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morimakesfanart · 3 years

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Sindria's Prophet #15

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]

[AO3]

*Everyone with synesthesia experiences it differently. Just don't read my experience as a monolith :3

~POV Ja'far~

After finally finishing his report, Ja'far decided he would be the one to tell the Prophet about King Sinbad's request for everyone to have dinner together. Sin had been acting a bit strange ever since the revolt in Balbadd -especially when Mori was involved. Ja'far had caught him zoning out more than normal and many times the only thing that could get his King to focus was news on Mori's improving condition, and after learning that news he was able to get more done than normal. It wasn't like the boost he got after making progress on a plan. It was different. Ja'far couldn't tell how it was different but he knew it was. This wasn't like Sinbad at all -not when it came to guests and definitely not when it came to women.

This could be something that the Prophet was causing on purpose. Mori seemed naïve about the gravity of the decisions they had to make daily, and she seemed like she was easily swayed by Sin just like many other women; however, there were a few moments that were making Ja'far certain that she was more self-aware than she let on and that she was definitely planning far into the future. She read Fate and knew at least several decades of history. There was no way she wouldn't have taken that into consideration during every interaction let alone before agreeing to be Sindria's Prophet.

For all he knew, Mori's behavior around their King was just as staged as when Sin courts women of position to benefit himself and Sindria. She certainly was able to ignore his flirting the morning of the revolt and again on the ship leaving Balbadd. Whenever Ja'far had tried to bring up questioning her motivation, Sinbad had wrote him off by implying that he took her reactions at face value. Sinbad said that he knew that Mori kept Fate in mind when she made decisions, but it was more obvious to Ja'far that his King wasn't acting with caution when it came to the Prophet.

Mori had promised that she would explain about those two calamities from the future she read, and the only reason she hadn't been forced to explain yet was because she was still ill. The General was going to make sure it happened before the day was over. If she was well, and they were all going to meet up to get to know each other better, then Ja'far was going to make sure Mori told them what she was hiding. But first he'd have to find her and make sure she agreed to join them for dinner. She'd have no reason to refuse the first request from her King so this part should be easy.

Ja'far had wanted a chance to talk to Mori without the King around, but as soon as Ja'far declared he was leaving, Sinbad stood up and said he would join him. There was no convincing him to finish his work; Sinbad was determined to see 'his Beautiful Prophet.'

The King lead the two of them to the magicians' tower and straight to one of Yam's labs. Sure enough Mori was with Yam and both were chatting with nearly a dozen people -magicians, and other academics of the tower. They were at a table with scrolls and that magnifying device made from Mori's notes.

One of the magicians was pointing to one of the scrolls on the table. "Your handwriting got a little hard to read here. Could you read it for us?"

"Yeah. Which part?” Mori said while making her way over. When she saw the part she laughed, apologized for laughing, and then read out loud for the group, "The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell."

Why such a thing was funny to her, she explained as, "It is a true fact, but it was also the punch line of a joke. There isn't really a easy way to explain the joke since it's referential... Sorry."

This was accepted by the room easily for some reason with "at least we know how to say it now."

"I'm glad to see you all welcoming my Beautiful Prophet and getting along, but don't forget she's only just recovered." Sinbad spoke over the crowd and they all turned to him.

Mori's eyes widened and she glanced at the window behind her. When she looked back she looked equal parts stunned and confused.

Standing on the windowsill behind Mori was a bird of the exact same type as the one Sinbad possessed with Zepar.

Was Sin still watching her?? That would explain how he knew exactly where she was.

"Your Majesty! You're here early. I thought the meeting wasn't for another hour or so.” Yamuraiha responded to her King entering the lab.

He laughed.

One of the other magicians spoke up. "Would you like the demonstration now since you're here?"

They agreed and other academics left since they weren't a part of the planned meeting.

---

~POV Mori~

Bright peach poured over plum and midnight violet. Sinbad's voice was definitely happy and boisterous. I barely had time to process what he had said before the magicians were repeating the same spell they had shown me earlier.

It had only been five days since I last

heard his voice in person, and it became that distracting. It reminded me of the times I finally rewatched the series after trying to ween off of it for a month, but worse since it wasn't a recording. How was I going to survive his return from the Kou Empire?

The thing that made his voice stand out so much was the amount of purple in it. So I could easily see his voice separate from all of the blues, reds, greens and yellows I saw from the rest of those speaking. Yamuraiha's voice was mainly rose red and yellow with a sliver of cyan poking through. ((Her EN and JP VAs have almost the same colors and similar textures like Sinbad's.)). Ja'far's was deep cobalt blue with bits of dark evergreen and salmon. ((His EN and JP VAs look super different in texture and colors, so I'm still figuring out how to blend them. His EN is mainly a midtone cobalt and dark aqua with the texture of thin dry brush gauche paint over salmon. The JP is like wet brush ink in extremely dark navy and green with flecks of yellow and dark red.)) Their voices, although pretty in their own right, contained the colors that I was used to seeing. Nearly every voice that overwhelms me makes some purple, and purple was the base color of Sinbad's voice. ((Sometimes purple is made with how the colors over lap, sometimes it's just purple. His Eg and Jp VAs normally had ultramarine blue and indigo as their main but the way they change their voices to do Sinbad makes the color warmer so it becomes purple.))

While Sinbad commented on the stones produced by the spell and asked the magicians questions about use and practicality, I was focusing on adjusting to his voice. He was going to talk to me again soon since we were in the same room, and I was going to need to be able to focus on his words.

"Where the Prophet wrote about 'electrons' bonding particles together to define what they are, is like the instructions around the Rukh that tell them what to be. So as long as we can figure out the right instructions we can gather and change materials at will. This was all just theory before now." One of the older magicians explained. That was a mostly correct way of thinking about the material science, but he was going to be doing magic not science so I didn't get pedantic.

Ja'far went straight for the biggest draw back. "Making something this small took all of you and enough magoi that we could see it. Is this really viable?”

Yam answered. "It takes an immense amount of magoi to make even these stones right now, but as we refine the spell, it will take much less." She picked up one of the stones. "This is still new magic so it will be a while before we can put this into regular production." She was disappointed by Ja'far's skepticism but wasn't going to let it stop her research. "Up until a week ago we could only augment preexisting things with alchemy magic. Now we can completely change something's material and even make something new from bits and pieces of other things!"

"I see." Bright violet splashed across my vision. "Have you only made rocks so far?"

Why didn't I ask that? It was such an obvious question in hindsight. I guess I was so focused on answering whatever questions they had that I forgot to ask my own.

Yam nodded. "We've been trying to make metals or precious stones since those would be the most profitable to produce but finding the right arrangement of 'particles' has proved difficult even with Mori's writing. These stones are basically just carbon."

Oh. Ohohohoh

"If your aim is artificial diamonds then put carbon under high levels of compression and heat." I cut in to explain. "That's how they form naturally after all. You can do the same with other stones too if you start with the right ingredients. It's all about causing the right chemical reaction. Actually..." I walked back up to the table with the scrolls and pointed to the periodic table of elements on the scroll on atoms. "You see this chart? It shows the election count and other information for each base element." They already knew what most of the natural elements were -just not the details that made them the base elements.

"We figured as much, but it's still difficult to figure out how the 'particles' join together in practice." One of the magicians responded.

I smacked my forehead with my palm. "I knew I was forgetting something." I had drawn an example of what atoms look like, and had explained compounds but had totally forgotten about drawing examples. That's what happens when I try to write without sleeping for 2 days.

They were mainly asking questions about single celled organisms before, so we didn't even get to the material science stuff. Luckily there were already pens around for the notes they were making. I grabbed one and the incomplete scroll.

"I'm gonna make a few quick examples." I was still a bit sloppy with the dip pen, but I didn't care.

I drew what hydrogen and oxygen atoms look like separately as well as when together to make up water, then I drew a version with the short-hand hexagons to represent the compounds. I did the same for salt (sodium chloride). With salt I also drew an example of it's crystal structure.

I looked to Yam. "Since I don't know exactly how magic works I don't know if you just pull moisture from the air when you use water magic or if it's also making water like this. But you can probably reverse engineer how compounds work from this."

I turned back to the paper and added another compound. "Diamond is made up of just carbon but it's structured like this." I didn't bother making an example of the atoms since they had already figured out that part for carbon. I just drew the compound hexagons repeating in the pyramid pattern that forms diamonds. "But so is graphite for instance which is structured like this." I drew the hexagons in the connected tubes pattern.

I stepped to the side so Yam and the other magicians could get a closer look. "Does this help?"

The magicians started gathering around my new notes. They started scribbling notes on their own papers including different versions of the magic circle while discussing with each other.

I took a few steps away back towards the window and ended up between bird!Sinbad and King!Sinbad. This was extremely ridiculous. At least Ja'far was also there to help keep the King in check.

The bird flew off -probably released- and the waves picked up.

Sinbad's voice was a nearly black violet and indigo as he spoke softy. "So you were working on this instead of resting? It is impressive but I believe you promised to take better care of yourself."

I kept my voice controlled and didn't make eye contact. "In my defense, I filled all but that scroll," I pointed to the one I had made to explain microscopes, "either that last night in Balbadd or on the ship here, so it was before I made that promise." I could feel in the waves and see in his face that he was about to start something.

Sinbad laughed and scattered gold glitter across my vision.

Ja'far and I sighed in unison.

Then the General gave me a back handed compliment. "I've been wondering how much you could do as a prophet after we change Fate, but with this it's clear that you won't just be sitting on your hands most of your time here."

I knew Ja'far didn't trust me that much, but I was really hoping he'd start to accept me more by now, or at least be a little less hostile. He's a lot like my younger sibling and best friend, so I really hoped we could become friends some day. Today was clearly not that day.

Sinbad watched me for my reaction.

The magicians were getting a little loud as they made progress with my added information. It also made it easier to not be over heard by them.

Ja'far wasn't wrong; it was something I had realized after handing over the scrolls. But, "I didn't learn this from reading Fate. It was reading this world's Fate that let me know this information would be invaluable." I kept my voice quiet so only those 2 would hear.

"What?" Ja'far was a little louder than me but he was aware enough to know I was keeping my voice down for a reason. He brought his own voice down as he gestured to the backs of the magicians in the room. "You're going to tell me you knew information that even the greatest minds of Sindria didn't know, and it wasn't something you read being discovered in the Future?”

The waves around Sinbad were growing as he watched me.

I chose my words carefully. This could be an opportunity to get some kind of income for myself in the form of a reward, I just had to dangle the bait first. "I told you before that my world has 1500-2000 more years of development than this one. I did read some of this information being discovered in this world's future, but I had already learned all of this long before I read anything about this world's Fate.

"I decided to give those scrolls on biology because the lack of understanding what bacteria or viruses are is going to get me sick again, and might kill me before I get a chance to really help you all against Al Thamen. -And I wasn't about to withhold information that would save others. Advancing alchemy magic was just a bonus."

Sinbad was barely hiding the excitement in his voice. "What other knowledge from your home are you going to bless us with?”

The waves encouraged me. Sinbad thought he had me wrapped around his fingers, but his waves were following mine, not the other way around. It made me smile.

"All of our ships are made of metal and many are several times larger than any in this world. We have flying ships that can go around the world in a day, and self propelled carriages. We captured lightening in a bottle and use it to power all sorts of things. We have devices like Yam's Eye of the Rukh that are so common that everyone has one and can stay connected easily. We've even sent people to the moon and back."

"People did that without magic?”

"Yes."

The waves I was making were huge. I could see it on Sinbad's face too. He knew I wasn't lying -my knowledge would change everything. I just had to convince the others.

Ja'far cut in with a serious tone. "Do you mean to say that you know how those things work?" He tended to play the part of the sceptic since Sinbad didn't. "Just because you grew up around such things doesn't mean you know that much about them."

My smile grew; sometimes it's fun to flex how big of a nerd I really am. "My parents were scientists and engineers. Members of my family worked on those machines I mention. And they taught me the basics."

My dad's special interest are cars, airplanes, space, and theoretical physics so I couldn't avoid learning about them if I tried. Both he and my grandfather were mechanics too. And my mom worked in telecommunication and programming, and made sure her children could make it in the field.

"I also learned a lot outside of them. I worked as a draftsman for several years, and I was even a teacher. I might not know absolutely everything about everything, but I am qualified to start revolutionizing this world."

They both stared at me shocked. Ja'far also had confusion mixed in where Sinbad had a mix of awe and greed.

The King found his words first. "I was already planning a welcome gift for you and a reward for these scrolls but with this," he was giving me a soft smile that demanded my full attention, "I'm not sure it will be enough."

Our waves were moving together. This was what I was looking for. I couldn't help feeling a little playful. And if he was going to turn this into a flirting game, I was ready to play.

I rested my arms on the window sill behind me and leaned on them. I smiled up at the man who was going to stand at the top of the world in only 5 years, and held eye contact. "My knowledge is going to increase the quality of life of the people of Sindria and your Seven Seas Alliance for generations; not to mention how many others my prophecies will also save." This wasn't my forte, but the person I was dealing with enjoyed this type of back and forth, so I had to try.

King Sinbad closed the distance between us and put a hand on the window frame above me. "With your knowledge no county will be able to compete with us. Do you doubt I will reward you what you're worth?" His words were a little confrontational, but his smile and the purr in his voice made it clear he was continuing the game.

I heard Ja'far groan next to us. Luckily, the others were still surrounding the scroll. Playing the flirting game would be unbearable in front of strangers -especially because I always feel like I loose against Sinbad even though things have ended in my favor so far.

I was not expecting the sudden kabedon, and felt my face heating up. I tried my best to keep my composure. I let my boost in endorphins from finally leaving that room continue to carry me.

As nervous as I was, flirting with this man, who was my comfort character irl, was too much fun. "You are the person who has built more than anyone else in these past 15 years, and saved countless lives. You're King Sinbad, King of Sindria -beloved by his people for

his kindness and generosity. And you're going to achieve a lot more in the future, So I suppose you'll have the resources and the will."

"Oh?" His voice was a soft magenta faded to dark indigo violet with hints of gold coming from the side. I knew I could appeal to his pride and greed.

But I wasn't sure if I could pull this off with the growing lump of embarrassment in my throat. "And now you're *my* kind and generous King Sinbad, ... Right?" It was faint but my nerves shook my voice slightly at the end.

The way Sinbad's eyes widened was reassuring. Against the odds, I somehow made a critical hit. Maybe I wouldn't lose every match I had with the Womanizer of the Seven Seas.

Ja'far groaned. The magicians made some comments about the Rukh, but I didn't catch them; I was too focused on the golden eyes above me. The moments in the series when he was taken by surprise were my favorite. And I had shocked Sinbad a few times now.

Sinbad regained himself and his eyes narrowed. His normal flirty look was also pretty good -just not for my ability to cope. He leaned in closer to me, and the hair on my arms rose. If his face got any closer I'd even be able to see him without my glasses. I was absolutely not prepared for this level of flirting -if this even still counted as flirting.

I had made a terrible mistake. I wasn't winning; I was tempting death. I needed to find a way out.

#magi prophet fanfic #magi sinbad x oc #sinbad x oc #sinbadxoc #sinbad magi #king sinbad #magi sinbad #magi fanfiction #magi fanfic #magi fanart

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holdingforgeneralhugs · 3 years

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Bitter Pill to Swallow

Chapter 5 (Ch.4, Ch.3, Ch.2, Ch.1)

Thank you as always to @tvserie-s-world for the lovely screencaps 💕

It had been five days since they'd set sail for England, and safe to say tensions were starting to fray. Valerie was lucky to be bunking with Harry, but even they'd had a few disagreements.

"If you don't quit your snoring I'm gonna strap you to the bow to scare off the sharks," he'd sworn one early morning, tying his shirt buttons roughly.

"My snoring?" Valerie replied incredulously, "I'm surprised you can hear me snoring over the droning of your own."

She was playing a game of fish with George when the fight of the day broke out. She'd been laughing at his master plan to snag an English dame when they'd overheard Bill Guarnere talking shit. Valerie looked up in alarm when she noticed Lieb jumping down from his bunk and getting up in Bill's face. She sighed and jumped down herself, intending to step in between them and prevent any fists from flying.

"Hey, hey," she shouted, pulling Lieb back behind her "break it up you two, and watch your damm mouth Gonnorhea. Quit talking shit about Jews, you know where we're going and who we're fighting so why don't you show some goddamn respect. " She put a hand on Lieb's shoulder to steer him back towards his bunk. "Don't listen to him Lieb, he's just being an idiot."

As they moved away they heard Bill grumbling something about 'goddamn woman must be on the rag," and Valerie saw red. She dropped her hand from Lieb's shoulder and marched back towards Bill.

"You wanna say that again to my face Guarnere?" snapped Valerie, "who do you think you are saying things like that about a ranking officer?"

Don was desperately trying to pull Bill away, warning him to cut it out before he gets himself in more trouble. A hush settled in the immediate area surrounding them, everyone afraid to intervene but too nosy to look away.

"I said what I said," Bill snarled, pulling his arm out of Don's and clenching his jaw. Valerie narrowed her eyes at him and glared coldly.

"I'm gonna give you one more chance to take that back Guarnere," Valerie warned, crossing her arms. She felt Lieb step up beside her protectively, and even though she didn't need it she was eternally grateful for him in that moment. He had her back, and he wanted her to know it.

"I ain't taking nothing back, I said what I said," he insisted, ignoring Don's contined pleas for him to back down.

Valerie narrowed her eyes at Bill, her fingers clenching against her crossed arms and her face reddening. Beside her, Lieb was clenching his fists so hard she was sure they'd split open at the knuckles.

"You really don't know when to shut your damn mouth do you?" Snapped Lieb, stepping forward and raising his fist for another go at Bill. But Valerie threw her arm across his chest and stopped him, shaking her head and silently trying to tell him that she could deal with this herself. He huffed but stepped back beside her, continuing to glare harshly at Bill.

