#but is he a thief if bernard just let's him

[dreamersolacey]

Tim and Bernard have joint ownership of that grey hoodie

#tim is a hoodie thief actually #but is he a thief if bernard just let's him #couples sharing clothes ewww <3 #bernard dowd #tim drake #timber #timbern #robin #dc #batman spoilers #wfa

[secondbeatsongs]

iCarly Meta, Part 5: Socko, Nominative Determinism, and How I Spend My Free Time

so, you may remember that I've made four separate iCarly posts before, because I am just way too into this dorky, ridiculous children's show.

well, over a year ago, I wrote this fifth one. and after some introspection, some really deep self-evaluation about what I want and where I'm going in life, I've decided that it's time to share it with the world at large

so...let's talk about Socko's family!

to catch you up: Socko is Spencer's best friend, who designs all of the fun socks that Spencer wears! he's first mentioned in s01e07 (iScream on Halloween), though some of his socks are shown as early as s01e02 (iWant More Viewers).

(technical note: production-wise, s01e09 is listed before s01e07, and I think that was intended to be Socko's introduction, and it would make sense, considering how Spencer describes him in that ep. but I can't prove this, and so we move on.)

while Socko is mentioned consistently throughout the show, he's never fully shown on screen. but, he does technically appear in an episode, because you can see part of his arm in s04e11-s04e13 (iParty with Victorious) when he hands Spencer the keys to his van.

Spencer and Socko have known each other since at least 1999 (as mentioned in s02e12, iRocked the Vote) when Spencer would have been 17 or 18. and despite Socko almost never being shown, it's clear that he spends a lot of time with Spencer, and that they're close. if Spencer needs something, Socko is always willing to call in a favor from one of his family members.

and boy, does Socko have a lot of very interesting family members.

let's go over some of them real quick:

Bernie is a welder, Otto is a used car salesman, Tyler designs neckties, Taylor is a tailor, Rob is a thief, Arty is an artist, Isaac is an optometrist, and Ryder is a motorcycle enthusiast.

are we noticing a pattern here?

every single one of these is an aptronym – a personal name that is aptly or peculiarly suited to its owner. and since all of these people are in some way related, this is fascinating to me.

it seems like Socko's family is really into nominative determinism – the idea that people tend to gravitate towards areas of work that fit their names. whether or not this is true of people in real life is unclear, but in the universe of iCarly, this is something that Socko's family is all about.

when did it start, I wonder? who was the first in the family to have a job or hobby that related directly to their name? and who continued that pattern? because someone named Bernard going by "Bernie" and taking up welding is one thing, but an entire family of people going into fields that have to do with their names is unsettling.

is this on purpose, now? do the parents in Socko's family choose names for their children based on what they want them to be? is there an expectation that each child will have to choose a profession based on what their parents name them?

I think there is. and I think it's fucked up.

imagine growing up knowing that your name would control your future career options. that no matter how you felt about your name, choosing a career or hobby that matched it is what would make your parents happy. that at least some portion of your parents' love is tied to the idea that you will be what they named you.

and depending on the name, the kids aren't always left with a lot of options! someone named Bernie could be a welder, a woodburning artist, a firefighter, etc...but for Taylor, there's really only one path to take.

what if a kid is trans? I just have to wonder, would they be judged more for not identifying with their assigned sex at birth, or for changing their name?

and one of Socko's cousins is named Mary. think about that with me for a second – Mary.

imagine that the only dream your parents have for you is that you get married. and not just fall in love! no, you were given this name because their express purpose, their biggest hope for you is that you get legally married.

what if Mary had been gay? what if she grew up with fear in her heart, knowing that the only thing her parents had ever wanted from her wasn't possible, was actually illegal, because of who she was?

or what if she had been aro, or ace, or just otherwise not interested in relationships? or what if she was interested in relationships, but not the serious, legal commitment of marriage?

my hope here (my one fragile hope) is that Rob, Mary, and Josh are siblings, and that their parents were trying to escape this part of the family legacy. maybe they named their kids Robert, Marian, and Joshua, and tried to steer clear of any obvious career choices – but then their sons started going by "Josh" and "Rob" and causing trouble, and "Mary" started talking about her upcoming wedding, and they knew that they would never be free of the family curse.

'cause it's gotta be a curse, right? I feel like at this point, it has to be.

but hey, worry not! because I think there are some loopholes.

Penny, for example, had a lot of choices – she could have minted coins, or built fences, or designed ball-point pens, or been a cashier (etc, etc). but she didn't do any of those things! she started a t-shirt company, and made shirts with fun phrases on them like "church pants" and "parole baby" and "chest words" (all shirts I would wear for real).

her job didn't have anything to do with her name – but she still followed the family pattern. she named her t-shirt company "Penny-Tees", and sewed a single penny into each of her shirts. instead of finding a name-based occupation, she made her own.

I really think it's brilliant – she got to do what she wanted, and her parents couldn't complain, because it still suited her name! and if this pattern is curse-based, she found a way around it by following it to the letter (but not exactly the spirit), and because of this, she got to make her own choices.

and speaking of jobs that may or may not suit one's name: let's talk about Socko.

early in the show when we're introduced to him, we know three things about him:

he knows where to find huge pumpkins

he sells Spencer all of his wacky socks

his name is Socko

but, thinking about that third point…is it?

like, is his name actually Socko?

let's look at Socko's family tree for a moment:

(ID in alt text)

(yes, I made this. it took over two days. I skimmed through many episodes, looked through a large amount of the old iCarly website on the Wayback Machine, and as far as I know, this is canon accurate.)

(shhh, this was absolutely a valuable use of my time. don't worry about it.)

look at his family. look at the names.

almost all of them are, well…normal names. names that could belong to any acquaintance, friend, or relative in your own everyday life.

the only real exceptions here are Freight Dog, Boomer, and Dr. Paxil – but if we're being real? "Freight Dog" is almost definitely a nickname, "Paxil" isn't that strange-sounding of a surname, and I have actually seen people named "Boomer".

so that just leaves…Socko.

"Socko" is not a people name. it sounds mean, but I don't know how else to word that – it's just not a name for a human person.

it would be a great name for a cat or a dog (especially if they had paws that were a different color from their body – man, that'd be so cute!), but it is not a name that many parents would willingly give to a human child. especially when all of the other siblings in the family have relatively normal names.

my theory, my hottest take: I don't think "Socko" is his legal name.

think about it: Socko and every single one of his siblings went into the fashion industry. even accounting for the fact that they probably wanted Penny to have a different career, would Socko's parents really want all three of their other children going into the same industry, especially one as tumultuous and challenging as fashion design?

I think not. I think they gave Socko a different name, one that they believed would lead him down a completely distinct career path. and then, like Penny, Socko found his own true calling – but instead of changing his occupation to match his name? he changed his name to match his occupation.

it is my belief that Socko's birth name…the name his parents gave him…

(drumroll please)

…was "Socrates".

now hold on, just stay with me here. because I swear that this does make sense, really!

so, back at the beginning of this post I mentioned nominative determinism, but that term wasn't actually used until 1994. before then, it was called "onomastic determinism" or "die verpflichtung des namens" ("the obligation of the name"), but it wasn't really…a thing? it wasn't something that people really studied, and when they did, nobody could seem to come to a solid conclusion about whether or not your name does actually influence your career choice.

I think that in some way, Socko's parents wanted an answer. they wanted an explanation as to why their family tree reads like a joke book. and by naming their kid "Socrates", they were sending that question out into the world, hoping for a response.

because there were really two options here – either Socko would grow up to be a philosopher, someone who could search for meaning in the pattern of family job-finding, or he wouldn't. and if he didn't, if he threw off the shackles of his name and did something else entirely, then that in itself would be an answer.

and sure, maybe his parents should have thought about how "Socrates" might be abbreviated. maybe they should have considered that he could grow up to design socks. but hindsight is 20/20, and I don't know if that's something any parent would expect of their child, so I won't hold that against them.

I will however, judge them for naming two of their kids "Taylor" and "Tyler" – like, my god. can you imagine how often people got them mixed up? it's inhumane.

even worse if they were twins! though actually, that would make some kind of twisted sense – to give twins names that not only match, but that would lead them to careers in the same industry. maybe they wanted them to go into business together? hoo boy.

anyway, sorry, I've gone off-topic. back to Socko – or should I say, Socrates.

"Socrates" is a pretty fun name. two parts of it are σῶς (sôs, “safe and sound”) and κράτος (krátos, “power”), which is an interesting name meaning for a dude who was executed for corrupting the youth.

(I'm talking about the philosopher here – as far as I know, Socko from iCarly was not executed for corrupting the youth. at least, not yet.)

and if we keep thinking about Socrates (the philosopher), I think there's another reason that this name fits: we know fuck-all about Socrates.

sure, he's well-known – lots of people know about his ideas, and the Socratic method – but…he never actually wrote anything. everything we think we know about him, we learned from somebody else.

all of Socrates' interests, his skills, his beliefs? they were all things we learned from Plato, Xenophon, or (I guess) Aristophanes. we have no idea what the dude was actually like, outside of that.

just like we have no idea what Socko is like, outside of what Spencer says.

Socrates is a vital figure in the history of western philosophy, but all of the things we know about him are altered by the opinions of other people, filtered through the lenses of their perception.

and Socko is a vital character in the show iCarly, but all of the things we know about him – his hobbies, his opinions, his wants – are things we've heard second-hand from Spencer.

(you're laughing. Spencer Shay is a stand-in for Plato, and you're laughing.)

so in a very fun way, Socko (Socrates) did live up to his name…by being unknown to us, the audience.

us, watching this TV show the way chained prisoners watch shadows dance on the wall of a cave.

continuing down this rabbit hole…does this mean that one of the iCarly crew is Aristotle?

no…perhaps that's taking it too far.

(it'd be Gibby)

final notes:

I haven't seen all of the iCarly reboot yet (I'm on episode 3! I have mixed feelings, but I think one of the writers ships the thing that I ship, so that's fun), so if it mentions something about Socko lore, I unfortunately do not know about it.

fun fact: the ancient Greeks did often have names that were meant to have sway on their lives! for example: Hedistē ("most delightful"), Demotimos ("honored among the people"), Hippodamas ("horse-tamer"), Nikomachē ("victorious in battle").

additional fun fact: I asked one of the mods of the iCarly wiki, and they said I could put the family tree I made on the page for Socko's Family! :D

look! it's my thing! the thing that I made! how cool is that?!

