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hatterstan-shameblog · 2 years

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Aftermath

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: Violence, death, mild gore mentions, allusions to drug use, sedatives, whole lotta sadness

Summary: Takeru shatters. Aguni picks up the pieces. But how much more can either of them take?

Notes: Set after the flashback where Aguni walks in to see Takeru post-murderous rampage. An excuse to write hurt/comfort with emphasis on the hurt. Previous relationship hinted at but not explicitly stated—but, come on, you know there was something between these two before and during the events of the show.

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And when Takeru turns to face him in the gold light of morning, slack-jawed and bloodstained, Aguni's heart drops.

Aguni takes his wrist, holds it between his fingers like a fragile little bird. Takeru's pulse flaps wildly, woodpecker beak a tap-tapping at an almost unbelievabke speed.

Takeru's jaw clenches as he's touched, but he doesnt pull away. Better than the times Aguni has taken a flurry of punches, teeth sinking into the meat of his forearm as he tries to subdue the man as he blindly rages. Times when Takeru cocked his gun and placed it right between Aguni's eyes, but never too far gone to pull the trigger.

This time is different. Better, in some ways. Takeru's pliable, suggestible, the way he lightly sways in his feet as Aguni places his other hand over the gun and begins to pull if loose.

"Come on," he says.

Takeru complies. Allows the weapon to be coaxed from his grip, fingers retracting into a loose fist when it's no longer in his grasp. Closes his eyes and sighs.

There's a bottle of pills in Aguni's pocket. Sedatives. Strong ones. Enough to put a man to sleep for a few hours and leave him groggy for the rest of the day. They had been Chisiya's recommendation, and Aguni frowns when he realizes that there are many fewer pills left than he had realized.

He uncaps the bottle and taps a pill into his palm. Small and necessary. He'll have just enough time to get Takeru cleaned up and back to his room before it kicks in.

"Hey," he says to Takeru. Touches his shoulder—gently, calmly, so as not to shatter the thin glass of calm separating Takeru from another bout of rage, "You need to take this."

Takeru looks at Aguni for a long moment. Searches his face. Then, the pill. Scrutinizing the thing, as if he had never seen anything like it before.

He opens his mouth.

Aguni places the pill on Takeru's tongue, careful not to linger—he learned the hard way that Takeru has a tendency to bite.

Takeru gulps it down dry.

"Good," Aguni says. Like soothing a child, voice low and steady. He reaches out and guides an arm behind Takeru's back. "We'll get you cleaned up."

The bathroom has been spared. White tile floors, fresh white towels—damn near pristine, minus a few personal effects which belonged to this room's residents before their untimely demise. Three toothbrushes stand at attention in a floral-patterned glass and a hairbrush lies bristles-up next to the sink basin. Aguni tries not to look at them.

The most delicate part of the procedure lies ahead; only a fool would try to part Takeru from his precious playing cards, but luckily, Aguni is fool enough to try.

"We'll put the cards on the counter," Aguni suggests, "Look, the soap dish is empty. They'll fit inside perfectly. That way, you can get in the shower and not have to worry about them getting wet."

Takeru's mouth twitches at the corner. He's got the cards gripped so tightly his knuckles strain. He'll be displeased, later, when he discovers that they've been crushed and warped—he'll blame the traitors, of course, for treating what is rightfully his with such little care.

So Aguni gives him time to consider the offer. It's best if Takeru gives the cards up willingly, obviously, but he need to be given the opportunity to make that choice. Aguni busies himself with gathering supplies, a bar of soap from the drawer on the sink vanity, a cloth for scrubbing, a clean towel for drying.

It's fortunate that they're in one of the newer rooms. The shower is Western-style and spacious, with a built-in bench opposite the shower head. He turns on the water and turns it up to a nearly-scalding temperature. That's how Takeru likes it, drops of fire pelting his skin until they burn off whatever filth stains him.

But even as the sound of water rains down on tile, Takeru doesn't move. His shoulders are less squared, slumping under the first weight of the drugs slipping through his bloodstream. Another twenty minutes and Aguni will have to carry him out of here.

"Takeru," he says, "You need to—"

"You keep them," Takeru half-whispers. His voice sounds painful and ragged. The hand that holds the cards moves slowly outward, and Aguni quickly wipes his wet hands on his pants to receive them.

There are four cards in the collection. All of them, duplicates. Nothing over a five. Aguni makes sure Takeru is watching as he places them in his front pocket, right next to where his gun rests holstered on his hip.

One of the only good things about the Beach's ridiculous dress code is simple undressing. Aguni moves to help Takeru shrug the blood spattered robe from his shoulders, but his hands are lazily swept away—Takeru removes it himself and let's the stained garment fall to the floor.

This part is always the same. Takeru removes the ruined robe—always borrowed from the hotel, never his own—and Aguni is left to dispose of it.

"I'll take care of this," Aguni assures, and turns his back to allot Takeru a bit of privacy as he divests himself of the rest of his outfit. "I'll be back in a minute."

There are two people waiting for him in the next room. Trusted underlings, too low-ranking and too afraid to do anything but carry out his orders swiftly and discreetly. Between them, a large wheeled bin used for collecting laundry.

"How many this time?"

"Five, sir," the shorter one answers. She removes the bracelet from a corpse's wrist and adds it to the small collection on the bed. "Jun's getting another cart."

Aguni drops the robe into the laundry bin. It lands on one of the victim's faces.

"Work fast," he says flatly. He looks to the other of his workers, a well-muscled man hoisting another of the bodies up from the floor. "And make sure you check everywhere. They like to hide."

Both nod. This is hardly the first time they've done this, although this is the first time they've dealt with such volume. Typically, Takeru only kills one, maybe two—most traitors are lone wolves, too cautious to team up and too stupid to get away with their plans.

Avoiding the limp limbs which scatter the carpet, Aguni makes his way to the closet. That's another thing that's always the same; Takeru always takes the time to hang up his precious silk robe, as well as leave his sandals lined up and out of the way.

This time, however, there's a body in the closet. Curled up, defensive. A single shot to the head is a testament to the last vestiges of mercy still present in Takeru's increasingly addled brain.

"You got ten minutes," Aguni says, and leaves them to go tend to Takeru once more.

The bathroom is filling with steam from the hot shower, mirror already beginning to fog up. The textured glass of the shower door obscures the details of the man inside, but Aguni can see his shape slumped pitifully and unmoving on the bench.

"There's six. Out there," Takeru says sleepily, almost dream-like. His voice is so soft, so unlike the one that commands crowds each night. "One tried to run, but I—"

"How's the water?" Aguni interrupts. "You want me to make it hotter?"

Distraction. It's the most powerful weapon in Aguni's arsenal, and right now, the most important.

If Takeru thinks too much, he'll begin to spiral. If he spirals, he'll snap. The process repeats, but this time, it'll be Aguni on the opposite end of his rage.

"'S good," Takeru mumbles, barely audible over the sound of the water. He pauses for a moment. "I can't. The, the soap—"

"—Is next to you, on your right," Aguni finishes for him. "It's the lemon verbena. You like that kind."

A clumsy hand flops on the bench next to Takeru, and he says a little 'ah' when he finds the small bar right where Aguni said it would be.

"Wash your hands first," Aguni directs. Almost as if he's talking to a child, the chemical drop-off from Takeru's episode rendering him docile and unsure. "Then your face, then your feet."

Obedience was never one of Takeru's favored virtues, but here, he follows Aguni's directions to the letter. Aguni can hear the scrubbing, imagines how the blood swirls pink down the drain.

"Are you hurt?"

"Hm," Takeru responds, "Hands. The knuckles. They...they sting."

"We can take care of that when we get back to your room," Aguni says. "Anything else?"

"Don't think so. I feel..." He sighs and drops what Aguni assumes to be the soiled cloth onto the shower floor, "Mori, I'm so tired."

Aguni knows it. He sees it in the purple undereyes that seem to draw Takeru's whole face downwards. Aguni turns off the water and drops a clean, dry towel onto the man's lap. Takeru doesn't so much as flinch.

So, Aguni helps him. Gets on his knees and wicks away the water from Takeru's knees with the spare towel he'd procured for this exact reason. Takeru's head lulls to the side, but he does begin to start patting down his soaked skin with tentative movements.

He dresses himself, mostly. Aguni has to help steady him when he decides to stand, ties the drawstring on Takeru's shorts because his fingers just can't seem to do anything but fumble awkwardly as he sways in place. Aguni holds the robe out for him like an overcoat, and Takeru shrugs it onto his shoulders and wraps it tightly around himself in an imitation of a hug.

The drugs are working more quickly than usual. Perhaps Takeru had taken something earlier that's magnifying the effects; it'd hardly be surprising, the way he experiments these days. Alcohol, substances, sex, killings—nothing, it seems, is off-limits for the King of the Beach.

Aguni grabs a hand towel and attempts to dry at least some of Takeru's hair. It didn't get too saturated, but still, drips drop from the dark curls onto the cut of his collarbone. There's a scar at the hollow of his throat, so small and faded, but Aguni knows where it is. He resists the urge to run his thumb over the memory.

"I'm sorry," Takeru says. He doesn't look Aguni in the eye, his hazy gaze drifting to the floor. It's the most sober he's sounded in weeks; in truth, it catches Aguni off guard.

"Hm?"

"I..." Takeru starts. The words die on his lips, the milky slur of sleepiness smeared across his slack jaw. "I can't remember—"

"'S alright," Aguni answers. It's good that Takeru's forgotten the details of his earlier episode, but something behind Aguni's heart still yearns for the apology he had been so close to receiving. "Put your glasses on. We'll leave when you're ready."

Aguni doesn't have to check to see if his crew is done in the next room. Ten minutes means ten minutes, and Takeru's fumbling with his sunglasses gives them at least eleven to clear out the room. Once the glasses are firmly on Takeru's nose, Aguni guides him to the door.

They don't linger. Time is running short—with every step, Takeru drags his feet and veers to the left as exhaustion weighs his body down. If he notices the blood on the carpet, he doesn't comment. He's probably too-far gone to even realize where he is at the moment.

Out of the room and down the hall, the elevator is blessedly quick to arrive when Aguni presses the call button. It's almost sweet, the way Takeru tiredly leans against him as the car travels up and up and up to the top floor. There was a time when that wasn't such a faraway thought, when simple touches were kept and exchanged between them like secrets, Takeru's head tipped against Aguni's shoulder as they rode the last train home.

By the time they finally reach the double doors to Takeru's suite, Aguni is half-dragging the man along with a lanky arm slung over his shoulders. The guard leaning in the doorway gives them an amused, knowing look when Aguni mumbles something about their fearless leadee drunkenly falling into the pool again; the same excuse he used last time, and one he will no doubt have to use again. At least it's believable enough to get them into the room without garnering too much suspicion, and Aguni is both sickened and thankful that Takeru has built himself such a reputation.

Being back in his own domain sparks some kind of awareness into Takeru's brain, because he begins to speak. Unintelligible things, fragments of sentences with no purpose. Is it the sedative or the ravings of a man gone mad? The line between the two is so fine Aguni can't even be sure it's there.

The bed is unmade, as always. Takeru sinks into it the second Aguni guides him to lay down, turning to lay on his stomach and groggily reaching to pull the mess of blankets over himself.

"Mori," he says softly when Aguni helps him pull the fluffy white comforter over himself, "I...forgot."

"Forgot what?"

"To tell you something," Takeru responds, "but I can't remember."

Aguni takes the sunglasses off his face and places them on the nightstand.

"Was it about the cards?"

"Cards?"

"You asked me to hold them for you," Aguni says. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the small collection, holding them up so Takeru can see, "I have them right here."

"I don't..."

Takeru looks lost. Confused. Perhaps even a little scared—nobody else would be able to pick it out, but Aguni can see the vestiges of fear flicker behind his eyes. The emotion passes almost as quickly as it began, and Takeru closes his eyes.

"That must've been it," he reassures himself, "the cards..."

And he takes on the deep, even breaths of a sleeper. Every bone relaxed, every muscle unclenched. It's difficult to believe that this is a man who just committed a massacre, resting peacefully in a way his victims will never know, but here he sleeps.

Aguni leaves the cards on the table, stacked neatly next to his glasses. Takeru will no doubt want to see them when he wakes, although he won't instantly remember how he came to procure them. Memory is tricky when it comes to these episodes; and given Takeru's penchant for lying and distorted view of reality, it's difficult to decipher just how much he actually retains.

There was a time Aguni would have stayed with him. Bandaged his hands, kept vigil by his bedside until those dark eyes fluttered open and he would be greeted with a sentimental smirk. They wouldn't talk about what happened, not directly, but Aguni would make sure the exuberance reached Takeru's eyes before he left and their charade of mutual disdain started back up again.

Except now, he leaves Takeru to wake up alone. To bandage his own hands, to obsess over his playing cards and insist that everything is fine and beautiful in this hell of his own creation. Heaven knows he doesn't deserve Aguni's kindness. He doesn't deserve anyone's kindness, after the things he's done.

And they'll pretend the cycle won't continue. Takeru will pretend he won't kill again and Aguni will pretend he won't help him again.

On and on, until one of them breaks.

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#alice in borderland #alice in borderland netflix #writings and such #aguni morizono #danma takeru #i actually wrote something serious lmao #hatter/aguni #ive decided to write more for them specifically. so keep an eye out.

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galactic-pirates · 1 year

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It’s a day ending in Y so I am musing about Star Trek as is my thing at the moment.

The Delta Quadrant was an unknown when Voyager got stranded there.

Now I was a Stargate fan first and they have hyperdrive in that, not Warp Drive. Near as I can tell from google maximum Warp is 2-3 light years travelled per day. For a Stargate regular Asgard-Earth hyperdrive (as seen on the Daedalus) they can do more like 143,000 a day. If they pair it with a ZPM it’s 750,000. Now hyperdrive speeds do vary. The Goa’uld pre-Apophis (probably reverse engineered Asgard stolen) would have taken a year to make the trip to Earth. In the Season 1 finale they did it in a couple of days. Wraith hyperdrives are also slower and they have to stop (a bit like Warp) as the engines/ships take damage and need to rest. But regardless hyperdrive is ridiculously much faster than Warp Drive.

All alien races in Trek seem to use some iteration of Warp Drive. I mean achieving Warp is when a race is considered ready for first contact right? Well it’s FTL not Warp and as I understand it because Warp has to set a course around everything, they are still in normal space. It’s basically just like really fast, with some kind of something so that there isn’t a temporal issue. Which is a bit how Destiny worked in Stargate (which pre-dates every other ship seen). So it could be said that Warp is like “early development” when it comes to FTL but due to first contact, and then the federation, they never broke from it. They just kept going like with a mental block. Sort of an echo chamber thing due to working together the second any race started down FTL.

Anyway so Delta Quadrant is far away in terms of Trek travel times. Not really far enough but work with me. What if races here had developed something akin to hyperdrive?

This is a very long way of musing about what such a development could do to the federation. They have the Prime Directive right because introducing advanced tech to people who aren’t ready for it - they could destroy themselves. Fear leads to jealousy, leads to divisions, leads to fighting and boom it’s war. So if they encountered a race with hyperdrive how would Voyager feel being on the ‘other side’ of the Prime Directive? Knowing this race had a way to get them home but they were refusing for Voyager/the Federations own longterm good.

Or alternately what if they did agree to share? What would the Federation suddenly having such tech do? Comparing 2-3 light years per day with hundreds of thousands times more, is like some guy who has only ever walked anywhere, suddenly getting a supersonic jet. What would that do to the power relations/politics of the federation? Would it help areas that StarFleet had given up on as it could increase their reach as ships could move around more easily? Or would it increase the inequality? If the Federation had the tech but they wouldn’t share with say the Romulans, would that lead to a first strike war as the Romulans afraid of what the Federation could do, sought to weaken them preemptively and then of course the Federation would what? Expand with imperialism. As the Klingons in Discovery said the most dangerous of words “we come in peace”?

I don’t know. My mind is chewing on it.

#sam rambles (a lot)#Star Trek #Stargate #thought of the day

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roses-boar · 10 months

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Lion 5: The Sequel

Lions' portal cut through the warm summer air lingering above the strawberry field. Lion emerged, gliding through the air with the Heretic on his back, tightly gripping his mane. Upon landing he lost his grip and rolled through the field, coating him in strawberries. Butterflies, attracted to the sweet nectar, begun to descend upon him in swarms.

Brushing away his assailants, the heretic stood up and took a deep breath. A sweet aroma filled him, putting him at ease. As he looked around, he noticed several large weapons scattered across the field causing his heart to sink. This was the same battlefield he stood on that fateful day. But something was different, the battle had only occurred only a few weeks ago and yet many of the weapons were missing, and the remains of his regiment were absent from the field.

He turned around and faced Lion who was sitting calmly before him. "Why did you bring me here? How long has it been!?" The Heretic shouted, but Lion offered only an innocent gaze in response.

Realizing he was yelling at a Lion, the Heretic calmed himself and switched his attention back to the battlefield. He ran, searching for any clue or sign that could aid him. Quickly becoming frustrated, he dropped to his knees and begun to dig. Pushing past the untamed growth of the field and digging up the earth, his hand felt something metallic. Ripping it out from the ground he held a familiar blue and white striped helmet, the same one that once belonged to the warp navigator. A skull had fallen from the helmet, the pink hue proof this was once a member of the immortal legion.

How long have I been gone? The Heretic thought to himself. He struggled to remember what had happened to him or why Garnet and Pearl had sealed him away, but it didn't matter. He needed to find Nora and make sure she was safe. The last place he remembered seeing her was in the caverns beneath the stronghold, but he had no idea how to get back there. He turned back around and began sprinting back to where he had arrived. The Lion was his only lead right now, and he needed his help. He did not know why he had saved him, but he had no one else he could trust.

Lion was laying in the same spot he was left. As the Heretic approached, he raised his head and looked patiently toward him.

"Listen, I don't know if you understand me and I don't know why you helped me, but right now your my only hope. I'm looking for a young girl who was travelling with me, and I'm struggling to piece together my own mind," the Heretic asked Lion as he pet the sides of Lion's face. When the Lion did not react, he let out one last plea. "Please, I need to know that at least Nora got out alright." Suddenly, Lion stood up. He was unsure of his intentions, but he quickly mounted the kind beast. Before he could figure out where to grip, Lion bolted off and let out a roar which opened another portal.

Inside it was like they were soaring through a tunnel of pure light. He tightly gripped Lion's mane as he struggled to hold on amidst the immense speed. The portal rapidly coming to a close around them as they neared the exit.

Lion landed gracefully upon the wet pavement outside It's a Wash car wash, but the Heretic did not take the journey so well as he was flung off Lion's back upon arrival. His armor screeched as he slid across the moist concrete before slowly coming to a stop.

"That's quite a bit more difficult than warp travel. How do you do that?" the Heretic inquired, rain pattering upon his armor as he slowly rose. Lion only stared blankly back at him. Finally taking a moment to look Lion over he began to consider the implications. "Can't say I've ever seen a pink Lion, but it looks like you and me got that in common at the very least. You must be Rose's, kinda obvious innit?". He said with a small laugh, looking into Lion's eyes. Lion only yawned before wandering off again.

The Heretic looked at his unfamiliar surroundings. Two structures stood before him, one large and one small. The large had a glowing sign sat atop it which read, "It's A Wash" and seemed to depict an elephant. The small one stood directly in front the other and similarly had wording on the side. "Mr. Universe" the structure read. He was perplexed by its many doors and small size. "Why did you bring me here, friend?" He asked, watching as Lion walked over to the small structure and began climbing it, or pawing it? He was not sure, but he figured it must be important.

As he investigated the structure, Lion had successfully climbed atop and began stomping his feet. This caused a blaring sound which sent him into a panic as he looked around for enemies. The sound could attract any nearby corrupted, but instead one of the doors swung open revealing a large, bearded man.

"Who goes there? I got a waffle iron!" the man shouted. His eyes meeting with the strange, armored man who stood before him. It was like he was staring at a man out of time. "Um, can I help you . . . sir?"

Lion leaped down from atop the vehicle, startling the man who fell backwards.

"Lion!? You nearly scared the last of the hair off my head," the man said as he looked back towards the Heretic. "And who's your buddy here? A friend of the Gems?"

"I am. . .," the Heretic began, but he hesitated to speak. What was he to tell the man, that he was a heretic? He would never get help like that. Would this man support him if he knew who he really was? He looked up at the man who was nervously awaiting his response. "I am a friend of Rose Quartz, and I have come seeking your aid."

"Rose?" the man asked solemnly. "Excuse me, where are my manners, I think I should have some by now," he said with a laugh. "Please come inside and we can talk outside the rain."

