I’m looking for some buddies to Role play with. Nothing dirty or anything, but I’m ok with a lot of things. Here are a few of the ships things I might be ok roleplaying in.
Imagine. Wicked AU Ridge is Glenda and Lal is Elphaba. And the entire show is spent with them avoiding the fact they're into each other and Ridge ends up telling stories about his best friend Lal, who secretly comes around and meets him in private
Note: This story came about from listening to this song. It was also written for Valentines Day last year. As a big note, as noted there are a lot of ships and characters and a lot of it may not make a lot of sense but these are headcannons and ships between me and my friends. Hope you enjoy
Lately I been, I been losing sleep
Dreaming about the things that we could be
But baby, I been, I been prayin’ hard
Said no more counting dollars
We’ll be counting stars
Yeah, we’ll be counting stars
Ridgephos
“I have work to do, friend…”
Ridgedog rolled his eyes at the spaceman who was leaning on a table, looking over a large sheet of paper he assumed was a blueprint for the next base he planned to make when he had the chance. “And you’ve told me that how many times Xeph and I’m still not dropping it?”
The blue eyed man glared over his shoulder with a sigh. “Ridge…”
“Don’t go giving me that story about how it’s been so long since you’ve been home that you don’t celebrate it anymore. I can ask Zoey and she’ll tell me otherwise.” Ridge smirked seeing the blush appear on the others cheeks. He started to sputter and he held a hand up. “Now now, I know you two didn’t do anything but let me have a chance to show you something.”
Xephos’s eyes narrowed before glancing at the sheet on the table. He gave a short nod before Ridge pulled him close, making him squeak and the two disappeared with a pop as the Reaper laughed.
I see this life
Like a swinging vine
Swing my heart across the line
In my face is flashing signs
Seek it out and ye shall find
Ridgecoffee
Lalna was working on a small box that he had found in one of his chests. Kim had taken his screwdriver not too long ago, telling him if he wanted to figure it out that he’d have to do it the old fashion way. He flipped the box over a few times before groaning and shoving it away from him. He stood, stretching from the sitting position he didn’t realize he’d been in for so long.
“Hey puppy.” A voice cooed behind him and a pair of arms wrapped around him, making him chuckle. He glanced over to see the smirking Reaper resting his chin on his shoulder. “Can’t figure out the box?”
“Not yet Ridgey…” Lalna sighed. “Working on it.” He paused, frowning slightly. “What are you doing here?”
“Had a bit of a surprise for you.” Ridgedog’s smirk grew as he pulled Lalna closer to him, making the labcoated man squeak. He chuckled. “Oh come on, you trust me right Lalna?”
“Of course.” Lalna smirked back at him. “You know I’m curious.”
Ridge hummed slightly, pulling his coat around the both of them. “Come on pup. I think you’ll enjoy this.”
With a soft pop, the two disappeared from the room.
Old, but I’m not that old
Young, but I’m not that bold
And I don’t think the world is sold
I’m just doing what we’re told
Zoesounds
The redhead was laying on the bed, tapping her foot to unheard music. On the other side of the room the ravenette was flipping through a book while tapping at an item on her wrist. The two were in a comforting quiet.
Zoey sat up quickly, smiling wide. “Bubblegum!”
Nano jumped, nearly dropping the book she had. She chuckled, turning to her. “Yes?”
Zoey bounced on the bed excitedly. “We should go!”
The reaper gave a small smile, getting up and walking to her. “My princess…you want to?” The redhead nodded, still smiling wide. She chuckled. “Well I can’t say no to that face, can I?”
Zoey jumped off the bed, throwing her arms around her, making Nano giggle. “Yay! Oh yes! It’s going to be so much fun!
Nano chuckled, walking backward to help Zoey off the bed. “Come on my little Mushroom. Let’s go.”
Zoey nodded, pulling her through the door excitedly.
I feel something so right
By doing the wrong thing
And I feel something so wrong
By doing the right thing
I couldn’t lie, couldn’t lie, couldn’t lie
Everything that kills me makes me feel alive
Rythna
“Scientist.”
“Mage…”
Rythian’s brow furrowed, looking over to the quiet scientist. He propped himself up and gave a small smile. “Scientist?”
“I’m…just thinking…” Lalna said glancing back at him with a soft smile.
“You want to go, don’t you?” Rythian asked, scratching at his chin.
Lalna rubbed his arm before giving a small shrug. “Only…only if you want to Ryth-.”
“Let’s do it.” The mage sat up, making Lalna jump. The man’s green eyes looked at him curiously. Rythian put a hand to his face speaking quietly at first. “Nether, I can’t believe I’m doing this but, let’s do it.” Lalna jumped to his feet excitedly, making Rythian chuckle. The scientist looked him over with a curious expression. Rythian grabbed his mask, giving him a curious look. “What?”
Lalna chuckled. “Are you feeling alright Ryth?”
The mage stopped, halfway through putting his mask on. “Yes?”
“I'm…just making sure.” Rythian’s eyes narrowed, making Lalna laugh. “I’m just…you seem more excited than I am about this…”
“Fair enough.” Rythian shrugged as the blonde’s smile grew, and finished putting on his mask before opening the door. “You’re excited about going so why not.” He held an arm out, motioning to the door. “Scientist.”
Lalna smiled, hurrying to him. “Oh don’t get impatient mage.”
Lately I been, I been losing sleep
Dreaming about the things that we could be
But baby, I been, I been prayin’ hard
Said no more counting dollars
We’ll be counting stars
Littlena
“Come on little one.” Martyn was stood watching a small plant that was potted on the table in front of him. The small sprout had started to show above the dirt. He smiled turning to the man that was sitting at the desk working on a camera he’d given him a while back. “Lalna?”
The scientist wasn’t paying attention, making the tree spirit chuckle. He walked over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. Lalna looked up from the camera, his screwdriver still attached to one of the corners. “Hey Martyn!”
Martyn shook his head. “You’ve been working on that thing for hours Lalna…”
“I know but I wanted to make sure it was working for tonight.” Lalna looked back to the camera working with the camera few more moments before Martyn reached over his shoulder pulling it out from in front of him. “H-Hey!”
“You never did say where we were going.” The spirit said with a small smile, giving him the camera again.