(I'll be real; I am way too proud of this)

yes, two of Socko's family members have inaptronyms instead of aptronyms: Harry (bald) and Jean (allergic to denim). but in my mind, they still count – the names are still weirdly suited to their specific lives.

since I'm pretty sure "Freight Dog" is a nickname, I also took a crack at what I think his legal name might be. my theory? "Aaron".

(get it? Aaron? because he's in the air? okay, I'll see myself out.)

anyway, my new hobby is coming up with more family members for Socko to have. descend with me into the deepest reaches of The Headcanon Zone, and behold:

Lisa: She's a landlord (she leases apartments). Socko hates her.

Barry: A big ol' bear of a man. Or he could work for Gund or Build-a-Bear or something. That could be fun!

Mike: Audio technician

Amy: Sharpshooter

Summer: Camp counselor

Tony: Orthopedist. (toe-knee)

Marty: Owns and operates a supermarket

and because it's fun, my friend @wonderbound joined in and came up with these super great ones:

Drew: Illustrator

Cody: Programmer or hacker

Pete: Bryologist (he studies moss!)

Norm: He's just a guy

Flo: Plumber – or maybe, an expert in fluid dynamics

Hattie: Milliner (she makes hats)

Howl: Werewolf (or perhaps, the owner of a moving castle 👀)

Will: Estate planning attorney (he writes wills)

anyway, I think that's about it. thanks for coming with me on this adventure! I hope it was as much of a rollercoaster to read as it was to write, because yeah, it was a weird one over here.

I mean, it started out normal? but then the next thing I knew, I had gotten invested, made nine edits to the iCarly wiki, and designed that whole family tree. so I think maybe I went a little overboard with this one. xD

tune in next time, for…I dunno. I think my brain needs a break after that. but, eventually I would love to write more meta! just…maybe not all for iCarly? I have some things to say about Gravity Falls that I think are gonna blow your minds.

(not really; I just think it's great)

#icarly #icarly meta #socko #spencer shay #id in alt text #back on my bullshit etc etc #this is probably one of the best things I've ever written #I solidly lost my mind for a week and then woke as if from a dream #thinking...hey. maybe...I'm onto something here? #like maybe I connected the dots. I connected them #xD #but yeah. it took a while and a lot of thinking #but I did decide to put this on tumblr and not just on patreon #I think I'm okay with it now #tbh. the reason that I kept it only on patreon to begin with #was because there was going to be some weird overlap with a fic I wrote #one I never finished or published. a long time ago #but I decided...to not finish that fic #at least not now #so there's no risk of you finding my ao3 because of this post #and there won't be for a while. maybe not ever #that's what I was worried about #I try to keep my main fandom life separate from this blog #that's just how I like it to be #but now I think I can relax about that for a bit #and let you enjoy this post

[aflamboyanceofflamingos]

A WIP that i will probably not work on

All of a sudden the door to Steph’s room swung open, and an out of breath Tim Drake appeared.

“Hi? You good?”

After looking at her as though he could hear her, but was unable to process what had been asked, he proceeded to flop face first onto the bed and let out a scream that was only slightly muffled by the blanket.

“Okay- Um- Do you wanna talk about it?”

He lifted his head slightly, only his forehead and eyes showing, and mumbled something indistinguible.

“What?”

Pushing up to a sitting position, he repeated himself. “Tim Drake is dating Red Robin who may be cheating on him with Alvin Draper.”

“I hate to break it to you, but you are all those people.”

“Trust me, I’m aware.”

“The Waynes get in a scandal almost everyday. You really think people are going to sit on this one for longer than a day?”

“It’s been 2 hours since Viki’s article was published and there are now 13 additional fics to the Red Robin/Tim Drake Ao3 page with the tags “Cheating” and “Alvin Draper”.” 

“Nevermind then. What are you gonna do about it?”

“Currently I only have 3 options. The first is to make a statement that denies the relationship between my civilian and vigilante persona, except that would probably make people think that the cheating was definitely happening and that is the reason said personas are not dating, which may lead to a hatred of Red Robin, and the public woobifying me even more. The alternative to that is by releasing a statement that says I am  in a relationship with Red Robin, but once again the rumors about Alvin will still be there and end in the same result as the first.”

“And the third?”

He lifted a hand to rub at his temples as he sighed. “I released a statement that says I am in a poly relationship with both Red Robin and Alvin Draper.”

“I beg you to do that, I can already see the tropes forming; The enemies, Alvin “The Bad-Boy-Art-Thief” Draper and Red “Gotham's-Mysterious-Vigilante” Robin, brought together for a competition of who gets to win Timothy “Handsome-Teenage-CEO” Drake’s heart, But there’s a twist! During this race to love, they end up falling for each other as well.”

“I hate the fact that you were able to think of that so quickly. Hold up- Do you write fanfiction about us?”

“Nah, but Bernard does, and I’m his beta reader. Oh yeah, how are you gonna factor in your huge crush on him with this polycule situation?”

As Steph had intended, Tim’s cheeks began to flame red. “I DO NOT HAVE A CRUS- Did you say he writes fanfiction about us?”

“Yep. It’s mostly Red Robin x Reader, but there are a few SuperBird and Tim Drake x Reader mixed in.”

----

“How’d you fuck up enough for Vale to get the idea in the first place?”

“A photo of Red Robin jumping from WE, and one with Alvin Draper in the background with his bag open just enough that you could see a piece of red cloth.”

#tim drake #stephaine brown #red robin #alvin draper #timbern #timber #I have read far too many peter parker fake dating spiderman fics and this is the result

[nibordereht]

Help, my boyfriend is meowing

Summary:

The multiverse is wonderful and when Tim thought he could no longer find anything new in it, then he gave his boyfriend in black leather and cat ears, not in a kinky way, but as Catwoman's protegee.

Help, my boyfriend is meowing (Bernard Dowd/Tim Drake) by anyrobin in AO3

Tim had a headache.

First, he had thought about time travel, as he went from being on patrol as Red Robin to feeling sickeningly giddy and seeing his hands wrapped in green Kevlar again, like when he was still walking the rooftops of Gotham wearing the colors of the original Robin.

However, the environment hadn't changed enough and he felt able to identify the changes in the city's architecture since his days as the boy wonder and the present day. Although he was not entirely convinced and so he had decided to return to the cave in search of more information that would help him confirm his whereabouts before acting recklessly.

But apparently, he had a date. Which better explained why his communicator was off instead of buzzing with the voice of other vigilantes in his ear. On the bright side, he wouldn't need any more clues to prove he was in another dimension rather than time traveling.

After all, he was one hundred percent sure, beyond any doubt, that his boyfriend, Bernard, was an emergency medical technician most of the time and a barista's apprentice the rest of it. Not a thief, never a thief. For God's sake, Bernard wouldn't even take his clothes without asking for them first.

So why was I standing in front of him dressed as the world's greatest thief, cat ears included?

"I'm sure you didn't mention any such fetish before we had sex for the first time," Tim complained quietly, but Bernard must have heard him because he let out a chuckle.

In front of Robin, stood gracefully the blond boy, with orange glasses on his head, like his own boyfriend back in his dimension used to wear the sunglasses, looking like cat ears (or did he have real ones further back?) and a strap coming out of his lower back to mid-calf like a tail. Bernard wore what looked like leather tightly cinched to his thighs and graceful but stiff knee-high boots, with a black leather jacket high brushing his chin. The utility belt on his hip was the most eye-catching thing next to the glasses, shining too brightly compared to all the black clothes.

It looked hot as fuck.

Tim was having a hard time concentrating. Very hard.

"Enjoying the view, birdie?" purred Bernard, thrusting a hip out to the side and resting a hand on his waist.

"Very much so," Tim didn't say. "Please tell me we're not like Bruce and Selina..." he mumbled instead, losing his breath a little.

That also seemed to amuse Bernard, who began to move dangerously close to Tim until they stopped inches apart, their noses very close to each other and their shoulders begging to meet.

"Don't talk about your, like, parents again while we have this tension, T," he laughed in his face. Pulling away a little. "You're a real passion killer...," he moved closer again, this time more boldly, the tip of his nose almost against the side of Tim's. "But I guess I like that about you." He growled.

Robin turned as red as his chest and felt his breath hit Bernard's (Catboy?) lips when he made a move to bump it with his own. Luckily, he managed to react in time and stumbled backwards.

Infidelity was infidelity no matter that this Cat-Bernard was his Bernard in another universe.

"No, we can't," he swallowed audibly. "You're wrong, I..."

"Wrong?" snorted Bernard. He looked hurt.

Maybe in this universe, they might look like Bruce and Selina, Bat and Cat, but their relationship was surely just as strong as the one they had back in his universe. Or at least that's what he longed for. A sort of cosmic connection that spanned the multiverse in passion.

"No, wait, wait, you're misunderstanding me," Tim tried to explain himself, running a bad one through his hair and pleasantly discovering that he didn't have it combed and gelled up like in his old Robin days. Thank heavens. "I'm not who you think, I mean, yes, I am, but not your-... No."

Bernard folded his arms and raised an eyebrow expectantly, looking a lot like Selina at the moment. It was kind of creepy considering that in his universe she was sort of an intermittent mother figure to his siblings and him. He'd already been through the whole replicating the relationship between her and Bruce when he got involved with Lynx, but this was another level of awkward.

"Explain yourself, birdie, I'm listening."

"I'm your Robin, but not yours, but, ah... Well! I'm Robin, or something like that, but I'm not your Robin, I'm Robin in another universe. And I'm yours. I mean, not yours! But there we also have, ah, whatever we have here. Or maybe more. Ah, yeah, right. Another universe, that. I'm from another universe. I think I traded with the Robin here."

Bernard sighed and threw his head back.

"Oh, of course you'd be involved in something like that again, I was so impressed the first time believing it confirmed hundreds of theories I had about some capes, but it gets annoying after the fifth time. I don't know if I'm flirting with my boyfriend or a Martian sometimes anymore," the blond groaned.

Tim felt so grateful that he hadn't gotten his Bernard involved in all of this yet. The part where he was starting to be affected by the complicated nonsense they were dealing with every day, though he was sure he would be thrilled by the bucketload to discover that Batman was indeed a vampire somewhere in the multiverse and Tim part of the mob.

"And what's that about 'more or less Robin'?" the boy suddenly questioned. "I'm just not Robin in my earth anymore. Not anymore."

"So why are you going now?" asked Bernard, with an interested glint in his eyes. Tim's heart skipped a beat, missing the curiosity-filled look in his partner's eyes.

"Red Robin."

At least the cat boy had the decency to try to hide his disappointment. Tim snorted.

