” Nino asked.

“Pe-pedaled fast as I could to get back in t-time for class.” She swallowed and gasped. “G-g-gonna die now.” She fell over, thankfully towards Nino, who jumped from his seat to catch her.

“Friggin drama queen,” Chloé muttered with none of her usual fire. Why wouldn't Alya be excited to interview a new hero? Especially if said hero was Paris' beloved Chloé Bourgeois? Not that anyone would ever know that if Ladybug had her way. Maybe once all this was over and Hawkmoth was behind bars.

“Alya, what did I tell you about chasing after Akumas?” Miss Bustier bellowed.

“Uh,” Alya coughed and offered the teacher a sheepish smile. “D-don't?”

She nodded. “And that's why you'll be joining Chloé in detention. Now–”

“Wait, what?” Chloé jumped to her feet and slammed her hands on her desk. “I walk in a few minutes late because I had to use the restroom and you're giving me detention? I’ll have you know that when Daddy…” She stopped. Miss Bustier gave her a knowing look and Chloé remembered her father was no longer in her corner. “Well...at least I didn't leave the building!”

“It's not just tardiness, Chloé. It's tardiness during a fire evacuation.”

“Uh, what's this about detention?” Adrien now stood in the doorway, looking from an angry Miss Bustier down to Alya who still hadn't recovered from her exhaustion enough to acknowledge her punishment, to Chloé whose fingernails were digging into the wooden desktop. “Am I too late?”

“Miss Sancouer forwarded your photoshoot schedule to me earlier, Adrien. You're excused.”

“Oh, okay,” he shrugged. “I'll just–”

“Sorry! Sorry I'm late, I–” came a cry from behind Adrien. He turned only for a blur of pink and gray to slam into his chest and knock him backwards. He landed hard on his back and his assailant landed with her face squished against his chest and her legs on either side of him. Marinette shook her head and pushed herself up. When she realized just who she had attacked, and who she was currently straddling, all the blood in her body teleported to her face and she scrambled away from him with a shrill whine.

“S-sorry! I mean'nt did I mean didn't mean to Tadrien, uh, t-tackle Adrien I'm so sorry!”

“So if I get detention for coming in late,” Chloé started, “does that mean Marinette gets two detentions for coming in late and assaulting my Adrikins?”

“I'll dispense the discipline, Chloé,” Miss Bustier scolded. “Marinette will receive detention along with you and Alya, but only one since it seems Marinette's, er, clumsiness just got the better of her.” She turned to see Adrien standing and offering Marinette his hand. She shakily accepted it with a wide grin and he pulled her to her feet. “See? No harm done.”

'No harm done. Who does she think she is? Maritrash could have ruined Adrien's million euro face and Miss Bustier would let her off with a slap on the wrist. At least she still gets detention. And maybe someday I'll get to rub being a superhero in her stupid little face.'

(#)

Chloé should have been working on the essay. It was due in two days and she hadn't even started. Yes, she had taken some half-hearted notes, read (more like skimmed) a few articles, and was still waiting for Sabrina's assistance. And being in detention with Alya and Marinette should have been the perfect time to catch up on her work.

Unfortunately, she was too focused on the phone she had hidden under the desk.

Fred Haprele was in charge of watching them for the next hour, but had been called away for some irrelevant reason, so Chloé took this opportunity to, shall we say, catch up on current events. Her eyes sparkled as she reviewed Alya's footage of the Akuma fight. Shaky as it was, it still captivated her. Alya had focused entirely on Queen Bee from the moment Shockra blasted her in the chest. From flying away with her and Emelie to protecting them from the lightning clones, Chloé couldn't tear her eyes away. That was her. She was Queen Bee. She was a hero.

“Thought you weren't much of a Queen Bee fan.”

Chloé turned to look over her shoulder and caught Alya smirking at her. “I never said that,” Chloé whispered. “She can't hold a candle to Ladybug, but I have to admit.” She smiled back down at her phone. “Queen Bee has style.”

“She is so cool!” Alya giggled. “I mean, it's obvious she's new to this, but her powers are awesome! She can fly, she has that wicked sword, she summons these drones that follow...”

“Alya,” Marinette interrupted, placing her hand on her friend's shoulder. “Maybe you should save gushing about the new hero until after detention.”

“Yeah,” Chloé remarked before she realized she had actually agreed with Marinette. “Don't want to get held up any longer than you have to. You're already gonna be late to your interview with Queen Bee.”

“Yeah I guess you're...wait...how did you know about the interview?”

Chloé tensed slightly in her seat. That's right. She wasn't supposed to know about that. By some great fortune, the video on her phone had just showed footage of Queen Bee setting the time and place for Alya's exclusive interview. She held up her phone and said, “Y-you just mentioned it. See?”

Alya nodded and smiled, accepting the small lie which wasn't entirely a lie. She opened her mouth to say something else, but Mr. Haprele chose that moment to poke his head back into the classroom and check on them. Luckily, Chloé's phone zipped back under her desk before he could see it. She pretended to dig something from her bag, and Mr. Haprele seemed content with the student's behavior. When he left, Chloé dropped the book she'd lifted from her bag and turned her eyes back to her phone.

'Essay.'

'Oh, please. There's plenty of time to get it done.'

'Essay.'

'Sabrina promised she'd help. I don't want to do all of the work only for her to finally pull through when I've done everything.'

'...essay.'

'Okay, why does my mind keep going back to that?'

A squirming in her purse gave her the answer she sought.

‘...lets me get inside you…’

Vii.

The voice in her mind constantly reminding her of the essay, the voice that had tried to convince her to leave the school without Alya, the voice that had told her to protect Emelie rather than help Ladybug. Chloé's fingers curled around her phone, her nails scraping into its case. How dare that little insect mess with her mind like that? What was she trying to pull? Vii fidgeted a bit too much in Chloé's bag and the girl slapped it. Chloé was a queen, and that meant that Vii needed to learn her place.

About twenty minutes later, Mr. Haprèle dismissed the trio from detention early, claiming some emergency with Mylène. Chloé smiled at her fortune as she gathered her bag and dashed from the room before Marinette and Alya could even rise from their seats. She didn't have time to dawdle. She had to get to Notre Dame before Alya. If she arrived late, Alya might get suspicious. Just outside the classroom, Chloé came upon Sabrina sitting on the top steps, her eyes focused lazily on her phone.

“What are you still doing here?” Chloé demanded.

Sabrina jumped at her friend's voice. “Oh, Chloé!” She stood and brushed off her shorts. “I needed to talk to you. It's...it's about the essay...”

“Not you too,” Chloé groaned. When Sabrina raised a brow, Chloé waved her off. “Never mind. Listen, just email me some references later. I'm busy.”

Sabrina shuffled on her feet, unable to meet Chloé's eye. “No, Chloé, about that...”

“Sabrina, I don't have time to work on this stupid essay right now. Honestly? It'd be a lot better if you just did it for me. Some...personal stuff came up that I need to take care of.” Sabrina opened her mouth to argue, but Chloé was already making her way down the stairs. “Just explain to your grandparents you owe a friend a favor. I'm sure they'll understand.”

Chloé smiled to herself as she stepped onto the sidewalk in front of Francois-Dupont. That's how it's done. That's how a queen manages her domain. Now, if only Vii could get with the program.

“That was rude, you know,” came a tiny voice from just behind her head, likely nested in her ponytail.

Speak of the devil...

“You don't know my relationship with Sabrina,” Chloé whispered. “She has no problems helping me out. In fact, she'd have even fewer problems with it if I told her I'm a superhero now.”