The Heretic accepted his offer and entered the structure, Lion followed behind him. He struggled to fit inside, needing to sit hunched over to keep his head from hitting the roof. Their combined weight caused the vehicle to creek and shift, prompting a concerned look from the man. "I'm sure that's fine," he said. The interior was filled with a wide variety of garments and other strange objects he could not identify. Once inside Lion violently shook, splashing water all over the interior of the vehicle before he laid back down.

"Agh, gross. Not sure what else I expected from a wild animal," the man said jokingly. "Anyway, I'm Greg, what did you say your name was?" Greg asked, extending his hand toward the Heretic.

His name? The Paladin thought about it for a moment. His mind was still hazy as he struggled to recall such a simple thing. He may not have heard the sound of his own name for centuries, but surely it was not something he could forget. He slowly reached his hand out to Greg and gripped his hand tight, not realizing his own strength. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, sir Greg. You can just call me Paladin, or buddy if you prefer."

Greg flinched as his hands made an ominous cracking sound. "Sir? There's no need for that" Greg responded, rubbing his hand. "So, Paladin, you said you needed some help. I'm not sure how much help I'll be. I'm certain my son, Steven and-"

"I apologize for interrupting, but might I ask you if we're safe here?" The Paladin asked as he nervously peered out the rear window. "How have the corrupted not found you?"

"Corrupted? Are you talking about some gem related business? Cause the gems told me not to get involved in magic stuff," Greg said as he raised his hands.

The Paladin whipped his head to face Greg. "You know the gems?" He asked with a sense of urgency.

"Um, yeah. My son, Steven, is one of the crystal gems. Have you not met them yet? They are always mixed into all sorts of magic gem stuff," Greg replied as he cracked open a can of cherry soda and took a drink from it.

The Paladin thought back to when he emerged from his prison. The young boy with the star shirt and pink coat. Could that have been who he was talking about? And he was a member of the Crystal gems? The Paladin was getting sidetracked by his thoughts. I need to stay focused, he thought. While the Lion seemed to trust this man, if he was connected to Garnet and Pearl, then he could not. "I can't say that I have, Greg," the Paladin said calmly. "You see, I'm looking for one of my companions. A squire of Pearl's errantry. Her name is Nora."

Initially Greg assumed he was talking about Connie, but when he heard the name, he nearly spat out his drink. "Nora?" Greg asked, surprised.

"Do you know her?" The paladin desperately asked.

"No, no, I'm sorry. I don't know any Nora's. I was just surprised was all"

"Surprised?"

"Well, you see, before my son was born," Greg began, rubbing the back of his neck. "Me and Rose had said we would name our child Nora if it turned out to be a girl. But-"

"Rose has a child!?" The Paladin exclaimed, jumping up, but his head met the ceiling putting him back down. "Where is she now!? Maybe she can still help me."

Greg's face shifted to a frown as he turned his eyes away. "Rose is gone. When my son, Steven, was born she gave up her physical form so that he could live. Her gem was given to him and with it all of her burdens," Greg's said as his dour voice trailed off.

The van fell quiet, only the sound of rain against metal keeping the void of silence at bay. Rose was gone, and she had a child the Paladin thought. Was such a thing even possible? The boy, he must have at least been a squire's age, if not older. Had he truly been gone that long? But maybe there was still a chance Nora was alright. He needed to be sure, he needed to do it for her.

Finally, the Paladin spoke up. "Sir Greg, I need your help. I don't know how much time has passed, but I need to find out what happened to Nora, and I don't know where else to look. The Lion brought me to you, so you must be the key."

Greg looked at the Paladin with somber eyes. "I think the best place to start is with the Crystal Gems. I heard they were goin on some trip and would be gone a few hours. We can wait for them at the beach house. If not Steven, then surely Garnet, Pearl, or-"

"No!" the Paladin shouted as he slammed his fist into the wall behind him. Pulling his hand from the dented metal he looked to Greg who had gone quiet. "I'm sorry, I didn't . . ." He took a deep breath before continuing. "It's just, this is urgent. Do you know any other Gems who could help?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm sure someone down at little home world would be happy to help you. I heard some of them are pretty old, so they probably know all sorts of things I don't. Climb in front and I'll take you right now."

Greg pushed some junk aside and crawled into the driver seat. The Paladin followed behind and tried to make himself comfortable in the passenger chair as his head hit the ceiling. The weight shifted in the vehicle again levelling out as Lion sat in the back. Once they were situated, Greg started the van and started down the road.

The pair sat in silence for a while before the Paladin spoke up. "I'm sorry about your van. I'll help you fix it if you'd like."

"This old thing? Ehh don't worry about it. If every Porkchop were perfect, we wouldn't have hotdogs." Greg said wih a nervous laugh as the paladin did not respond. "The gems have done far worse to it, and it always came through," Greg cheerfully added.

"Your a kind man, sir Greg. I can see why Rose liked you," the Paladin said, his words nearly whispered.

"You know what'll lighten the mood? Some tunes. Mind grabbing one of the CD's out the dash and poppin it in the radio?" Greg said as he pointed towards a pile of CD's stashed in a compartment on the dashboard.

The Paladin sifted through the pile where one caught his eye. The cover seemed to depict the van they were riding in and had a younger image of Greg on the front. After fiddling with the case, he eventually got the CD out and reached to place it in the radio.

"Umm, maybe not that one-" Greg attempted to reach out and stop the Paladin, but the CD had already been inserted.

The Paladin listened as the device begun playing a musical tone when Greg's voice suddenly entered into the mix. "I know I'm not that tall. I know I'm not that smart but let me drive my van into your heart. Let me drive my van into your heart."

The Paladin looked over at Greg, but his mouth was not moving despite hearing his voice. "You really love this van, don't you?"

Greg blushed out of embarrassment. "Oh, well it's not really about the van so much as it is about-. You know what, how about we just listen to the song for a bit."

Driving in silence the Paladin watched through the window as they passed a small beachside town. not a single wall or defense in sight. Were things truly safe? Sergeant Dewey would have loved it here he thought. The poor fool always wanted to take his family and live out life on a beach. The Paladin wondered what fate befell his other companions, but he would likely find out soon enough.

"We're here," Greg said, pulling the Paladin out of his thoughts. "Welcome to little home world. Man, this place just gets bigger every time I see it." Greg drove through the gates of little home world and into the town, but the roads were empty. "Schools closed cause it's the weekend, so a lot of the gems might be out travelling, but there are a pair who live here, so I'm hoping there still here." Greg turned a corner where two gems could be seen playing in the distance. "Perfect, just the gems I was looking for."

The Paladin struggled to make out the two through the thin slits in his helmet, but as they approached, he noticed a distinct blue gem. He ducked down and froze in terror. He could almost feel his heart beat again and the butterflies in his stomach. It was a Lapis Lazuli.

#crystal gems #fanfic #steven universe #steven universe fanfic #paladin of rose quartz #fantasy #writers #su #su fandom #lion steven universe #lapis lazuli #little homeworld

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gabagoulie · 3 years

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Sleep is for the weak and the unemployed

#uh oh #uh oh gamers #shitpost #its 1:35AM #i am not tired #but it is past my bed time #i am both the reblious teen and the stern adult #I was talking to my reflection #Barbara #about the implications of a warp speed in sci-fi and space shit #bc #time travel is theoretically possible if we travel near light speed #and warp speed has got to be near or more than light #beacuse they are going between fucking systems in a matter of DAYS #and it takes us decades to get to planets in our own system #and those arent even human carrying crafts

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nothoughtsonlynat · 3 years

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Resurrect Me (N.R.)

Warnings: swearing; death; Hell/the Underworld; cliff jumping lol

Word Count≈ 3.1k (yikes lol my bad)

Hecate一 the goddess of magic, witchcraft, the night, the moon, ghosts, and necromancy. Known to be an intricate mosaic of good and evil, destruction and beauty. Capable of granting wishes, summoning the dead, resurrections, teleportation, warping realities on unfathomable scales, mind control, energy manipulation, and any sorcery or magic known to the Gods. Second only to Zeus himself.

I am the human embodiment of Hecate. I am not Hecate; she merely resides in the depths of my soul and provides me guidance. We do not communicate through words; she speaks through dreams and gut feelings, and sometimes even through signs in the outside world. I have not mastered the powers she’s granted me, nor have I reached my full potential. In addition to the Goddess’ powers, I hold the basic Olympian powers, such as superhuman speed and stamina. I have no recollection of how I merged with Hecate or the life I lived before this point, and she has provided me with no answers, but I do not question her motives.

Agent Phil Coulson came across me in my temple in Turkey. Apparently, he had discovered strange energy readings coming from the temple. When he arrived, I used the power of energy manipulation to blow the concrete off of me, and that is the first thing I remember一 emerging from underneath Hecate’s temple.

I joined the Avengers during the Battle of New York. Agent Coulson had recommended me to Fury when he was piecing together the Avengers Initiative. In the three years between my awakening and the invasion, I practiced my sorcery mercilessly and studied Hecate deep in the Greek countryside. I’ve stuck with the Avengers throughout the years, fighting every battle alongside them. Through the ups and downs, I’ve fallen head over heels for Natasha Romanoff. One would assume that with so much power, I’d be confident and have any mortal begging at my feet. That couldn’t be any more inaccurate, however. As I’ve said, I am not Hecate; I am simply the human embodiment of the goddess. And as a human, I turn into a blushing, stuttering mess whenever the levelheaded assassin is near. Consequently, there have been many years of pining, but I’ve yet to muster up the courage to ask the woman on a date.

In our most recent war, we’ve gone up against a mad titan一 Thanos. We lost terribly. Half of all living things inhabiting the universe were snapped away. I can’t help but ponder whether things would’ve gone differently if I had better mastered my powers. I potentially hold all the capabilities of the goddess of magic; aside from Zeus, I hold more power than any being to ever exist. I’ve practiced my sorcery every day for the past five years on the off chance that we ever get a rematch一 a chance to bring everyone back. I’ve improved significantly, but Hecate has been oddly quiet for the past few years. It’s driving me crazy. I know she’s still there, but she hardly provides an ounce of guidance.

And so, that is where I find myself now一 practicing sorcery in the room specifically designed to isolate me when I use dark magic. Everyone who has access to the training section of the compound knows that they should never enter this room. It is far too dangerous for regular mortals. As I warp the room’s reality, a dark mist envelops me. When it clears, the room has changed into a 50s ballroom. I look down to see an elegant maroon ball gown covering my body, and I scan the empty area. I hear a pair of heels clicking toward me, and I spin around, already panicking. In order for someone to be here with me, they would have to be an inhabitant of the location’s true reality. My eyes land upon the woman I’ve grown to love, dressed up for the event. She is wearing an extravagant light blue ball gown, and her hair is carefully done up.

“Natasha? What are you doing here?”

“Why I came to dance with you, of course.” She steps closer and drapes her arms around my neck, swaying to the nonexistent music. Stay calm. Don’t panic. There’s no way I’m making her do this. I’m not even doing anything! Of course I’m the one making her do this, who else would it be?! Breathe in. Breathe out. My powers don’t control me. I control them. Just breathe. I can do this. I know how to do this.

As I focus on the magic coursing through my veins, a black mist envelops us, and the room returns to its original form一 a basic training room with black padded walls. I immediately take a large step back from Natasha.

“What the fuck is wrong with you, Natasha?! You know you can’t come in here! I could’ve seriously hurt you!”

“I...I’m sorry. I thought you’d just be moving shit with your mind. I didn’t realize you could do...that, whatever that was.”

“That was reality manipulation. I didn’t know you were here and I don’t have full control of it, so you got caught up in it. Are you okay? Do you remember it?”

“Yeah, I remember it clear as day. I was still me and I was still in control, it was just...different, I guess.”

“Well, I literally warped your reality, so even if you felt in control, you might not have been.”

“You stopped it, though. I remember when that seemed impossible. You’re getting better.”

“Thanks, I guess.” I awkwardly scratch the back of my neck. “What did you come in here for in the first place?”

“This is gonna sound crazy, but Scott Lang is here. We might have a way to bring everybody back.”

“Wait, what? Holy shit. It’s happening. Okay, come on then!” I eagerly walk past her, grabbing her hand as I pass her, and we leave my training room. I realize that I’m still holding her hand as we make it to the meeting room, and I immediately drop it, clearing my throat. If I wasn’t so familiar with the sensation, then I would swear that my ears and cheeks are on fire.

<//>

We all step onto the platform in matching white and red time-travel suits. “We’re really doing this?”

“Hell yeah, we’re doing this,” Clint answers.

“Alright, then. We bring everybody back,” I say with determination. “Whatever it takes,” Steve adds.

“See you in a minute,” Natasha adds with a smirk. Before I can appreciate how beautiful she looks with the glimmer of hope in her eyes, we’re flying through a flurry of colors. Nebula, Natasha, Rhodey, Clint, and I land on Morag. We all say our respective goodbyes before Nat, Clint, and I get on a jet to head to Vormir.

<//>

“A soul for a soul.”

“What? That’s insane. Look, no offense, Mr. Bloody Tampon, but why should we just trust what you’re saying? Because you know their fathers’ names?”

“I didn’t.” I looked into Natasha’s eyes as she spoke and I instantly wish that I could replace the dull sadness with the bright hope that had filled them before.

“He doesn’t know my father’s name. If he’s some mystical being, then why can��t he tell me that?” I turned to face him as I asked the question.

“I’m afraid you are a mystery. I am meant to know everything about any being who seeks the stone, but I know nothing of your identity.”

“Hm. Seems like a load of bullshit to me,” I deadpanned.

“We need to do this. We need to bring everyone back. I’ve spent the past five years trying to reverse the snap, and now I finally know how to fix it. Let me do it.” As Natasha spoke, she grabbed both of my hands in hers.

“And I’ve spent every day for the past five years training to do this. I wasn’t just practicing sorcery and talking to dead people for fun, Nat. All I wanted was to do better一 to fix this. If anyone is jumping off that cliff, it’s gonna be me.”

“No. Absolutely not. Neither of you is dying for that stone. I’ve done horrible things these past few years. I’ve killed...so many people. It should be me,” Clint says, and Natasha and I turn to face him, but one of her hands remains in mine.

“No way in hell, Clint. And not you either, Nat. Both of you guys have families. You’re not sacrificing yourselves. I won’t let you. And you can’t stop me even if you try.” Nat gives me a questioning look as I mention her family and I speak in her head ‘I know about them, Nat. And they need you. She needs her big sister.’

“What are you saying?” I can hear the anxiety lacing Nat’s words, and it causes a pit to form in my stomach.

“I think you know what I’m saying, Natty.”

“Then you don’t leave me much of a choice.” She shoots a Widow’s Bite toward me, but I stop it using energy manipulation without even having to lift a finger.

“You can’t beat me, Nat. Please, don’t fight me on this.”

“I call bullshit.” Out of the corner of my eye, I see Clint running toward the edge while we’re distracted, and I teleport in front of him, throwing him backward. I use mind control to force him to stay down. I sense Natasha running toward the edge behind me, and I teleport in front of her. I use energy manipulation to keep her in place, and I grab onto her biceps.

“I’m really sorry, Nat. I hate that I’m doing this to you, but I can’t let you throw yourself off a cliff for some stupid stone. Your life is worth so much more than that. You’re an amazing person, and your ledger was cleared of its red so long ago. Don’t let anyone tell you any different.”

“This is sounding an awful lot like a goodbye.”

“You can be sarcastic all you want, but I’m not walking out of this one, Natty.”

“Don’t do this. The team needs you.”

“No, they don’t, Nat, and we both know it. They need you.”

“And what if I need you?!”

“Well if that’s the case, you’ll figure it out, just like you always do. Don’t let something like this hold you back. Goodbye, Natasha Romanoff.” I kiss her cheek before turning around. I start walking towards the edge, but it quickly turns into a sprinting pace as I hear Nat screaming for me to stop. Just before I reach the edge, I lift the mind control from Clint and I release Nat, just in case it doesn’t automatically lift when I die. I push myself off the cliff, turning mid-jump so I’m not facing the ground. As I’m falling through the air, I see Clint holding Nat in his arms as her screams fill my ears. I hit the ground and everything goes black.

<//>

“Hello, y/n. It’s good to see you again.” I sat up and一 what the hell is that smell? “Ah, yes. That would be burning flesh. Welcome to Hell, darling.”

“Uh...what? Who are you?”

“Yes, I suppose I should explain, hm? I am Hecate, Goddess of一”

“Yeah, I know what you’re the goddess of. How did I get here?”

“I thought you were smarter than this. You died, obviously.”

“And went to Hell? Damn.”

“Oh, relax. Hell isn’t what the mortals think it is. This is the Underworld. All of the dead reside here. The bad people get punished, the good people don’t. Simple as that. We don’t have a lot of time, so I need to explain. I am cursed; I cannot leave the Underworld. However, my human embodiment can, and that is where you come into play. You hold all my power, and I can see you’ve been practicing, but you’ve never lived up to your full potential.”

“Hey! Rude!”

“Don’t interrupt. I didn’t allow you to live up to your full potential, not until we met, anyway.”

“And I had to die in order for that to happen?”

“Yes. I’m giving you all of my power, but I can still stop you if I ever need to. I know you don’t want to risk hurting the people you love, especially the redhead, but you need to trust yourself. Trust your powers. Have a little faith. You are a goddess, remember. Don’t let people forget it. That purple thumb is nothing compared to you, even with his colorful rocks. Your family needs you now. You must help them.”

“That’s it? Why do they need help? How will I know what to do?”

“I will always be there to help you, Y/N. You can handle this. This is nothing. You are part of me, just as I am part of you. You are my daughter, after all. I should know your capabilities better than anyone.”

“Wait, daughter?!”

“Oh, did I forget to mention that part? Oh well, it doesn’t matter right now, anyway. You need to go.”

“Go where?”

“Home, darling.”

The earth above us cracks open and I can hear faint sounds of fighting on the surface. I look at Hecate as she nods. Before I even realize I’m doing it, black mist surrounds my body and lifts me through the crack. I step out of the mist onto the ground and a staff appears in my right hand. I tap it once on the ground and my white suit is replaced by an all-black leather outfit that’s definitely made for a goddess. I smirk and make eye contact with the titan across the battlefield. His sickly creatures race toward me as they notice the new threat on the field. I summon an army of ghouls from the cracks in the earth. As the aliens and the undead clash, I teleport in front of Thanos.

“And who might you be, dear?” He acts confident, but I can sense his fear.

“I am Y/N, daughter of Hecate.” He tilts his head in a questioning manner. “Oh, did someone not study mythology? Hm, then let’s be blunt, shall we? I’m a goddess, ass-chin.” I throw my staff at his throat, but he catches it. He moves to swing his large sword at me, but I capture his arm in black mist. When he tries to move the other arm, I restrain that one, as well. “Well, that surely can’t be all you’ve got, hm? Pity, I thought it’d be more exciting than that.” If I were to look in a mirror at that moment, I would’ve noticed my ghostly pale skin, black eyes, and the raw power spreading through my veins like a black road-map.

“It’s not over yet, my dear child.” Before I can question the meaning of his words, an alien tosses him the gauntlet. It slides on his exposed hand, but I hold it open with dark magic. I look around and notice that the army of the undead is nowhere to be seen. My teammates are pinned down, even with the help of those who were snapped. There is a feeling in my gut and a voice in my head that tells me what I must do. I pull the gauntlet off his hand with black mist and slide my hand inside. I feel the power surging into my body. “What are you doing? That power will kill you!” Thanos sounds truly desperate.

“That’s cute. Truly, it is, but you can’t kill someone who’s already dead.” I close my hand and snap my fingers. His army fades to dust and he slumps to the ground before floating away with them. I drop the gauntlet to the ground and look around. Natasha runs toward me and throws her arms around my neck in a firm hug.

“Wha一what happened to you? How are you here? I thought you died!”

I wrap my arms around her waist and rest my chin on her shoulder before saying, “I did die. I am dead.”

She pulls away and looks at me from head to toe. “Well that explains why you’re so damn pale, but now I have so many more questions.”

“I am Hecate’s daughter, so I am technically a goddess, like her. I’m not sure if I was technically resurrected or not, but I can probably一”

She cut me off with a gentle yet passionate kiss. She pulls away and searches my eyes. “I’ve wanted to do that for a very long time,” she admits.

“Me too,” I breathe out.

“Yeah, I picked up on that. You’re not very discrete.” I laughed and a smirk spread across her face. “As sexy as this whole ‘powerful goddess’ thing is, am I going to get the old you back? You know, the one who blushes whenever I look at her? The one who’s, like, alive?”