"Sorry, it's just that I was expecting something cooler like, I don't know... Draken or something."

The robin refrained from grimacing in amusement and amusement at the same time. Of course his boy would trust his naming decisions, that's why they were right for each other. Or a pair of nincompoops.

"No problem."

There was an extended silence that let the whistling of the wind against the buildings of Gotham be heard. Bernard broke it with his resonant graceful steps until he leaned against the available wall on the side of the rooftop where they had stumbled, letting his head bang against the brick.

"So there's no cat and the, uh, birdie flirting in your universe?" he questioned. Tim followed him to the wall and leaned against it.

"Uh, no, you're not involved in all this, there's no Cat..."

"Stray," he clarified.

"Much better than Catlad, I must say."

A bright smile and rosy cheeks broke out on Bernard's face, the diamond earring jingling in his right lobe under the moon's glow. Tim was so fucked up over that boy.

"Thank you, I thought so myself... After many others discarded." Tim raised an eyebrow.

"Like?"

"...Pawesome."

Tim didn't bother to hold in his laughter and Bernard soon joined in. That was definitely a joke, but to imagine his boyfriend proposing very seriously was hilarious.

"But are you, like, Catwoman's protégé or something? Or just an usupator?" Stray snorted.

"No, I'm a stray she picked up while, uh, following Batman and Robin at night..."

Parallels, then. Suddenly, Tim wondered if that might have been his own fate. Perhaps on some other earth in the vast multiverse.

"You were following the Dynamic Duo? Really?" Bernard nodded. "To take pictures?" he groped.

Stray fiddled with his tail, twirling it and looking close to whipping Robin with it. He questioned a lot of things for a second and had to shake his head to clear his thoughts. Concentrate. Bernard bit his lip and avoided his gaze, suddenly interested in the stars barely visible in the Gotham City sky.

"I can't believe you're putting me through a dreadful school declaration again," he growled. Tim was more interested now. Bernard wrinkled his nose. "I...kind of figured out you were Robin and started following you..."

"What, why would you do that?"

Stray adjusted his glasses and arranged the fringe over his forehead.

"Uh, maybe I had a big little crush on Tim Drake and Robin at the same time back then," he laughed, sinking into a blush that Tim was quick to retort.

His heart was going to burst. He let out a laugh.

"You're a bastard, don't laugh, Timmy!" he snapped, giving him a shove.

"I'm sorry, haha! It's just that it's a little, it's very cute," he snorted.

"Oh, fuck off, bird-head."

As thoughts of "god, I love this guy" began to whip through him again, ready to frustrate him for not being able to grab this guy by the cheeks and plant a giant kiss on him, vertigo swept through him again.

"Oh, I guess it was your Tim's business, then," he explained in a mumble. The last he saw of Stray was a confused expression and the next thing he knew he was back in the Red Robin suit being shaken down by Jason in Crime Alley.

He remembers hearing some questions from his older siblings once he returned with them and a vague explanation that the Other Robin had gotten involved with the wrong people and they ended up dealing with the consequences, however, he attended to everything very quickly so he could change his clothes and return home, where his own Bernard greeted him fresh on the scene, rubbing his sore shoulders after dealing with an emergency downtown.

"Welcome home," greeted the blond when he saw him, a smile and red cheeks on his face.

Tim's smile could break his face.

Stray had caused his heart to turn over many times, but he would never change his pawesome boyfriend, the wonderful EMT who was learning to make coffee professionally just so he could brew it for him and that wakes him up with kisses on his jaw every morning.

His Bernard was the best of all the versions of him that existed in the multiverse because he was his Bernard and that was it. He didn't need anyone else.

♡

#ao3 #fanfic #fanfiction #ao3 fanfic #batman #red robin #tim drake #dc robin #pride #one shot #robin #dc #catlad #stray #emt bernard dowd #bernard dowd is catlad | stray #multiverse #bernard dowd #timber #tim drake x bernard dowd #timbern #established relationship #bisexual tim drake

[satoshi-mochida]

Square Enix has released new information and screenshots for Bravely Default II introducing the game’s countries of Savalon and Wisland, special moves, field actions, eight additional jobs, and more.

Get the details below.

■ World

An orthodox evolution of the Bravely series. The warm, miniature garden-esque world is depicted even more beautifully in Bravely Default II.

The Continent of Excillant

Various worlds fill out the continent of Excillant, where our story is set. What awaits our heroes before they set out to accomplish their goals…?

Savalon, The Drought Kingdom

A country turned into a desert by the lumbering and wars by the dynasty of 200 years prior. Although underground water veins were discovered, the town is beginning to submerge as a result. It is also known for its luxurious casino hall.

—Savalon during the day.

—Savalon at night.

Wiswald, The Magic Kingdom

A country established by mages with Emma Odilia at the helm nearly 50 years prior. Mages have been dedicating themselves to their studies at the Magic Research Institute, which also serves as a government body, but now the town is overgrown with vegetation and in disorder.

—Wiswald during the day.

—Wiswald at night.

■ Characters: Savalon

First Prince Castor (voiced by Satoshi Hino)

The first prince of Savalon, prominent in the literary and military arts.

Although he participates on the council on behalf of King Leon, he is worried about its current state under the control of wealthy merchants who prioritize profits over national politics and the people’s happiness.

Second Prince Boor (voiced by Shougo Sakata)

Prince Castor’s younger brother. He is a kind prince who cares for and worries about his brother, who tends to be reckless. He is currently away from Savalon, studying abroad to expand his horizons.

Chief Archivist Andro (voiced by Shozo Sasaki)

A man who works as the Chief Archivist of Savalon. The Chief Archivist records the events that occur in the kingdom, comparing them to those of the past, and assists the king.

Olfa Dragordia (voiced by Nobuo Tobita)

Troubadour Asterisk Holder.

A poet employed by Bernard Alphard, owner of the casino hall.

A man who loves tragic plays and often speaks in a way belittling of others. He was once employed as the court poet of Musa, but was banished from the kingdom.

Shaula Clarence (voiced by Junko Minagawa)

Gambler Asterisk Holder.

A voluptuous gambler who frequents the casino hall.

A wicked woman who challenges the men seduced by her beauty to card games, taking all their money and using them as pawns.

Nihal (voiced by Yukiyo Fujii)

Beastmaster Asterisk Holder.

A reticent woman who puts on beast and animal performances at the casino hall.

She was a member of a traveling acrobatics troupe, but was picked up by Bernard Alphard after a monster attack left her alone.

Bernard Alphard (voiced by Takaya Kuroda)

Thief Asterisk Holder.

Owner of Savalon’s famous casino hall.

A man who built the casino hall of a lifetime and is now a member of the council. He is the one who discovered the underground water veins and brought an influx of water to Savalon.

■ Characters: Wiswald

Emma Odilia (voiced by Masako Katsuki)

Elvis and Rody’s late master. As the central figure in the founding of Wiswald, she was a just and impartial mage.

Rody Grenadine (voiced by Yasunori Matsumoto)

Red Mage Asterisk Holder.

Head of the Magic Research Institute, as well as the leader of Wiswald.

Elvis’ senior pupil, together they studied magic under the guidance of Emma Odilia. Since losing his daughter in an accident, he has holed himself up in the Magic Research Institute devoted to some sort of research.

Lily Grenadine (voiced by Miki Narahashi)

Hunter Asterisk Holder.

Rody Grenadine’s wife, and the woman who supports him behind the scenes.

Since losing her daughter, she has holed herself up in the forest near the town. However, she is said to be living there with her daughter who died…

Galahad Kelly (voiced by Hiroki Yasumoto)

Shield Master Asterisk Holder.

Guardsman of the Magic Research Institute. Although born in Rimedahl, he was taken in by a distant relative living in Wiswald after the death of his parents. He blames himself for the death of Rody and Lily’s daughter.

■ Systems

In addition to a traditional, turn-based battle system, you can enjoy innovative and strategic battles unique to the Bravely series with elements such as “special attacks” that buff your party in real-time, and “support abilities” that can be combined with multiple jobs.

Special Moves

In addition to powerful “special moves” that can be activated under certain conditions in battle, dedicated special move background music buffs the entire party. The buff remains for long as the music continues to play after activation, giving you the opportunity to quickly wipe out your enemies.

—Beastmaster Special Move: “Let’s Do Our Best Together!”

Summons a large number of monsters and unleashes a powerful physical attack on all enemies. Increases the entire party’s physical attack and magic attack power.

—White Mage Special Move: “Sacred Light”

Recovers a large portion of all allies’ HP, as well as cures all status ailments. Increases the entire party’s physical defense and magic defense power.

Use special moves to wipe out enemies in real-time.

Support Abilities

By mastering a job, in addition to command abilities you can use in battle, you can also equip and learn support abilities that buff your character. Learned support abilities can be equipped even if you change jobs, allowing you to combine them with other jobs.

—“Empty Handed” (Monk)

When both hands are free of equipment, physical attack power and accuracy rate significantly increase.

—“Aspir Attack” (Black Mage)

Restores MP based on the damage dealt by the “Attack” command.

Field Actions

By slashing your sword at monsters wandering the field, you can start the battle with Brave Attack activated to gain an additional Brave Point (BP). You can also use your sword to cut the grass on the field to find items.

—The situation at the start of the battle changes depending on whether you approach the enemy from behind, get snuck up on by the enemy yourself, or strike them with your sword.

—If your Brave Attack is a success, you will start the battle with an additional Brave Point.

—If you cut down grass, you may find an item.

■ Jobs

Troubadour

Supports the party through the power of poetry.

An assist job that protects the party’s status. With a number of total effect skills on hand, the Troubadour is a reliable ally against strong enemies.

Beastmaster

A shortstop that employs various monsters.

The Beastmaster captures and employs its prey. From offense to relief, it can fight flexibly according to the situation.

Gambler

Leaves it to luck to turn the tables.

A gambling job unafraid to take a risk. With luck on its side, the Gambler aims for a big return.

Berserker

Pulverizes enemies with its trusty axe.

An attacker that wields an axe with high attack power to demolish its enemies.

Red Mage

An all-purpose mage prominent in both offense and defense.

This universal mage job can use both attack magic and recovery magic.

Hunter

Analyzes the enemy to pierce their weak point.

A master of the bow, the Hunter unleashes powerful blows that pierce the enemy’s weak point.

Shield Master

The party’s iron fortress that stands on the front line.

A defense-specialized job that wards off attacks and protects its allies with high defense power and a large shield.

Pictomancer

An artist that repaints the battle.

A job that debuffs the enemy through by utilizing various colors.