“You remember what Ladybug said: no one can know your identity.”

“I know, I know. But once I hand Hawkmoth his own butt, I'll tell her and she'll realize this was all worth it.” Chloé smiled wider. “She'll get the satisfaction of knowing she's been helping a superhero this whole time.”

“But right now, all she sees is her supposed friend abusing her and–”

“Listen here, Vii!” Chloé said a bit too loud. A few people turned to look at her, but she simply glanced down at her phone and put a finger to her ear, pretending to fidget with a Bluetooth earpiece. “I know what you've been doing in my head.”

“I...” Vii began slowly, “haven't...been doing any–”

“Save it!” Chloé hissed. “I keep hearing this voice in my head trying to tell me what to do and I know you have something to do with it! You said I was chosen to be a hero, so whoever chose me trusts my judgment. Just let me be a hero and stop trying to be my conscience!”

Not another sound came from behind her head while she searched for a suitable place to transform. However, for all her searching, she failed to notice an old man in a Hawaiian shirt standing just outside the school, hunched over his cane with sorrow stretching his features.

“Master, again I must protest,” came a small voice from just over his shoulder. “She is abusing Vii, mistreating her friends, and prioritizing her own fame above the city’s safety. I believe it was unwise to entrust her with the Bee Miraculous.”

“You cannot plant a garden in the evening and hope to eat at dawn. Besides,” Fu glanced back over his shoulder, “you know the nature of the Bee demands such a wielder.”

“But how can anything grow in her hardened heart?”

Fu remained silent for but a moment, then lowered his head and sighed. “There are two forces at war within her, Wayzz: a desire for love and a desire for security and safety. She craves the love she is denied due to her mother's absence and her father's neglect.”

“I’d hardly say the mayor neglects her,” Wayzz argued.

“Though he believes he is doing right by his daughter, enabling her behavior and placating her with material possessions are no substitutions for a father’s love,” Fu countered. “But however much she may desire to be loved, opening herself to that love would leave her exposed and vulnerable. Losing her mother, the person she loved above all others, was the greatest pain she has ever felt, and so she has shut herself off, made herself cold and cruel. She would rather be alone than face that pain again. However, misery loves company, as they say, so she inflicts the pain she feels on others, just to have something in common with someone else.”

Fu heard a set of slow footsteps descend the steps in front of Francois-Dupont and turned his head to see Sabrina with her head low and tears threatening the corners of her eyes. Her face brightened when her father pulled his police cruiser up to the sidewalk, but the sorrow never left her eyes.

“In Miss Raincomprix,” Fu continued, “Chloé has found a submissive soul who accepts the pain and still stands by her side. Though Chloé does not know it, she has opened her heart to the girl, and left a hole in her armor. If Sabrina were to ever abandon Chloé, it would shatter her.”

“You are only reinforcing my point, Master.” Wayzz floated up to glance at the red-haired girl climbing in the car. “If Chloé is so fragile and unstable, then how can we expect her to--”

“You asked how anything could grow in her hardened heart,” Fu interrupted. “Look beneath us, at the cobblestones in the sidewalk. Hard, cold stone. Yet in some places--” he gestured towards a tuft of weeds with his cane “--life has found a way. It grows through the cracks, through the weaknesses in the stone, and so for anything to grow within Miss Bourgeois, she must be like the stones beneath us. For her to become the hero she is destined to be…” His eyes followed a streak of gold flying off to the west, then turned and strode back towards his shop.

“...she must break.”

(#)

Queen Bee sat hidden between the columns and gargoyles perched atop Notre Dame, awaiting Alya’s arrival. She blew a puff of air between her lips and groaned, rolling some more kinks out of her neck. She knew she could fly fast, but she didn’t think she had this much of a head start. Vii was proving a poor conversational partner, not saying a word since Chloé snapped at her before transforming. Something inside her told her to apologize, but it was likely just that obnoxious voice Vii had planted in her mind. Bee wasn’t at fault. She knew what she was doing and just needed the opportunity to prove that, not only to Ladybug and Vii, but to the whole city.

A beeping from her stinger interrupted her thoughts, and upon pressing the button, saw the caller as a red circle with five red spots in it. Queen Bee answered and hummed, “Hello Ladybug! Is there another Akuma somewhere? Need my aerial expertise?”

“No Akumas, Bee,” came Ladybug’s calm yet stern voice. “It’s actually about your interview with Alya…”

“Oh, called to congratulate me on getting my first interview so soon?”

“I didn’t call to congratulate you.” Queen Bee’s face sank. “There’s a reason Chat and I wanted to arrange the interview for you. We wanted to brief you beforehand. We need to make sure you don’t give away any secrets or answer any telling questions; Alya’s quite the journalist and she’s been hounding us for our secrets for months.”

“I know, secret identities, don’t let any weaknesses slip, typical superhero stuff.”

“There’s more to it than that, Bee. We need to--”

A blip of red hair on a bicycle steadily growing in the distance caught Queen Bee’s attention and she grinned. “Got to go, Ladybug. The Ladyblogger’s here.”

“Wait, Bee, we need--”

“Don’t worry so much, Ladybug,” Queen Bee interrupted, each of her words clipping short Ladybug’s protests. “You and Vii just need to trust me. I know what I’m doing.” Her thumb found the button on her stinger and severed their connection.

At almost twenty minutes past 5, Alya rolled up on her bike and glanced around. A small crowd had already formed before the towering face of Notre Dame, many of them with cameras trained on the skies. Bee smiled, knowing every one of them had seen the livestream from early that morning. Everyone was here for her. When Alya swung a leg off her bike and dug her phone from her bag, Queen Bee threw out her wings and gently glided over to her.

“Running late, are we?” Queen Bee asked once she was within earshot, floating above Alya with her arms crossed and a smug grin on her face.

Alya turned her eyes from her phone to the voice that came from above her. “Uh, y-yeah!” She stuttered with her phone already focused on the floating heroine. “Got stuck in detention for sneaking out of class to stream the attack this morning.”

“Detention? Why should you be punished for what you do?” Bee shrugged. “Who else will get such up close coverage of Akuma attacks? Most news crews are too afraid, or the news networks won't allow any--” she threw up air quotes “--’unnecessary damage’ to their equipment.”

Alya smiled even wider. “Thank you! Finally someone gets it!”

Queen Bee descended into a lightning storm of camera flashes and glanced about her. “Care to go someplace a little quieter? After all…” She extended her hand to Alya. “Isn’t this supposed to be an ‘exclusive’ interview?”

The only way Alya could have looked more excited that she was in that moment would be if Ladybug had asked her that exact question. When she accepted Queen Bee’s hand, the heroine lifted her from the ground and flew her up into the northern bell tower, leaving behind a disappointed crowd.

When Alya’s sneakers touched the worn wooden planks inside the belltower, Bee released her hand and said, “Not exactly the most glamorous place for an interview. But then again, any locale would appear dingy and grungy when compared to me.”

“It’s quiet and secluded; that’s all I care about,” Alya said as she fiddled with some of the settings on her phone. “So how do you want to do this? Record and edit, or livestream?”

“Darling, I know how to handle myself in front of a camera,” Queen Bee bragged. “I only need one take.”

“Livestream it is!” She tapped another button and held up her phone. “Goooood Evening, Paris! Alya Cesaire coming to you live from the belltowers of Notre Dame with a Ladyblog exclusive! Hate to disappoint the die-hard Ladybug fans out there, but today we have an interview with a whole new breed of bug. Paris, say hello to Queen Bee!” Bee tilted her nose up and settled her hands on her hips.