"Well you know what gonorrhea," Valerie hissed coldly, stepping up to him "next time why don't you say that to my fists huh? Because you are sorely mistaken if you don't think I could punch you so hard you'd be seeing Lady Liberty dancing the jive."

Bill was about to respond when they were interrupted by a stern voice.

"What's going on here?" Asked Lieutenant Winters, who'd appeared behind Valerie without her noticing. She took a few deep breaths before turning on her toes to face him.

"Nothin' for you to worry about Lieutenant Winters," she replied. He glanced between her and Bill sceptically, his eyebrows furrowing as he assessed the situation.

"Well," he said evenly, "whatever fight was going on here that you don't want me to know about, break it up. We've got a lot of training and work to do once we get to England so use these next five days wisely and take all the rest you can get."

The men who'd gathered on the floor dispersed hastily with a few 'yes sir's'. With one final lingering glare, Bill and Valerie turned away from each other and went their separate ways. She was about to follow Lieb up to his bunk when a tap on her shoulder stopped her.

"Could I talk to you up on deck Lieutenant?" He asked tightly. Val stared him down for a moment before nodding her agreement and following him up the steps and onto the breezy deck.

"So, what was it you wanted to talk about?" She asked after a few beats of awkward silence. His shoulders tensed and he looked out over the ocean for a few seconds before speaking.

"Lieutenant Landry, I don't want you to think I'm criticising you but..."

Look," she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest, "whatever it is you gotta say to me jus' get on with it."

He sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face roughly. "I really don't want to fight fight you so please, don't get all offended about this," he paused in his speech and took a deep breath before continuing, "you're a ranking officer Landry, you cant just go around threatening your NCO's, or any of the men for that matter. It's completely out of line."

"Out of line?," she hissed, narrowing her eyes, her temper immediately flaring at his accusing tone, "Guarnere was out of line makin' comments about Jews and then disrespectin' me. So I think I had every right to say what I said, an' I'd say it again too. You weren't even there, you have no idea what happened before you turned up."

"Then tell me," he sighed, "tell me what happened and I'll go down there and deal with Bill right this minute."

"I just told you, he was making comments about Jews and then he disrespected me," she explained tersely, "And I don't need you to go down there and deal with it. I was dealin' with it jus' fine until you showed up." She couldn't believe he was standing there reprimanding her, nor that he wanted to play the white knight and go deal with the situation for her. She had been handling the situation and herself just fine before he showed up.

"I understand that Guarnere is difficult, and I have no doubt he was running his mouth and deserved a reprimand," Winters groaned, "but you still shouldn't have spoken to him like that, especially in front of the rest of the men. You should have officially reprimanded him in a calm way like a ranking officer should."

He was questioning her capabilities as an officer. He honestly believed that she couldn't behave like an officer should. They'd never been friends, hell, they couldn't even have a conversation, but she'd always grudgingly respected that he was a good officer. She'd never once doubted his capabilities as a leader.

In a deep buried part of her, though she'd never admit it, his words stung. His doubts of her capabilites hurt. She had a level of respect for him that obviously he didn't have for her. She'd thought that despite all the tension between them, she could at least count on the fact that he'd respect her position as a Lieutenant. Clearly she'd been wrong.

"Oh, so you doubt my capabilities as an officer is that it?" She snapped defensively, "and for your information, you missed the part where I very calmly told him to take back what he said. You're making a whole lot of assumptions based on the tiny part of the conversation you saw, but I can't say I'm surprised. You've obviously never respected my place in Easy and now the truth of your thoughts has finally come out."

Dick shook his head and ran his tongue over his teeth, his jaw tensing slightly. "That's not what I meant and you know it, stop putting words in my mouth. You're quite possibly the most impossible person I've ever met." He placed his hands on his hips and looked out over the sea once more. "I never said I didn't respect your position as a Lieutenant, I just meant you should have reprimanded Guarnere more calmly."

His patronising was just making her more mad. He really had the nerve to stand there and act like he was better than her when he couldn't possibly understand the situation. "You implied I didn't behave like a proper officer, so please do tell me what you actually meant when you said that because I'd just love to know."

"I didn't mean it like that, so I'm sorry if that's how it came across to you," he huffed, trying to keep his emotions in check, "Just don't talk to your subordinates like that anymore, alright? We've got more than enough to worry about without fights between the officers and the enlisted." He turned to leave without waiting for her to respond any further.

She watched him walk away from her, her simmering temper roiling. Why that sanctimonious prat. She'd just love to see what he would have done if he were in her shoes.

"You know what Winters," she shouted at his retreating back, unable to stop herself from getting in the last word, "I'd like to see you spend a day in my shoes and keep your goddamn cool." Now that she'd started she couldn't stop, all of her frustrated feelings pouring out of her now she'd opened the floodgates a crack.

"I'd like to see you stand there while Guarnere mocks you and says you're just an angry woman on the rag and not get mad. So don't you stand there and patronise me about propriety. Because you know what, if you could actually manage to keep your cool in that situation I'd reckon you were a goddamn saint."

She stormed past his frozen form and marched out the door without a backwards glance, slamming it harshly behind her. Now then, let him stew on that for awhile. She pointedly ignored the twinge of hurt she felt at his words, furiously tampering it down and smothering it with her anger as she marched back to her cabin.

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#band of brothers #bob #dick winters #dick winters x oc #dick winters x valerie landry #valerie landry #bitterpilltoswallow #band of brothers fandom #band of brothers fanfic #hbo band of brothers #hbo war #band of brothers imagine #holdingforgeneralhugs

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archive-of-bones · 3 years

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Addle pate

[Previously From Soil Comes Chalk]

[Established endgame: Albedo]

[Genshin Impact x reader the series]

[tags: Slow burn, isekai, reader has her own life that doesn't revolve around Albedo]

[People wanting to be tagged: @yostresswritinggirl ]

Prologue

[Name]'s life had turned a 360° angle in a single night.

She was just the resident gen Z stuck in the middle of a pandemic taking online classes and when she thought 2020 wasn't going to get worse, it did.

It wasn't every day you get to be sucked up into another world after buying some groceries, hopefully, she wouldn't end up like Subaru from Re Zero.

Even just the thought of the shit she could potentially go through and only she would remember it after dying sent a shiver up her spine. She seemed to be blessed enough to be found and taken to safety at least.

And to think that she once dreamed of being "isekaid", that feverish wish came true in the most unexpected of times.

She didn't like it and wished she could curse who in the ever-loving fuck had put her in a world she thought lovely but fictional, she had a family in the real world. Oh wait, could her world even be considered real if the world of Teyvat, a supposed fictional realm was now her reality?

Oh, how she wished she could just punch the god in the face to give her answers as to why they'd grant a wish that was supposed to be nothing but a good joke, aside from giving her existential crisis now of course.

Her brows furrowed as she continuously wiped the wine glass dry, she shouldn't even be stuck in that head-stuck state- they had customers, Diluc would be mad if she were ever to make them wait without necessity.

"Lad! Another round here!" One of the regulars yelled, raising a hand up so she'd know which table she'd be serving again.

Placing the order on three trays, she managed to balance all of them on herself and served it to the man who called earlier. Receiving thanks, she headed back to the counter to continue cleaning cups for the incoming clients.

[Name] does pay attention, the new world she had been subjected to was dangerous. She already had the burden of carrying information she wasn't supposed to know, what more couldn't hurt?

She listened even as she rearranged the delicate glass cups to make a rather fancy display, listening in to things and keeping them in mind in case something were to happen.

She saw a familiar sleeve from her peripheral vision, so she placed the rag down and smiled. "Hello Venti, I'm assuming the regular?" It was the Bard, Lord Barbatos the god of freedom himself.

His emerald eyes glimmered as he flashed a mischievous grin in her direction. "Yes, and thy payment shall be performance." He winked.

She shook her head gently. "I'm afraid that won't be enough of a payment." She chuckled and held her palm out.

Venti pouted and reached for what little earning he got from performing and handed it over to her, smiling in satisfaction she received it. "All of it would be equal to eleven glasses." She had to hold back a snort as to how the bard cheered with the said amount he'd get.

She did end up giving him an extra glass in the end though as a form of sorry.

Hours later, she closed the tavern as per usual in the few days she had started working there. She silently thanked Barbatos for making Mondstadt windy since she could finally get a breather from the thick air the tavern could only provide earlier.

Giving the keys to Diluc who somehow managed to return earlier from one of his vendettas, [Name] graciously bowed and went along her way.

A month, that was how long she had been stuck in this world and counting. She breathed through her nose and exhaled before knocking in a certain rhythm only Klee or Albedo would remember, it was a code of some sort.

The door opened and she was greeted with the face of the chief alchemist. "You're late again, Klee was looking for you." He said and moved to let her in, she entered the house they shared and plopped down onto the couch.

"Is she asleep?" She asked while giving him a glance through her back the best that she could manage, the blonde nodded and closed the door behind him, locking it.

He was one of the few characters she was glad to befriend- if that was the right word, it did feel weird since she thought he didn't actually exist, merely a creation of someone's beautiful imagination.

Sometimes she wondered what kind of luck she had to be living with one of her favorite characters. Alice, Klee's mother had taken a liking to her upon finding her outside of Mondstadt and decided to take her in as she did with Albedo, since she left with her partner she eventually decided to just leave Klee in hers and Albedo's custody while she travels the world.

[Name] does still feel the remnants of the awkwardness in the first days she had been left with the alchemist- not that it ever disappeared, she used to be an only child so living with someone she probably has to call her stepbrother all of a sudden after being ripped off of everything was a little overwhelming. Alice probably knew this and decided to get them stuck together in the means of Klee.

"Drink." Speak of the devil, there he was holding a cup of warm concoction to help her with the obvious stress. And sometimes, she's not very sure if he's either doing it out of his own will or he's doing these things out of politeness, maybe the latter; it made sense for his character the most.

It did hurt a little to think about it though, but she supposed it's the reality she would have to face now and then the days to come after.

She groggily accepted the cup and drank it in one go before repositioning herself to sit down properly, the chilly night air of Mondstadt passing their windows and gently caressed delicate-looking curtains before gingerly touching their faces.

"The stars are awfully nice tonight, ain't it?" [Name] remarked, Albedo's beautiful eyes gave the stars outside a glance. There was an awkward strain in there, but neither of them uttered a single word about it.

"I agree, they seem to shine brighter than last night." He admitted before his eyes diverted back to her.

"We should sleep, you've been tired as of late." He said this in an unblinking fashion, despite it only being a two week equivalent of living with each other, it was enough to let her know it was his way of saying that he cares(?).

At least she hoped he did, there was nothing wrong with a little assumption.

They quietly made their way to Klee after they changed into sleepwear. They slipped under the warm sheets and laid on either side of the little girl, facing each other; sometimes it felt a little too intimate and personal but it somehow managed to feel strangely comforting.

She has no time to think about how surreal everything is, of the weight that's on her shoulders.

Needless to say, they slept peacefully. Leaving only the sounds of soft breathing and the night breeze as a trail.

#albedo x you #albedo x reader #Genshin Impact Albedo #genshin albedo x reader #genshin impact #series #genshin impact x reader

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wastelandcth · 3 years

Text

Lover - cth

part of love songs for calum, a love series.

summary: a dazzling haze, a mysterious place about you dear.

author’s notes: i hope you enjoy this one. as always you can find the playlist to this series here (and you can add your own favorite love songs here!)

warnings: mentions of smut.

masterlist || request

January brought cold weather and dark mornings. The Christmas lights were still twinkling in the morning fog and Calum watched them, wrapped up in a blanket and beanie as he waited for Duke to finish up his morning potty break. He'd been awake for most of the morning, his brain too busy to even try and get some rest.

He'd been up long after you had gone to bed, your back pressed against his chest as you let soft huffs out during your dreams.

Normally, Calum had no problems sleeping when you were at his side. He'd fall asleep before you and he'd snore the whole night long. But this time, he was caught in a haze where nothing made sense and the goosebumps from the cold air felt like they'd been there all night. He'd been running over the words you'd whispered into his ear last night before your eyes closed and you left him alone in the darkness.

"I think I would marry you if you asked me. I'd say yes."

At that moment, Calum felt like his entire world was in the palm of your hands. If you had told him to run out and jump into the icy water of the pool in the backyard, he would've done so. But as the night went on and the gloomy clouds let in a soft light into the bedroom you'd both been sharing for years now, Calum's heartbeat raced at the thought of being with you for the rest of his life. What if you got bored, what if he wasn't what you thought he was and he was suddenly left with a broken heart and broken vows?

And that's how Calum found himself on the foggy and rainy morning, watching his old dog sniff around the plants you'd insisted on planting for him while he had a crisis on whether or not the ring in his drawer would be enough for you. He knew the ring was good, it was his mother's ring, and she'd basically thrown it at Calum to give to you when he'd mentioned settling down with you a few months back when he went to Sydney. He'd hid it in that drawer the second he'd flown home and had pushed it to the back of his mind because he'd never even talked about marriage with you and the thought made his hands sweat.

He'd been in love with you for three years now. He'd known you for longer but he was always busy touring, writing, or recording and it wasn't until life with the band had slowed down a bit that he'd had the chance to really sit down and think about his feelings for you. It wasn't until his own life was stable enough that he could see you more in a week than he had in the past few months that he realized how deeply in love he was with you. At first, he hadn't even noticed that it was love, he was just pissed off and it wasn't until you turned back to smile at him that he felt the warmth in him spread all over.

Calum had the day he realized he loved you ingrained in his mind. You had both been at the grocery store, running errands with one another and catching up from the times Calum had been traveling around the world. Calum had been browsing the snack aisle, a giant pack of double stuffed Oreos calling his name when he heard your laugh. Usually hearing your laugh would bring butterflies to his stomach, but that day he looked over and saw you covering your mouth with your hand as you laughed at something a stranger said to you, he wanted to punch the man. He wasn't even that good looking, in Calum's mind, I mean who even wears khakis out to the grocery store on a Tuesday afternoon? It didn't make sense and the guy was definitely not your type at all. Calum scoffed and rolled his eyes as he had walked back over to you, eyeing the guy up before he wrapped his arm around her waist.

"You ready to go, hun?" Calum mumbled, his fist clenching by his side as he watched you and the man in the khakis both look over at him.

Whenever Calum's mind became overwhelmed with thoughts of you, he'd turn to music. He'd always turned to music when life became too much and his brain felt flooded. He'd spend hours locked in the music room where scattered notebooks held unspoken words and where bass lines floated throughout the air. That night had been no different, you'd been off in a hotel with your bridesmaids, in a city full of temptation and lights, and Calum was at home reeling over what he'd say about you and the love he had for you in a few short weeks.

The wedding vows had been on his mind the second he'd gotten down on one knee in front of you almost a year ago. He'd tried writing them time and time again, the piles of crumpled paper mixing with unheard lyrics and thoughts Calum wasn't sure who to tell. He'd tried writing them while you were sat next to him, while you watched tv and talked to him about whatever had happened this week at work. He tried writing them when you were asleep next to him when your soft breaths hit his shoulder with every rise and fall of your chest. He even tried writing them once in his head while your hands were pressed to his chest and the sound of your hips meeting was covered by the moans you were both letting out, but that was a bust; one of many that night. Every time Calum tried to write his vows, all he realized was that words he ever wrote for you would ever be good enough.

How could Calum tell you in front of everyone you both loved and cherished how you were a magnetic force of a woman and he was in awe of the way you'd gone from a broken shell of a human, sobbing on the floor of Luke's living room to the person he knew now. To the one who wouldn't hesitate to tell Calum when he'd fucked up and that you loved him all in the same sentence. Calum's heart had been bruised before, he'd be in the same boat where he didn't think his heart would ever heal. Calum swore he'd never hurt you like you'd been hurt before even when both of you clashed and the dramatics were a bit too much. He swore that he was going to be there whenever you needed him, cheering you up with another joke he'd kept in his pockets for days when your mood was down and nothing could put a smile on your face. How would Calum ever put into words that he'd always save you a seat at whatever table you were sat at, no matter the occasion? No amount of words could ever amount to the love Calum had for you.

"Take me home?" you whispered in his ear that night, your hands sliding under the white button upon shirt he was wearing that night. The suit jacket he'd been wearing for most of the day had disappeared, lost in between the dancing and the few too many drinks you'd shared with family members.

"Mmm, yeah?" Calum chuckled, his lips against your earlobe sent shivers down your spine, "And where shall I take my charming bride, to our home so we can make sure the neighborhood know who you married tonight, sweet girl?"

"You are a man of many words, Hood." you whispered, "Let's see if those hold up just like those beautiful vows you gave today," you smirked, your warm hands traveling over the expanse of his chest.

Calum, who was always a man of his word, made sure that your wedding night was one to remember. The candles and rose petals leading up to your room trailed behind the dress you'd been wearing for way too many hours. Calum's hand was in yours and as you both laid in bed, chests heaving as you both took a break from the wedding festivities. The sweat covering you both proof of the words he'd promised you earlier that night.

"I panicked that night when you told me you would marry me if I asked. I must've stayed out with Duke for at least an hour, running over the thought that you wanted to marry me." Calum whispered, his fingers threading through your hair as he closed his eyes.

"And then you still asked me?" you teased, pressing a kiss over his heart, "Finally realized you couldn't live without me?"

"Realized I wanted to love you every summer and winter and spring and fall." Calum chuckled, and smiled, "That you were the one I wanted to dramatic with and that the haze I felt with you was love. Want you and only you, lover."

