Marvus Xoloto X Reader

Marvus Xoloto x Reader

You first saw him again on TV of all things. Some nameless talk show that played so late at night it could almost be considered early morning. You wouldn’t have paid it any mind- just simple white noise as you tried to convince your body to just sleep. Of course, sleep was made impossible when you registered exactly who was on your shitty little TV. Wide awake and in disbelief you watched Marvus go through those familiar routines you’d come to expect from him a life time ago. He was selling his act so well you knew that the reviews would be a never ending loop of praise. It wasn’t at all surprising of him and you found yourself smiling as fragments of old memories floated to the surface. Knowing him he’d collapse on the first vaguely soft surface he found and sleep well into the afternoon before his PR team blew up his phone. The thought finally drew you into action. Pulling out your phone you opened up Chittr for the first time in a long time and set about finding Marvus. It wasn’t hard. Finding a celebrity was always the easy part. Shooting off a friend request you hoped he’d see it. With luck he might realize it was you and accept. You didn’t bother with anything else as you turned off the TV. It wasn’t helping you sleep and Marvus wouldn’t see your request until the weekend if at all. Trudging from the couch to your bed you contemplated texting Polypa. She was always ready to talk with you when you couldn’t sleep. It was tempting- especially if she felt like sneaking into your house to spend time with you. She never asked for an invite, always just showing up on your couch or already in your bed. A long time ago you might have been put out by that. But it was a long time ago for a reason. Now you were used to the casual breaking and entering she did. You’d offered to let her live with you but she’d told you that she hadn’t wanted anything in her job leading back to you. It didn’t surprise you that she was still an assassin even on Earth. She was good at what she did. 

Flopping down onto your bed you let your phone drop onto the mattress with you. Sleep was slow coming but it was coming. Finally. Eyes closing you could feel your body start to sink further into sleep like a rock in water. Which was, of course, the moment your phone buzzed with a notification. Snatching it up off the bed you glared blurry eyed down at it until your sight finally focused. 

Marvus accepted your friend request!

Oh, well then. It looked as if things were looking up. With a smile you set your phone back down and closed your eyes. Your phone buzzed again and figuring it might be Marvus you picked it back up. 

Zebruh sent you a friend request!

Oh hell no. 

Modern Fantasy Headcanons #1

While its more common in wealthier private schools, children can choose to take a nonhuman language. In recent years some forms of elvish are slowly being introduced into public education as an elective and most students can choose to take nonhuman history if they wish to learn more about other creatures beyond The Fae Wars. 

However, mixed schools have shown that a surprising number of children will pick up on each others languages and learn them that way. This has caused quite a few calls home when a student uses a bit of slang that a teacher is not familiar with and is assumed to be something insulting (this- rather interestingly- only seems to be the case in a half of the situations). In some cases children, especially younger ones, have no idea they are learning a different language at all. 

Some schools with a student mentor program find putting two different races together leads to the older teaching the younger their language for easier communication. A desertion piece by Dr. Lightfoot called ‘Why Your Children Talk The Way They Do’ goes further in depth on the subject of shared languages amongst children and teens. 

When asked why the children started learning a nonhuman language the answers ranged from ‘to communicate more fluidly’ to ‘enjoying the sound of it’. 

Home pt. 1

(part one of the Home series)

There was something peaceful about getting away from things for awhile. Something relaxing about being able to put life on the back burner even if it was just for a day or so. It was what had drawn you to the ramshackle cabin in the first place. The abandoned home was remote and unimpressive. A sort of thing your eyes could sweep over and miss if you weren’t careful. To say it was love at first sight might have been a bit dramatic but... It was nice to have a place to go where no one would look for you. Most had simply seen a money pit- and in a way it was- but you had seen a project. Your interest had started small, it made a beautiful photography set, and that was where your interest deepened. From there you had cleaned up the surrounding area, pulling weeds until your hands were red and sore, snapping pictures of the little well pump your had uncovered. Then you had wanted pictures of the porch. But the porch was falling apart and certainly not as photogenic as you would have liked. So you simply asked a few stores in town if they had pallets they wanted to get rid of. Surprise, surprise, they did. That was how the porch got new steps and boards. You had used some left over stain you’d found in the attic with an excuse of needing it for a photoshoot. An easy half truth to keep. No one in your family asked a single question, they were well used to your antics. 