“To be honest, flower, I don’t entirely know myself. Just the word of mouth has been to meet up somewhere for a special treat.” Lalna flipped the camera over, checking the viewing screen before smiling wide. “Well, suppose now’s as good a time as any.”
He pushed from the table, making Martyn step back with a curious expression. Lalna walked past Martyn a bit, stopping and holding a hand out. Martyn shook his head with a smile. “We’re heading out?”
Lalna nodded and Martyn hurried to him. The two hurried out the door.
Lately I been, I been losing sleep
Dreaming about the things that we could be
But baby, I been, I been prayin’ hard
Said no more counting dollars
We’ll be, we’ll be counting stars
Nanomadia
A loud bang from the TV the two girls sat before, making them scream loudly and cling to each other. After a moment the two of them started to laugh and the blonde lowered the owl hat she was holding in front of her face. She looked to the hooded girl next to her with a wide smile. “There’s the laugh I miss!”
“Still hurts Lom…” The voice was quiet and somewhat strained, making Lomadia’s smile soften.
“I know Kim…just take it easy.” She looked back to the screen, the image frozen on the bloodied face of the monster in the move. She shook her head with a sigh. “You know we are such scrubs.”
Kim gave a small chuckle. “I know…we called that he was going to jump out and we still jumped!”
Lomadia shook her head, falling back to the back of the couch. She looked to the hooded figure, before going to put her arm over the other’s shoulder. Kim inched away with a small sorry making the blonde sigh. “Kim, listen -.”
“I told you it’s gotten worse Lom…” The smaller girl’s voice was pained. “I…don’t want you to get infected…please.”
Lomadia frowned. “And now you’re being such a damn scrub yourself Kim!” The smaller girl squeaked, looking up quickly which made the hood fall. A purple of different shades had spread, covering her face. One eye was still the soft gold while the other had turned a dark brown – near black. She flinched at the brighter light which Lomadia quickly shut off for her sake. “I told you I’d stay by you didn’t I?”
“Well yes but -.” Kim sighed, pulling the hood back.
“And I’m going to do that.” Lomadia stood up to find the pair of gloves that had been given to her by Ridgedog not too long ago for this situation and put them on, quickly reaching a now gloved hand out to the girl on the couch. Kim gave her a confused look from below the hood. Lomadia rolled her eyes. “I’m taking you somewhere. Don’t make me call Ridge to teleport you. I know you don’t want that.”
Kim gave a tiny smile before taking Lomadia’s hand and the two left the room quietly, but the happy energies could be felt between them.
I feel the love
And I feel it burn
Down this river every turn
Hope is our four letter word
Make that money
Watch it burn
Sjips
The door to the room crashed open, making the man lying on the bed spring off with a loud yelp. The grey skinned man in the door gave a laugh before moving into the room. Sjin blinked his eyes wide.
“S-Sipsy? What are you doing? Why did you scare me like -.”
“Shut up you bastard. Let’s go.”
“G-Go?” Sjin blinked quickly, finally standing where he had fallen.
The grey man walked over to him, throwing an arm over his shoulders. “Remember our mantra, you bastard! Big Money, Big Women, Big –.”
“Big Fun.” Sjin finished with a smile. “Of course that’s the Sipsco mantra, Sipsy!”
“Well, we’ve made the big bucks and we don’t really need the big women.” Sips smirked at him, leading him toward the door. “So the next thing is going to be the Big Fun, wouldn’t you say so?”
“W-Well sure but -.”
“Not butt’s but your butt, ding dong.” Sips made it to the door with the farmer and pushed him through. Sjin squeaked from the quick movement, turning to his grey skinned partner. He opened his mouth and Sips smiled wide. “Come on you bastard! You’re going to love it.”
Sjin blinked, his surprised expression softened and he nodded as his boss moved further ahead. “R-Right Sipsy.”
Old, but I’m not that old
Young, but I’m not that bold
And I don’t think the world is sold
I’m just doing what we’re told
Zoethian
A grew wolf lay in the corner of the room, his ears perked up as the white robed mage walked into the room carrying a food bowl. The wolf wagged his tail as the man put the bowl of food down. “There you go Ghost Jr.” He chuckled as the wolf licked his fingertips before moving to the food bowl.
“You’re as good with Ghost Jr as I am with the Mooshrooms Enderboy.” Rythian chuckled as Zoey walked over to him, putting an arm over his shoulder. “Where have you been all day anyways?”
“Had to have a chat with Lalna…” He sighed. “He mentioned something was happening tonight and was wondering if we’re going.”
The redhead smiled. “Well are we?”
Rythian blinked looking at her quickly. “Well…I mean -.” The mage looked at her as she giggled, and moved over to the desk and sitting on the top of it. She smiled at him, swinging her legs slightly. His eyes softened and he chuckled. “Well…I suppose we could. Did you have anything planned, princess?”
Zoey smiled wide, hopping off the desk again. “Nope!”
Rythian chuckled, smiling behind his mask. His eyes widened as the redhead rushed forward and grabbed his hands, tugging him toward the door. She was talking quickly, mentioning that she had Fishton with her and questioning about who might be there and after a moment, they were out the door.
And I feel something so wrong
By doing the right thing
I couldn’t lie, couldn’t lie, couldn’t lie
Everything that drowns me makes me wanna fly
Ridgian
Rythian was sitting at his desk, a couple books open in front of him. He looked between them, taking notes on a scroll that was already nearly halfway full of his scribbles. He rubbed his eyes, leaning back in his chair and groaned when he felt his back pop. He reached toward his chest, closing his eyes, feeling the pearl above his heart.
“Hi Rythian.” The mage jumped, nearly falling out of his chair. The voice who had startled him started to chuckle. Rythian sighed, straightening up and glaring at the coated man that was now standing next to him and lifting one of the books on the table. “I see you’re working on something…” The man smirked, glancing at him from the corner of his eye, which seemed to have a playful twinkle to it. “Again.”
“Yes, I am.” Rythian reached up and grabbed the paper from the Reaper’s hand, making the other man move behind him. His eyes narrowed, trying to watch him while still working on the scroll.
“Well, what'cha working on?” Ridge leaned over his shoulder, the smirk still wide on his face.
Rythian closed his eyes, pausing in his writing with a sigh. “A spell.”