"I wouldn't want anyone else but you, lover."

taglist: @hoodhoran @finelliine @moonlightcriess @dinosaursandsocks @mxgyver @calpops @karajaynetoday @notlukehemmo @calumrose @devilatmydoor @lyss-xo @lowkeyflop @hemmo1996-5sosvevo @stollls @myloverboyash

#calum hood blurbs #calum hood imagines #calum hood one shots #calum hood five #5sos blurbs #5sos imagines #5sos fics #5sos oneshots #calum hood x reader #5sos x reader #5sos #calum hood #5 seconds of summer #gemma writes #love songs for calum

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9h4mn · 3 years

Text

because it's love | oneus

➞ oneus as side characters that likes the fl

➞ angst, one sided love

➞ side characters, at times they bring more light to the show then the mcs themselves. how are the 6 guys of oneus as side characters that likes the fl?

note:

mc - main character

fl - female lead

ml - male lead

warnings: constant switching between stage name and real name, overly possessive mls, terrible fls, sad oneus

ravn:

the pretty boy type

i mean look at him and tell me he doesn't fit this trope

this type of side character is too pretty to be one. many would even argue that he looks better than the ml. he is also portrayed as somewhat vain and plain out confident in his looks

as this is youngjo, he doesn't come out as cocky. he really should be confident because he has the looks to match

so girls (and some boys) confessing to him weren't that much of a surprise. whats surprising however is the fact that not once had he accepted their confessions

people would try to solve the mystery between ravn and his muse but alas it was a mystery better left unsolved

his muse comes in the form of the fl. same neighborhood, same schools all their lives but there was never a chance for them to get close

and his only notable appearance in the fl and ml's story was the time a pissed off ml had punch youngjo to warn the others who stares far too long at the fl

that day ravn didn't knew what hurt more; his face, his ego, or his heart

deep inside that wasn't his concerns. he simply hoped that he wouldn't see fl's scared expression ever again

but how was he to know when the ml used his parents' influence to drive ravn away?

seoho:

the comic relief type

(|||❛︵❛.)

this type of side character has a life where its basically treated as a comedy. whether or not he's doing things intentionally, it will always be treated as a joke and yes it includes him feeling actual pain

seoho had liked his life where he could make everyone smile

he hated seeing sadness or frustration clouding a person and even if he isn't close to them, he tries his best to cheer them up

and while there are times it brings so much humiliation for seoho, their smiles are more than enough

that was what he had thought before he met fl

the fl was the apple of his eyes and that one thing that makes everything better

yet...

why was she laughing at him?

why was she not laughing with him?

how come she never takes him seriously?

he had tried so hard to change his approach or demeanor for even just a second of her stopping with that sneering look but it never happened

he was treated as a joke, he is just a joke for her

but at least she's smiling — he had tried to reason out with himself

true enough if he was in some romcom, a laugh track would insert itself as he was hurting

seoho was there for everyone but who was there for him?

leedo:

the caring type

he looks scary but we all know that isn't the case

this type of side character is just so nice and caring. they might not outwardly say they care but by their actions you could tell that they do

gunhak seriously looks unapproachable but the way he smiles and moves, it erases all the prejudice you had at first glance

that and maybe because he works with children

(yes its kindergarten teacher! leedo time)

parents had thought that their kids would have feared him but now he is their favorite teacher

listen he's just soft for the kiddos and the parents could see that

the fl is also a teacher there and her cubicle is even just across gunhak's

the way how he hovers the fl like some mother chick was not seen as suspicious. almost everyone got that same treatment

it seriously had hurt when the fl has just brushed off his efforts as him being nice. it wasn't that noticeable but he gave the fl more effort than he does to everyone else

though it didn't compare when fl got a boyfriend. it hurt really bad for leedo especially when he sees how well the ml treats her

that should have been him if only he had the courage

keonhee:

the loud type

not to be confused with seoho's

this type of side character is just loud. happy? he screams. sad? he screams. scared? he screams. surprised? he screams. basically screaming is almost his natural response

he tries to control his volume but seriously it is out of control

its a miracle that he still has friends that has no problem being out with him

keonhee is that loud

nearby his university was a cafe that he almost always frequent at

the food and drinks there were really his style... that and it was affordable for a college kid

what connection does that cafe have with the fl? she works there

originally keonhee had thought nothing much of the fl but when she pulled "oh, keonhee right? same order as last time?" he was gone

such simple thing and yet it had managed to steal his heart

that was the beginning of many more mixed signals from fl and keonhee naively thinking of it as a good sign

and then he had witnessed fl running up to ml's — a well known playboy if i may add — arms and kissing the living daylight out of him

fl was just being nice, he shouldn't have assumed

he cried himself to sleep that night

hwanwoong:

the "gay" best friend type

note: emphasis on the air quote ""

this type of side character is the fl's best friend. he is rumored to be gay — the fl herself thinks he's gay — but the truth is he is just one effeminate guy

and what was the problem of being more feminine? hwanwoong saw nothing wrong with it

unfortunately he has to deal with how people treats him with the assumption that he's gay

such a backward society. he could only imagine how much worse it is for those who are truly part of the lgbtq+

no wonder he became known as some social justice warrior... and truthfully it was quite a good distraction to reality

yes it deepens his gay rumors but it was a reasonable excuse for him to not see the fl and ml being lovey dovey with each other

his duo with fl turned into a trio but unlike her promises — and hwanwoong himself did knew better than to believe her — he was an outsider

maybe it was just wistful thinking when back then he believed she'd end up liking him back

even the ml isn't threatened by his presence and every day hwanwoong had hoped it wasn't that cause

maybe by then she'd realize that he too is a man in love

xion:

the ml's brother type

i apologize in advance for the dong twins enthusiast

this type of side character is the brother of the ml. him and the ml are typically seen bickering childishly but they in fact cares for each other

basically just dongju and dongmyeong being true siblings

growing up with his twin had meant a lot of shenanigans — good or bad who cares it was the two of them against the world

around middle school, they both had began having their own crowd and it even reached to high school

they were still brothers but it doesn't necessarily mean that they are close

enter fl. dongju had always told himself that he didn't trust fate but the day he met her he had hoped that they were fated for each other

unfortunately he didn't have that much chance to approach the fl. not only was it hard but it was also because he kept on hesitating

crushing on someone that badly was just new to him

but of course there is no happy ending here

dongmyeong had introduced fl as his girlfriend and the inferiority complex had really slapped xion on the face

he found himself constantly asking why that even he no longer remembers what he's been asking for

whether or not fate is real, it works quite mysteriously

#oneus #onewe #oneus headcanons #oneus imagines #ravn #seoho #leedo #keonhee #hwanwoong #xion #kim youngjo #lee seoho #lee gunmin #kim gunhak #lee keonhee #yeo hwanwoong #son dongju #angst #scenario

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amethystpath-writes · 3 years

Text

Secret Caretaking

Tumblr is acting extremely dumb so there's a high possibility that this will post twice now.

@badthingshappenbingo

Original Work

Secret Caretaking

Angel and demon whump, anyone?

@whatwhumpcomments

******

The halls changed as Angel walked through them. She did this often, walked, and watched what her Holy Land provided her with- what she desired. It was such a delicate system, one always so soft and comforting, but one that only ever served as a happiness while you explored it.

Usually she saw Earth's puppies and baby alligators- goodness she loved the alligators. All of the other angels disliked them- didn't hate them, but weren't particularly fond either. In any case, Angel loved them.

There were other rooms, of course.

Another room she loved passing through was the cloud rooms. Sometimes the clouds were painted with an early sunrise. Other times they were sunset. And the remainder of the times were solid colours that made the clouds look like something the humans would make with cotton and the coloured bulbs they created.

The Holy Land knew her well. Of course it did. It knew every angel inside and out.

Today, the land brought Angel something it never did before. As she walked through the ever changing hall and forever open doors of glorious joy, she spotted a closed door, one black and with a slit at the top with thick metal bars.

Angel stopped, peering at it from a few feet away. She...well, she didn't really like that door. It kind of frightened her. Why was the Holy Land giving her such a dark door? Angel didn't understand. But the Holy Land always knew what she wanted. Surely whatever was inside could be deemed relevant to herself.

With a deep breath, she collected herself, straightening her spine, lifting her chin until it was parallel with ground. This was how Angel walked when things were normal, and this- this completely normal door- was normal. Normal, normal, normal.

There was a handle, one that looked like old, rusting iron. This is normal. This is meant for me. Angel gripped the handle and pushed it forward until she was stepping and sliding through the crack. She watched her feet, careful not to trip over them.

When the door shut, she looked up to see her own light illuminating the room- more than that, she was illuminating a-a form. She didn't dare think the real word, even as she squealed in a sudden fear and let her back slam against the door she'd just slipped through.

"Ah, another of you."

Angel's light dimmed to almost match the pitch black the room had been before. But her light could never be dimmed all the way, especially in her silky white hair which glowed with a faint yellow-orange. Angels couldn't shave their hair, or else they lost their purity. It's why the man in front of Angel terrified her so. His hair was cut short- previously shaved, but now fuzzy, and no longer white or glowing. His skin was the colour of ash- grey, black, and white, like a fire burnt out. He was Fallen.

"You shouldn't be here, y'know?" His voice was barely a whisper. It made Angel wonder how it was so deep, how it penetrated her absent mind so easily. She was usually so good at blocking things out around her. Right now, Angel couldn't even think passed the fallen man's voice, the way he was stretched out before her, wings spread with rings punched into the thick leather and then attached to the walls on either side. She imagined those rings in her own wings and let out an involuntary whimper.

Her hand reached for the handle. She would pull herself up and then open the door and walk out. Simple. But it wasn't so easy as that. Her whole body trembled, shook like when Earth's tectonic plates shifted over one another.

"Come now. Won't you say anything?" The fallen man paused, waiting for a response of any kind. Then, when he received none, he said, "I may be in no position to tell you to leave, but maybe I could scare you out. That is, if you don't give me proper company. You did intrude. It's only polite that you give me your name."

His voice pinned Angel where she was. She wouldn't look up at him, not again. He seemed so large. Was it because she was cowered on the floor or was he really so big as that? She swallowed, still trying to clutch and pull herself to her feet.

"Alright, then."

Angel screamed and hid her head behind her clutched knees as the fallen jerked his wings forward. There was a persistent, but not quite repetitive, sound of something being pulled tight- a chain maybe. He was flapping his wings wildly and with each thrum and pull of it, Angel's body clenched tight like she was preparing for the man-thing to break free and hold a hand against her throat.

She didn't realize she was crying until the fallen stopped moving and told her, "You shouldn't be crying. I'm the one shredding myself over here."

"Shredding yourself?" Her voice was quiet. She hardly even heard herself. With closed eyes, Angel focused on her breaths. When she felt her limbs finally relaxing just a bit, she opened her eyes and looked at the wings before her. She didn't dare look at his face; she was too afraid of what she might find there, but his wings- his wings were destroyed, a torn line down each one from the rings he just hurt himself with. Angel stood in an instant.

"Why would you do that to yourself!" She clamped a hand against her own mouth. Angel spoke to the fallen man. She said something to him. There was no rule against it, per say, but- well, angels didn't talk to the fallen. Maybe it was a fear that, despite there being no rule, if they talked to one of the fallen, they would fall themselves. Maybe they would accidentally introduce themselves to the fallen- and therefore doom themselves.

Even with this terror in mind, Angel touched the bat-like, membranous wing in front of her. She stood at the right wing, shaking her head when her finger made contact and as a shudder traveled through her. Angel breathed shakily with the shudder, stiffening with eyes rolling back for a moment. She withdrew her hand.

"Will you heal?" Angel croaked.

"Of course I will." His voice was louder than a whisper now, but still quieter than his regular volume, Angel could tell. "Just not as quickly without your light."

"I won't give you my light," Angel said, dead-panned.

The fallen man laughed, and Angel watched the wing in front of her bounce as he did so. Her legs were still tensed as she stood. Damn him- literally- for getting her to speak by hurting himself.

"Oh no, no, no, no, dear angel. You would never give your light to my kind. But you would lend it, wouldn't you? Lend it if it were put to good use?"

Swallowing, Angel turned her head towards his own. Her tongue was pushed against the roof of her mouth.

His eyes were like fresh embers.

"You can still be saved," she observed by the glow of his eyes. Without herself realizing it, she took steps closer to his center mass, reaching a hand towards his face. His teeth snapped at her fingers and she yelped, retreating her hand. "You seem perfectly demonic to me. The Holy Land can't possibly see any angelic qualities in you."

"Now, if that were true, you wouldn't be here."

"And how would you know?"

He chuckled at Angel, and she hated the way his eyes glowed brighter when he did. She hated the beauty they portrayed. His eyes were the equivalent to Angel's hair.

"Did you forget I was an angel once, too? The Holy Land led you here. I take it it's because you desire to feel helpful." His eyes dimmed; he was manipulating her and she knew it. Still, he was right. All she ever did was wander around her halls and rooms. She was useless. But- "You could heal me, y'know? It's about the only way you'll feel any fulfillment in this hellhole you call heaven."

Angel thought about it, disregarding his aversion to her home. He had no right to be calling the Holy Land a- a...the word he said.

"Healing you might cause me to fall." Her voice was quiet, but seeing as she was directly in front of the fallen man, he heard her.

"The Holy Land would lure you into a trap?" He smirked, and she knew what he was implying. How holy could the Land truly be if it deceived its own angels?

"Well, yeah. You were tempted, weren't you? The Land is testing me. You- you're a test to me." Which also meant-

"If you walk out of here now without doing anything to help, I'll be hurt worse for attempting to escape." His eyes flared with an orange-red colour again. "I have a feeling they won't make you my tormentor. So, walk out and forever know you're a failure to yourself. Or, satisfy your one and only desire and heal me. Help someone real, even if it's a Fallen One."

He's right. You know he's right, she said to herself. As lovely as the puppy rooms, alligator rooms, and rooms of colourful clouds were...they would never be enough for her. Because she did want to help. It was all she ever wanted, to be a true angel, not just an emergency one- one that stepped in only when there weren't enough angels to help with a catastrophy on Earth with the humans.

"What if-" Angel turned her gaze down, ashamed that she was even thinking about doing this. But...but it was the only way she could feel eternally happy. She needed to be useful. "If I just heal you and leave, they'll know. Because if this is a test, they'll be waiting for me to come out of this room. And if you're healed, they'll know. They'll see my light in the once damaged parts of your wings."

The fallen man hummed as she spoke, agreeing with eyes burning something hot. He didn't feel it, of course, but his vision was always clearer when his foolery and trickery were in play- and succeeding.

"I'll heal you, and you can use the same light to make an illusion that the light is gone. A cloak. The fallen can still use light if they can still be saved. Your eyes reveal your cunningness, which means the Holy Land still accepts you enough that at least one angel will know to help. And I will. I'll help you, if you help me, too."

"You'll have yourself a deal if-" The fallen's lips curled and split to reveal yellowed and dirtied teeth. Four of them were sharpened, like a wolf's. Two on top. Two on bottom. The other angels said the Fallen used them to feed on their light so that they could return. It was terrifying to say the least, but even with teeth like his, the Fallen were beautiful creatures. Angel hated them- hated him, but he was her ticket to true happiness. "-you give me your name."

"What?"

His shoulders lifted and relaxed. "You heard me. I want your name."

"No." She shook her head. "No. No, you know I can't do that."

"It's the only word I'll trust of yours. Your promise, your word...it comes with your name. It's the only way I can trust you'll come back and heal me when the others inevitably torture me again."

Angel felt a fury she never felt before. Holy Land, she didn't even know what fury was. Melancholy, yes. Anger, no. "You don't need my name," Angel seethed. "The only thing you could ever use it for would be to- to return to Holy Land as an angel yourself and- and damn me in the end. Angels aren't allowed to give their names to the fallen. But you know that."

There were too many conflictions in this all. If she left the near-demon here without healing him, she'd never be content. But if she healed him and walked out without giving him her name, he wouldn't cast the illusion to save her skin. And if she did give her name, well he could use it at any point against her, to condemn her to Hell.

"How do I know you won't use my name the moment you learn it?"

The fallen man rose a brow, slid his jaw askew. "You think I want to be an angel even after they casted me away. No. But if I have to choose between being an angel and being tortured by them, I'll take the former unless I can escape- which you are going to help me do."

"But you didn't say-"

"It should have been a given, dear angel."

"I'll damn us both," she said, crossing her arms. It was cute. Wrath and cunning didn't match her features or personality. "I'll heal you for my satisfaction and if you won't cast an illusion to save me then your one chance at escaping will be gone because they'll take my feathered wings. I'll be fallen like you and you'll still be in this room being tortured."

The Fallen One sighed in a dreamily way. "You won't let yourself fall. It terrifies you. I wouldn't know it as well as I do lest you had reacted differently when you realized what was behind that door when you walked in. And again when I flapped my wings. You. Flinched. Every. Time." He laughed. "But here's the thing. You aren't afraid of me. No, you're afraid of becoming me. You're going to give me your name. And you're going to hope with all your angelic being that I'm an honest 'near-demon', as your kind likes to call my own, wishing for God or the Devil's good grace."

Angel blew her nose like a bull, a huff more-like. "I shouldn't," she whispered to herself. "I can't." But the Holy Land says he can be saved. You have to try, Angel.

With a deep breath, she got to work. The glow in her hair gathered into her scalp before sinking into her blood. "My teeth aren't sharp enough to pierce flesh," she said, and swallowed like so many times before while she'd been in this room. She needed to wipe her light on his wings to heal him, but she couldn't get to her light on her own. "I- I need you to..."

"To bite." The Fallen One smiled, on corner of his upper lip lifting further than the rest. "Gladly," he said, and licked his teeth, lip curling a little too long on his sharpest ones.

Angel shook her head, took a shuddering breath, and hovered her index finger in front of the near-demon's mouth. He bit, closing his lips against her finger. Angel gasped, feeling the way his tongue lapped against her skin. "No. No, please! Stop!" But he wasn't stopping. He was going to steal all of her light. "My name is Angel!" His mouth opened. She stole her hand back, clutching it to her chest with her other. Angel nearly sobbed with relief, and also dread as she had just exposed herself to the Fallen One.