“So, Queenie, tell us: when did you get your powers?”

“Would you believe yesterday? And I’ve already faced my first Akuma. Impressive, no?”

“Yeah it was! For those who missed the livestream this morning, first of all, shame on you, second, Queen Bee protected me and another civilian from an electrifying Akuma tearing up the 8th arrondissement.”

“Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to help Ladybug like I wanted, so she had to contend with the Akuma by herself.”

Alya opened her mouth to respond, but instead quirked up her brow. “Wait, wasn’t?...no...Chat was there. I know he was.”

“Of course he was,” Queen Bee scoffed with a dismissive wave. “Getting in the way, as usual. Next question.”

Alya’s mouth popped open and closed, like a fish out of water, but she refocused her mind and figured it was best to keep Bee talking about herself so she couldn’t insult her teammates. “Okay, um...w-what can you tell us about your powers?”

Queen Bee smiled wider. Now, this was her opportunity to show off. “I’m sure you caught most of it this morning. My electric stinger-” she gestured to the hilt on her hip “-my drones, and Vii tells me I’m the fastest among all of the Miraculous heroes.”

“All of the Miraculous heroes?” Alya shrieked, causing Bee to jump back a little. A great smile bloomed on the journalist’s face. “Th-there’s more? How many? A-are they all animals? What are their powers? Who’s Vii”

Queen Bee cleared her throat. “I-I...don’t know the answers most of those questions, but if you must know, Vii is my kwammmmm…” She blinked. “Mmmmmmmmmm!” She grunted and groaned, bringing her hands to her mouth when her lips refused to part.

^You can’t let people know about me!^

‘Oh, so this is your doing!’ Queen Bee screamed in her mind.

^This is exactly what Ladybug was talking about! You let my existence slip and now that girl’s curious!^

‘Okay okay, fine, I won’t blab! Just give me my mouth back!’

Queen Bee’s lips popped apart and she drew in a deep breath. Alya looked on in wonder and shock, unsure of what just happened. Bee gave an awkward grin and said, “Uh, it seems m-my powers prevent me from giving away too many secrets. S-sorry.”

“Sooo…” Alya purred with a fox-like grin, “if I were to ask you for Ladybug and Chat Noir’s identities…”

“I’d say ‘nice try’,” Bee smirked. “Besides, it’s not like we know each other’s identities anyway…”

“Wait,” Alya leaned forward, “you don’t know each other’s identities?”

“Unfortunately no, even though Ladybug and I would be the bestest of besties if she knew who I was.” Bee pouted and crossed her arms. “I think she’s just paranoid because of the number of times Chat’s been brainwashed, useless cat.”

“Uh,” Alya looked down to her phone, still streaming with several thousand viewers tuning in. Well, Bee said she wanted to do this live… “Would, uh, would you mind sharing what you have against Chat Noir?”

“Please, you’re at every fight and even you can’t see how much he gets in Ladybug’s way?” Bee rolled her eyes and strolled closer to an opening in the tower. She peered down and smiled at the explosion of camera flashes, twinkling like earthbound stars. “He’s a show off. He doesn’t take his duties as a hero seriously, he puns every chance he gets, and flirting with Ladybug just distracts her from her job. That’s clearly why I was given a Miraculous; Ladybug needs help and the alley cat’s not cutting it.”

“You know she’d disagree with you.”

“Of course she would, but only because she doesn’t know any better.”

Alya raised a brow. “And you think you can do better?”

Queen Bee whirled around and fixed Alya with a frightening glare. “Oh, I know I can do better than that mangy feline. I just need a chance to prove it.”

Alya sat in stunned silence for a few seconds while Bee impatiently tapped her foot. That couldn’t be it. Usually the Alya had piles of questions, but this? This was a sorry excuse for a debut interview.  Her stinger beeped once again and only served to further ruin her mood. “Hold on, Miss Ladyblogger, I need to take this.” She pressed the button and when her antennae swung in front of her face, she smirked a little when Alya lifted her phone again and muttered, ‘so cool’ under her breath.

“Hey, Ladybug. Listen, I’m in the middle of--”

“Akuma, just west of the Louvre.”

Queen Bee’s face and mood immediately  brightened. “On my way!” Another button press and she turned back to Alya. “Duty calls. Rain check on the rest of the interview?” She threw out her wings, buzzed them to life, and flew towards the nearest window, oblivious to Alya yelling behind her about how she was supposed to get down from the tower.

(#)

The setting sun in her eyes, Queen Bee settled down on a rooftop just west of the museum barely a minute later. She glanced around, but only took in silence and calm. No screams, no sounds of destruction, no wicked laughter. She began to wonder just what kind of Akuma this could be when Ladybug stepped from behind a chimney with her arms crossed and eyes locked on Bee. Chat followed her close, his hands on his hips, but his eyes off to the side, focusing on nothing.

“So, where’s the Akuma?” Queen Bee asked, likely a little too giddy to be fighting a supervillain.

Ladybug turned her eyes to the roof beneath them and sighed. “There’s...no Akuma. I...I was watching the interview and I...lied to get you away from Alya.”

Shock spiked through Bee’s heart and her mouth dropped open. Her hero...the one person in Paris she knew, knew, could do no wrong, had...lied to her?

“I’m sorry. But again, there’s a reason we wanted to talk about the interview first. We’re lucky Vii managed to stop you from mentioning what a kwami is, but everything else…”

“H-hey!” Queen Bee shouted defensively. “I didn’t give away any secrets! Yeah, I accidentally mentioned Vii’s name, but I didn’t--”

“You said we don’t know each other’s identities,” Chat finally spoke. “While it’s true…”

“What does it matter?” Bee scoffed. “What difference does it make, you stupid cat?”

Chat recoiled and Ladybug’s nails dug into her suit, her brow furrowing. She swallowed hard and said, “It matters because now Hawkmoth knows he can send an Akuma disguised as a civilian to one of us, claiming to be me or Chat or even you, and we won’t know the difference.” She lifted her eyes back up to Bee, and the striped heroine flinched at the level of anger within them. “Every secret we let slip, every detail about our powers gives Hawkmoth an advantage, and he already has the ultimate advantage in that we have no idea where he is! We’ve been playing defense for months and you just --” She squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lips, as though trying to hold back her words. She drew a breath in her nose and gently eased it out her mouth.

“We need to act more like a team,” Ladybug continued, her previous point dropped. “And that means listening to each other, respecting each other.” She looked back at her old partner, then forward to her new one, her look of anger gone, replaced by gentle intensity. “No more insulting each other.” Which Bee took to mean ‘no more insulting my partner.’ “The people can’t think there’s any friction between us. If people start doubting us, Hawkmoth has yet another advantage.” She held out her fist and managed a meek smile. “We’re equals in this, Bee. No one is better or worse than anyone else. Teammates, partners, not sidekicks.” Chat’s fist rose to join Ladybug’s and the pair looked expectantly at Queen Bee.

She sneered at the pair of gloved fists being held out to her. What did they mean ‘equals’? She was a Queen, and though Ladybug was a friggin Empress in her eyes, there was no way Bee would put herself on the same level as the stray. But...she needed to smooth things over with Ladybug, or her superhero career would become far too brief. Best to just play along for now, let Ladybug see the light in her own time. Queen Bee turned away and lightly bumped her fist against the others.

