#there is no situation that calls for getting rid of a pet in favor of kids | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

saeyoungchoismaid · 3 years

Text

The brothers’ reaction to MC wearing an occult symbol

Genre: angst?, fluff Warnings: Belphie’s has earlier lesson spoilers. Y’all know the one A/N: Writing Satan’s reminds me that I want to write hcs or fics where the whole demon thing is more realistic. Ya know like they kill people and that sort of thing but n e ways-

Lucifer:

it only took him a second to get a weird vibe from you

well, not actually you but an energy coming from you

once he gets close enough to you, he starts to feel his skin crawl

he looks over your being before spotting a hidden chain disappearing into your shirt

“May I?” he asks, bringing his hand close to your neck and pointing at your hidden necklace

you look down in confusion before realizing what he’s referring to

“Oh. Uh, yeah, sure,” you reply confusedly but agree nonetheless

he hesitates for only a second before grasping the necklace and pulling it up

he clenches his jaw when the chain starts to burn him, his fingers quickly releasing it once the hidden pendant is on the outside of your shirt

your eyes widen in shock when you see his red fingers pull away from your neck, a frown coming to your face

“Ah, just as I thought,” he says softly, staring down at your chest

you flush and look down, spotting your necklace for everyone to see

“I’m not sure if you know this or not but that pendant is actually an occult symbol. It wards off demons and burns them when they touch it. It’s honestly probably a good idea to wear it until everyone gets used to your presence,” he informs before taking a step away from you

you gently pick it up between your fingers, staring down at it with a frown

“Oh, okay,” you say softly

you didn’t like the thought of hurting anyone but he has a point. They’ve already explained to you that not all demons are friendly with humans, so some might try to attack you

guess this pendant will be useful during your stay

(don’t worry. You eventually take it off for Mr. Grumpy Pants)

Mammon:

he always gets uncomfortable being too close to you but not for the reasons you think

this man is a SIMP, okay?

he wants to be near you 24/7 but physically finds it hard to do so

it takes him a while to figure out why though

one day, you wear a low-cut shirt and there lays a necklace around your neck

of course, this man looks STRAIGHT at your chest because woughnwgwg exposed skin

but then he notices the necklace

do you always wear that?

“Heya, (Y/n). Do ya, uh, always wear that necklace?” he asks you after pondering on it for a while

it would make sense as to why his skin always crawls and why he feels like he always has an itch he just can’t scratch

you look down at the necklace and smile, picking it up between your delicate fingers

“Huh? Oh, yeah. It came with a Halloween costume I wore last year and I guess I liked it enough to always wear it,” you reply as you look down at it before letting it go

he grunts and stares at it, trying to make it combust with his eyes alone

“Do you think you could stop wearing it?” he asks softly

this makes your eyes widen, a small pout gracing your smooth lips

“What? Why? Do you not like it?” you ask quietly, disappointment filling your tone

and, of course, Mammon panics

“What? No! Well, kinda. Not for the reason ya think though! It’s jus that it’s an occult symbol, meaning it’s used to keep demons away,” he sputters out before eventually getting to his point

at this, your face becomes crestfallen

“Oh. That’s why you guys always seem so nervous and uncomfortable around me...” you mumble

before he can comfort you, you take it off and move to throw it away

“I won’t ever wear it again then,” you promise with a warm smile

Levi:

he knew something was off about you but he wasn’t sure what it was until the TSL competition

just like the others, he felt itchy and maybe even a little sick when he got too close to you

but you were so nice! and pretty! and smart!

he couldn’t help wanting to get to know you better

when the TSL competition happened though, he ended up being blinded by jealousy and attacked you

he got close enough to grab you by your shirt

the thing is, your necklace flew out of your shirt when he tugged you forward and it fell across his hand

he hisses and pulls away from you, looking down at the red lines now adorning his skin

this calms him down a bit surprisingly

you, on the other hand, were still freaking out

“I’m sorry! What just happened? Are you okay?” you ask as you gently cradle his injured hand

he stares at you in confusion before it converts to awe

he just attacked you and you’re still worried about him

yeah, he’s in love

when he doesn’t reply, Lucifer steps in

“Your necklace caused the burn. It’s an occult symbol, meaning it wards demons away. Guess it worked in your favor just now.”

“I’m sorry,” Levi says quickly after Lucifer is done talking

he then swears that you won’t need to wear it around him anymore, feeling guilty for attacking you

Satan:

this smart demon knew what he was feeling right away

he’s read enough books to know that you probably have some sort of occult symbol on you somewhere

he doesn’t bring it up though

he’d rather hangout around you and feel his skin crawl and for his skin to go ice cold than to have you take it off and risk you getting in danger with other demons

not that he’d let that happen. He’d skin someone alive before letting them close enough to hurt you

once you two start getting closer though, you notice that if you try to hold his hand or to cuddle into him on the couch while watching a movie, he flinches away from you

it breaks your heart, really

which he instantly notices and realizes he has to talk to you about before he loses you

“Darling, can I see you in my room for a moment?” Satan calls to you as you walk past his room, your heart skipping a beat as the pet name rolls off his tongue with ease

once you enter, he asks that you close his door, which causes you to grow nervous and excited at the same time

once the door is closed, he starts to explain the whole situation to you

he can’t even finish his explanation before you’re ripping it off your neck and throwing it away into his trash bin

he chuckles as he stands, meeting you by his desk where you threw the necklace away

he bends over to take it out of the trash, grunting when the necklace burns him

before he can hand it back to you, you snatch it out of his hand

“Why would you do that?” you cry in despair, your free hand cradling his injured one

he smiles at you and squeezes your hand while his free hand comes up to bring your head up

“Because I still want you to wear it when you go out. It would just be nice to be closer to you without it, my love,” he coos, making you gulp at how close he is to you

you nod your head though and place it in your pocket, noticing the goosebumps covering his arms

“I’ll go put it away in my room and then we can cuddle,” you declare

Asmo:

bruh

he notices it right away because of course he tries getting close to you right away

he gets a foot away from you and that’s when he feels it

he pouts as he stops his prowl towards you, trying to shake off the feeling of unease and nervousness

which is definitely a new feeling for him

he backs away from you and finds that those odd feelings are slowly fading away from his body

weird

he doesn’t really understand what it is until much later

he kept his distance but still flirted like a madman

which apparently worked since you liked him

so, when he decides to ignore the weird feeling and goes to kiss you one day, his hands gently rest on the side of your neck as he kisses you

well, he didn’t actually get to kiss you seeing as the chain burns his hands and he pulls away with a sharp gasp

you both stare down at his red hands in silence, trying to process what just happened

before you can even react, one of his hands come back to your neck and snaps your necklace off of you

“Asmo!” you screech, going to pull it out of his grip when he throws it across the room

as soon as it’s out of his hand, his hands gently clasp your cheeks before smashing his lips to yours

after a spicy makeout session, he briefly explains what your necklace was before going back to kissing you

Beel:

my poor baby didn’t understand what was going on 🥺

he’d go to give you a hug or offer you some food and found it impossible to be close to you

it upset him immensely

my mans likes to show his affection physically AND verbally like a legend

but he can’t get closer than a foot to you before he starts to feel a different kind of pit in his stomach

it wasn’t until you came to one of his games that it all became clear what was going on

he made the final point needed to win the game, all of his teammates knocking against his helmet and lightly shoving him

when you came over though, they parted like the red sea for you

you squeezed Beel into a hug and it felt perfect other than the weird feeling that comes over him

he moves to wrap his arms around your shoulders, his body suddenly jolting away from yours

your eyes widen at him, your heart lurching up in your throat

did you make him uncomfortable? But it seemed like he was going to hug you back?

he grabs your hand and starts to drag you off the field and away from prying eyes

you try to ignore the butterflies in your tummy from his hand holding yours

once you two are alone, he lets you go, which causes the butterflies to instantly die

“(Y/n), do you think you could get rid of your necklace?” he asks nervously

he’s afraid that he’s being too selfish by asking this of you

your brows knit together in confusion, looking down at your necklace that you’ve been wearing for a couple of months now

“What? Why? Do you not like it?” you ask worriedly, bringing your hands up to touch it

he explains what happens to him when he gets near it, his eyes shining with sadness

“Oh, why didn’t you just say so? Of course I can take it off,” you say as you go ahead and slip it off and place it in your pocket

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” he reassures

“I want to,” you reassure right back

Belphie:

so yeah, your necklace ended up saving your life

when Belphie was released and turned out to be deceiving you this whole time, things went downwards really quickly

when he moved to choke you, your necklace burned his hands

he pulled away in shock, giving his brothers time to jump in and save the day

once everything was sorted out and he apologized, you two slowly became friends

he resented what he did and that necklace of yours

he’s sure that after what he did, you wouldn’t trust him enough to take off your necklace

and for a while, it was true

you would tense up around him, make excuses to leave, etc.

once you two got past that “hey, sorry I tried to kill you” stage though, things started smoothing out

when you two started to like each other though, he hated that necklace even more

it got to a point where he wanted to cuddle and kiss you so bad but he didn’t have the confidence to ask you to take off the pendant

luckily for him though, you took it off yourself

“Where’s your necklace?” he asks curiously when you come up to hug him, his body instantly sensing the difference

“I wanted to be able to hold you like this without you looking like you wanted to die,” you tease half playfully

he blushes as he wraps his arms around you

he never realized how transparent he was until now

┍━━━━━━━✿━━━━━━━┑

MASTERLISTS

More with Obey Me!

Tag List: @jungialo, @fanfictwarrior, @ohbbobeyme, @zeldan7, @otome-otakuwu, @fandomsarepainful, @katelynwithpaint, @buzzybeebee, @dem0nic-sweetheart, @officialdevorak, & @thesoftkittylexy ✦ if you would like to be added or removed, comment or send an ask. Also, remember to tell me if you ever change your username so I can continue to tag you :)

┕━━━━━━━✿━━━━━━━┙

832 notes · View notes

purrincess-chat · 3 years

Text

Marinette Dupain-Cheng’s Spite Playlist: Remix CH29

The plans are in motion! Just a reminder, after I post CH30 next week, I will be taking a break through the month of September to finish up the final edit. I’ll probably be scarce around this blog as well during that time cause I’ve got to work on my BB piece as well, but my queue is loaded through like January of next year, so it’ll be like I’m not even gone.

Previous First Next AO3

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

Chapter 29: Take Cover

Marinette and Adrien stared at his phone, jaws hanging agape. The silence stretched on until Chloe sighed, and Marinette blinked out of her trance.

“I’m sorry. We’re going to what now?” she asked.

“Ugh, just get over here.” Chloe hung up.

Marinette and Adrien exchanged bewildered looks, and he shrugged as if to say, ‘I have no idea what just happened either.’ Chloe wasn’t one to keep waiting, so they gathered their things and piled into Adrien’s town car. On the drive over, Adrien laced their fingers together, tracing patterns on the back of Marinette’s palm with his thumb. She smiled up at him, that familiar, fluttery feeling spreading through her chest.

She’d dreamed of being Adrien’s girlfriend since they day they met. To her surprise, she was calmer about the whole situation than she’d expected. She wasn’t planning their wedding or naming their future pets, and she’d only daydreamed about his soft lips twenty times that day. They knew each other better now and had grown more comfortable with one another.

Adrien was a true friend and a stable rock in the middle of a storm, always there for her to fall back on if she needed. If it weren’t for him, she would be drowning in her own anguish. Lila may think she had the upper hand, but Marinette and Adrien were the perfect team. Nothing could stop them when they worked together.

Chloe was staring out at her balcony when they arrived, a pensive frown wrinkling her forehead. She turned to them, pursing her lips to mask her expression as they approached. They eyed each other in tense silence until Marinette spoke up.

“So,” she started, “what?”

Chloe rolled her eyes and rubbed her temple with a sigh.

“Look, don’t go getting any ideas. This isn’t about you; it’s about revenge,” Chloe said. “Lila seems to feel the most threatened by you, so I think it will have more of an impact if your name is associated with all of this charity work, and the only way to make anyone else care enough to report about it is to make you someone worth talking about.”

“What makes you think Lila is threatened by me?” Marinette asked with a disbelieving grunt. “All she ever does is toy with me.”

“And why do you think that is?” Chloe rolled her eyes when Marinette still seemed lost. “When someone like her feels threatened, they lash out and try to bring you down.”

“Is that why you were always so mean to me?” Marinette’s eyes narrowed, a smirk curling on her lips.

“Don’t lump me in with her! I’m mean to people for the sheer entertainment of watching them suffer. Totally different.” Chloe scoffed.

“Okay, so how exactly do you plan on making Marinette famous?” Adrien asked.

“Easily.” Chloe shrugged. “The dumb brat has already started making a name for herself, and more and more important people are starting to notice her talent, if you want to call it that.”

“I will ignore the insult in favor of the compliment.” Marinette crossed her arms over her chest and cocked a hip.

“Look, even my mom has complimented your work, so I think we should—as disgusting as this is—ask my mom to help you launch your fashion career.” Chloe cringed as she said it.

Marinette stared at her for a long moment, and Chloe shifted her weight with a moan.

“Stop looking at me like that!”

“You’re being serious right now?” Marinette asked.

“I know. Even I’m shocked.” Chloe wrinkled her nose.

“You want to help me start my fashion career? Now?”

“It’s the only way to take down that brat for good,” Chloe said, cheeks pink. “After this, I will go back to hating you and thinking you are a talentless nobody.”

“This is uncharacteristically nice of you, Chloe,” Adrien said with a smile. “I’m proud of you.”

“Don’t get any ideas, Dupain-Cheng. I’m not going to be caught dead wearing your trash, but my mom wanted to train you, so I think it’s our best shot.” Chloe shrugged.

“So, what? We’re just going to walk up to your mom and ask her to work with me?” Marinette scoffed as if it were the most absurd thing she’d ever heard. Because it was.

“Pretty much.” Chloe marched past her.

“Wait, we’re going right now?”

“We want to take Lila down this century, Dupain-Cheng,” Chloe said pointedly, crossing the hall to her mother’s suite.

“But…wait, Chloe-” Marinette rushed after her as she barged into the room across the hall.

Audrey was in the middle of a hot stone massage, and Marinette curled her shoulders.

“I don’t think we should disturb her-”

“Mommy,” Chloe said, and Audrey gave some groan of acknowledgement. “You remember my dreadful former classmate, the one who designed the feather hat for Adrien?”

“Vaguely,” Audrey said.

“Well, Clara Nightingale walked the red carpet in one of her designs, and I think you should back her brand,” Chloe said.

“I thought you hated this girl-”

“You and me both,” Marinette grumbled.

“-now it sounds like you’re being nice.” Audrey choked on the word.

“There’s a nasty girl at school that I want to get rid of, and I need to make Dupain-Cheng famous to do it.” Chloe explained.

Audrey moaned as the masseuse worked a knot in her shoulders.

“Get me a portfolio by this time next week, then we’ll talk,” she said.

Chloe clapped her hands together. “Thank you, Mommy.”

“Wait, I’m sorry, a week?” Marinette blanched.

“Fashion moves quickly, dear, so if you want to be relevant, you’ll get me your portfolio with a pitch by next week,” Audrey said more sternly.

“She’ll have it ready,” Chloe promised.

Marinette shot her a look. “I’m not so sure she can-”

“Enjoy your massage.” Chloe grabbed Marinette’s arm and dragged her from the room.

“Chloe, I don’t know if I can-”

"Oh, shut it." Chloe clamped her hand in a mouth-shutting motion. "You are annoyingly persistent when you want to be. I've seen you accomplish way more in less time, so don't you even say you can't do it because if anyone has got what it takes, it's you, and if you tell anyone I said that, I will destroy everything you love."

“A week? To come up with an entire line,” Marinette said. “Not to mention it has to impress your mom—the queen of fashion!”

“And?” Chloe shrugged. Did she hear herself? What was so hard to understand about the absurdity of the situation?

“Chloe’s right, Marinette, you can do this,” Adrien took her hands and gave them a reassuring squeeze.

“But what if I can’t?” Marinette asked. “What if Audrey hates my designs or if I can’t come up with a whole line in time?”

“Then your fashion career is dead, and I’ll just get rid of Lila my way.” Chloe sauntered back to her suite. “Toodles!”

Marinette leaned her face into Adrien’s shoulder with a moan, and he wrapped his arms around her tightly.

“I know this is a lot of pressure, but you are the most amazing girl I know. You’re an incredible designer, and I know you’re going to crush it.” He pressed his forehead to hers, those green eyes shining with a confidence she wished she felt.

She took a deep, centering breath and nodded.

“Okay.” She pressed her lips into a firm line. “Let’s do it.”

♪♫♪ Misery Business ♪♫♪

Lila glared down at her phone screen, her laptop playing Clara’s acceptance speech in the background which only made her blood boil hotter. As if that stupid bakery brat needed more attention. Marinette pulled a couple fast ones on her, but Lila always got the last laugh. She stared down at Adrien’s Instagram post again with a scowl.

“So proud of @marinette-dc! I’m so lucky to have such an amazing girlfriend like you.”

Most of their classmates had already liked it, but it didn’t matter. Lila would figure out a way to spin this back on Marinette. The cracks were already forming in her little good girl reputation. Lila just needed to apply pressure, then everything would come crumbling down.

♪♫♪ Look What You Made Me Do ♪♫♪

The next day at school, Marinette was quite the hot topic after her big debut. Everyone was buzzing about Clara’s dress, and she received compliments left and right, though she found it hard to enjoy her moment with Audrey’s deadline looming over her.

She’d spent all night brainstorming ideas, but so far she had nothing. Nada. Zilch. No ideas. No inspiration. Nothing, and she was a sweaty ball of nerves. Numerous times she’d tried to give herself pep talks. She saved the city on a daily basis, fought ten-ton monsters and tricky magicians. How hard could it be to design a few dresses and coats?

Infinitely hard, as it turned out. In fact, part of her wished it was as easy as fighting an akuma. That there was some clever shortcut to her end goal, but there were no such things in this case. Just her own imagination and the wall between it and her sketchpad.

“Why so glum?” Macy asked as Marinette shoved books into her locker. “Shouldn’t you be excited about your dress? Everyone loves it. Things didn’t go bad with Adrien after we left, did they?” She cupped her cheeks in horror.

“No.” Marinette assured her with a laugh. “Everything is fine, but I just… Another amazing opportunity has fallen in my lap, and I don’t think I can do it, and I’m stressing out over it.”

“Yeah, you are breaking out a little.” Lisette pointed out, and Marinette covered her chin with a groan.

“You’re amazing, Marinette, and you always find a solution,” Macy said, but when Marinette seemed less than convinced, she pursed her lips. “Tell you what, Lisette can help you cover your zit, and we’ll help you get your mojo back, okay?”

“Okay,” Marinette said, allowing Macy to tug her to the bathroom where Lisette managed to completely erase any signs of her stress. Honestly, she was a wizard with a tube of concealer.

“There they are with the lady of the hour,” Eliott said when they met up for lunch. “How did your alone time go with a certain model last night?”

“He gave me this necklace.” She pulled it from under her collar with a soft smile.

“How romantic!” Lisette said.

“How sparkly.” Macy added with a longing look until Eliott nudged her with his elbow.

“We should double date this weekend. The weather is going to be nice, so we could go golfing.” Eliott suggested, and Macy shot up.

“Oh! Can I come? My parents are part-owners at one of the courses so my dad can play whenever he wants.” She bounced excitedly.

“Fine, but you have to bring a date,” Eliott said.

“I’ll just bring Martin again.” Macy shrugged.

“That’s cheating.”

“How? You said to bring a date, so I’ll bring a date.”

“You didn’t even ask him!”

“Fine! Martin, will you be my date?” Macy turned to him with pleading eyes, and his cheeks flushed.

“Uh, sure,” he said.

“Ha!” Macy stuck her tongue out at Eliott.

“That’s all fun and everything, but I’ve never played golf,” Marinette said. “Besides, I have a lot to do.”

“Oh, come on, Marinette. We can teach you,” Macy said. “Please?”

“I-” Marinette hesitated when they all gave her pleading looks. “We’ll see.”

“What’s so urgent that you can’t come out, Marinette?” Eliott asked as they took their seats.

“Does it have to do with that girl?” Martin lowered his voice.

“Kind of…” Marinette took a deep breath before explaining the entire situation—the plan, her deadline, all of it.

“Whoa, you’re really gonna pitch to Audrey Bourgeois?” Lisette whispered, eyes wide.

“I’m gonna try,” Marinette pushed her peas around with a spoon. “I’m kinda running on empty right now.”