I smile at her and glance down at her lips as a thick black mist appears behind me. I step backward into it as her face morphs into a look of confusion. She disappears from sight as a wall of black fills my vision, and a surge of power spreads throughout my body. I fall to my knees and the black cloud disappears. Natasha rushes over and kneels in front of me. “Are you okay? What the hell was that?”

“I’m not entirely sure, but I think I’m alive again.” I lift my head and meet her eyes.

“Your skin isn’t crazy pale anymore, and your eyes are their normal color again.”

“Sweet.”

“Cool.”

We both crack up and I lean my forehead against hers as our laughter fades.

Tony interrupts our moment of peace. “This is all good and dandy, but does someone wanna explain what the hell just happened?”

I raise my head and look at my teammates一 my family. “I kicked the purple thumb’s ass. That’s what happened.” I can feel a warm presence in my heart, and I know that my mother is with me.

“Yes, yes, I noticed. I also noticed a bunch of demons. Care to explain that one?”

“They weren’t demons...they were just...the souls...of dead people. I can summon the dead. You knew that.”

“Uh, I definitely didn’t know that.” I laugh and shake my head at the eccentric man.

I stand up, pulling Natasha with me, and bring her into another embrace. “I’m really glad you’re okay, Natty,” I whisper in her ear before pressing a delicate kiss to her temple.

A/N: I literally had this completely finished and edited over a month ago and I hadn’t posted it yet soooooo... idk here it is

#natasha romanoff x reader #natasha romanoff #natasha x reader #natasha romanoff fluff #natasha romanoff fic #natasha one shot #black widow #black widow x reader

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random-thought-depository · 3 years

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Continuing from my last post about science fictional “hyperspaces” (wow, I think that might be the most viral original post I ever wrote; it’s amazing what being reblogged by @argumate can do for a post!):

As a science fiction writer, these are the features I find attractive about “hyperspace” that incline me to favor it over other explanations for “fast” interstellar communication and travel:

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Hyperspace lets space still feel big. Wormholes/portals and instantaneous “jump drives” tend to make space feel small (though wormholes lend themselves nicely to space outside the wormhole network feeling big and to a feeling of sharp discontinuity between “known” or “civilized” space within the network and “unknown” or “wild” space where the network doesn’t reach). Start-anywhere go-anywhere jump drives without serious limitations have the additional issue that they’re more-or-less equivalent to teleporters, so they create the ultimate MAD setting where defending multiple fixed locations from a peer adversary is very difficult, and they minimize the strategic advantages of sustainable stationary banditry over unsustainable hyper-exploitive mobile banditry, and since the likely implications of that are very depressing I prefer to avoid it (except maybe if I was deliberately setting out to write a dystopia or explore the idea).

I want space to feel big in my writing, to give the reader some feeling of the vastness, grandeur, and inhuman scale of the universe. For my main science fiction setting, I think I’ll give hyperspace travel an effective “speed” of something like 5-10 c in Sol’s local neighborhood. That way interstellar journeys are more manageable than they’d be with journeys through our space, but journeys to other inhabited solar systems usually take at least a year or two (Sol to Alpha Centauri may be less than a year in hyperspace, but add in travel time to and from the Sol and Alpha Centauri hyper-limits, which is probably going to be at least a couple of months for each leg, and it’s probably about a year).

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Hyperspace feels more like the sort of thing that might plausibly be useable to almost hairless apes with near-future-ish technology. With warp drives and wormholes and jump drives and so on I get the niggling feeling that’s the sort of thing you should probably have to be on approximately the level of an Orion’s Arm Archialect to do. Real theoretical warp drive and wormhole proposals tend to involve stuff like exotic forms of matter and energy and very large amounts of energy. Hyperspace would be a natural phenomenon, so it’s easier to explain it in terms of people exploiting natural phenomena we just don’t know about now, no weirder than being able to travel faster than rowing would allow by building a sail to catch the wind.

You can say that there are some rare atoms that naturally have a structure that extends into hyperspace. With human senses and 2020s technology they just look like ordinary atoms of silicon, iron, etc., but with the right kind of machinery you can detect them, sift them out of the surrounding 3D atoms, and concentrate them. Once you’ve got enough of them, you can make them the core of a pair of transmitters that you can use to send and receive radio messages through hyperspace. With more energy, you can “push” on these structures and “push” those atoms into hyperspace, and then if those atoms are part of a larger solid object the rest of the object and anything touching it gets dragged along with them (with a certain size limit, perhaps related to mass being “pushed” and energy used, so you don’t have to worry about accidentally sending the whole Earth into hyperspace the first time you try this - that’d be one heck of an oops; maybe a later disproven small theoretical possibility of that happening would go down into the history books along with “before they exploded Trinity they were worried it might ignite the atmosphere”); thus you can send a whole ship into hyperspace instead of just information. When you want to leave hyperspace you can reverse the operation and “push” the ship back into our space.

That gives you a nice highly valuable “handwavium” that can be a hook for various plot and worldbuilding points, e.g. there’s not much obvious economic reason to colonize Mars IRL except maybe tourism (anything you could mine there you get more easily from near-Earth asteroids, and it’s too inhospitable to make much sense as a settler colony), but maybe there’s a huge mother lode of these hyperspace-touching atoms somewhere on Mars. These hyperspace-touching atoms would be especially valuable if the process of using them for communication or in hyperdrives “strained” these structures and at some predictable rate caused some of them to “snap,” causing the atoms to become ordinary 3D atoms of silicon or iron or uranium or whatever. Then there’d be a continuous need for (relatively) large amounts of new ones even in a steady-state economy; you couldn’t just keep recycling them and recycling them and just do a little mining to make up for recycling inefficiencies. This would also be an interesting limit on use of hyperspace; using hyperspace radio or doing a hyperjump involves destroying a small amount of a precious resource, so people wouldn’t want to do it frivolously. This might augment that sphere analogy limitation on hyperspace communication I talked about in my other post; even if a hyperspace radio message from Saturn to Earth got there a little ahead of a radio message through our space, you’d probably send a radio message through our space for anything that isn’t time-critical, because the message arriving ten minutes sooner usually just isn’t worth the predictable cost in “snapped” hyperspace-touching atoms.

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Hyperspace would be an environment, so you can do interesting things with it.

Since hyperspace offers a short-cut because it’s more compact than our space, I like to pull on the idea that it’s like our space but in a more compact state, so it’s similar to what our space looked like when the universe was younger and smaller. Going to hyperspace might be a little like time travelling back to a few tens or hundreds of millions of years after the Big Bang, before the first stars formed. The environment of hyperspace might be a little like the inside of a giant molecular cloud, but “warmer” and extremely impoverished in heavy elements. The gas density might be a few thousand to a few billion atoms per cubic centimeter (by comparison, sea level air is about 10^19 molecules per cubic centimeter while the interstellar medium averages around 1 atom per cubic centimeter). The gasses and plasmas in hyperspace would be almost pure hydrogen and helium. The cosmic microwave background temperature in hyperspace might be around 50 K; that’s warm in comparison to what it is in our space (around 3 K), and warm enough to probably be a big part of the reason hyperspace has no stars (present day star-forming giant molecular cloud regions have gas temperatures around 10-20 K), but by human standards it’s deeply cold; it’s upper atmosphere of Uranus temperature. With no stars, I’d guess hyperspace would be a place of more-or-less total darkness outside the range of any lights humans passing through might bring with them.

Alternately, if I want hyperspace to have a murky and mysterious quality and be a place where visibility isn’t good and sensors don’t work well (so a vibe a bit like B5 hyperspace), I could say the Big Bang nucleosynthesis era lasted longer in hyperspace and there produced a substantial amount of heavy elements, some of which then condensed into dust (probably more like smoke if it’s similar to interstellar dust in our space - nanometer to micrometer particles). This dust would probably be pretty insubstantial on human scale distances (again, if it’s like the interstellar medium matter in hyperspace would be about 99% mostly hydrogen and helium gas and plasma and 1% dust, and even a relatively “dense” hyperspace with billions of atoms per cm^3 would have less than a billionth the gas density of sea level air), but over AUs it would scatter light and that effect might add up. This would make hyperspace similar to a dark nebula.

If I want to take the “hyperspace is a scary place” further, I could add sources of energy that might further confuse sensors and add dangerous radiation and other dangers to the mix. Maybe hyperspace has a few large black holes or something, with energetic accretion disks and polar jets fed by all that relatively dense gas and adding turbulence to it. Or maybe spacetime in hyperspace is “lumpier” than spacetime in our space and hyperspace has weird “rivers” formed by something related to whatever force drives cosmic expansion and some of the gas/plasma gets caught in that and accelerated to large fractions of the speed of light and then slams into the low-velocity material in the “still” parts in places, creating lots of turbulence and various other interesting and scary things (powerful magnetic fields, radiation, locally intense heat, maybe some of these collision zones are even giant naturally occurring inertial confinement fusion reactors; maybe that’s where the heavy elements in the dust come from). Maybe hyperspace has a lot of cosmic strings; it makes a certain intuitive sense that, hyperspace being more compact than our space, its cosmic eggshell might be densely veined with cracks.

This gets into another interesting aspect; hyperspace might have something equivalent to terrain; hyperspace travel may be easier in some directions than others. And there’s lots of worldbuilding and plot hooks you could hang from that idea.

For example, let’s look at that idea of hyperspace having “rivers” formed of exotic spacetime structures and filled with gas/plasma streams moving at high fractions of the speed of light. If the edge of these “rivers” has a gradual enough velocity gradient and the plasma in the “rivers” is ionized, with enough skill a spacecraft pilot might be able to catch that “current” with a magsail and ride it, then when they’d gotten about as far as they needed to go they could leave the “river” and do magsail braking against low-velocity plasma in the “still” areas. Just gotta be careful to stay well away from the dangerous collision zones! This might be a huge part of the short-cut offered by hyperspace travel! It could be that distances across hyperspace are only modestly shorter than distances across our space (say, Alpha Centauri is 1 light year away in hyperspace), but the really big savings is you can catch one of these hyperspace “currents” and use it to get up to large fractions of c without expending any fuel. A set-up like that does raise some awkward questions about conservation of energy, but I could say something like “the hyperspace ‘rivers’ are areas where dark energy is being converted into kinetic energy, slightly slowing down the expansion of the universe in the process.” It’s not like we know much about how dark energy works, or even what it is, so for all we know that’s a thing that might happen under certain conditions.

Those collision zones would generate substantial radiation, including light, so unlike a calm hyperspace a turbulent hyperspace with energetic “currents” would probably have light. Don’t know how bright it would be; all that dust (made of heavy elements built up over the eons by inertial confinement fusion in collision zones, I like that idea!) would absorb a lot of light over cosmic distances, and stars are pretty bright but most of our space is pretty dark.

That set-up would make hyperspace travel kind of like sailing; there would be “currents” or “winds” you want to catch, and travel might be a lot faster along directions where the currents are favorable. Travel times in hyperspace might only loosely correlate with distance; Alpha Centauri might take longer to reach than Zeta Reticuli. There would also be hazards you’d need to avoid, e.g. the collision zones.

Maybe part of the explanation for the Fermi Paradox might be that Earth is in the middle of a big “still” part of hyperspace; few ships went here because we’re in the middle of a cosmic doldrums that takes years to crawl across.

With a set-up like this, hyperspace may have “weather” that influences interstellar commerce, and “climate change” on historical timescales that influences the trajectories of interstellar societies. Ages when hyperspace is particularly turbulent might cause Dark Ages as hyperspace travel becomes very dangerous. Ages when hyperspace becomes unusually calm might also cause Dark Ages as there are no fast hyperspace “currents” to ride and hyperspace travel becomes relatively slow. In one age hyperspace “currents” may be arranged such that a world is isolated; a few thousand years later the hyperspace “currents” might have shifted and that previously isolated world might be much more accessible and back in the mainstream of interstellar civilization.

One wrinkle: a turbulent, energetic, opaque hyperspace such as this probably wouldn’t be good for sending radio signals across. Maybe the universe actually has multiple “basement” levels, hyperspace is just the one that��s “closest” to our “living room” level and the only one that’s “close” enough that ships can travel to and from it, but there’s a clearer layer that’s “farther away” but still “close” enough that you can send radio signals through it, and that “deeper” clear layer is the one used for interstellar communication. Bonus idea I like: the deep clear layer is even more compact than hyperspace (by orders of magnitude) so it’s overall a much better short-cut in every way except being “too far away” to send ships through it, so finding a way to send ships through it is a huge potential breakthrough that tantalizes generations of scientists and engineers who so far have not managed to figure out a way to do it.

Really, on that note, I like the idea that the universe is analogous to an onion with many “layers,” and hyperspace and the deep clear layer are just the layers that are most easily accessible from our space. There are a lot of “basements” below the deep clear layer, and generally as you get farther “down” the “basements” get smaller, denser, and hotter; going “down” is a little like time travelling to eras closer and closer to the Big Bang (though this isn’t a completely reliable rule - the deep clear layer is smaller than hyperspace and perhaps warmer, but seems to be a lot emptier; maybe most of its matter has been sucked into black holes?). Maybe the whole thing is a bit timey wimey wibbly wobbly and if you go “down” far enough you eventually hit what 2020s science knows as the moment of the Big Bang. As well as “basements” there are also “attics,” but they’re less accessible because going “up” is harder than going “down.” If going “down” into the basements is a little like time travelling to the early universe, going “up” into the attics is a little like time travelling to the deep future, to places that look kind of like what our space may look like in the deep future black hole era (assuming the Big Rip doesn’t destroy our universe before that deep future proton decay story has time to play out). The “attics” are vast, empty, and deeply cold; cosmic microwave background temperatures a tiny fraction of a degree above absolute zero and precious little else to generate energy, maybe one atom in every cubic kilometer of space. They probably expanded too quickly for stars to ever form there. The total number of layers might be large; maybe hundreds or thousands, maybe billions, maybe a number so big it would need to be expressed in scientific notation. I like this idea because it makes hyperspace feel less implausibly convenient for humans; we’re just taking advantage of a particularly convenient part of a big macrostructure that’s mostly inaccessible to us.

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Hyperspace is a natural phenomenon, so it probably isn’t going to be neatly quarantined to just being a thing humans can use for communication and travel. Hyperspace-related phenomena are going to show up in nature, and this offers a neat explanation for any exotic soft SF-ish natural phenomena you may be interested in incorporating into your setting.

Hyperspace (and other “basements” of our universe) also gives you a built-in parsimonious explanation for any other bits of soft SF technology your setting might feature. Want your setting to have e.g. Star Trek style forcefields? You can say they work through interaction with one of the “basement” layers of the universe.

On that note, I have an idea for a more hard SF version of the Babylon 5 “going beyond the Rim” thing or Stargate ascension, based on the “onion universe” concept I described above, which might serve as a partial explanation for the Fermi Paradox. Maybe some “layers” of the “onion” are “superhabitable” to advanced machine intelligences (though not to primitive flesh and blood beings like us). You know the aestivation hypothesis? If advanced machine intelligences could move to an “attic” they wouldn’t have to wait billions of years for our space to cool down; the cosmic microwave background temperatures in many of the “attics” would already be some tiny fraction of a degree above absolute zero. Maybe they could move to a nice big cold “attic” and live there and “mine” a nice compact “basement” that is rich in matter and energy, getting the best of both worlds. Most of these “attics” and “basements” would be completely inaccessible to humans, but beings with better technology and more resources might be able to access many more of them (or maybe even get beyond the “onion” and search the entire multiverse for universes with conditions more to their liking). So the universe’s most powerful and most enduring civilizations might usually leave our space and move to another “layer” or universe that has conditions more ideal for them, and thus be mostly undetectable to us.

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See: the concept of hyperspace is loaded with potential plot and worldbuilding hooks if you use a little imagination, and I like that!

#worldbuilding #worldbuilding ideas #my writing

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the-brucest-fan · 2 years

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Here's a list of facts (and spoilers) from my version of the Sonic Movie 2.

REMEMBER! This is nothing official, it is just my version of the sequel.

- It is based on the "Sonic is a Chaos Emerald" theory.

- It takes place six months after the events of the first movie.

- Longclaw is dead.

- Robotnik finds the red Chaos Emerald at the Mushroom Planet and when he finds out there are more, he builds a device that would allow him to order the emerald to teleport him where the other Emeralds are.

- Since he owns one of the Emeralds and can now teleport (only in the current solar system where he is), Robotnik uses the Chemical Plant as a hideout and builds new Badniks and machines more videogame accurate.

- The Warp Rings became very rare.

- Power Rings are mentioned, but never used.

- Tails spends the first and a half act of the movie hidding his second tail.

- Knuckles real name is "Kunturumi" which in Quechuan means "strong like the stone". "Knuckles" is a nickname Sonic gives to him.

- There was a hedgehog tribe who lived in of South Island, but they were apparently killed by the echidna tribe when they were looking for the blue emerald.

- Both hedgehog and echidna tribes cultures are strongly inspired by the Quechuan culture.

- After running away to Earth, Sonic became something like a myth on his planet, being called "The Blue Blur".

- When he was a just a kit, Tails heard about this "Blue Blur" and was convinced that it was real to the point of making a research for years until he finally tracked him.

- Tails is kind of a historian since he loves to make research about South Island and Angel Island history. He wishes to return the island to its glory days.

- Tails is two years younger than Sonic, while Knuckles is one year older than the hedgehog.

- The echidna tribe used to known Sonic as "Wayra", which in Quechuan means "fast as the wind".

- Knuckles was being trained to be the next guardian of the Master Emerald, and one of his tests was to stay chained to the emerald for three days.

- Although he managed to break the chains, Knuckles kept the cuffs as a reminder of the promise he made of getting Angel Island back to normal.

- There was a catastrophic event called "The Big Chaostastrophe" right after Sonic left his home planet. It started with the fall of Angel Island and the extinction of the echidna tribe.

- Knuckles survived thanks to his mom, who told him to hide inside a hole on the dirt when the Master Emerald obliterated the rest of the tribe.

- Tails got separated from his parents during a flood caused by the Big Chaostastrophe.

- After Sonic caused the EMP, his power wave was so huge that it traveled through space at hyper speed and reached Sonic's home planet six months after that happened, allowing Tails to track him down with the Miles Electric.

- All seven Chaos Emeralds feed the Master Emerald, and the Master Emerald keeps a perfect balance of chaos energy in the universe.

- The "Big Chaostastrophe" happened because the Master Emerald lost it's powers, risking the balance of chaos energy in the universe, which is necesary to preserve life. Without it, everything would die.

- Almost every person in Green Hills owns at least one quill from Sonic. They tend to use it as a source of light or energy during blackouts or just when the place is too dark.

- Sonic owns a scrapbook.

- Sonic has been waiting for the first snow day so he could play with his new friends.

- Sonic tells Tom that when he was a hoglet, he used to go to the sunflower field on the other side of South Island when he was feeling sad or upset.

- Sonic keeps questioning his purpose in life since his powers apparently are only meant for destruction.

- Crazy Carl sees Tails's silhouette flying and mistakes him for a UFO.

- There has been a skunk looking for food near the Wachowskis house.

- Tails takes with him a sunflower from South Island to show Sonic he comes from the same planet as him.

- Tails looks for Sonic because, since he has chaos energy inside of him, he can track the Emeralds and he is the only one fast enough to go through all the obstacles and traps to get the Emeralds (and he's the missing Emerald, but Tails doesn't tell him so).

- Sonic causes havoc again on Green Hills and the government goes there inmediatly. That's one of the reasons he decides to go with Tails.

- Sonic packs a lot of candy and junk food in his bag, that's where Tails gets the mint candy.

- Sonic and his friends visit five different locations which resemble several of the most iconic zones from the videogames.

- They visit Emerald Hill, the Chemical Plant, a mix between Labyrinth Zone and Aquatic Ruin Zone, the Mystic Cave and the Checkerboard Planet.

- The emeralds create protections for themselves using anything they have near them, in other words, they create traps and obstacles that would make difficult for anyone to reach them.

- During their first encounter, Knuckles hits his head and gets amnesia.

- Maddie and Knuckles develop a strong bond through their trip. Even with amnesia, deep down Maddie reminds Knuckles of his mother.

- Tails reveals his second tail and his ability to fly when Sonic almost falls into the toxic waste of the Chemical Plant.

- Sonic puts aside his fear of water to save Knuckles from a Badnik in the Aquatic Ruin.

- Tails and Sonic fly on the Tornado during night.

- Tails tells Sonic that he discovered he could fly when a bully pushed him and accidentally fell off a cliff.

- The Checkerboard Planet moves like a Rubik Cube: its plates rotate very slowly, changing positions and it's covered in giant bubbles. The blue ones contain good and useful stuff (one of the Emeralds is inside one of them), but if you pop a red one, the plates will move faster depending on how many you pop. The core of the planet is a vortex that leads to am infinite void with no way of coming back.