"You thought you were clever." His tongue wiped across his teeth where a bit of Angel's blood remained. "You thought with your little ramblings, I'd forget you never told me your name. Angel," he drawled. "Almost as delicious of a name as is your light. No matter. I have the light I need. You'll come back every week to give me more, or else I'll introduce you to Dear Ole Luci."

Angel took a step back, nose scrunched. "You can't be saved," she spat at him.

He sighed. "Didn't I already tell you I didn't want to be saved?" The Fallen One hummed. "Is that more light I see coming through the slits in the door? Looks like you're running out of time to leave my cell, Angel. I'd be scurrying along now."

She had to suppress the urge to scream and tear into him, not only because she might be caught, but because thoughts like that would earn her a ticket to Hell more quickly than what the other angels could tear her wings and throw her there themselves. "If," Angel stressed this word. "If you trick another angel into this evil bidding, I will sacrifice my wings in order to rip your own to pieces."

"Feisty," he mused in return. "Go on, now. I'll look forward to our next visit."

One last huff and she rushed out of the door. Damn him, she thought. And damn me for being fooled so easily.

******

If this weren't for a prompt, I would have split it into two 😬

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howtowhumpyourhiccup · 4 years

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Lain His Hands On Her

Summary: Written for Banned Together Bingo. Set after RttE. When a confrontation between Astrid and Spitelout turns physical, the Riders are left shaken and Hiccup is furious.

Rating: Teen and Up

Characters: Astrid, Hiccup, Spitelout, Toothless, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut

Pairing: Hiccstrid

Words: 1 432

Fandom: How to Train Your Dragon

Prompt: “Abuse of women”

Whumpee: Astrid

Author’s Notes: I had a lot of fun with this one, mainly because angry Hiccup is fun to write. And then the tending to later is also really fun.

Constructive criticism is appreciated!

Enjoy!

Ao3

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The sound of the back of Spitelout's hand making contact with Astrid's cheek rings out loud and clear in the Great Hall. Those present fall silent and stare in utter shock at what has just happened in front of their very eyes.

Astrid is on the floor, holding her cheek and staring up at the man who hit her. All she can do is stare, much too perplexed as she reels with the reality that someone, a man, Snotlout's father, has just hit her.

And for what? Because she made a couple of snide comments about his parenting?

Well, she's right, isn't she?

"Spitelout!" Astrid wishes she could react with that kind of anger, but it's Hiccup who gets in the man's face and gives him a wallop of a punch with his left, further surprising everyone present in the hall. After breaking free from the utter shock of watching the love of his life be hurt, that is his immediate response.

This time Spitelout is the one to stumble to the floor with a grunt, knocking over some chairs as the heir of Berk did not hold back in that blow.

"You son of a-"

"Hiccup, no!" Fishlegs is quick to hold him back, hooking his arms under his friend's and using his quite formidable strength to hold him back.

All the Riders are here and so is Toothless, who is by Astrid and growling at the Jorgenson patriarch. He shares his human's anger.

Snotlout is silent, seemingly not with them as he stares right through them all in disbelieve. Ruffnut and Tuffnut each stand by a side of his, laying their hands on him in comfort.

"Let me go, Fishlegs!" Hiccup attempts to struggle out of Fishlegs' grip, but it remains strong.

Spitelout gets up to his feet and scowls at the party of seven before him. The other Berkians present in the Hall, they stare silently, but they are unimportant to him at the moment.

As he dusts himself off, his eyes briefly lay on the reeling Astrid before going to Hiccup's, who shares his look of anger.

"Standing up for your woman, can't say I can disrespect that, but when a man disciplines a woman-" Spitelout approaches with a finger raised and Fishlegs looks uncertain, his grip on Hiccup lessening slightly.

"Disciplines-?! Do you even hear yourself, Spitelout?! You lay your hands on her again and I'll-" And Hiccup grabs him by his shirt before Fishlegs manages to tear him away from their elder.

"And you'll do what, Boy-o? Punch me in the face some more? If it's a fight you're looking for, you'll get it!" Spitelout shouts in his face, standing just inches away from him, close enough for Hiccup to nearly feel the spit from his talking on his face.

Fishlegs' hold on Hiccup tightens some more and he attempts to pull him away.

"Fishlegs, stop getting involved!"

"Dad," Snotlout's voice is soft as he forcibly tears himself out of his shock. He doesn't want them to fight, he doesn't like to see Hiccup that angry, he hates that Astrid got hurt. She's so proud and that is so demeaning.

But when his father gives him that look, he grows silent again and Ruff and Tuff hold him closer.

Spitelout scoffs at the sight he thinks pathetic and waves dismissively before turning and leaving. He stomps towards the door, not in the least bit ashamed of what he's done, he returns home.

Blood still boiling, Hiccup shouts and kicks a nearby table leg, the table audibly grinding on the stone floor.

How dare he hurt someone like that! Hurt Astrid like that! How dare he? How dare he?!

"Hiccup, it's okay! He's gone and Astrid's with us!" Fishlegs attempts to console him, but they all can see the red mark on her face and that just does not sit well with any of them.

Picking up her axe, her dignity trampled upon, Astrid gets up and leaves.

"Astrid!" Wriggling himself out of Fishlegs' hold, Hiccup runs after her. Toothless quickly follows.

Snotlout is left to stand there, remaining with Fishlegs and the twins.

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

Not long after, both out of their armor, Hiccup and Astrid sit at the former's home. Stoick isn't there yet, so they have some time to themselves.

Toothless is here, too, and sniffing Astrid's cheek. She gives him a smile and scratches him behind the ear.

A red welt has formed on her skin and Hiccup has crushed some ice with a hammer and gathered it in a cloth to press against it.

It was nice to hammer away at the block, it was good for venting. Astrid got her turn to crush it, too.

Holding the pack with ice, he's not pressing too hard, or so he hopes, and his other hand holds her jawline.

They've been mostly silent, neither really feeling like talking much with what has happened. Astrid has been petting Toothless.

"I'm so sorry for what he did." Hiccup apologizes, though he shouldn't be the one to.

"You shouldn't be, Spitelout's the one with the temper." Astrid reminds him and Hiccup wonders how that is supposed to make him feel better. Whether as the Chief's son and heir, as leader of the Dragon Riders, as her friend, or as her future husband, it doesn't matter. What matters is that it's his duty to keep everyone safe and that absolutely includes her.

So he sighs and continues to tend to her cheek, lifting the pack briefly to take a look. Spitelout isn't a weak man and Astrid's cheek is going to bruise. Hiccup's scowl deepens.

"Hey, don't."

"Don't what?"

"Let it eat you up. We both know Spitelout is a horrible man, pretty sure most of Berk knows by now." Astrid tells him and places a hand on one of his.

"Dad and I never should've let his behavior come this far." Hiccup tells her, briefly lifting the ice off her reddened cheek to take another look. Underneath all that red, it's already blue.

A light growling leaves him and Astrid replaces his hand.

"Spitelout doesn't even listen to your dad, what makes you think you could've done anything to change him or kept this from happening?" She asks and it's a valid point. They know that he has hurt his own son before, for Odin's sake. Of course, he wouldn't have any qualms about hurting someone else.

If Hiccup has any regrets so far, it's definitely that he can do nothing to help Snotlout.

"Stay of this, son. This is between Spitelout and Snotlout."

Not matter how far his father has come from old Viking customs, some just will not leave. One of those is that a man's son is his business and no one else's. That frustrates Hiccup greatly.

But should he one day become Chief, in the far, far future he's sure, that is something he looks forward to changing. No child will be hurt by their parent on his watch.

Astrid watches Hiccup carefully, practically able to read his train of thought from his expressions alone.

He is very expressive and Astrid wonders if he knows he can carry entire visible conversations with himself without ever saying a word. If he doesn't, well, she's not planning on telling him. He might stop if she does.

"Hey," She speaks up, tearing him out of his contemplation. "Thank you for defending me. That was very sweet of you."

"It's no problem, you would've done the same for me." Hiccup tells her with a shrug.

He knows Astrid can take care of herself just fine and that if the roles were reversed and Spitelout had lain his hands on him, she would've gotten in his face about it as well.

Astrid nods in agreement, knowing she would've given Spitelout a right hook of her own if she saw him hurt Hiccup. And then she'd probably enjoy watching Stoick give him one, just like she'll be watching her parents give him one once they find out.

That's the only reason why she isn't more upset, that Spitelout will still answer for this even though they can't do much to help Snotlout but provide him with a place where he can feel safe.

That and how much Hiccup cares for her. She knows she chose right when she accepted his offer of marriage.

So she supposes Spitelout can hit her as many times as he wants. If she doesn't hit him right back, she knows Hiccup will in her stead.

And maybe, someday, they can do something more for Snotlout, too.

#httyd fics #httyd movies #httyd #rtte #hiccup haddock #astrid hofferson #astrid whump #hiccstrid #spitelout jorgenson #whumper spitelout #snotlout jorgenson #toothless #fishlegs ingerman #ruffnut thorston #tuffnut thorston #banned together bingo 2020 #my fanfics #lain his hands on her

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struggling-author · 4 years

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Fireworks

an Azulaang Family short story

The sun was starting to set on the Fire Nation capital, but the streets were still buzzing with life. A little girl could be seen chasing her brother down the streets, towards the waterfront, laughing all along the way. Trailing behind them were their two parents as well as their older sister, Ursa. Ever the elegant and courteous princess, she rolled her eyes at the younger children's antics, though she too wore a wide smile on her face.

Usually, their father would be right up ahead with them, chasing his children down with the threat of tickles and other oh so horrible forms of torture, but on this day he was content just walking in the back with their mother on his arm. Their children all knew why, of course. They had heard the story many times, and they were sure they'd hear it again before the day was over.

Walking along the streets with her husband, Azula still couldn't quite fathom that this was her life now. She remembered a time when these people, celebrating all around her, would kneel and cower in fear at her presence. She remembered another time, when they scowled and booed at the sight of her, some even going as far as grabbing cabbages off a nearby stand to throw at her. And even when that subsided, she remembered the shocked gasps and quiet whispers when the Avatar first kissed her in public. Things were so different now. The pair had been far from an unusual occurrence, even in the poorer parts of town, when they'd lived in the palace, and even now, after moving to Air-Temple Island, they made sure to visit at least once a year. Partially, that was due to her husband's apparent need to prove to her and the world that he wasn't ashamed of her, and while she'd always been vocally against it, deep down she was eternally grateful.

"Look, it's the Avatar!" A little kid shouted. "And princess Azula!" another followed, pointing in their direction.

Heads turned, and some people gave friendly nods or waved their hats at the couple, before continuing with their celebrations. A few kids swarmed around them, and Azula was glad to have her husband there pulling most of the attention, or she would for sure have lost her mind.

She felt something tugging at her sleeve and turned around to find a little girl staring up at her.

"Look, princess Azula!" She said, pumping her tiny fist in the air and igniting a flame abound the size of a matchstick.

"Impressive." She commented, and the girl's eyes lit up with joy.

"When I'm older, I wanna be just as great of a firebender as you!"

Azula gave a light chuckle.

"I'm sure you will be," and bending down to whisper in her ear she added, "maybe even a little better."

When they finally made it out of the crowd, Aang lead her into a more quiet back road, where they could enjoy being alone for a while. Their children were old enough now not to run off and get lost if they were left unsupervised for more than a minute, so they could afford to take a little detour.

As they walked along the street, Azula laid her head on her husband's shoulder, and as she did, Aang felt like, just for a moment, the weight of the world had been lifted off them, and he saw only her.

"This is the same street we walked along 17 years ago, remember?" Aang mused.

"Hmm... the crowd was all over us for a whole nother reason that day." She remembered the food stains that had covered her favorite dress. "You pulled me into this street to escape, but the night was basically ruined. You looked so sad like you were the one they'd thrown the stuff at, but you still carefully bent every single stain off my dress, until it looked as good as new."

Aang, who'd closed his eyes to bask in the last rays of sunlight, let them shoot open again.

"You're wearing it today!" He said, having just realized it.

She smiled as she stepped back and gave him a little half twirl to show it off.

"You're as beautiful as the day I fell in love with you." Aang said, mesmerized.

Azula beamed at his flattery. Returning to her place at his side, she continued her story.

"You said we should just go home after that, but you sounded so disappointed about it. I knew how much you'd been looking forward to this day though, so instead I dragged you over to the fortress wall overlooking the port. We got there just in time to see the fireworks."

Aang had taken her hand now, as they kept walking.

"I never understood why they'd made losing the war a Fire Nation national holiday, but that day, I finally did. Everything I had now, my whole life, that I never even knew I wanted... none of that could’ve happened under my father’s rule, not even if we’d won the war.“ She gave a brief pause, turning to face her husband. ”That day, I finally let myself fall in love with you“

When they got to the fortress wall, their children were already waiting for them. Ursa just sat there enjoying the view, while Zuki used her glider to fly across the water and Kuzon kept jumping up and down at the wall like he wanted to join her. After a particularly ambitious jump, he almost fell over and into the water, but luckily his father was there to catch him midair.

"Careful buddy, we don't wanna fall now, do we?"

"No," He said shaking his head "sorry Daddy."

Aang gave him a smile. "It's alright. Now go hug Mommy."

And when he ran up to her and was lifted into her arms, Zuki also came to a landing next to them.

”Me next!“ She shouted, looking up at her mother, and received a gentle pat on her little head.

"You too?" the Avatar asked his eldest daughter, still sitting off to the side.

"I think I'm good.“ She answered. "So are you gonna tell us your sappy love story again?"

"You know what?" Aang said as he looked at his wife, smiling and playing with their two happy children. "I don't need to. I live a new love story with her every day."

At that, his daughter burst out laughing, punching him ever so lightly in the arm.

"Oh my god, Dad. That was the cheesiest thing you've ever said! And the bar is already so high!"

Aang just laughed as well, putting an arm around his daughter, as his wife and other children came to sit beside them.

Sitting together on the little fortress wall, just like Aang and Azula had done years ago, they watched the fireworks go off in the distance.

#azulaang #aang #azula #azula redemption #avatar the last airbender #fluff #azulaang family #family

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aros001 · 3 years

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Going in blind: Watching season 1 for the first time. Random thoughts.

This show is kind of nice because I have no memories of the original She-Ra show, or even any of He-Man, honestly. I'm not sure if I ever watched the original, so I have no frame of reference for how the series is "supposed" to be. I can just take it and judge it as is.

Of the bat, all I know is that supposedly She-Ra and Catra get together as a romantic couple later, but I'm also a huge My Hero Academia fan and the fandom around me ships every character with every other character, so for all I know that might just be shipper wishful thinking I've been seeing and hearing. Given fandoms for Gravity Falls, Thor, and Supernatural ship even siblings together, I've learned not to trust anything except for what I see in the series for myself.

By the way, this isn't a review, just random thoughts and comments I'm having as I'm going through season 1 for the first time.

Episodes 1 and 2: Right off, I really like Catra's "No duh" response to Adora about the truth of the horde. She knows they've been lying to them and have been doing terrible things, she just doesn't care. If she and Adora play their cards right they could end up being the ones in charge and then they'd have all that power. Not necessarily to make things better but enough to where they could do whatever and live however they want. That's a good build for an antagonist. Not ignorant to the fact what they're doing is wrong, just simply so selfish that they don't care.

Episode 3: It really feels like there was no good reason why Glimmer didn't just outright introduce Adora to her mother and every reason she should have known it was a bad idea to try and hide her for a surprise. Being a former horde soldier she'd probably get treated with hostility if Glimmer brought her to the front gate but you'd almost guarantee Adora would get arrested or outright killed if she got caught while no one else knew she was there.

On the other side, we have Hordak being pretty intelligent in promoting Catra. He probably knows Shadow Weaver already doesn't like him, so it's not like he's losing anything making her upset with him, and it's clear she favors Adora way more than Catra, so that little bit of advancement towards Catra probably goes a long way in earning her loyalty to him and a person on the inside with Shadow Weaver.

Also, I'm not the only one who saw Madam Razz and immediately thought Adora had found her Yoda, right?

Episode 4: I don't know how it was in the original She-Ra and He-Man series but I kind of like She-Ra being this title from legend. Adora is not the first She-Ra, given what Razz was talking about with a Mara, so instead of being something new, impressing everyone with abilities they've never seen before, and creating the legend, Adora is placed in a position WAY over her head where she's having to live up to what came before her.

Episode 5: Calling it now, as long as her personality is genuine I think Scorpia is going to be one of my favorite characters in this show. She's...endearing, I think is the best word. She's like a mix of Kronk and a nicer Shego.

For a little bit I thought Mermista was voiced by the same actress who played Poison Ivy in the Harley Quinn animated series. She's not but they do have the same kind of Daria-ish inflections, thus by confusion. Given the prom episode, Sea Hawk feels kind of like her Kite Man.

Episode 6: Okay, now it's between Scorpia and Entrapta who are likely to be my favorites by the end of this. She's fun and quirky.

Episode 7: Quite the lore drop. Shadow Weaver was once a Mystacor sorceress known as Light Spinner. I like to imagine we'll get more on that later. Her haunting Adora reminded me of the Teen Titans' episode where Robin was similarly haunted by Slade. This didn't go as far as that but that's probably for the best, since TT had two and a half seasons to build that dynamic up with Robin and Slade while we're only now halfway through the first season.

Episode 8: Well dang. Again, I don't know for sure if Adora and Catra do end up together but boy do I buy why they're shipped together after that dance. Also, good on Bow for standing up for himself. It's clear that he'll always be Glimmer's friend and this won't change that but that doesn't mean he has to just accommodate her. I understand where her issues stem from but I am still glad he gave her a reality check. It helps him feel a little more like his own character.

Also, another nice little bit of lore and worldbuilding. Scorpia's a princess, the horde landed where her people lived, and they seemed to join them willingly.

Episode 9: Surprisingly don't have a lot to say about this other than I don't buy for a second that Entrapta is dead (EDIT: She's not). This was mostly action.