“If you need any help let us know, okay?” Macy reached out to place a hand over hers.

“Yeah, we know tons about fashion and starting charities, not to mention handling drama queens.” Eliott echoed. “We’ve got your back.”

Marinette smiled, though the sentiment didn’t reach her eyes. It wasn’t their fault that Marinette was never going to make it in the world of fashion. When she inevitably failed, Adrien would probably dump her, Lila would take over the world, and she’d be left selling stupid little trinkets off of a cart to tourists. Why did she let Chloe talk her into this?

♪♫♪ Yeah Right ♪♫♪

“Good morning, Lila! I have your geometry homework!” Sabrina greeted on the front staircase the next morning.

Lila feigned a smile. Sabrina was annoying, but she did all of Lila’s homework, so she usually didn’t complain. After that brat Marinette scored a point against her last night with the award’s show, Lila wasn’t in the mood to deal with clingy girls with dependency issues.

“Thank you so much, Sabrina. You’re such a sweetheart,” Lila said.

“How is your ankle feeling? Do you need anything? Aspirin? A hot compress? Foot massage?” Sabrina offered.

“Well, it feels much better than it did a week ago, but if I walk around a lot, it gets a little sore. Would you mind taking my bag to my locker for me?” Lila slipped her bag off her shoulder and held it out.

“Of course! You rest that ankle,” Sabrina said without hesitation.

Lila smirked as she trotted off to the locker room. At least Sabrina was easy to get rid of. Some of her other idiots would have insisted on walking her to class—a commitment Lila didn’t have time for today. She needed to figure out her next move against Marinette. Everyone was still conflicted over the stairs incident from the Louvre. That stupid goody-goody built up a reputation over the years that wasn’t so easily collapsible. Even still, every shred of doubt Lila could cast would pile up in the end.

“I see you’re still walking around like you own the place.”

Lila stopped a few steps into the school, jaw clenching. Adrien was leaning against the wall just inside the door, and he pushed away when she narrowed her eyes, taking slow, deliberate steps toward her.

“In case you hadn’t noticed, I do own the place,” she said. “Or I will soon enough.”

“I’ve warned you before, Lila, but you didn’t listen. What you did to Marinette was not okay,” he said darkly, green eyes narrowed into slits.

“Oh? And what are you going to do about it? Call another one of your celebrity buddies to call me a liar? Go ahead, it’ll help me win these losers over even faster.” Lila crossed her arms over her chest and cocked a hip. “You can’t beat me, Adrien. You’re too nice to get your hands dirty.”

“If you do anything else to Marinette, you’re going to learn how nice I am.” He glowered down at her, sending a shiver down Lila’s spine. “You hurt someone I love, so enjoy your reign while it lasts. Pretty soon everyone is going to see you for who you really are, and I won’t feel sorry for you.”

He brushed past her, and Lila rolled her eyes. He was bluffing, and even if he wasn’t, Lila could handle anything he threw at her. Whatever they were plotting, Lila wasn’t going down without a fight.

#mdcspr #marinette dupain-cheng's spite playlist remix #my writing

47 notes · View notes

yanderemommabean · 4 years

Note

Imagine seeing a 🦊 in your backyard and being like “😮Cute 🦊?!” And you try, despite advise telling you otherwise, to befriend it. Cause who doesn’t want a 🦊 friend? So you leave lil homemade treats for it everytime you see it. (It seems to prefer human and cooked foods?) and eventually you find it in your house and you’re like “❤️!” And let the fox sleep in your room and wake up with Lee in your bed. Like, you got the pet/owner relationship you wanted but not quite in the way you thought.-🦝

There’s a list of things you expected when you allowed your new friend to sleep in your bed. Maybe they chewed up the blankets, made a mess in the floor because they’re nervous, and even a shredded pillow was expected.

You would’ve preferred all of the above when your bleary eyes focused in on a much larger form than a fox, who was happily looming over you. The man was blond, his face covered in freckles with warm hazel eyes that continued examining your features.

Great. You were definitely about to die. Couldn’t he do you the courtesy of doing it while you were asleep? That’s at least the best way to go!

“What the-“ you managed to croak out, still sleepy and trying to wake up from your haze. You press up on your hands, trying to sit up and shove the man off of you, becoming more aware of the dangerous situation as sleep left your brain.

Fuck. FUCK. A stranger was in your house! IN YOUR BED!

“No! No please don’t kill me!” You begin to plead, scrambling out of bed and searching the room for anything to defend yourself with as your “attacker” just silently watched, seemingly amused. His grin was cocky, and his naked form only seemed laxed and confident as he watched your confusion escalate.

“My my, if You’re this entertaining by just waking up, I’d say I’ve found myself a lucky one”.

You press yourself against the wall, eyes wide as you struggle to ask the man what he meant- what he thought he was doing in your home. Your bed. He simpers and makes no gesture to cover his nether regions, simply pressing his fingers to his chin as he looked you up and down.

“It seems I’ve frightened you. Apologies, most humans hardly see me out of my cuddly little persona. It’s a pleasure to be on speaking terms with you now”. He gave another cocky expression, eyebrows raised in a waiting manner as he extended his hand for you to shake.

“What the hell are you talking about? G-get out of my house!” You pathetically shout, voice wavering as you tried to piece together whatever in the world was going on. What ‘persona’? Why did he say it like he wasn’t human himself? Was he on drugs?!

Ok- deep breaths! Panicking is natural but it never helps in any situation. He clearly hasn’t hurt you yet, and if he planned too, he was taking his time. You don’t need to put yourself in any corners. You straighten up and try to make some distance between him and you, clearing your throat as you try and think of what to say.

“Ah. You’re still lost. It’s quite adorable honestly” the man mused, refusing to acknowledge the fact you told him to leave. “My name is Lee-“ he gestured towards his body “I’m-for lack of a better term, a werefox. A shapeshifter, cursed, whichever you seem fit to label”.

Your mouth goes dry, and your cheeks heat up seeing that -yeah he’s still naked. “I-I’m sorry but that’s an absolute asinine claim. Please just- just leave my house before I call the police”. You advert your eyes as his gaze darkens, and his much larger form presses closer to you.

“Oh? Asinine is it? Tell me, what makes you think such creatures don’t exist?” He questioned while furrowing his brows. With a scoff you raise your eyebrows in defense, and throw up your hands slightly. “Gee let me think- the fact that DNA probably wouldn’t allow that, not to mention much more science behind it. Listen I don’t have to explain anything! This isn’t a joke I’m calling the police!”.

You push him aside to grab your phone, but before you can so much as press the home button, you hear a low growl, and are met with the fuzzy face of a fox. A pause fills the room, your eyes locked on the creature as it pads over to you and nuzzles your arm, wanting affection. However cute the thing was, you felt a sinking in your stomach. You notice the man was no longer standing around, and it didn’t take a genius to do the math.

Oh fuck. OH FUCK THIS IS REAL. There’s a god damn shapeshifter in your house and apparently you’re now in absolutely skepticism of everything you’ve ever been taught. “Hoh my God-“ you breathed out, dropping the phone back down and stepping away with hands covering your mouth. You watched on as Lee transformed back, his naked body pressed against the crumpled sheets and blankets of your bed. He gives a wink, and all you can do is slide down the wall and stare in disbelief and awe.

“Oh I do hope you have more original questions than the others. Although, if not, I don’t mind answering. It’s a long story but needless to say, demons are real and if you fuck one over, they hold a grudge for life”. He beamed a cheeky smile, as if this was all some joke. Seriously? Can you have one day where you don’t question the very state of your being and existence?

Suddenly more pressing matters dawn on you. Like how you baby talked him and fed him by hand. And how you kissed his face and called him a good boy. Oh Jesus Christ this is embarrassing!

“I...you let me...baby talk you and...oh god” you mewled, burying your face in your knees as embarrassed redness covered your cheeks.

Goodness you looked so cute like this. You looked cute all of the time really, but seeing you flustered always made him want to see more. He’s glad he gets to own you now, seeing as you’ve clearly taken an interest in him! Why else would you take care of him?

“Oh yes. I do enjoy your nicknames for me! And I must say, since my curse has been given, you’re the first human I’ve wanted to own without ill intent. The others were messy but fun while they lasted”.

He admires the shock in your eyes as you soak in more horrifying information. You always have the most enrapturing expressions! He could get lost in your eyes for days by themselves! Such a pleasant distraction!

He rests his head in his hand and stares at you with adoring eyes, kicking his legs a bit while silence once again took over the room. “What’s the matter? Fox got your tongue?” He teased, swiping his pink tongue over his canines with a seductive wink.

“You...killed others? Oh god I’m next?!” You squeaked “and you said you own me? How the hell did you come to that conclusion?!”.

“Simple. You’re kind, you’re warm, you have patience and tenacity, you have the cutest interests in the oddest of things, you fed me, and you captured my heart. Once you allow me in your home I’m fully able to show myself, and once that’s done? Well, I can do whatever I please with you.”

“So you’re gonna kill me?” You asked as your blood ran cold, but you couldn’t find it in yourself to reach for your phone once again. Why bother if he’s quite literally as quick as a fox.

“What? No! No never! My other toys where ugly on the inside and made me want to rid the world of their existence. You? Well I can’t let this world harm such a beautiful creature. You’re clearly in need of me, and I’m more than happy to spray the woods with blood if it means I get to keep you with me”.

He sits up, and slides off the bed to meet you on the floor, his fingers shaking slightly as they touch your wrists, feeling you flinch and recoil. Now that won’t do! But he supposed you were patient with him, so he can return the favor when it comes to touches.

“You don’t own me” you whisper half heartedly. You knew by the power the man held alone that you had no say in that matter, but whats life without a bit of spite? You weren’t going to just swoon and submit!

“I think we both know that’s not true. You let me in, and I get to stay. And as a plus I get to make you see just how badly you need me. You’ll learn that this is a good thing, I promise! Now why don’t you come up off the floor? The bed is much more comfortable”.

-Mommabean (was this alright?)

#dr lee my oc #werefox #wereanimal #yandere exophilia #kinda #hes naked #so #yandere doctor lee #doctor lee my oc #yandere scenarios #yandere imagines #my ocs #yandere doctor #yandere male #yandere #mommabean #racoon bean

500 notes · View notes

strawberrylemonz · 3 years

Text

January 20, 2021 - DSMP

Here is my review of what happened on today’s stream! Keep in mind that I was only watching Tommy’s POV, but will be analyzing any other viewpoints that I come across (Mainly Tubbo’s)

I’m going to be honest with everyone, I was unsure as to whether not any of our boys would make it out alive. I went into the stream preparing the worst.

Tommy and Tubbo talking each other up, preparing to leave made me feel all kinds of thing. Like I stated earlier, I was prepared for the two to end their adventure today. I vibed with them when they walked down the prime path, and froze up when I saw the first person in line. I’m not ashamed to say that I nearly sobbed when I saw everyone line up to say their goodbyes to the boys (I’m sensitive, shut up).

The way Sam kept giving them stuff??? Loved that

The way Tommy and Quackity’s voices quivered when they spoke to each other? Punch to the heart?

Tommy telling Eret that she was always the true king??? YES!!! POP OFF!!!

The entire trip to where Dream was both made me happy and broke my heart. Here, we saw these boys, children forced to grow up quickly to be used by those they trusted, do their best to be kids for a moment. They were kids for, what they believed, could be the last time. They had their serious moments where Tommy kept reminding Tubbo that it was okay to not feel okay about the situation. Where Tommy didn’t want Tubbo to hide his inner thoughts from him just to try and make him feel better. The moment that they watched the sun together made me all sentimental and shit. Tommy preparing to die and have Tubbo leave and tell his story broke me.

“Why did you tell me to bring Tubbo?”

“Because, it’s always been you and Tubbo against me, remember? Ever since the beginning, Tommy and Tubbo against Dream” (paraphrasing)

I actually got hyped up when Tommy got the disc. It reminded me of Tommy’s clutch the time he dropped the disc down to Tubbo and knocked Dream off the tower using only planks. I had let my hope for them grow. And then I had my heart broken.

Dream using Tubbo against Tommy was something that I expected would happen, but I still wasn’t prepared for it to actually happen. I don’t think I’ll easily forget about how Tommy gave up the disc to Dream, even when Tubbo begged for Tommy to keep the disc and go. My heart nearly dropped to my stomach when I saw Dream break that first dirt block. It dropped when he told the boys to put their armor in the hole.

I have to admit, I was kinda confused that the homeless man had an evil lair and not a home, but pop off I guess??? The elevator was pretty cool, ngl

When I saw the two discs on the floor, I thought, “Bitch, you better be polishing this fucking floor every 30 minutes. Disrespect Nicki Minaj? What?” My second thought was, “why tf did you make two giant ass shrines for these discs??? Didn’t even center them, wtf dude.”

When Dream was monologuing and showing off the stolen goods and pets (and Skeppy) he stole from everyone, I knew he was on something. Him calling Tommy the key confirmed that Dream was overthinking everything and seeing things in places they didn’t belong. Did Tommy initially bring these bonds? Bring all the things Dream said he did? Yeah, I’ll admit it, he did. But it was the people in the server that kept that going, kept it alive. If not Tommy, someone else would have started that chain. The way Tommy look horrified and uttered with a horrific tone, “how do you not hurt?” when Dream mentioned how he cut off all his attachments was hnnnnnnnn

Tubbo actively trying to protect Tommy from going to prison while Tommy was actively trying to protect Tubbo from permanently dying was-

Man

Man, that broke my heart.

“You wanna be the hero of this server? Every hero has an origin story. Batman had his parents, Spider-Man had Uncle Ben. You have Tubbo.”

The look of complete horror/terror that came across Tommy’s face the instant those words were spoken. He genuinely looked scared. He kept trying to defend Tubbo, despite Dream repeating how defenseless Tommy was against him. Dream telling the boys to say their good byes hurt me in more ways that I can describe. Tommy was panicking, actively trying to come up with ways to get Tubbo out of there, no matter the cost or price that he had to pay. Tubbo telling him that it was okay, everything would be okay, he would be okay. The way Tommy was desperate to hold onto his best friend, his Tubbo, whilst saying, “You can’t be okay with this! Why are you okay with this?”

My heart nearly stopped for a second the moment Tubbo said “goodbye, Tommy”

My mind flashed back to Tubbo saying those exact words whilst exiling Tommy, his best friend, for the sake of everyone being safe. Now, here he was again, saying those exact words to the exact same person. The only difference? He wasn’t sacrificing his best friend for the sake of everyone and Dream. No, he was sacrificing himself for the sake of his best friend, his only true friend, Tommy.

“Get away from them”

“Punz?”

“I’m sorry Dream, but you should have paid me more.”

Literal chills. I cannot. It’s the “On your left” of the DSMP. The way everyone came through the portal to line up against this tyrant that manipulated them all. The way I imagined everyone coming through to see this decked out dude with a god complex about to murder a bloody and bruised child, said child’s best friend (also bloody and bruised) was watching, begging to have his friend spared. Imagining how they saw the tear streaks down the boys’ messed up faces as they accepted their fates. As they saw their fear turn to hope as Tommy got Tubbo behind them for safety. How Tommy entrusted them to keep Tubbo safe. How they all came, decked out, to defend these two children.

How Quackity came in nothing but his yeezys because he just fucking knew that Dream wouldn’t put up a fight. The way Dream was so confident that he had power over everyone because he rid himself of his bonds towards objects and friends, only for that to be his downfall. The way Sapnap, Dream’s old friend, his buddy, was the one to give Tommy the pickaxe. The way Puffy was there to protect the two boys she renounced his duckling title for (and the nation).

The way Tommy dug a hole, without any protection or weapons, and had Dream throw his stuff in. The way he didn’t blow any of Dreams shit up, like he had happen to himself, and, instead, used Dream’s things to protect Tubbo and everyone else. The way Tommy took away Dream’s first two lives, paralleling the times Dream took Tommy’s two lives. The way Tommy boxed him in, like Tubbo was at the festival, and the way Tubbo held a bow to Dream. The way Tommy screamed at Dream to tell everyone what he had done. How Dream was the one to blow up the community house. How Dream tormented the poor boy in exile. The way Tommy didn’t spare him because he liked him, or wanted to play mind games with him. No, Tommy spared him because he had a chance to get his brother back, his family.

“Let’s make Wilbur proud. SUCK IT GREEN BOY!!!!”

“SUCK IT GREEN BOY!!!!”

The way the boys sincerely thanked everyone for showing up, fully knowing that they didn’t have to do shit. The way that Tommy said to go to Tubbo’s vc, obviously warming Tubbo’s heart. The way they made it to bench, and finally had a chance to breathe. How they could sit their, listen to their discs, and be kids again. No wars, no going against Dream, nothing. They could just be Tommy and Tubbo, like it’s always been since the beginning.

Then Wilbur fishfucking Soot had to crash the moment like the older brother he was, lmaooooo.

“You didn’t die”

“Ghostbur?”

“I’m not Ghostbur.”

I sucked in a breath, not knowing how the interaction was going to go. Was Wilbur still in the mindset he was whilst blowing up the nation he and his younger brother created? Was he in a mindset before that? Was he sane?

I must admit, their bickering match, along with Tubbo’s dancing, made me realize how much I missed their dynamic. I realized how much I missed Wilbur being in the picture. (Tommy whispering to Tubbo how he liked Ghostbur was hilarious)

Wilbur complaining about being stuck with Schlatt in the afterlife was hilarious. Wilbur admitting that he was preparing, waiting, for Tommy, his younger brother, to join him in the afterlife had me gripping my plushies. Wilbur telling Tommy that he’s proud of him put a sledgehammer into my fragile dam.

“I’ll see you soon.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you soon.”

THEY. ARE. BROTHERS!!!!

It was just so refreshing to see these two get the happy ending they deserved in this arc. The pain and suffering these two children went through at the expense of others, how they were forced to grow up quickly because of their situations, all of that was finally pushed towards the path of recovery. And although they’ve been through hell and back, it’s still them. Although the future will be hard for them, throwing more trials and difficult choices, they know that they’ll make it out, because that how it’s always been. And if their strengthen bond after today can tell them anything, it’s that it’ll always be like that.

It’s always been Tommy and Tubbo.

What I want/what I predict

FOR GEORGE TO BE AWAKE FOR FIVE FUCKING SECONDS

Everyone complimenting Niki on her new fit better fucking happen, I will manifest it

Dream will use his favor from Techno to break out of prison

Connor playing a bigger role in the SMP

Foolish revealing that they don’t need Dream alive (hopefully)

Ghostbur to say a proper goodbye before Wilbur is revived

GLATT

GLATTBUR

SBI reunion with every alive for more than five fucking minutes

Wilbur ignoring his dad Phil and zooming over to little brother Tommy so that he can hug him and tell him that he’s safe now and that he’s so proud of him

THERAPY ARC!!!! FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYONE LOVELY, PLEASE

JUST GET EVERYONE INSIDE THE THERAPY GROUP SECTION AND TALK ABOUT THEIR TRAUMA AND FEELINGS SO THEY CAN ALL CLEAR UP THEIR MISUNDERSTANDINGS!!!!!

The egg will start to negatively affect people, causing those not affected to fear for their home and friends

SBI + TUBBO AND RANBOO VS EGGPIRE????? POG?????

Tubbo nuking L’manhole to get rid of the spreading red

Techno/Phil to come to an understanding with Tommy; vice versa

Those unaffected teaming up to safe those affected

Someone (preferably Ranboo) unintentionally activating the End Portal lmao

The rest of the SBI + Tubbo saving Tommy from being murdered by Jack and Niki

Jack and Niki learning that killing the child is not the fucking answer to their problems (If it didn’t work for William Afton, it won't work for y’all. Stop trying to be the man behind the slaughter)

Techno and Tommy rebuilding their trust and friendship with each other

Tommy giving Techno the Axe of Peace

Sam being influenced by the egg and becomes corrupted

Ranboo being free??? Pog???? Pog

Puffy and Niki having a one-to-one conversation about their personal opinions and goals

Puffy visiting Dream whilst he sits in his cell

Skeppy and Bad to be okay again :(

Everyone infected to be okay again :(

Tommy bonding with Eret

Big Q continuing to hold Clingy Duo close to him

Schlatt coming back but instead of trying to run for president and mess with everyone, he’s just everyone’s drunk uncle that somehow gives wise advice to every situation

Wilbur coming back but he’s that angry older cousin that only allows the favorite family members(Tommy)/friends to stay in his room

GIVE ME MEXICAN DREAM AND GIRL DREAM!!! ONLY HETERO RELATIONSHIP I SEE THAT IS BEYOND POGGERS

Lani and Drista to make a comeback at the same time

Tommy meeting more family members

The kids being able to be kids

Lani selling yeezy

Drista w/ bedrock

Drista laughing at Dream’s imprisonment

Everyone finding peace within each other’s chaos and living in harmony

71 notes · View notes

randomly-a-fan · 3 years

Text

Malon's First Time At The Hospital Pt. 3

Pt. 1

Pt. 2

At the hospital in Haddonfield, Malon was having her light breakfast before she has her temperature and blood pressure checked. Jason was looking out the window far out from the horizon, thinking about his home; he senses that something is wrong. He wanted to go out there and check, but he has no way to get there, and he didn’t want to leave Malon behind while she’s still recovering.