“What kind of -.”
“Ridgedog…would you mind if I asked why you’re here?” Rythian remained calm, hoping that the Reaper had a good answer for interrupting his –
“Glad you asked Rythian!” The Reaper spun Rythian’s chair around, making the mage grip the seat with wide eyes. Ridge was leaning forward with a playful expression. “There’s a place I want to take you to and it’s going to be a blast.”
“Ridge I have -.” Rythian tried to start.
“Work I know, but it’ll just be an evening and once it’s over – if you’re not having a good time, I’ll bring you right back.” Ridge tilted his head. “Deal?”
Rythian’s eyes narrowed, watching the Reaper’s unchanging expression. He turned his head slightly. “Fi-.”
“Great!” Ridge pulled him to his feet and smiled wide. “Off we go then!”
“Ridge! Wait! You can’t just -.” A snap of the fingers later and a small pop, the two of them disappeared.
Lately I been, I been losing sleep
Dreaming about the things that we could be
But baby, I been, I been prayin’ hard
Said no more counting dollars
We’ll be counting stars
Parvill
The room was quiet, two people on opposite sides. One, a blonde, sat in a chair, reading a boring looking book. The cover read something about business. He sighed, flipping through the page as a man in a black shirt popped up behind him. The dark haired man opened his mouth, taking in a breath and the blonde held his hand up making him stop.
“Parvis. Speak softly and do not yell in my ear.” He glanced up, his green eyes flashing slightly.
The darker haired man pouted, putting his chin on the back of the chair he was on. He whined. “But Will…”
“You can speak, just don’t shout.” Will said, shaking his head. He went back to reading his book.
Parv thought a moment before putting his hands under his chin, still resting it on the back of the chair. “Strifey…I finished reading up on my spell and was wondering if we could go to a placey-place.”
Will stiffened, closing the book. He closed his eyes with a sigh, rubbing his eyes. “Parvis, what did I say about speaking like that.”
The band member looked up a moment, thinking. “That it makes me seem like a child. That if I’m wanting to be a blood mage that I need to act more like an adult.” He tilted his head. “That about right?”
Will’s lip twitched as he looked over his shoulder to look at him. “You missed one bullet point there.” He put the book on the table nearby and turned to face him better. His voice had developed a slight growl. “That I can never seem to say no to that pesky voice of yours…”
Parv’s eyes lit up. “Then that’s a yes?”
Will sighed. “I suppose it – WAH!”
The other man had grabbed him, practically pulling him over the chair and toward the door. Will was attempting to remove his arm from his grasp but failed as they got closer. Parv was going on about where they could go and stopped at the door, smiling wide. “This way Strifey-kins! Let’s go!”
Will rubbed his eyes with his free hand but followed – not that he had much of a choice – Parvis out the door.
Lately I been, I been losing sleep
Dreaming about the things that we could be
But baby, I been, I been prayin’ hard
Said no more counting dollars
We’ll be, we’ll be counting stars
Ridgesounds
“Voxel…” The reaper looked up from the book he was reading, seeing the ravenette in the doorway. She smiled at him, moving closer to him. “Are you ready to go?”
The reaper pulled the glasses off his nose with a smile, waving his hand making it disappear. He nodded to her and smirked. “I’m ready Kimmy. Have you spoken to the others?”
She nodded. “Everything should be in place and the last minute touches are being dealt with.”
The two reapers hugged before the maroon coated man held her at arm’s length with a smile. He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. “Let’s go Kimmy. I don’t think they’ll start without us but I’d love to get a good seat.”
Kim giggled, seeing the smirk that had crept along his face. She shook her head, grabbing him by the arm, making his smile grow. “Let’s get to it then Mister.”
The taller pulled her into a hug, giving her another kiss before smirking. He held a hand out, readying to snap his fingers. “On three. One…two -.”
“Voxel.” Her own smile had grown into a small smirk. She held a hand out, mimicking his own. “I’d like to do it this time. I’m a bit rusty.”
The coated man smiled, nodding as he lowered his hand. The girl snapped her fingers and the two of them disappeared from the room.
Take that money
Watch it burn
Sink in the river
The lessons I learned
Everything that kills me makes me feel alive
Rythsounds
The door burst open, Kim’s eyes wide with excitement. “Shadow! Shadow!”
The mage sitting at the table jumped, nearly tossing the book he had borrowed from a library. He chuckled, putting the book down before looking to her. “Yes Kim?”
“Shadow I just heard from the others that there’s this thing tonight and we should go!” She said nearly bouncing to him. “Lalna said he was taking –.”
“Slow down Kim.” He chuckled, pulling her into a hug and smiled at her. “Now where are we going?”
Kim took a breath, relaxing in his hug. “Well…I don’t really know…it’s been set up for everyone and we were all told to meet there…” She gave a small smile looking up to him. “Lalna’s bringing his camera for his scrapbook.”
Rythian blinked, thinking a moment before kissing her forehead. “Alright Kim we can go. You said everyone’s going to be there?” He gave her a curious look.“
“Well…at least I’m guessing so…when I came to get you I was seeing a bunch of people coming and going places so I think they were getting ready for it.” Kim rubbed her arm, smiling sheepishly. “So…are we still going?”
Rythian nodded, pulling her close. He gave another chuckle before moving to get the mask he had nearly forgotten on the table. “We’re still going.” He chuckled as Kim wiggled out from his hold and hurried toward the door. He paused, tying the mask. “Kim, you know where we’re going right?” She didn’t answer as she hopped excitedly in the door. “Kim?”
“Hmm?” The black haired girl smiled. “O-Oh, yeah! Definitely know where we’re going!”
Rythian shook his head following the excited girl out the door.
Lately I been, I been losing sleep
Dreaming about the things that we could be
But baby, I been, I been prayin’ hard
Said no more counting dollars
We’ll be, we’ll be counting stars
A large hill overlooked a lake below that had many people sitting along the incline. The water’s surface was reflecting the starry sky above. The older children were playing at the water’s edge, giggling and throwing water at each other. There were younger but they were staying with their respective parents – who were scattered around the hill. A set of blonde twins were sitting some distance away from the larger group of people – laughing at something the other said while making extreme movements with their hands. Gingers, blondes, brunettes, there were many that were along the incline of the hill – many of which were throwing smiles and similar gestures to their own twins. Among the twins, sitting somewhat further than the many doubles, were others who they shared a small wave to many of the others but stayed to their own groups.