“There, see?” Chat said with a grin. “We’re all friends here. Now…” He spread his arms wide. “Comb over her and give us a hug!”

A groan and a giggle echoed into the evening.

(#)

Queen Bee landed back in her room just a few minutes after convincing Ladybug she’d be more ‘civil’ around Chat. Her transformation fell away and Chloé dropped into one of her chairs while Vii spiraled into a bowl of pretzels the hotel staff had refilled earlier that day. Chloé flicked through her phone, noticing zero texts from Sabrina about her progress on the essay and one text from Daddy about his disappointment that she got detention. She groaned and dropped her phone on the floor, pain burning in her shoulders from all the flying.

“I wouldn't have to be your conscience if you had one of your own.”

Chloé’s eyes snapped open and she glared hard at her kwami. “What did you say to me?”

Vii floated upwards and glared right back. “I said you don’t have a conscience. You hate Chat Noir for literally no reason, you shove all of your responsibilities on others while soaking in the glory, you mistreat your only friend--”

“I have plenty of friends!” Chloé snapped. “Everyone adores me!”

“--and I'm not entirely sure she wants anything to do with you anymore!”

“Sabrina loves me! We've been besties for years! And besides, if I was such a terrible person, like you claim, then why did this ‘Guardian'--” she mocked with air quotes “-- pick me to be a superhero?”

Vii crossed her arms. “You know, I'm beginning to wonder if Fu hasn't made a mistake this time. I'm beginning to wonder if maybe I should take the comb back to him. You're proving to be more of a pain than any of my other wielders.” She grumbled to herself, “Even Arista wasn't this bad and she...” Vii paused when she noticed Chloé holding out the comb, her hair down and an expectant look on her face.

“Well? Aren't you going to take it?” Vii froze. Her hesitation enticed Chloé, and a smirk tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Go ahead. Take it.” She waited a few more seconds, but when Vii didn’t move, she said, “Except...you can't, can you? If you could, you would have by now.” Vii turned away and Chloé cackled in victory. “It has to be me, doesn’t it? No one else can be the Bee! It’s destiny or fate or whatever, but it has to be me!”

She secured the comb back in her hair and stood, making her way to her closet to change into her pajamas, even though it was barely seven in the evening. “Tomorrow starts a new day for us, Vii. As soon as school is out, you’re giving me all the juicy details about my powers.”

The fluff around Vii’s neck stood on end and she zipped into Chloé’s face, pressing their foreheads together. “What did I tell you about bossing me arou--”

“Back off!” Chloé shouted, cutting Vii off. She smirked and added, “That’s an order.”

Vii trembled as she held her position, but soon backed away, her eyes filled with rage. Chloé strode forward, grinning wider when Vii moved out of her way. “You’re finally in your place, little bug.” Her hand moved towards a hanger bearing red silk coated in black spots, but she paused, and moved towards a pair of black silken pants and a yellow tank top. “It’s good to be the Queen.”

While Chloé changed and settled in her bed to flit around on her phone with some mindless time-waster of a game, ignoring every thought about the essay that crossed her mind, Vii looked down at her charge. Her chosen. Her...master. She sighed and whispered, “I wish they didn’t have to be this way.”

[templarhalo]

Endryd Harr: The Riven Hound Chapter 5

This is long overdue,  but I hope it was worth the wait.   This fic will probably be done by the end of the year. along with my over fic, The Master of the Mankind’s  Return

Anway, enjoy comment, feel free to message me!

The halls of the Dauntless Class Light Cruiser Hyacinth were a hunting ground.

The ship belonged to the 239th Company of the Emperor’s Children.  They had been tasked by their beloved primarch to hunt down and destroy the Shattered Legions.  Unfortunately for them, the Hyacinth suffered from a warp drive failure and had to drop back into real space for repairs.  

And by the grace of the Emperor they were in the range of the Cicatrices’ Tyrannis’ guns.  

The Hyacinth's engines were crippled by lance fire.  Caestus Assault Rams had embedded themselves in its hull like maggots.

The 239th Company had believed themselves to be hunters.

But now the truth had been revealed, they were not the hunter.

They were the prey.

The Blade of the Hearth was wedged deep in the Emperor’s Children’s throat.  The Mark IV Power Armor clad figure made a gasping sound

With a grunt of effort Vesta removed her blade from the dead Space Marine.

The Emperor's Children’s throat was scorched black by the blade’s power field.  The Blade of the Hearth was a magnificent sword; capable of parting armor and flesh with ease   Vesta shook liquid ceramite off the blade.  It sizzled to the deck.

She turned and watched Haar destroy the upper torso of the Hyacinth's Captain;   The IIIrd’s legionnaire’s Charnabal Saber was buried deep inside his torso.

Boian, Kal Jakar, and the Marauder Squad that had teleported in with   them carved into the remaining Emperor’s Children.  She was briefly reminded of the eagles and wolves her mother used when she went hunting.

Hunting dogs indeed, Vesta thought as the Blackshields slaughtered the remaining Emperor’s children.   

Endryd Haar pulled the Charnabal Saber out of his chest with a wet shulk sound.

That was sloppy, he thought.  Even with the Emperor’s Children’s swifter weapon Haar should have been able to dodge or block the blade.

I can’t be getting slower.  Haar thought.  There was no he could.  

He buried the thought.  Blocked out his realization.  To even consider it would be madness.

But he could still hear it in his ears.  He always heard it.  It never left him, even in his dreams or when he had lain on the surgical slab or the back of a Mastodon with his guts spilling everywhere.

He always heard thunder.

“Are we moving on Endryd?”  Vesta asked.

“Yes.”  Haar grunted.

He heard Boian and Kal bickering again, but he couldn't hear them.

All he heard was thunder.

Vesta let out a brief sigh as she bisected an IIIrd’s legionnaire’s skull

She didn't know Endryd Haar very well, but she something was bothering him.  While Vesta and the Blackshields slaughtered traitors Space Marines with vengeful glee Haar killed with a troubled expression.

She made a note to ask him about it later.  Right now her biggest priority was finding another third legionnaire to kill.

An hour later, they were on the Tyrannis’ bridge observing the looting of fuel and supplies from the captured ship.  The Hyacinth was a fine catch.  Not only did they gain the salvage in Power Armor and Wargear from the Emperor’s Children, but they could strip the ship to its keel for resources.  Another prize, although one Harr did not expect or care for was a hold full of prisoners.  Most were civilians, but they were a few Imperial Army soldiers and Administratum personal as well.  Many of them had agreed to serve as crew members and bondsman, while others wished simply for safety from the IIIrd’s legion and wanted to get as far away from the traitors as possible.  Some of them feared the Blackshields just as much as they did the Emperor’s Children.

Vesta was disappointed none of those that they had liberated had been from her homeworld.  Still it was good to sate her desire for vengeance while saving lives.

“How long will it take to salvage the ship?”  Vesta asked.  

“Another four hours minimum, “Ella said.  Vesta could tell the Captain was on edge, and truth be told, she was too, the Tyrannis would be vulnerable as the Blackshields stripped the captured destroyer down to its keel.

Vesta sighed, Haar’s well-hidden unease aside, things were looking up.

And that’s when things went terribly wrong for her.  At least for a while, then it went terribly wrong for the traitors, but we’ll get to that later dear reader.

“My Lord, I’ve got something on the sensors- “the bridge crew member

“Spit it out boy” Boian said

“I think it’s a ship.” the mortal crewman said  

It was a ship.  Another Dauntless Class Cruiser bearing the colors of the traitorous Emperor's Children

She came in fast and hard, her torpedo’s striking the Tyrannis’s prow.  She raked the Tyrannis flank with lances, macrocannon shells and boarding torpedoes.