Malon’s coughs were getting less painful, so the medicine that the doctors gave her are working great. Just then, MJ came in with a ‘Get Well Soon’ balloon. “Hi, sweetie... How are you feeling?” MJ asked in a gentle tone while approaching her. “Hi mom... I’m starting to get less coughs, and my chest is starting to hurt less,” Malon answered. “But I still have to stay in the hospital for another night.” Malon said sadly. “I know you missed being home, but you’ll be going home soon; the doctor told me that you’re making a speedy recovery, and that we might go home tomorrow night if you get your appetite back.” MJ explained. Malon smiled to hear the good news.

***

Back at Camp Crystal Lake, Aquarius took her kids to check the Voorhees’ cabin, to see if there are any plants that needed to be watered. But as Aquarius entered in, she was shocked to see the blood on the walls and the couch. “What the Hel-- hel... hel--li--coptors...” Aquarius didn’t want to cuss in front of her kids, even though Archie has heard worse cusses than Hell, but she didn’t want Kandy to know the word since she’s only a baby. “Archie... Take your sister home... There’s something I got to do.” Aquarius ordered. Archie was shocked by his mom’s reaction, however, he was more surprised by the mess and how loud the music was. “Come on, Kandy, lets go home to daddy.” Archie said to his baby sister.

After Archie took Kandy home, Aquarius decided to clean the place up while observing the cause for this disruption. She was going to clean the couch until her cellphone rang.

“Hello?” Aquarius answered.

It was MJ that was on the phone from the hospital. “Hi Star, I’m just calling to ask you a favor, would you or Pennywise mind checking on Camp Crystal Lake, Jason was having the senses that something is wrong.” MJ explained.

Aquarius didn’t want MJ or Jason to know about the mess in the cabin, since she knew it might infuriate the family, especially Jason. “Of course I will, well heck, I’ll even clean up the place if you liked me to.” Aquarius offered.

While being unaware, Michael approaches the cabin and saw what he thought to be a ‘trespasser’, so he took out his knife and approach to her slowly with his knife raised. Aquarius senses someone’s presence so she had to cut the conversation short. “I love chatting with you, but I must go now, bye.” Aquarius hung up the phone and quickly did the spin attack on her still-on roller-skates; she may have dodged the knife, but the ‘stalker’ did not get knocked out. So she pounced on him. Michael tried to choke Aquarius to death, but she was quick thinking and grabbed a knife that he dropped and stabbed his arm. However, Michael was not affected by the knife stab; which worried her since she’s in a deadly position.

Aquarius tried to remove his hand, but his grip is too strong. As she was slowly perishing, his grip loosened as he was being grabbed. Pennywise came at a nick of time; the truth is that Jason called Pennywise’s place earlier back at the hospital and answered it. MJ called from Aquarius’s cell, so it was strangely ironic. Pennywise lifted Michael in the air with a mad glare. “No one strangles my wife... except me!” Pennywise scolded. Michael did not show any reaction as usual, but whatever Michael is saying in his mind made Pennywise put him down. “You’re an acquaintance of Jason Voorhees?” Pennywise asked while still holding him by the shoulder. Aquarius finished coughing out blood before she spoke up severely. “Ask him why he trashed the place! There better be a promising explanation for his behavior, or else I’ll eat off his face...” Aquarius threatened. “You’re going to want to answer that question, because she’s a sin-muncher, and I’m sensing that you’re responsible for a full amount of sins.” Pennywise said. Michael was surprised that he can read his mind, so if he can read his mind, he can explain his reasons for this mess.

***

At the hospital, Malon was eating her lunch, a lot more than usual; which is a good sign that she’s hungry because it means that she’s starting to get better. “My goodness, Malon, you ate up all of your food like a vacuum.” MJ joked. “Well I was hungry... I’m starting to feel a little bit better each time.” Malon explained. Just then, nurse Linda came in. “Hello Malon, I just thought I come up to see how you are doing; I see you’ve eaten all of your lunch.” Linda assumes. Malon nodded with a smile. “Since you’re getting better, I thought I take you over to the play area; we have a special guest coming today.” Linda explained. “Can I mom?” Malon asked her mom. “Of course you can, and I’m sure daddy will let you as well.” MJ said while smiling at her husband. Jason nodded as he accepts the idea of Malon playing with the other kids, so she wouldn’t have to be cooped up on her bed.

Back at Camp Crystal Lake, Aquarius frustratedly scrubbed the floors while Michael watches. “Michael, will you please stop staring at me? it’s annoying because I can sense you!” Aquarius said in a grumble. “Don’t be a corpse in the weeds Pretty-Blue, at least what Michael told me about him getting rid of the trespassers that broke-in was pretty noble.” Pennywise said. “You know what, that’s great, maybe we can give him a treat; or even better, let’s keep him; Archie has been asking for a pet this morning, Michael would be perfect, we just have to take him to the vet and have him neutered!” Aquarius said in a sarcastic and sassy tone. Pennywise just chuckles and crawled towards her to comfort her. “Don’t be so dramatic, I know what’s best for everyone; no subconscious mind tells a lie.” Pennywise reassures before he kissed Aquarius passionately.

Without realizing, they noticed Michael actually wiping the couch, almost as if there’s something within him that is so toxic and disgusting to his character. “Let’s keep cleaning the place up for the Voorhees, then we shall do something together as a family with our kids.” Pennywise suggested. Aquarius nodded and agreed, even though Pennywise is not the kind of being that likes to do chores, but he does get a lot of TLC afterwards.

***

When Malon was being taken to the Play Area, Jason wrote a note to MJ about what he wanted to do. “I’m thinking of going back home to check on the place, is that alright with you?” Jason wrote. MJ frowned, she thought that her calling Aquarius would calm Jason’s nerves, she even heard from Malon that her dad also called the Gray’s place. However, she can’t really tell him what he can or can not do, but she did gave him a reasonable response. “I can’t really stop you, since it’s my turn to spend the night with Malon anyway, but you should ask Malon and see what she thinks.” MJ suggested. Jason nodded and decided to take her advice.

Jason walked over to the play area to see Malon with the question that he have wrote for her. He was watching Malon drawing and coloring, he tried to get her attention until he saw what she was drawing. “What’s that you coloring?” The little sick girl asked. “That’s me and daddy; he was always there for me whenever I needed him...” Then Malon noticed her daddy and waved at him happily. Jason waved back at his daughter with a tearful smile; he looked at the note and then back at Malon, he decided to not worry about his cabin, his family comes first, especially Malon’s, so he tared up the paper and threw it into the recycling bin. Jason was going to go back to her room, until he spotted a Shetland Pony heading towards the play area, he assumes that the pony was the ‘special guest’ that Linda was talking about.

Malon and the rest of the young patients went out to meet the little pony, Malon has never seen a little pony so tiny that Malon teared up over cuteness. She was going to pet it until the man grabbed her by the wrist to stop her. “Don’t touch him, the sign said to not touch.” The man said, he didn’t mean any harm, but Malon is still tearing up, so she decided to go back to her room. Only to realize that she doesn’t remember where she came from or how to get back to her room; the nurse was preoccupied that she wasn’t paying attention to Malon.

Luckily, her dad was close by, so he caught up to her and gently lay a hand on her. Malon turned around and hugged her daddy while tearing up. “I want to go back to my room!” Malon mumbled into his shirt. Jason rubbed her back to comfort her, he saw the whole situation with the man and his Shetland Pony; if he weren’t in a public place, he’d kill him in a instant for making his daughter cry, but he has to hold himself back and not make a scene. Eventually, Jason guided her to her room and put her up to her bed. “You’re back quickly, everything okay?” MJ asked. Malon shook her head and decided to sleep it through from her depression. Jason wrote a note to his wife and explained to her about what happened. “Aww... That’s not fair... Service animals were supposed to be used for little kids to cuddle, like dogs and puppies... Did she cry?” MJ asked. Jason nodded sadly as he almost cried himself.

MJ got up and walked towards Malon and gave her a lingering kiss by the cheek, which gave Malon a half smile with a dimple; just like when she was a baby. Even though Jason is sad over Malon’s disappointing opportunity, he’s glad he didn’t decide on leaving for home, or else Malon would have gotten herself lost from wandering through the hospital. He’s grateful for listening to his own family instincts and not think too much about his home.

To Be Continued

#IT #IT Chapter 2 #fandom #Fanfiction #Pennywise #pennywise the dancing clown #Aquarius #Aquarius the Singing Clown #Archie #Kandy #Halloween #Michael Myers #Friday the 13th #Jason Voorhees #MJ #Malon

5 notes · View notes

heyiwrotesomethings · 4 years

Text

You’ve Cat to be Kitten Me Right Meow

Shinobu Kochou x GN Reader Modern AU, No Demons

“Alright, did I get everything? Do you think you need anything else?” Mitsuri asked.

“Looks like everything. Food, treats, toys, litter, bedding... all the things I’ve ever known cats to need.” (Y/n) smiled, listing off the various items in front of them.

“Right, I just want to make sure. Obanai really caught me off guard with this couple’s retreat thing.” Mitsuri said, looking fondly at the ball of fur sitting on the carpet. “Speaking of couples, are you sure Shinobu isn’t going to mind?”

“She left for a week long health and science conference yesterday, so you guys should be back long before she gets here.” (Y/n) replied, kneeling to ruffle the cat’s fur and rub behind its ears. “Besides I love cats, especially sweet little LoveFluff!” “I really appreciate this, (Y/n).” Mitsuri said. “I’m sure you’ll take great care of her. We’ll be back in three days and don’t hesitate to call or text with any questions or updates. Oo! I love pictures, send a lot of pictures!” “Okay,” (Y/n) laughed, “I can do that. You better get going though, don’t want to keep Obanai waiting too long.” “Okay, okay.” Mitsuri knelt down and gave LoveFluff a few quick pats and kisses. “Be a good girl for (Y/n) sweet baby, momma will see you in a few days!” Mitsuri gave another quick wave and sweet smile before leaving the apartment and shutting the door behind her. “Looks like it’s just you and me, LoveFluff.” “Mow” *** The first day went without a hitch. (Y/n) and LoveFluff played with toys, watched some nature documentaries, and many photos were sent to Mitsuri. Dinner was served and business was done in the appropriate box. Yes, this was going perfectly (Y/n) thought when they got up the next morning. (Y/n) had just filled LoveFluff’s bowl for breakfast and poured themself a lovely warm drink when they were jarred out of their calm state by the sound of the front door opening. “Surprise, (Y/n). I’m home~!” (Y/n) nearly spit out their drink, their eyes darting between LoveFluff and the hall that lead to the entryway. Oh shit, I’m in trouble, they thought. “The conference was a bust. You’d think they would have planned it better but it was so unorganized. I did see Tamayo, so it wasn’t a complete waste of time. We came to the consensus that it would be better to just go home so-” Shinobu had finally emerged from the entryway to witness (Y/n) frantically looking for a place to hide LoveFluff and failing miserably. “...(Y/n),” Shinobu said, sternly. “Isn’t that Mitsuri’s cat?” “Yes...” (Y/n) answered, quickly realizing there was no way around this. “And why, pray tell, is this furry menace infiltrating the sanctity of our home?” “Mitsuri and Obanai are on a couple’s retreat and Mitsuri asked me if I could take care of LoveFluff.” (Y/n) replied. “I’m sorry Shinobu, I should’ve told you, but I didn’t think you’d be back so soon. She was going to be gone tomorrow afternoon and I was going to vacuum and clean up before you got back.” “You mean we still have this fur ball in our apartment for at least another twenty-four hours? (Y/n), the couch and your sweatshirt are absolutely covered in fur!” Shinobu pointed out, disgust obvious in her tone. “You’re mad, aren’t you?” “No shit, honey.” Shinobu sighed, rubbing her temples. “If it makes you feel any better, I closed the bedroom and your office off so she couldn’t go in there.” (Y/n) said, sheepishly. “Thank god for small favors I guess.” Shinobu grumped, walking past (Y/n) with her luggage. LoveFluff thought this was a good time to rub herself on Shinobu’s calves as she walked by, eliciting another distressed groan from Shinobu. “Stop that, you are getting my pants furry! (Y/n), you are going to be making up for this for the rest of our natural born lives... and then some!” she griped as the cat followed her down the hall towards the master bedroom. (Y/n) followed behind and scooped up LoveFluff to prevent her from getting into the bedroom. “She’ll be gone tomorrow, Shinobu. I’ll take care of everything. If you want to stay at Kanae’s for the night I understand.” Shinobu turned on her heel, hand on the bedroom door. “Surely you don’t think you can get rid of me that easily.” “I’m not trying to get rid of you, I just thought you wouldn’t want to be here right now.” “I want to relax in my apartment with my partner without that beast shedding all over the place!” Shinobu replied, clearly exasperated. “I’m going to put my stuff away, then take a shower and then we can talk. I need to clear my head.” “Okay, love you.” “I love you too, even though you can be absolutely infuriating sometimes.” Shinobu blew a kiss, then leveled a glare at the cat as if it had stolen something precious from her. She then disappeared behind the bedroom door, closing it firmly behind her. “I’m in so much trouble, LoveFluff.” (Y/n) whispered to the cat purring in their arms. *** (Y/n) texted Mitsuri while Shinobu was in the shower and updated her on the situation. Mitsuri was quick to sympathize and promised to get back as soon as possible the next day. When Shinobu re-emerged from the bathroom, LoveFluff jumped off the couch and pawed after her. “Oh come on now, I just got clean, shoo!” “She likes you, Shinobu. She just wants you to pet her, or play with her.” (Y/n) called from the couch. Shinobu groaned. “Toss me that feather-ball-string thing.” (Y/n) tossed the mid-range toy over and Shinobu jingled it around. LoveFluff happily ran around after it, occasionally catching it and giving the toy a few kicks with her back legs before Shinobu would pull the toy free and the chase would begin again. “What are you smiling at over there?” “Nothing.” (Y/n) answered, turning back to the tv. Not long after, (Y/n) felt something soft plop onto their lap and looked down just in time to see the heavy set cat jump up from the carpet into their lap. “Oof!” (Y/n) hunched forward a bit and the toy slithered over their shoulder and off of the back of the couch, a movement that LoveFluff didn’t miss and quickly scrambled over (Y/n)’s shoulder and pushed off, sending (Y/n) into a further hunched position. Shinobu’s laughter rang through the apartment when (Y/n) regained their bearings and looked behind the couch with a look of confusion and betrayal etched on their features. “Now you’re going to get it!” (Y/n) laughed. Getting up from the couch, arms outstretched. “You know, I haven’t gotten a hug since you got back. I think now would be a nice time for one!” “(Y/n), no! You are coated in shedded fur!” Shinobu scolded, playfulness still dancing in her eyes. “I just got changed!” She pointed the cat toy forward, ready to defend herself from the approaching figure. “You should have thought about that before you let the cat use me as a human springboard!” (Y/n) yelled, rushing forward. Shinobu smacked (Y/n) upside the head with the cat toy and used the momentary distraction to run behind the kitchen island. (Y/n) wasted no time however, in simply jumping onto the counter and sliding to Shinobu’s side of the temporary barrier and caught her off guard. The pair ran back into the living room with LoveFluff quick on their heels. (Y/n) managed to tackle Shinobu into the couch, holding her tight and peppering her face with kisses. “(Y/n), no, get off! I’m covered in fur now!” Shinobu gasped, trying to stop laughing. “Sorry, love. I’m afraid the cat thinks I’m a good place to sit.” Shinobu looked over (Y/n)’s shoulder and saw LoveFluff laying down on (Y/n)’s back. “You are going to continue to crush me because the cat is comfortable and you don’t want to move it?” “That’s the plan!” (Y/n) laughed, snuggling into Shinobu. “Besides, you are now thoroughly covered in fur, you can’t possibly get any hairier, and the next couple nature docs lined up are focused on insects, and I know you like those so, let’s just relax here and watch them.” (Y/n) smiled. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt...” Shinobu sighed, running her hands over (Y/n)’s hair. “How do you do it? Why can’t I stay mad at you?” “Because you loooove me~” “I suppose that would have something to do with it.” Shinobu agreed, a slight smile visible on her lips. The couple and their house guest hardly left the living room area for the rest of the day. Opting to order a late lunch/ early dinner from one of their favorite restaurants and watching documentaries and movies all day. It was rather late when Shinobu and (Y/n) fell asleep halfway through an ocean life documentary and not long after, LoveFluff rejoined them, curling up near Shinobu’s side. ***

The next morning Mitsuri let herself in with the spare key, Obanai not far behind. She had expected to at least see (Y/n) up, but was pleasantly surprised to see her friends sleeping peacefully on the couch with LoveFluff. “Isn’t this just the most precious sight you’ve ever seen?” Mitsuri cooed, quietly. “I wouldn’t say the most precious.” Obanai replied, beginning to gather the cat supplies around the apartment. Mitsuri’s eyes shone with adoration and pulled her phone out, snapping various photos of the sight before her. “(Y/n) is gonna love these!” Once Mitsuri and Obanai collected all the items and put them in the car, Mitsuri returned with the cat carrier and loudly entered the apartment this time around, causing the couple on the couch to stir and the cat to jump off to investigate. “Hello, my sweet baby angel! Did you have a good time? Did you miss me?” “Mowwww” (Y/n) awoke and rubbed the sleep out of their eyes, carefully extracting themself from Shinobu, who groaned and turned to her side. “Hey, Mitsuri, sorry, I was sleeping. Need help with grabbing stuff?” “No that’s fine, Obanai helped pack up. You and Shinobu look no worse for wear.” she smiled. “I’m sure she’ll find ways to get me back for this for years to come, but it definitely went over better than I thought it would.” “Well, be sure to tell her I’m sorry as well when she wakes up. I’ll make her some ginger tsukudani later this week too. Hopefully that will count for something.” Mitsuri said, coaxing LoveFluff into the carrier and shutting the door behind her. “I’m sure she’d appreciate that.” (Y/n) yawned. “You should get some more sleep so I’ll get going. Thanks again for watching LoveFluff for me.” “No problem. It was my pleasure.” “Oh, one more thing!” Mitsuri called from the door. “Check your phone, I got some cute pics!” Mitsuri left and (Y/n) sat back on the couch in the gap left by Shinobu’s bent legs and unlocked their phone. They smiled at the sweet picture that Mitsuri had sent them. It was (Y/n) and Shinobu cuddled up on the couch with LoveFluff tucked into Shinobu’s side. “What are you doing over there.” (Y/n) turned to the sleepy-looking Shinobu. “Just looking at the cute picture Mitsuri sent me.” Shinobu sat up and lazily laid her head on (Y/n)’s shoulder to look at the phone. She scoffed. “That girl has no sense of personal space.” “Look who’s talking.” “Quiet you.” Shinobu said, softly shoving (Y/n). “Cats’ gone so you need to get to work.” “Alright,” (Y/n) sighed. They got up and got the vacuum cleaner out of the closet. Shinobu smirked from her spot on the couch. “Oh, and I’d like some tea and a foot rub when you’re done.” “You are never going to let this go are you?” “Probably not.”

#shinobu kocho x reader #shinobu x reader #shinobu kocho #kny oneshots #demon slayer oneshots

231 notes · View notes

higuchimon · 3 years

Text

[fanfic] His Face In My Dreams: Chapter 2

Title: His Face In My Dreams Ship: Ken x Daisuke Chapters: 2-??||Words: 3,052||Total: 6,155 Genre: Romance, Drama||Rated: PG-13 Prompt: DaiKen Week, day #4, dreams/nightmares Notes: Post defeat of BelialVamdemon, by about ten years. Breeds AU. Nightmares, implied sex, implied non-con but not graphic. Summary: Daisuke finds himself entrapped in dreams – entrapped by Ken’s dark side Akogimon. If the Kaiser was bad, Akogimon is far, far worse – and Daisuke can’t get rid of him.