- Robotnik finds out about Sonic being a Chaos Emerald using a sample of the hedgehog's blood.

- Knuckles gets back his memories once they land on the ruins of Angel Island.

- Sonic almost kills Knuckles after finding out what his tribe did to his biological family.

- The blue emerald is actually fused with Sonic.

- The only form to free the chaos energy inside of Sonic is by killing him.

- Sonic's powers are his life force, that's why when he doesn't have them anymore, his fur become pale, has darker quills and his eyes lose all their shine.

- Sonic's loose quills work the same way as a Chaos Emerald would since they have chaos energy inside of them: they're enriched by the heart.

- Tails makes a new pair of shoes for Sonic after his former ones become too damaged after a fierce fight with Robotnik.

- The Power Sneakers are designed to avoid the waste of Sonic's energy while running. The energy he spends is returned to him by the shoes.

- The form of the heel soles are shaped as a Chaos Emerald to resemble Sonic's chaotic powers.

- Since Sonic's favorite superhero is The Flash, Tails chose to use his colors for the Power Sneakers (red, white and yellow).

- Robotnik builds a giant robot that looks like him and uses the Chaos Emeralds as its power source.

- The USA government asks Sonic for help to get rid of Robotnik, and in exchange they would never try to capture or bother Sonic ever again.

- The final battle takes place in South Island.

- One of the giant loops Is destroyed after Robotnik's giant robot hits Sonic and makes him crash on it.

- Sonic becomes Super Sonic after absorbing positive energy from the emeralds, while the robot retains the negative energy.

- Sonic saves Robotnik from a certain death.

- Sonic gives up his powers to restore the Master Emerald and Angel Island.

- Flickies and Chao appear at the island.

- Chaos rises from the water and gives Sonic his powers back.

- Sonic runs out of Warp Rings, being only one left at the end of their adventure.

- Sonic choses to stay on his planet since Robotnik is still out there.

-Sonic names the place he used to race as a child "Green Hill" after the Green Hills town.

- Sonic and Tom hug and Sonic gives him and Maddie his scrapbook.

- Weeks later, on Christmas Day, Sonic comes back to Earth thanks to a mysterious box filled with Warp Rings that someone left for him (he thinks it was Santa Claus, but it was Knuckles).

- Tails makes new shoes and gloves for Knuckles.

- The Wachowskis give Sonic a snowboard for Christmas.

- Sonic provide the Wachowskis with half of his Warp Rings so they can visit him.

- Back at the Chemical Plant, Robotnik reveals he's been working on Metal Sonic and puts inside of him one of Sonic's quills to use it as a core.

That would be all. I want to write the whole thing as a fanfic for AO3. I hope you liked it. Tell me what you think! 😄✨

#sonic movie 2 #sonic 2 #sonic the hedgehog movie 2 #sonic the hedgehog 2 #sonic movie #sonic the movie #sonic the hedgehog movie #movie sonic #tails the fox #knuckles the echidna #tom wachowski #maddie wachowski #doctor robotnik #doctor eggman

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one-boring-person · 3 years

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Cut Myself Shaving.

Stuntman Mike (Death Proof) x reader

Warnings: death, violence, injury, swearing , mention of nsfw

Context: Mike has a little helper in case things go awry.

A/n: I watched Death Proof yesterday and now I'm obsessed with Kurt Russell's character in it...he's such a creep but he's charming at the same time and for some reason that means I'm attracted to him 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ basically, I need help 🤡😅

Masterlist

"Fucking idiot." I curse to myself as I watch the two cars speed past me, both battered and in desperate need of new paint jobs, dust flying out behind them. From my carefully hidden spot in a side road, I can easily tell that my friend's plan hasn't worked: the white car is pursuing the familiar black one, one of the passengers - the blonde woman - leaning from the window, screaming and shouting at their quarry. It sends a wave of irritation through me, that the bastard would get as sloppy as he has done in recent months. His...habits...have always annoyed me (it's totally unnecessary and it means I have to watch him go after beautiful young girls) but he gave me a job out of it, so I never say anything. Somewhere along the line, he managed to fuck up, and picked me as his next target, only to find that when he tried to outdrive me, I drove much better than he did, with just as little care for what happens to the car as he has. The fucker let me in on his secret and I've been his backup ever since, in case anyone ever gets in the way of his little game.

Now, it seems, I'm gonna have my work cut out for me.

Cursing again, I put the car into drive and gun it down the road, staying hidden behind a treeline, quickly moving through gears with smooth rapidity. Hanging onto the steering, I keep my breathing relaxed as the tyres screech beneath the speeding vehicle, my foot slamming down on the accelerator to get me level with my own targets. Engine roaring, the car jerks and bounces on the rough road surface, my harness keeping me from going through the windscreen a couple of times, the whole vehicle vibrating underneath me.

Glancing out of my window every few seconds, I make sure I know where Mike and his pursuers are, swearing colourfully to myself as I realise that they're headed towards a busy main road, meaning it'll be harder for me to keep my presence unknown. In my head, I make a note to scold the stuntman for it later, planning a new route as I go, smirking as I figure out exactly how I'm going to save his sorry ass.

For once, I'm glad I looked at and memorized maps of the surrounding area, plus the construction records (I get a lot of free time) so I know what's coming up on this road, the split coming into view just as I expect it to. Taking the left road, I take a deep breath and slam my foot onto the accelerator, pressing a button on the steering wheel. Immediately, a new, more powerful thrum in the engine below me comes to life, growling like some rabid animal as the car springs forwards, the speed dial tapping uselessly at the far end of the spectrum.

Unable to help myself, I let out a cry of exhilaration, hanging onto the steering wheel as I take a bend far too fast, the wheels skidding slightly, only to straighten again under my expertise. With my new route in sight, I grin wildly and brace myself, listening to the car roar at me as I gun it over the edge of the roadside.

The ground falls away beneath me, the car hurtling through the air towards a similar break in the road down below, where the two cars are just lifting off of the ground, going at a slower speed than mine but posing no less threat. My hands grip the wheel tightly, stomach dropping as the car starts to tip forwards, my muscles tensing in anticipation of what I know is coming.

Time seems to slow as I near them, my pulse pounding deafeningly in my ears, adrenaline coursing through me with the knowledge of what comes next. Staring through the windshield, I feel a smirk of satisfaction cross my face as one of the passengers of the white car turns and sees me, an expression of absolute fear and panic contorting her beautiful features, her eyes wide even as her mouth opens into a scream…

The cars slam into each other violently, the impact throwing me forwards into the harness, the straps jerking me back into my seat. My head falls forwards, heading for the steering wheel, though I manage to get my hands up before anything can happen, despite my knowledge that the safety harness will keep me from sustaining any real damage. Painful lines circle my arms and lap now from the straps, the wind knocked out of me from the sheer force of the collision. Glass flies into the car itself, the windows and windscreens of both vehicles shattering as we go hurtling towards the ground, many shards scraping over my bare arms and hands, leaving bloody wounds in their wakes.

The second impact throws me forwards again, my lungs struggling to force air into my body as the cars smash into the ground, rolling over each other roughly. Holding my arms closer to my body, I lift my hands up to protect my face, grunting as my shoulder is slammed against the side door. Nausea floods my system as the cars continue to roll a few times, my vision blurring over until we eventually come to a complete stop, mine resting just beside theirs.

Taking a moment, I regain my composure, breathing deeply to fight off the shock threatening to overwhelm me, ignoring the violent tremor in my hands as I scramble for the buckle of the harness. Blood on my fingertips makes it hard for me to grip the clean metal, the digits slipping off of it a few times before I can unclasp myself, pain rapidly spreading through me as the adrenaline starts to wear off. Having unbuckled myself, I try the door beside me, sighing in relief as it comes open under my hands, allowing me to leave the death trap that is the wreckage.

As I climb out, I grab my first aid kit from the glove compartment, hobbling from my trusty car with a slight sense of bitterness, knowing what I'll have to do to make sure Mike and I really are out of trouble. Glancing back at the main road, I'm glad to find that the crash site is not visible to the road users, so what I'll do now won't get me in any grief if someone were to see me.

Approaching the crumpled white Dodge, I stoop down to look through the passenger window (the car is upside down), lifting an eyebrow as I realise the occupants are still alive...somehow. As I get closer, the passenger feebly looks up at me, confusion trying to creep into her agonized expression.

"Wh-who are you?" She croaks out, her voice totally shot.

Managing a cruel smirk, I reach into my pocket and bring out a box of matches, taking one out for her to see.

"The Devil's sidekick." I rasp at her, relishing in the confusion in her eyes, watching as it turns to realisation and horror as I strike the match, lighting it.

Straightening, I ignore her pleas for mercy, stepping away as I throw the match at the warped hood, adding a second to the undercarriage for good measure, knowing the fuel will catch soon enough. With some difficulty, I limp away from the two cars, getting about ten metres away before a deafening crack splits the air, the wreckage going up in flames in mere seconds. Now it's just a matter of finding my way to the person I've destroyed my car for.

Thankfully, it doesn't take me long to find him, though when I do, I have to fight back a sound of exasperation.

Stuntman Mike has pulled over into a deserted side road, just a mile down the main road, making sure he's well hidden, though the amount he's screaming and crying isn't going to keep him like that for long. He's still in his car, but he's left the window open so I can hear every sound of agony and frustration he's making, my heart tugging slightly at the cries of pain. Sighing, I make my way over, holding onto the roof of the car for support as my leg finally gives a little, my face twisting into a grimace. I must've made some noise when I did so, as Mike suddenly shouts in horror, the car engine starting to splutter as he tries to get the beaten vehicle to move again. Quickly, I reach the open window, which I now realise is smashed in, grabbing hold of it and ducking to look into the interior.

"It's me! Mike, calm down, it's me! (Y/n)!" I reassure him as he turns terror-stricken eyes on me, his face pale and bloodied from a blow to his cheek.

"(Y/n)? What happened to you?" He breathes out, eyes roaming over me as he realises back into his seat, only to tense in pain again.

"Cut myself shaving." I mutter in response, pulling the door open and moving to help him out, having noticed that he's in worse shape than I thought he'd be.

Taking his weight, I bite back a sound of discomfort as my leg protests, my shoulder aching from where it connected with my car but I ignore it, dragging him from the driver's seat. Slinging his arm over my shoulders, I help him hobble over to a nearby rock, setting him down on it with a sigh, standing back to look him over, glad I brought my first aid kit now.

The stuntman is cradling his left arm, where a patch of his t-shirt has come away to reveal bloodied skin, his face splattered with the crimson stuff. Purple bruising blooms on one cheek, curling up over his gnarled scar and around his weaker eye, skin grazed away in places from the ferocity of the blow. He looks thoroughly shaken, eyes wide, breaths coming hard and fast, body trembling with the fading adrenaline.

Sighing, I go closer, kneeling beside the rock he's sat on to look at his injuries, looking up at him as I reach out to touch his arm. Reluctantly, he nods, his ego bruised as I gently place a hand on his bicep.

"Careful, I'm pretty sure it's broken." He murmurs, wincing as I feel over the tensed muscles, trying not to get too distracted by the proximity.

"Yeah, got it." I mumble, chewing my lip in consternation, "You're gonna have to take this off."

Gesturing to his shirt, I lean forwards to help him out of the garment, pulling it carefully over his head. Mike gives me a slightly embarrassed look, but I dismiss it and open the first aid kit, swallowing as I look over his torso. For a guy his age he's really not a bad looking guy - the man has stayed somewhat in shape over the years - making it hard to concentrate, especially as I realise I'm going to have to kneel between his legs in order to get to the wound properly.

Blushing, I pull some gauze and rubbing alcohol out of the kit, taking up a position between his thighs where I can easily reach the bloody puncture wound in his shoulder. He watches me closely as I reach up and feel over his back for an exit wound, glad to find one even as he tenses and hisses under my touch. Knowing I need to work quickly, I get started, cleaning up the puncture as best I can, wiping away blood enough so that I can plug the hole and tape it up, sticking a bandage over it. I go to repeat this on his other side, working quickly.

"How the hell did you get shot?" I ask him after a moment, finding the silence between us awkward.

"One of those bitches pulled a gun on me. Shot at me a couple of times, before it hit me. Hurts like a bitch." Mike explains, hissing again as I prod the wound a little too hard.

"She pulled a gun? How did you even get close enough?" I'm confused as to his story, having only seen that it ended in him being chased onto the freeway.

Allowing me to continue working on his injuries, Mike recites his version of events, voice strained in pain and fatigue, eyes never leaving me as I move around him, cleaning up his scrapes and bruises. After a while, I end up at his face, carefully dabbing at a few grazes with an alcohol-soaked piece of gauze. Standing this close to him, I can feel his every breath on my cheek, vaguely aware of the fingers clutching at my jacket every now and then as I go over a particularly painful spot, my pulse picking up slightly.

"...next thing I know, you're at my window looking like you just walked through hell." He finishes, licking his lips to wet them again as he pulls his shirt back on.

"Feels like I did." I laugh dryly, leaning back as I finish on his face, "I'll be back in a sec, hang on."

Quickly, I limp over to his car again, rifling through his things in the compartment by his seat before pulling a small bottle from the rubbish. Going back to him, I stand in front of him and hold it up.

"Mind if I…?" I gesture to him, pointing at his arm, which I've now put in a sling to keep out of harm's way.

The stuntman nods, tilting his head back as I step into his personal space again, standing between his legs. Carefully, I open the bottle and lean over him, gently placing a hand on his face to steady myself, trying not to let the butterflies in my stomach disturb me as his blue pupils fix on me. Slowly, I drip a few drops into his eyes, using a thumb to wipe away any stray droplets, almost smiling as he leans into my touch slightly. I pull away reluctantly, screwing the bottle back up and chucking it at the first aid kit before I take a seat beside him, inadvertently sitting close enough that our thighs are touching.

Sighing, I reach into my pocket, pulling a pack of cigarettes out and removing one, offering them to him as I grab the box of matches from before again. He doesn't take one, saying something about sharing mine, watching me closely as I light it. Taking the first breath of smoke, I close my eyes and enjoy the burning of the cloud entering my lungs, slowly breathing it out again a moment later. Wordlessly, I hand the smoke to him, willing to share with him as I've always done, keeping my eyes closed for now.

After a while, Mike hands the cigarette back, letting me take it as I stay blinded, placing the roll of paper and tobacco between my lips to puff on it languidly. It's not too long after that I feel a hand gingerly come to rest on my knee. Confused, I keep my eyes closed, not minding the contact and curious to see where this goes, holding back a gasp as he moves the strong grip further up my leg, closing his fingers over my thigh. A rustle and stifled grunt of pain alerts me to his movements, though it still shocks me a little as he leans in to smooth some hair from my face, removing the grip from my leg. Opening my eyes again, I look over at him, surprised to see him gazing at me with an intense expression on his face.

Upon seeing me look, he cups my cheek, stroking his thumb over my cheekbone in a gentle manner I've never seen him display. I don't know what comes over me, but I suddenly find myself talking.

"Please don't do anything like that again." I murmur, voice quiet, "I don't know what I'd do if something happened."

Mike looks taken aback, shock clouding his features as he regards me, as if he never expected this level of closeness with me.

"Please, Mike. I don't know why, or how, but I've come to care about you, and I couldn't bear it if you weren't around." I inform him, looking down in embarrassment, blushing furiously.

It's quiet for a long moment, before he suddenly leans in closer, breath ghosting over my face until he seals my lips with his. Tenderly, the stuntman kisses me, gently coaxing me into moving with him, one hand slipping round to tangle in my hair. Shocked, I feel my eyes close in surprised pleasure, body melting into him as he pulls me closer, our lips moving in perfect sync, his slightly rougher ones warm against my softer ones. It's not long before I feel his tongue slip out to flick against my lower lip, but before I can open up for him, he pulls away, resting his forehead against mine.

"I'll be more careful, I swear." He hums, stroking back my hair with his good hand, "For you, I'll be careful."

Smiling, I lean back in, kissing him softly on the lips, moving with him as he gently encourages me to sit on his lap, my legs straddling his as he wraps his arm around me. Pulling me flush against him, he kisses me passionately, swallowing the sounds of pleasure leaving me, splaying his hand on my back as I card mine through his thick hair. This time as he licks at my lips, I let him in immediately, letting the slick muscle slide inside to explore and rub alongside my own. Avoiding his bad arm, I moan into the kiss and pull on his hair, eliciting a groan from him.

He pulls away again after some time, staring into my eyes with a care and love I've never seen in them before, my heart skipping a beat as he smiles up at me, a genuine smile. Not his usual scheming smirk.

"Come on, let's go home. I wanna show you just how careful I can be." Mike smirks, his hand skimming down to squeeze a handful of my ass, making my hips rock forwards suddenly into his. He groans, helping me stand.

With his words in mind, I help him over to the car, opening the back door for him to climb in.

"I'm not letting you drive with one arm, and this is safer than the passenger's seat." I say as he shoots me a questioning look.

Mike shrugs and mutters an agreement, climbing into the seat behind me, waiting for me to get into the driver's seat and fasten myself in before talking again.

"What happened to your car?" He asks, his good hand reaching round to run his fingers over my arm.

"Used it to blow up those bitches coming after you." I inform him, somewhat saddened by the loss of the vehicle - I had loved it.

"Thanks, sugar." He says, using his favourite nickname, most likely aware of the effect it has on me, especially as I feel him lean closer to the back of the seat, nosing at the side of my neck. Deftly, his tongue flicks out to lick over my pulse point, lips pressing against it to suck a mark, there drawing a moan from me.

"Gonna have to get you a new car, hm?" He almost purrs into my ear, biting my ear lobe before retreating again.

Feeling heat rushing to my core, I reluctantly put the car into drive and start to pull away, going slow as I wait for him to settle back into his seat and buckle himself up.

"That would be great." I chuckle, shakily.

"Yeah, it will be. Means I'll have somewhere else to fuck you besides mine and the bed." I blanch at his lewd words, feeling a heated need explode inside me at the idea of what he's suggesting.

As I pull away, I can't help but go faster than usual, using all my expertise to get us home as quickly as possible.

Tag list- @feirceangel @xlmonster-mashlx

#Death Proof #death proof #Stuntman Mike #Stuntman Mike x reader #Stuntman Mike imagine #Kurt Russell #Kurt Russell imagine #Quentin Tarantino #break writes

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andrewmoocow · 3 years

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Steven Universe Alternate Future chapter 26: Everything’s Fine (originally posted on September 20, 2021)

AN: Welcome back to the jungle readers. When last we left Steven, his mind was going further down the toilet after shattering Jasper and the voice in his head continues trying to take control, which led to him lashing out against White Diamond & Spinel. Can he possibly keep his personal Nega-Scott under control while trying to tell the Gems that everything is totally okay? All this and more in this gripping chapter of Alternate Future!

Synopsis: Despite Steven constantly saying otherwise, everything isn't fine.

Cast:

Zach Callison as Steven, Topiary Stevens, Cactus Stevens

Estelle as Garnet

Micheala Dietz as Amethyst

Deedee Magno-Hall as Pearl, Yellow Pearl, Blue Pearl

Grace Rolek as Connie

Tom Scharpling as Greg

Ron Perlman as Steven's Inner Voice

Shelby Rabara as Peridot, Squaridot

Jennifer Paz as Lapis, Laz, Zuli

Uzo Aduba as Bismuth

Kimberly Brooks as Cherry Quartz

Michelle Maryk as Larimar

Ian Jones-Quartey as Snowflake Obsidian, Bixbite

Tara Platt as Heaven and Earth Cubic Zirconias

Martha Higerada as Topaz

Auli'I Cravalho as Orange Spodumene

Aparna Nancherla as Nephrite

Kimiko Glenn as Blue Chalcedony

Phillipa Soo as Chrysocolla

Anika Noni Rose as Watermelon Tourmaline

Tara Strong as Grossular Diopside

Aimee Carrero as Moonstone

Jinkx Monsoon as Emerald

Kari Wahlgren as Pyrope

Melissa Fahn as Demantoid

Noël Wells as Black Rutile

Lauren Ash as White Topaz

Della Saba as Aquamarine

Charlyne Yi as Eyeball

Larissa Gallagher as Bluebird Azurite

Susan Egan as Rose Quartz

As soon as Steven returned to his earthly home via Warp Pad and checked up on the bathroom, he returned to his room to flop down on his bed. Steven thought the Diamonds would be of help to him, but instead, they didn't understand what he was going through, and his evil voice kept making things worse for him.