■ Network

The Bravely series’ familiar “Single-Player RPG You Can Play With Everyone” element returns. In Bravely Default II, you can utilize the time the game is in sleep mode to help grow your characters.

“Search”: Take Advantage of the Time You Are Unable to Play

“Search” mode, in which you rent a boat to explore the seas, is a handy feature that allows you to earn rewards based on the amount of time your game is in sleep mode. By “searching” when you are unable to play, you can obtain items that assist your growth, including experience points and job points. While you can use this feature offline, if you are connected to the internet, players from other worlds will help you and further increase your rewards.

—You can start “Search” mode by visiting the elderly woman who rents boats in the starting country.

—Your rewards will increase based on the amount of time your game is asleep. You can continue to “search” for up to 12 hours, so make the most of your time when you go to bed or go out.

Bravely Default II is due out for Switch on February 26, 2021 worldwide. Read more about the game here.

View the screenshots at the gallery.

#Bravely Default II #Bravely Default 2 #Bravely Default #Bravely Series #Square Enix #Gematsu #long post #very long post

[auncyen]

some brief thoughts on bd2 before I go back to playing, spoilers up to just after obtaining the thief asterisk:

first off lol at the banter after the thief fight suggesting the party didn’t actually have the asterisk yet, and the following sequence making it CLEAR they didn’t take the asterisk then, and yet afterward, we have the asterisk, because we fought the asterisk holder, that’s Just How It Works.

Most likely course of how they would actually have it is that Anihal had taken it from Bernard’s corpse and gave it to the party when she let them out but 1) seems weird Castor would overlook the power of an asterisk if he has one, even if the water crystal is more important to him 2) HOW IS ANIHAL BEING ALLOWED TO JUST WALK INTO THE DUNGEON??? RIGHT AFTER CASTOR WAS THERE??? anihal are you a thief too

anyway.  The Castor reveal was really cool after the rather predictable nature of the prologue.  Maybe it’s not the most unique twist, and I’m sure there were some people who called it beforehand since TWO evil advisors in a row would be...odd, but they did a good enough job distracting with the advisor and making it seem like Castor’s big flaw was his classist view of people that I did not expect the new flaw of “will stab you in the back (or in the front but, details)”.  Am looking forward to confronting him.

The main crew is a little slow to grow on me; they’re all right, but the parallel to bd1 crew really does seem very heavy though obvious the characters and their dynamics between each other ARE different.  They seem to launch so quickly into “we’re the protagonists of this story” without any friction, which may or may not make sense--like Elvis is motivated by obtaining asterisks, yes, but there’s yet to be any conflict between him and potentially Gloria over priorities.  Maybe further down the road???  But in particular, Seth is bugging me a lot.  When they first reveal he died before the game started I was amused because it was like the writers smashed the button for a redo attempt at Tiz’s story--it really is nuts in bd1 that there are only two pieces of vague foreshadowing at Tiz holding a celestial and then he just COLLAPSES at the end and it’s like “........HE WAS DEAD ALL ALONG??? HE WAS DEAD ALL ALONG.”

So on the one hand actually just saying it outright: ok, cool, Seth can react to it more.

Or he could not.  Which might be fair because 1) it’s still pretty early in the game 2) he is alive again and nothing’s said yet that’s going to change anytime soon.  But at the same time he just feels...very blank slate while not being blank slate?  Does he not have a home country he wants to return to???  Is he not grieving the crew he was presumably with or is that like “lol whelp”????  GAME????

again, it’s early, so either this could change a bit soon or this is deliberately being left hanging for some kind of twist like one that would explain why he’s the only protagonist we name.  But atm it’s very weird.

#bravely default ii #bravely default ii spoilers #bd spoilers for anyone who didn't play first game yet lol

[yanderecandystore]

How would The yandere teachers react to a darling that was know for delinquent behavior in there old school being completely normal and even super helpful in there class?

I'm sorry if I made you wait too long, holy shit, I love this ask-

I feel like I should, redo my characters, but, I'm still a little confused lol XD

Anyway, here we are :3

🍭꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍰꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖🍭

Little delinquent…? [Yandere Teacher x "Delinquent"!Reader - Headcanons]:

I'm gonna do them separately, because, nyeh, why not? 🤷🏻‍♀️😙

→Matthew Robinson:

This man 👏🏻 Doesn't have time👏🏻 For this shit.

He heard all of the terrible things you did.

Or well, presumably did.

He had already dealt with delinquents who had done way worse than you, so you better not act like royalty on his class like the other ones, because he'll-

"- Hey! Good morning! My name is [Y/N] [L/N], it's nice to meet you!" You say, entering the class in such a hurry and with the brightest smile on the entire world on your face.

All students were taken aback by your sudden introduction, but even more about your cheerful attitude (since most of them already heard the rumors about you). The most surprised person, however, was your teacher.

Not only did you scare the life out of him, he didn't expect you being so nice with everyone. Maybe you weren't the student he was expecting, maybe this was all a coincidence?

Two students named [Y/N], while one was a troublemaker, the other one was a walking sunshine.

But that wouldn't make sense, there is only one [Y/N] [L/N] assigned to his class. Yet when looking at you, he doesn't see a delinquent, or someone that would cause him any trouble. He sees a little sweetheart.

He doesn't let his guard down just yet, however. You came in late and made a lot of noise just by introducing yourself, so you weren't exactly free from any scolding.

He needs to be sure that you aren't just acting up just because is your first day. He tells you to take a seat, pretty close to his desk. So he can keep a better eye on you.

Throughout the whole class, you been well-behaved and friendly with all your classmates, that were freaking out every time you said "hi" to them.

He thought about calling you out on your constant chatting, but then again, it was your first day and you seemed excited to know more about your classmates. And you weren't really talking all that much, just asking if you could borrow something you forgot.

He only gave you a couple of glances when you would speaking a little too loud, so you would take a hint. Yet, you seemed so… innocent. You didn't get angry or made a fuss saying that "you weren't even talking".

"- Oh… Sorry!" You would shy away with just a stare? Really?

You been paying close attention to what he says, and what he teaches you. It's nice to see you paying attention, but it feels so distracting.

After your first week, he heard other teachers talk about you, all of them were impressed with your kindness, even if they all were waiting a little troublemaker.

When school ended, you would help your teachers to clean the class before going back home. With isn't really needed, there are plenty of janitors around the school.

Yet there you are, chatting with the school staff and helping with their work.

He should probably stop stalking you. He has seen with his own eyes that you weren't the person that he heard about, you were better than what people thought you were.

However, something kept him from simply walking away, from letting you be and giving you your privacy.

Since your first day, he has taken the spot as your stern, grumpy teacher. He hasn't been necessarily mean towards you, but he would act a lot more distant with you than other students.

It was pretty selfish of him to act like this considering you haven't done anything wrong. But he wanted to keep observing.

In his head, the reasons behind doing this things were to see if you weren't the delinquent everyone was afraid off and to let you know that he doesn't tolerate troublemakers.

But inside his obsessive little heart, he was stalking you because he couldn't have enough of you, and he was being distant because it was how he was. He didn't knew how to react to your presence.

You managed to steal his heart in the three weeks, yet not even you or him noticed this.

→Madeline Allen:

Oh, no, no, no, no, no, please no!?

She doesn't really like conflict. So when she heard she would be dealing with a delinquent she was instantly frightened.

To make matters worse, she heard you came from her old high school, a school known for their terrible discipline and being the "breeding place" for most delinquents and gangs around town.

She hated that place so much, that after she graduated she burned her blue uniform jacket, so she couldn't remember all the terrible things that happened there.

But if you're from that school, and if you're a delinquent, then all her memories will come back to taunt her!

She is freaking out while waiting for her next class.

' Please don't come in, please don't come in, please don't come in-' She chanted inside her mind, hoping it would work somehow.

When all the students came in, none of them were wearing that disgusting blue jacket, and none of them looked… Like delinquents.

' Oh good, I guess they missed the first day of school!' Madeline thought happily, thinking that if you aren't here, she can prepare herself more when she has to see you.

She decided to purposely miss your name from the class calling, still thinking you weren't there. But when she finished the list and ask if she missed anyone, a soft and timid voice said:

"- H-Hi! You didn't say my name…" She looked at the student who said it. Finding out a adorable new student with beautiful bright eyes.

"- I'm sorry, dear. Can you tell me your name so I can write it down?"

"- It's [Y/N] [L/N]."

.

.

.

At that moment the whole atmosphere on the class changed. No one was expecting you to be the so called delinquent.

Madeline looked up again, afraid the student that she saw was only a mirage. You looked so cute and kind, there was no way you were as bad as they had thought.

But then again, if there was one thing that she learned from her time at Saint Bernard's School for Little Prodigies was that appearances aren't all that they seemed.

She didn't want to confess that she purposely missed your name, but she didn't want to lie about your name not being there either, so she only said:

"- Oh, I'm so sorry, your name is here, I guess I totally missed." Smooth.

You looked apprehensive, afraid your name wasn't in this class and you would have to go and find where could your class be, but when she said you belong here you looked so relieved.

It was adorable how you smiled at her, so eager to be in her class.

She can deny her growing curiosity. She didn't want to remember about her old school, yet she wanted to know how is it today.

You don't look or act like a bully. So maybe they finally changed their ways?

Looking at you being so attentive to her class and being such a sweetheart with school staff filled her with hope.

She decided to approach you by asking how was your older school, and although you feel a little scared of telling her, you do it anyway.

The truth was that you didn't spend as much time in there as most people think. You been there for four months and that was it. You couldn't put into words how terrible everything was, it was like hell on Earth!

You would go meet her in her class after school ended. She would offer you some cookies while you would try your best to explain how it was in that awful place.

You been the victim of awful pranks, bullying, you been accused of being a thief multiple times, even if no one has any proof. Gangs dominated the school and it was easy to see how the students were the ones that truly owned the place.

The only thing you remember learning in that school, was how to survive in a school after all classes ended, late at night, with minimum food and hiding away from the gangs that were fighting inside school at 1:00 a.m.

You also remember hearing that place was haunted, so yeah, it was your worst slumber party ever.

Every detail you told her made you remember the awful things you went through in the span of four months. You started to cry without even realizing.

And Madeline started crying too. She was in that place for three years. If you went through hell in four months, imagine going through it for three years.

But, oddly enough, she wasn't alarmed by the memories coming in. What she was truly worried about was you.

"- I-I don't how I did it, I-" You tried to speak. You tried to reason. How the hell did you survive?

"- Shh, it's okay." She interrupted you to hug you. To comfort you.