Ken winced as the sunlight struck hard against his face, rolling over to try and block it out. He could hear the faintest hint of laughter in the very back of his mind, and a strong sense of satisfaction. He didn't want to acknowledge it. Doing so would just make it stronger. He'd managed to keep the other at bay when he was eleven. He could continue to do so now.

You can try. But you can't keep me away forever.

Ken's shoulders tightened and he managed a tiny shake of his head. He refused to do anything more. Instead, he forced himself to his feet and into the bathroom. He splashed cold water on his face and pretended he didn't see the glimmer of scarlet in his reflected eyes.

He would be strong. He had to be. For everyone's sake - for the Digimon.

Oh, I don't care that much about them. They'll bow before me whenever I want it. A rich, amused chuckle. Ken suspected he was going to hate today. He always hated those days when that smug, dark voice whispered to him so strongly. Thankfully they didn't come very often.

Now, that tasty little pet of mine. The satisfaction dripped from Akogimon's words and Ken's fingers tightened on his hairbrush, cracking it. Him, I care about.

Ken could go months without directly addressing that voice that whispered thick and deep in the back of his mind. He cast all of that away now. "Leave him alone."

And how would you intend to make me? You want him as much as I do. If you have him, then I have him. We're the same.

Ken shook his head. he refused to believe that this monstrosity was any part of him. He knew what blood flowed in his veins, but that didn't change anything. He wondered at times how the Spore affected his Digimon blood. Sometimes he almost asked Koushiro to help him check.

That could be interesting too. Just imagine what I could do with that kind of power at my fingertips. If you think I'm annoying now. Another of those hateful laughs. Care to try it?

Ken winced. He wasn't going to let Akogimon get that kind of power. He checked the brush; he'd have to get a new one. It wouldn't be the first time. At least he looked more or less presentable. He would have to call Daisuke that night and make sure he was all right. He knew nothing could have happened to Daisuke physically. But he still wanted to hear his voice and know that everything was all right.

Oh, I didn't hurt him. It's not as if I could. Apocalymon's spawn isn't easy to hurt. Ken had the sensation that Akogimon licked his lips in satisfaction. But there are so many other things that I can do that aren't hurting.

Ken pressed his own lips together and refused to listen to another word. He couldn't exactly tell everything that Akogimon thought, but that was more because he never tried to. He wasn't even certain of how this strange mental situation really worked. No one he knew did either. He'd thought about asking Jou or Yamato but never had found the time. There was always something else that needed to be done.

He pushed himself through his day, focusing on his work and ignoring the occasional bits of chatter that echoed in his mind. It didn't matter, he reminded himself as necessary. He did his best work when he ignored that voice and right now, he did a lot of very good work.

As the sun began to dip downward, Ken settled himself back on the couch in his hotel room and dialed up Daisuke. He still made a point to ignore that smug little voice, this time in favor of Daisuke's.

"Hey!" Daisuke sounded a little tired, but no more than he should have for it being the end of the day. "How've you been? I miss you.

"I miss you too," Ken told him. "I'll be home day tare tomorrow." They exchanged the usual pleasantries, getting one another caught up on what they were doing. Neither mentioned anything about Akogimon. Ken decided a scant two sentences into the conversation that he wouldn't say anything.

Daisuke didn't mention anything at all, and Ken decided that whatever his other side had been talking about had been nothing but hot air. He'd expected as much.

"Hey, Ken." Daisuke sounded a trifle reluctant all of a sudden. Ken tensed, a breath of far ghosting against him. He did his best to pretend that it wasn't a hint of mocking laughter. "You remember back when we first met? I mean, the second time I went to the Digital World?"

Ken's throat dried at once. It had been so long that most of the time he didn't mind talking about it, but right now, he wasn't sure. What could have brought this up? "Yes." It was all he could make himself say right now.

"I was wondering - what did you do while I was out of it? I mean, something reminded me of that, and I got to thinking and it occurred to me that I don't really remember anything. I passed out on the way down and when I woke up, I was on that cliff." Daisuke let out a little bit of a laugh, but it didn't sound all that cheerful. Not like his usual laughs. "So I was just kind of wondering. You know how something will just catch at your mind."

Oh, he knew. He knew so very well. He closed his eyes. This had to be harmless. He couldn't imagine how answering would hurt anything, though. "It wasn't much. You were actually awake for a little bit of it. I - I used some chloroform to knock you out, then just carried you out there, after I took your D-3 and D-Seminal." He remembered. He remembered how Akogimon - though he'd not known to call him that then - wanted to keep Daisuke for his own. He refused and instead of taking Daisuke to the fortress or even latching the Ring around V-mon right away, he'd had him taken to the cliff. He told himself at the time that he wanted to savor the sweet taste of Daisuke's rage and fear and inability to stop him.

He knew differently now. He knew that he'd done it to keep Akogimon from having Daisuke. And he'd do it again if he had to. Would you now? Akogimon sneered. Now that you know how good he is? Are you sure about that?

Ken shuddered; he could tell exactly what Akogimon meant. There was a brief flash of something that he didn't want to think was a memory, the sight of Daisuke on a large, soft bed, wrists bound, and eyes blown wide with pleasure. While seeing Daisuke's expression like that was something he was used to, having Daisuke bound like that wasn't.

You really should try it.

No. He really wasn't. Couldn't. Wouldn't. He wrenched his mind back to the conversation with Daisuke. "That's about it, really. I hope that helps?"

"Sure." Daisuke swallowed, as if he hadn't quite expected to hear that. "Thanks. Glad nothing else happened."

Ken closed his eyes and leaned his head back. "I'm a little more tired than I thought I was. I'll talk to you tomorrow?"

"Already looking forward to it," Daisuke told him. "You get some sleep. You sound exhausted."

I am. Ken offered a bit of a chuckle before they bid farewell and both ended the call. Ken breathed in quietly, turning his awareness inward. He'd done that only a handful of times in the course of his life, especially since finding out there was something - someone there when he did.

He didn't open his eyes but he could see regardless. There lounged on a throne piled high with black satin pillows a being that looked much like him, save for being dressed in garments of deep blue, with slightly pointed ears and scarlet tinged eyes. And, of course, for that mocking smirk on his lips.

Akogimon waved one languid hand. "Do take a seat."

Ken didn't move. "What did you do to Daisuke?" He wanted to get that cleared up as fast as he could.

"I told you. Nothing that wasn't fun and nothing that could hurt him." Akogimon toyed with a tiny dagger that came from nowhere. "It was only a dream, lighter half. He enjoyed it as much as I did.."

Ken shook his head, pressing his lips together. "That's not the point. You didn't ask. He didn't want you." He knew Daisuke, perhaps better than he knew himself. Better than he wanted to know this twisted reflection of himself, certainly. He didn't want to say what Akogimon did was really called, but the word hovered silently between them regardless. Akogimon didn't look impressed in the slightest.

"Why don't you ask him? Are you afraid of what the answer could be?" Akogimon's teeth weren't quite pointed but they came very close. The savagery shone through regardless. "Are you afraid to find out that he did want it? That he'd prefer me taking him hard to you being so soft?"

Ken's breath caught in his throat. Scarlet rage tinged his vision and copper filled his mouth. He shook his head slowly. He refused to listen to this nonsense. "I won't ask. I don't need to."

"So you are afraid." Akogimon smirked as he leaned forward and casually wrapped his fingers around Ken's shirt, dragging him in closer. Ken let him; neither of them could genuinely hurt the other beyond the weapon of words. Akogimon licked his lips slowly. "Let's have a wager, then. Let me take him in the flesh, not just dreams. If he enjoys it - if he loves it as much as he did before - then I'm right and you're wrong. If he doesn't, then you're right."

Ken pushed himself away, one hand closing around on Akogimon's wrist tight. "No. You're not going to touch Daisuke. And stay out of his dreams. Let him be."

Akogimon easily wrenched himself out of Ken's grip. "And what are you going to do if I don't? What I do to him in dreams will appear in the waking world sooner or later. He's taking to the first lesson very well, even if he's not aware of it. He accepts me as his master."

Ken didn't think he could possibly have turned that concept down any harder. He shook his head violently. "Why can't you just leave him alone? Why do you want him so much?"

"Why do you?" Akogimon dusted off his shirt casually. "You and I are the same person. Why would I not want what you want? What makes the difference is how we choose to take it. You waited until he was willing to accept a date with you - until you were nearly nineteen. Or was it twenty?" His lip curled. "And what did you do for a first date? You took him to a restaurant."

Ken didn't say what he truly wanted to say. Most of it he didn't think could be said in words. But Akogimon's smile said everything that he could convey on the subject made it over regardless. That tiny smug smirk, the twitch of his lips - Ken wished they could hurt each other, for the simple fact of how much he wanted to destroy that face that looked so much like his own at his worst moments.

"What we do in our private life is private," he said instead, knowing that Akogimon wouldn't care. "You won't ever have him, not without me there."

"We'll see about that. You should get some rest. I have plans to make." Akogimon made a dismissing motion with one hand. "If you're very good and don't bother me, I might let you see what I've done with him - and how much he enjoys it."

If Ken could have one wish at that moment, it would be for Akogimon to stop trying to claim that Daisuke liked anything that the dark reflection did to him. He wasn't going to believe for a moment that Daisuke did. Akogimon was right about one thing - Daisuke couldn't be physically hurt. He'd personally seen Daisuke shrug off a thirty story skyscraper falling on top of him. It hadn't done a single good thing for his clothes, but at best it had mussed up his hair.

Not for a second did he want Akogimon, or anyone else, to do anything to Daisuke that Daisuke didn't want. It didn't matter that there wouldn't be any physical injuries. He'd long been of the opinion that Daisuke's heart could be hurt so much easier than his body.

Akogimon smiled slowly. "You're right," he murmured. "And I will enjoy taking my time with that."

He did something and Ken found himself opening his eyes, back on the couch he'd sat on to talk to Daisuke. Scarcely no time at all had passed. Time inside and time outside weren't the same thing at all. He got up carefully regardless, taking careful steps until his blood started to move at the proper pace. He headed to the shower, eager to get clean after that chat with Akogimon. Speaking to his other half had a tendency for that kind of reaction afterwards.

At least Akogimon shut up after this. For a while. Even though Ken could still tell there was a whiff of awareness, could hear a tiny whisper of amusement whenever anything around reminded him of Daisuke. Akogimon hadn't given up, and Ken wasn't sure if he even knew how, or would have if he'd known.

He knew there was one way to make sure that Akogimon never came near to Daisuke again. The problem there was that it meant he would never go near Daisuke again, and he didn't think he could do that, let alone explain to Daisuke in a way the other would accept on why he was doing it. Daisuke wasn't likely to accept that it was for his own safety.

There would be a way. Somehow. He'd find it, no matter how long it took, and he'd make sure that Daisuke wasn't hurt by him or anything that even came close to looking like him.

And he didn't care how much Akogimon laughed.

Akogimon settled himself carefully. He hated to think about it, but this place, no matter how comfortable it was, was little more than a prison. Sitting in here all day every day without anything to do ate away at his patience, which he'd never had a huge stock of anyway. Ken's time as the Kaiser had at least given him something interesting to watch, even if his other half had been an absolutely pathetic excuse for a world conquerer. Akogimon intended to show him how it was done one of these days.

That would have to wait until he could overpower Ken's consciousness and take on the body for his own. That would take a lot more effort than he could put in right now. But it would happen. He refused to give up.

Until then, he had something to divert his attention and keep him amused. He wove the proper pattern, whispering words - though that wasn't even necessary, not even Ken could hear him right now but he preferred it that way - and twitching his fingers into the proper configurations. Some forms of Digital sorcery required both verbal expressions and the proper arrangements of fingers. Some of the higher forms even required outside items.

All around him, the bedroom he'd entertained Daisuke in the night before formed. He admired it briefly; he didn't think Daisuke had been able to do so, and he'd put in a lot of effort to craft this virtual paradise. There were two windows in the walls that displayed a view he'd developed himself: displaying what he wanted his future castle to look like. The bed could have fit at least three altogether, and anyone who sat on it would sink into the soft embrace. Sheets of softest silk and satin, shaded in deep blues, coated it, as did a warm blanket with Akogimon's personal insignia embroidered on it.

He ran a hand over that in pride. I'll have this for real one day. He would craft it himself if he had to. But that lay in the future. Right now, he had someone else to work on.

Akogimon settled into the chair he called up with a brief flex of his mind. It was practically the twin of the one that he'd sat in when Ken entered into his portion of their joint mind. He considered it really more of a throne - elegant and crafted from the most expensive materials he could dream up. Perhaps this could never exist in reality but he didn't care. Here he could have all things as he wished them. He didn't have to wait very long before Daisuke appeared on the bed.

Thanks to the particular works of the spell Akogimon crafted, he was already in position for what Akogimon wanted - wrists bound in silken ropes above his head, ankles bound likewise, and nothing at all to get in between him and Akogimon.

Slowly the son of Piemon moved from his throne to the bed, and slid his hands from Daisuke's shoulders down his sides. Daisuke stirred, eyes fluttering, and started to murmur something. It sounded far too much like 'Ken' for Akogimon's taste, so he administered a quick slap as punishment. Daisuke's eyes flew open and focused on him, a brief moment of hope visible before being replaced by tension and a hint of fear.

Akogimon liked that. He rested one fingertip on Daisuke's lips. "You haven't forgotten me, my pet? I would be very offended by that."

"I don't want to be here," Daisuke blustered, tugging at the bonds that held him where Akogimon wanted him. Normal restraints wouldn't have had any effect on him, but in this realm of dreams, Akogimon could do as he wished. "Let me go!"

"I don't think so." Akogimon leaned in closer. "Time for round two."

To Be Continued

Notes: Really, Akogimon is bored! He needs enrichment! Give him a toy, Ken! … but not Daisuke.

#fanfic #higuchimon writes #digimon adventure 02 #ichijouji ken #motomiya daisuke #daisuke x ken #ken x daisuke #chapters: his face in my dreams #au: breeds

1 note · View note

bluepenguinstories · 3 years

Text

Remoras Full Chapter XXII: Wendy City

As I sat outside with a few friends at the break of dawn, my mind kept returning to just last night. That scene couldn’t be shaken away and while those folks conversed with pudding cups and oranges in hand, I mulled over that lady’s words.

“Rhea? Is that you?” She asked.

“Rheain’t,” I should’ve replied with. Rather than such a statement as, “now that’s a name I haven’t heard in years.” God damn, could I have been any more ambiguous? Sure, it made sense to me at the time, but I probably gave my would-be bounty hunter the wrong impression.

Now that I thought of it, we were similar in stature and I suppose (although it was a bit of a stretch) that in the dark, my purple hair could have been mistaken for her blue. Still...the implications of being mistaken for such a person left me just a little unsettled.

Pensive, I fixed my gaze on the space between the four of us, then allowed a smile to form.

“Last night I ran into someone who mistook me for an old co-worker of mine,” I announced to the group.

My arms were crossed and I glanced around now and took note of the food in each person’s hand; Otis, with his thick red mittens which held a queen sized candy bar. Gloria, frail and heavy in perfume (who knows how she got hold of such a thing) shook her hands as she spooned pudding into her mouth. Bernard, whose brown and balding hair matched his brown leather clothing, all full of holes. He held an orange in his hand. All the while, my stomach growled.

“You had a job?” Bernard grunted in disbelief.

“Yes, I had a job. Why is that so hard to believe?” I protested. “In fact, it was a little over a couple years ago that I was laid off. Well, all of us were laid off. The company is no more. Just like that office building beside us. Whatever occupied it once doesn’t occupy it now.”

In some respects, good riddance. In others, good grief.

“What kind of job was it?” Gloria, now interested, set down her pudding cup and asked. Bless her frail heart.

Now what can I tell them to make it palatable?

“We were housekeepers, of sorts,” was the answer I came up with.

“What, like you cleaned houses?” Bernard again.

I put my elbow over my knee, palm on my forehead, and shook my head.

“We cleaned...messes. Going from place to place, each of us with our little jobs. Some of us were really good at getting rid of things, while others, it was more about tidying up or moving things around. Brooms, mops, sprays, vacuums, feather dusters. You name it. Everyone had their specialty.”

In truth, our organization never had a name. Those who knew of us outside of the organization would call us ‘janitors’. Then again, some of us did as well. That, or something like it. Custodians, waste disposal, cleaners, plumbers, renovators, whatever. To think that it all stemmed from a joke we all passed around about how we ‘cleaned up after others’ messes’. Then again, how many messes did we clean up and how many did we make?

“You know, back in the day there used to be a term for mafia hitmen. ‘Guy who paints houses’. Were you something like that?” Otis at last gave some input, and I wondered where he heard that bit of trivia. He couldn’t have been much older than twenty.

“No, nothing like that,” I chuckled. “Get that idea out of your head.”

Because it’s too close to the truth for comfort.

“Anyway, about this old co-worker of mine…” I began, but I was no storyteller; I could spend the rest of my bloody life reminiscing, but that didn’t mean I could give a recollection worth a damn. Yet I tried. Important or not, the need to tell these strangers I’ve shared light meals with tugged at me. “What you have to understand is that many of us shared a bond together. Despite the fact we’d always have our jobs at different places from one another and although sometimes we’d be asked to work as a group or paired together, more often than not, we were off doing our own thing. But we still got together, whether it be at taverns, or the…” headquarters. “Office.”

I paused. Not for effect. Not for feedback. But for the simple fact that I wasn’t sure what name to give this mystery co-worker.

“So if you think of us like a grade school classroom, this co-worker, let’s call her Rhonda. Rhonda…Civic. Yeah, that works. Anyway, Rhonda would’ve been the quiet kid in the back. She kept to herself, didn’t really interact with anyone, and had a few quirks. Some odd ways of speaking. Feeling. Others picked up on it, and of course, like a grade school, she’d get teased. Others would talk about her behind her back,” kinda what I’m doing now, except how else am I supposed to talk about someone who’s no longer around?

“I’ve had situations like that,” Bernard grunted as he gave his input. “I used to operate a forklift for a pet food company. Me an’ the boys would shoot the shit when the manager wasn’t watchin’. Most of us, ‘nyway. There was this youngish guy, flannel shirt and overalls. Same attire every day. Didn’t know how he got away wit’ it, but that’s what he wore. He moved bag after bag of dog food, but never once so much as said hi. Not a peep from the kid. We all thought it was weird. Anyway, he quit one day, we never found out why, and that was that. I didn’t even think much of him ‘til you mentioned somethin’.”

“Yeah, it was the same for me,” I replied, and I looked up at the clouds in the sky. “Funny that, I didn’t think much of her back when I worked for that company and now out of the blue someone mistook me for her and it was like, ‘oh yeah…’”

“What about you, Wendy? You’re always off on your own at night, going at it with your projects,” he countered.

“We all have our eccentricities,” I concurred. “I’m also not much for conversation, either, most of the time, but I still enjoy the company of others. If for nothing else than the spectacle.”

It was far too early in the morning, but how I wished to have a warm cup of tea or sake in my hands so I could take little sips as I spoke.

“I never thought anyone outside of the company ever knew her, be it an old friend or an old enemy,” I carried on, unsure if I had any conclusion to this or if it was just early morning rambling.

“What? You think she had enemies?” Otis spat and I could swear that bits of chocolate just flew right by me.

“That’s the thing: I don’t know. There wasn’t really anything I knew about her apart from I heard. Sure, I watched her a few times, but that didn’t tell me much. Whether she had friends or enemies, I could never tell. When I think back on it, I wish I did know. That I had tried to find out more. But it’s kind of that whole ‘you don’t know what you got ‘til it’s gone’ type of thing. Then again, here she is gone, and I still don’t know what to make of it.”

“Gone?” Gloria must have taken notice of my choice of words. For the record, I didn’t know what became of her. Not any more than I knew what became of the rest of the people I once associated with. Considering that I couldn’t go back to the headquarters (not that I had any desire to return), I had to assume they were all dead and that the place was no more. It made the most sense to me.

“Yeah. Terminated. It’s funny that way, how to them we were all replaceable and they had no problem exploiting us, but even that couldn’t save them.”