It didn’t occur to you how deeply invested you were into the cabin until you used the many needed repairs as a way to vent out your frustration. Somewhere along the way you had become wholly attached to the abominable thing. The cabin was your little secret, a place that only you seemed to know of. That seemed to become useful as you watched your family life fall apart at the seams. 

Your sister was getting married, something you were excited for, even your parents were excited. Until they learned to who- or rather what- your sister was marrying. A young dwarf woman who looked at your sister like she hung the moon. It hadn’t even crossed your mind that your parents weren't as enthused with your sister’s happiness as you were. That night had led to one of the biggest fights you’d ever seen. Your parents tried everything to convince your sister to break off the engagement to no avail. She loved her fiancée. In the end she had packed her things and left. What your parents didn’t know was that you helped her. She had asked you to come with her and while you regretted not doing so, you had a plan. The cabin was slowly coming along and while you still needed to buy some much needed appliances it wouldn’t be long. It might not have been ideal, the cabin was off grid after all, it would certainly do in the pinch you were in. So you put extra hours into your job and buckled down for the long haul. You wanted to be out of there before the wedding and your sister was going to get a wedding present even if it killed you. She deserved at the very least that much. 

You were close to your goal. All you needed was a fridge to replace the busted one and then you could focus on some bare necessity furniture. At the moment you were working a late night shift at your new job, you had to juggle two if you wanted to meet your deadline, and going over your mental checklist. After you bought that fridge you would need to buy a bed first. Having something to sleep on was important, especially with your two jobs. Once you had that set up you could begin sneaking your things out. It was best not to alert your parents to what you were doing. Who knows how they’d react...

“(y/n)?” You nearly jumped out of your skin. Turning swiftly you found your coworker- one of the mothpeople- staring at you in concern. Their hands were clutching each other as they stared you down. You smiled reassuringly. 

“I’m fine Azar, no need to worry.” He seemed to think it over before nodding slowly. 

“Alright then. If you are sure.” Giving him another reassuring smile you nodded. You liked Azar, he was slow to warm up to others but once he did he was very kind. It might have had to do with his appearance, he was a death’s head moth with a very punkish fashion sense, not the most friendly looking person. But you found out soon enough that once someone extended an olive branch in his direction he latched on with all four hands and didn’t let go. You were glad to have him as your friend. 

Once again you were lost to your thoughts as you closed up that night. Azar had offered a ride but you had apologetically declined. When everything was all set up you’d take him up on the offer. But until then you had to focus on the goal at hand. Though you still felt bad for declining the offer.

(EDIT: PART 2 is up!)

Lights Part 2

It’s been a few months since your encounter with Boldir, you won’t say ‘chance’ because it had been arranged, and you’ve been simply continuing with your life. As it turns out Boldir lives in a little apartment downtown not too far from the bakery you frequent. She’d seen you going there and recognized you, apparently it was Mallek and Dirk’s cyberstalking that led her to seek you out officially. You aren’t sure if you should feel grateful for their paranoia and less than morally applaudable methods bringing Boldir back into your life. It’s not as if you’re happy those two are stalking you but you are happy to have a friend back. It sits on the back burner of things you worry about- not so much a pressing thought as a pop up. 