"Why did you make me do that?" Steven lugubriously asked his inner self. "Why did you make me nearly kill White Diamond, and punch Spinel?"

"They hurt you, so I thought it was about time you gave them their just desserts." The evil voice within Steven answered. "Yet the real you insisted that everything was fine. That's your biggest problem, you're way too forgiving of others no matter how much they want you dead."

"No, I know when others don't deserve to be accepted." Steven argued. "Like Black Rutile for example. If she's going to be proud of how irredeemable she is, I'll just let her do her thing."

"Ah yes, do her thing." The negative side of Steven mused. "Like threaten your life and make repeated attempts on your psyche. Yeah, if you could change that pervert, then maybe you can change the sociopath too."

Suddenly, Steven's phone began to ring. "One second Negative Me, I have to take this." Steven said while picking it up and hearing a relieving familiar voice on the other end. "Hey Connie, what's up?"

"Steven!" Connie cried in delight. "Good, you finally picked up. I can't believe we haven't talked to each other since the hospital visit, how are you?"

"I'm great!" Steven fibbed while gazing at how he was still pink. "Never been better!"

"Really?" Connie asked, raising an eyebrow. "Are you sure you haven't had any more swelling or turning pink problems?"

"Uh, nope?" Steven replied. "Okay, maybe, but how are you doing? How's prepping for college going?"

"It's going fine Steven." Connie answered nervously. "But what you mean when you said maybe?"

"Look, there's nothing to worry about." Steven kept on lying. "Everything's fine."

"I doubt it." Steven's dark side interrupted.

"Look, I'll call you later," Steven said. "I don't wanna wake up the Gems."

"But they don't even sleep!" Connie exclaimed before Steven quickly hung up and gazed at his hands before the TV turned on.

"-it's because I'M A UNIVERSE!" Steven began seeing visions of the past on the TV, starting with his argument with Greg before it went to static. Then it began showing Steven holding the shattered remains of Jasper's gem in his hand. More static, followed by the near-death of White Diamond, then Steven punching Spinel for singing to him. Just as Steven got up to try and turn the TV off, he got one last devastating surprise.

"Steven, we can't both exist." Rose Quartz announced to Steven in the video she made before giving birth to him, the very sight of her warm face making him twitch angrily where he stood. "I'm going to become half of you. And I need you to know that every moment you love being yourself, that's me, loving you and loving being you."

"No, I never loved myself," Steven growled furiously. "I've always hated being you. Everything I've suffered, and everything you ever put everyone through," He balled up his fist and pointed it straight at the TV screen. "IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"

Before Rose could finish, Steven broke the screen with a single punch and prematurely ended the video. However, Steven then let out a gasp as he gazed into his reflection on the shattered remains of the screen, noticing that his irises were now diamond-shaped and realizing what he had become.

"No! No, no, no, no!" Steven trembled and dropped to the ground in horror. "Th-this can't be happening, I didn't think about shattering White, I didn't shatter Jasper, punch Spinel, or nearly kill Dad!" His panicking soon turned to mad chuckling as Steven tried to cheer himself up. "I'm Steven Universe!" Steven then turned to Vidalia's painting of him and Garnet. "I'm fine, I'm fine!" he loudly repeated to himself, causing the glass of his bedroom door to break. "I'm totally fine!"

"Steven, is that you?!" The loudness of Steven's fibbing caused Pearl to cry out as she, Amethyst, and Garnet raced upstairs to Steven's room and gasped at his current appearance.

"What happened?" Amethyst asked Steven. "When did you get so big?"

"Is everything alright?" Pearl added just as nervously.

"I'm fine." Steven smiled and waved at the Gems. "Going to the Diamonds was just a waste of time since they had no idea what I was going through. I thought I needed to figure myself out, but I already know who I am! I'm Steven Universe; and I help, not hurt!"

"Yeah, then I suppose you tried to help the TV there?" Amethyst said while pointing a thumb at the damaged TV. "Seriously, we have got to upgrade someday. But seriously dude, what's going on? You look way different!"

"Pfft, I'm still your lovable old Steven!" Steven denied in response.

"Steven, we're worried," Garnet stated, taking off her glasses to emphasize how concerned she was for her ward. "You haven't been acting like your usual self lately, and we think you should get some rest before this gets dangerous."

"I'm okay, really!" Steven continued lying to the Gems, who glanced concernedly at each other before turning back to him.

"We'll take your word for it." Garnet said resignedly.

"You know, everything's gone downhill ever since I quit Little Homeschool!" Steven declared cheerfully. "I should head on over and see if I can make myself useful there! See you guys later!"

With that, Steven used his newfound super speed to race out of the house to Little Homeworld. To the Gems, it was like he was gone in an instant.

"I get that Steven wants us to know he's fine, but that was a little unsettling." Pearl stated fearfully. "We should just follow him to Little Homeworld so we can keep an eye on him."

"Agreed." Garnet nodded while putting her glasses back on.

"Yeah, that boy ain't right!" Amethyst declared before the trio left Steven's bedroom. But what they or even Steven didn't know was that a black-colored drone was watching them carefully.

"Excellent, he's just about at his breaking point." Black Rutile declared triumphantly while examining the footage her drone has gathered with White Topaz by her side. "Oh, I haven't felt this much of a rush since the Strawberry Battlefields!"

"But will Steven get any better?" White Topaz asked nervously, inciting her master to give her a furious glare.

"No, that's my intention!" Black Rutile stated. "I broke him, I broke his spirit! If I physically harmed him, the damage would just go away. But mental torture, the wounds shall only grow and fester! I have officially broken Steven Universe, and all that's left is for everyone to reject that monster."

"Oh master, we're back from training." Bluebird Azurite declared as she flew back to the Rutile's cavern hideaway.

"Oh hey guys, how you getting along?" White Topaz asked the fusion cheerfully.

"We're getting along splendidly thanks to Steven's advice." Bluebird answered before un-fusing into Aquamarine and Eyeball.

"Now we're even stronger than ever!" Aquamarine exclaimed joyfully.

"Look what we can do now!" Eyeball added before pulling out her chisel and shaking it to turn the blade into a beam of fire while Aquamarine launched bubbles from her wings.

"Ah, so glad you two are reaching your full potential, potential that Steven has suppressed for too long." Black Rutile smiled warmly at the tiny twosome. "But know this, you may be afraid of what could be to come, but remember that fear is but the precursor to valor! And to strive and triumph in the face of fear is what it means to be a warrior. Don't think, become."

"I fail to see how that could inspire us, but okay." Aquamarine muttered before peeking behind Black Rutile to see the drone footage. "Now what's all this?"

"It's video evidence that I've driven Steven to madness." Black Rutile answered with a proud grin before gesturing to each screen. "Here, we see Steven going ballistic on a human television when his mother appeared on the monitor." She said pointing to the first one. "On this one, the accursed Crystal Gems show concern for him for once, but he denies that anything is wrong with him." Then Black Rutile moved on to the third one. "And finally, Steven is just gone like a light."

"How can he do that?" White Topaz asked as she looked at the third viewscreen.

"Research shows that this comes from his Diamond heritage interfering with his human biology." Black Rutile analyzed the footage. "I should know, I was often tasked with watching over Pink Diamond whenever her usual caretakers were unavailable. And let me just say, it was unbelievably hectic."

"Yeah, like remember our attempted occupation of Zembilla?" White Topaz added. "Pink really grew attached to those little orange natives and didn't want them all dead."

"Don't remind me to the point of making me have a flashback." Black Rutile groaned while stroking her temples. "This shall be our time to rise up. We shall strike the first moment we get when Steven is at his lowest, so I suggest you better prepare." The Rutile then turned to her Topaz muscle. "Topaz, I need you to preside over Aquamarine and Ruby's training for the time being."

"Oh, of course, I'll do as you say!" White Topaz frantically declared. "That's me, White Topaz, always at your service!"

"Just…..go." Black Rutile's eye began to twitch at White Topaz's brownnosing. As soon as her three subordinates left, the mastermind turned back to her screens and paused the first one at Steven punching the TV screen. "Soon, my boy. Your god complex will finally crumble, just like your so-called happily ever after."

"Ah Little Homeworld, long time no see!" Steven declared happily as he reached Little Homeworld and landed on the Warp Pad. "Time to find someone who needs my help."

As Steven ran around the village in search of people to help, Gems and humans were taken a little aback by his new appearance and tried to stay away from him, though Steven didn't know why.

"Look, we're just saying Emerald, there are more ways reptiles are connected to birds than you think." Demantoid argued with Emerald as the two played chess together.

"Name one!" Emerald declared while moving her rook to knock out Demantoid's pawn. "Are there any lizards that have feathers, hm?!"

"Hey, guys, any arguments that need settling?" Steven butted into the green Gems' debate with a wide smile, taking the two by surprise. "Something about birds?"

"What is wrong with you?!" Emerald exclaimed. "This is why Black Rutile hates you, you think everything has to revolve around you and how you think you can fix everything! But even so, you look creepily happier than usual. Something is definitely up."

"Oh, everything's fine." Steven declared, his eye twitching ever so slightly at Emerald's accusation. "I think I'll just let you guys get back to your conversation." And so, Steven set off for someone else to try and help, leaving the green ex-subordinates of Black Rutile aghast before they decided to change the topic while getting back to their game.

"So, I've heard rumors that Steven is suffering from some problems lately." Demantoid said as her rook moved to take out the opposing knight. "Something about post-traumatic stress disorder?"

"Are you sure?" Emerald replied. "Because I've read about the symptoms, and something tells me he might have a borderline personality disorder."

"Maybe somewhere in the middle?" Demantoid deduced.

"Now the key to giving a plant proper sunlight is finding a spot that's just right." Peridot exposited to her class of Pyrope, Orange Spodumene, Blue Chalcedony, Cherry Quartz, and Squaridot while pointing to a chrysanthemum. "And it also varies on what kind of plant you're growing."

"I see." Squaridot muttered in awe.

Just then, Steven barged into the greenhouse and grinned at Peridot's class. "Hi Peridot, do any of you need some help?"

"No, I do believe we're perfectly fine." Pyrope answered dryly.

"So what brings you back here?" Peridot asked. "Didn't you leave a few months back?"

"Just your friendly neighborhood Crystal Gem just here to help!" Steven declared. "And I think your students have a few struggling saplings here. Let me give you a hand." Chuckling at his pun, Steven licked his hands and reached out to Pyrope's pot before Peridot stopped him.

"Not so fast!" Peridot scolded Steven. "Amethyst told me you're on a No Plant Friends policy after what happened with the Cactus Stevens."

"We're right here you know." A Cactus Steven said while helping a nearby Sapphire.

"Besides, I don't want your germs all over my prized flower!" Pyrope added, protectively hiding her pot from Steven.

"Oh come on you guys, I just want to give them a little nudge!" Steven laughed. To further prove his point, a leaf fell off Blue Chalcedony's plant.

"That has been bothering me lately." Blue Chalcedony stated, holding her pot out to Steven. "Go ahead, just a smidge though."

"I got a bad feeling about this." Cherry Quartz said warily.

"Oh don't worry, I got this!" Steven said as he licked his finger and tapped on the spot where the leaf fell off.

Moments later, the greenhouse began literally bursting with plant life, and not in a good way. Living topiaries in the shape of Steven broke through the greenhouse walls chanting "Steven's here to help!" while Peridot's class ran away screaming.

"Nice going Chal, now look what's happened!" Pyrope yelled at Blue Chalcedony.

"Hey, lay off her Pyrope!" Orange Spodumene exclaimed. "But still, something is not right with Steven!"

On the topic of Steven, he followed the class out of the greenhouse and seemed oblivious to the damage he had caused. "Look at that, life! It's everywhere, it always finds a way!"

"Much like how you find a way to drive people away." Steven's evil voice muttered sardonically, but Steven paid it no mind as he continued his search for people to help.

"Now, tell me how that makes you feel." Garnet said to a human couple she was giving counseling to when she heard Peridot scream, causing the humans to stand up as they gasped. "See you next week."

As soon as the couple ran away in fright, three Topiary Stevens surrounded Garnet, still chanting "Steven's here to help!" while the real Steven ran into the fusion.

"Oh Garnet, I see you're making some new friends!" Steven exclaimed joyfully, continuing to be unaware of his surroundings. "Then I guess this was a net win. Welp, gotta run and find someone else to help! It's what I do!"

"Then help me stop them!" Garnet yelled while the Topiary Stevens repeated "Steven's here to help!", which began to get on her nerves. "The others have to know about this."

"Being a lifeguard was far easier than I thought." Laz declared while relaxing in a lifeguard chair above the Gems in the now completed swimming pool. "Just gotta sit around and wait for something to happen. Besides, Gems can't drown anyways!"

"Yeah, but they still need to learn some basic rules." Lapis said to her old friend turned enemy turned friend again before blowing her whistle. "Hey, no running so fast! You might slip and fall!"

"Sorry, Lapis." Teal Zircon apologized before diving in and landing on top of Watermelon Tourmaline. "This is living, eh Melon?"

"You said it, Teal." Watermelon Tourmaline said as she floated around the pool with the Zircon relaxing on her stomach. "Ain't nothing could go wrong today."

Just then, Steven came a-knocking as he opened the gate to the pool to check out what was going on. "Hey Lapises, how's everything going?" he asked. "Anyone need any saving right now?"

"Actually, I think we're running a pretty tight ship as is," Lapis answered Steven while Zuli emerged from the pool after a swim. "Right guys?"

"Yeah, we don't need any extra help right now." Zuli stated. "But if you want, we could hold tryouts sometime."

"Oh no need, I'll just do it myself." Steven beamed before he began looking out for someone who might need his assistance when he spotted Teal Zircon resting on Watermelon Tourmaline's stomach. "Hey TZ, you could slip and fall!"

"What?" Teal asked before Steven grabbed her by the hand. "I'm doing pretty fine over here." Suddenly, as Steven tried to pull the Zircon from the pool, he accidentally pulled a little too hard and threw her up in the air. "OKAY, NOW I'M NOT DOING FINE!" TZ screamed as she flew away from the pool. "WITNESS ME!"

Teal Zircon didn't stay in the air for long, and soon dropped from the sky into another part of Little Homeworld. "I'm okay!"

"What's the big idea, Steven?" Watermelon Tourmaline asked. "We were all having fun before you came in and threw Teal Zircon to who knows where!"

"I'm sure TZ's fine, she said so herself." Steven laughed. "Well, gotta run! Have a nice day everybody!"

As soon as Steven ran off, more Topiary Stevens came bursting through the chain-link fence as they wrestled with the Cactus Stevens, prompting the other Gems present to slowly back away.

"Can this day get any weirder?" Laz scoffed. "I was trying to relax here!"

"Hey, did anyone else notice that Steven was all pink and such?" Lapis asked her fellow water-manipulating lifeguards.

"Yeah, it's kinda freaking me out." Zuli replied. "And are we sure he's totally fine?"

"I'm asking that question too." Lapis pondered while Peridot came charging through the broken fence to break up the battle of the plant Stevens.

When Steven left the pool, the first thing he saw was Bismuth's forge. "That's right, it must be shop o'clock!" he declared while skidding to a stop. "Bismuth's shop class, that is. Time to get my shop on."

"You good bud, you talking to yourself or something?" Amethyst, dressed in a coach uniform, asked Steven as he entered the forge.

"Now, the detailing requires a light touch." Bismuth explained to Blue Pearl, Bixbite & Snowflake Obsidian while standing between Pearl wearing a smithing apron and Yellow Pearl in a suit of armor. "Pay attention now everybody, cause this is critical to getting it right."

"Uh, hey howdy hey!" Steven greeted the shop class while leaning against the entrance.

"Oh, hey Steven!" Bixbite cheerfully greeted Steven.

"Did you get taller?" Blue Pearl asked with a tilt of her head and a finger to her lips.

"Whoa-ho-ho, lookin' good Steven!" Bismuth complimented Steven's change in appearance.

"I don't think that look is a positive change for him." Pearl whispered to Bismuth. "We think something might be wrong with him."

"Fancy seeing you drop by." Yellow Pearl grinned, unaware of what the teachers were conversing about. "How do you like my armor?"

"You look great Yellow Pearl!" Steven answered. "So Bismuth, in need of a teaching assistant?"

"Actually, Pearl's my TA today," Bismuth replied with a hand on Pearl's shoulder before presenting Yellow Pearl's armor-clad arm. "but I could use a wedding expert for my wedding armor demonstration. How 'bout it?"

"Of course, I'll help!" Steven declared. "That's what I love doing, just helping everyone!"

"Okay, let's get some materials warmed up for you." Bismuth then walked over to a pot of coals that she plucked a cooling steel bar from and flattened one end of it on the anvil with her hammer hand. "I think that's good enough." She stated. "Hey Steven, mind helping me with a pauldron or two?"

"I got this." Steven cheered as he walked over to the anvil and prepared to punch the metal.

"Hold up there boulder-brain." Bismuth stopped Steven before he could punch. "It's just some detail work, no need for a big mallet when you could use a little hammer." She handed a tiny hammer to Steven. "Plus, you could burn yourself that way."

"Oh, whoopsy-daisy, thanks Bismuth." Steven exclaimed and lightly tapped on the metal with the hammer. Instead of the detail work he thought he could do, Steven instead cracked the anvil into pieces with a single tap.

"Someone's stronger than we thought." Snowflake laughed nervously while Pearl & Bismuth gazed at the broken anvil.

"Look at that, now you have two anvils!" Steven laughed while Bismuth mourned the destruction of her anvil.

"NOOOOO!" Bismuth dropped to her knees in despair. "My anvil! My beautiful anvil!"

"Oh, grow up will you?" Steven's inner voice grumbled. "It's an anvil, you can make another."

"Seems like my work here is done." The real Steven laughed as he prepared to leave. "Well, toodles!"

"You see what I mean, Steven's not himself lately." Pearl said as she comforted Bismuth. "First he nearly got Greg killed, then Jasper started calling him her Diamond, and now this."

"Can I be the first to say that he needs help?" Yellow Pearl asked sardonically as more Topiary Stevens continued their rampage outside the forge.

As Steven exited the forge, he ran towards a baseball game that Amethyst was holding. Nephrite was on the Warp Pad throwing a ball to Doc, Amethyst stood by with Onion next to her, Topaz stood with a pair of humans on the bases, Larimar was in the outfield, and Chrysocolla, Grossular Diopside & Moonstone were waiting to play.

As soon as Amethyst noticed Steven, she blew her whistle and turned to talk to him. "Hey dude," she greeted him. "What's up?"

"I was just wondering if you needed any more players." Steven offered. "I'm ready to have a ball!"

"I think we could squeeze you in, we do need a new outfielder," Amethyst concluded and pointed to Larimar. "Oy, Larimar! Hit the showers, Steven's taking your place!"

"Good luck there Steven." Larimar said while she got up and left while Steven took her place on the playing field.

"Yeah, good hustle there Lil Larimar." Steven complimented the ice Gem. "I'm honored to be joining such a great game, I mean, everyone here has been outstanding!"

"You just got here, how do you know that?" Nephrite raised her brow.

"That's just me, I know what everyone is doing and feel the need to help all the time!" Steven declared, creeping everyone out.

"Enough chit-chat, batter up!" Amethyst cried out, cuing Onion to pick up a bat and walk up to home base, ready to play. Nephrite threw the ball towards the silent boy and he hit it with the bat, although unfortunately, it was heading straight for a nearby house.

"Oh no, in danger again?!" the Heaven Cubic Zirconia complained as the ball sailed towards the window of her and Earth Cubic Zirconia's house while they were having tea.

"I swear, is it because we're small?" Earth Cubic Zirconia wondered. Thankfully, Steven caught the ball just in time, much to their relief.

"I did it." Steven declared and the other players cheered.

"Three cheers for Steven!" Topaz declared.

"That's our boy." Chrysocolla smiled.

"I did it, and I didn't ruin anything!" Steven boomed happily. "YEAH!" However, the complete opposite of what he just said quickly happened. His excited yell caused a windstorm powerful enough to knock people off their feet, break glass everywhere, and cause the Zirconias' house to fall apart.

"Whoa, take it easy Steven!" Moonstone cried as she held onto a bench while the windstorm continued.

"Someone help me!" Grossular Diopside yelled while she got blown away with Larimar. Thankfully, the windstorm died down after a few seconds but still left a ton of destruction in its wake, and all eyes were on Steven.

"Oops, sorry everyone." Steven blushed at the chaos he caused. "T-t-that was an accident. But what are accidents and mistakes but opportunities to learn and improve, right?" He looked down at the Zirconias, who weren't very happy about the destruction of their home.

"It was a mistake for us to be put in danger again, especially because of you!" Earth yelled accusingly.