"- You're crying too, I'm sorry if-"

"- I know, don't worry about it."

You been there, you been through hell, yet you're so kind. You didn't change, you didn't let that awful place change who you were. She can tell you always been like this, thoughtful of others and kind.

You didn't let that place change you, like Madeline did.

You hugged her back and let her comfort you.

That was the moment where she decided, she won't let you get hurt anymore.

You been so gentle and helpful towards students and school staff, even if they all were scared of you. She can let anyone speak about you as if you were some sort of disease, not anymore.

She won't let that happen.

🍭꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍰꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖🍭

#yandere #sheep stuff #yandere x reader #yandere oc #special delivery headcanons #yandere teacher #yandere teacher x reader #special delivery request

[angrysow]

“I told you not to get too friendly with those birds and what do you do? Go off and...do that!” Bernard’s father could barely say it, wrinkling his snout in disgust. “Nobody else is gonna know about this..”

“I’m sorry..” Bernard hung his head.

“Never mind that. We have to get rid of the bird now that she’s onto our egg run..”

“You don’t mean to kill her!” Bernard spun around. “You can’t!”

“It’s your fault son. We can’t let her expose us and the other birds working with us.” His father jabbed his chest. “Killing a bird isn’t a light thing to do. All of this is dangerous for us and you just dug that damned hole deeper.”

“I’ll take care of her.” Bernard stammered.

“Oh? I doubt it. What are you going to do? Run away with her? Is that what you want to do? Shame our family?” His father sighed and grabbed his shoulder. “Look boy. I don’t want you thrown from our clan. I want the very best for you. You are part of the oldest family on this island. You have respect here. You are the strongest of all my sons. If you ran off with a bird you’d be nothing. Everyone shames bird and pig couples. It’s disgusting. You’d be clanless. And her family? You know well enough they don’t like pigs. You’re an egg thief. Is that the life you want?”

Bernard’s heart thudded in his chest. He felt like crawling into bed and never revealing himself again.

“I have a gift for you. I was gonna save it for a later time but I think it’ll cheer you up. You know the RedMuds. We’ve arranged a marriage with one of their pretty daughters with you. A boar can’t ask for anything better. Many of the younger boars are jealous of you.” His father smiled. “Your future is set here. Which would you really choose?”

Bernard sighed, feeling a sense of defeat. His father’s were true. He nodded in agreement but his stomach felt sick. “Yes. I’ll marry her. I don’t want to shame you..”

His father shook him approvingly. “Good! You do me proud son. I know you had a smart head on you.”

But Bernard couldn’t get Frenny from his mind. He couldn’t have his clan kill her. He’d have to chase her away himself somehow for good.

#angry birds #green pigs #pigs

[aaudace]

art of loving on

pairing: sam wilson x ava rhodes

word count: 2.5k

notes: the fact that im super late on posting this says a lot about me, so lets just pretend that its still thanksgiving. okay so i know that the title is cliche and this might flop big time, but i wanted to do something a little different besides simply posting gifs. im a sucker for reading sappy one shots so I decided to make my own. this is part one of my holiday one shot series. enjoy!

If you were to ask Ava Rhodes how she felt about the holidays, more than likely she would give you a whole monologue on her hatred for it. 

    Call her a Scrooge, but her love for the holidays had faltered a year ago after she lost the one thing that was considered a gift to her. Losing the one thing that brought her peace was the last straw that broke her to pieces. Her patience for the holidays had changed dramatically. No longer had she been longing for the joyous laughter and loving smiles that the goodwill season brought along. 

    Instead with every waking moment, she dreaded it. 

    However, for at least the next few hours, she had to throw away her personal thoughts about jolly holiday and put on a facade. Her face no longer carried a cold hearted look, but instead her cheeks were burning red with joy and laughter. Although she hated herself for it, the Rhodes girl would volunteer herself to help at the Veterans Affairs Office that was a couple blocks from her apartment.

   Even though it pained her dearly to sit through hours of hearing individuals explain their gratitude and compassion for the season, a part of her felt like the peace that she lost was there with her when she volunteered. Before he died, her boyfriend Marcus would spend hours in the exact building that basically became a formulated routine of the two of them each holiday season. The one thing that Ava missed the most about him was his passion for helping others. Her heart sung with joy as she watched him go above and beyond for each individual that walked through the doors. He had a way with words that made people feel good about themselves. Whether you were the poorest individual or the richest, Marcus was willing to do whatever it took to bring the best out of you. At least that’s what he did for Ava.

   God, she missed him. 

    But she managed to put on a brave face as she stood in the same position that he did before. Her mind and hands had been tied up in many things. For the first hour of her time, she served food to individuals that came by the office. Usually within the first few minutes, the small building was packed from the outskirts. So this kept her mind busy. The few next hours, she spent entertaining the elderly veterans with card and board games. The first hour was pretty easy for her, but soon afterwards, she came to the realization that card games and grown men didn’t really mix as well as she thought. Bernard Chapman and Arthur Wilfred, two regulars at the VA did not really understand the concept of a friendly competition. One minute, she was showing one group how to play Connect Four, the next she found herself in the middle of a brawl that involved childish name calling and sailor swearing. This also kept her mind busy. 

   And now, with time being the thief that it was, she found herself in the banquet hall that once housed thousands of individuals that came from different walks, cleaning up the remainder of the trash that was left behind. Although the help that she once had offered to stay behind and help, she ushered them out of the door. She didn’t mind doing the clean up part. Out of everything, that was the easiest to her. In other words, it kept her mind busy. 

   As she cleaned off the tables, a sigh escaped from her lips. The silence that had once inhabited the quiet space had come to halt at the creaking sound of the doors being pushed open.

    She figured it has been one of the volunteers, Marge coming back to help her out with the clean up. Marge had been one of Marcus’ favorite volunteers to work with. Her sass was nothing compared to what he put up with at home with Ava, however, it was her golden heart that made her stand out. She was different from other volunteers. Marge had been working for the VA office for years after her husband passed away. For her, this place had been a sanctuary of peace. Just like for Ava. Marge had become family for Ava. She was the only person that knew her the way that Marcus had come to know her. Maybe that was the reason why Ava was able to remain stable throughout her time of volunteering. 

   “Marge, how many times do I have to tell you,” Ava yelled, placing her rag onto her shoulder. She didn’t bother looking up at the entrance way because she knew looking into the eyes of the shameless woman would only make it hard for her to say no to her. “You know, one of these days you are just gonna accept the fact that no means no.”

    The sound of footsteps echoed across the room as they began to move closer and closer towards Ava directions. “I swear, sometimes I wonder how Marcus dealt with you. You are worse than me. And sometimes I can’t even stand me....” 

 ��  At this point, Ava turned from her duty to look up at the shadowy figure. Her green eyes widened as she realized that the body figure didn’t quite match up to the petite figure that Marge had. Instead, it was made up of bicep muscles that hid under a dark leather jacket. Her mouth opened to protest, but she couldn’t find the words. In fact, the only thing she could say was, “Uh, um—”

  “Just so you know, Marge was on her way back, I just managed to convince her to go home,” the man said. He moved a little closer, covering the large gap that stood in between them. “I swear, she reminds of someone that I know. Someone that’s kind of feisty, blunt, and can be a little sarcastic at times. Sometimes a little too much, but we are working on that.” 

   Ava rolled her eyes, “I think the key of life is getting your point across. And there’s nothing wrong with my sarcasm. Some people just don’t have a sense of humor.”

   “Or sometimes you can be a little too harsh and you aren’t willing to admit that.”

“If it makes you happy,” she scoffed. “I managed to put away my sarcasm and trade it in for joy and cheer for the day.” 

   “Atcha girl,” he laughed. “Look at you turning over a new leaf.” 

Ava smirked at him. She loved the idea that he was proud of her. It had been a while since she had felt like that before. “But, now that the day is over. I’m putting it back on and I am now returning to my normal sarcastic, feisty, blunt self. Ah, it’s good to be me again.”

   All the man could do is sigh and return a small chuckle as a response. Ava smiled back a little. “But besides my issues, what are you doing here, Sam? It’s the holidays, you are supposed to be spending time with family.”

   As she said this, she moved past him, focusing on the last of the table that she had to clean. The smell of fresh lemons brushed against her nostrils as she squirted the bottle of cleaning supply that had been resting in her waist apron. One thing that she loved the most about cleaning the VA office was the vast amount of cleaning products they stored. She really couldn’t her finger on why exactly she enjoyed them so much. She just did. 

    Maybe it was the idea that each of them held a fragrance that held a sentimental memory in her mind. Like the one that smelt like an island breeze reminded her of the time Marcus cleaned up after a man who accidentally spilled his carton of milk on the floor. It had been a slow holiday at the VA office that day. Although the man was generous enough to help Marcus clean up the mess, it was Marcus that had been too caught up with everything that he forgot to place the warning sign for the place that he mopped and managed to slip. That holiday, Ava spent the majority of the night cracking jokes as they occupied the waiting room of the hospital for Marcus’ broken back. The one that smelt like flowers reminded her of her first time volunteering at the VA office. She and Marcus had only been dating for a couple of months. As part of getting to know him better, he invited her to see what he considered his safe haven. When he wasn’t dealing with police business, he would spend his Saturdays, encouraging other veterans who had been down on their luck. Ava would later find out that his dad was the reason why the place even existed. New York only had a few VA offices, but there was nothing like the one that stood on the corner of Baldwin Avenue and 2nd Street. 

   The one that she loved the most was the one that smelt like lemons. That one was his favorite. 

   “I could ask you the same question, Ava.” Sam said. She didn’t bother to stop cleaning. “Mariah called and said you didn’t want to come over for Thanksgiving dinner. She said something about you being sick. But knowing you like the back of hand, I knew that wasn’t true.”

  Ava laughed a little. She had totally forgotten about the little white lie she had mentioned to her friend earlier. Mariah Riggs, her best friend, was known for doing the most of the holidays. In fact, she’s so much into it that she basically starts all of her planning in the summer. The summer for Christ’s sake. “Well, I was sick, but after a little while I started feeling a bit better. It’s no big deal, I’ll call Mariah tonight and tell her the truth.”

   “Which one?” asked Sam. “The truth about you not being sick or the truth of the real reason why you continue to hate the holidays.” At this, Ava stopped her motion and turned to look at him. “Ava, I understand your reasoning, but you can’t keep—”

  “Sam, can we please not get into this? I really don’t have the energy.” 

He sighed. “Ava, avoiding the topic will only make it worse. You can’t keep burying yourself in this hole of hurt.”