The two of you have slowly been getting to know each other again. Outside of his control you aren’t the same person that Boldir was familiar with, and even she has changed outside of Alternia’s influence. Some things remain unchanging, such as her fashion sense and love of conspiracies but its noticeably not driven by a need to survive. She’s more relaxed. Though there will always be that part of both of you that is still on guard against threats. That’s willing to do the morally dubious to survive. It’s an unspoken acknowledgement between the two of you. There’s blood strewn between you from what you’ve both done in Alternia’s harsh nights to sleep through another harsher day. You don’t think any one of your neighbors or any manner of people you’ve interacted with understand it the same way Boldir does. Or any of your old friends do. You know that no one would suspect you capable of half the things you did. Some nights you still wake up with horror numbing your body and terror screaming at you to move. Those are the nights you make yourself something strong to wake up to and settle in for feeling like shit through the entirety of the day. To say you’re working through it is a hopeful mantra. You hope that there will be a day these feelings will be but a distant memory. As it is you’re wide awake and nursing a coffee like it’ll burn your unsavory memories away with enough exposure. You’d decided to go to the mall today since you hadn’t been in some time. Mostly you were just looking for a way to kill time. Sitting on a bench watching the other mall goers flit about you were starting to regret your decision. Everything here was just making you feel worse and even more exposed. What you wanted to do was crawl your way under your blankets and stay there. Getting up you tossed your drink into the nearest trashcan and went looking for the right exit. You had to pass one of the little mall theatres and suddenly stopped. Now wasn’t the time to miss her. And yet you were frozen remembering the taste of popcorn and the comforting darkness as the credits rolled. Of her hand in yours. It had been a while since you had an episode so bad you missed Polypa like one might miss a limb. The breath you took rattled through you thinly and you knew you had to get out of there before you got any worse. It took a conscious effort not to break out into a dead run. Instead you were walking briskly, eyes glued to your own feet, as you rushed towards the exit. You tried hard not to bump into anyone but even so you still managed to do it. Just a clipping of shoulders and elbows. Head shooting up you went to apologize only for the air to leave your lungs entirely. 

She looked wonderful, black cargo shorts and her signature tank top. The chip in her horn was still there but it wasn’t the jagged wound of your memories- instead it looked tended to. The edges softened to keep it from being so glaringly obvious. Her hair was still the messy black you came to appreciate but this time it had a sort of neatness to it. Polypa looked right at home. Tongue tied you could only stare with wide and disbelieving eyes. There was movement out of the corner of your eye- slow and deliberate- but you only had eyes for your moirail. Or rather, former moirail. A hand carefully hovered near your cheek and you could feel the tears stinging against the corners of your eyes. Her lips pulled taut into a thin line and her hand pressed firmly against your jaw. Then her other hand came up to do the same. There was the rustle of plastic and you were vaguely aware of the bag dangling from her arm as her hands cupped your face. As she took a small step closer. 

“Polypa?” Your voice cracked and you shut your mouth with a click of teeth. She wasn’t your moirail anymore. She wasn’t. It didn’t make you want to collapse against her any less. The harsh lines of her brows seemed to soften at that as she carefully guided you closer and you had to wonder exactly how pitiful you must have looked. 

“Where’s your scuttlebuggy?” She asked quietly. Your shoulders trembled. 

“I walked.” The walk had seemed like a good idea at the time. A way to clear your head. Now it seemed like the worst decision you ever made. 

“Okay.” She was wrapping an arm around you so tightly you were forced to walk pressed flush against her side. A protest bubbled up your throat and promptly died on your tongue when you saw the few trolls scattered about blatantly staring. Against you Polypa’s chest rumbled with the hint of a warning growl. You were reminded of all the times you’d been in a similar situation back on Alternia, though those times you’d been the one doing the comforting. Had Polypa ever been given the chance to return the favor? There was that first time but you’d been so out of it he’d stolen your words and warped them to fit the narrative. The realization helped sober you just a bit. This was the first time she was seeing you break. The real you. Your entire body shuddered as the realization settled into your mind. This was it. If Polypa didn’t like what she saw it was over. The comforting memories of the two of you together would be overshadowed by this. This simple but momentous moment. Your tears were finally getting to the point of blurring your vision as the two of you exited the mall. She was warm, you thought to yourself, not the same warmth a human would give off but warmer than you remembered. And she was still tugging you along pressed tight and held firmly in her grip. How the two of you managed to walk all the way back to your house you weren’t sure. It seemed as if one minute you were walking away from the mall and the next minute Polypa was taking your house key out of your fumbling fingers to open the door herself. Again you could feel a protest bubbling up. A warning that she had to leave now because you couldn’t handle it if all this amounted to was you getting your hopes up. As she shut and locked your door behind you both the words stilled in waiting on your lips. 

Why had she locked your door?