“Damn if I don’t know that,” Otis bemoaned. “I have a nephew, and my nephew has a friend who was working when a sign fell on him. Broke his leg. Next thing he knew, management fired him, worker’s comp didn’t cover for his injury, and when he tried to sue, the company’s lawyers blocked him. Then, I knew this other guy who did what he was supposed to. But he got paid scraps and the stress got to him, so one day he came to work all hopped up on coke and his boss fired him on the spot. All those days of doing what he was told and scraping by, and one day was all it took for it to come crashing down. He ended up killing himself some time after that,” after those last words came a sniffle. No tears, though. Maybe it was a runny nose.

I shook my head. Sympathy and grief was a difficult thing to muster given the life I had; countless moments of killing and watching others die. Those I worked with, laughed and shared drinks with, gone at any moment. It wasn’t a case of ‘kill or be killed’, but it was a life defined by the death of others, all the same. So what I felt when Otis relayed his tales of people he knew, all I could feel was hatred and disgust. If I knew their bosses, I would have killed them on the spot.

“You okay, Wendy?” Otis’ voice of concern broke through my thoughts. How I must have stared with that same pensive look I often did when lost in thought.

“It’s just not right, though, is it?” I glanced from person to person as I asked, my question rhetorical in nature. They all shook their heads and murmured, “no” or “not at all”.

Then Bernard waved his hand away and grumbled.

“Bah! Right, wrong, who gives a damn? I’m still alive,” he retorted, then turned to his back and laid himself down over sheets of newspaper.

That was a point I was willing to consider. To some, there was a profound difference between ‘alive’ and ‘survive’, but really, he was no less alive than someone with the privilege of a roof over their head and a bed to sleep in. Food in the pantry and some form of stability. Such things were all an illusion, anyway. People get busy, food goes bad. Bills pile up, costs increase, wage stays the same. To compensate, work extra hours, sleep less. Everything comes at a price few can afford and the compromises are seldom in one’s favor. Locked into a system in which the average person is always just on the verge of homelessness, yet the state of being homeless itself was punished.

Once I had asked Bernard, “if you were given a home, would you take it?” Based on that premise some other minds had, that people such as Bernard only lived that way because they wanted to. That it’s ‘on them’ or whatever. His response? Something like, “show me something that won’t be taken from me, otherwise don’t waste my time.”

That may have sounded like, “I’m here because I want to,” but at least to me, the difference couldn’t have been any more clear.

But enough rants. I stretched my arms out and yawned, then smiled a cheeky grin.

“Well, you know what they say, duty calls,” I announced as I got up. “Time for me to go digging for cash and get myself a bite to eat.”

That was how I went about most of my day: I’d get up, chat with a few folks around the docks, walk around the city ‘til I got a bit of cash, spend it on deep dish pizza and cheap beer (the staple of Chicago), then head back to the docks, bathe in the lake water, and resume my work in the office building. One of those days I’d have working lights, and then I could get to work on giving those folks a more comfortable place to sleep at night. Something like a home. Although it was unfortunate to think that in the eyes of the law, they’d still be considered homeless. Even the most idealistic of endeavors could result in a losing battle.

Whatever actions I might have to take in the future, I focused on the agenda for the day. It was during the day in which I was neither a rumor nor a killer. Daylight meant that I was just a person. Hell, at times a superhero; case in point, an old lady gave me a few bucks after I got her cat out of a tree (yes, as cliché as it was, such a thing happened quite often). Soon after that, I headed down to Cosmo Corner (a popular downtown tavern).

It was about noon now and my favorite bartender would be in soon: Wanda. Nice young lady, all covered in tattoos. At least a dozen on each arm, when I first met her I thought she was part of a crime ring or in a street gang, but nah. Apparently on the side, she liked to paint in her studio, but that was as hardcore as she got. Oh, well, being a bartender could be hardcore too. Not everyone can handle being a bartender.

Right now it was Stickbug (no, I don’t know why he was called that, but everyone called him that. Maybe that’s just his name). Fitness guru with a pencil thin mustache who was disastrous at mixing drinks. But amiable, I’d give him that. None of the conversations he’d strike up were ever ones I was interested in having, but he didn’t have a mean word to say about anyone. Maybe that was the problem: you had to have boundaries. You couldn’t show everyone the same level of sympathy.

“Say Wendy, have you heard of the fall of Constantinople?” Stickbug asked whilst he flung glass after glass in the air and began juggling them. Upon a quick glance, I noticed that there weren’t many people at the moment. Fine enough. I guess no one would give him dirty looks. As for me, I let my head fall onto the counter, the effects of my lack of sleep setting in.

“No, I haven’t,” I replied.

“D’ya wanna hear about it?” He continued to ask, and I already knew how insistent he could be with his topics.

“No,” I told him, to no avail.

“Okay, so we’ve got this city named Istanbul and…” he began, but it didn’t take long for my thoughts to drown out anything else he said.

Why couldn’t I have come in just a little bit later? No, it’s not bad. I could learn things if I listen, I’m just not in the mood to do so. I just want to eat and drink and...oh. Oh my. This must be what Rhea had to deal with all the time...wanting to order food, but never wanting to socialize. Not to mention how anxious she seemed to be in any situation that didn’t have to do with violence. Girl could kick ass but had trouble ordering a sandwich at a sub shop. Not to mention the general bodily discomfort she apparently dealt with.

‘I, and I cannot stressed this enough, am stressed’ I imagine she must have said at one point or another. Seemed to fit, anyway. That, or ‘I, and I cannot stress this enough, need a sweater’ or a blanket. Ugh. Why am I thinking of some weirdo who had such a minuscule presence in my life? Could it have to do with that woman last night? Yeah, probably. Well, a name’s a name. It could have been anyone named ‘Rhea’. Hell, the one I’m thinking of used a different name for each person she met, so I doubt anyone would know her by that name. Probably something else instead, like Sharpay D. Em.

Anyway, I ought to be thinking of more important things. Like the fact that the woman last night wanted to kill me. First of all, couldn’t she have waited? I was busy and I don’t really like being interrupted from my work. All I’m asking for is some fair warning and furthermore –

“...And that is why if you suspect you have a mouse in your home, you should leave a piece of cheese on the floor overnight,” Stickbug seemed to have concluded his little history lesson, except I must have missed many steps, because I wasn’t really sure how we got there.

“Wait, what?” I lifted my head and asked with a dull expression planted on my face.

“Want me to start all over?” He beamed, and I’m sure he could have talked all day and night if someone let him.

“How about later? Isn’t your shift over soon?” I reminded him with a slight sense of pride.

“Oh yeah! You’re right! So glad I got someone to remind me! Otherwise I’d be here all day!”

And nobody wants that. Hell, I don’t even think you’d want that.

“Before you go, I may as well order, seeing as I haven’t done that yet.”

“Oh no!” He gasped. “I hope you haven’t been hungry!”

Funny to think that his concern is real and not sarcasm.

“In fact, I am hungry right now,” I corrected him. “By the way, I’ll get my usual: pepperoni and spinach, large.”

“Right on!” I handed him the cash I had gotten from that old lady earlier. I still had some left over for sake, but I wanted to wait until Wanda got in.

I wonder what kind of food that woman from last night likes to eat. I feel like she’d eat chicken legs and large chunks of steaks. Just, a lot of steak. You know, why am I wondering such a thing? I’ve got better things to think about.

About five minutes later and a glass of water downed, Stickbug waved goodbye. In his place came Wanda with a bandanna over her head and covered in sweat which ran down her face.

“Intense painting session?” I asked.

She wiped her forehead and huffed.

“You know it. Were you waiting for me?”

“Heh,” I flashed her a smile. “It’s just not the same with Stickbug.” Really, how did that name come about? I think he said his name was Steven once, but I’ll be damned if I can remember.

“Is that so?” She asked, then went to the back to put her stuff away and get settled in. About the same time she came back out, the pizza arrived as well.

I took a heaping slice as layer upon layer of cheese and bits of spinach fell off of the pizza and back down onto the plate, unable to sustain itself on the thick cake of dough. Upon taking a large bite, my mouth was filled with the warm and gooey taste along with the combination of squishy spinach and savory pepperoni. One strong gulp later, and I was ready to take a drink. Next to me was my cup of sake, and when I looked up, Wanda winked.

“By the way, someone came in last night asking about any abandoned buildings,” Wanda mentioned as I sipped my cup of sake.

“Oh yeah?” I hummed, which came out more like a “mm-hmm.”

“Yeah. I just told her about the office building you’ve been hanging out in.”

I spat out my drink. Some might have gotten on her apron, but that was her problem, not mine.

“What did you do that for?! I don’t want people coming in and interrupting me while I’m working!”

Then I thought it over.

“Say, what did she look like?”

She put her finger on her chin and looked up.

“Hmm...big and muscular, brown poofy hair.”

Ugh. Yeah.

“Oh yeah. She came by and visited. Tried to kill me,” I replied, almost nonchalant about the whole ordeal, despite how much it had been on my mind.

“What? Are you serious?” She balked.

I shrugged and took another bite of my pizza.

“Yeah, but she wasn’t hard to deal with or anything.”

My main concern was why she was there at all. It’s not that I never expected anyone to come after me, especially when I all but deserted my job. But when no one came, I just expected that I was free and I could live out my life as I pleased.

“Jeez, did you kill her?” She accused. Rather baseless, too.

“No,” I scoffed. “I just sent her back home. Don’t know why she went after me, either.”

“Look, Wendy, I know you’ve killed people. Can’t really say I didn’t see something like this coming.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong: I get why, I just don’t get why, y’know?”

She shook her head.

“It’s like, she said there was a request for my death. She didn’t even know who I was, she mistook me for someone else. What I don’t get is why, rather, how such a request came about. Like, someone knows about me, but is sending people who don’t know about me to do the job.”

“Well, do you know what the request says?”

“No,” I admitted.

“Then maybe whoever made it didn’t know who you were either, but noticed some things around the area.”

“Yeah, maybe.” It was all too possible I was overthinking things. But when it came to things like that, a fair deal of suspicion was necessary. “Whatever the case, if such a request like that is out there, then I doubt the person last night will be the only one.

“It’s kind of an open secret among the circle you talk to that you’re the one behind the murder of those cops. I don’t blame you, plenty of people around here don’t like the police and I really do wish you well, but most people don’t have the privilege to do what you do. Most people don’t have the ability to murder those they see as committing an injustice. Not only that, but most people don’t have confidantes that would be willing to keep their secret. You know why?”

Great. Just what I wanted while I was at the bar with some good food and drinks: a lecture.

“If you’re going to tell me because it’s illegal, I’m going to argue that it’s only illegal if you don’t have a badge and a uniform. Most serial killers are the ones who are hired by the state and demand your respect.”

Her face lowered and she turned from me.

“Yeah, I get it. I’m not saying I disagree, just that the average person isn’t capable of doing such things, even if they wanted to. Even if they ignored the legality, it doesn’t matter. Just as you said, you’ve got got hordes willing to kill whoever they see fit without consequence, decked in highly-militarized outfits and weapons. Their numbers are too great, their power is too great, and if you even show the least bit resistance, they’ll throw in the rest of the military alongside them. So the best most of us can ask for is to avoid them as much as possible. But here you go, picking off anyone who rubs you the wrong way and not only do you manage to sneak on by and keep going, but it’s like you boast about it, too.”

“I don’t boast – I never said I enjoy it.”

“No, that’s not what I mean, sorry.”

“But you’re right: I am very fortunate. In the past, I’ve evaded my demise and have slaughtered entire armies that wished to pursue me. I’m not saying that to boast, though it is quite a feat, I admit. I’ve had a long life, a storied and bloody past, and I really wish I could stay out of trouble, but I just can’t seem to help myself. Old habits, I guess.”

“You’re not that old, are you? You don’t look much over thirty.”

I managed a chuckle.

“Would you believe me if I said I was well over five hundred years old?”

“Quit joking around.”

It’s not exactly wrong. I was born sometime early in the Sengoku period, but time travel sure does let you skip ahead a few years. There’s no way I could explain something like that, though.

“Let’s just say I’ve got a good skincare routine.”

That time, I was joking. There’s no way in hell that bathing in Lake Michigan would preserve your youth.

“Either way, I’m used to not sticking around places for very long. If things get too hot, I’ll leave town. So don’t worry about me,” I assured Wanda.

“I’d like it if it wouldn’t have to come to that,” she replied. “You’re a good customer, and make for good conversation.”

Well, I couldn’t say I wasn’t flattered, but hopefully she wouldn’t hold it against me if I did decide to ditch this place, reside elsewhere and try to lay low. Eventually I would have liked to settle down and be an old lady. Maybe knit sweaters in my spare time, or get a dog and a garden. Become the friendly old lady in the neighborhood that no one knows anything about.

None of that was likely. People like me weren’t meant to last long. As far as age went, I was already pushing it and as far as I knew, I really wasn’t much over thirty. It was just hard to tell where in my thirties, since my concept of time has been all screwed up.

I left the bar soon after. Despite my enjoyment of Wanda’s presence, my head just wasn’t as much in it as I thought it would be. So, still middle of the day, I returned to the docks, ready to get back to work.

I still don’t have the solution. Not enough power. Every time I think I’ve got a spark, it only lights one area. What I need is a lightning rod. Maybe I could stand one of my swords up to the roof to collect electricity. Or antennae. No. That still wouldn’t be enough, not without the right circuitry and places to send the electricity to. There’s more than one component and I can’t just do one without the other. If I’m lucky, there might be some generators downstairs I haven’t discovered. But even if I have to steal or build power generators, I want to give these places a semblance of a home. Some place to rest.

But even if I’m successful, it still wouldn’t be legal for them to reside there. What would I do, then? Fight off a whole force? Or would I run with the knowledge that I would be outnumbered? When I consider the eventual outcome, it was a futile effort and good intentions will only get me so far.

I shook my head as I entered the darkened building through an opening with a loose board. If that woman had been more attentive, she would have seen that not all of those boards were as well covered, and one of them actually served as a door.

Inside, an absence of light. I reached to my right and grabbed my helmet and katana which lay on top of a tall cabinet.

Upon placing the helmet on my head, I had a much clearer view of my surroundings. The infrared visor on my helmet allowed me to see in the dark, albeit some objects showed up blurry.

Outside, it was still light. Dusk wasn’t expected for another few hours. In other words, I had time. I could do my work in peace, take a little nap, not worry about anything. If no one was going to come after me until well after dark, then I could prepare.

So I did just that; I patrolled the area, climbed up each floor, checked out each room, then headed back down to the first floor. All around the first floor I searched for a hatch or a door, a flight of stairs, something that would lead to a basement. No such luck. It seemed that there were no passages, hidden or otherwise. No basement. No generators.

Maybe that’s what I’ll have to resort to. I’ll have to dig out a basement, fill it with concrete, get some generators built or setup...argh! Why is it so hard to get this going? I should just tell everyone, “sorry guys, I know I hate to make false promises, but looks like I just set my sights too high!”

I sunk down to the floor along a wall, right next to a door which would have led to someone’s office.

“Who am I kidding? It’ll be a miracle if I don’t leave before I get the chance to figure this out.”

I leaned my head over and soon felt the weight of the darkness creep up on me as it guided me to a gentle sleep.

When I awoke, I brought myself up to my feet and decided to climb up the many flight of stairs once more.

If I’m lucky, I’d like to at least get the elevator working. Something.

Short rests were all that were ever afforded to me. If I had gotten three hours or more, that was oversleep for me. With the way my body operated, perhaps adapted, I never worried myself with dreams. On the rare occasion where I had a dream, they were brief windows, photographs, still frames cascading down. Images of being beheaded. Of watching my head roll down into a river. Typical things like that. Such things weren’t memories, but just reminders of what should have been long ago.

Never mind. Several flights later, I saw the bits of collapsed roof on the floor. Above, the glow of the moon illuminated the floor. It was the only source of light I was afforded, save for the helmet.

So I see. It’s evening now.

“Damn, couldn’t she have found a different way in other than breaking down the roof? Now I’m going to have to repair that as well…”

If another came after me, I really hoped they wouldn’t drop down from the roof. That would make things too easy for me.

I’m going to consider that it’s still too early for something like that. Not that I have a watch or a phone, but I doubt it’s been night for very long. I just can’t imagine anyone attacking me until late into the night. Any time earlier and it would just be rude.

Just like the night before, I went down to where the top of the elevator was, along with the open panel in the wall. If I had to start somewhere, I figured I’d get done what I could. That was, if I could get anything done at all.

So as I crouched down and got to work, my helmet lifted as I did so. I struck a match and held it between my lips as I worked, plucking it out every now and then to help bind the wires together. There were two wires left with just a little bit of juice. I pulled out a pair of rubber gloves, then held the two wires together and rubbed them; as soon as there was a spark, I used the flame from the match to bind them together. Behind me, a couple rooms away, a light turned on.

Now let’s hope it stays on. Which reminds me: I need to get new light bulbs.

One day, if I ever got (or built) a generator and a basement to place it in, I would test the breaker board. It would be a beautiful sight if one day the whole building could light up. Even as it was, the light from the room remained and leaked out. I was impressed to see that it had stayed on.

Now if I flick the switch off, then on again, will it turn back on?

As I turned to work on the elevator, I was stopped in my place when I heard a thump in the distance. It could have been nothing. Those pipes were old, after all. The vents too.

But even if it was nothing, I had to check it out.

Down one flight of stairs, the sound of movement and creaks against the vents could be heard.

Could it be that I’ve got a guest?

That same sound continued in little spurts. Less noise, but still there. Unavoidable. I could tell, there was movement of some kind. Rat, pebble, raccoon, or a person. Further down the hallway, the sound grew closer, more pronounced. Little shimmies and brushes. Metallic clangs.

I stood in place as the sound seemed to be just above my head. I took off my helmet. No need for it.

“I know you’re up there,” I announced.

Silence. No more movement. Nothing.

Seconds went by. Still nothing.

Stillness passed through the air, and so I had no choice but to accept that I may have just been hearing the old building making noises.

I let out a heavy sigh. Defeat. So soon, too.

“Guess I was just hearing things. I’ll head back now.”

Still no sound of movement. How disappointing. I unsheathed my sword and flashed a toothy smile.

“...Just kidding,” I said before I plunged my katana into the vent and sliced the thing in half.

If there had been a person, or just a rat, surely they felt that.

As I did so, the noise of steel against steel, the grating being slashed apart couldn’t mask the undeniable sound of movement heading backward.

I held my katana up and dragged it against the ceiling as I walked toward the sound of someone retreating from within the vents.

Around the corner, I heard a drop, and the hard tap of a shoe against the floor.

So it was a person. And I missed. I really must be losing my touch.

As I approached, someone small and frail looking peeked out from the corner and threw a knife my way. I caught it between my fingertips and just as fast, threw it back. In a panic, the intruder let out a squeak and ducked back behind the corner, then picked up their knife and ran.

“Were you thinking you could kill me with that? Or were you planning on me blocking it, then running toward me with another knife, the thrown knife being a distraction?” My smile grew wider, almost a grin. It didn’t take much to know their strategy; too many times I’ve dealt with similar tactics. Smart, but amateurish.

Does this person really think they stand more of a chance than the person last night? Or are they just expecting to run around like this is some endurance test?

I wasn’t about to let them experience such a luxury. I ran after and watched as they almost got behind the door to an adjacent room, but before they could do so, I grabbed their wrist and held on tight. Once I pulled them forward, closer to me, it turned out the intruder was a young woman with wavy, green hair.

With my other hand, I raised my knife and readied myself to slice down against her arm.

She scowled, then with her free arm reached for my wrist to free herself. Before she could puncture me, I swung my blade down, at the same time let go of her wrist. Just in time, she jumped out of the way. I turned to make a quick slash, but she blocked it with her knife. Such a measly thing. All I had to do was push harder and it began to show little cracks.

She let go and jumped out of the way again.

“Nimble one, aren’t you?” I observed. Then she charged, but I moved out of the way. She tried to slash with her knife from the side, but I blocked it with my blade, then let go and kicked her to the floor.

Short on breath, she picked herself up. So far all of her efforts, while quick-witted, had been feeble at best.

“Let me ask you this: why do you want to kill me? Is there money involved?”

“I...I don’t want to kill you. That’s...that’s not why I came here,” she spoke, her voice rough, but high in pitch and she fixed her gaze on me as she tried to recover her breath.

“Then why?”

“I want to know who you are,” she answered.

That was such a ridiculous answer. But at least it was some kind of answer.

“I’m a serial killer,” I replied through my teeth. “I leave a trail of bodies in my wake. Sliced open, stabbed through the chest. Cut to ribbons. Does that answer your question?”

Her face turned to shock and she took a step back, but shook her head.

“No, I already knew that much from the request.”

“That again. The request to kill me, correct?”

She gave a nod.