Episode 10: Not going to lie, this one kind of annoyed me a little, at least the first half. The conversation between Glimmer and her mother saved it a bit. It was a bit of a trifecta. You have the alliance breaking apart, saying that the loss of Entrapta only happened because they were all together...even though Entrapta only "died" because of her own machine obsession that caused her to deliberately walk back into the purging chamber. You have Entrapta who might be turning to the horde's side because she feels abandoned by the other princesses...even though they thought she was dead, and again it was her fault they got separated. And you have Glimmer refusing to tell her mother that Shadow Weaver's dark magic has caused her powers to go on the fritz and is causing her great pain. It just feels like none of this would be an issue if most of these people would stop being self-absorbed for three seconds and talk like any normal person would. It feels very CW drama, like something I'd see in a bad season of Arrow or The Flash. The only person whose issues I buy is Adora, who is basically a soldier who was never properly raised to deal with emotion or loss and is already struggling with the burden of being She-Ra, the legendary savior. I get why she's beating down on herself for not being able to do more even if nothing that happened was her fault.

Episode 11: JEEEEEEEEEZZZZ, that was such a good episode! Focused entirely on Adora and Catra and their past together. Like, just showing someone this episode alone could probably get them to want to watch the series. That was everything you needed to know about their dynamic and history together.

Also, that moment when Catra and her past self are looking at each other, while obviously Catra takes the opposite lesson, it reminded me of this fanart I'd once seen of Jason Todd, the Red Hood, looking at his past self as Robin. The past says to the future "You ruined everything". Catra could be happy but, ironically for someone who hates Shadow Weaver, she's probably going to be a lot like her, sacrificing everything for power and ambition.

Given the way she looked, I'm guessing Shadow Weaver is either addicted to the power of the Black Garnet or she suffered some kind of past injury and its power is the only thing keeping her going. Or both.

Episode 12: I'll be honest, Swiftwind being able to talk kind of gobsmacked and I needed a moment to recover. What a great voice they chose for that character.

So She-Ra is kind of like the legendary heroes from Rising of the Shield Hero, coming from a long line of people chosen to wield the sword. I tend to dislike chosen one types of stories because I think prophecy takes a lot of weight out of the character's actions, so this and Avatar are more what I like. The MC is special but not the only one who's ever been special and they can still easily fail. Their destiny was only to be able to use the weapon, not that they would succeed in any specific purpose.

And dang, Catra's turn against Shadow Weaver happened faster than I thought it would but I'm not complaining. That great "This is what you've really been preparing me for" speech and Hordak, again, being an intelligent villain. "Oh, this experiment could net me a MASSIVE gain and all it could potentially cost me is this rock I already gave away to someone who lately hasn't been producing any results and has been consistently disobeying me. Yeah, I'm going to let this play out."

Episode 13: That was kind of a brutal fight between Adora and Catra. Not the worst I've ever seen even in other shows for this age range (Samurai Jack, for example) but those punches are connecting and those claws are leaving marks.

Also, maybe I'm just misunderstanding the exact situation but shouldn't the good guys' side be called the Resistance instead of the Rebellion? Being a rebellion would imply they are rebelling against an established power or rule over them, but the actual conflict we are shown is the established power and rule that is the kingdoms of Eternia resisting an outside force that wishes to establish a new order over them.

Season 1 verdict: I'm into it. I'm definitely more invested in the villains' side of things but that's not a fault of the series, that stuff is just way more geared towards me than the current princess stuff. I actively am at attention whenever the horde main characters are on screen. For the good guys it's mostly Adora and the She-Ra stuff I'm invested it. That isn't to say I have any real dislikes for that side. Bow especially I'm liking much more than I thought I might. He has kind of this gravitational pull around him. You will be his friend regardless of how much you might want to resist. He's definitely the rock for everyone else to hold onto.

Minor side note, kind of like Korra in Legend of Korra, I love how even when her powers aren't active Adora is shown to still be pretty strong physically with how easily she was lifting people up at the prom.

And I was right, Scorpia is my favorite side character.

On to season 2!

Original Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/PrincessesOfPower/comments/nyll2e/going_in_blind_watching_season_1_for_the_first/

#she ra #she ra spop #random thoughts #reddit repost

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artificialqueens · 3 years

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Gimme Love, 3/9 (Miz Cracker/Blair St Clair) - Grinder

AN: Hey, guys! I hope yall are enjoying this fic so far! Throw me a like please if you do. TW for this chapter: Grief // Homophobia

2003 High School. The bane of my existence. Just as I thought elementary and middle school were terrible, High School really was something else. From my childhood therapy sessions, I learned to conceal my anger, avoid freakouts, and channel my emotions into other things. It was good for me, yeah. But it also made me a more reserved person. Things still made me angry, the other kids at school being a primary key to that. But I never defended myself. Ever. Of course, Jujubee always had my back. Only in later years did I learn to appreciate the times she'd yell at the other kids, telling them to fuck off and whatnot. But back then, I wished she hadn't. It only drew more negative attention. All I wanted was to get through those tough years. I would come home a lot, look at pictures of myself as a child. And I'd be so mad because only then did I see that I wasn't an ugly kid. I was adorable. But, God clearly had favourites 'cause puberty did not do me any favours. If only I had grown up in a more modern time when no one gave a shit about looks. When people were outspoken about the cruelty that came with shaming someone for their looks. When people were more aware of the psychological damage that could do. Again, God had favourites. From years of my eyesight getting worse and needing a new pair of glasses every time I went to the eye doctor, I had thick-rimmed frames that made me look straight out of the 70s. And the lenses made my eyes look huge. I looked like Bubbles from Trailer Park Boys. My hair was bigger but full of split ends due to lack of giving a shit about it. I begged Mom to let me bleach it blonde. She always straight up refused. I had braces for a whole year which, yeah, many people had braces, but one time while answering a question in class, I drooled. And no one let me hear the end of it. And makeup wasn't something I really fucked with. I tried it once, safe and sound in my own bedroom, and it looked woeful. Instead of working to get better, I accepted defeat in that I would always be ugly. "I'm serious, girl. The foundation was so bad. And it was too dark." I ranted to Jujubee as we headed to the bus stop. I was trying to smoke my cigarette as fast as I could before getting there. Mom never knew, and what she didn't know couldn't kill her. Of course, I didn't just go into the store and buy them myself. Instead, I took one a day from my Grandpa's supply. "Girl, you gotta test it first." She pointed out, adjusting her bag straps. "Juju, I got the lightest colour they had. I don't fucking get it. Every other girl in the school uses it. Maybelline shouldn't sell this shit." "You just need to find a different brand." She grabbed my shoulder and pulled me closer, "OK, don't tell my Mom, but I tried some of her MAC shit the other day, and my skin looked fucking flawless." She let me go, took my cigarette from me, taking a toke herself. "Well, how am I supposed to get my hands on that?" I took the cig back. "I don't see any MAC stores around here." "Oh, yeah? Well, you know what your Other World self would do?" Jujubee's brow raised, a sweet grin appearing on her mischievous face. "She would say fuck school, hop on the next bus to Cleveland and go straight to the MAC store." Blowing out some smoke, I looked at her, "Well, Other World you wouldn't be encouraging that sort of behaviour." "No, she wouldn't 'cause she'd be the first on the bus." Jujubee countered. "And she'd start the sing-song." "Yeah, well other world me would out-sing you 'cause she's a star. She's a fucking diva, bitch. Mariah Carey has nothing on her." We were too caught up in our fantasy world; we almost missed the vehicle driving past us. Only when we saw the cackling faces of the boys at the back of the bus did realisation take over. We were going to miss the bus. "Fuck." I uttered, watching the guys still flipping us off as they moved further and further away. To make matters worse, a car pulled up beside us. And of fucking course, it was Trevor Preston, the Captain of the football team. His two sidekicks were in the

back seat, Logan and Noah. "Aw, look, guys. The geeks just missed the bus." Trevor fake whined. In these situations, I just shut down. I thought it was for the best at the time, but fuck, if I could go back and punch that guy. "You know what? Why don't you mind your own fucking business, Trevor?" Jujubee squinted her eyes at him. “Wow, little fiesty, Juju.” He continued, "How about this? We all say sorry, and we can both ride with us to school." 'Hell fucking no.' I thought. "Oh yeah? And what's the catch?" Jujubee raised a brow. "You let me feel your tits," Trevor smirked, his two cronies snickered. "Ah, there it is. I thought that was what your pea-sized brain would come up with." Jujubee nodded her head. "So, hey, Brianna," Trevor shifted his attention, "You're awfully quiet. Don't I at least get a hello?" I was still frozen, feeling my anxiety brewing within. "Dude, don't be so sensitive. You know, if she opens her mouth, she'll just drool all over herself." Logan added, the three axe wounds beginning to snicker again. I felt like I should have at least opened my mouth to prove them wrong, or maybe spit on Trevor's car. But still, I just stood there. "Trevor, if you don't fuck off right now, I'm gonna key your car." Jujubee threatened. "Juju." I tried to stop her. "Wouldn't even have the chance, sweetheart. Either of you bitches come near my car; you'll never walk the halls again." How gentleman-like, threatening two girls. Funny how our safety was the price to pay for a car. Oh, men. "Keep that in mind," Trevor concluded before driving away with dumb and dumber. "You didn't have to do that." I looked at Jujubee. "I'm sorry they're such assholes." She replied, taking my hand in hers. I shook it off, however. "No, I mean, I wish you wouldn't do that." Jujubee crossed her brows, "what? So I'm supposed to sit there and just take it? No fucking way." "I know. But," I paused, "they kinda scare me. You know?" "Brie, there's nothing more pathetic than a man sweating over the safety of his ride." She retook my hand, "Don't be afraid of a cunt like him." "I mean, I can try not to. But I can't make any promises." I shrugged. "Anyway, what's the plan? How are we supposed to get there on time?" Jujubee was silent for a moment before replying with, "my Mom?" Her Mom did end up giving us a ride, much to my dismay. I would have preferred to take the day off. Or better yet, to just fucking drop out altogether. But Jujubee was always there to reassure me - I adored that bitch. I would have fucking taken a bullet for her. I would like to say that it wasn't just Jujubee and me, that we had a group of more friends. But these guys, I never really counted them as friends. A year prior, we both decided to try and improve our social lives by joining a club. The only one that would accept us was the chess club. Every other member was a guy, and they were nerds. Not that Jujubee and I minded. However, the problem was that they only let us in because...well, do I even need to explain? "So, Brianna," Jimmy decided to approach me at the end of one session, licking his hand and sweeping his hair from his face. "Because I beat you twice today, what do I get?" "...Excuse me?" "My prize. What do I get??" He put an arm around my shoulders. I was puzzled, "Uh, you can have my chicken nuggets at lunch." His grin was beginning to disappear. "Oh, I was thinking of something else. A kiss, maybe?" I felt bad for doing it, but my fight or flight response told me to just run from the room. I didn't want to hurt his feelings, but these guys were just on another level of thirst. And it wasn't just me who they flirted with. Jujubee had informed me of a time Arnold convinced her to make out with him. She was all for it until she realised how awful of a kisser he was. And as the boys became more desperate, we decided that we were better off alone. Again, I was so grateful for Jujubee. I was surprised she stuck around, considering she had seen me at my worst when we were still so young. How the fuck had she not developed

issues of her own? Jujubee was the number one reason I even found the strength to just get up in the morning, drag my ass to school, and do my work - Well, aside from wanting to get good grades so I could go to a good college. The second reason? Blair. Unlike me, she was thriving. Our lives were totally cliche - me being the kid who grew up to be the nerd who only speaks when it's to answer a question. And Blair, growing up to be the head cheerleader. And I was still very much in love with her. What a fucking cliche. I avoided Blair at all costs for several reasons;

differing social circles (in my case, lack of),

her boyfriend, who was the Captain of the soccer team and wasn't shy about giving me and Jujubee grief,

her friends,

and, of course, my massive crush on her.

So, why was Blair the second reason as to why I dragged myself to school? Her smile. That was enough. As much as I tried to avoid her, the world decided to do a big "fuck you" on me and sometimes put us into situations together. And every time, I'd be internally freaking out. The worst was when we were both 16. It was that time of the year when the school would invite someone to subject us to the most humiliating moment of our lives. How the fuck were you supposed to put a condom on a banana without bursting out laughing? How the fuck were you supposed to sit there and keep a straight face when the educator used words like 'flaps'? We filed into the class, Jujubee and me taking seats at the back of the room. We knew this was going to be hilarious, so best to avoid the attention of the teacher. "Juju, I know you are dying to make jokes during this, but I'm begging you. Please don't." I spoke quietly to her as other students filed in. "But you know I'm going to, right?" Jujubee smirked, putting her bag on the ground. "No. We wanna keep a low profile. If we laugh, we draw attention, and then we risk being singled out. You know? We'll be at the front of the class demonstrating whatever this bitch asks us." Obviously, I was referring to putting condoms on bananas and the like. Juju, however, raised a brow, "I wouldn't mind that, babe. Don't worry. We won't need to take our clothes off." I stared at her for a few seconds, unable to think of how to respond to that. Jujubee winked, and I forced myself to look away. "That's not what I meant." Blair strolled in with Denali and Rosé, already I could feel my stomach knotting. They went to sit together somewhere in the middle. "Ugh, nope. I don't think so, ladies." Ah, Miss Jaida Hall, if only I could have warned you not to say what you were about to say. Somehow Blair and the two others knew she was speaking to them. She continued, "This is an important class, and I'm not gonna have you all laughing and snickering during it." She had a point. The three girls usually whispered to each other in class, giggling about all sorts of shit. It was never anything malicious about the lesson or teachers, just inside jokes with each other, pretty harmless stuff. But it pissed the teachers off so much. "You can't be serious, right?" Denali replied, clearly scandalised. "Very serious, actually." Ms Hall nodded, "Denali, sit with Brian. Rosé, with Gigi. Blair, with Brianna." I grabbed Jujubee by the wrist, the pressure making her squeak. This wasn't happening. This wasn't happening. Blair was not rolling her eyes as she made her way to the back towards me. This was not fucking happening. As instructed, Jujubee stood up and let Blair sit down, moving to sit somewhere else. I was alone with the one person I tried my hardest to avoid. She slouched down in her chair, arms folded like she was already over it. I wanted so badly to ask if she was OK. But I couldn't bring myself to. And as the lights turned off and the sex-ed lady pressed play on the video player, I wished I had said something. As the way too enthusiastic narrator explained step by step the act of sexual intercourse, I tried hiding the blush on my face with my hair. I tried so hard to focus on what I was being taught. The truth was, I was still a virgin, as were many of the others in the room, I'm sure. But unlike them, I had no idea how sex worked. It wasn't something I ever gave time to think about. I felt a tapping on my hand. My body tensed as I glanced to the side. Blair was looking at the screen, then at me, then her fingers brushed against my hand. I stared back, unsure of what was happening but also knowing full well what she was doing. She leaned closer and pressed her lips on mine. … OK, that's not what happened. Life wasn't a movie. This was the beginning of the fantasies. Was I ashamed because I was thinking about Blair like that? Or was I ashamed that I enjoyed thinking of Blair like that? "This is ridiculous," Blair whispered. Was I supposed to say something back? "What do you mean?" I

whispered back. "Do they actually think we're that dumb? We all know how sex works. We don't need this stupid class." Blair rolled her eyes. I almost told her that I belonged to the small percentage that didn't know. But I stopped myself. I couldn't bear her knowing that information. Instead, I went with the awkward, "haha. Yeaaahhhh…" For the rest of the film, we sat in silence. Still trying to focus on the screen. Not the absolute stunner sitting next to me. And as if by magic, the video ended. I wanted to say I was relieved, but I couldn't lie; what I learned from the film left me nauseous. He puts his hoo-ha in her what, now?? "Well, that was really cool and hip, right?" The educator enthused. I cringed internally. No woman wearing a crucifix necklace and ankle-length skirt has the right to use words like 'cool' and 'hip'. "I know it's probably all so confusing. So that's why I'm here to answer any of your questions, dudes and dudettes." Already, one of the boys put a hand up. "Go ahead, homie." "What about the other hole?" He said with a straight face before his friends started laughing. He laughed back as he fired one of them. "You know. The back door?" Ms Hall shot him the 'look'. He was toast. The sex educator fixed her hair quite uncomfortable, "Well, there's a reason that is an out hole, young man. I warn all of you, do not go down that road. You will get aids and die. Now, does anybody else have a question?" The educator rambled, fixing her hair awkwardly. I heard the rustling of clothes beside me, and glancing around, Blair had her hand straight up in the air. "Yes, sweetheart?" Sex Ed lady pointed to her. "OK, so this is interesting and all, but I was just wondering, what about non-heterosexual sex?" Her brows knit for a moment. I looked around at her now. The breath caught in my throat. "I'm sorry?" Sex Ed lady asked. "You know. Man on man. Girl on girl. What about all of that?" Blair raised a brow. "I mean, you gotta know there's more than just heterosexual people out there. Maybe some even in this room right now." "Blair." Ms Hall began. "Because, if you disagree, then that's ridiculous. Oh, and if you think aids is some kind of death sentence, then you seriously need to educate yourself." Sex ed lady looked appalled, her Christian beliefs quite clearly threatened. "That's it. Get out." Ms Hall stood up. Blair huffed, pushing her seat back, lifted her bag and left the room, Ms Hall following behind. "OK. So, any other questions? Reasonable questions only, please." Jujubee was looking over her shoulder at me now, sharing the same expression I did. Thank God for lunch next period. Jujubee and I were hiding at the back of the school, in an alley between the building itself and the old workshops. The perfect hiding place for a smoke and to freak the fuck out about specific events. "Juju, she knows. She knows I'm a lesbian. She knows I like her." I paced. "I'm moving. That's it." I stopped. "But why would she speak up for me of all people? It doesn't make sense." My eyes widened. "Unless she's also a lesbian. I mean, that makes sense, right?" Jujubee had been sitting on the wall, patiently listening to my manic ramblings. The first few minutes, she was just as astounded. But the more I theorised, rambling on and on, she was over it. "I highly doubt that considering the boyfriend." "Then she must know. Why else would she say it? I highly doubt there are other gays in that class. Speaking of which, I had no idea lesbians could have sex like; how does that work. I'm gonna look into that somehow. But getting back to the point, if she did know, why would she speak out for me of all people?" My ramblings were non-stop. I tried my best to avoid Blair for the rest of the day, not that I could, considering we were both in the same last period. Blair's outburst was the talk of the school. I wasn't sure if it was a positive response or not. The only thing I did know was Trevor was pissed. "Brie, look." Jujubee tapped me. I turned from my locker and looked where everyone else seemed to be