“Seven Hells!”  Ella cursed.

“I see we’ve been boarded.”  Kal Jakar said, placing his helm on

Harr growled like a bear “ Chaplain rally  the fangs, and cannon fodder  Boian, find Karnathus and ready a counter boarding party  I won’t be losing my ship today .

“You mean my ship.”  Ella said

“Our ship, our home, and our vessel of vengeance whatever you want to call it.”  Haar snarled as he drew his pistol

“Stay by my side little heiress, I’m not letting those fracking peacocks storm my bridge without losing their shriveled up excuses for cocks.”  Haar growled.

“Oh Master of Mankind, please let us be boarded by Word Bearers next time.”  Kal Jakar said with a sigh as he and Boian sprinted out of the bridge

“Oh Master of Mankind don’t have us be boarded again.”  Ella snapped back as she gunned her chainsword.

The bitter humor disappeared as the flash of teleportation filled the bridge.

An Apothecary of the Emperor’s Children flanked by two Phoenix Guard Terminators and five Palatine Blades appeared.

Haar cursed.  He knew this Apothecary.

‘Endryd Haar!  You have something that belongs to me.  Return my property or everyone on this ship will die a painful death.”  Fabius Bile said in an oddly polite tone.

Bile’s “Property” snarled like a she-wolf and made her opinion known with a digi-melta and her Volkite serpenta.  Both the Phoenix guards crumpled, their torsos incinerated and blackened.

One of the Palatine Blade’s drew a bolt pistol.

‘No, you lout, I need the girl alive!”  Bile snapped as he drew his drew his needle pistol.

The five Astartes unsheathed their swords and moved to circle the Blackshield, only for one of their number to suddenly scream as a Plasma Pistol melted half his face off, his handsome features flaking away from the compressed fury of a sun.  A second bolt ended his misery Haar smiled

“Get the frack off my ship.”  Ella snarled.

Haar admired the flag captain’s defiance, but she was more useful to him alive than dead.  He raised his own pistol but barely had time to get a shot off before they Emperor’s Children encircled him.  Haar shattered the torso of one Palatine Blade, only to receive a blade through his back and a sword through his front.  The first blade had pierced his primary heart, the that had plunged through is back was only inches away from his secondary heart  Haar snarled, even if both those blades had pierced his hearts it would have taken more than that to kill him.

The third surviving Emperor’s Children raised his sword for a coup de grace only to lose his sword to the blade of the Hearth.  The Emperor’s Child yelled like a dog.  He went for his combat knife attached to his belt, only to have Ella’s chainsword dig itself into his face.

Haar brought his power fist down, shattering the two blades that had dug into his flesh.  He lunged forward and obliterated the upper body of the Palatine blade with a punch.  Haar than pivoted and blasted a hole in the torso of the final palatine blade.

Than a needle punched through his head.  He staggered his vision blurring, his lungs suddenly on fire and his body suddenly very heavy.  He watched ass Vesta saw him slump to the deck He watched another needle punch through her neck, watched as Fabius scooped up the unconscious girl.

The Thunder drowned out the curses of the flag captain as Fabius Bile teleported away with his prize.

Vesta awoke to her own screams.  A needle had been jammed into her arm, and withdrew quickly.  She was strapped to a table.  Her wrists and legs bound by thick leather straps that barely had any give in them.

“You know everyone finds a woman’s screams so annoying, but I take equal pleasure in a woman's screams as much as I do a man’s.”  Fabius Bile said.

“How egalitarian of you.”  Vesta said sullenly.

‘I would offer you a drink, but you are underage.”   

“Your legion betrayed the Emperor and slaughtered billions, yet you’re worried about law forbidding underage drinking?”  Vesta snarled incredulously.  She took a look around the chamber, at the abominations squirming in tubes filled with vile green liquid and the various medical implements and esoteric equipment

“Just because one breaks one oaths does not mean ones abandons common decency. “  The mad man said with a cultured chuckle.  “Just ask those Blackshields of yours.”

Vesta felt her choler rise than collapse.  The Fangs,   Flag-Captain Thyln, kind old Philone, They were all dead, and she was alone again.

“What do you want with me?”  She asked

Fabius stared at her with a twinkle in his eyes.

“Officially, you’re to be the first candidate in a new type of Gene-seed, another weapon in Horus’s arsenal for his temper tantrum.  But that would be such a waste of your genes.  You are young, strong, and believe it or not my dear I am actually starting to take a liking to you.  That’s something that cannot be said for most of my test subjects.”

“I have such plans for you Vesta Augustus.  Many centuries from now, your name will be praised as the mother of a new race of men.  “Fabius Bile said with a grin.

“That won’t be for five years my dear, but don’t worry I have plenty of tests to fill the time. “  Bile said.

He picked up a scalpel.

“Forgive my enthusiasm, Lady Augustus, but I feel a bit of boyish excitement coming over me.”

[sleepyfan-blog]

Plans and Decisions

Chapter two of Confession Time! Chapter one here. Also on AO3.

I would also like to thank @trashydragonartist7 for helping me edit this fic.

warnings: cursing, fighting, murder

word count: 5,465

Summary: Things are going well, until it all falls apart.

Dream woke slowly, yawning a little and stretching happily before he cuddled into his beloved, purring quietly as he turned his eye lights off again. The sun had just barely started to rise over the horizon, starting to paint the sky in a brilliant show of colors that Dream never got tired of. It was a little bit cloudy today, the positive spirit noted. There were some scattered, puffy bits of what looked like cotton in the sky, painted in bright pinks and yellows on one side, the other a dark shadow. Part of him wanted to wake Nighty up - but he knew that the other preferred to sleep in a little longer, rather than seeing the sun rise if he wasn't up on his own. Dream didn't mind accommodating for that.

They'd been playing Confession Time for years now, and it really did seem to be helping his beloved. While Nightmare would still come home to their tree distressingly covered in scrapes and bruises more often than he should, the other would more openly talk about what had happened to him, rather than brushing it off and saying that he'd just tripped and fallen onto a particularly pointed patch of rocks. Nightmare was also less resistant to Dream healing him and cuddling. Now, if only the positive spirit could come up with a way to stop the villagers from going after his beloved. Simply asking them to stop didn't work... Or it would work for a couple of days, a few weeks maybe, but not for longer than that.

It was getting to the point where Dream was strongly reminded of one of the reasons why the previous guardian of the Tree of Feelings had driven off everyone who had attempted to come within dozens of miles of the Tree - whether because they wanted the fruit or simply to stay close to both the tree and to the previous guardian. Not that he would demand something so drastic without running it by Nightmare first, and the two of them coming up with several plans to implement it... Which would likely start with them politely asking the villagers to leave and to never return... Dream didn't imagine that such things would end well - and it would be a lot more difficult for them to get the books that Nightmare enjoyed reading - but teleportation made such trips much faster than the walking or horse-back riding that the mortals had to do in order to travel long distances. They'd have to go disguised as the mortals wouldn't take kindly to their presence after kicking them out of their homes.

But mortals didn't live very long, and though it might be a tense and unsure for the handful of decades that it took for the current set of mortals to live and die, things might settle down for the both of them. And then Nightmare would be much safer. It might be a little lonely, especially at first, but Dream would rather bare a little bit of loneliness, than to see his beloved suffer like this almost every day.