“But I would rather not have to try. Not if you’re anything like who Sunny thought you were.”

“Sunny?”

“The one who tried to kill you last night and got herself beat real good. She thought you were –” I stopped her.

“Rhea?” I asked.

Another nod.

“What was so special about that name? There’s probably plenty of people in this city with that name.”

“Yes. And I looked up every single person with that name in Chicago. There were a lot more names than I thought, and not all of them were happy about receiving a phone call from a stranger.”

…

“Are you a dunce? Did you really?”

“Yes.”

I snorted. I couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of someone actually doing that. I sunk down to the wall and sat.

“Sit,” I commanded. “And if you try anything funny, I will kill you.”

Wordless, she crouched down and sat against the wall across from me.

“So what does that name mean to you?” I questioned.

“Nothing. But it means plenty to a few of the people around me. Rhea Flection, they call her. Apparently she was both feared and admired. Some people want her dead, or revenge on her, others just seem to wish they could see her in action. My cousin and her wife were apparently one of her targets. Someone I admire apparently worked in the same company as her. Says that she died. Yet all these other people keep bringing her up.”

Damn. That name. So it really was the same one that I knew.

“Heh,” I leaned my head back. Absurd as it was, I not only stopped the fight, but also let my guard down. “I wonder if I’ll have my own fan club as well when I die.”

“I take it to mean that you’re not her?” She asked, something which I would have thought was obvious.

“You mean that socially awkward iceberg? No. I’m not her.”

“Iceberg?” She tilted her head, which made me wonder just how much she actually knew.

“You’d have to have been there.”

“So I take it you knew her?”

“Yes. We worked in the same company. But that’s ancient history. For the record, I’m Wendy Day. You?”

“Demetria. What kind of name is that, by the way?”

“I picked it out because I wanted an English sounding name, and it sounds like ‘windy day’. Not very clever, I know. I used to be called Mizue Soyokaze, but I threw that name away long ago, along with the rest of my younger self.”

“Cool. Lore. Can I sit next to you?” She asked, rather sudden, too.

“Go ahead. But I’ll remind you not to get any ideas.”

She got up and as she approached me, she looked away, ashamed or uneasy.

“I probably should have tried to kill you, seeing as I don’t want you to go around killing people, but I was more focused on getting some kind of answers,” she said as she sat down. Then turned away from me. I took it to mean she was shy.

“You don’t want me to go around killing people?” I scoffed. “I don’t want me to go around killing people. I’ve tried to put this life behind me, not get myself into trouble, but then I see others do things that I just can’t abide by.”

“Like what?” She asked, and her voice quivered. If only I had dragged out the battle, maybe she would have shown more bravery.

“Sexual abusers, for starters, but that should be obvious. Then there’s people like landlords and debt collectors who couldn’t care less if they let others die in the name of money. Greedy fucks all around. Still, I can’t catch everyone out there, only the ones that I see. Even then, I try not to let my blood boil, not let it get to me. I try to sit by, abide by the law, but then I witness a child running around with a toy gun with his best friend playing some kind of game, like cops and robbers. Then an actual cop comes and shoots the kid dead, a cruel irony. Said cop walks off, no remorse or recourse, all the while that kid just wanted to play and now their life ended. That I can’t abide by.”

“Wow,” she mouthed.

“But, in case you start thinking I’m some savior, acting only in the name of justice, let me remind you that I’m a murderer and violence is what I know. If anything, I find excuses to take lives, not unlike some of the people I so despise. It’s not even so much a craving or an addiction, but I don’t think this world will ever grow kind, and neither will I.”

“But why did you ever start?”

“Because,” I began. I had to pause, and I thought to myself, wait. Am I really going to go through my life story with a stranger I assumed wanted to kill me? Fuck it. I’m doing this. “I’m all too familiar with authority abusing their power. Back in my old life, when I was young and still had a family, there was a high ranking member of society who was found dead, a puncture wound through their chest. I was blamed for it, an unassuming girl who stayed home all the time and helped out with her family. But once I was accused, that same family disowned me, regardless of whether or not I had actually committed such a thing.”

“Did you?”

“No. But that didn’t matter, I was just a commoner, so my word didn’t mean much, and there was less proof that I didn’t than proof that I did, even if either way was inconclusive. Regardless, I was set to be executed; beheaded, actually. Two men with swords beside me, one in front. All against my throat. However, I managed to fight back and steal the two men’s swords, then cut them all down. After that, I hid out in an abandoned shack. Later on, I found out who the real killer had been and killed him myself. After, I fled. That didn’t stop me from being pursued, but I cut anyone down who dared to try.”

“That’s kinda badass,” she commented. I had to stop her right there.

“No, just bad. My life should have ended that day, as the person I am now was the person I was once accused of being. But no matter how many close calls I’ve had, I’m still here, like some kind of cockroach.”

“And your company?” She asked, and I knew where her real focus was.

“They picked me up a few years back, though in my mind it was centuries ago. They told me that they could offer me protection, be paid to take out those who would abuse their authority. By then, I knew it was only a matter of time, with whole armadas after me. So I accepted.”

“I see.”

“Do you know what we did in that company?” I pondered.

“I get the gist of it. It’s unpleasant, but I can’t just fault everyone when I don’t know them.”

“Huh. Interesting answer.”

I stared down at my blade, then sheathed it. It had been a while, but not unheard of, since I just...sat next to a would-be victim and heard them out. I kind of missed it, as often when it did happen, I would end up sparing said person and coming to a better understanding of them.

“Say, back when you worked there, did you know of someone named Remora?” She asked again.

Remora...Remora...does that ring any bells? No, I don’t think it does.

“No, sorry,” I replied.

“Uh...shivers a lot, always cold, doesn’t understand people well. Looks kind of like you, except not really. I mean, your guys’ faces and hair is totally different.”

“Oh, you mean Rhea,” I corrected, as there was no other person I could think of who was like that.

“No, no. Her name’s Remora. She says she knew of Rhea, but was never in the same place as her.”

Hmm...that was a curious thing, all right.

“Sorry, but I don’t think there was anyone named Remora, but you definitely described Rhea. One time, we were all at the bar, and she ordered a screwdriver. So I watched as she sat alone at a table and she pulled out an actual screwdriver. I watched her lick the screw driver, make a disgusted face, then looked around to make sure no one saw her. But I saw everything.”

“Is there a difference in taste?” Demetria asked, and I really had to wonder how someone so dense could exist.

“That’s not the point. The point is that she may have been this serious person who wanted to be left alone, but she was also just a total oddball. Even her attempts to be serious could be odd sometimes. Like one time, she tried to do this verbal takedown on a guy named Douglas Fir by listing out all his negative traits in alphabetical order.”

“I don’t think I could do that, but then again sometimes I wonder if I’m dyslexic,” she replied. Again, not the point.

“Whatever the case may be, I didn’t really think of her that much at the time, other than a few notable occurrences, but looking back, I kinda miss her. Then again, I miss most everyone in that company. Save the really shitty ones, but that’s neither here nor there. I know we were all eccentric amoral people, but it was like a community to me, and it felt like the closest thing I had to a home at the time.”

Really, I could reminisce for days.

“There was this other woman, Aurora B, and I suppose her, Rhea, and I could’ve been a ‘dream team’ except if put in a group, one of us would have killed the other two rather fast, thus negating the need for a group. Aurora because she wouldn’t be able to get us all to cooperate, Rhea because she prefers to work alone and would probably use her teammates as bait, and I’d probably notice something about the both of them that wouldn’t sit right with me and decide they’re both scum. Still, the idea is fun.”

“Wait, Aurora B? There’s an Aurora B in the arctic! She’s got a train and a band of thieves! I stabbed her and she robbed the restaurant I worked at!”

I blinked, then burst into laughter.

“Oh, that’s wonderful! There’s a version of her in this timeline and I bet she’s still just as rowdy! Oh, that must be fun!”

“What? Version of? This timeline?” She seemed confused.

“Yeah, like, you know, time travel and all that. Multiple universes, multiple versions of the same person.” I was surprised she knew about the company and yet didn’t know about that.

“I never considered that…” she muttered, then got up. “I think I’ll take off now. Thank you for that.”

“What? Already?”

“Yeah, I’ll just say that you were too strong for me and leave it at that.”

“Well if that’s all you needed, you should’ve just come by in the daytime. We could’ve had a nice chat over pizza.”

She waved goodbye, as if I wasn’t some dangerous force of nature, and I continued to sit and shake my head.

“I must be getting soft. First I injured someone rather than killed them, then I let the second person just walk away unscathed, and we had a nice little chat. I’m betting the third person who comes by I’ll end up buying them a drink.”

I couldn’t help but imagine the insanity of it all. My howls and laughter echoed through the almost empty building.

Once I calmed myself down, I stared up at the ceiling. How I wished I could fix up the place. Now I had to fix up the vents as well. There was always one more problem.

“What about you?” I addressed my last guest of the evening. “Have you come to kill me or just to chat?”

In one of the nearby rooms, a door opened up. Soon a figure approached me, a long rifle in hand.

“I’ll be quick. I just wanted to confirm that you were who I thought you were,” replied a low, icy voice.

“What, did you stalk her? Were you listening in on the whole thing?” Whoever said guest was, I would have at least liked a knock or something.

“No to the first one. Yes to the second.”

Direct. I liked that, at least.

“So what about the gun? I take it you’re the only person so far who even stands a chance against me.”

“I’m hoping it won’t come to that.”

“Mm,” I mulled it over. “I see. So I take it you know who I am already, but that’s what bothers me. I don’t seem to know who you are.”

“Yes. I’m not sure if you ever saw me. I was never around at the same time she was. I couldn’t have been. For the most part, I was kept isolated from most everybody else. Not that I minded.”

“No, I suppose you wouldn’t have. So, why Remora?” I wondered. “You’ve got over a thousand different names, don’t you? Couldn’t you have started a new life with one of those?”

“It’s because...I met someone important to me the day I chose that name.”

I shrugged. “Who am I to judge? One time an old man decided to call me Trout. True story.”

It didn’t take much for me to figure out what was going on. Who I was talking to.

“So you’re an alternate version, huh?” I asked. Rhetorical, I know.

“Yes. I am younger than she was, but I went through similar things and took on missions all the same.”

“They used you like a back up, I take it. In case the main one died. Which is what happened. Doesn’t that disgust you?”

“It is what it is.”

Right. Such emotionless responses.

“In a way, though, it’s relieving. Knowing that there’s a version of her that’s still around and can experience freedom, like me.”

“I’m just a version of myself. I’m me. Not her.”

“But you do share several names and a background, yes?”

“She was irresponsible. She knew what her job was and she got tired of it, so she died. That’s all. She didn’t even have to, she just wanted to. Yet people won’t shut up about her when she was never worth the attention to begin with,” she growled, working up a rant. It seemed I actually struck something of a nerve.

“Hey, that’s my friend you’re talking about. Don’t talk about my friend that way,” I shot back.

“You two weren’t friends,” she scoffed. I wondered if that was the most mad she had been in a while.

“I just decided that we were. Seeing as she’s not alive to object, I think I can make that decision,” I gave a sly grin.

“That’s not how that works. Did you two even talk?”

I lifted up my index finger and closed my eyes.

“Once. Just once.”

“About what?”

“Some guy was bothering her and she was uncomfortable, that much I could tell. She also looked ready to break a bottle over his head, and I wasn’t really interested in a fight breaking out. I think I said something like, ‘is he bothering you, queen?’ Then pushed him aside. She looked confused, asked ‘queen?’ And I think I laughed and said not to worry about it. I remember she thanked me, and chattered her teeth while trying to sound out the words to do so. I told her not to mention it and offered to help her with anything if she ever came to me.”

“And?”

“Needless to say, she never came to me. I think when I told her that, she said something like, ‘thanks, I’ll think about it’ while turning her head from side to side, so she probably wasn’t ever going to consider it. But makes me wonder about what could’ve been. Like maybe it would’ve changed something.”

“It wouldn’t. There’s nothing you could have done. That’s just how she was,” she replied, all brisk and choppy.

“Yeah, I guess so. Still –”

“Shut up about her,” she snapped, although her voice didn’t even manage to raise all that much. I could just tell with her gestures. The shake of her fist. Everywhere shook, in fact, like it was more than just a shiver.

“It bothers you that much, huh? Is it the name, or just being reminded?” I really wasn’t trying to push any buttons. I didn’t even realize there were any buttons to push. But I guess that’s what I needed to expect, with there being differences and all.

“No. I’m not bothered. It’s just a name. Just someone who’s not around anymore. That’s just why I think people should shut up about it. That person’s gone. Gone. Poof.”

Real convincing.

“Is it because it feels like you’re constantly being compared to with another version of yourself? Or how people might see her as a superior version of you?”

I waited for a response. When I got none, I figured I hit the nail on the head.

“I’m me. Just me. I’m the only version of me there is,” she concluded. Less robotic, but still choppy. Almost downtrodden in her tone.

That’s fine as long as you believe that.

“What about that friend of yours? Demetria?”

“We’re not friends.”

“But she’s important to you, isn’t she?”

“In a way.”

“So you care about her, then?”

“No.”

“Were you worried I was going to kill her if she found me, so you followed behind?”

“Yes. But that doesn’t mean anything.”

Oh bother. It was fun at first, but now it’s like I was talking to a child.

“That whole aloof thing you got going isn’t a very good look for you,” I lectured.

“I’m not aloof.”

“Sure Jan,�� I looked over and replied. “Look, I used to be like you, so I get it. I wanted to do everything on my own and I didn’t have much to share with others. But I’ve been blessed to have met a few good people here and there. I’ve survived due in part to the kindness of others.”

“Well…” She thought it over. “I don’t want to be aloof.”

“Bark like a dog, then,” I commanded.

To my surprise, she did just that: her best impression of a dog barking, anyway. I expected more of a Shiba Inu, but instead it came out as a yip, like a Chihuahua.

I cracked up; burst into laughter. Sides split and everything.

“Now you’re a woof,” I told her.

She growled, and I was inclined to say like a dog, as well.

“I hate you, you know that?” She whined.

“Aw, but I thought you loved puns,” I teased.

Changing the subject, she went back to a topic I thought would make her uncomfortable.

“By the way, do you even know what her last job was?”

Probably referring to the R-word.

“No. I was already here doing my own thing when it happened, so I never got to find out,” I explained.

“Well, if you ever want to know, I can give you Ves’ number.”

OK. Someone I don’t know about. Not useful at all.

“Why? Is she single?”

“Stop that. She’s got a cute wife.”

“Oh? Cute?” I should’ve told her I wasn’t really interested in either, as I knew she was the type to take everything seriously. “Like Demetria?”

“She’s cute too, yes.”

“So you admitted it,” I observed.

“Objectively speaking, anyway. Besides, that’s not the point – Ves was the one who killed her. She could fill you in better than I could.”

I see. She should’ve explained that sooner. I looked over and blinked.

“I don’t have a phone.”

She stared as well, then said, “oh.”

“Well, look: I’m working at this diner in the arctic for these people named Sunny and Ray. They thought I would be fun to work with, and not, well...me,” it seemed like Remora was just trying to proposition me with something, anything. I didn’t understand why. “So if you want to sometime, you could go up there. You’re probably more what they were looking for to begin with.”

I shook my head.

“No thanks. The cold’s your thing. I’m not really tied down to a motif. Besides, I’m a homeless old bat. How do you expect me to get up there?”

“I don’t know. You’re resourceful.”

True. I couldn’t deny that bit. Before I could answer, I started to cough. Like a tickle or a scratch at the back of my throat.

I leaned over and covered my mouth with my fist. Remora looked down.

“Are you sick?”

“Why do you care?” I smiled, even as I continued to cough.

“I don’t, but if you are, I don’t want to catch anything.”

As soon as she said that, the cough went away.

“Don’t worry. It’s not something you can catch.”

“What is it, then?”

If you or a loved one have been diagnosed with meso – no, it’s not that. I don’t think so, anyway.

“Sometimes a cough is just a cough. I’m getting old, anyway. I might die any day now.”

“Somehow I doubt it. You’re like a cockroach.”

“Yeah, but even cockroaches aren’t immortal,” I reminded her.

There was a moment of silence. That moment grew. Nothing more was said. Nothing more that I could recall. I soon drifted off to sleep, the silence having consumed me. In spite of the intrusions, I think I got the deepest sleep I had in a while.

#writing #stories #fiction #action #drama #crime #noir #remoras full #scifi #swords

4 notes · View notes

thermopylod · 5 years

Text

Lunch for Two

Souyo, 1.9k words, gen. Yosuke and his mom bond over his attempts at cooking.

Thirty minutes ago, Yosuke had held a pretty optimistic view of the next 24 hours. First, he was going to make a perfect bento with the ingredients he’d picked up at Junes on the way home, with the vegetables cut into pretty shapes and even some little fake grass decorations. Then, he’d get to school early so he could ask Yu to eat together before anyone else got to him. And finally, he’d give him the bento, and with a single look at it Yu would understand all of Yosuke’s feelings. Then they’d spend the rest of the hour making out, taking a break just so Yu could eat the food and declare it to be even better than his own cooking.

That was before. With two bandages on his fingers where he’d slipped while trying to slice the carrots, steak strips that had managed the unlikely feat of being both burned and raw, and even his rice having come out crunchy, Yosuke was beginning to believe the universe was trying to give him a sign about his projected confession, and it wasn’t a good one.

Signs apart, Yosuke actually thought he had a pretty good chance with Yu. It wasn’t so much that Yu had shown any particular interest in him — there had been no blushes, no shy glances or fleeting touches — but rather, it was who Yu had not shown interest in that comforted him. Yu’d been in Inaba almost a year at this point, and he’d become the very definition of the term chick magnet. Every girl in school, and even some outside of it, even grown women, had thrown herself at him, with shy letters and chocolates and even one hastily rebuffed kiss. Yosuke knew this, because every time it happened, the first thing Yu did afterwards was call him up to complain about it. And every time, the story ended the same way: with Yu explaining how bad he’d felt turning the girl of the day down.

Now, Yosuke could understand being picky. He couldn’t empathise; before his feelings for Yu had manifested themselves, he would have accepted any girl who’d so much as hinted at being interested. Not because he was a pervert, as Chie liked to imply, but because he was a hopeless romantic who wanted nothing more than to have someone special to him; so sue him if that didn’t fit his usual carefree attitude. Yu had had his choice of every kind of girl, though, so it wasn’t likely to be pickiness, which meant he clearly wasn’t interested in dating a girl.

That left two options: either Yu wasn’t interested in dating at all, or he was interested in guys. If it was the first option, well, there wasn’t much Yosuke could do there, but he trusted Yu wouldn’t hold his confession against him. And if it was the second… Yosuke didn’t exactly have great self-esteem, but even he knew there was no one was as close to Yu as him. He got to see sides of Yu most people rarely did — bright laughs, sarcastic jibes, quiet admissions of fear or worry — all sorts of emotions he usually kept smoothly hidden behind his impassive silver eyes. So if Yu liked guys, then Yosuke thought there was a pretty good chance that he might be willing to give him a chance.

Except there was no way a half-burnt, sloppy bento with crunchy rice was ever going to manage to carry his meaning across, which would mean he’d have to confess out loud, putting his feelings into words he knew he’d get wrong because he always did, always managed to end up with his foot in his mouth, and Yu wouldn’t understand, and there would be no bright smile and no making out on the roof and no walking home hand in hand.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He still had enough ingredients left to give this another shot; he’d just save the ugly bento for himself. He picked up a carrot and a knife, trying to cut it into more even slices this time.

Then the front door slammed shut and startled him, he sliced his finger a third time, and he screamed in exasperation as much as pain as drops of blood fell onto the cutting board.

“Yosuke?” a voice called out in a worried tone, before hurried footsteps brought his mom to the kitchen’s door. “Honey, are you alright? What are you doing?”

Yosuke shoved his cut finger in his mouth and glared at the spread of food and tools surrounding him, then at her. “What does it look like I’m doing.”

She blinked at the display, and sure, Yosuke didn’t cook very often — or maybe ever — but she didn’t need to gape like she’d found Chie’s pet dog trying to cook dinner, either. Before he could turn his anger over the whole situation on her, she stepped forward to pull his hand out of his mouth.

“Did you cut yourself?”

Yosuke nodded sullenly, and she grabbed the first aid kit that sat nearby on the floor, where he’d left it after bandaging his previous injuries.

“Alright, let’s get that fixed up, and then maybe you can tell me why you suddenly decided to become a chef?”