looking. Just down the corridor, Trevor was standing over Blair, their conversation clearly heated. People were shamelessly moving closer, Jujubee following in their path. "Juju, don't," I whispered. But she didn't listen. I went after her as if it would stop her. "Trevor, this isn't that big of a deal," Blair said. "Not a big deal? Blair, do you know what the guys are saying? They think you're gonna dump me for a girl. Do you know how humiliating that is?" Trevor held a hand to his chest "And what if I did?" Blair challenged. The few people standing around cooed with excitement. "Oh, please. Don't get all cocky now that you have an audience." Trevor pointed. But Blair took a step closer to him. "What, 'cause you know you're the one who looks like an idiot? Maybe if you weren't so insecure, you'd know I would never do that to you." "Don't call me an idiot." Trevor lowered his tone, choosing purposely to ignore her reassurance. "Fine. But don't criticise me for a valid question I asked in a class you weren't even a part of. It's none of your business, no one's business for that matter." Blair bit back. "I can do what I want, Blair." "OK. Whatever." Blair brushed past him. Trevor quickly spun around, grabbing her arm. "No, we're not done having this conversation." My stomach twisted. "Let go of my arm, Trevor." Blair tugged, her voice cracking. Trevor did as was told now that the air was thick with tension, "We are not done talking," he stressed. Blair took a step back, "Yeah, we are, actually," and she turned to walk away. "If you walk away right now, we're finished." Trevor threatened. It was as if time was at a standstill, waiting for her reaction. But at the same time, it felt as though time was counting down. Like we were in a competition show. The contestant has to decide before time runs out, while the audience yells, 'DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!' No one was shouting, but you could feel everyone's excitement. Blair's lip curled upwards. "OK. Fine by me." And, finally, she walked off. The people were cooing with excitement again. "Shut up!" Trevor shouted. I grabbed Jujubee by the shoulder and ushered her back. Trevor kicked his locker, the thud echoing through the halls. That was the last straw. Knowing Trevor, he'd take his anger out on us. It was time to flee the scene. It was all Jujubee wanted to talk about for the rest of the day. Now I knew how she felt during my smoke break. But I couldn't blame her. The scene played in my head over and over again, leading to so many questions. Was there more to this breakup? Did he grab Blair like that all the time? What would happen now? Would she find a new guy? A girl, maybe? I came to the conclusion that Blair and Trevor's breakup was neither good nor bad. Bad because, as I said before, now he had more pent up anger from the humiliation of being so publicly dumped. Therefore, Jujubee and I would most likely be subject to more harassment. Good, because maybe Blair did like girls. Maybe there was still some little chance for us to be together. But if we were going to be together, there was one issue; I still had no fucking idea how lesbian sex worked. Cut to later that night, I'm in my room, sitting in front of my computer. I needed to distract myself from my thoughts of the breakup. While the scratchy dial-up tones emitted the machine, I psyched myself up. Even though I knew sex was normal to learn about at that age, it was still daunting. With shaky hands, I searched 'lesbian sex'. And fuck was it a mistake. What I wanted was educational articles, guides, etc. And what I got was porn. I watched all but a few minutes, all the painfully bad acting scenes that took place before the main event. Upon hearing the first moan, I clicked out as fast as I could. Looking behind me, Piggie was just playing with a stuffed animal on my bed. "You saw that, right?" He looked at me with perked ears. I still felt judged, so I opened my bedroom door and let him out. I needed to be exact. 'How do lesbians have sex?' And Brianna Caldwell was never the

same. My mind was opened that night. This was no mistake. This was a surprise. I couldn't look away from the computer screen, no matter how slow the Internet connection was. All of this information was all too much but not enough at the same time. And it made me feel less nauseated than I felt after watching that stupid video in class. And I built up the courage to go back to that porn site. And I watched every damn second. Then I watched another one. And another. And just one more 'cause why the fuck not? My bedroom door opened. "Brianna, I'm ordering - -" "Get out," I shouted, closing the site down like my life depended on it. But she stood there for a few seconds, eyes wide and hand still on the door frame. "Honey, are you - -" "Mom, oh my god. Can you just - -" I couldn't even form a proper sentence. She gave an apologetic look and closed the door. But she remained on the other side. "I just wanted you to know that I'm ordering pizza for Grandpa and me. Do you want some?" My forehead was in my hand now. "Yes." "What kind?" "Just…" I wanted to shout, "Pepperoni." And with that, she left. But that wasn't the end of it. When the food arrived, I waited a few minutes before going downstairs to grab a few slices. Grandpa was in the living room watching an old rerun of The A-Team. But she was there, in the kitchen, as if she was waiting for me. "Honey, look. I know you're getting to that age where you're curious about certain things and - -" "Mom, no. Please, don't do this." I whined. "I know. I know. I just wanted to let you know that this is natural, and…" she continued to deliver the same talk we all got in class. My eyes were wide, face red with humiliation. -_-_-_- 2020 I picked up a slice of pepperoni pizza, instantly reminded of the traumatic event. OK, maybe that was too strong of a word to use. But of course, you are going to dread the thought of that time your parent talked to you about sex. I walked into the living room, pizza slice in hand, trying not to dwell on the memory. "So, Brianna. Any update on the love life?" Tamisha asked. I loved that bitch; being one of Mom's closest friends, she was present for most of my life. But she always had a tendency to ask questions I wasn't up for answering. I took a bite from my pizza and answered with a full mouth, "dry." "Girl, you're almost 40." She continued. I was ready to challenge her because I was actually just 33 when Mom took her turn to speak. "Yeah, get yourself a man and make me a Grandma already." She wasn't serious. She knew I hated these types of talks, but that didn't stop her from encouraging the others. The funny thing about the time she caught me watching porn, she never clocked it was girl on girl. Of all the years I've been on this planet, I hadn't given her a clue that I was a lesbian. Would I ever tell her? I didn't see the point. From previous failed relationships and being too busy with my job, I wouldn't end up with someone anyway. But of course, I'd make an exception for a certain someone. Monét poured the first round of shots. I already knew I'd hate myself the next day. I wasn't drunk already. Just sort of buzzed. But that changed within an hour. I was hammered. Mom, Monét and all her friends were singing all the old songs in the living room. I was out in the kitchen, trying to drink 8 glasses of water. I only managed 3. Piggie ran in and put his paws up on my knee. "There he is. My baby. My fucking son." I slid down to the ground and let him sit in my lap. "How is your night going?" Just great, Brianna! Anyway, how about that Blair girl, huh? Piggie's non-existent voice said. "Oh yeah," my eyes narrowed. I unlocked my phone and opened up Facebook. And I bravely searched up her name. I say bravely because it does take some balls to go and stalk your crushes social media accounts. All it took to fuck everything up was the slip of a finger, and before you know it, you've liked a post or sent a friend request. "Let's do some digging, Piggie." I cuddled him. Immediately, she was the top result, with Jujubee

being the only mutual friend. "Yeah, girl. Infiltration." I commented as I clicked into her profile. And then her profile picture. "Holy shit." She hadn't aged. She still looked as young and radiant as she did back in high school. "What do you think, Piggie?" I showed him the screen. He glanced at it before tucking his head under his arms. The enthusiasm. I rolled my eyes. I looked at her info. 'Single'. Promising. Scrolling down to her timeline, I noticed she didn't post a lot. Fair enough. Facebook was becoming a dead site in recent years. There were just your average Facebook posts, sharing giveaway posts, a post from an old lady saying, 'Blair, this is Granny. Could you go to Walmart and get me some applesauce? Love granny xx', a shared post from a guy called George Miller. And my finger stopped scrolling upon seeing Blair holding a baby. "Oh God, we've encountered our first obstacle, Piggie," I whined. I clicked into the comments. That George Miller guy commented, 'congrats, Blair!' She replied, 'thank you, but she's my cousin's lol'. "Thank you, Jesus." I put my phone down for a moment to put my hand up to the good lord. I scrolled some more, seeing many inspirational quotes, a link to Adore You by Harry Styles. And a picture of her. With that George Miller guy. With his arms around her. Pressing a kiss to her temple. I could feel my heart sink the more I studied it. Yeah, I knew Blair and I were never meant to be anyway. But it was still upsetting. Relax. They could be friends. Yeah, that's right. Friends hold each other and act all affectionate, right?? I cuddle with Jujubee sometimes. That doesn't mean anything. Right? I needed evidence, just anything, to make it not true. I scrolled some more. There was a video, she was sitting on her sofa, with a girl playing the guitar sitting on the other end. "I've been running races on empty, Pour it up 'cause my cup so empty. Gotta make time for the real me. I've been running, I've been running on empty." And my nerves were settled again. I had only heard Blair sing a few times. She and her friends would pretend they were famous singers in early elementary years, and she'd always be the best. Then another time was in high school, at the winter talent show. I specifically remember it being A moment like this by Kelly Clarkson. It was unreal. 'Jujubee 💋💅🏽 is typing…' I clicked into Snapchat before she even had a chance to type the whole message. "Do you remember Jujubee?" I asked Piggie. Again, he was silent. 'I hope you're having fun, babe ❤ lv u'. "Thanks," was all I could manage to type. A shadow cast over me. I looked up to see Monét join me on the ground. "Hey, girl." She greeted me. "Hi, Aunt Monét." I smiled. Piggie hopped off my lap and onto hers. "Aunt Monét? Honey, you haven't called me that since middle school." She smiled. I returned the smile, only mine probably looking goofy. "I'm just wasted." "I noticed. No more shots for you anyway." She noted, taking a drink from her own bottle. "Anyway, how's the project?" "We got fucking Ed Sheeran involved." I then cursed myself internally for bringing it up. "I heard. Your Mom was telling me. Ugh, girl, why him? Why not someone like…" she paused to think, "like Beyonce. Or Lady Gaga." "OK, man-hater." I quipped, reaching over to pet Piggie. "Not true. Not all men are bad." Monét pointed out. "Speaking of which, when are you getting yourself one?" I could have given her the usual 'I don't have time for men's talk. But the alcohol said no. "Monét, I like girls." And I felt no shame in saying it. A moment of silence fell between us before she asked, "for real?" "Yeah." I nodded. "Does anyone else know?" "Yeah. Juju. And Piggie probably." I replied, leaving one more name out for the sole purpose I didn't want to get into that. "And Mom?" "Nope." She nodded. "I guess this is one of these aunty-niece confidentiality things?" "Uh-huh." I smiled. Bless Aunt Monét. "Well, no matter who you live, we still love you." She laughed for a moment before taking another drink. I knew

she was right. Maybe coming out to Mom wasn't such a bad idea. "You know what, Brianna?" She paused, "Grandpa would be so proud of you, right?" My smile slowly began to drop. Fuck, the touchy subject. "Oh, I...thanks." I thought the change in my mood was hard to miss, but Monét clearly had. "You and I ain't ever talked about him since...you know." "OK," I said quietly, feeling like my chest was a fist, beginning to clench tighter and tighter. "And sometimes, it's just good to look back on - -" "I gotta go." I quickly stood up, feeling the dark fog already come over me. I rushed from the room, my aunty calling my name and apologising. I avoided going into the living room, rushing up the stairs and racing for the bathroom. As soon as the door was locked, I let myself crumble, my face hidden beneath shaking hands, a cry clogged in my throat just begging to belt out. Mom would definitely hear it. I wasn't going to ruin her day. Absolutely not. Tags: rpdr fanfiction // s10 // as5 // miz cracker // jujubee // blair st clair // blair x cracker // denali foxx // rose // fluff // coming of age // hurt/comfort // lesbian au // highschool au // grinder // tw grief // tw homophobia [Cover image here] AN: Hey, guys! I hope yall are enjoying this fic so far! Throw me a like please if you do. TW for this chapter: Grief // Homophobia [read more] 2003 High School. The bane of my existence. Just as I thought elementary and middle school were terrible, High School really was something else. From my childhood therapy sessions, I learned to conceal my anger, avoid freakouts, and channel my emotions into other things. It was good for me, yeah. But it also made me a more reserved person. Things still made me angry, the other kids at school being a primary key to that. But I never defended myself. Ever. Of course, Jujubee always had my back. Only in later years did I learn to appreciate the times she'd yell at the other kids, telling them to fuck off and whatnot. But back then, I wished she hadn't. It only drew more negative attention. All I wanted was to get through those tough years. I would come home a lot, look at pictures of myself as a child. And I'd be so mad because only then did I see that I wasn't an ugly kid. I was adorable. But, God clearly had favourites 'cause puberty did not do me any favours. If only I had grown up in a more modern time when no one gave a shit about looks. When people were outspoken about the cruelty that came with shaming someone for their looks. When people were more aware of the psychological damage that could do. Again, God had favourites. From years of my eyesight getting worse and needing a new pair of glasses every time I went to the eye doctor, I had thick-rimmed frames that made me look straight out of the 70s. And the lenses made my eyes look huge. I looked like Bubbles from Trailer Park Boys. My hair was bigger but full of split ends due to lack of giving a shit about it. I begged Mom to let me bleach it blonde. She always straight up refused. I had braces for a whole year which, yeah, many people had braces, but one time while answering a question in class, I drooled. And no one let me hear the end of it. And makeup wasn't something I really fucked with. I tried it once, safe and sound in my own bedroom, and it looked woeful. Instead of working to get better, I accepted defeat in that I would always be ugly. "I'm serious, girl. The foundation was so bad. And it was too dark." I ranted to Jujubee as we headed to the bus stop. I was trying to smoke my cigarette as fast as I could before getting there. Mom never knew, and what she didn't know couldn't kill her. Of course, I didn't just go into the store and buy them myself. Instead, I took one a day from my Grandpa's supply. "Girl, you gotta test it first." She pointed out, adjusting her bag straps. "Juju, I got the lightest colour they had. I don't fucking get it. Every other girl in the school uses it. Maybelline shouldn't sell this shit." "You just need to find a different brand." She grabbed my shoulder and pulled me

closer, "OK, don't tell my Mom, but I tried some of her MAC shit the other day, and my skin looked fucking flawless." She let me go, took my cigarette from me, taking a toke herself. "Well, how am I supposed to get my hands on that?" I took the cig back. "I don't see any MAC stores around here." "Oh, yeah? Well, you know what your Other World self would do?" Jujubee's brow raised, a sweet grin appearing on her mischievous face. "She would say fuck school, hop on the next bus to Cleveland and go straight to the MAC store." Blowing out some smoke, I looked at her, "Well, Other World you wouldn't be encouraging that sort of behaviour." "No, she wouldn't 'cause she'd be the first on the bus." Jujubee countered. "And she'd start the sing-song." "Yeah, well other world me would out-sing you 'cause she's a star. She's a fucking diva, bitch. Mariah Carey has nothing on her." We were too caught up in our fantasy world; we almost missed the vehicle driving past us. Only when we saw the cackling faces of the boys at the back of the bus did realisation take over. We were going to miss the bus. "Fuck." I uttered, watching the guys still flipping us off as they moved further and further away. To make matters worse, a car pulled up beside us. And of fucking course, it was Trevor Preston, the Captain of the football team. His two sidekicks were in the back seat, Logan and Noah. "Aw, look, guys. The geeks just missed the bus." Trevor fake whined. In these situations, I just shut down. I thought it was for the best at the time, but fuck, if I could go back and punch that guy. "You know what? Why don't you mind your own fucking business, Trevor?" Jujubee squinted her eyes at him. “Wow, little fiesty, Juju.” He continued, "How about this? We all say sorry, and we can both ride with us to school." 'Hell fucking no.' I thought. "Oh yeah? And what's the catch?" Jujubee raised a brow. "You let me feel your tits," Trevor smirked, his two cronies snickered. "Ah, there it is. I thought that was what your pea-sized brain would come up with." Jujubee nodded her head. "So, hey, Brianna," Trevor shifted his attention, "You're awfully quiet. Don't I at least get a hello?" I was still frozen, feeling my anxiety brewing within. "Dude, don't be so sensitive. You know, if she opens her mouth, she'll just drool all over herself." Logan added, the three axe wounds beginning to snicker again. I felt like I should have at least opened my mouth to prove them wrong, or maybe spit on Trevor's car. But still, I just stood there. "Trevor, if you don't fuck off right now, I'm gonna key your car." Jujubee threatened. "Juju." I tried to stop her. "Wouldn't even have the chance, sweetheart. Either of you bitches come near my car; you'll never walk the halls again." How gentleman-like, threatening two girls. Funny how our safety was the price to pay for a car. Oh, men. "Keep that in mind," Trevor concluded before driving away with dumb and dumber. "You didn't have to do that." I looked at Jujubee. "I'm sorry they're such assholes." She replied, taking my hand in hers. I shook it off, however. "No, I mean, I wish you wouldn't do that." Jujubee crossed her brows, "what? So I'm supposed to sit there and just take it? No fucking way." "I know. But," I paused, "they kinda scare me. You know?" "Brie, there's nothing more pathetic than a man sweating over the safety of his ride." She retook my hand, "Don't be afraid of a cunt like him." "I mean, I can try not to. But I can't make any promises." I shrugged. "Anyway, what's the plan? How are we supposed to get there on time?" Jujubee was silent for a moment before replying with, "my Mom?" Her Mom did end up giving us a ride, much to my dismay. I would have preferred to take the day off. Or better yet, to just fucking drop out altogether. But Jujubee was always there to reassure me - I adored that bitch. I would have fucking taken a bullet for her. I would like to say that it wasn't just Jujubee and me, that we had a group of more friends. But these guys, I never really counted them as

friends. A year prior, we both decided to try and improve our social lives by joining a club. The only one that would accept us was the chess club. Every other member was a guy, and they were nerds. Not that Jujubee and I minded. However, the problem was that they only let us in because...well, do I even need to explain? "So, Brianna," Jimmy decided to approach me at the end of one session, licking his hand and sweeping his hair from his face. "Because I beat you twice today, what do I get?" "...Excuse me?" "My prize. What do I get??" He put an arm around my shoulders. I was puzzled, "Uh, you can have my chicken nuggets at lunch." His grin was beginning to disappear. "Oh, I was thinking of something else. A kiss, maybe?" I felt bad for doing it, but my fight or flight response told me to just run from the room. I didn't want to hurt his feelings, but these guys were just on another level of thirst. And it wasn't just me who they flirted with. Jujubee had informed me of a time Arnold convinced her to make out with him. She was all for it until she realised how awful of a kisser he was. And as the boys became more desperate, we decided that we were better off alone. Again, I was so grateful for Jujubee. I was surprised she stuck around, considering she had seen me at my worst when we were still so young. How the fuck had she not developed issues of her own? Jujubee was the number one reason I even found the strength to just get up in the morning, drag my ass to school, and do my work - Well, aside from wanting to get good grades so I could go to a good college. The second reason? Blair. Unlike me, she was thriving. Our lives were totally cliche - me being the kid who grew up to be the nerd who only speaks when it's to answer a question. And Blair, growing up to be the head cheerleader. And I was still very much in love with her. What a fucking cliche. I avoided Blair at all costs for several reasons;

differing social circles (in my case, lack of),

her boyfriend, who was the Captain of the soccer team and wasn't shy about giving me and Jujubee grief,

her friends,

and, of course, my massive crush on her.