Part of him wanted to get up and barter for a couple of those pastries the bakery that had recently opened up made - a sweet one for himself, and one of those savory cheese ones for Nightmare - who liked those sorts of things best, but Nightmare's arms were draped around his waist, and he didn't want to potentially wake the other up. That and as his mind drifted off to their last game of Confession Time last night...

"Confession time - I... I know that you mean well when you get up before me in the mornings and leave to get food for us or books, but I... It really distresses me when I wake up and I can't see or sense you in the immediate area. It worries me and sometimes I... I worry that you left me f-for good and I..." Nightmare's voice broke and Dream could feel sadness and pain in the other's aura. He could also hear the other sobbing quietly. "I... I d-don't l-like those a-awful worries. E-Even though you always c-come back I just... P-please don't leave me while I'm sleeping."

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't know that it upset you. I promise that I won't do that anymore." Dream responded, feeling guilty. He had noticed that the other would sometimes get unsettled or hug him closer, grumbling about not being able to sleep when he left... But he didn't realize that it upset the other so much to wake up alone. Determination filled the positive spirit, he would be the best mate that he could be for his other half.

"I... Th-Thank you so-so much, Starlight! I... I know that we just started this round but I... C-Can we take a break? I just want to h-hug you for awhile..." Nightmare asked, his voice shaking and aura still miserable and uncertain.

"Of course, Moonbeam. Whatever it is that you need or want." Dream answered earnestly as he made his way around the tree, hugging the other back tightly, purring quietly in order to help the other calm down a little bit faster, the two of them slowly sitting down and falling asleep.

Nightmare really didn't like it when he vanished while the other was asleep. So Dream was doing his best to stick to his promise to Nightmare. If there was some sort of emergency at the village and one of the mortals came seeking their (… Probably just Dream's) help, the positive spirit would gently wake his beloved up, explaining where it was he was going before leaving with the villager to attend to whatever issue it was, if it didn't require the attention of both of them. 

Dream yawned a little bit and nuzzled sleepily into his beloved, purring a little bit and resisting the temptation to press kisses to Nightmare's face, wanting to let the other rest for as long as he wanted to. It wasn’t as if they had anything pressing that they needed to do, after all. Their days were spent together beneath the tree of feelings, staying vigilant for any who would try to eat any of the apples, to either gain power or to constantly feel happiness? Or both? Not that anyone had tried, as long as either of the guardians remembered. Still, that didn't mean that they shouldn't try to keep an eye out.

As the previous guardian had been unexpectedly struck down after many years of peace as well, and the thought of seeing Nightmare die before him... Dream snuggled closer to his beloved, burying his face into one of the other's shoulders, taking in a couple of deep breaths and letting the breath out slowly so as to help himself calm down. There was no reason to think in such awful and worrying terms. They'd continue to spar regularly as they usually did, to keep their fighting skills sharp, and support and care for one another for the rest of their eternal existence.

Nightmare shifted a little in his sleep, and Dream smiled fondly at his beloved, purring softly as he gave into the temptation to press a light kiss to one of the other's cheeks, squeezing him just a little tighter in his embrace. The negative guardian shifted a little more, and looked at him with fuzzy eye lights. "Mnnh… Morning Dreamy..." He pressed a light kiss to Dream's teeth, purring a little as he stretched and happily cuddled into the other's warm embrace.

"Morning Nighty..." The positive spirit responded with a happy grin, nuzzling his beloved a little, quite content to stay close to his beloved for a while longer yet. He was a little hungry, but he did have something to eat in his inventory - not that he really needed to eat just yet.

"It's so early... But being woken by kisses is my favorite way to wake up." Nightmare mumbled sleepily, shifting in Dream's arms and yawning a little, quite content to be held for a while longer and slowly wake up.

"Sorry darling. I didn't mean to wake you up... I wouldn't mind if you went back to sleep." Dream responded quietly, a warm smile appearing on his face as he nuzzled into his beloved a little more. Sleepy Nightmare could be very endearingly cuddly.

"Hmm... That's tempting... but I'm hungry. Don't sleep well on an empty stomach..." The negative spirit mumbled, sitting up and sighing a little, waking up a little bit more, though still happy and content to stay in his other half's arms. He realized he was purring a little in response to Dream purring and nuzzled his beloved back, warm and happy and full of love and care.

"I've got a couple of those spider donuts left from yesterday, which should tide us over for a little while longer... I know that they're sweet, but..." Dream offered quietly, pulling them out of his inventory. One of them was jelly-filled. The other had a sweet cream that was really tasty.

"Hmm..." Nightmare looked at both of the donuts, sitting up a little bit more before grabbing the jelly-filled spider donut "I'll have this one. What do you want to eat this week? That stew that you made last week was really tasty... And those spider rolls were really good as well."

Dream hummed a little, thinking about the ingredients he'd need to barter for - and he'd work for them, rather than just accepting the free gifts - and he knew that the spider queen would let him use her kitchen in exchange for part of the food that he made and encouraging others to purchase food at her bakery - which were quite good, if a little on the pricey side. And both of them really enjoyed all of the baked goods that she made - though Nightlight, as ever, preferred the savory stuff over sweet. "I'll be gone most of the day, getting the stuff for it, is that okay? I'll come by every couple of hours, I promise."

Nightmare sighed, frowning a little and hugging him tightly. He didn't like it when Dream was gone for so long at the village. Part of him was terrified that his beloved would decide that the liked it better at the village, surrounded by his adoring and worshipful fans, rather than staying relatively isolated with him... But he also knew that Dream always, always came home to him. That his beloved loved him and him alone romantically, and the confession game did help to soothe some of those fears and worries that Dream might one day leave and never return. "Okay. I'll probably stay up in the tree for most of the day and hide from anyone who shows up... Unless someone tries to take an apple. If they do, I'll flare my magic."

"And I'll teleport directly here in order to help you if that happens. After lunch, do you want to spar for a bit? If I've finished bartering with the villagers by then, of course." Dream asked, not particularly wanting to leave. They did need food, though - and there was only so much they could forage from the forest around them. They did have a small garden for food, but the both of them saved most of the food that they got from the garden for the winter time, when it was more difficult to get or barter for food.

"Hmm, okay." Nightmare wished that he could help Dream barter for food - but the negative spirit was also painfully aware of the fact that every time he tried... He got chased out of the village, the mortals harsh words and fists - or rocks and magical attacks - injuring him as he tried to dodge their attacks. It never ended well, and it wasn't worth the trouble - especially as Dream kept close to him and sent the mortals away - which made them even more angry at him for daring to keep Dream from them. The fact that the other kept away due to their own actions went completely over their heads. "That sounds like fun." He smiles gently at his beloved, pressing another kiss to his teeth.

Dream nodded and snuggled into Nightmare for a couple of moments before sighing quietly and forcing himself to get up onto his feet, letting go of his beloved. Dream pressed a fond kiss to his beloved’s teeth, promising quietly, “I’ll be back as soon as I can manage - even if I have more things to do, I’ll definitely be here around midday and have lunch with you, okay?”

Nightmare nodded with a small sigh, cuddling his beloved back and answering “Very well, darling. I hope that acquiring food goes well. I still have several books from the library that you borrowed for me to keep me entertained. I’ll probably be sitting in the branches to read, so that the villagers if they come by, can’t get to me as easily.”

The positive spirit nodded, smiling fondly at his beloved, love in his heart and immediately teleporting to the edge of town - knowing that the mortals found it a little bit startling when either one of them suddenly just appeared in the middle of the town square unless prompted to be there.