   “I am fine, okay,” she spoke, her tone turning a bit harsh. “I just don’t understand why everyone is so concerned. Why is it a crime that I hate this time of year?”

  “Because when Marcus was alive you enjoyed it.” Her heart sank. Even though it was unspoken for the two of them, Ava didn’t like it when other people brought up the issue of her dead boyfriend. Usually, her reaction was cold and she was ready to fight the first person in sight. However, Sam never really brought it up before so she really did not how to react. She opened her mouth to speak, but he continued. “Marge told me that once upon a time, you were in love with the holidays. Now all you do is make any excuse to get out of anything festive just so you could stay locked up in your apartment. I can’t even get you say one good thing about the holidays.”

   Her green eyes begin to water. She cursed at herself for even allowing herself to feel any type of vulnerability. He continued, “You don’t think when I signed up to be your boyfriend that I wouldn’t be prepared for these moments. Babe, you and I are a team. You have to let me in. You can’t keep shutting me out.”

   He had a point, but Ava really didn’t want to admit that. However, the tears that streamed down her face said something else. The pair had been together for a little over a few months. And even though they seemed compatible, the thought of them getting closer scared Ava. If she was being honest, she was terrified when her heart started developing feelings for him. She was terrified when he asked out on a date. And she had been feeling this way for a hot second, but ironically, she was terrified of even bringing it up. 

   The silence stood in between for a moment. Sam stood in front her, his heart beating out of his chest. The longer she stood in silent, the more nerve wracking it became from him. The few months of dating Ava had its moments of challenges. But it also had its rewards. Even though she was tough, she had her moments to where she brought out the good in him believe it or not. And that was something that wasn’t easy. But she did it. And as someone who cared and loved her, he was willing to do whatever it took to do the same for her.

   “I-I am scared that one day, I’ll wake up and you won’t be there for me.” Ava spoke, finally popping the bubble of silence. “I am scared that if I let my guard down, life will take away from me. Just like it did for Marcus. Sam, I want to let you in — I really do, but I am just tired of—” 

      Her words were cut off by the touch of his soft lips on herself. He placed his hands onto her waist, pulling her a little closer to him. Ava didn’t remember exactly when it happened, but sudden her hands were wrapped around his neck. Even though he was a couple inches taller she didn't have to stand on her toes, the heels of her boots did that job for her. 

   When he pulled away from her, he looked into her eyes and spoke, “Ava, it's gonna take a hell of a lot more than just life to keep me away from you. I am not going anywhere.” 

“You say that, but what if—”

 “I am not going anywhere, Ava.”

“Okay, but —”

“I could do this all day, Ava. I am not going anywhere.”

    She rolled her eyes. As she pulled away from him, she wiped her face from her tears. Maybe life did have a way of giving back. And even though, life had gave her shit for her whole entire existence, maybe in some universal designed fate, life was giving her the gift of love again. And his name was Sam Wilson. 

  “Well, if that's the case then just know that since you are linking me to you forever, that doesn't mean I’ll go easy on you, Wilson.” she said. He shook his head and laughed. Maybe he was right? Letting him in couldn’t be such a bad idea. “I am known to be pretty grouchy in the mornings when I don’t have my coffee.”

  “Noted. That's why I stack up extra coffee beans back at my place.” he laughed. “I love you.” 

    She kissed his cheek. “I love you more.” He smiled at her. Before she could say anything, he walked over a table just across from them. She didn’t realize it earlier, but he had a big brown bag that he propped on the table.

    He placed the bag on the table that she finished cleaning. “So since you really didn’t get a chance to properly celebrate Thanksgivings, I figured I would bring a piece of it to you.” he said. He pulled out two plastic containers along with utensils. “Marge told me you like pumpkin pie, so I managed to get the last two pieces from that diner up the street.”

    She laughed. From that moment, she made a mental note to take the time out to thank Marge for the many facts that she managed to learn about her. “Marge knows me well.”

   “Happy Thanksgiving, Ava. Here’s to many more holidays together.”

    “Cheers to that.”

#a marvelous holiday #sam wilson x oc #ava rhodes #otp: love after war #damage control series #sam wilson fic #sam wilson au #marvel au #my edits #my writings

[jess-the-vampire]

Sky and the Forces of the Multiverse, Chapter 42

Previous/ Next

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It didn't take long for everyone meet up outside the tavern, prepared for the entrance. There was no doubt in their mind there must be some sort of hidden entrance inside, that was for sure, and the bartender was doing his best to avoid anyone finding out about it. If they could they'd go right in and arrest him but they didn't have that option with a hostage inside.

One false move and the criminal and hostage make a run for it, and they didn't have the time to risk that, if they knew they were onto them who knows if bernard would even make it out unharmed next time. They needed to find him here and now and avoid any future kidnappings from this point forward, they were desperate for a wand and they didn't need them getting anymore desperate then before.

Star was already getting toffee and ludo flashbacks from the mere mention of wanting to get a wand from the princess of mewni.

"So...how we sneaking?", star seemed to be hoping marco or katrina had a plan already planned out what to do by now but they barely had much on the building, though katrina was already looking into it with her own updated spy gear. Trying to get a layout of the building, though knowing the situation they were under it was likely it could be magically expanded and not how it looks.

Which Tom of course knew well enough about.

But they couldn't just stroll in, they got kicked out after all.

And what if the guy was still in there? What then? Were they just supposed to erase their memory or something? Cause that wouldn't help them much if they wanted to question him later.

They were all debating what the next course of action should be as katrina finished getting all the stuff she needed, bringing up a map of the establishment. "Ok, so...maybe we can just sneak through the windows? I mean that doesn't mean he won't be in there, he still could be, but it does mean a good entrance we could start off with, as long as they aren't bugged...maybe.".

"Bugged?".

"He's working with a magic user marco, they'd probably bug the windows for traps in case someone broke in, unless...they're really that dumb.". Star actually seemed to be considering if the masked being was just really stupid and they were just lucky to have gotten this far but marco quickly shook her out of it. "Alright look, let's just take every precaution and get in there before anything bad happens...star...how bout at least checking for traps?"

Star, who tended to like bursting into places at most times they did missions, nodded, pulling herself together as she went around the building. Star was more about the grand entrances and breaking into places, and if they weren't there she would've already have practically blew the place up in her attempts to save the day. In fact maybe the thief was full out expecting her to break in as per usual.

It was her signature move.

Tom was already setting up a barrier around the building, just in case they tried to get out that way, a fire dome riding above them though marco shook their head. "I'm not exactly sure that's..."subtle" tom, not much of a sneak in if there's a giant fire dome outside of the place". But Tom tapped them playfully on the nose, "Oh c'mon marco, if what they said is true, they're underground, not in the bar itself...besides...if they do see it, they can't leave anyway.".

Well that wasn't entirely true but it did remove some options.

Marco sighed before going back to their next plan.

"Ok, so...I'd say our best course of action...is-".

"Break in?", Janna said, unlocking the door , lock pick in hand. She had a smug look on her face as marco and tom looked at her with both annoyance and a less then surprised demeanor. Of course janna lock picked their way in without really talking to the others, they really should've kept a better eye on her. Star had finally come around the corner and she squealed in delight at seeing janna finish her work.

And seeing the establishment empty, they headed inside, before the others could protest further.

Katrina smiled to herself before pushing the other royals inside, the door thankfully hadn't been bugged at all, leaving them easy entrance. The place was empty and dark now outside of whatever light was coming from the windows, and the bartender was not there, though there was no proof he had gone home or was with the masked foe. They'd have the split up and search the place for anything strange.

They had no choice at this point.

Hidden doors and secret entrances in general were something they tended to come by a lot.

As they checked under tables and the bar itself there didn't seem to be much on first glance. Just a lot of wood, glass bottles and more, as it hadn't been cleaned much in the time they were kicked to the time they broke in. The place mostly just seemed like a normal bar, but katrina was already showing them from her own research the place had a cellar somewhere they kept stock.

They needed to find the entrance.

Marco was knocking on the floor and star was resisting just blowing up the floor.

It was several minutes before they hit jackpot, through janna once again. Janna just kicked the wall next to the pig goat head and the doorway opened up, showing some stairs. Marco didn't seem amused, and janna shrugged, "Hey, it's where i would put it...now we going or-?". The rest of the team following her, being careful about not making too much noise as they headed down.

No one was there, it was just...a cellar, full of bottles to b ring up every day for the customers.

But no bernard.

"Spread out, and be careful.", the group looked around, there was had to be something else in here. If there wasn't they went through all this for nothing, trying not to break anything as they passed through the dusty room. The place didn't seem rather well cleaned but then again that seemed to match the rest of the town, maybe these monsters just preferred dust.

"I mean, it's a decent place to hide...", tom mumbled under his breath, "Wouldn't have been the first place I thought of to hide...especially since a bar can be pretty crowded.". Though maybe that worked to her's benefit, no one could hear what they were doing down there if all they could hear was loud and rough customers hanging out above.

"Careful, someone might still be here...".

Marco was looking to janna, expecting her to once again, figure out the entrance, but she seemed more interested in all the dusty bottles of mewni wine and beer more then anything as instead, Star seemed to make a breakthrough. And by breakthrough they mean she accidentally fell through the floor down a hole that had been covered by some floorboards and a rug.

The other panicking for her safety as she fell, hearing noises that might give them away immediately.

"STAR!?".

They all froze in fear till they heard the faint sound of an "I'm ok", from the bottom of the hole. All crowding around it as star brushed herself off down there, "C'mon...let's go...quickly...". she ushered them all down as they followed her orders, entering the dark and dirty entrance, covering their tracks as best they could in case someone came in from the hidden door.

The place was dark, but it didn't seem to be too long either, not to mention the wrappers in it were enough indication someone had been there before.

Perhaps a missing young human boy was one of them?

Star felt a door in front of her quickly enough, feeling around for a handle, shushing the others ironically enough before opening the whole thing. A bright light hitting the room and practically blinding everyone inside of it, though the room itself was only lit by lamps and fire. Old tapestries lined the walls, masks among them, bottles and crystals and anything you could think of was there as well.

They had to have had the place now.

Right?

No one seemed to be home for now, leaving the place empty for the group to look around, all of them spreading out the scene, careful not to trigger any possible traps they may of been wandering into. The place was creepy alright, eclipsa could probably live in a place like this if she really wanted to, though maybe she'd keep it a little more clean then whoever this was.

If bernard was here, they better find him.

Marco was already checking the walls for any other hidden doors, because at this point, there probably was another one.

Tom and Star looking for evidence towards the identity of said masked person, there had to be something right?

Right.