At the top of the hill, sat four people – two blondes, a brunette and a red head – watching the ones that were mingling below. The brunette looked to the blonde below her. “I…guess that Void Room came in handy, huh?”
The blonde giggled. “You said Discord made it?”
“Yeah….don’t even get me started…” She shook her head. “Not that I mind since we can use it for something nice like this for all of us.”
The redhead near them smiled. “You can say that again.”
“We just need to make sure it doesn’t use too much energy if we do use it.” The other blonde said with a small smile.
“Of course.” The brunette looked over the hill. “The boys never did say what was going to happen…”
“Just told us all to be here for it.” The redhead moved closer to the blonde and put her head on her shoulder. “Everyone seems excited for it at least.”
Before anyone could say another word, the world seemed to dim again around them and a small light began on the horizon. A moment later it exploded into streams of light – at first white streams which soon changed to different colors of reds, blues, yellows and greens. The children by the water squealed in delight as they ran to their parents. More lights began to erupt from the flame on the horizon. It continued on until there seemed to be a flowing rainbow of colors above them. Lights shifting and changing as they moved across the sky, spots of the dark sky would show through some of the thinner areas – the shining stars seemed to make the colors twinkle more than when they first flew across the sky.
And within moments – it was over. The noise from the groups below had died down to quiet whispers as the streams that had shimmered across the sky seemed to melt into the darkness above.
The four girls smiled to their respective partners before smiling to each other. The held a hand out, and the four of them put their hands on top of each other. The gave a small cheer before they began to giggle, hugging each other before separating.
The brunette fixed the glasses that were falling down her nose, with an annoyed cross-eyed look before smiling. “We may not be able to do this often but we should see about doing it again.”
“I’ll have another show for you when the time comes!” A voice above them made them look up. The long creature of many animals smiled wide at them before curling up and disappearing with some confetti.
“Of course he will.” The blonde with longer hair shook her head.
“That’s Discord for you…” The blonde nearest the brunette shook her head.
The four shared another look before falling back to the hill with laughter. The rest of the group below them began to grow louder, their discussions mingled together again as the children gave excited calls to the ones across the hill and they all quickly made their way to the water’s edge – some more sheepishly than the others.
“Happy Valentine’s Day!” The crowd said loudly, making the area erupt in light laughter.
Take that money
Watch it burn
Sink in the river
The lessons I learned
Honestly, I had regretted going on this assignment. Buisness men always seemed to be so self centered and it just made me wish none of them ever existed. Not that isn’t my thoughts on all mortals, but of course I had to go. Anyway, here is the story.
I appeared in his office, arms crossed. He sat there with his legs propped on the desk, head down chewing on a pen.
“What do you want?” He asked, head still down.
“Ridgedog Vox?” I asked, just to assure myself.
“Yes? Why else would I be here?” He groans, hitting the pen on the side of his face.
“Perfect, guess I should get down to buisness. I’m here for your soul.” I told him, getting slightly irritated. My tail was getting the point past better than my face.
“What are you some sort of lawyer-” He looked up at me wide eyed, “You know, for a lawyer you’re pretty hot.” I groaned, “Flattery will not get you anywhere with me Ridgedog.”
“Really? I don’t see this as flattery. I see it as having a conversation with a really hot guy.” He told me, a grin plastered onto his face. I sighed rubbing my temples, “All of you mortals are so irritating!”
“Well,” He stood and walked over to me, “I’m obviously bothering you, so why don’t I get out of your hair now?” I raised an eyebrow, “What are you offering?”
“If I really fuck up, then you can come take me, no questions asked. I’m sure you’ve got many more people to deal with besides me so,” He hold out his hand, “how about it?” I thought about it for a second, I know this guy like the back of my hand. He couldn’t last too long without fucking up. I took his hand, “Deal.” He shook my hand, “Pleasure doing buisness with you.” I frowned and vanished, returning to my home.
I kept a close watch on him for a week, I was feeling something in my mind that wanted to see him again. But I couldn’t see him as myself or he would know…I had an idea. I stood and started walking towards a window. As I walked my figure changed to that of a woman, I was wearing shorts and low cut shirt. He’d notice me now. I vanished and reappeared in his office.
He sat there eyes down, “How can I help you?” I smiled and walked over to him, taking his chin in my hand, “I think you can,” I leaned down pressed his head into my chest, causing him to push me off saying, “Can you please keep your chest off of me.” I was done hiding. I turned back to myself in my red suit standing there arms crossed. He looked up at me and grinned, “Now /you/ I would love to help.” I glared down at him, “Why won’t you fuck up? It’s so simple!” He grinned, “Now why do you want me to fuck up? It’s not like you want anyone else in hell do you? I’m sure that lonely existance of yours is just magnificent.”
“I wouldn’t say it’s magnificent.” I grumbled; he stood up and walked over to me, grabbing my chin, “Then why are you so determined to get me down there?” He asked with a queasy grin, I only looked at him with distaste, “It’s my /job/ if you haven’t realized.”
“Oh no I know, but I’m sure you’d love another deal wouldn’t you? It seems to me you do enjoy those don’t you?” He let his hand trail down to my neck, his voice filled with promise.
“And what would this /deal/ be?” I asked, preparing to pull away but he pulled me down to him, “That you love me.” I looked at him as if he were crazy, “Why would I love an idiotic mortal like you? You’re merely a /speck/ if importance to me.” I expected this to discourage him, yet it did the exact opposite, “So you’re saying I’m important to you?”
“Merely a speck-” He stopped me, “But that’s still on a scale of importance, but,” He moved his hand to my chest, causing an odd feeling in my chest as if someone were grabbing my heart and trying to stop it from beating…if it did of course, my face red hot, “I’m sure you say that to every mortal you come across don’t you?” He was grinning as if he’d over come me.
“The only reason you’re important is it’s my job to collect your soul and take it for myself!” I was infuriated but that feeling in my chest wasn’t leaving.