~

Dream hummed quietly, smiling to himself a little as he walked back to the tree - he glanced up at the sky, frowning a little. A dark thunderhead had rolled in towards the middle of the day along with the strong winds that had just recently died down. He shivered a little bit as he walked a little bit faster - knowing that he and Nightmare would need to seek shelter beneath Dream’s cape as they huddled beneath the tree of feelings, just in case someone tried to steal an apple in such awful weather. He froze for a moment when he heard shouting and an awful commotion - staring in horror as he saw the tree dead and shriveled, the apples all dark. There was a lone, small figure close to the tree and a quickly approaching mob of villagers.

The positive spirit immediately teleported to the base of the tree, grabbing the nearest dark apple, it turning into a familiar gold. Nightmare was clutching one of the dark apples, tears streaming down his face and stuttering out, “I… I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I-I didn’t think that… I didn’t know that…” Whatever else Nightmare had been trying to say was lost as a flash of lightning and a loud rumble of thunder drowned it out.

Dream rushed over to his other half, hugging him close with his free hand. He had absolutely no idea what was going on, but he was pretty sure that it wasn’t actually Nightmare’s fault. “I… Shh… It’s okay. We’ll figure out what happened to the tree and the apples together. I can… I can apparently turn the dark apples light.” He shivered a little as rain and hail began to hit the both of them - and the approaching mob of villagers.

Nightmare sobbed harder and ran closer to the tree as the villagers approached, one of them - a tall and broad-shouldered wolf-monster whose name escaped Dream at the moment. “It’s that demon’s fault! He’s corrupted the tree! We need to kill him to make sure that he doesn’t do more harm!” To punctuate his words, another rumble of thunder echoed across the valley, causing Dream to tense up almost as much as the villager’s hateful words had.

The positive spirit rushed towards the villagers, holding his free hand out and shaking his head. “No! Don’t… Don’t hurt Nightmare. This isn’t his fault. I-I don’t know what happened, but please… I-If you all could just calm down, Ni-Nightmare and I will tend to the tree and fix things. You should return home, this storm isn’t going to be getting any better for a while”

“No, Dream! We do not know why you are blind to this demon’s cruelty and evilness, but he doesn’t deserve to live!” A short human yelled, throwing a sharp rock at Nightmare - just missing the other as the negative guardian stumbled out of the way, still sobbing and horrified. “Let us kill it and then come to one of our homes to be sheltered from the storm, we beg of you.”

“Please… Please just go back to the village, it is Nightmare and my duty to tend to it.” Dream attempted to soothe, taking a couple of steps backwards as the mob continued to advance on him. He shoved the panic and fear that was trying to claw its’ way through his soul to the back of his mind. He took an unsteady breath in and let it out slowly, focusing on using his aura - trying to push a sense of calm that he didn't at all feel onto the mortals. He really hoped that his little jumps and frightened squeaks every time that the thunder rumbled overhead wasn’t as obvious and audible to the villagers as it felt like. He had to control himself - to calm the villagers down - or at least to send them away so that he and Nightmare could deal with whatever had happened to the tree without interference.

“No! That demon was left alone with the tree and it turned into this. He needs to be stopped!” Several of the mortals yelled loudly, one of them charging Dream, striking the positive guardian guardian with enough force to cause him to collapse to the ground, and hiss in pain.

“Please st-stop!” Dream called out, struggling to try to get up, the ground quickly turning slick and muddy.

“No!” Nightmare yelled, his eye lights going out before he scrambled up the tree and shoved one of the negative apples into his mouth, and absorbed it. The other continued to shove apples into his mouth and seemed to come to a complete stop.

Dream stared with mute horror, struggling to get up to his feet, the air suddenly turning to molasses as he desperately tried to get closer to Nightmare, the panic and fear that he's been trying to suppress nearly overtaking him completely when his other half falls out of the tree and begins to scream and thrash, the negative apples detaching from the tree and sinking into the other's body, absorbing and staining the other's clothes an inky black.

Horror and a desperate desire to save his beloved propel Dream forwards - despite the soul-shattering screams and the awful squelching, crunching noises that are coming from Nightmare. The positive guardian stumbles and falls to his knees as a palpable wave of negativity pulses through the glade and beyond. The ground instantly turns into dead blacks and browns, the sky - which was once a lovely blue turns into an ominous red and the mortals behind him charge en masse towards Nightmare, screaming incoherently.

"N-NO! S-stop it!" Dream screams, too weak to move another step, but he forces his rapidly diminishing magic to teleport directly in front of the roiling mass of strange sticky liquid that his beloved other half  has turned into, summoning his staff and using it to force himself up onto his feet, glaring at them with a resolve that he was struggling to hold onto. "You... Will not... Hurt... Nightmare... Leave... Leave now..." He throws his hands wide, desperately trying to physically shield the other, it's literally the only thing he can do. He's barely standing as it is, and he knows that if he so much as tries to take another step towards Nightmare he will collapse into unconsciousness, unable to take the pure waves of Negativity that continue to pulse outwards from his beloved other half.

The mortals pause for only a moment before continuing to charge, cursing and those with magic summon attacks - Dream parries clumsily with his staff, the pale and thin magical shield that he's summoned to screen the worst of their meager, desperate blows cracking and crumbling. The positive spirit is driven to his knees, desperately clutching the last positive apple in the hand that he's not holding onto his staff, and focuses on the shield - trying to protect Nightmare.

A cold and distorted chuckle burbled and echoed from behind Dream, chilling and terrifying. A wave of pure negativity pulsed out from the source of the dark laughter, along with strange, fast moving black and cyan tendrils. The first strikes the villager closest to both of the guardians, striking the hapless human square in the chest, blood pouring from the wound, their red soul pierced by the sharpened tip, fracturing from the point of contact with it before shattering. The human coughed once before going limp. Three monsters fall to dust just as quickly, their clothes empty as their ash scatters to the now dead and barren ground.

The rest of the villagers start screaming and half of them try to flee - the other half seem to be frozen in horror and are ripped apart - some are torn in half by merciless black and cyan tendrils that leave a strange, tarry substance wherever they go, others are strangled or decapitated. All of this death and destruction are accompanied by a deep, terrifying laugh that Dream has never heard before. It feels like a painful eternity before he manages to force himself to turn around to stand and attempt to face this cruel murderer...

Only to freeze up in shock and horror as tears begin to run down his face. The killer is... Nightmare? The negative guardian is covered in that strange substance, four tendrils coming from his back, and laughing maniacally, a wide and horrific grin on his face that Dream's never seen before. "AHAHAHA! THAT'S RIGHT! ALL OF YOU WILL SUFFER FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO ME!" Part of the other's circlet has slipped down, and one of his eye sockets is covered in the viscous fluid. Several lightning strikes hit the ground with blinding brightness, and the thunder rumbled for an eternity around them, magnifying the awfulness of what was going on around them.

"Night... Nightmare please... I know that this isn't you... P-Please stop killing the villagers. I-I know that they've been cruel and unfair - b-but that doesn't mean that they deserve death." Dream pleaded, shaking and clutching the object that he was holding in his hands tightly to his chest, grateful for the anchor to help try to ground him.

"Hm..." Nightmare's new limbs stop moving for a moment and his other half tilts his head a little at his words, seemingly considering his words for a moment, the smile fading for a moment - before stretching wide, his eye light shining brightly with a terrifying sort of madness. "Nah. After all, no matter how either one of us asked them to stop hurting me, none of them ever spared or granted me such a mercy... So why should I give them what they've never thought to show me?" There were several awful crunching and gurgling sounds, followed by wet coughing and the awful, distinctive sound of a monster dusting... And a human soul shattering.