Regardless, at least the person hadn't been here to ambush them and take them out, thank goodness.

Janna actually seemed...impressed with the place? Marco was worried they'd had to keep her from stealing something as katrina looked for fingerprints.

Tom of course was dead on focused on finding the boy, listening out for any noises or signs of life. He was actually worrying that maybe, just maybe, they knew they were coming and took bernard away. But they hadn't been gone too long, were they really not careful enough? Did his shield ruin everything? He was hoping not, because he couldn't face landon without his friend.

He didn't even wanna think about that.

Then he heard a grumbled, from somewhere else, not in the room and he got closer to the far side of the wall, near a bookshelf of potions.

"Star? Marco? I think...he's here...".

They quickly headed over, katrina keeping lookout.

"Bernard? You heard him?".

"I head...something, I hope it's him", but that was enough for the rest of them to start feeling up the wall for an entrance. If bernard was here that was enough for them, but they had to get him out soon, before the person who kidnapped him returned to take them out. Hopefully the human had eaten and wasn't hurt, though there was a chance he could be sick too.

Who knows what you could get staying in this filthy place.

Star was already about ready to blow a hole in the wall before marco stopped her, "Uh...no...let's not injure the captive, ok?". Marco pressed their ears against the wall more, not hearing noises, "Bernard? Can you hear me?". They said it rather gently, unsure if anyone was listening from elsewhere, when no response seemed to happen, marco said it a little louder.

"B-bernard?!".

This time they head a muffled through the wall.

"Mmmm?"

"Bernard? Is that you? It's...Marco, Landon's mom? We're hear to take you home.".

Again, nothing cud really be made out from Bernard's end, but he seemed to be responding to them and what they were saying..

"Can I blast through the wall now?", Star asked, making puppy dog eyes to her friends, her hands glowing and already ready for the shot.

"No", came from everyone except for janna, as expected.

They weren't risking crushing the boy with rubble or something.

Bernard actually might've had an idea of how they could reach him but that didn't mean much if they couldn't even hear him at all from where they were. Though as they leaned in they could hear the boy...coughing? He was more muffled, but he did seemed to sound like he was coughing on the other side. This sparked some serious panic in the adults.

Was he sick?

"Hold on Bernard we're coming for you!", marco told them back through the wall as they looked for the entrance to whatever room was holding him. There was no entrance where the sound was coming from, perhaps there was another room entirely on the other side rather then just a cell? Though before they could resort to star's need to blow stuff up tom had stumbled upon a stone in the wall that did indeed, move.

"It's a passcode...", he said, touching another moving stone, "If we find the right sequence we can probably get in".

"Just like for the archives!", Star said in excitement, "If we can figure out the code then we'll have them". They seemed so excited, but guessing a code with so many combos would take a LONG time, and who knows how long they had until they were caught, star was quick to already get started but marco immediately went to look for any written code somewhere.

They didn't have the hours for this.

"A code, of course It had to be a code.".

"Don't worry marco, i got this!".

Star started rapidly pressing buttons in almost any order ever, honestly she probably wasn't remembering what combos she had already done at this point, she was probably just hoping one of these was accurate enough. But the rest of the group was getting impatient and nervous, tom's ears twitching, expecting to be ambushed from behind. Then Star paused for a moment from her pressing, thinking for a moment before standing up and pressing them in another order again.

The same order that reached the archives.

And quick enough, the door opened, Star smiling at her own work.

"Man, someone just preferred not to change the password, makes it easy to remember.".

The queen was quick to head inside, the others following them, finding themselves inside another room. There was more weapons, discarded clothes, the place smelled damp and moldy, no one seemed to use this place super often by the looks of it. But it looked familiar, that was for sure, and sure enough, there was bernard, chained and coughing in his own cell, his legs and hands cuffed.

His coughing quickly got marco's attention, who ran right over to him, their parental instincts kicking in at seeing the human cough harder and louder, as if they might be sick.

"Bernard?! Bernard! Hey, it's ok...we'll get you out of here and find you a doctor, we'll-".

But he kept up his coughing and shook his head, coughing harder before something seemed to pop from his mouth, a clanging sound as the item hit the floor. Marco was left in complete disbelief, what was happening?

The boy breathed and sputtered out a little more, marco noticing what he spit out in shock.

A key, two in fact.

Bernard had swallowed and spit back up two metal keys.

Bernard's voice was a little rough, but there was a smile on his face he couldn't deny, "I-I finally got it...oh I wish landon could've seen that...". The adults were left in shock as bernard scooted forward enough for them to take the spit covered keys . Tom took them, not nearly as grossed out as the others , "How did you? You...swallowed this? And spit it out?".

"I...might've head butted my captor and ate the keys before they could get them back after they locked me up...", He wiggled his chains, "I kept trying to lockpick my way out of the cage...I think they got tired of it...". He seemed actually almost amused despite being locked in here for so long, and he didn't seem to be injured, though he was quite dirty.

His bounds were quickly unlocked as janna lockpicked the cell door.

"Thank god you came for me...but...how...?", he seemed rather surprised, not that people would save him but the likelyhood they would find him here was still pretty small surprising all things considered.

"Landon...landon helped us find you, we never would've found you so easily if it weren't for landon...".

"Landon?", he paused for a moment at that, "Is he ok? I...they took my phone...I-". The cell door was unlocked and the boy stumbled out, his feet seemed to have fallen asleep for a bit after not being able to really move them for so long. Tom helped him stand up so he could get himself in order as katrina reported back to her teammates on the boy's safety.

"First thing's first, we need to get you out of here...", the Queen of demons quickly took Bernard's other side, ushering the others to leave this room, "Tom, see if you can portal us out of-". Marco then stopped, forcing the others to stop just as much, what was once the entrance to the room in the wall, was now closed. "S-star...ddi you close the door behind us when we went in?", the blonde queen paused, "Uh...nope...".

She was quickly to head over to press the code but the stone wall was solid, nothing moved.

"What the-".

"But that's not possible, they would've needed a way out!".

"Try portalling!".

Tom quickly attempted to portal with those in hand, but his flames quickly dwindled, katrina checking the walls carefully, "Magic blocker...this really was a trap. We can't portal out of here...". The others looked nervous, now what? Though katrina was already starting to throw stuff against the wall, "We must break it through force if we are to get out, c'mon!".

Marco quickly pulled out his regular old human phone, "I'm texting the boys...katrina, call for backup if you can, we can't stay here...we need out...soon.".

Judas was startled by his phone buzzing, quickly pulling out his compact to see who was trying to speak to him. The others were laying about in the office, eating the snacks that nora and angel had brought in and talking amongst each other, however the text had quickly silenced them all. Whoever was texting them at this point in time had a good chance of being important.

And it was.

"Mom and the others...they're trapped!".

"Did they find him?", landon almost shot out of his seat entirely asking that, almost terrified to know the answer.

"He's fine but...they can't get out, it's...a magic blocking room!".

The rest of the room was sending each other glances, nervous ones? Now what were they supposed to do? Stay? Their families were in danger right now and might need serious help on their end? Should they send guards? Go themselves? Were they going to be fine on their own? Everyone was on the verge of panicking right now and weren't sure what they could do.

"Let's save them!", came a sudden burst from landon, "They have bernard! Let's go and get them out, now! The guards will take forever to get there in time!". Everyone was still frozen stiff, knowing well what happened the last time they went out to help and got caught. But Landon was fierce, more fierce then usual, "C'mon! It's our parents out there! And we're just going to sit around!?".

"Well-".

"Well what?! If we don't get there right now they could...they might be...", he was starting to cry, and his cheekmarks were coming back despite the fact he wasn't holding the wand. He was getting really emotional over this, but were his emotions worth getting behind if he wasn't thinking right? Their parents wanted them to stay out of this, they told them not to get involved for their own safety.

But if they needed help-

"Landon, we can't all go-".

"Then we don't all go! Some of us could go and...just make sure they get back safe...we can send some guards or eclipsa too, we don't have to go alone..."., he sounded desperate and it was becoming harder and harder to deny him despite everything. Judas flinched, but stepped forward, "Then i'll go...angel? You can go find eclipsa, in case we need her, sky...find kelly, inform your guards...".

"Jude, you probably should stay here...I mean, your arm, and well...", the boyu flinched, sunny did make him promise to stay entirely out out of this, and he wasn't in the best state to be going out there is his arm was anything to judge. Jude actually seemed to be considering what she was saying, was he really the best to be going out there? Then Landon stepped forward, "I'm going, let me have the wand for protection...me and...well...celeste...we could go...".

"You? But you barely know how to use that thing!".

"He's my best friend! I should go and help him!", the demon was insistent, "Doesn't matter how inexperienced I am! He needs me, I need him...you'd do the same for sky, why can't i do the same for him?!". He seemed to have a point there though judas still bit his lips, "Landon it's...I've fought before, with sky, you don't really fight much, much less with a wand".

"Judas, none of us are that great of fighters...how am I any worse then the rest of you?! I know it was wrong of me to do all that stupid stuff I did on my own, but this is different, This is a personal matter...besides...just in case...someone should go with...a wand...and...none of the girls should go...". Sky seemed highly reluctant about the idea of possibly giving up her wand but he had a point, the girls going might but be worse, if someone were to bring a wand, it should go to someone else.

"Maybe we should vote on it?", nora suggested, "On if landon should go or not, we have to be quick though, we don't have as much time to stick around".

That seemed like something they could agree on, they didn't exactly have the time to debate about this all night.

"Ok, fine, all for letting landon on the rescue team with eclipsa and the guards?", judas said, hands in his pockets.

Angel raised his hand, and of course so did landon, but only them, which actually seemed to leave the demon a little baffled.

Celeste, judas, sky, and nora however, did not, leaving that final. Judas didn't want his brother out there like this, sky was already scared of losing the wand...plus she knew how mad landon was, nora simply agreed with judas and celeste...who landon had probably expected to back him up...still refused to let him do anything stupid or dangerous.

Angry and frustrated, landon left the room in a hurry, the doors shutting behind him.

Celeste, a bit moody, headed out right away as well, no surprise to anyone of course but she'd be back, mostly because she had to be if they were goin through with this.

"We should follow him...", judas said quickly, "Y'know? Just in case?", he turned to nora, "Nora? since I might, well...if I have to...y'know.. to go, how about you keep an eye on him...let me know if he's ok, ok?". Nora nodded before heading out, the demon looking at the spider prince who had agreed with landon. "Angel? I'm not gonna tell you you're wrong it's just...why do you trust my brother on this?", the spider twiddling his thumbs.