"Earthy, shush!" Heaven shushed her partner.

"I mean, we all make mistakes, and as long as we keep improving, everything will be fine!" Steven declared while picking up a log. "Alright, let's get to it!"

"It was a mistake for you to come here in this state." The voice in Steven's head declared. "Black Rutile and I were right, you will drive everyone away."

"Listen, I am done with you for today." Steven's own thoughts argued with the voice. "Just pipe down and don't ever think about feeding me bad thoughts ever again, got it?"

"How about never?" the voice said smarmily while the Topiary Stevens got to work on helping Steven by picking up Onion, Larimar, and Grossular Diopside.

"WE'RE HELPING!" one of the Plant Stevens yelled.

High above the destroyed makeshift baseball field, Black Rutile's satellite continued watching everything and sending footage back to its creator, who was all too happy to see what her hard work has amounted to.

"This is just priceless!" Black Rutile laughed joyously. "First, he makes plants come to life and fight those cactus beasts, then he throws that annoying Zircon into the air, broke an anvil, and caused a scene during one of those human games. I'm sure he's going to make such a scene about all these little accidents."

"All the more tools to humiliate the boy." Aquamarine added just as sneakily. "Soon, he will have nothing but himself and his thoughts controlling him."

"Unless his friends were to come out and tell him everything will be alright." White Topaz objected. "I'm just saying, those Gems will stick by his side through thick and thin."

"Hey, no more objections!" Eyeball yelled while pulling out her flame knife. "Want me to test this on you?!"

While Eyeball began chasing White Topaz around the woods with her knife, Black Rutile just groaned and turned back to her screens. "Tell me Aquamarine, why do all great geniuses surround themselves with idiots?"

"Your guess is as good as mine my Rutile." Aquamarine shook her head while watching the screens focused on the beach house with bated breath.

As soon as Steven was done helping fix what he had broke, he returned to the beach house with a dourer expression than the big smile he kept wearing throughout the day. On the other side of the room, Connie was in the living room while Greg and the Gems sat down on the couch.

"Steven!" Connie cried. "I was right all along, you're still swelling! I tried calling you all day, but I kept getting this weird meme." She held up her phone, which now depicted Steven bouncing up and down while chanting "Steven's here to help!" just like the Topiary Stevens. "Please, what is going on? We're all worried for you."

"Go on boy, play dumb." Steven's inner voice commanded.

"I sometimes broadcast my subconscious these days." Steven answered. "It's really no big deal."

"NOT THAT DUMB!" the voice groaned in irritation.

"I can tell something is bothering you." Connie continued. "There are even times where the meme sometimes turns into this."

"Steven's here to help, Steven's here to help!" Steven kept chanting on Connie's phone before it began to glitch. "Steven help, help Steven!"

"Ah, I don't know what you're talking about!" Steven declared, his stress continuing to unnerve others. "Besides, you all saw I was doing just fine this morning. I'm fine, awesome even!"

"Steven, if being as helpful as you always are, even if it's a bit obnoxious & creepy, is what you want, we'll support you 100%." Greg comforted. "But if you're not really happy, if something's wrong-"

"He's onto us!" the voice exclaimed. "Should've gone a little further with the crash, I say."

"Nothing's wrong!" Steven rebuked his father's worries. "Besides, you all don't have to worry."

"We ARE worried!" Connie replied worryingly. "Besides, Pink Diamond's Pearl told the Gems over the communicator in your greenhouse that you punched Spinel while you were at Homeworld."

"Listen, you can tell us anything." Greg added.

"Look at these worms, ganging up on us." The inner voice kept snarling. "Run, run while you still can! No one may help us now! Except, of course, for a certain Rutile."

"It's not that easy." Steven muttered as he hung his head in shame. "You know what? I don't want to deal with all this." However, when Steven tried to leave, Garnet blocked his way to the Warp Pad while the rest kept him from leaving through the door. "Seriously guys, I don't want to deal with this!"

"No, we don't wanna deal with all this." Amethyst put her foot down at Steven's behavior.

"Please, you have to stop running." Garnet begged in addition when suddenly, Steven's body began to swell yet again and his face stretched out.

"Maybe we should get you back to my mom at the hospital." Connie suggested.

"HOSPITAL?!" Amethyst shrieked.

"Is that what you were doing while we were at the trial?!" Pearl yelled.

"You mean you didn't tell them?!" Connie cried out in shock, while Steven's body kept on distorting and his breath quickened.

"It wasn't that important, just my first ever doctor's visit." Steven smiled awkwardly. "You're making a big deal out of nothing! Sure, I messed up the house and broke a few things, but what teenager hasn't?"

"You spent years forcing secrets out of the Gems, and now you're the one keeping secrets?" Steven's darker half growled at his other half's hypocrisy. "You truly have become your mother."

"And sure, Dad and I had a little fight, but it was practically a rite of passage!" Steven continued fibbing and shrugged.

Connie and the Gems turned their gaze to Greg, who just scratched his head and let out a nervous laugh.

"I mean, wouldn't it be weird if we didn't?!" Steven kept on ranting. "And sure, I've had Black Rutile feed me some not so nice thoughts while you were at Los Diego that took the form of an inner voice that forced me to punch Spinel, or try and shatter White Diamond, but it's not like I actually went through with it! I did really shatter Jasper after all!"

"WHAT?!" Amethyst screamed at the thought of Steven, this sweet young man who would rather hang out with a fly than hurt it, doing such a thing, especially to a Gem he had tried many times to help see the light.

Although barely anyone could hear, Jasper let out a light moan from the bathroom.

"You're-you're joking right?!" Connie gasped with Greg while Garnet's jaw dropped and Pearl's eyes widened.

"Oh don't worry, I fixed Jasper! I can fix anything!" Steven's temper began to reach its boiling point. "I can just keep fixing and fixing things forever, and you'll never have to worry about anything ever again!"

"Except worrying about how you're deliberately pushing people away while begging them to stay." Steven's inner voice concluded while metaphorically looking around at the shocked reactions of Steven's human & Gem loved ones. "Just look at them all, how do you think they'd ever forgive you for such a horrendous act?"

"Steven." Garnet tried to lend an assuring hand on the boy's shoulder, but she was quickly shoved away.

"How messed up is that?!" Steven gasped as he felt something change in his body. His teeth began getting sharper, his skin became pinker & leatherier, his hands slowly turned into claws, and his pupils started turning pink. "That I've gotten away with all this for so long, forcing my views down the throats of others, tearing apart Gem society to the point where they'll eventually be invaded, actually murdering someone! Black Rutile was right, I am just an awful person! A sociopath even!"

No one could comprehend what Steven was thinking right now. Greg began to tear up at all these horrible things Steven was saying about himself, Connie gripped the father's arm tightly, and Pearl & Amethyst began fearfully hugging Garnet, whose face was completely frozen in horror.

"You think I'm so great, I'm so mature, that I always know what to do, BUT I'M NOT!" Steven began roaring in a more beastly tone. "I haven't learned a thing from my problems, and I never will! They all kept making me worse, YOU all keep making me worse! Are you even sure any of you ever loved or cared about me?! If it weren't for Pink Diamond ruining everything for everyone, I could've been just a normal kid!"

"That's right, just let everything out." The inner voice purred comfortingly. "Me on the other hand, I think I shall take my leave and prepare something more normal for you." With that, the inner voice seemingly vanished from Steven's mind.

"You all think of me as a perfect angel who's too pure for this world, but I'm not a little kid anymore!" Steven boomed before he dropped to the ground with his head between his hands. "I'm just like my mom. A fraud." He began to tremble where he crouched as something began bubbling on his back. "I'm a monster!"

Suddenly, a massive pillar of light pink scales erupted from Steven's back like a volcano as everyone reacted quickly. Garnet stuck her arms out to protect Amethyst & Pearl and Connie jumped back, but Greg was just plain terrified.

"I'm a monster!" Steven's final words before his transformation were rewound by Black Rutile as she eagerly replayed the phrase again and again on more of her satellite footage. "I'm a monster! I'm a monster! I'm a monster!"

With an evil grin, Black Rutile paused the video and shut off her screens. "And I have finally won!" she declared triumphantly and let out a booming evil laugh that echoed throughout the cave and scared off the nearby animals. Aquamarine & Eyeball grinned in delight, while White Topaz turned away from her cohorts in shame of what she had participated in. As quickly as Black Rutile finished her victorious cackle, she had another wonderful, awful idea in mind. "Now, onto Phase 2."

….holy shit. Uh, see you all for I am My Monster, I guess. And by the way, I did repurpose Steven accidentally playing Rose's message for the Rose trio in Rose Buds for the opening.

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amethystpath-writes · 3 years

Note

This might have been done before but could you do a story of a princess in a tower and a dragon. But the princess is the dragon. Maybe she stays at the tower cause she has no where else to go. Knights hurt her trying to get to the supposed princess inside.

It’s been a while, but I finally got to sit down and finish this one after starting it forever ago!

******

It began as a wish- a wish for the patience required to withstand the life of a royal. Witches were just as rotten as genies, and perhaps the princess should have known that, but in several days’ worth of desperateness, she hadn’t thought of it.

See, the princess, Killah, had only wanted a reprieve- a break from all her royal duties. She was tired of lessons, tired of practicing posture, tired of identifying which spoon to put in her tea versus her soup. It was stupid, all of it. More than stupid, it was meaningless. So, Killah sought a solution.

Everyone in her kingdom, and those bordering, knew that the witch lived in the marshlands. It was a disgusting region, and the princess almost regretted going, but then Killah spotted a wooden structure and felt a beam of hope.

Not long after she spotted the structure, the princess was walking into it. The hut was small at first and Killah had to duck in order to avoid hitting her head. As she continued to walk in, though, it opened up- ceiling reaching up as far as the sky, walls further than the ends of any ocean. It was magic.

The ordeal went by quickly. The princess saw found the hunchbacked witch, said hello, and, nearly immediately, the witch asked what Killah wanted.

“I need patience,” the princess said, and she wasn’t ashamed to admit her absence of such a trait. It was a fact that she didn’t have it. Having worked on it before only to make zero progress, this witch was her only option. Would her father be disappointed? Of course. But he’d be even more disappointed if the princess ran away from her duties altogether- something she considered doing many times.

The witch was willing to help under one condition. She didn’t want Killah’s money or her voice. She wanted the girl’s appearance.

“But my kingdom won’t recognize me.”

“You will have the royal seal, my dear. You will have your voice. You will have a personality- even if it’s a bettered one; it is only one small change. You will be recognized,” the witch assured Killah.

It took no more than that for the princess to come to an agreement.

The witch got to work, swirling her hands, casting light here and there, walking around the room in odd shapes. Killah almost wanted to snap, “Can we speed this up any? I’m tired of standing here,” but she stopped herself. Maybe that meant the spell- or whatever witches dealt in- was working. Maybe she was becoming more patient. Or, maybe she was still impatient, but knew not the offend the witch- as if it would have mattered.

So, she waited, watching as the witch took her own appearance. It was like looking into a three-dimensional mirror- if there could ever be such a thing. Killah asked, “What do I look like, then?”

In the next moment, the princess felt her skin being pulled, like someone was pinching and tugging at her- mostly in her arms and legs. They itched, and as Killah went to scratch one of her arms, she squealed, seeing the way her nails were…they were different. They weren’t her own. They were blackened, like she dipped her fingers in tar and it got beneath her nails. But it wasn’t just below the tips; it was the whole of the nails.

“What’s happening!” The tar was spreading beyond Killah’s nails into her actual fingers. The black was fading to a grey as it travelled up her arms. She looked to the witch- or to herself as it seemed. “Stop it! Stop…stop this! Whatever this is. Oh my gods. Oh my gods.” Not only was she itching and scratching an absurd amount, but her nails were sharpening, too. Sharpening and sharpening and they wouldn’t stop, just like she wouldn’t stop itching. “Stop!”

“It’s nothing outside of the deal we made. You wanted patience, and I wanted your looks. We are both getting what we want- and a little extra. I think I hear the prince.”

While she spoke, the black-grey was becoming worse. It was growing, staining every inch of Killah’s skin. Looking at her hands now, it was horrific. They were developing bumps- scales, ones that were almost…glossy.

“The horse is getting closer. I can hear it.”

Killah ran to the nearest window- one she hadn’t even seen before now, and looked outside to see the prince, her brother, was indeed riding on horseback towards the witch hut. The itching was decreasing as the prince neared. She’d look down at herself- to inspect her nails, her hands, her skin, but her focus was on her brother. He was so close, and she could feel herself ready to sprint out of the witch’s hut, but then…

A heavy weight filled Killah’s chest, and she sat. A bit awkwardly, but she sat right on the floor, waiting for her brother to arrive. The urge to run to him disappeared. Patience, she said- or tried to say. What came out instead was far from human.

The princess felt foreign to herself, arms feeling weightier than usual- legs and head the same. She thought to bring a hand to her head, at the split of her lips where strange sounds emerged, but as she lifted her hand, it was wrong. It was so, so wrong, and a whine was released from her throat. With the whine came a spew of…of spit. A long string of saliva was spread across the floor and window.

Panicking, Killah hit one hand- one reptilian hand- against the other, beating it, trying to beat away whatever curse this was the witch gave her.

“I am not sure what you think that is accomplishing, but I can tell you for certain that it is nothing.”

Killah opened her mouth- if she could even call it that now. It was more of a snout than anything, and it was growing, lengthening before her very eyes.

Having sensed the question the princess was going to ask, the witch answered, “A dragon. Well, almost.”

In the next moment, the princess’ back ached and she cried out with yet another unwilling transformation. Wings- she knew. Killah laid down, waiting for the pain to eb down. Her brother would be here any minute and when he arrived, she could show him how her ring was still- she gasped, in whatever way a dragon could do as such. It was a guttural noise, one Killah would have curled a lip at if she could.

There was no ring on her finger. Of course there wouldn’t be. It would have broken with the great stretch of her body as it changed from human to reptile. As she looked for it, though, there was no gold ring to be seen. Killah looked to the witch.

“Now, that’s a shame.” The witch pouted.

Is that what I look like when I do that? Killah thought to herself. She was a prudish thing, wasn’t she? No wonder her mother scorned her features so often. Albeit beautiful, the princess’ human form expressed a constant state of annoyance and want.

“I looked so forward to wearing this. No matter”- a knock sounded at the hut’s door. It seemed so long ago that Killah ventured through it. She wished she could venture out, but it was too narrow now. The princess would never be able to leave this hut being in the wild form she was now.

“Killah!”

The princess roared- on accident- meanwhile the witch screamed for the prince.

In a matter of seconds, Killah’s brother was running into the forever expansive room. He drew his sword with a holler, causing Killah to raise her hands- claws- in defence. Without a word, the prince was swinging, slicing metal into scaled skin.

The witch screamed all the while, pretending she was the one being sliced to bits while the real princess cried in pain, backing further, and further, and further away. Where was the wall? Where was the wall? Killah didn’t think it’d ever end. Still, she tried with every piece of her dragon being to convince the prince it was her. It was his sister he was attempting to kill.

“Stop it, stop it, stop it!” the witch screamed as she scurried passed the two locked in a match of Hurt & Avoid-Being-Hurt. She grasped the prince by the shoulder and yelled at him as he continued flashing his sword, “It’ll kill you! It’s already killed so many. We have to run!”

Killah looked in horror at the rest of the room as it warped into a stingy cave, one littered with human skeletons and crunched armour. “No! That wasn’t me!” the princess tried to tell, but with no use. She only roared and shot out more disgusting saliva. She tried sitting, tried staying as still as possible to prove she wasn’t a threat, but before her brother would even consider her vulnerable state, he ran away with the witch.

Chasing after them perhaps wasn’t the most brilliant idea, but what else was Killah to do? The witch was the only one who could change her back, but here she was, running away with a false image and taking the princess’ only alternative hope of escape with her. What would the witch do to her kingdom?

***

Years followed and the princess dragon waited, and waited, and waited, surprisingly- though maybe not so surprising at all- without irritation. Someone will come, Killah thought, someone that will see passed this spell. And they’ll reverse it somehow. They’ll take me home. It was these thoughts that kept the unfortunate princess going.

Patience was hope, and hope was patience. They relied on the other in order to co-exist.

#request fill #All the classic tags y'know #fantasy #fantasy writing #medieval #medieval writing #cursed #cursed princess #what else?#um #dragon #dragon princess #?#Cause that's a normal tag #witch #witches

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snipsnsnailsnwerewolftales · 4 years

Text

Stay (Part 1)

A/N: This is something that came to mind with a playlist I have of random Ed Sheeran songs, I hope you guys like it.

Thank you to @jazziwritesthings, @xteenwolfwritingsx, @mymonandsymon, @weeabooper and @msmischief101 for looking it over for me.

I do not own Teen Wolf or it’s characters. Sadly.

(Nor do I own any of the songs in the playlist that inspired this story by Ed Sheeran. All credit where credit is due.)

Word Count: 2,200

Warnings: None that I know of. Mild swearing? It’s really just fluffy.

When Derek comes across a familiar scent at a diner late one night, it leads to the most unexpected revelation in his years in Beacon Hills: His mate. (Aka: Wherein I am a sucker for a good mates story and my brain decided to write one.)

Series Masterlist

Xxx

Sitting at the local diner, Derek focused on his hand as it clutched and unclutched his keys against the table top, occupying his time. To his right sat Scott, and his left, Stiles, and in the center, a large awkward silence between the three.

Smirking, Derek couldn’t help the grin when Stiles scrambled away from the table as their order number was called. He had only seen Stiles move that fast a few times, and it never failed to be amusing.

Clearing his throat, Derek shifted in his seat, sitting up taller, tugging his leather jacket collar for good measure. Scott mumbled something about drinks, and after a second of hesitation disappeared off to some unknown corner supposedly getting them all a glass of something.

Someone walked over to the ancient juke box on the opposite side of the restaurant, and Derek wanted to groan. He had been listening for footsteps going that way all night so that he could come up with some diversion to keep whoever it was from changing it off of his selection. He was sure Stiles and Scott probably thought he had some secret vendetta for all things music, and that was fine. So long as nobody messed with his choice of song.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t an awful choice, and when Derek turned to see who else in this God forsaken town seems to have a decent taste in music aside from himself, Stiles obstructed his view by sliding into his seat with three steaming hot plates, mumbling a “Hot, hot, hot! Very hot!” And Scott obscured him from getting a decent scent so he could at least maybe seek them out later when he plopped three milkshakes down on the table, the combo of food and drink masking any hope at a scent.

Pushing his chair back slightly, and leaning back away from the tsunami of smells, he felt everything go on high alert when one clear smell hit him like a tidal wave. “Vanilla….”

“Well, I was gonna take the vanilla, but fine, by all means, take it, just don’t go all sourwolf on me.”

Derek quickly shot Stiles a glare before turning back to the jukebox to see no one, but the overwhelming scent of fresh vanilla, like fresh cookies, took over all his senses. It made his burger taste like dirt.

Finally pushing away from the table, he followed the scent that definitely got stronger near the jukebox, and followed it in a loop, past an empty table, and finally back to his own table, noticing a new person standing and talking to Scott and Stiles.

A low growl rumbled out of his chest before he could catch it, but it didn’t seem to startle her a bit. Walking a little bit closer he asked a bit harshly, “Who are you?” Really, he just wanted to get close enough to see if she really was the source of the smell, but the scent was forgotten when he heard her speak.

“I’m Y/N, Scott and Stiles’ TA in English this year.”

No wonder the smell had seemed so familiar. He knew her. They grew up together.

She held out a hand for him to shake, and it took a minute for him to zone back in after her voice had caused him to go into some sort of trance.

Shaking his head gently to free the cobwebs, he offered his hand in return, and they both took a sharp inhale on the contact, sparks flying up and down their skin.

Realization dawned on him the same time she made wide eyes and seemed to put it together herself.

Eyes glowing red, Derek pulled her gently closer to him, faintly registering Stiles and Scott laughing nervously and flailing to stand up and block out people’s view of his very obviously not human eyes as they settled on her very obviously completely human eyes.

Until their yellow glow gave away her secret. Derek smirked. Years of time together played on warp speed in his mind.

Blinking the red away, he couldn’t help but smile as she stood there still doe eyed.

“Oh my God, I’m the mate of a freaking Alpha werewolf,” she let out quietly, almost under her breath.

“Holy shit,” Stiles mumbled, hand coming over his mouth as he plopped unceremoniously back into his chair, the momentum making it scrap against the tiles a few inches with an ugly sound.

“Just one. Can you please not date just one of our teachers, Derek? Is that too much to ask?” Scott was unabashedly announcing for the whole restaurant to hear. Granted it was mostly empty by now, and the song was coming to an end, leaving them in silence.