“I was trying to make a bento for school tomorrow,” Yosuke replied grumpily as she disinfected his cut and wrapped a band-aid over it.

She gave him a calculating look, but the gods must have decided he’d suffered enough for today, because she didn’t ask the question that was obviously burning on her tongue, ut instead started cleaning up the mess he’d made, looking through the ingredients on the counter.

“Hmm… grilled steak strips, vegetables and rice?”

Yosuke gave a short nod. It wasn’t anything special, as bentos went, but even before his culinary failure he’d known better than to expect too much out of himself.

His mom pulled some items out of cupboards, shuffling items around until she had everything set up to her liking.

“First thing, that knife’s no good,” she explained. “I’ve been meaning to get rid of it, but you know how your dad is with throwing stuff away… It doesn’t take a good edge, so for hard vegetables like carrots it tends to slip.” She handed him another knife, one he’d stayed away from because of how large it looked. He’d been, ironically, afraid of hurting himself with it. “This one will be much better. And let me show you how to hold the carrot so you don’t hurt yourself if you slip.”

With his mom’s help, the meal started to take shape, and soon enough the smell of grilling meat — at the right temperature this time, because apparently turning the heat up so it’d cook faster wasn’t a good strategy — was filling the room while a new batch of rice cooked. Yosuke’s optimism was making a good comeback as he tasted a perfectly cooked carrot, and then his mom had to go and open her mouth.

“So, who’s this bento for?”

Yosuke dropped the bowl of vegetables he’d been holding, scattering them across the counter.

“Nobody! It’s for me!”

Which would have been more convincing, perhaps, if his voice hadn’t cracked in the middle and skipped an octave. Or not — his mom seemed to have some sort of Yosuke-bullshit detector built-in. She said it came with parenthood, which seemed entirely unfair to teenage boys just trying to survive.

“...Who do you think,” he muttered.

“One of those sweet girls who came to see you at work the other day?” she asked, and really, only a mom could call Chie a sweet girl, but he passed on pointing that out in favor of shaking his head. His mom hummed as she worked to gather up the vegetables Yosuke had dropped.

“Then… is it a girl I haven’t met? Is she from school?”

“You’ve met them,” Yosuke replied, reticent but well aware she wouldn’t give up until she found out anyway.

Something seemed to light up in her eyes at his words. “Ah… not a girl, then, hmm.” She smiled knowingly, an all-too-perceptive glint in her eyes. “It wouldn’t happen to be your best friend, would it?”

“He’s my partner, mom, not my best friend,” Yosuke huffed. It wasn’t the same thing. Best friends were for people like Yukiko and Chie, or Daisuke and Kou; what he and Yu had went deeper than that. Partners meant standing side by side, always supporting one another; it meant having each other’s backs in life or death situations, and knowing what the other person needed without even having to ask. And ok, maybe Yukiko and Chie had that, too, but what he had with Yu was special, and that was that.

“Partners, huh?” his mom asked. “So are you two…” she trailed off and raised her eyebrows at him.

It took him a moment to understand what she was hinting at, and he shook his head, feeling his cheeks heating up against his will. “No! No. Not… yet.”

Yosuke’s mom reached forward to pick up the little heart-shaped vegetable cutters he’d bought, then placed them in his hands.

“We’d better get back to work, then. This bento’s going to be perfect,” she told him with a fond smile, ruffling his hair before she turned back to check on the grilling steak.

They finished up a short time later, and after the two bentos were securely in the fridge, Yosuke did the dishes while his mom cleaned up the kitchen.

“Do you… do you think he’ll say yes?” he asked half under his breath, barely audible above the sound of running water.

There was no immediate reply, and he thought she hadn’t heard, but after a few seconds she came to turn the tap off and looked at him with a serious expression.

“I can’t tell you that. He’s the only one who can. But, whatever he says, I’m proud of you. It takes a lot of courage and honesty to confess your feelings,” she said, pulling him into a hug. “He’d be lucky to have you, you know — anybody would. You’re a good kid.”

Yosuke blushed, unused to such praise from his mom; they were close, often pranking each other or playing games together, but they weren’t often emotionally open like that. “Thanks, mom,” he mumbled as he turned back to the dishes.

When they were almost done, Yosuke working on the last pot, she came to lean against the counter next to him with a mischievous smile.

“Now, I meant what I said — he’s the only one who can answer your confession. But, just so you know…I’m pretty sure you have a chance. I’ve seen that kid spend 20 minutes hiding by the door at Junes just so he could ‘accidentally’ run into you on your way home.”

“Wait, what?! You never told me that!”

She winked at him. “I also never told him you stalk the security cams to make sure you can go restock whatever aisle he happens to be in, so I think you two are even.”

Yosuke spluttered. “I— I don’t— I never— erghhhh,” he groaned, pulling his shoulders up to hide his flushed face while his mom patted his back and laughed her way right out of the kitchen.

[comments and kudos very welcome on ao3!]

#souyo #fanfic #souji seta #yu narukami #yosuke hanamura #persona 4 #bento time!

84 notes · View notes

moderndaybard · 4 years

Text

2020 Weekly Ficlet 43/52(? We’ll see?)

Ever At Your Side, Part 5/7 (Scotty) [New Trek/Pokemon Crossover. Because Why not.]

(Part 1-Kirk; Part 2-Spock; Part 3-Bones; Part 4-Uhura; Part 6-Sulu; Part 7-Chekov)

Beginnings:

The day had been trying, confusing, exhausting, and long (when had he last slept? Before his academic hearing about that stupid simulation?), and Kirk was going on sheer willpower alone by this point—and that strained by the loss of Vulcan, meeting this guy who claimed to be Spock from the future/another world, and—

Well, just about everting at this point, to be perfectly honest.

He wasn’t sure why it was the flying sword that was getting to him the most after everything that had happened. After all, there was no mistaking the Doublade for anything other than the Steel/Ghost-type pokemon that it was. But the over-tired, over-wrought cadet found himself unable to tear his eyes away as the metallic specter hovered, swung itself in strange gestures and rang (for lack of a better word) in emphasis of the rambling tirade of the man who had to be its trainer.

Kirk spared a moment to glance at the older Vulcan beside him (which he still couldn’t bring himself to think of as Spock) and found that the other man and the elderly Alakazam hovering beside him were eyeing the pair in front of them with an expression of what could only be called ‘fond amusement’.

“Montgomery Scott…and Casper.”

“Aye, unless you know of any other wrongfully stranded Starfleet officers and their invaluable, irreplaceable partners in this sector!”

His day was determined to stay weird—wasn’t it?

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

Meetings:

Montgomery Scott knew what the other cadets at Starfleet Academy said about him—that he cared more for metal and machines than other living creatures, that he could spend his life alone and be perfectly content so long as he had plenty of projects to work on—he just didn’t really care. He was the best in his field at the Academy and already better than quite a few full officer s in Starfleet, and that invited grumbling and complaints from those used to being the only competent people in the room. He didn’t go out of his way to make enemies—tried his best to do the opposite, contrary to rumor—and he did like people and pokemon, he was just so at home with inorganic, mechanical matters.

(Having a partner pokemon was not a requirement for Academy admittance, but Scotty was one of only a handful of students without one.)

All that to say that it was not all that unusual for the second-year cadet to find himself alone in the Engineering Building late at night, working on his latest ‘pet projects’.

Only…

…Only, he wasn’t alone, if the intermittent scuffles and ‘clangs’ were any indication. At first, scotty ignored them (or, to be perfectly honest, probably didn’t hear/notice them), then he hesitated a moment, a prank of some sort being exactly the sort of thing he’d expect his fellow students to pull on him, given his ‘outsider’(-ish) status. But finally, he couldn’t restrain his curiosity and a budding feeling of what might even be concern (though he couldn’t say why) and he stood up from his work area, inching slowly in the direction the sounds seemed to be coming from.

It took him a few moments (and moving a few tables and cabinets) to reveal the source—a bedraggled and worse-for-wear single-bladed pokemon. A Honedge, but one of the must pathetic-looking Scotty had ever seen. Life in the wild (or, some trainer—which was a thought that didn’t bear thinking) had not been kind to this poor creature.

Heedless of whispered lore of ‘cursed blades’ or ‘possessed weapons’, the young cadet slowly extended is hand, palm up, towards the chipped and dented but still-floating, shivering sword. “Ah, just look at you. Who let you get into such a state? They ought to be ashamed, a beauty like you should be treated better than that.” Maybe it was the quiet voice, the gentle tone, or maybe the Honedge was simply that lonely and/or desperate, but it floated to Scotty, let him carry it to the worktable to see what could be done.

Steel-type pokemon, like many Rock-types, give experts a run for their money in determining if they are creatures or animated, inorganic constructs—they were unquestionably alive, were individuals with personality, but, for instance, many did not require food (but could and would nevertheless eat favored rocks/alloys/treats) and could benefit as much form mechanical repairs as medicines—and the Ghost-type brought in its own host of issues and questions, but Scotty didn’t care: in that moment or ever, really.

After all, he’d always treated (and spoken to) engines, vehicles, and mechanical devices as living creatures (in a sense) that he was entrusted with caring for, so taking the Honedge to his work area and doing what he could to fix dents, fill cracks, and file down scratched, all the while talking to his ‘patient’ as one would to an exceptionally intelligent dog or cat?

Well maybe he was strange, but he saw nothing strange about that at all.

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

(2009)

From the moment he’d been assigned to the frozen wasteland of a class-M planet with no one but Keenser and Casper for company, Scotty had been concocting, envisioning, dreaming, hoping, wishing—eventually even praying for—increasingly improbable scenarios when he was finally able to leave. (Seems all those wise-crackers from back in the academy days were wrong—Montgomery Scott was starved for living company, the little he did have being his remaining anchor to sanity.)

Yet none of those hypothetical situations involved the destruction of a planet, two stranded Starfleet officers (One of whom was form the future…or else a really good liar), an impossible formula he would apparently come up with someday (except, now, he wouldn’t have to because he already knew it…no, he was not going down that mental rabbit-hole/death spiral), beaming inside a ship’s water pipe, a near-drowning scenario, and being taken (still dripping wet) onto the bridge just in time to see one of his new friends goad his Vulcan captain into nearly killing him in order tog et him to resign command.

No, he hadn’t gotten around to imagining that one yet.

The security officer beside him tensed slightly, and Scotty followed his gaze to…oh, yeah. He’d probably better say or do something before any of these tightly-wound, very twitchy people lashed out:

Casper, like most Steel-types, did not like being wet, and Scotty knew better than to recall his partner Doublade before thoroughly drying him off, so the ghost-sword was currently hovering by his shoulder, dripping, grumbling unhappily in his curious tone ( which sounded very much like metal resonating after being struck with a hammer or against something sturdy) and occasionally giving a violent shudder in an attempt to rid himself of the hated water.

Scotty knew his partner well enough after so many ears together that the sight and around were amusing, a call for care, and about as serious a threat as, say, a dog trying to guilt their family for putting them through the dreaded ordeal of bath time. But to the security team, it clearly read like nothing so much as an aggressive, battle-ready pokemon getting ready to attack.

It still surprised the Engineer that people assumed his partner was dangerous or a threat—what, just because he resembled a pair of swords, he must always be seconds away from cutting down a person or pokemon? That was almost as ridiculous as till believing those old stories about haunting and curses that still followed the Ghost-type. Still, best to break the tensions first, then go about correcting misconceptions.

“I like this ship! Very exciting.”

(Continued on AO3.)

#Star Trek 2009 #montgomery scotty #NOST scotty #pavel chekov #jaylah #pokemon #pokemon crossover #hypothetical pokemon team #well really just one partner #because its fun #my post #writing challenge

2 notes · View notes

thewincestgospel · 5 years

Note

Hi, do you have anything you can recommend for age difference j2 fics with older jensen? Maybe set in high school/college? Thank you!

Why of course I do but first let me say sorry for taking so long. I think it’s safe to say that I suck and late replies is just my MO. These are the ABC’s of me.

So to make up for my lateness I made you an extra large list. Enjoy!

Older Jensen/Younger Jared

Beauty and the Beast by alyssa146 You think you know the story? You don’t.

Breathless verse by devotedtodean Jensen picks up a young prostitute when on a business trip

Call Me By Your Name by alyssa146 It’s the summer of 1995 and Jared is in the height of his teenage years when his family gets a young medical student to come stay with them for the summer. Jensen is arrogant and foreign and Jared isn’t sure how to feel when his emotions start flying all over the place. He soon realizes that while he thought he knew everything there are some things he knows nothing of.

Smitten With You by HalfwayToHell When thirty-year-old billionaire Jensen Ackles attends a charity event, the last thing he expects is for something so delicate, so beautiful to catch his attention, but it was not a something–more like a someone. Twenty-year-old college kid Jared Padalecki, an escort of all things. Jensen could have anything he wanted in the world with the kind of money he had, but the thing he wanted most, was the beautiful college boy.

Sugar I’m Going Down by devotedtodean Jared is seventeen and has a long string of one night stands under his belt. He doesn’t expect that to change any time soon but he also didn’t expect the stunning thirty year old Jensen to move in next door.

They Met at the Photo-Op Booth by compo67 Jared Padalecki is from a small town in Texas, has just graduated high school, and works at the only bookstore in town. He saves up six paychecks to buy a ticket to a convention three hours away, where he’s got a photo-op with actor Jensen Ackles. Jared expects thirty seconds of embarrassment only to find Jensen’s number slipped into his pocket. [Completed, sequel completed, ongoing verse.]

Way, Way Down Inside by rockstarpeach Jared is young, he’s pretty and he likes to get fucked. A lot. Mostly by Jensen.

Wild Horses by ElenyasBlood All Jared had wanted for his holidays was to go camping with his friends and have a good time. But since his cheating boyfriend seemed to have other plans, Jared quickly finds himself walking down a highway; lonely, messed-up and heartbroken. Defeated by the hot Texan summer and frustrated about his miserable situation he finds help in unexpected places—and with it a completely new opportunity to get rid of his goddamn heartache.

You Can Be The Boss by thorkiship18 Jared’s 18, and he thinks he’s got it all figured out. He believes that he has all the guys on a short leash, that he can make them all bend to his will with a few cute words. But he soon meets a man who forces him to think about who’s actually in control.

You let me violate you by aythia Jensen knew that he wanted Jared, and he was not about to let some purity ring come in his way. Besides, there wasn’t anything that couldn’t be bought…

High school/ College age Jared/Older Jensen

Commander In Chief by alyssa146 The summer of Jared’s junior year of college he gets invited to the White House to intern. What happens when he meets President Jensen Ackles and an unlikely affair occurs?

Damage by dimeliora Jensen Ackles has the perfect life. He’s the governor of Texas, happily married, and has an incredible daughter. Everything is fine, until his little girl brings her new boyfriend home.

Doctor Patient Confidentiality by crynintherain (orphan_account), LadyRhyanne Jensen Ackles is a 26 yr. old child psychologist burying his personal demons in work and meaningless one night stands. Jared Padalecki is a 17 yr. old whose parents send him to Dr. Ackles to “fix” him but Jared has other plans for his handsome doctor.

fullofsugar!verse by hellhoundsprey A verse about the love story between a boy and his dearest teacher. Little glimpses, long nights, teenage love, everything that’s wrong.

Garbage by compo67 Jared is a shy, reclusive fourteen year old omega who lives day to day, surviving the best he can. With the encouragement of his school librarian, he reads extra books for fun, preferring to live within the stories he reads instead of his actual living situation. His current book is Mary Renault’s WWII, gay classic, The Charioteer. He is captivated by the relationship between the three central characters—Laurie, Andrew, and Ralph—and the novel becomes integral to his survival. A few weeks before the annual dance, Alpha Detective Jensen Ackles, from the Department of Omega Care, visits the high school and notices Jared by the way he holds his backpack. This seemingly casual observation launches an investigation that irrevocably changes everyone involved—for better and for worse. [Supernatural J2 Big Bang 2014 Entry; art by Tebtosca.]

happy by tehdirtiestsock (thatotherperv) wherein alpha!Jensen has an impregnation kink and seduces his underage babysitter in order to keep filling it

Knotting ‘verse by alycat Jared is innocently lazing around on the porch, ignoring the book on his lap on favor of watching his hot neighbor mow his lawn, until said neighbor is suddenly standing right in front of him, seemingly intent on making all of his dreams come true.

Not Just Any Little Kid by littlefirefly3 Prompt: Hey! I was wondering if I could request another fic? One where Jensen is about ten years older than teen!size-queen!Jared, who is his neighbor, and when Jensen get’s asked to babysit Jared, they do it, heheh.

Secrets and Lies by thorkiship18 Jensen Ackles is the most feared man around these parts, and people know to walk the other way when he’s coming. He was only looking forward to getting his coffee that fateful morning. He wasn’t expecting to immediately fall head over heels in love with some lanky college kid with a few secrets of his own…

Sex and Candy by mrs_weaslebee Jensen has his friends coming over for their weekly porn watching party but it just so happens that Jared is staying over for the weekend while his parents are out of town. He lets Jared in on the fun but doesn’t want anyone else to touch his boy.

Student’s pet by alycat Jensen should have said no the first time his student pushed him up against a wall and kissed him. He should have put a stop to things before they got too far. The problem is, Jensen can never say no to Jared.

Sweet Like Sugar by tebtosca Jared goes into his first heat at school. Luckily, Mr. Ackles is there to help him out.

Temptation by alyssa146 Jared is 15 when Jensen Ackles moves into his neighborhood. He thought he was just getting a cool, older neighborhood but he was getting so much more than that. And he isn’t sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing all he knows is nothing’s been the same since he showed up.

You Are My Hero by A_Touch_Of_Hope (o0kaymawn0o) Jared’s finished school, and it’s finally the summer. He plans on spending it with his best friend Chad. Jensen, Chad’s father is going through a rough breakup–Jared never expected that listening to Jensen berate himself would hurt so much. Feelings develop, and he feels like he needs to get away. But Jensen finds him. “I’m thirty-nine. Not getting any younger. If you want me, let this happen. If you don’t, stop me, and I promise you that I will never make an advance on you, Jared.

142 notes · View notes

hinabes · 5 years

Photo

Hardtack Backstory

A story about requests, the present and value.

I. Stormy Night

“Hey! Stop right there! Yes, you!”

The man huffed and strode towards me while waving his flashlight and baton, the swaying beam of light dispersed and blurred by the rain.

“Restricted area ahead, turn back now.”

His stern voice was betrayed by hints of unease and anxiety; mixed with the intermittent pitter-patter of raindrops, it was almost unintelligible.

I reached for the dagger at my waist on instinct, only stopping myself reluctantly as I remembered a warning I had received. Awkwardly, I opened my mouth to speak.

“Mo… Please move aside.”

If I’d done as I had many times before, I could have silenced a human this fragile and weak with a mere dagger or single bullet.

But I couldn’t that night. Not then, at least.

Frustrated, I tilted my head in the hopes that the rain could wash away those annoying warnings and rules.

Perhaps the rain wasn’t heavy enough, or I really was paid too well; in any case, I suppressed the urge for violence.

I continued racking my brains for a way to get past him without hurting him.

“There are dangerous fallen angels up ahead, got it? Go home.”

The man bent down to look me in the eye. As if he came to the wrong conclusion from my appearance, his voice softened and carried hints of warmth.

The next moment, that warmth was gone, battered by the icy raindrops. A sharp blade pierced the man clean through the chest, lifting him up.

“ROAR——”

A terrifying howl tore through the night sky, echoing further and further even through the veil of rain.

“Ru...n…”

As if the situation only just caught up to him, the man forced a sad smile, arm stiffly lifting up before dropping weakly.

I wasn’t sure if it was because of the man’s sudden death or a fallen angel killing someone right before me, but I became even more upset than before.

It could have been both reasons.

Even if I didn’t care much about humans, seeing such a scene unfold before me once again angered me.

Squinting to glare through the darkness, my eyes locked on the monster on the nearby street. I crushed the biscuit in my mouth as I took out my pocket watch, and with a click, I started the timer.

“Eleven thirty-three, mission begin.”

II. Refusal

“Great work.”

Her pet in her arms, a bereaved White Truffle sat facing me.

“I thank you for your aid, on behalf of the citizens of Lupa City.”

“I don’t need it.”

I didn’t beat about the bush. As I pointed towards the black debit card on the table, a certain man who had long since died came to mind.

“I’m just here for the money. The lives and deaths of humans don’t concern me.”

After a brief pause, I added.

“But if that would get me more money——”

“Miss Biscuit is such a funny person.”