“Then you’ll take my deal? Let me try to prove you love me, if you don’t I’ll willingly go with you, but if you do love me I’m allowed to live as long as I can before dying of natural causes.” He held out his hand to me, “Deal?” I sighed knowing I’d have no choice I shook his hand. He grinned wider and pulled me into a kiss, honestly I couldn’t say I didn’t like it, it did feel nice. So I kissed him back, wrapping my arms around the shorter man’s neck. Eventually he pushed me into a chair, still kissing me. It was a weird feeling kissing him, I don’t know why but it just feels so…comforting, a feeling, to me, old as time. He pulls back, grinning, “It seems you’re /more/ than comfortable with this,” He nuzzled into my cheek, “so do you love me?” I grumbled, “I may /like/ you…” He quckly stood up grinning, “I /knew/ it! I’m so perfect even a /god/ could love me!” I sneered at this remark, “When did the word love come out of my mouth?” He turned looking confused, “B-but you said-”
“That I /like/ you, not that I love you, seems your deal is void. Now let’s go I’m bored with you.” I groaned, standing up.
“It isn’t over until I give up or you tell me you love me!” He wined. I sighed trying to think of a way out of this deal, suddenly an idea came to me and I grinned, “Fine, but this time, I get to choose where you attempt this, got it?” He nodded excitedly, unknowing of the fear he was about to see.
I teleported him to a pitch black room that reeked of rotting flesh.
“W-where are we?” His voice was shaky as he clung to me.
“Oh? Just a little place for my demons.” I was sure that he would quit as soon as something grabbed him but he only held me tighter and started crying, “P-please! J-just say it and take me back! Please!” He begged, terrified, why such a meaningless emotion I’ll never know, but something just ran though my chest like a bullet. Should I really torture this man to the point of insanity because I don’t think I love him? I sighed and brought up the lights in a grand ballroom. I tilted his head up and wiped his tears, “I-I may l-love you…I don’t know for sure though….” He smiled up at me and hugged me tightly, his face burried in my chest. I sent him back to his office and went back to hell myself, alone with these new feelings. I swore that I wouldn’t bother the man again until he died, and I upheld that.
While sitting in my office bored out of my mind someone new dropped in, I didn’t expect much so I kept my eyes closed, “Welcome to hell, I stopped torturing millenea ago so don’t ask, why the hell are you here?”
“Aw? No torture? Even for little old me?” I perked up and looked at him, “Well Hello there, and what brought you down to me on this fine firey evening?”
“A car…” I burst into laughter, “I could have easily taken your soul, no pain, and you- YOU GET HIT BY A CAR!” I was laughing so hard I started crying! I couldn’t breath, “Yes I got hit by a car, sue me.” He mocked.
“Oh come on, I thought I was a hot lawyer?” He glared at me as I could only snicker.
SO I WAS WRITING LAST NIGHT AND I WROTE THIS LINE FROM RIDGE TO LALNA
"Why would you even start to believe I never loved you? I loved actually having someone who seemed like they saw past my power and actually saw a heart, something that you did lal."
(third in the lifelines series. hahaha i'm so ashamed no one look at me oh god. again, warnings for cannibalism, injury, all manner of vague creepy shit, and lalna being distinctly unbalanced. and ridgedog. tbh, what else is new.)
[ao3]
-
“I saw what you did to Xephos.”
Ridgedog whirls around at the voice, draws his sword in a too-familiar motion – and then relaxes when he realises it’s just Lalna, perched atop a crafting table and swinging his feet like a small child. The motion makes an irritatingly random pattern of thumps, and Ridge scowls as he sheathes his sword again. “Stop that,” he says, ignoring the way Lalna pouts at him as he stills his feet. “What are you even doing up?”
“What are you doing going through our chests at past midnight?” retorts Lalna, before ducking his head a little. He looks almost embarrassed. “I, uh. Don’t have a bed.”
Rather than question why, after nearly a year here they still don’t have a bed – or why, if he lacks a bed, he doesn’t build one or find somewhere else to sleep – Ridgedog simply nods. “If you must know, I’m checking no one has any red matter hidden away in storage somewhere,” he says, slowly shutting the chest and listening to the click as it locks again. “After Sips and Sjin’s little… incident, I’m rather eager to make sure nothing like that happens ever again.”
There’s a note of strain in his voice, and Lalna remembers the last time he heard Ridgedog sound like that. Remembers I can’t stay connected long enough to fix this. Remembers Xephos’ eyes glowing unnaturally bright (even for him) and the way he hadn’t been able to stop shaking afterwards as his eyes had dimmed. Like someone coming down from a high.
He wonders, briefly, how much it took out of Ridgedog to fix the wormhole.
“Fair enough. You won’t find any red matter here. Lots of uranium, though, so watch out for that. Radiation poisoning isn’t fun.” Lalna grins brightly and Ridge looks at him, properly looks at him this time.
He looks… ill is probably the best word, hair visibly greasy despite being scraped back into a straggling ponytail, dark bags under his eyes and a fresh, shiny burn streaking a welt down one cheek.
Lalna’s always looked a little ill, the whole mentally-unbalanced-mad-scientist thing not exactly being conducive to a particularly healthy glow, but this is different.
There’s a faint smell of infection in the air. When Ridgedog glances down at the power glove that covers Lalna’s right arm up the elbow, the metal looks fused to the skin there, white scars spiderwebbing up from the join.
“I made the most of an industrial accident,” says Lalna when he notices the staring, shrugging carelessly. “This hand’s much more useful than the last one.” He flexes the spindly metal fingers of it with a slight whirring noise, grins delightedly. “I’ve got a built-in plasma canon now!”
It takes a special kind of madness to be excited about losing an arm on the basis you can replace it with dangerous weaponry and, judging by the grin on his face, Lalna has it in spades. “Anyway, like I said. I saw what you did to Xephos. With the heart thing.
A little thrown by the sudden topic change, it takes Ridgedog a moment to gather his thoughts enough to reply.
“What are you going to do about it?” he asks eventually, casually, leaning against the now-closed chest and raising one eyebrow. “Tell the others? Tell the police? Try and kill me? I can guarantee that last one won’t end well.”
Lalna giggles.
It isn’t exactly the reaction Ridge was expecting. For a second all he can do is stare at the way Lalna’s shoulders hunch, at the way he curls in on himself as he laughs. “No, no! Why would I do that?” he asks, looking genuinely confused, and Ridgedog finds himself wondering if he perhaps somehow underestimated the depths of Lalna’s insanity. “No. I was-” He pauses for a second, looking suddenly almost shy. “I was wondering if you could do it to me.”