“Force of habit, come here.” She replied forcefully, you hadn’t even realized you’d asked her that out loud. As Polypa gathered you back up close again she took in your little home. It wasn’t much of course. Just what you’d managed to scrape up and get when you started out here, but it was nothing to be ashamed of. With a careful precision she walked you through the house and straight into your room. In moments you were being sat on your bed as Polypa knelt down to unlace your shoes for you. The action had you feeling rubbed raw. Fresh tears spilled down your cheeks as she carefully pulled off your shoes and set them aside. Her face was impossibly soft as she looked up at you. 

“Is this okay?” There was something raw in the way her voice just barely trembled. As if this was just as meaningful to her as it was to you. With a choked sob all you could do was nod. She was careful as she crawled onto your bed with you- kicking off her own shoes as she went. There were the beginnings of translucent olive colored tears in her eyes. A desperation you felt just as keenly mirrored in her actions. 

It broke what little restrain you had as the agony of it all overwhelmed you. 

“I missed you.” She whispered as you laid barely awake and hollowed out curled up close and warm against each other. You squeezed her with what little strength you could muster, voice long gone from your feelings jam. Me too, you wanted to say. A few more tears tracked down your face as Polypa settled in closer. You two still had so much more to talk about. To discuss. To figure out. But it could wait. As you finally drifted off into a well deserved sleep you knew she’d be there when you woke up. It was the first time you slept like the dead since coming here. 

LIGHTSVERSE

Okay so this is gonna be a quick and dirty guide until I solidify what the hell I’m doing with this. 

So this is set on an alternate Earth to Earth C. Earth C never came to be in this timeline. While trolls and humans live in relative peace together its implied that Alternia still exists and travel between the two worlds is fairly common. I may explore this more as the series progresses but maybe not. Depends on how it goes. The series is focused on MSPAR’s trauma regarding the games. I took liberty with this, in my version MSPAR was under heavy mind control but vaguely able to recognize something was Wrong and that They Wouldn’t Act Like This freely. When Doc Scratch snaps them out of it the reader is left with the memories and the violation. MSPAR is dealing with the fallout of it all alone, they are aware of their ‘friends’ being nearby but refuse to make the first move. This series is less of the reader jumping onto the “friends!!” bandwagon and more of their former friends tentatively reaching out. All of this will be coded as platonic but you can read a romantic subtext to it if you’d like. I may explore the romantic aspects later on but that will be its own thing.

This whole thing started with Boldir Lamati and I’m gonna go for gold and try to do everyone. Some characters will get reoccurring scenes or multiple parts but again that depends on where this takes me. Once I figure out the links I will have a master post of the series but until then its just click on the Lightsverse tag and scroll. Sorry about that. Out of all the characters Polypa will be the most prevalent through the series because one- I love her and two- the exploration of moiraillegiance is my jam. So there’s that.

As always I will end this with the usual: My askbox is open forever so if there are requests, questions, or general bullfuckery feel free to absolutely light it up.

Modern Fantasy Dwarf Headcanons #1

Dwarves flock to mountain ranges and usually build their capitol in the largest mountain of that range. Though they prefer the company of other dwarves it is not uncommon to find dwarves in mining towns/former mining towns. There is no safer mine than a dwarven mine as they follow regulations strictly and efficiently, unwilling to risk the life of a single worker lest production go down. 

Be warned though! If a human works alongside dwarves for any extended amount of time the dwarves closest to them tend to adopt the human families into their own whether the humans in question likes it or not. This caused quite a bit of trouble in the past though not as much as it does in the present. 

Dwarves who adopt human families into their own have a tendency to simply take the children of the family (especially those of the human extended family) that aren’t being treated right. This has caused some strain between the communities as this is protected under dwarven law but illegal under human law. Most disputes end up in a mixed race court. Only one dispute has ended up going all the way to the High Council, The Copperbeard Clan vs The Herring Family. (The main reasoning being that the claiming dwarf was still rather young herself). The case is the most recent and set up a wobbly law stating that one member of the human family must contend that the minor would be safest with the claiming dwarf. Despite its more volatile nature as a law it has held strong since its establishment in 1982.