“That’s up to Y/N,” Derek said, still holding her hand. “If she agrees to go on a date, that’s not my fault. And if she agrees to be my mate, well then I am off the market after that.”

“For the love of God, please just say yes,” Stiles implored her. “Maybe he will finally be more tolerable when it’s all said and done.”

Derek reached out and whacked the back of Stiles’ head gently, before raising an eyebrow in question as she gave his hand a squeeze.

“Hey! You took my line!” She cried in protest with a small smile.

“What?” Stiles looked between the two of them before she lightly whacked the side of his arm. “Hey! Oh. I get it now. Ha ha. Actually, now, I hate this idea. I take it back. Release one another! It’s easy. See?” Stiles tried to pull their hands apart and it was quite comical to watch. After realizing nothing would change, he sat down with a huff, cradling his face in his hands and saying in a mock broken tone, “Why me?”

Xxx

Staring into the flashing jukebox in the corner of the dive restaurant that had haunted Beacon Hills longer than any monster, you smiled lightly at the selection to choose from.

It was probably your subconscious, remembering things long forgotten, hidden under song titles that concealed the memories, but you could have sworn you kept getting wafts of nutmeg and leather, something that was so intrinsically….. him.

You smiled a bit wider at memories that began to play for only you, seeming to change with the flashing of the lights on the machine, pulsing to your song selection.

Cut grass in the summer, and the smell it brought.

Soaking wet in the rain, darting into any alcove nearby and standing close together under his jacket he held high like an umbrella.

Tripping on the slick, freshly cut grass, and laughing till your sides hurt and grass stains painted your clothes and skin, like tattoos of proof from a summer day.

Him laughing at you as he stared down where you fell, and his wide eyes beside you when you took his hand outstretched to help and instead yanked him down to join you.

The bubble of laughter that soon left him despite himself, as your own giggle betrayed you, and soon you both were snickering on the grass, letting the rain paint your skin with tracks as it continued to fall lightly.

You’re brought out of your thoughts by a familiar voice, looking up from your seat back at your table to see Stiles at the counter balancing three trays loaded with food. You snickered at the little balancing act he pulled trying to keep the contents on the trays and not falling to the floor. Sitting up straight as the smell came your way again, it was so strong, it was as if he were just a few tables over.

Looking to the side, you didn’t see him, however you saw Stiles setting down the trays of food at a table across the restaurant, Scott coming from the opposite direction, arms laden with drinks, and whoever sat in the third seat at their table obscured from your view by Stiles’ body as he distributed the food, lightly bopping to the beat of the song, and making you smile.

Deciding to go over and say hi, you got up, walking around your table, walking past the counter and grabbing the bag of fries the waiter was trying to wave Stiles down for. You shook your head. How Stilinski forgot fries, you didn’t know. As you walked up to their table, it was just the two of them, their mysterious third party missing, but the smell you had noticed earlier strongest in the vacant seat. It couldn’t be who you thought, they hadn’t lived here in years, but you couldn’t ignore the scent as you stood talking to Scott and Stiles.

As Stiles thanked you for the fries, you felt a wave of the smell wash over you, causing you to turn and face the supposed source, and your breath caught in your throat at the sight of an older face, but those same eyes you had been thinking about not minutes before.

He didn’t seem to recognize you, and for some reason that amused you. He had a suspicious glint in his eyes, but that was the extent of it.

A low growl rumbled out of his chest before he could catch it, but it didn’t startle you a bit. In fact it surprised you at the deep stirring it caused in your gut.

Walking a little bit closer he asked a bit harshly, “Who are you?”

Despite his puffed up chest and seemingly harsh words, you noticed him take a deep breath through his nose, taking in your scent he used to always say smelled like cookies, vanilla and cinnamon, but the breath stopped abruptly when you answered him.

“I’m Y/N, Scott and Stiles’ TA in English this year.”

Realization seemed to hit him, the glint in his eyes sparking to life with memory, and he took an easy and free deep breath, finally recognizing the scent. If you blinked, you’d miss it, but the faintest of smiles was on his face.

You held out a hand for him to shake, and it took a minute for him to zone back in after seeming to go into some sort of trance.

Shaking his head gently to free the cobwebs, he offered his hand in return, and you both took a sharp inhale on the contact, sparks flying up and down your skin.

Realization dawned on him the same time you made wide eyes and seemed to put it together yourself.

Eyes glowing red, Derek pulled you gently closer to him, and you faintly registered Stiles and Scott laughing nervously and flailing to stand up and block out people’s view of his very obviously not human eyes as they settled on your supposedly very obviously completely human eyes.

Until their yellow glow gave away your secret. Derek smirked. Cut grass, rain, grass stains and mud, hiding out in secret places and sharing secrets over years and years, laughing until your sides hurt. All of it hit you at once, and it made something take flight in your stomach, beating its wings to get out.

Blinking the red away, he couldn’t help but smile as you stood there still doe eyed.

“Oh my God, I’m the mate of a freaking Alpha werewolf,” you let out quietly, almost under your breath.

“Holy shit,” Stiles mumbled, hand coming over his mouth as he plopped unceremoniously back into his chair, the momentum making it scrape against the tiles a few inches with an ugly sound.

“That’s up to Y/N,” Derek said, still holding your hand. “If she agrees to go on a date, that’s not my fault. And if she agrees to be my mate, well then I am off the market after that.” Something in what he said made you so indescribably happy, but also insanely mad at the thought of him ever being on the market. You swallowed the growl you felt building back down.

“For the love of God, please just say yes,” Stiles implored you. “Maybe he will finally be more tolerable when it’s all said and done.” Glancing at Stiles as he spoke, you looked back to Derek with a smirk.

Derek reached out and whacked the back of Stiles’ head gently, before raising an eyebrow in question as you gave his hand a squeeze.

“Hey! You took my line!” You cried in protest with a small smile.

“What?” Stiles looked between the two of you before you lightly whacked the side of his arm. “Hey! Oh. I get it now. Ha ha. Actually, now, I hate this idea. I take it back. Release one another! It’s easy. See?” Stiles tried to pull your hands apart and it was quite comical to watch. After realizing nothing would change, he sat down with a huff, cradling his face in his hands and saying in a mock broken tone, “Why me?”

Xxx

Tags: @mayahart02 @palaiasaurus64 @shydinosaurcandy @lucyqueenofthestars @c-breanne1999 @l4life @ethereallysimple What’s this?

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hargrove-mayfields · 3 years

Text

okay so I saw this amazing post by @deardmvz and it reminded me that I had a similar wip laying around somewhere and she requested I finish it!! so here it is!!

Billy thought it would be a breeze, taking a road trip to Tennessee with Steve sounded like nothing compared to the thirty some odd hours he’d spent in the car from California to Indiana.

But twice on the way down the Camaro, on her last leg after repairs, had threatened to give up on them, the brakes getting testy until he had to pull over and give her a rest. It was the summer, and the a/c kept cutting out. Everyone seemed to have the same idea as them, and the roads were packed.

With the car giving them trouble, Steve refused to let him go any more than five over before he started gripping the seat and demanding he slow down, so what had been supposed to be a six hour trip turned into closer to ten.

So much for an easy trip.

By the time they were finally rolling into town, of course struggling to find a parking space anywhere near their destination, Billy was already dreading the drive back to Hawkins.

Because the only reason they were even here was because Steve had a craving for some taffy he’d gotten as a kid when he was down south visiting his grandma, so the minute they popped into that little candy shop and got what they were here for, they’d be back on the road within the hour.

This was a tourist trap kind of town too, 3D movie theaters and putt-putt courses and tacky museums galore, so he seriously doubted they would even be able to afford much more than a little bag of candy if they tried to stick around.

It’s decidedly worth it though, having spent all that time in the car, because he gets to see Steve all excited like, acting just like a kid again as he drags him through the crowded streets, stopping at the window of the candy shop with a smile pressed against the glass. Excitedly, he declares, “It’s still here!”

So Billy tries his best to return the smile and not let his grimace at the unexpected difficulty of the trip or the frankly ridiculous prices the place was charging for candy show. He remembers how he’d felt when he realized he would never have a cake from the local bakery back in his hometown for one of his or Max’s birthdays again, so he’d let Steve have this. Even if it cost ten bucks for a pound of taffy logs.

He buys himself a bag of cordial cherries too, figures he might as well get a little something out of it if the trip was going to be such a pain. The smile that Steve gives him when he has his own purchase at the checkout doesn’t go unnoticed either.

With their mission achieved, Steve practically skips back to where they’d left the Camaro in a pay-to-park lot a few blocks over. He stops at the drivers side door, hooks two fingers through the handle. “So who’s driving?”

“Uh-uh. You’re not taking my baby anywhere buzzed on sugar.” Steve pouts, but he doesn’t argue. Just circles around the other side and gets comfortable in the passenger seat.

Billy’s glad, because he doesn’t think he would’ve made it the whole way back home with Steve ‘drives like his late grandma’ Harrington behind the wheel.

Not too long into the ride back it’s already starting to get dark. It’s much quieter this time around, much calmer too, with the roads seeming to clear out as the sun disappears behind the mountains.

Were it not for the occasional crinkle of a candy wrapper, Billy probably wouldn’t have even known Steve was still awake, the way he was leaning so far back into his seat.

But in the same way that Steve’s back seat driving on the way up had made him feel tense, the silence makes him feel jittery, and the dark makes him paranoid. The prospect of at least another four hours in the car makes him feel trapped.

He reaches over and turns the radio on to distract from the emptiness, probably pushing the dial a bit more aggressive than was necessary, and a talk show, some sad sap call-in station where you overshare with the dj and they dedicate you a song that’s supposed to make you feel better, fills the silence, drowns out the irritating sound of tires on pavement.

He isn’t paying any attention, he’d turned it down as far as he could and still be able to hear it, so he must have missed something, because Steve sits bolt upright, bringing with him the previously reclined seat with a creak of the springs to exclaim, “Oh my god, Bill.”

He glances over at Steve for the briefest of seconds before his eyes quickly flick back to the road ahead, his heart skipping for just a second when he realizes he hadn’t been watching. “The taffy not as good as you remember it?”

“No it totally is. It’s our song, it’s on the radio.” His sounds like he’s going to burst from excitement as he explains himself and cranks the volume way high. Definitely too much sugar.

Though it’s not quite as extreme as Billy usually keeps it, it's still loud enough it takes a moment for his ears to adjust and recognize what is indeed the piano intro to what Steve had declared ‘their song’, of which he insists, “You gotta sing it babe.”

The concept of having a song was a fairly recent one, something that had been decided when Billy had started moving his things into Steve’s place, and he’d found some old record albums of his mothers that he’d kept hidden in his room for years.

Most of them were warped and scratched so badly they skipped through entire songs until they were unrecognizable as music. Others were covered in so many layers of dust and dirt they’d have needed hosed off before even thinking about putting them in their player.

Among the very few records still undamaged after being moved and stored for far too long were Farewell Andromeda, Electronically Tested, and a 45 of Don’t Go Breaking My Heart/Snow Queen.

John Denver was so not their speed, and Mungo Jerry was just a little too far out there for their tastes, so they kept the 45 and trashed or gave away most of the rest, if the sentimental value wasn’t too strong.

That little record was the sort of middle ground of their tastes, though neither would have ever fessed up about the soft spot for old pop to the other were it not for finding that old single under Billy’s bed, but from then on they’d spun it in Steve’s old console player more times than anyone should have been able to stand.

Over time, in the storage side of the player, they amass quite the collection of similar albums, more Elton John, ABBA, and god, Billy would never admit this to anyone, but goddamn Bees Gees, both on vinyl and cassette, but Don’t Go Breaking My Heart/Snow Queen forever held a special place in their hearts, and in their music rotation.

Everytime it came on the little battery radio in the kitchen or either slipped it into the player, it was tradition that they’d drop whatever they were doing and sing along with Elton and Kiki.

Just because, the romantic that he was, Steve had decided it was their song.

And honestly, Billy couldn’t argue with that, for obvious reasons the lyrics were special to the both of them, and the song was designed to be insanely catchy anyways, but right now he was busy driving, focusing all his attention on every dark corner of the road ahead. “‘M drivin’ Stevie.”

“Pleeease?” Steve glances between the radio and Billy with those puppy dog eyes of his, and offers a pointless bribe, just to help make his case. “I’ll give you a taffy.”

“Alright, alright.” Billy didn’t care about taffy, in all truthfulness he thought it was disgusting, definitely not a treat worth a minimum six hour drive for, but even watching the road he could see the expectant look in his boyfriends eyes from the passenger seat, so it didn’t take much convincing.

They’d missed the first few lines while they were debating it, so he tells Steve, “You start it then.”

With a smile that made it worth it, he does. He turns the volume up even higher and jumps right in on Kiki Dee’s “You take the weight off of me”

That was the indisputable rule Steve had established the very first time they’d played the record, that he would always sing Kiki’s parts of the song, and Billy Elton’s. Billy still didn’t really know exactly why that was, but he didn’t see a reason to argue.

So he does his line, “Oh honey when you knock on my door” and Steve gives him the biggest smile he can muster, as though he wasn’t expecting him to actually join in, and goes straight into his next with all the more enthusiasm. “Ooh, I gave you my key”

Ooh, nobody knows it

When I was down

I was your clown

Ooh, nobody knows it

Right from the start

I gave you my heart

Oh, I gave you my heart

Billy’s been known to get super into the whole thing, dancing like a goof, using anything he can find as a microphone just to get a rise out of Steve, but there’s a definite lack of that enthusiasm this time around.

It’s not that he doesn’t care about doing things like this like this with Steve, quite frankly, just the fact that they were even to a point in their relationship to have something as cheesy as their own song meant the world to him. He just was feeling, a little off.

So don't go breaking my heart

I won't go breaking your heart

Don't go breaking my heart

Steve definitely catches it, he’s the master at being able to tell when Billy’s not feeling his best. He calculates, and waits until the next break in the song to put his hand on Billy’s thigh. To let him know that the lyrics are directed at him. To remind him of the reason why they ever picked a damned Elton John song to be theirs.

And nobody told us

Because nobody showed us

And now it's up to us babe

Oh, I think we can make it

So don't misunderstand me

You put the light in my life

Oh, you put the spark to the flame

I've got your heart in my sights

It’s like an unspoken conversation, carried out entirely through the touch of Steve’s skin against his, the few seconds of eye contact Billy’s willing to allow before he’s back to watching the road, through the song on the radio that was theirs.

Ooh, nobody knows it

When I was down

I was your clown

Ooh, nobody knows it

Right from the start

I gave you my heart

Oh, I gave you my heart

Ever since being discharged from the hospital, no matter how hard he tried to appreciate being alive and what not, Billy still had moments like these where he was distant, only engaging with part of himself. It made him feel ungrateful, selfish. Like he didn’t deserve it.

Don't go breaking my heart

I won't go breaking your heart

Don't go breaking my heart

Now that he really thought about it, he’s guessing the only reason Steve had even made him drive all the way to Tennessee for a bag of candy they could have just bought at the dollar store was because he knew it was one of those days.

Ooh, nobody knows it

When I was down

I was your clown

Right from the start

I gave you my heart

Oh, I gave you my heart

It’s certainly the reason he’s belting his heart out in the passenger seat of Billy’s car to a lame old pop song, and it’s at least, in some small part, the reason why Billy’s heart feels so full at the sight of it.

Don't go breaking my heart

I won't go breaking your heart

Don't go breaking my

Don't go breaking my heart

Don't go breaking my

I won't go breaking your heart

Don't go breaking my heart

Don't go breaking my

I won't go breaking your heart

Don't go breaking my heart

Don't go breaking my

The song fades out before it’s over, the last few lines of the chorus cut off by a dj on a time schedule, but they finish it anyways, shouting over each other and the next song as it begins to play.

Steve dissolves into a fit of giggles, and Billy’s sure if he wasn’t driving he’d kiss the life out of him right then.

The radio gets turned back down to just background noise, and Steve gets settled back in again. He keeps humming to himself from where he’s settled back against the door in his reclined seat. It’s most likely an unconscious action, he does that a lot when he's drowsy, but it’s successful in keeping the tension out of the car.

At least, Billy doesn’t feel even half as on edge about the estimated three hours still left before they’d be back in Hawkins as he did before.

Because even if it started a little shaky, he was glad to have spent the day with nobody but Steve. No nosy teenaged brats refusing to mind their own business, no bosses calling them into work, no doctors appointments or friends dropping by for unannounced visits.

It was just him and Steve and the open road, and EJ and Kiki Dee, and a little bit of expensive candy, that helped too.

#harringrove #billy hargrove #steve harrington #billy x steve #ej writer #story by ej!#geez louise this took forever #literally like the busiest weekend of my life kicked off the minute I started trying to write this #but here it is finally!! hope it’s a little coherent because Im not rereading this for the thousandth time #my initials are literally ej it’s destiny that I’d be an elton john stan #so obviously this fic was going to happen eventually #dearly sorry if the formatting of this is off I’m posting this from mobile and mobile tumblr is very not nice to my formatting #I’ll fix it next time I’m on desktop I promise

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ikemenfics · 3 years

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The Kiss That Begins with C

Word Count: 1983

Happy valentine’s: The finale of our crazy crack comes to an end!

“They went aft th' Uesugi Takeda alliance, too?” The white haired man leaned back, looking all but flabbergasted hearing the recent events regarding the Oda and Takeda incidents. “They mad? That’s madness.”

The messenger nodded, agreeing with the pirate warlord, “There were no casualties though. That’s the strangest part…” They sat, contemplating their sake as they spoke.

“So ye're tellin' me that a lone figure broke into th' Oda 'n Uesugi castles. Nah only that, they went aft th' warrior monk, too. Hmm..." an idea spawned into Motonari’s head. If he could get ahold of the geniuses that broke into the castles AND got to the warrior monk, that could spell complete chaos on all sides. Motonari’s face broke into a grin at the thought, dismissing his subordinate.

"Now all that's needed be gettin' th' apparent trespassers t' come t' me."

Elsewhere, around a table sat figures playing cards. One perked his head up, gave a nod, then excused himself from the game. Another figure reached to peek at his cards but found his hand smacked away before he could eye the hand.

Motonari had wandered into the woods. His intention was to question Kennyo himself, as an “ally”, about the recent drama. After all, Kennyo had also failed to take the town he had planned to raid. There was definitely suspicious intelligence at work and if it was against Oda, Takeda/Uesugi, and Kennyo...they were people he definitely wanted to see.

His vision warped and he nearly fell over as his mind tried to reorient itself. A point pierced reality, slicing cleanly downward. A figure in white stepped from the tear in the world, giving a bow of flourish.

“Pardon me,” the man said, raising from his bow, “My name is Edgar and I have been commanded to bring you this.” A small bag appeared in the man’s hand and was tossed towards the pirate warlord. “You are to use this to bring joy-”

[Now’s me chance] Motonari didn’t let Edgar finish. He charged towards the man, hitting him near his midsection, knocking him off balance. The two tumbled into the tear in reality, Motonari already standing to dash away into the realm behind the tear. Edgar stood and considered giving chase. “It seems, I must notify the king of my failure.”

Figures at the table started placing their cards down. “Straight.”

“Gay!”

“I got nothing.”

“Pair...10’s.” “Two pair, queens and aces.” “Go fish.” “Wrong game, but good try.” “What did Edgar have, though…” another hand reached for his cards. “Royal Flush..ace high. How?!” Before the conversation around the table could continue, a figure burst into the room, rushing past the players without a word. Several pairs of confused eyes followed him as he left, Edgar close behind. “My king…” Edgar panted, “we have a breach.”

Chaos erupted as everyone stood, dawning back their full uniforms, preparing to apprehend the man. “Wait.” The red king glanced in the direction Motonari had gone, “Reinforcements might be needed. We can’t risk the citizens.” “Agreed,” the black king nodded.

Orders were given and soon the members all split in two directions, some towards the border of reality, others into Cradle.

You were walking through the halls, delivering various repaired garments to their respective owners when the world warped. “AGAIN?!” Was all you could cry before familiar aqua hair appeared. “Yoohoo~!” Seth stepped into reality, followed by a figure you’d never seen before. His companion was tall...very tall. You craned your neck to get a good look at him. He stared down at you and you were sure he started hunching so you wouldn’t have to look up so far. “We need your help,” the man said, “Where is your king?”

You and your new guests arrived at the war room to alert Nobunaga and co. There wasn’t a meeting and messengers had to be sent, leaving time for introductions between you, Sirius, and Seth Hyde. “A queen? But you’re a...?” You trailed off, letting the question hang lest you accidentally offended someone. “Not that kind of queen, little lady.” “More like a queen in a deck of cards, second to the king, as it were.”