Ridge’s mouth doesn’t quite drop open, but it’s a near thing.
“…Why?” he asks, tentatively, as Lalna’s a loaded weapon, a bomb ready to go off – something on a hairpin trigger that might explode at the slightest provocation.
Lalna shrugs. “For science?” he says, grinning and licking his lips a little anxiously. “I’m curious. It looked- it looked pretty cool.”
“I stuck a hand inside someone’s chest, ripped out their heart, and ate it, and you think it looked pretty cool?”
Ridge wonders wildly, for a second, if he’s found his soulmate – wonders how he’d never noticed, before, just how deep Lalna’s crazy ran.
Instead of disbelief, Lalna takes his words as hesitancy. “C’mon,” he whines, kicking his feet again and scratching at the thin scraggle of beard on his chin with his mechanical hand, wincing a little as he jars the join between metal and skin. “You’ve got to be hungry after dealing with the wormhole. I’m a willing sacrifice. Is that what it is? A sacrifice to you? Are you a god?”
There’s something in Lalna’s eyes that makes Ridge feel a little like he’s being visually dissected – or about to be strapped down and actually dissected.
“Yes,” he says, slowly, a little cautiously. “It’s a sacrifice.” His smile widens, and he blows an absent breath up towards his forehead when his curl dislodges and ends up hanging over one eye. He very carefully doesn’t answer the second question.
Inhaling sharply, Lalna’s face splits into a delighted grin. “Does that mean you’ll do it?” he asks, clutches the edge of the crafting table he’s perched on hard enough that his metal hand turns a section of it to splinters. “Oops. Still uh. Working out a few of the kinks.” It’s not entirely reassuring, or exactly the sign of a sane mind.
That doesn’t matter, really, though – Ridge’s fairly sure sanity is overrated.
“Yes,” he says, closing the distance between them in three long steps, coat flaring sharply behind him. He doesn’t miss the way Lalna tenses at his sudden proximity, licks his lips as Ridgedog stares at him, head cocked, trying to decide how best to proceed.
He decides, eventually; puts a hand on Lalna’s chest over his heart, and another against the side of his face. His thumb rests flat against Lalna’s temple, fingers pressed under the solid line of his jaw so he can feel the rabbit beat of his heart. Lalna watches him the whole time, swallowing hard, a faint flush colouring his cheeks – although it’s hard to tell whether it’s one of embarrassment or fever, considering the less-than-healthy state the scientist seems to be in.
Another breathy, anxious giggle, Lalna’s pupils dilated wide enough that his iris is little more than a thin strip around them, and Ridge is beginning to think that science isn’t exactly the whole reason Lalna wants this.
“I swear, if you start getting off on this, I’m going to be so disturbed,” mutters Ridge, winces when Lalna just giggles again.
“Too late,” he says, grinning, and Ridgedog groans quietly, hopes he’s joking and deliberately doesn’t look down.
Instead of even bothering to respond to that, he presses his hand a little more firmly over Lalna’s chest, digs his fingers further into the soft flesh under Lalna’s jaw and over his temple until red half-crescents appear as he breaks through the skin. “Lalna,” he says, calmly, anchoring the power he needs to keep Lalna alive and conscious in the blood against his fingertips. “I need something. Will you give it to me?”
“You sound like you’re trying to seduce me,” says Lalna, still giggling, and Ridgedog growls with frustration. He sends a shock of power through his points of contact with Lalna’s skin until the scientist’s laughter turns high and breathy with pain.
“Yes!” the scientist gasps, still grinning, head tipped back against the wall. “Yes, yes, I’ll give it to you.”
“Good,” hisses Ridgedog, and shoves his hand into Lalna’s chest.
The crack of ribs breaking beneath the pressure of it makes Lalna wince, involuntarily, the wet sound of tearing skin and flesh as blood bubbles up around the intrusion triggering some kind of primal fear instinct that even he can’t quite ignore. He doesn’t manage words, but exhales shakily, worries his lip between his teeth until it splits wide and bloody beneath the pressure.
It takes him a second to realise what is so weird about the whole thing.
“Why doesn’t it hurt?” Lalna sounds vaguely offended by that, for some reason, catching Ridge’s wrist to prevent him from pulling his hand out – symbolic, considering Ridgedog could overpower him without a thought. He prods at the ragged edges of skin around the newly created hole in his chest, wrinkles his nose at the blood that ends up coating his fingers and rubs it off on his lab coat with a careless gesture.
Sighing, Ridgedog indulges Lalna’s curiosity, keeping his hand still and curled around the heart in its grasp. It’s still attached, beating frantically against the stress and the strange signals that Lalna’s body must be struggling to process, working harder and harder as the blood empties slowly from his body. He can feel it fluttering against his palm. “I’m keeping it from you,” he says. “I mean, you said you wanted to be conscious for this, so…”
“I want to feel it!” says Lalna, instantly, his voice edged in a whine and his lower lip stuck out in a bloodied pout. He kicks his feet against the crafting table, looks for all the world like a small child having a temper tantrum – over the fact that he can’t feel pain, of all things.
Ridgedog knows there are several good reasons that he shouldn’t indulge Lalna’s demands, but in the face of the continued irritation that is his constant whining, he can’t actually remember any of them.
Perhaps the pain will shut him up.
He can pinpoint the exact second sensation returns to Lalna in a tidal wave by the way his pupils dilate and his mouth drops open in something that might have been a scream, had he managed to find any air to put behind it.
“Ah, ah, ah- fuck- fuck!” His nails, chewed blunt and ragged, skid off of Ridgedog’s skin as he claws at it, fingers becoming slippery from how bloodsoaked Ridge’s forearm is. His metal fingers don’t fare any better, don’t even leave scratch marks despite the filed-sharp ends of them.
“Fuck- fuck-” He doesn’t even have the breath to laugh, everything crushed and twisted inside of him to the point he can’t physically inhale, every inch of him lit up with a bright flame that he can’t seem to think past. His mouth runs on autopilot, wasting precious air with panicked swearing and gasping as Ridgedog laughs.