#rpdr fanfiction #s10 #as5 #miz cracker #jujubee #blair st clair #blair x cracker #denali foxx #rosé #fluff #coming of age #hurt/comfort #lesbian au #high school au #angst #gimme love #grinder #tw grief #tw homophobia

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wickedbarnes · 4 years

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Guns and Roses (Pt. 2) | John Wick x Reader

Part 1

SYPNOSIS: After the little visit from the new flower shop downtown, John slowly finds himself on edge and being haunted by a certain innocent girl.

THEME: Non-con. Dubcon. Obsession. Dark!John x Innocent/Naive!Reader. Abduction. Lots of smut. Don't read if any of these make you uncomfortable. 18+ readers ONLY.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Slight mention of violence.

John hadn't find the time to visit her yet. And days passed by, he had grown irritated by the fact without him noticing. He was easily angered but then again, he was like a ticking time bomb ever since his wife died. When Helen Wick was sent six feet underground, she took the man that John once was.

A whole different version of him was left behind. A version of him that shook his enemies to the core. Because if John Wick was already known to be brutal, the man who he is today was worse than that now. And somehow, that alarmed some people.

Some of them believed he was losing a few screws. But they weren't bold enough to be loud about the rumor. They didn't want to take any chances. Last time someone uttered the name of Helen Wick and used it to push John's buttons, they had their head cut off. The slow way. After that, no one was brave enough to do what the last guy did.

And somehow, his pal, Aurelio noticed how John was always so antsy and on edge as if one tap on his shoulder would cause him to have a killing spree.

"John, you need to take it easy." He sighed and poured the man a drink. The assassin grumbled and leaned back on his seat broodingly.

"I am taking it easy." He reasoned out but he knew Aurelio wasn't buying any of that shit.

"I'm not stupid, man. I notice how you seem so... I don't know, seem so... irritated. Like something's been bugging you. Do you wanna tell me about it?"

"There's nothing to tell." By the tone of John's voice, Aurelio raised his arms up in defeat.

"Okay, but you gotta push yourself, man." He sighed and took a sip of his drink, "You can't mope around forever. You need to do something. Go out, find someone new, figure a new hobby. Stop restricting yourself, John."

John gripped the glass tightly as his mood worsened by what Aurelio was saying but a voice inside his head told him that he was just doing what any friend would do during a hard time.

"I'm perfectly fine with how I'm doing. I got a job, I book bind, I keep myself busy. I'm good to go." John answered which made his friend sigh deeply.

"John, you're holding yourself back and it's so evident. Stop doing things that you feel is what you need to do. Do the things that you want to do. I know for a fact that you don't want to go back to being an assassin nor does book binding give you enough benefits now but you're doing them because you feel somehow obligated."

John stayed silent as Aurelio's words began to register inside his head.

"You still have some years left, man. Don't waste it. If you want to socialize, do it. Don't hold yourself back. Jesus, if you want to hook up with thousands of bitches, do it! No one's telling you no."

John took a huge swig of his drink.

"What I'm saying is, I know Helen wouldn't have wanted you to live this way. She would've wanted you to move on."

John sometimes hated how right Aurelio was. He sometimes hated it when he makes a point and that often happens. But his words did got himself thinking.

Would Helen be happy with the man John has turned out?

He already knew the answer to that but John can't bring himself to accept it. Without another word, he got up from his seat and decided to call it a day before he drove back into his empty shell of a home.

It wasn't even dark out yet. But John found himself being utterly exhausted. Maybe it was because of his recent mission the other day. Sighing, he craned his neck a bit and felt the kink that had been bothering him for a few days. The bruises on his body didn't help either. He somehow remembered how Helen would tend to his wounds everytime before he retired. How she'd treat every cut and every bad bruise that was etched on his skin.

But now he needed to make do and do all that himself.

Or maybe someone could still do it for him? Would that girl have the same touch as Helen had or would it be more comforting? Would it be- No. No.

John shook his head and tightened his grip around the steering wheel. This was one of his everyday struggle now. Ever since he visited that damn flower shop, John finds himself thinking about her every now and then. Even when he willed himself not to, that girl was sneaky enough to slip through his mind yet again.

The assassin would sometimes compare her to Helen. There was no doubt she was younger than him and even younger than Helen. If John wasn't mistaken, maybe he was twice her age. And he hates how he likes that fact.

He never found himself being attracted to women who were much younger than him. But after seeing her, John finds himself debating whether he'd make an exception for that.

The daisy he tucked safely in the pocket of his coat was placed neatly and safely on his nightstand. Why? He has no idea. But at the same time, he does. The daisy was as delicate as she was. And John wanted to grasp that sense of delicateness and purity in his hands. He wanted to cherish it somehow. And so, every morning when he wakes up, he'd check to see if the daisy that fell from her hair was still there where he placed it.

He relaxed everytime he sees it.

"Get your shit together." He'd tell himself. But just as he did, he found himself driving by the familiar flower shop. And if John had the chance to kick himself right in the balls for parking on the side of the road, he would've.

He should've walked away. He should've drove back home but his feet had carried him inside the shop where he found himself entering, the bell ringing as he opened the door.

There weren't many customers inside but John had noticed there was quite a change the last time he had been here. There were more chairs and tables and John noticed how there were baked goodies being served to the customers.

His attention was taken when he found her walking out from the back of the room with flour smeared on her cheek. Today, she was wearing a pastel pink, puff-sleeved dress and her hair was let loose, letting it pool down her back in beachy waves. She looked absolutely adorable. Stunning, even.

And John found himself admiring the color pink on her.

"Oh, hey!" The girl greeted her with a bright smile on her face, "Haven't seen you around. Have you been taking good care of your cactus?"

John chuckled and stuffed his hand in the pockets of his jeans as he nodded.

"Yeah, I finally got the hang of it. It's looking pretty healthy, thankfully."

"That's great! If you want more, just tell me and I'll give you a discount." She'd say, whispering the last part to him as if she was afraid someone would hear and be offended that she offered John a discount.

"Oh, I'll keep that in mind for sure."

"So, what can I get you today? Finally managed to turn this into a little café. And thank God I don't have to do it all alone now." John turned his head to see a girl just about her age serving coffee to the couple on the other side of the room.

"This place looks great, really." John complimented her and began to look over at the pastries that were placed on the display counter.

He wasn't a big fan on sweets but John didn't want to be rude and come here just to chat with her although he wouldn't mind that one but. But a voice in his head convinced him to at least buy one of her baked goods and have a taste on something that she made herself.

"I'll just have a blueberry muffin and some coffee to go, sweetheart." John would say after some time, not meaning to call her another pet name. He internally punched himself in the face for that and somehow hoped she didn't catch onto it or at least find it weird.

But he was relieved, a bit ecstatic when he saw how her face blushed slightly to what he just called her. He had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from grinning at the fact that he now knows he somehow has an effect on the girl.

She'd nod her prettt little head and wrote his order quickly on the notepad she had.

"How would you, uhm, like your coffee, sir?" She asked, looking up at him with those adorable fucking doe eyes and John had to clench his fist to stop himself from reaching over and caress her cheek while she looked up at him like this. As if she was ready to submit whatever he wanted her to submit.

"Black. No sugar, no creamer." John answered as the bashful girl in front of him nodded her head obediently and John smiled faintly at how she took in every word he had said.

"This'll be done in a minute or two. Find somewhere you can sit and I'll serve it to you." She smiled and John thanked her for her service and immediately gave her his pay. But as she began to prepare his order, John slipped in a generous amount of cash and put it inside the tip jar that she had before he walked over to a vacant seat near the counter where she worked.

He knew she could've easily just called her name so he could get the order himself since that's how cafés usually work but since she offered to serve his order herself, how could John possibly say no to an offer like that?

It only took a few minutes before she walked over to his table and placed his order down carefully in front of him. John's eyes were focused on her, as if he was taking in every bit of her features inside his mind, as if he was trying to memorize every crevice of her body, every freckle or mark that she had on her skin and by the looks of how her cheeks had blushed yet again, John knew that she knew he had been staring at her.

"Will that be all, sir?" She asked somewhat shyly and John chuckled at her bashfulness. She looked adorable. Too adorable. And not the kind where he wanted to pinch her cheeks. It was the kind where he wanted to push her up against the wall or caress her inner thigh just to see what kind of reaction she would get.

"That'll be all, sweetheart. But I suppose it wouldn't be too much of me if I ask for your name?" He asked politely, not wanting to come off as creepy or too intense. He wouldn't want to risk blowing up his chance in knowing the name of the fairy-like dame such as herself.

"O-Oh, uh..." She bit her lip down nervously before she answered, "Y/N, sir. Y/N Y/LN."

"Y/N." John whispered to himself as if he was testing what her name would sound like rolling off of his tongue, "Nice to meet you, Y/N. I'm John. John Wick."

Y/N smiled faintly at his name and held the circular tray close to her chest.

"It's nice to meet you, John. Hope you enjoy your meal." She'd say and with that, she went back to the counter and began to serve the other customers that came in. Whether they wanted to try out her new pastries and coffee or needed assisting when it came to flowers.

John didn't waste his time nor his money and began to dig into his muffin and surprisingly, he found out how much he liked it. The muffin wasn't too sweet nor was it too bland. It was just right for his taste. He could never finish the muffin that Helen made back then. They always came out too sweet. Sometimes too dry. Even the coffee he ordered managed to taste better than the one he drinks at home.

The assassin seemed pleased that he managed to finish everything he had ordered. Not only that, it gave him more reason to stop by the shop more. Either he wanted to try Y/N's other baked goods or just for her, only he had to know.

Unfortunately, he had to live early. He had a mission to get to tomorrow and he couldn't risk going without getting any proper sleep. So he begrudgingly stood up from his seat and made his way to the door but not before turning back and sending Y/N a smile and a wink.

The tint of pink reappeared on her soft ample cheeks and John chuckled as she bit her lip and looked away, probably too embarrassed to even wave goodbye at him.

But either way, he was satisfied with how his day had ended.

That night, John went into a blissful sleep. He could swear he smelled the strong aroma of black coffee, could see the flowers loitering in a familiar looking shop, could taste the blueberry muffin he ate earlier.

He could also feel the gentle touch of a certain girl that did nothing but just drive him crazy these past few days. He could feel the fabric of a pastel pink dress brushing against his knee and the giggle that belonged to someone that had daisies in her hair.

This was the first time that he had dreamt of someone apart from Helen and her death. This was the first time he felt warmth radiating in his body. It was the first time he had dreamt of her.

And slowly but surely, he could feel Y/N leaning in, her soft cherry glossed lips brushing against the shell of his ear that only caused him to grip on his pillow tightly.

"John. Wake up, John." She'd whisper just as John heard the familiar beeping of his alarm clock. He fluttered his eyes open and immediately turned it off.

It was 5:30 AM. Sighing, he slowly sat up and turned to look at the daisy that sat perfectly on his nightstand.

And maybe, just maybe, in his groggy state, John picked up his wife's bracelet and placed it inside the drawer before closing it, leaving the little daisy and the cactus Y/N had gifted him on his nightstand.

He smiled at the view. It looked refreshing. But somehow, there was a feeling settling in his stomach that stirred the guilt in him a bit.

Because that was also the first time he had put away Helen's bracelet somewhere where he couldn't see.

But soon enough, the guilt died down as quickly as it came.

TAGS: @a-really-bi-girl @fanficsrusz @fairylightsandchai @pinkzsugar @edgiestwinter @paanchu786 @meetmeinthematinee @baphometwolf666 @fortheloveoffanfic @thesadvampire

#john wick fic #john wick imagines #john wick fanfiction #john wick x reader #john wick #john wick x you #dark!john wick

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The Occult: DOOMSDAY | an umbrella academy series

chapter tweleve (finale) | word count: 4,589

CHAPTER TWELVE | finale ( song | song to say goodbye - placebo )

"God, why are so many streetlights out?" Klaus asks uncomfortably, as the trio finally slowed their pace once the sound of the helicopters faded away.

"Vanya kinda just destroyed a whole block. Something probably happened to the power for this section of the grid." Ben rationalised, his hand still held tight by Melanie as they walked towards what glowed as a more well lit area, when a idea sparks in her mind.

"Oh, hold up." Melanie says, stopping the two men as she jumps, pulling her knees up and stomping her feet down as she lands, the soles of her boots glowing purple and illuminating the darkness like glow sticks.

It was a while ago, but she knew paying for the light up boots off aliexpress would be a good decision one day.

"I love you so much." Klaus smiles, the light now shining on their path and illuminating the small area around them.

"Love you too, Kaykay." Melanie smiles, as they start walking again.

It doesn't take them incredibly long to get to the bowling alley, the sound of pins falling and families cheering as they approached the building with colourful neon out front, the look of the place not changing at all in the last thirteen years since she'd been there last.

Melanie cringed as she put on the bowling shoes, the cream, red and blue not matching her outfit at all, or supporting her aching feet as her siblings spoke around her.

"Look, I hate to be the one to say this, but everyone needs to prepare." Luther says gravely, Diego responding defensively in an instant.

"For what?"

"To do whatever it takes to stop Vanya."

Allison immediately hits him with her notepad, Melanie still eyeing him aggressively as she sat beside Five.

"We may not have a choice, Allison!"

"Bullshit. There's always options." Diego calls him out, Melanie quickly jumping on his bandwagon.

"Exactly. Options we wouldn't have to think about if you'd just listened to all of us in the first place." She spits bitterly, enough time passing between the collapse and that moment for her anger to resurface.

"What kind of options do we have anyway?" Five asks, earning a shrug from Diego as Luther stands.

"Look, whatever we decide, we need to find Vanya. And fast, she could be anywhere." Luther says.

"Or… here." Klaus interrupts, shaking the paper in his hands and pointing to an ad as they all gather around him. "Look at this."

"That's right. Her concert is tonight." Diego remembers, his attention getting pulled away by one of the employees as they approach.

"Hello," she smiles cheerfully, "I hate to intrude, but my manager says if you're not gonna bowl, you gotta leave."

Melanie rolls her eyes, Diego turning to them and asking who's turn it is while Luther picks up a ball, sending it over his shoulder and into someone else's lane.

"That doesn't… ugh, move." Melanie instructs him, him side stepping as she uses her powers to pick up a ball and throw it down their lane, looking to him with a smirk as Allison taps her notepad.

She's our sister.

"We're the only ones capable of stopping this. We have a responsibility to dad." Luther comments, earning a groan from Ben.

"Would you shut up about him for five minutes?" He asks, both Klaus and Melanie raising their eyebrows at his instant reaction, while the others turn to Diego.

"To Dad? No, I've heard enough about-"

"He sacrificed everything to bring us back together." Luther cuts him off, Melanie standing and crossing her arms as she looks up to him.

"Yeah? Well he sacrificed all of us without our permission for us to be together in the first place."

"I'm with Luther on this one." Five agrees, Melanie throwing her hands up in frustration as she walks a few steps away towards Allison instead. "We can't give her a chance to fight back. There are billions of lives at stake. We're past trying to save just one."

"Hey uh, you know, guys, maybe I could help." Klaus interjects, looking to Ben hopefully before Luther waves him off.

"Now is not the time."

"No, let him finish." Diego defends, before Melanie can even open her mouth to do so. "He saved my life today."

"Really?" Ben asks, as Klaus stands up, not correcting him once again.

"Is it true?" Luther asks.

"Yeah, yeah. I did… take credit for it." He corrects, Melanie sending him a proud smile as he speaks, "In fact the real hero, was Ben."

Luther looks at Klaus like he's grown two heads, while Diego looks a little less confused, but still not understanding.

"Today, listen. Today, he punched me in the face. And earlier at the house, he was the one who saved Diego's life, not me. Melanie held on to both of us and dragged us here, too." He explains, but instead of acceptance or even joy, a look of disgust washes over Luther's face.