The war room doors slid open with a loud thwack as men charged into the room. “Motonari has done what?!” Hideyoshi’s cry preceded him as men filed into the room.

You explained, “They said that Motonari walked through the tear that the strange man with the chocolate had made. They are asking for help in tracking him..” “I can track him easily.” Mitsuhide turned to Nobunaga, awaiting his orders.

“You can’t track him in another land, Mitsuhide,” came Hideyoshi’s response, “Even you aren’t that talented. Damn that thrice cursed cur for causing all this trouble! Nobunaga-sama, let me lead men into the realm and we will bring him back for your justice.” “Hey, now,” Sirius interrupted, “Calm down. We have armies, we need someone who knows the pirate to help us track him. We don’t need more war on our hands.”

“I will *not* calm down. Not while that lunatic pirate heathen is out there causing trouble.” “So you’re just going to make more trouble for everyone trying to stop his? Great plan,” Ieyasu crossed his arms, watching Hideyoshi fume.

“If we’re sending people out to track, I can help,” Masamune said, “I got speed to go with Mitsuhide’s intelligence. We’ll bring him back in no time.” “And probably with half your parts missing, too,” Ieyasu muttered to no one in particular. “I haven’t lost any yet!” “Care to adjust that eyepatch? I think it’s blinding your good eye.” Nobunaga raised a hand, all bickering coming to a halt. “I will send Mitsuhide and Masamune.” He stood, intending on leaving the war council when a thought struck him, “You’ll take my lucky charm with you. I can’t risk losing two of my best to this task.”

Meanwhile, in a tower, two men sat and discussed a possible alliance. “YOu are telling me you can rid me of both armies and all I have to do is give you lodgings? You can’t be serious.” “I be perfectly serious. I needs them in chaos as much as ye do.”

Amon sighed, moving a bishop across the board, “Then it seems I have little choice as you already ransacked much of our stash. Where did you learn to fight like that?”

“A scallywag has t' throw away all th' rules o' fightin' if he hopes t' survive th' sea. Thar be no honor outside o' yer crew among pirates. Even then…”

And so it was that you, Masamune Date, and Mitsuhide Akechi found yourselves in Cradle. It was a wonder to your eyes. You’d read about the elaborate rose gardens of Europe, but nothing quite correctly encompassed what assaulted your senses. The roses were perfectly red and bushes all but made a wall around you. There was a large table, a red and black table cloth covering the wood. You found other figures and a shocking sight. “Shingen-sama?! Yukimura-kun? And Sasuke-san?!” Yuki blanched but Shingen was quicker, “Ah, so they have acquired the aid of a goddess. I do not have to worry so much about being out of my element, for surely we now have luck on our side.”

“Masamune,” a man whom Sirius had been speaking with while you gawked approached, “You will work with Luka and Fenrir, my jack and ace. I’m told you make a rather formidable ace yourself.” Masa nodded his agreement to the team, moving to join them. “Luka, first we need to prepare rations for the search parties. Fenrir, get the gear ready for them. Masa can help with either.” “I’ll cook,” the one eyed dragon stated. “Roger that,” came Luka’s response. “On it,” Fenrir’s.

“Oh...I was told to give you this..” Ray lifted your hand, placing a small kiss in it. This kiss was different than previous kisses, for this one’s wrapping was brown with lighter tan stripes. A caramel Hershey’s kiss. You glanced up confused and all Ray said was, “I don’t know. I was just told to give it to you. I’m sure you’ll find out why later.”

Parties split, each moving to their respective headquarters, leaving you to follow the black army somewhat helplessly. You moved from the garden to a place called Central Quarter and from there to the Black Army Bridge.

You, however, didn't get to cross it. An arm shot out, your mouth covered as you were dragged away. In an alley, figures in white examined you. They seemed to be confirming something before a flash of light found you in a new place.

“I did warn ya nah t' let me catch ye, once, seamstress.” Your eyes widened as you met Motonari’s.

“How did you even get here?” You had a million questions but you had to keep calm, buy time, the others would find you, right? In that time, you needed to get Motonari to spill all you could get from him. “Doors don't jus' open one sided, seamstress,” Motonari said, “When th' scallywag wit' th' thin cutlass sliced th' world, I jus' stepped into his side o' it.”

You pressed more, trying to ask where you were, who the people in robes were, but Motonari was done with talking. He held up a bag that you recognized.

“Wha' th' heck are these? th' metal be lame 'n doesn't make decent bullets, but th' brown stuff underneath be too soft fer anythin'.”

“They’re...kisses…” you said, weakly, realizing what your task was going to wind up being.

He eyed the bag, questioning your sanity or education regarding displays of affection. It was a familiar conversation.

“Strange thin' t' call these. But I didn' make 'em so I don't much care. Take 'em.”

You shook your head, realizing what you had to do. “You can’t just thrust them at someone. There’s an order to things.” You removed the caramel kiss from your kimono, holding it out to him. “It’s diff’rent.” He took the sweet and you leaned, kissing his jaw. Motonari’s entire body went stiff at the touch, the man turning into an almost human statue. Moving back you held out your hand. “Now you can give me one kiss. That’s it.”

Motonari eyed you in shock. He silently took a kiss from the bag, flicking it at you. You caught it, almost fumbling trying to hold onto it. You closed your eyes, waiting for the kiss but none came.

Opening your eyes, you found him smirking at you. “Didn' realize ye were that way fer me..” He took the bag, placing the whole thing in your hands. Your hands holding the bag, he took the opportunity to seize your face in his own. “Now, where's me kisses?” His mouth pressed against yours, his tongue already invading. It was passionate, him breaking on occasion to nip and lick, before pressing his lips to yours again. You moaned at the attention before he finally parted.

“Was that a bag's worth o' kisses?” You stared at Motonari, nodding in response.

The tower rumbled, panicked voiced filling the areas around you. Motonari took your hand, both of you leaving as the world seemed to stretch and strain against some chaotic movement. You traveled to the garden, through the tear and back into the woods that Motonari had once occupied. You panted, catching your breath, and glanced back to the pirate, only for him to cover your eyes.

“Don't stare at me anymore wit' those eyes. They look too deep. I don't like that. Go galleon. Ye're nah far from th' Oda.” You stumbled home, finding everyone had made it safe. The rips in the world had been repaired, everyone back where they belonged. You, though, found yourself staring again at the forest where a pirate seemed a little honest to you.

“Huh...bag’s worth, indeed, Motonari.”

What happened to the tower? Dunno You wrote it? Look, shoehorning...shoehorning They ok? Probably Didn’t you promise us Jonah About that... You’re not giving us much. Look here- -flings Edgar at you and flees- At least this is the last time...

#Ikemen Sengoku #Ikesen #crack #Ikemenfics #Motonari Mori #Crossover

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aion-rsa · 2 years

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Star Trek: Discovery Season 4 Episode 6 Easter Eggs & References

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This Star Trek: Discovery article contains spoilers for Season 4, Episode 6.

With “Stormy Weather,” Star Trek: Discovery celebrates the Trek tradition of getting some excellent musical standards into the bold voyages in the final frontier. With Picard, it was a call back to “Blue Skies,” but now, we’ve got a new version of the song made famous by Ella Fitzgerald, “Stormy Weather.” This version is sung by actress Annabelle Wallis, who has voiced “Zora” the intelligent DISCO computer since 2018’s Short Treks episode, “Calypso.” The newest Discovery episode obviously references that story a lot but what else? From galactic barriers to an old Scotty trick with the transporter, here’s every Easter egg and shout-out we spotted in Discovery Season 4, Episode 6, “Stormy Weather.”

Burnham’s family tree

In the opening moments of the episode, we see Burnham putting together a family tree, inspired by the Lalogi orb from the previous episode, “The Examples.” So, who is on Burnham’s family tree? Here’s what we spotted

Her biological mom and dad are both there, Mike Burnham Sr. and Gabrielle Burnham

BOTH versions of Georgiou or there; Captain Philippa Georgiou from the Prime Universe, and the Georgiou we’ve seen more of, from the Mirror Universe.

Bearded Spock AND Baby Spock! Burnham has pictures of both Spock as a child (Liam Hughes) and adult fugitive Spock from Discovery Season 2. Funnily enough, Burnham mocked Spock’s beard in the Season 2 episode “If Memory Serves…”

Saru is on there, and the scene is the moment of his almost suicide in “Obol for Charon.”

Both Sarek and Amanda, the parents who raised her for half of her childhood, are in there, too. PHEW.

Saru mentions the Enterprise and Voyager

Because DISCO is headed into a subspace rift, Saru gives Captain Burnham a history lesson saying that “an Enterprise noted heated plasma,” and Voyager chartered ionized particle eddies. These two shout-outs are a bit hard to pin down, but the Enterprise Saru is referring to that noted “heated plasma” could be the Enterprise-E in the film Star Trek: Insurrection. In that film, an Isolytic burst caused a “subspace tear.” That said, a “subspace rift,” could also refer to the TNG episode “Force of Nature,” in which it was learned that certain kinds of excessive warp speeds caused rifts in subspace. As far as Voyager goes, the best guesses here are “The Omega Directive” and “Cold Fire.”

That said, there is a contemporary Voyager-J in the present tense of Discovery right now in 3189. We don’t know if there’s a contemporary Enterprise. The point is, there has likely been a shitton of Enterprises and Voyagers in the 800 years between the TNG era and now. So, this may be an Easter egg to unseen adventures on Enterprises or Voyagers we’ve never even heard of.

Linus under a heating lamp

At more than one point in the episode, it’s mentioned that Linus is under a heating lamp. Quick Linus refresher: starting with Season 2, Linus is a crew member who is a Saurian, a reptilian alien species who was alluded to in The Original Series, and appeared as background characters in The Motion Picture. In Discovery, Linus is played by David Benjamin Tomlinson, but not in this episode, because we don’t see him.

Ferengi and Lurian in the bar

As with previous episodes of Discovery this season, the background action in the new ship’s lounge continues with the Deep Space Nine visual references. This time we get both a Ferengi AND a Lurian together in the bar, which clearly references Morn (a Lurian) and Quark and Rom (Ferengi) from the bar in DS9.

Photonic flare

In order to illuminate the strange void near the subspace rift, the idea of using a “photonic flare” is suggested. This references the idea of using photon torpedoes as light sources, which happened in the TNG episode “In Theory,” and the Voyager episode “Night.”

Zora’s graphic and “Calypso”

The computer program we’ve been seeing in the credits for the past five episodes now makes sense. That’s what Zora looks like right now, at least, in her computer form. It should be noted, however, that this is not what Zora looks like in the future. In the Short Treks episode “Calypso,” we actually know that Zora will evolve a lot more than this, and what we’re seeing is, essentially, the beginning of that process.

Book’s father calls him by his “other” name

At several points, Book’s father refers to him as “Turex.” We’ve always known that “Cleavland Booker” wasn’t his “real” name but we haven’t actually been told why he chose that specific name after leaving his home planet. In the Season 3 episode “People of Earth,” Burnham mentions she “needs to get the story” of Book’s name, but we still don’t know!

“If we still used wires…”

Stamets makes a joke about a live wire, and then says “if we still used wires.” This implies that in the 32nd Century, there are no wires of any kind on starships. Is anyone going to hold Discovery to this canon? Please don’t!

Galactic Barrier

A scan of Book’s brain reveals there are particles from the Galactic Barrier, which proves the DMA (Dark Matter Anomaly) comes from outside the Milky Way Galaxy. The idea of the Galactic Barrier in Trek canon originates with the TOS second pilot episode, “Where No Man Has Gone Before.” The Enterprise also left the galaxy in the episode “By Any Other Name,” when they were hijacked by the Kelvins, who also originated outside of the galaxy. Now, it feels very unlikely that DISCO is bringing back the Kelvins but…when you consider that the Guardian of Forever came back in Season 3, you just never know!

Putting Everyone Into the Pattern Buffer

The entire crew is protected from the radiation of the subspace rift by getting stored in “the pattern buffer.” To be clear, this means they are all beamed into the transporter, but not beamed out. We’re told that Starfleet records indicate that this can work out “long term,” which is a direct reference to the TNG episode “Relics,” in which Scotty was discovered in a pattern buffer, over seven decades after he put himself inside of it. Interestingly enough, the first person Scotty talked to when he was out of the pattern buffer was Riker, played by Jonathan Frakes, who directed this episode of Discovery.

This old-school plot device also sets up a way for Zora to do this for the crew again, which could explain why the ship appears abandoned in “Calypso.” But maybe not?

Owosekun’s sad story

Owosekun mentions to Saru that she was unable to help a friend in her youth because the proper care wasn’t available. Saru comforts her saying she “bore witness,” to this sad event. Oddly enough, this touching moment contains a small Easter egg to Owo’s personal history and Jonathan Frakes.

In the Season 2 Discovery episode “New Eden,” it was established that Owosekun grew up in a “Luddite colony” that eschewed advanced technology. So, the origin of her story is probably connected to those in the colony not having the right tech or medicine to save this other person. This call back is doubly interesting because the person who directed “New Eden” was Jonathan Frakes, who also directed this episode. Is Jonathan Frakes advancing a secret plot to give Owosekun even more backstory! If so, he’s doing a great job.

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Star Trek: Discovery Season 4 is streaming now on Paramount+.

The post Star Trek: Discovery Season 4 Episode 6 Easter Eggs & References appeared first on Den of Geek.

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junnie133 · 3 years

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Wind’s birthday!

Because it’s a new series apparently. I did Time’s too, if you want to check it out. I made this to relax from my week of finals and I admit it could be better, no beta we die like me i guess. Anyways, this is just fluff, so enjoy!!

{+}{+}{+}

“What’s snow?”

Wild blinked dumbly at Wind, slowly trying to register the younger hero’s words in his brain. Legend raised a brow, and Twilight tilted his head to the side like a lost puppy.

The Sailor frowned at them. “What?”

Wild glanced at both of his friends before looking at Wind again. “You know, like frozen water that falls from the sky?” he made a motion with one of his hands, lowering it while wiggling his fingers in the air to make a (poor) demonstration of what he was talking about. Wind seemed to be more lost than before.

“You mean hail?” he asked.

Twilight shook his head. “No, no. Snow is… softer, it melts as soon as you touch it.”

“I have no idea what you are talking about.” he huffed, and crossed his arms over his chest gruffly. He wasn’t sure if they were genuinely confused or just pretending to mock him, it wouldn’t be the first time after all.

“C’mon kid, you serious?” asked Legend. “It’s like, one of the best things about having your birthday in winter!”

Today had been really nice for Wind. He woke up in a real bed for a change, Wild’s bed since they were in his house, and to the smell of cake flooding the second floor. He had fruit cake for breakfast and got some small gifts from the others (Sky craved him a Keaton mask just like Time’s and Wild gave him his opal earrings- and the invitation to pierce his ears whenever he wanted, among many other things from the rest). Also, Time determined they needed a rest, and so Wild was showing them the places around Hateno Village to entertain their youngest member for a while.

That’s when Legend asked Wild what was beyond those mountains in the distance, and the local hero only answered. “A spring. And snow. And Ice. And more snow.”

And Wind was a kid, of course he was curious what that word meant. So he asked, he just didn’t expect those answers.

“All I know about my birthday is that it’s chilly and we can’t swim so grandma makes some soup for me and Aryll.” he shrugged.

“Man, that’s fucked.” said Legend.

“Well, he does live on a tropical island.” remarked Twilight.

“Right.” he nodded.

“Then we should show you!” said Wild suddenly with a big smile on his face. “Wait for me in my house, I’ll be right back.”

“What do you mean cub-?” Twilight’s words were interrupted by a flash of bright blue lights dematerializing his protégé.

“Where…?” Legend rolled his eyes. “Right, whatever.”

“What was that?” asked Wind, as Twilight sighed and started walking towards the house over the bridge.

“I think I know what he’s planning.”

And his suspicions were right. Wild returned with a big smile and three identical sets of snowquill Rito armor, the only difference being the size and color, finding his friends around the fire where Bolson and Karson used to hang out every day. Twilight’s was gray, Wind’s a bright shade of cyan and Legend’s the ugliest shade of pink he had ever seen in his life.

“This is bullshit.” he growled, clutching the soft clothes on his hands.

“What are you planning?” asked Time, who was taking care of one of Wild’s horses near them to entertain himself.

“Wind has never seen snow before so,” he tapped his slate a couple of times and dressed with winter clothes in a second. “We’re going to show him!”

“Wait, we’re?” asked Legend. “I didn’t agree to anything! And you should ask the birthday boy first”

Wind was already putting on the top piece of his suit. “It’s ok for me!”

Twilight shrugged. “It can’t hurt. We’re going to Mt. Lanayru right?”

Wild nodded. “We will be back soon, I promise.” he said to Time.

The Old Man opened his mouth with a worried look on his eye, but then Wind stared up at him, his expressive, huge dark eyes making contact with his as he smiled. “It will be an awesome birthday experience! It’s my birthday so I can have a birthday trip.” he said.

He avoided his begging look to search for some kind of support in Twilight, but his traitor of a protégé looked at him with a similar expression that begged him to not say nothing against this. He sighed then, nodding.

“Alright, but I want you all here for dinner.” he said.

“You are weak, Old Man.” Legend glared at him, as Time shrugged. He had a soft spot for those two.

The boys dressed up right where they were. throwing the warm clothes over their normal ones, and formed a circle as Wild told them. Linked by their arms, he tapped his slate once more and soon they were being warped Hylia knows where in a flash of blue lights.

“They’re getting in trouble.” said Warriors not far from there.

“It’s Twilight’s problem now.” he said with a straight face. “I can relax for once without problem children around.”

As soon as he said that, without giving Warriors time to say anything back, Four arrived panting and talking at light’s speed.

“- I told Sky to not get near that thing but he didn’t listen to me and Hyrule is trying to find out what happened but they sent me back to get you or Wild and-”

Warriors looked at him with an amused expression, slightly worried by Four’s words but he still smiled sardonically. “You talked too fast.”

Time began walking towards the way Four came from. “Shut up.”

{+}{+}{+}

It was freezing.

But this was so fun!

But it was fucking freezing.

But he was having the best time of his life too!!

The weather was nice, it was a sunny day and everything was so bright the same way the sea sparkled so intensely at midday to the point that it almost left him blind. Twilight threw another snowball to him, but Wind dodged at last second and it ended hitting Legend, who squawked indignantly before smirking evilly, trying to hunt the older blond. He was trembling because of the cold and the adrenaline. Wild hit him with a ball in the head and he hated the cold feeling in his scalp, but also made something ignite inside his chest as he chased his long-haired friend with the biggest amount of snow he could carry in a spherical shape.

“Come here you coward!” he shouted.

“Never!” Wild laughed.

Suddenly the ground disappeared from his feet, and he shrieked out loud when Twilight effortlessly tossed him into a pile of snow near them.

“Watch your back buddy!” he said.

Wind emerged from the snow with a frown he couldn’t keep because he simply was too happy to be mad at Twilight. “That’s cheating!” he said, giggling.

“All is fair in love and war.” Legend cheekily said, leaning with his arm on Twilight’s shoulder.

Wild smiled at Wind’s pout, and then barked a laugh when the kid threw a snowball straight at Legend’s face.

“Oh, you’re on!”

Twilight and Wild laughed far from the warzone while their friends wrestled rolling in dirt and snow. Twilight patted his protegé’s shoulder with a tender expression on his face.

“This was a good idea cub, I’m proud.”

Wild pretended those words didn’t warm his chest in a way that almost made him cry, and smiled confidently to his mentor. Twilight didn’t compliment his decisions (in general) very often, as they mostly included explosions, fire and maybe the occasional infiltration to a monster camp while wearing a bokoblin’s makeshift head.

“He was feeling homesick.” he said, getting a surprised look from Twi. “He told me yesterday he missed his Zelda and his family, so I wanted to make a little distraction for him.”

Wind won their improvised wrestling competition and sat over Legend’s back with crossed arms and a bright grin, as the veteran rolled his eyes with a fake disinterested expression on his face.

“Who’s next?” he boasted.

Twilight raised his hand, and chuckled when he saw a flash of nervousness on the youngest’s face. “I can go easy on you if you want.”

“No! I’ll take you down fair and square.”

Wild was glad they were having a good time, and when they came back not even Sky being cursed by the old horned statue dampened his mood.

{+}{+}{+}

Here’s another birthday especial! A very rough idea but I wanted to post it since the las thing I posted about Wind was pure angst ;---; so my body demanded fluff. I hope you liked it!!!

#linked universe fic #linked universe #wind #twilight #wild #legend #time #the chain #happy birthday wind #lob this baby

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