White Truffle’s mouth curved into a slight smile as her expression relaxed. While speaking, she slid a token towards me.

Inscribed onto the token were white feathered wings and black ram’s horns, with an underlying metallic sheen; it was petite, yet extremely detailed.

“I’ve got another mission for you, if you’d be interested.”

“What’s this?”

Picking up the token, I toyed with it in my hand, fond of both its appearance and the slight warmth it gave off.

“It’s the Perigod Institute’s authentication token; display it at any organization associated with the institute whenever you require aid. This is the downpayment for this mission, should you accept.”

“Any organization?”

I stopped toying with it and placed it back on the table.

“Apologies, but I’m not interested then.”

I picked up the debit card and packed up, preparing to leave.

White Truffle didn’t seem to anticipate my decision. She blanked before asking, looking puzzled.

“You’re not going to ask about the mission details?”

“The concept of ‘help’ spans a wide range.”

I took out the debit card and waved it in front of White Truffle.

“It could be simple or complex. If it’s simple, why would I need this? Exchanging favors is always so much more annoying than monetary trade.

“If it’s complex, I don’t need it either, as it implies it’s going to come at personal cost.

“Also, having this card marks me as some kind of authority figure, which I’m not used to. Money is so much easier to deal with.”

White Truffle didn’t expect this answer from me. She pondered silently before rubbing her forehead, apologizing.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have probed you like this. Black Truffle was right, I’m not suited for this kind of conversation.

“So, to put it simply: I want to hire you as a member of the Perigod Institute security department.”

III. Awkward Kindness

“Isn’t this great? That… uh… Parry… Parry something?”

The bartender spun the cocktail shaker skillfully and soon a dark blue bubbling mix was slid across the table.

“Perigod.”

I downed the glass in one gulp. The icy drink slid smoothly down my throat, creating a burning sensation once it reached my stomach, spreading outward swiftly.

I enjoyed this feeling of slight drunkenness where I was still fully conscious.

“You know I’m bad at this type of tongue-twisting vocabulary. I’m not that well-learned after all.”

The bartender shrugged noncommittally, serving up another icy drink.

“It would have been a great chance to rid yourself of this kind of lifestyle. Why did you refuse?”

I sensed a certain something in his voice.

I’ve encountered this type of “something” in the human world many times, some genuine, some false.

I didn’t particularly mind or care, since the intention was about the same no matter which it was.

I’ve known this bartender for a long time. When we first met, that man I called “master attendant” was still around.

These were two of the very few humans I thought were special.

Normally, I would have stayed silent and waited for him to change the subject so that I wouldn’t have to contemplate such cumbersome things.

Alas, this time the bartender clearly did not want to end it here.

“You should think about where you want to go from here, Biscuit. Tang wouldn’t want…”

His sentence was cut short and he fell silent as his mouth was jammed.

“There won’t be a ‘next time’.”

With a poker face, I withdrew my pistol and wiped the muzzle clean of saliva using a tissue.

The bartender’s expression stiffened abruptly, changing many times between breaths before he calmed down again.

Then, as if nothing happened, he mixed another cocktail and served it to me.

“I sincerely apologize.”

His tone was earnest, his expression serious.

Contemplating our past battles together - the three of us - I lowered my gaze to avoid looking at him as I accepted the glass and downed it.

“Give me the newest intel.”

“...Right!”

I sighed silently, sensing the gradually lightening tone of the man, whose name I didn’t even want to recall.

You died far too soon; all these remaining humans are all so boring.

IV. Unexpectedly

Thunderous gunshots rang out; sparks and shrapnel flew.

The man before me paled drastically. The wall to the right of his head was pumped full of smoking bullet holes, but he held a forced smile.

“Please calm down, Miss Biscuit, I’m just a messenger.”

He took a deep breath and politely handed me a name card.

Without sparing it a glance, I flung my dagger and pinned the name card to the ground by his boots.

“Where is... Hu Jing?”

I narrowed my eyes as I looked through my memories, before finally recalling the bartender’s name.

“Mr. Hu is fine. Boss merely hopes to propose a trade with Miss Biscuit.”

“What kind of trade?”

My voice lowered as I suppressed my rising bloodlust.

I didn’t care about humans, and the one who had battled by my side and made me years of drinks was no exception.

“Boss says Miss Biscuit and Sir Tang have killed many back in the day, and one has to pay for the blood on their hands eventually. Alas, Sir Tang is long dead and chasing such old debts isn’t a good look, so there’s just one thing Miss Biscuit has to help with for Mr. Hu Jing to return.”

But I did care about the idiot named Sir Tang, even if he did always make me call him “master attendant”.

“To clear your debt, Miss Biscuit, Boss asks you to kill for him as many men as you have killed his.”

Hu Jing had stayed by Sir Tang’s side for such a long time, after all, I should do him a favor sooner or later.

“...If you investigated me, you should have known that I only hunt fallen angels now.”

I took a deep breath, keeping myself from remembering those bloodstained years of laughter intertwined with pain-filled screams, and enunciated each word.

The man, or perhaps the one he served, seemed to have anticipated my answer and followed up without a hitch.

“Boss says, just as I am but a message, Miss Biscuit is but a gun.

“It’s the same trigger being pulled, be it a human or a fallen angel.”

I stared down the man stock-still. A bead of cold sweat rolled down his cheek.

And then--

I spoke.

“You’re right.”

Before he had the chance to relax.

I continued.

“It’s the same trigger being pulled, be it a human or a fallen angel.”

The gunshot rang out thunderous. Blood splattered and it hit the ground with a thud.

Looking at the lifeless form of the man, I fished out the token from my pocket, White Truffle’s words coming to mind.

“It’s inevitable a time comes when you need help, so keep it with you even if you don’t intend to use it.”

Shaking my head, I chuckled to myself.

“You were right, humans really are so boring.”

V. Hardtack

Gloriville is a big place; glorious and prosperous.

Naturally, there’s going to be unspeakable darkness and filth.

Some say fallen angels are the greatest enemy of mankind.

This may not be true.

For fallen angels only kill.

Not only do humans kill, they tyrannize.

“From today onwards, they’re history.”

As White Truffle cuddled the puppy in her arms, she stood on the rooftop overlooking the crackling flames and spoke calmly to Hardtack beside her.

“Mr. Hu has been rescued as well, with nothing to show for it but scratches.”

“...Sorry for the trouble.”

Habitually, Hardtack spun her dagger in her hands.

“No worries, I’ve got money, lots of money.”

White Truffle turned to “glare” at the girl beside her and said sternly.

“But money can’t solve everything, that’s why I need you. You’ll be at the forefront of trouble from here on out.”

“No skin off my back.”

Hardtack refocused, sheathing her dagger and reaching her hand out to White Truffle.

“As long as I don’t have to deal with humans.”

“Perigod’s security department will only be dealing with fallen angels, I can promise you that.”

White Truffle smiled and accepted the handshake.

Her puppy hopped onto the ground and nuzzled up to Hardtack’s leg.

“Do you want to see Hu Jing?”

As if she just remembered, White Truffle reminded.

“He’s currently at a hospital run by the institute.”

“...No need.” After a moment of hesitation, Hardtack shook her head. Carefully, she removed the old bracelet on her wrist and replaced it with the Perigod token.

“Let’s talk work. What exactly does this security department do.”

“Hunt fallen angels, enforce the security of the research institute, and cooperate with other departments in fallen angel-related matters when needed. Though, of course, you don’t have to.”

“Sounds good.”

The girls stood shoulder to shoulder and walked towards the institute, back facing the flames.

“Right, there’s someone else in the security department, with you, there’ll be a total of two members.”

“A human?”

“No, a food soul. Her name is Braised Noodles.”

Translation Notes

She’s not released or announced in any way but yknow.... I just wanted to do a short one for practice lol

Names

Hardtack’s Chinese name is “compressed biscuit”, that’s why everyone calls her “biscuit” as a nickname

The bartender’s name is Hu Jing, surname Hu.

Hardtack’s (dead) MA’s name is Tang(?). I’m not fully sure, the messenger calls him “Tang Jun”, while the Jun could be part of the name, it could also be the japanese -kun or the chinese “Mr/Sir” honorific, it being more respectful in chinese context I think. Considering how “respectfully” the messenger addresses Hardtack and Hu Jing, and how Tang is likely on the same level of “importance” as his own boss, it’s probably a honorific.

Ch2: “black debit card”

Not debit card as in modern day debit cards, but more like a gift voucher? A card that means money without physically being money? Not sure if credit or debit is the better word to use here, or another word entirely.

Ch3: “His sentence was cut short and he fell silent as his mouth was jammed.”

If it wasn’t clear, Hardtack shoved a pistol in his mouth!

Ch5: “Not only do humans kill, they tyrannize.”

The original sentence translates literally to “Not only do humans kill people, they eat people.”

Googled “eat people” (in chinese) to make sure it meant what I thought it meant, and the definition is “The oppression and exploitation of the poor in the old society”

Oppression........... compression........... compressed biscuit...... aha...

This has nothing to do with anything its just fun thing i found while translating

Ch5: “White Truffle turned to “glare” at the girl beside her and said sternly.”

“Glare”, as in, White Truffle is blind

I really like the parallel of the requests!

White Truffle: paid attention to the token > kill FAs > didn’t anticipate her answer > treats her as a person

messenger: ignored the name card > kill humans > anticipated her answer > treats her as an object

made more obvious in chinese as the word used for “token” can also mean “tablet”, “medal” or “mahjong tile”, but most commonly “playing card”, but I also wanted a word that implied something small enough to be a bracelet charm and it was getting confusing with the black debit card in the same scene

#food fantasy #ff hardtack #ff hardtack biscuit #translations

35 notes · View notes

canid-slashclaw · 4 years

Text

The Outliers - A Guild Wars Love Story

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapters 10 and 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 16 , Chapter 17, Chapter 18, Chapter 19, Chapter 20, Chapter 21, Chapter 22, Chapter 23, Chapter 24, Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Kaleb got up early the following morning to help Ulfgar unload some kegs from a delivery. As they were storing the last of the brew, the young man went up to the old norn to ask him a question that had been on his mind for quite some time.

"Hey, Ulf. Something I've been meaning to ask ya."

The old norn crossed his massive arms and smiled at his friend. "What's on yer mind, boy?"

"I've been thinking about asking Amalthia to marry me. I know that such rituals are alien to her culture, so I wanted to find a way of getting her enthused about the whole concept."

"Hehe. She's a fast learner. Just introduce her to the various bonding customs each race here on Tyria has and she'll come around to the idea."

Kaleb looked up to his friend. "Would you do me a big favor and find out what her ring size is? I'm sure there's a jeweler who is willing to make one that fits her type of hand."

"Ah. But a ring is just a ring without a proper gem..."

Ulfgar waved for Kaleb to follow him. "Come with me boy, I've something to show yas."

After the last of the supplies were stored, the old norn told Kaleb to wait downstairs while he went up to his room to retrieve something. When he came down, he carried with him a jewel-encrusted tiara that sparkled like a radiant star.

"This was what I gave to my beloved Gloriana when I made my promise vow to her." Ulfgar handed the item to Kaleb as he took it gently into his hands. He was astonished at the brilliance of the diamonds and marveled the centerpiece stone.

"This thing must be at least forty carats," Kaleb noted as he ran his finger over the brilliant cut gem.

"Forty two karats to be exact. Tell ya what... I'll get your mate's ring size and you just keep doing what yer doing. Leave the rest to old Ulf."

"I just need the size. Once I get that, I'll figure out where to go to get one made."

Ulfgar patted him on the back. "Don't worry about a thing, boy. Leave the rest to..."

The old norn let out a mighty sneeze. "Gah! Somethin's gotten my sinuses in a fit."

Kaleb realized what it must have been. "Sorry, it must be the cat. Amalthia and I plan on taking it to her father's."

"Good idea, lad. I would love the little critter, but my nose would heartily disagree."

Footsteps could be heard coming from the upstairs. Moments later, Amalthia padded down looking noticeably groggy.

"G'morning, dear," Kaleb said as he walked over to kiss her.

With heavy eyes, she gave him a quick lick on the mouth then headed out back. "Morning yourself. Sorry for the kiss-and-run. But I've gotta piss and shit really bad. Ulfgar - mind if I mark up your back wall?"

Kaleb busted out laughing.

"You say it all so casually, m'dear. Perhaps, you could just use the water closet like everyone else."

Amalthia stuck her tongue out. "Ha! And get my tail soaked in that swirling mass of filth? I think not!"

"I'll have you know that I stepped in one of your turds this morning when I was moving in some supplies. Needless to say, I need a new pair of shoes because of it," Kaleb retorted with a smile.

"Well, that's what you get for stepping into my sandbox," Amalthia said as she playfully poked him in the ribs.

"So is the whole backyard your sandbox?"

She smiled and laughed. "It would be if Ulfgar didn't mind."

Ulfgar shook his head and laughed. "Ye know true love is afoot when both can talk about each others' bodily functions and laugh."

"Hers mostly," Kaleb interjected. "At least I don't have to worry about getting yelled at for leaving the seat up."

***

Later in the day, Kaleb and Amalthia headed over to her father's butcher shop. As he entered, Kaleb carried Fredricka under his arm while petting her, hoping that doing so would sooth the little feline.

"Sire!" Amalthia yelled.

Moments later, the big charr emerged from the hallway as he stood on his cane behind the counter.

"Cub! And Kaleb! So good to see you both. And who's this?" He pointed to the small ball of fur that was nestled in Kaleb's arm.

"Hi Ludrick, sir. This is Fredricka. We rescued this little fluff ball from a bad situation."

Amalthia's father knelt down using his cane for support. He reached out one of his massive pawed hands and gently began petting the ball of fluff.

"Ha. I can feel it purring. Is it a he or a she?"

"She," both Kaleb and Amalthia said in unison.

Ludrick stood up then hobbled over towards the meat counter and picked out a few scraps of leftover steak cuts. He walked back over then gently began feeding the content cat.

"I had a feline when I was just a cub in my fahrar. His name was Gutslasher. Friendliest little thing," Ludrick said as he reached out to take the cat from Kaleb's hands.

Kaleb reciprocated the gesture as he handed off Fredricka to the old charr. "She's yours if you want her. Ulfgar is allergic to cats and Amalthia and I are just too busy to responsibly take care of her."

"You know, this place has gotten quite lonely since my cub moved out. Thank you, Kaleb. And I wanted to say something else - I'm truly sorry for what I had to do to you. It was for your own safety and Amalthia's. I hope you can forgive me."

"Sir. You did what any caring father would have done. I guess that's why deep down, I've always admired your people. They may seem aggressive and even brutal at times, but at least they are always honest and upfront about how they feel. My people, on the other hand..."

"Kaleb! Don't beat yourself up like this," Amalthia interjected.

Ludrick looked at his human friend and asked. "If you don't mind me asking, what is wrong, Kaleb?"

The young man shook his head. "I was about to mend fences with my family but something happened and now matters are even worse. For once, I just want those closest to us to accept us for who we are and not to be so judgmental."

Amalthia's father looked at Kaleb straight into his eyes and said matter-of-factly. "You accepted that yoke of responsibility the moment you and my cub became mates. If your relationship is to survive then you must have the fortitude to endure the slings and arrows hurled against the both of you."

"He's just venting, sire. Humans like to whine and complain about things, but truthfully, it is just their peoples' way of trying to solve a problem. Giving up is not even in the equation," Amalthia reassured her father.

"No worries, cub. I know each of you are exceptionally strong individuals, both in body and in spirit. It does this old soldier's heart good to see the two of you prosperous and happy together."

"So you've heard about our little business venture, I gather," Kaleb asked.

Ludrick nodded. "Outsomething is it?"

Kaleb replied with a satisfactory half smile. "Outliers, sir, Outliers - freelance bounty hunters who specialized in ridding Tyria of undead and other monstrosities. Thus far, we've been bringing home the coin."

"We've also been thinking of expanding our operations to include treasure hunting excursions," Amalthia added with a closed-eyed nod.

"How does your warband feel about all this?"

"I've invited them over to meet with Kaleb's Seraph buddies. Hopefully, everything will go smoothly. But to answer your question - I gather they are okay with it. I haven't heard any protests from any of them, thus far," she said while giving a few chin scratches to Fredricka.

"Sir. There's something I would like to discuss with you, just the two of us. I hope you don't mind, dear," Kaleb said as he gave a reassuring massage to the back of Amalthia's head.

"That's fine. I'll go downstairs and get the place tidied up a bit." Amalthia kissed Kaleb on the cheek then headed downstairs.

Ludrick looked at the young man and asked. "What did you want to discuss with me, cub?"

"Well. It's obvious that I love your daughter very much and she loves me. I was just wondering how you would feel if I proposed to her. You know the whole hand in marriage thing?"

Ludrick laughed then, as gently as he could muster, slapped Kaleb between the shoulder blades. The force almost knocked him off his chair.

"Listen. The two of you have already gone way beyond anything that is deemed acceptable by both our peoples. So why stop now, right? Fur or no fur, I know of no other soul on Tyria who would be worthy of taking care of my cub the way you have."

"So I take it as a yes? Your blessing, that is?"

"Bah! Those human rituals mean nothing to me. But if they mean so much to you and my cub then, yes, you have my 'blessing'," Ludrick smiled as he petted Fredericka who, by now, was fast asleep in his arms.

"So would it be okay if I call you,dad?"

Ludrick let out a low but menacing growl.

"Don't push it, cub!"

***

Later in the evening, Kaleb and Amalthia returned home. Their foray into Lion's Arch had been uneventful, save for the delightful interaction they had with their new friends; Ariyana and Jestin. Amalthia looked over their new outfits and marveled at just how well coordinated they were.

"Look at this, love. She even made some pockets specifically designed to hold extra magazines. There's even one for an extra sniper scope. That sylvari thought of everything."

Kaleb smiled as he looked over his outfit. "Indeed she did. But Jestin gets credit too for adding some of the norn flare to the leather straps. Yup. With these threads, we are both truly dressed to kill."

Amalthia nuzzled his face then wrapped her arms around his chest as she stood behind him purring. "That outfit looks so good on you that I can't decide if I like you better with or without clothes."

"I'm glad she designed your outfit to show more of your beautiful pelt in all the right places. I never got why so many designers garb your people in those stuffy trench coats. Less is so much more." Kaleb turned around and kissed her on the nose.

She then rested her head on his shoulder asked him in a soft voice. "Soo what were you talking to my sire about?"

"Nothing of any importance to you."

"Sure. I'll bet."

Kaleb quickly changed the subject, hoping it would provide some sort of distraction. "So what did you think of those books on human marriage and stuff?"

Amalthia pulled out several books from a burlap sack that she used for a shopping bag. As she laid them across the bed, she and Kaleb examined each one.

"The norn ones are particularly interesting. Asura are just a bit too techie for my taste, but to each their own," she shrugged.

"And the human ones?" Kaleb looked her in the eyes hoping for some kind of reaction.

"I'm sure I'll grow to become fond of them once I learn more about them. For myself, I 'm fine if we have no ritual at all. But since we are meshing our respective cultures together, I'm more than happy to adapt my way of thinking," Amalthia said as she perused through one of the books.

"There is one book that does describe a time when you people did perform bonding rituals for mated pairs. I think it's found somewhere in chapter twenty."

After they put away their books and disrobed from their outfits, the pair curled up together after their long and busy day. Kaleb gently stroked Amalthia's ears as she rolled over on her back then looked into his deep brown eyes and smiled.

"I'm glad Fredricka has found a good home. I haven't seen my sire so happy to have a companion once more in his life."

"Yeah. They took to each other right away. I'm glad your dad and I are now squared on things. I just wish the same could be said for my own family."

She caressed the side of his face and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips. "Like I said before, you needn't beat yourself up over that. I'm sure that in time, you and your parents will be able to make amends."

"I sure hope so. Anyway, I'm glad that my buddies are coming into town this weekend."

Kaleb rested on his back, closed his eyes and let out a sigh of relief.

"And don't forget my warband. They will be joining too yanno."

"I can't wait!" Kaleb said as his eyes became heavy with sleep.

The lovers would soon share their unique story with each of their respective friends during the upcoming weekend. In the end, they were both glad that they no longer had to carry their relationship in secret.

Soon, the entire world would know of how a human and a charr had found love with each other.

(All chapters have been posted to AO3. Chapter 26 is posted here.)

#gw2 fanfiction #tyrias-library #the outliers #kaleb and amalthia #interspecieslove #cw animal abuse

3 notes · View notes