"Be... Because you're better than they are! Nightlight... Please?" Dream tried, flinching and shuddering at the sounds of death around them.

"D-Dream! Please..." A terrified voice pleaded from behind him "You need.. To kill this d-demon before he kills us all! Plea-"

The voice was abruptly cut off, and from the faint choking sounds, Nightmare had made sure that they couldn't speak. Not that he would ever try to harm his other half. Nightmare laughed again, looking and sounding even more unhinged. "You mortal fools really don't understand anything about either one of us? To hurt me would be to hurt himself, Dream knows this all too well. Besides, despite being inattentive and a little flighty he is a decent enough mate to me."

"Wh-What?" Several voices sputtered from much closer than what the positive guardian was expecting, causing Dream to unintentionally stumble closer to Nightmare as he turned around, startling as he realized that Nightmare was currently holding a half-dozen or so villagers in his tendrils, each of them dangling by the neck. Three were struggling to escape, two were simply trying to gasp for breath... And one had just gone limp in Nightmare's grip. One of the two humans being held managed to sputter, their eyes glowing a bright red as they summoned a glowing knife the same color as their eyes, trying to stab Nightmare, but the blade kept bouncing off of the slick tendril, doing no damage whatsoever. "What... Do you mean... Mate?"

"Hmm? Oh, have we not told this generation of mortals? Then again, all of you blend one into the next, your lives are so short and fleeting. Meaningless and without a purpose. Dream is mine, and always has been." Nightmare purred possessively, though his grip on the mortals seemed to loosen ever so slightly.

Okay. So his beloved wasn't completely lost to whatever the hell had taken him over (so this is what happened if someone ate the negative apples... This was awful and Dream hoped that he would be able to figure out how to restore Nightmare to who he really is somehow). Dream was pretty sure that he could work with that. He turned to look at the... To look at his other half, taking a couple of tiny steps forwards, doing his best to convince Nightmare to let the villagers go. "... Be-beloved? Please put the mortals down. The ones who you haven't killed or grabbed have run away... They won't come back if you let them go? Right?" He glanced briefly over one shoulder, addressing the villagers briefly before focusing back on Nightmare again. If he could calm the other down, it would go a long way to de-escalating things - so long as the villagers didn't say anything to further anger or upset him.

The five conscious mortals all sputtered out, "Y-Yes of c-course." Still clearly struggling to breathe , even if the positive spirit wasn't looking at them to know for certain.

Dream did feel a flash of guilt - he could sense the others' distress and fear at the situation they were in but he couldn't let that distract him. "See? They... They've promised to go... All... All you need to do is to set them down and let them go."

"Oh, my sweet and naïve mate, do you really think that you can trust any promise they make? They've given you false promises before about not hurting me in the past - so why is this going to be any different? Then again, I haven't tried threatening their fleeting, pathetic lives before... And their fear... Their pain... It's a delight to feel. It would be a pity if that stopped so soon... Then again there are more mortals in this world for me to torment if I so chose, so it's not as if these particular ants are valuable enough to let go..." The corrupted spirit reflected, humming a little in consideration.

"I... N-No one deserves to be killed, Nightmare." Dream cajoles, trying to clear his eye sockets of the terrified tears that continue to fall from his face with the hand that's not holding the only positive apple currently left in existence. "Please just let them go..."

Nightmare is suddenly intensely focused on him - or rather, something he's holding. The smile on his face seems to shift a little, and the other stalks towards him, the potent aura of negativity knocking the breath from Dream's nonexistent lungs and causing him to stumble and fall to his knees, swaying and barely conscious at the oppressive darkness surrounding him suddenly "How about this, darling. You give me that Positive apple, and I'll let those mortals live. I'll even let them go and allow them to run away."

"I..." For the briefest moment, Dream is tempted. But the information that the previous guardian had left in their minds about the importance of the apples - and what would happen, should all of one kind be destroyed - comes to the forefront of his mind. "W-What are you going to do to it, if I... If I gave it to you?"

"Why, turn it into a negative apple and consume it of course. That way there would be no force in this or any other universe that could stop me. No one would ever be able to hurt me ever again." The negative guardian responded, moving closer still, one hand extended and... Was Nightmare seriously expecting him to hand the positive apple over?

"... Nightmare, if I... If I give you the apple, it would mean that-" The positive spirit started, desperately hoping that he could appeal to the other's sense of reason. Surely Nightmare wasn't that far gone? Dream couldn't really sense the other's emotions - the other's powerful aura and the terror from the villagers was too much for him to try to process.

"All positive feelings in the multiverse would vanish - apart from the positive feelings other beings would be able to feel by being close to you. Yes, I know this, Dream." Nightmare smirked, now standing directly in front of the positive spirit, gently tracing the line of the other's jaw with the tip of a finger "Now, are you going to be a good mate and do as I ask?"

Dream shivered a little, wanting desperately to lean into that gentle touch - but for the sake of everyone's hopes and positive feelings he... He had to say no. He couldn't look at Nightmare directly - if he said no, it was incredibly unlikely that the other would just accept that - not in the unstable and violent state that he was currently in, and no matter how far he could run in this world - in their home universe even - Nightmare would eventually catch him. Hesitantly, Dream started to raise the hand that had the apple - as if he was about to hand it to Nightmare. He shut off his eye lights and shoved the positive apple into his mouth, swallowing it whole as he threw himself backwards, away from the corrupted guardian.

Dream had just barely managed to scramble out of the other's initial lunge forwards, staggering up to his feet when a slimy, cold something wrapped around his waist, pinning his arms in place with painful force. He looked down, his eye lights shrinking to pinpricks as he realized that one of Nightmare's tendrils had wrapped itself around him. "N-No! P-Please let me go, N-Nightmare!" He could feel something building up inside of him, and wondered if he was absorbing the positive apple.

The other's magic surged around him, and the other howled angrily. "HOW DARE YOU EAT THE APPLE! HOW FUCKING DARE YOU?!"

Dream struggled weakly in the other's grasp, tears sliding down his face and he pleaded, "St-stop... It hurts... Ni-Nightmare please... It hu-hurts..." Nightmare's magic surged around him, clashing with Dream’s own and then everything went dark.

There was a brilliant flash of light, and Nightmare stared in surprise and shock as Dream turned to stone, starting from the other's waist - which was where he'd been holding the other - spreading up and down at the same speed. The corrupted guardian quickly let his other half go, staring in utter confusion. The tentacle that had been touching the other seemed to be perfectly fine. Nightmare cautiously walked up to the other, suspicious, wondering if the other had cast an illusion of some kind. But when he touched the statue, he could feel the other's presence and spirit ever so slightly. Perhaps he had accidentally cast some sort of stasis spell? He had no idea how long it would hold. Still, it wouldn't break in the next few days... Which meant that he could go after those pathetic fools who had tormented him and sought to take his beloved mate for their own selfish desires to be happy all the time. 

Nightmare stood in the wind and rain for a couple of moments, a small part of himself knowing that Dream would hate to be left alone in such a storm - including the thunder that startled him so. A small, cruel smirk appeared on his lips - the other had disobeyed him. “I will see you later, my love. For now I need to go hunting.” With that he teleported into the mortals’ village, striking out at anyone fool enough to approach him and laughing maniacally as he did so.