He takes the pain away again, snorting amusement as Lalna’s yelping trails off into wounded whimpers and short, hitching gasps, his eyes wet with unshed tears that he swipes away with an irritated gesture. “I told you so,” Ridge sing-songs, smirks at the way Lalna glares. “Can I move my hand yet? I’m hungry.”
“…That- that was incredible,” breathes Lalna, and there’s blood on his lips, dripping out the corner of his mouth as it slowly fills his lungs and is exhaled in a fine mist. “Oh my god.” He tries to laugh, manages a wet, bubbling noise and coughs up a mouthful of blood over his chin, choking on it. “Oh my god.”
Ridge sighs and rolls his eyes, pulls his hand out of Lalna’s chest and wrenches the heart with it. For a long second, Lalna convulses, hands tightening into fists and back bowing as his body struggles to deal with the sudden lack of a vital organ. It takes his body a moment to switch over, to rely entirely on Ridgedog’s power – there’s no pain, but there’s a sensation close to ice that curls through his veins, alien and alarming.
“I- I don’t need to breathe,” he manages eventually, voice thick with shock and an edge of delighted hysteria to it.
Ridgedog hums thoughtfully, nods, licks at Lalna’s heart in an experimental sort of way.
It tastes coppery, bitter, not as good as Xephos’ but still uniquely delicious and humming with power. “I’ve taken over for all your vital systems now,” he says, flexes his fingers against Lalna’s skin where they’re still pressed to his face. “Your body’s pretty much shut down.”
“Oooo.” Lalna grins, tries to suck in a breath of air on reflex and then twitches when it does nothing to ease the mild sensation of oxygen deprivation. He raises the hand still made of flesh, hesitantly touches his own shoulder, and then slowly slides towards the messy hole in the middle of his chest.
When he dips his fingers into it, blood thick and slowly congealing as it drips from severed arteries and veins, Ridge feels the shudder that runs through him from where his fingers are still pressed to Lalna’s face.
Lalna runs a fingers in a circle around the inside of it, hisses when he cuts himself on a ragged-edged fragment of rib. He tests the softness of one exposed lung with careful, methodical gestures, grins wide and bloody, delighted with the ability to explore the inside of his own chest.
The look of fascinated awe on his face is enough to make even Ridge feel uncomfortable. He’s not one hundred percent sure, but he thinks mortals are supposed to have enough of a sense of self-preservation to find this sort of thing horrifying rather than exciting.
Apparently, he thinks, as he watches Lalna hook a finger into the torn-open vessel of his aorta – left gaping and dripping a steady stream of blood by the removal of his heart – this one doesn’t.
“What do you do now?” says Lalna eventually, and looks up, reluctant. He removes his hand from his chest and wipes his fingers off on trousers already stained with oil and dyes and other, unidentifiable but unsanitary-looking, substances.
Ridgedog simply brings the heart to his mouth and tears a small chunk off the corner of it with perfectly straight, white teeth, groaning happily. He chews, swallows, and smiles wide to show teeth stained with blood, and enjoys the way Lalna flinches.
“That.” There’s a small strand of sinew caught in the gap of his teeth, and Lalna swallows hard when Ridge cleans it away with a small flick of his tongue.
“You… don’t even cook it?” he asks, and even to him his voice sounds very small. He visibly bristles when Ridgedog laughs, shaking his head as if Lalna’s something small and ignorant.
“I’d burn all the life out of it!” says Ridge, sounding almost offended. “No, no. That sounds gross, I wouldn’t cook it.”
He takes another bite out of the heart with a soft noise of pleasure, grins wider with bloody lips at the way Lalna flinches again. “Don’t tell me you’re getting squeamish now, Lalna?” he asks, amused that out of everything, it’s the cannibalism that upsets him. “Honestly.”
“I’m not squeamish!” Lalna sounds offended, forces himself to watch the next mouthful Ridge takes and realises it doesn’t actually turn his stomach as badly as he’d thought it would. It’s oddly fascinating, actually, watching what he knows is his heart be slowly consumed.
“Can I… try a bit?” he asks eventually, curious.
“No!” The word comes out as a snarl, and Ridgedog bears bloody teeth at him before he catches himself, pulls himself back into a semblance of control. “No. Mine.” The words are sulky, a darkly possessive edge to them that belies the childish front Ridge pulls up by default.
Lalna pouts. “But it’s my heart!” he points out, runs a finger around the shattered mess that is the hole in his chest, shivers at the sensation.
“Not any more.” Ridgedog takes another bite, bigger this time, and swallows it without chewing. Lalna’s eyes track the shape of it passing down his throat until it’s in his chest and out of sight. “You gave it to me, remember? I asked for it, and you said yes. So now it’s mine.”
He shrugs at the look of disappointment on Lalna’s face. “It wouldn’t do for you what it’s doing for me. You’re not-” He pauses, not struggling for words but deciding how much to give away. “You’re too mortal,” he says, instead, laughs at the offended look on Lalna’s face. “I can show you what it feels like, though.”
He doesn’t wait for an answer.
By the time Lalna comes back to himself, gasping, the ability to form words temporarily taken from him, Ridgedog has finished the heart. He’s licking the blood from his skin, one arm already clean, tongue working its way steadily around his crimson wrist. “Hello again. Welcome back.”
The light clears slowly from his eyes, dirty and trickling, and Lalna thinks he might understand what it feels like to be a butterfly pinned to a board.
He inhales sharply, chokes on his breath as he realises he needs to breathe, scrubs furiously at his face with shaky hands to try and force his brain back to functioning. It’s only when the dried blood on his hands starts to smear that he realises his cheeks are wet with tears
“H-holy-” he manages, swallows hard. “Holy crap.” His voice is shaking, along with the rest of him, and he barely notices that the hole in his chest has been healed over again and his clothes repaired, as if nothing had ever happened. “Is- is that what you did to Xephos?”
Xephos had been shaky for a week after the wormhole, flinching at shadows and snapping at everyone and wandering around like a ghost, gaunt and pale. The shadows underneath his eyes had been dark enough they looked black, the usual luminous blue of his irises dimmed. Lalna had assumed he was overreacting, worrying for no reason as per normal, but if that was what it had been like for him…
If he’d had that inside his head, had to deal with the wormhole while the entire world tried to tear his brain apart, Lalna’s surprised he’s not a gibbering wreck.