"You're unbelievable, Klaus." He says with a shake of his head.

"You want proof, is that it?" Klaus asks, picking up a bowling ball, "All right. I'll give you proof."

"Alright, it's showtime, baby." Klaus sniffs, Melanie taking a step away from Ben who gets in position to catch it, and watching as Klaus throws the ball.

It soars through the air, and keeps soaring through the air, until it lands on the floor, completely phasing through Ben and rolling off behind them.

"Shit, okay look," Melanie says, turning to everyone, "it's true. I saw the whole thing myself. He's telling the truth."

"Yeah, well, I don't exactly trust you either." Luther comments, her head snapping to him as his comment processes.

"Excuse me?"

"You've been in each others pockets for years. Of course you're going to defend him. And don't bring up the whole witches and energies thing again to try and back him up."

"The hell are you doing?" Diego asks, his defenses going up in support of Melanie as he looks to Luther.

Melanie takes a step forward at his words, eyes narrowed and fists clenched as the power within them starts to swirl.

"Until you went all planet of the apes on us, your powers could have been replicated by a quarterback with a bag of steroids and a chip on his shoulder. Don't question my credibility when the same could be asked of you." She replies, him simply scoffing as he looked between her and Klaus.

"Is there anything that could ever stop you two from wanting to be the center of attention?"

"You know," Klaus interrupts, "I liked you a lot better before you got laid. Which you were ridiculously high for, and the girl thought you were a furry-"

"Stop!" Luther yells at him, Klaus rolling his eyes as he scratches his head and looks away.

Allison, fed up with all of them, grabs her notepad, turning and walking away with Luther quickly chasing after her.

"God," Five sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose, "I miss Ben. At least he has some sense in this family."

"I'm honoured." Ben shrugs, crossing his arms as a smile creeps onto his face.

Melanie sits down where Luther and Allison once sat with a sigh, glancing up to Ben with a raised eyebrow before a woman and her son approached.

"Excuse me!" She greets happily, "it's my son Kenny's birthday today, and uh, wouldn't your son be happier playing with kids his own age? Assuming it's okay with your two dads." She asks, looking at Klaus and Diego for an answer as Melanie's hand flies to her mouth to muffle her laughter.

Five looks up at her like he's never been more insulted in his life, sitting forward slightly as he snarls.

"I would rather chew off my own foot."

The woman ushers her son away as a clinking noise pulls his attention away, Melanie sitting silently with tears running down her cheeks from muffled laughter, finally fully breaking as she and Diego lock eyes, the look of despair on his face making her burst out laughing.

"That," Ben sighs, "was golden."

"If I was going to date a man, you'd be the last man I would date." Diego says in disgust, more at the fact the woman thought his standards were so low than the relationship she was insinuating.

"You'd be lucky to get me." Klaus replies, picking up a ball and throwing it down the lane.

Melanie finally sat straight again, sleeves of her shirt wiping her tears away as she watched the ball roll away, noticing Five had walked off down the couple lanes.

"You're both pretty bad options, let's be real." She comments, both men looking at her with insulted looks on their faces.

"That's low, even for you." Diego replies, taking his turn and rolling his eyes at her as she shrugs.

"She isn't wrong." Ben adds, Klaus groaning as he sat down next to Melanie, throwing his arms across the backs of the seats.

"Enough from you, Squidward."

"How long has it been since we came out bowling?" Melanie asks, changing the subject as she got up, picking up a blue splatter design ball and standing at the top of the lane.

"I think we were like, god, maybe seventeen?" Klaus wonders aloud, Diego filling in his gaps.

"The seven of us snuck out under Dad's nose, god knows how we managed it." He smiles, looking to the ground as memories of the night flood back. "We bowled until closing then did everything we could to avoid going home so we didn't have to face the old man's fury."

"Oh, I remember that night." Melanie says quietly, sparing a glance at Ben before making her shot, the ball knocking down most of the pins but leaving her with a spare.

And then, only a couple minutes later, Luther and Allison made their return.

"All right, where's Five?" Luther asks, looking between them.

"He left." Diego replies simply as Klaus joins them again after his turn.

"Oh for the love of… where did he go?"

"Didn't tell us."

Melanie nods her head towards Luther as Klaus stands in front of her, rolling her eyes as she hands him the popcorn they shared, a small smirk of a smile on his face as Luther starts up again.

"Well, we're not waiting around for him. The concert starts in thirty minutes."

"I tell ya, I hate not being at things early. I was three hours early to my Mindless Self Indulgence concert actually-" Melanie remembers fondly, before Diego cuts her off.

"What's the plan?"

"Well," Luther starts, "I think that, uh… We go to the Icarus Theater."

"That's a location, not a plan." Diego deadpans, before a look of disbelief crosses his face, "What, is that all you got?"

Luther looks around nervously, not confirming or denying it and making Melanie scoff as she walks around him, standing beside Diego who takes a step towards him.

"Look, you wanna be Number One, fine. But you're gonna have to get us on the same page, because right now, we're all over the place."

"You're right." Luther agrees, "we need a plan."

But a plan doesn't get the chance to form, as the attention of the siblings turns to the people coming through the doors, guns raised and uniforms one of the weirdest things Melanie had ever seen.

In an instant, bullets are flying. The six of them scrambling for cover as the gunfire comes from all directions, Melanie ducking behind a bench with Ben at her side.

"Who the hell are these guys?!" Diego yells over the deafening noise.

"Maybe they're here for Kenny's birthday!" Klaus yells back at him.

"No," Luther yells, "I'm pretty sure they're here for us."

"What are they, stormtroopers?" Melanie asks, watching as Diego peeks up over the bench, throwing one of his knives and sending one of the goons falling backwards into the sound system, the lights dimming as Bay City Rollers blasts through the bowling alley.

With the bullets halting for a moment, Melanie spares a glance over the top of the bench, watching as Diego and Luther hurled objects at the dozens of attackers.

Using her powers, Melanie pulls shoes from the shelf behind the counter, sending it into the heads of the attackers she could see from her position before ducking back into cover again.

"They're blocking the exits!" Klaus yells, Diego turning to Luther.

"What's the plan now, Luther?"

But instead of looking to Luther, everyone else looks to Allison, who is pointing at the bowling lanes.

"The lanes! Let's go!" Luther calls, before they all make a run for it.

Melanie pushes up from behind the bench, grabbing Ben's hand and pulling him up as she runs for lane eight, breaking into a sprint as she ran down the slippery wood lane before using her powers to break her fall as she skids head first into the pins.

Ben is the first to make it through, standing at the end of the lanes and yelling encouragements while watching each of them pass before following Melanie as they all ran out of the building.

"We're going to the theater, now." Melanie commands, pacing out in front of them as Luther hesitates for a moment, not used to Number Eight being the one making the plans.

Wordlessly, they all follow her, quick on their feet as they burst through the lobby of the theater, the sound of classical music already filling their ears as they run up the stairs, Allison stopping them before they can run into the concert hall.

I need to go alone.

Allison writes, holding it up for them to see.

"Allison, I can let you do that, she is… beyond reason." Luther argues, only for Diego to cut him off.

"You hear the music? It's started."

"Do you honestly think she's gonna listen? After everything that's happened?" Luther counters.

"Why don't we give her the chance to try?" Melanie asks, as Allison stares him down.

"We don't have time for this." Klaus says as he moves behind them anxiously, shaking his head at their antics.

"Okay." Luther nods, Allison turning and walking in without them.

The five of them watch her go, before Diego looks to Luther.

"You're using her as a distraction, aren't you?"

"Our best chance to incapacitate Vanya."

"And what are we gonna do once she wakes up? Cause I don't know if I gotta remind you or not but our house is kinda gone." Melanie speaks, only to be instantly brushed off as Luther moves forward.

Melanie shakes her head in disgust, the last straw coming and going as she separates herself from the group, hands up in innocence and frustration as she lets the three men follow Allison's path, Melanie's own leading in the opposite direction as she leaned up against the wall instead, sighing as she looked to Ben who sat beside her.

"I don't think these idiots would have survived if we actually ran away when we were sixteen."

Ben laughs as he looks down, kicking his feet in the air with a shake of his head.

"To be fair, I think you, me and Five were basically the impulse control of all of us, so once you left, they were pretty much screwed." He says, drawing a less sad sigh from her this time, as she leaned her head against his arm for a moment, before looking up to him.

"How come I can see you right now?" She asks, him shrugging lightly.

"I don't know. But I'm not questioning it."

"Then neither am I." She smiles, before Klaus comes around the corner.

"The lookout. They should have just said "hey Klaus, go stay out of the way of our macho contest, we'll be done with the ruler soon."" He says bitterly, looking up at Ben and Melanie before gesturing outside.

"You guys up for burritos?"

"I owe my life to whoever invented food trucks." Melanie sighs, leaning against the side of the truck as she, Ben and Klaus waited for their burritos to be made.

"Remember when we lived off tacos for like a month cause we were broke and that guy with the truck had a crush on you?" Klaus asks with a laugh, looking to Melanie who let out a laugh herself.

"That guy was a creep." Ben comments, both of them nodding in agreement.

"True. He didn't actually have a crush on me, but he did make the eyes at you every time we were there." She smiles, bumping Klaus who waved her off as the cook in the food truck called for them, Klaus accepting the food with a thank you before handing Melanie hers.

"I didn't ask for cilantro." He says sadly, Melanie taking the burrito from his hands and replacing it with the one from hers.

"Don't worry, just a mix up." She says, before taking a large bite and closing her eyes with happiness as she finally got to refuel after all the use of her powers through the day.

"Do you hear gunfire?" Ben asks, making her eyes snap open as she follows him to stand in front of the truck, Klaus hot on her heels.

But before they can run across the street to the theatre, Klaus is pulling Melanie against the front of the truck, hiding from the person she barely got a glance at before being pulled out of the way.

"Is that the lady we ran over?" She questions with a whisper yell, taking a bite of her burrito as she tried to peek around the corner.

"This is it, mofos. Go time! Go time!" Klaus whisper yells back, running out into the street while Melanie and Ben follow him.

"What about the gunfire?" Ben asks as they all run across the street, Melanie slacking behind a couple steps as she takes another bite of her burrito, running after them as Klaus shouts over his shoulder.

"Come on man, we're the damn lookouts!"

Throwing his burrito to the side, Melanie drops hers on the ticket booth counter, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand as she follows the two as they bust through the doors.

"Guys, it's Cha-Cha!" Klaus calls out, jumping the stairs as they enter the concert hall, Melanie instantly ducking down between seats as the gunfire from the bowling alley echos around them once again.

"Get down!" Melanie yells, yanking Klaus by the arm and pulling him down beside her.

She ducks down, breath coming in ragged bursts as she tries to avoid the bullets flying towards them, before looking up in shock as she watches Klaus's hands start to glow a bright blue neon.

Before her eyes, she starts to see Ben glowing too, in a different form than the one she saw him in the last couple hours, her hand flying to her mouth in shock as suddenly, The Horror lives again.

Ben shouts in effort and pain as the tentacles erupt from his body, reaching out and throwing the attackers with ease.

Blood rains down as they're ripped apart, Melanie barely avoiding the gore as it fell from the sky above her, arms held over her head for safety as the attackers finally realise, they are no match to Ben.

As all of the attackers lay in various states around the theater, Klaus smiles proudly, Melanie running past him to Ben and wrapping her arms around him tightly.

"Now who's the lookout?" Klaus says with a laugh.

Hearing the violin still playing behind them, Ben takes Melanie's hand as she turns, looking up to Vanya on stage.

As the six of them watch on, Vanya starts to transform, the intense blue glow of her powers so bright they're blinding, all of them barely able to see as the colour bleeds out of her suit, leaving pure bright white in its place.

The earth shakes beneath them, and Melanie looks to the ceiling with a scared look instantly washing over her as cracks start to appear in the stonework.

"Oh god, not again." She speaks quietly, her fear robbing her of her voice.

Melanie, Ben and Klaus move closer to the other four as they huddle together, Diego speaking over the unrelenting music.

"So, how do you wanna end this thing?"

"Surround her. All right? We come at her from all angles." Luther yells.

"So it's a suicide mission." Klaus says gravely, Luther nodding regretfully.

"Yeah, but one of us could get through. It's the only chance we've got." Five explains, agreeing with Luther's plan.

"Are we all in?" Luther asks, all of them agreeing, accept for one.

Melanie looks beside her, taking in the faces of the people she loved, for better or worse, before nodding in agreement, her attention pulled away as Allison shakes her head no.

"Stage left, stage right. You guys take the front." Luther instructs the group, ignoring Allison's protests.

The group burst into action, Five, Klaus, Melanie and Ben running through the seats and taking position at the end of each row, Diego running up the stairs leading to the backstage area.

Fear and a sense of finality ran through Melanie's veins as she watched for Luther and Diego, tears burning her eyes as the horror of their situation finally dawned on her in full.

Realising her voice wouldn't make it across the space that separated them, it escaping her anyway, Melanie looked up to Diego, who glanced at her from the stage.

"Love you, brother." She signs, too far away to see the tears in his eyes that rise as he takes a ragged breath.

"Now!" Luther calls, his voice cutting above all of the noise as they all charge ahead, throwing themselves towards Vanya and silently praying that at least one of them would make it.

But they don't even get close, as Vanya swings her arm out, the blinding white light shocking them all as the air is knocked from their bodies, all of them flying backwards as the wave of massive power throws them back.

But instead of landing, all of their bodies hover in the air, Melanie crying out in pain as a vein of light connects each of them back to Vanya, the energies within her depleting more and more by the second as Vanya holds them up, draining the life from all of them.

None of them see Allison, standing behind Vanya with a gun pointed to the back of her head.

With two swift pulls of the trigger, one each side of her head, Vanya is brought to her knees, the sound breaking her concentration and sending all of them falling to the ground.

Melanie lays on her back, gasping for breath as she watches the beam of pure energy leaving Vanya, and hurtling through the ceiling and into the sky above them.

Allison catches Vanya as she falls backwards, completely knocked out and unconscious, the rest of the siblings scrambling to their feet and running to them.

"Is she alive?" Luther asks first, as Melanie and the rest of the brothers fall to their knees beside her.

"Yeah." Allison nods, her voice barely a whisper, but assuring all the same.

"Oh thank god." Klaus breathes, Diego smiling as he and Melanie looked at each other, and for the first time in a long time, they both had hope.

"We did it, we saved the world." Luther says in shock.

But, the happiness isn't allowed to last, as Klaus looks up behind them all.

"Uh, guys?" He says, getting their attention as he points to the sky. "You see that big moon rock coming towards us?"

Melanie rises to her feet, standing behind Klaus as tears fall down her face.

"So much for saving the world." He says grimly, taking the dog tags around his neck in his hands, gripping them tightly.

"If only Sir Reginald could see us now." Diego mutters. "The umbrella academy. A total failure."

"At least we're together in the end. As a family." Luther acknowledges.

Melanie finally let's the sobs dying to escape her body take over, the feeling of Ben's hand on her shoulder and Diego's hand reaching for hers the only thing keeping her upright as she cries.

"This doesn't have to be the end." Five says determinedly, all of them turning to him as he speaks.

"What? What are you saying Five?"

"I think I have a way outta here, but you gotta trust me on this." He says, Melanie instantly stepping forward.

"Of course we do." She says as she wipes her tears away, but looks around with a angry frown on her face as the three men disagree.

"Well then we might as well accept our fate, because in less than a minute, we're gonna be vaporized." He argues, Diego the first one to turn back around.

"What's your idea, then?"

"We use my ability to time travel. But this time, I'll take you with me." He explains.

"You can do that?" Diego asks, hope starting to creep back into his voice.

"I don't know. I've never tried it before." Five admits honestly, the rest of them looking between each other as they contemplated the possibility of making it out.

"It's worth a shot." Melanie says quietly.

"What's the worst that can happen?" Diego says, coming around to the idea while Klaus shrugged in a somewhat show of support.

"You're lookin at it. A fifty-eight year old man inside a child's body, so there's that."

"Oh, what the hell? I'm in." Diego agrees.

"Yeah, whatever. I'm in." Klaus adds, Melanie nodding in front of him.

"So am I."

"Me too." Luther agrees, looking to the floor where Allison still sat with Vanya in her lap, "Allison?"

She nods, Luther turning to Melanie and Klaus before speaking again.

"What about Ben?"

"Great, yeah, he's in." Klaus speaks for him, a smile working its way on to Melanie's face as she sees Ben smirking behind him.

"Okay great. Luther, grab Vanya." Five instructs, Luther immediately bending down and picking her up in his arms.

"Wait, should we be taking her?" He asks, and Melanie reaches out and slaps his arm as he speaks. "I mean, if she's the cause of the apocalypse. Isn't that like taking a bomb with us?"

"The apocalypse will always happen and Vanya will always be the cause, unless we take her with us and fix her." Five insists.

"That's good enough for me." Melanie nods, as explosions start ringing out.

Standing together, the Hargreeves children link hands, Melanie taking a deep breath as she stands between Diego and Klaus, holding onto their hands with as strong a grip as she can.

They all look up to the sky, watching the shattered pieces of the moon fall closer and closer as the sound of electricity sparks around them, Five straining as he wills all of the power he's ever had to come forward, a portal opening up above them.

"It's working!" Luther yells, looking around in shock as Five does the same.

"Hold on! It's gonna get messy!" He warns, yelling as loud as he can so they can hear him.

With the electricity whirling at a fever pitch, the blue blinding light engulfs them all, lifting their feet off the ground with its power.

And with one final look to each other in the moment, the Hargreeves siblings are gone.

thank you for reading the first story of The Occult series, DOOMSDAY.

#tua #umbrella academy #the umbrella academy #tua fanfic #Umbrella academy imagine #umbrella academy fanfic #Ben hargreeves #ben hargreeves imagine #ben hargreeves fanfic

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