“It wasn’t quite as strong then.” Ridgedog shrugs. “Sacrifices are like…” He sighs dreamily. “I’m not really sure there’s an equivalent. They’re fantastic.” He slips his thumb into his mouth, sucks the last of the blood off his hands, smiles with a slightly distant expression. “Delicious.”
Lalna’s not quite sure how to respond to that. “Thank you? I think.” He’s never been called delicious because of his blood before – never been called delicious full stop.
Ridgedog laughs, stretches a little in an unsuccessful attempt to burn off some of the excess power biting at his skin to get out. It doesn’t work, and while Lalna tries to remember how his muscles work and how to stop trembling, Ridge tries to find a way to dissipate the worst of the fizzing, crawling energy.
He finds it in the faint smell of decay when Lalna runs a slightly more steady hand through his hair, and the cuff of his lab coat slides down to show metal joined to too-white skin.
“Do you… want me to heal your arm?” he offers, more curious about the answer than genuinely concerned – but Lalna helped him, offered up a more than willing sacrifice when he needed it, and it seems only fair to return the favour with something as minor as a healing.
No one can say that Ridge is not a loving god, doesn’t care for the mortals under his protection.
Sometimes, at least.
Lalna, instead of looking pleased, looks horrified. “No!” he says, clutching his mechanical hand to his chest and eyeing Ridgedog with a betrayed sort of air. “No, I love my arm. Why would I want to replace with a boring old human one again?”
“I meant the infection.” Ridgedog calmly tugs at his arm, ignores Lalna’s whining to pull it away from his chest and press fingers into the scar-marked flesh above the metal. He feels the softness of it, the unhealthy give of steady decay. “You do realise your arm’s rotting from the inside out, don’t you?”
“It is?” Lalna looks faintly surprised, but not particularly bothered; barely even flinching, though the contact must hurt. “Oh. I mean… it’ll probably be fine, won’t it?” He shrugs, grins. “The radiation poisoning will probably get me first – or it’ll get rid of the infection for me.” There’s a slightly deranged look in his eye, moreso than normal.
Ridgedog realises that although Lalna may be a mad scientist, he definitely is not a doctor.Instead of arguing, which he suspects will get him nowhere, he fixes the problem. It takes a second, barely a drop of power, and Lalna doesn’t even notice.
He might need more hearts in the future, after all, another sacrifice or two. Or a hundred. He’d rather have a willing volunteer for them, after all, considering how much sweeter it makes the blood taste.
“Probably,” he says, letting go of Lalna’s arm and trying not to laugh at the way the scientist clutches it to his chest again, pets the metal fingers gently like they’re some kind of timid animal. “Well, thank you for that, Lalna. That was certainly… enlightening.”
He’s not lying, not even being sarcastic. His new knowledge of exactly how deep Lalna’s madness runs, the exact nature of it, is useful. Very useful.
Lalna giggles. “Uh, you know. Any time! It was pretty fun, really.” He licks over the cut on his lip, the one injury Ridgedog hadn’t healed from the whole incident, giggles again. “Always happy to help.”
He watches as Ridgedog rolls his eyes and takes a step back, brushing his hands off on his coat with an oddly businesslike air. “Bye!” he says, knowing what’s about to happen, raising his human hand to wiggle his fingers in a vague farewell. “It’s been fun! Have to do it again sometime.”
Ridge laughs, blows him a kiss, and spins on his heel. He disappears in the space of a moment that makes Lalna’s eyes ache with the wrongness of it.
As soon as he’s gone, though, Lalna digs a hand into a pocket of his admittedly rather battered lab coat, and pulls out a journal. It’s only small, but it’s bound in a soft brown leather and filled with creamy, expensive-looking paper.
By the looks of it, Lalna cares for it better than he cares for himself. Compared to his clothes and general appearance, it’s practically pristine.
He flicks through it, past pages labelled Xephos and Honeydew filled with extensive notes in neat, if cramped handwriting. Past pages with Sips and Sjin and Kim, past pages with less information titled Zoey and Teep.
Past a page titled Rythian in shaky cursive, underlined several times, filled with a tiny and almost unreadable scrawl that spills over onto another page in its enthusiasm and sheer volume.
There’s notes on everyone, their physiology and biology and background, meticulous in the way only a scientist can be. Eventually, though, he finds what he’s looking for – Ridgedog, underlined just once, neat and unassuming in the upper left hand corner of a blank page. Carefully, resting the book on his knee and holding it still, he presses a pen dug from the recesses of a pocket to paper and begins to write.
-Consumes hearts to gain power. Requires consent – some form of sacrifice.
-Healing, resurrection, brain-things.
-Power transfer? (Ask Xephos)
-Susceptibility to Red Matter
After a brief pause for consideration, he adds a small mark between consumes and hearts, writes raw above them. Adds, in brackets, cooked does not work afterwards.
Admittedly, they’re not the most comprehensive notes in the world – but considering how limited his information is, they’ll have to do. After all, he’ll have more to add to them soon enough, if luck is on his side.
He has a few ideas involving Red Matter that he’d like to try.
Finished, he waits for the ink to dry before closing it, slipping it and the pen safely back into one lab coat pocket with a nervous half-laugh – more of a high exhale than anything else – and looks around.
He’s half-afraid that Ridge will be standing behind him; half-afraid he’ll feel a hand through his chest again without the pain being numbed, without the resurrection, for his audacity. There’s nothing with him in the room other than the machines, though, their low thrumming and thumping enough to calm the elevated beat of his newly-restored heart.
On the basis that no one disturbed him and Ridge, he’s fairly sure Xephos is finally asleep – an inevitability, given that he’s fairly sure his work-partner’s been awake for nearly five days solid now. At this time of the night, Honeydew’s probably asleep in his bunker, maybe out tending to the cows if he’s feeling particularly restless.
Either way, it leaves Lalna the only one awake in the bunker, making it the perfect time to do some tinkering.
He hops off the crafting table with a smile, rifles through the chests, grabs a wrench and a handful of basic materials, and heads down to the fusion reactor in the basement – humming delightedly the whole way. The notebook burns a hole in his pocket, mind alight with ideas.