"It's just well...y'know...he wants to save those he cares about...I would've wanted that...".

"But with a wand? It's too dangerous".

"Maybe but...who else is any better to go?".

Landon stormed off, huffing and steaming before bumping into someone he barely saw through his frustration. He had been so angry at what just happened he wasn't even paying attention anymore, frustrated at his lack of ability to help someone he cared about. But thankfully whoever he ran into hadn't been hurt by him, though landon nearly stumbled back himself.

"Landon?".

He stepped back to see Eclipsa in front of him, finally here and by the looks of her clothing, back from...hanging out in the woods? Sh looked caked in dirt and leaves, she even seemed a little damp and muddy. She looked shocked to see landon there, granted, he should be more shocked, she didn't normally hang out down in the underworld like this. In fact was this were she was a good portion of the day or did she just arrive here?

"Eclipsa? Wha-", he looked baffled, all this stuff was going on and eclipsa was just hanging out down here?!.

She looked down at herself and her clothing, laughing, "Sorry, date with globgor...came down here to see your parents...is...everything alright?".

No, everything was super duper NOT alright, in fact it was the furthest from alright as it possibly could right about now but what had he expected? Even eclipsa could see it in his face that something was really bothering him, and whatever it was was not good. Her smile was wiped off her face entirely, her concern entirely on the young demon in front of her, she had a motherly demeanor to her that made landon a little more at ease.

"Bernard...they went to save him and...I can go and save them!", landon spat out, not that eclipsa had any idea of what any of that was supposed to mean in the slightest. "Save who? Landon...is there something bad happening? Are you alright?". Landon's cheeks puffed out a little more, and much to his frustration, his cheekmarks began glowing.

Eclipsa stepped back in surprise.

"L-landon? Are those-?".

Gears seemed to be turning in her head," Where are your parents? Do they know about this?". The demon wiped at his face, "Bernard was taken, and my parents went after him and they found him and now they're stuck and it's all my fault because they only took bernard because of me and judas won't let me go help them and-". Landon was talking so fast it was nearly hard to understand what he was saying.

But it was enough.

"They're in danger? Do you know where they are? Is star with them?".

"Janna and Star are both with them, and katrina...musty mountains i think...".

"I have to call globgor...now...you, come with me...ok?", she ushered landon to follow her as she pulls out her compact, "Still not completely sure how these things work, but i think i got it...". Landon didn't even know why he was bothering following her, he might as well just go into his room and be left alone for awhile. But part of him didn't want to be alone right now, and he didn't dare cross eclipsa.

Queen of darkness and all that.

"Globgor dear? Musty mountains, now, we have an emergency, meet us there...the lucitors and butterflies are in danger".

'We?", landon asked, as eclipsa put away her compact, "Well, for now i can't leave you alone till I find your parents, especially not like this, but you stay right behind me and globgor, you understand right?". He nodded before she could change her mind, a portal before them as she took him right inside. Startling some mole men as they stumbled out into the outdoors, landon entirely off guard by the sudden change in scenery.

So much for staying at home and staying out of this mess.

"Ok, let's see where they might of-", her voice drawled quickly as she noticed the obvious giant fire dome over what seemed to be a...bar? Eclipsa almost seemed to chuckle to herself and she quickly transformed and flew landon towards the spot, gripping him tightly.

Well that was a sign if anything as to where they probably were, guards were even starting to surround it, unable to get through the barrier yet. That was probably why his mother wanted eclipsa there in the first place, they could send as many guards as they wanted, but only a magic user could get them through a barrier set up by his father, otherwise they'd burn themselves trying to get through.

So much for his parents being subtle, the whole town was surrounding this thing.

They'd be lucky if the masked person didn't already bail after seeing this.

Eclipsa dropped him, turning back to normal and brushing herself off, "Well, alright, globgor should be here in about-".

"CLIPS!", globgor, giant as ever, pounced in before shifting to a smaller size, tired and sweaty, clearly panicked after he heard what was going on. "They're inside? Of that thing?!", he motioned to the fire dome. He already knew the answer, but he still wasn't ready to hear it, usually he never had to be involved in a mission of theirs, they were usually fine on their own, but they had been completely off guard on this one.

They needed to find them fast.

Then globgor noticed the small demon alongside his wife, looking at her quizzically, "Sorry dear, but i think it's best we keep him close till his parents are safe...don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him...now we better get in there, fast". Globgor in seconds headed over, eclipsa right behind him, brushing past the guards, spies and worried townsfolk to get to the dome.

Globgor already telling the citizens to back off and get out of the way so eclipsa could let the help through, her hands glowing as an opening appeared in the dome, "Go go go...", the knights defending them from the outside as she entered with landon and her husband from the inside. Not that it took long for her to find the hidden door after, "I remember this place as an old hideout for monsters in the war...it's been so long hasn't it?".

"Can't believe it's turned into something gross now...", globgor growled. There seemed to be something so angering to him that a place he recounted being used to help was being used to hurt, and he was quick to lead the way into the cellar, the hole quite easy to find as he made his way in with the others behind him. Landon was with two rather powerful fights and yet he still felt...scared.

Even as eclipsa put him in the middle so he was safer between both of them.

What if they got trapped too?

God he hoped not, they were doomed if that happened.

Globgor didn't even bother to open the next door, breaking it off it's hinges as they entered. The room was still empty, but noises could be heard from the wall on the other side, globgor already trying to speak through the wall to the victims trapped behind it. Eclipsa looked utterly fascinated with what she was seeing, looking over all the items strewn about curiously.

"They're not here...I wonder where they actually are then...?", she questioned, which was a very good question. If they weren't here watching their victim, where exactly had they gone? Wasn't this to get a wand? Why wouldn't they be here to make sure they got their hands on it? Landon seemed to be wondering this as he leaned his head against the wall, hoping to hear bernard's voice.

Then he froze, shuddering.

"Oh no...".

Eclipsa turned, and so did globgor.

"Landon? What's wrong?".

"Look um...this might be well...an assumption and everything but...my parents are here, the butterflies are here, a lot of guards are here, our spies are here, my friends and siblings almost came here...even my grandpa is out...you don't think...maybe...this was, that maybe she...lured us here...and that maybe she might be taking this chance to...".

Eclipsa's eyes widened, "Oh no...".

Judas rubbed at his arm as he walked down the hallway, sky following behind him, "Look, jude...maybe you should stay...no offense but you might need to go back on this one. Your arm isn't looking super well and and maybe it's better you don't put yourself or anyone else at risk for now...". Judas was clearly considering it, especially since otherwise he'd be breaking a promise to sunny.

But his parents-

What if he sat here and did nothing and they got hurt and-

He was doing it again, wasn't he?

"I just don't know who to send if not me...you girls could be hurt since you all have wands and sunny isn't here and ugh...i'm so distressed, I dunno, maybe eclipsa and the others can handle it fine, I'm just...worried..." .He could feel sky trying to comfort him, patting his back as they headed down the hall, "I hope nora has calmed landon down little...i'm worried he's gonna...y'know?".

"Yeah, I get that...".

"We don't have much time, we need to make a choice soon, hopefully angel will find eclipsa and the commission might help out , maybe, but we have guards heading up there so...god...what a mess...". His arm was shaking a little more, making sky more and more anxious, "Judas, like...how about I help work on stuff, maybe you should just...get more sleep...".

"I can't sleep with my family like this...I want to know they're safe, your moms are out there too!".

Yeah, that hit sky a lot, she didn't want to think about her moms never coming back home. The pressure of her being queen was bad enough without losing her mom, forcing her to be in charge. But that also didn't mean she wanted her best friend putting himself in more danger then ever, she didn't need her mom gone AND her best friend gone at the same time!

But their talk ended up cut short soon enough, the sound of screaming making jude's ears flinch and sticking sky in place.

"Was that-?".

"NORA!?".

Almost like lighting the two headed towards the sound, staff and guards running about, as an alarm seemed to have been tripped somewhere. Demon guards already on the move towards the threat that seemed to have started this mess. Nora was leaning against a wall in fear, but she seemed unharmed, just terrified. Tugging on her hair as her friends approached.

Judas looked relived, but still utterly terrified.

"N-nora? What's happening?!".

"She's here! I saw her!", she screamed in fright," You have to go now! Hide your wand!".

They were both frozen in fear, realizing how vulnerable they were when so much of their main protection was trapped somewhere else. Not to mention their grandfather and sunny and luna and...oh boy...this was bad. Where were they to go? Where were they supposed to hide? could they ever come back home ever again after this? There was genuine fear between the two friends.

"We need to go...now.".

"Go where?!".

"Anywhere out of this castle would be a good start...c'mon! Start texting the others, we need to make sure they're all safe...", a roar could be heard throughout the halls, no doubt the roar of the former queen of the underworld, already out on a rampage to attack the current threat and protect her family. The kids on the move to find somewhere away from wherever the danger was.

"Seems instead of going to the danger...the danger came to us...", judas grunted under his breath, "I hope landon's safe...I don't know where he is and he might try and do something stupid if he's not careful...especially with the state he's in.". Nora hugged judas closer as they moved through the crowd, more demon guards heading around to take out the threat.

And judging from the near earthquake, Lucy was out too, bounding around through the halls of the castle. No one could make quite the ruckus like she could, they could even hear her barking in the hallways from all three of her heads.

It was utter chaos.

Some of the guards noticed the prince in front of them, trying to redirect them away though the chaos was making it hard to really focus on them too much. God they really hoped the others were ok, even celeste wandered off somewhere to sulk during all this, and if the enemy really wanted a wand...then celeste was in danger too. Only making them worry more.

"Can't we just teleport?", sky asked.

"We could, but what if we run into landon, or angel, or celeste pass by? We can't leave them!".

He had a point, teleporting sure wouldn't mean their friends come with unless they find them first.

"Ok but let's just...be careful...ok? Not get hurt?", who knew if they might stumble upon a threat as soon as they turned the corner, they weren't prepared for a full on fight here. One of them couldn't do magic, one of them was injured, and one of them definitely could not fight a powerful magic user all on their own. If they ran into them, they were doomed and they knew it.

Unless sky went as deadly as she was when angel had been attacked, the look alone could've killed someone.

"We never should've sent angel or celeste or landon out on their own...", judas mumbled, guilt welting up inside them, "They could get hurt and it could all be entirely my fault...I should've predicated this...I should've seen this coming". Sky patted him on the back, looking around another corner, "Dude, no one could have expected that...even your parents didn't know...it's not your fault...not everything is your fault...".

Sky tugged on his arm, moving them to the next corridor, "You need to accept that not everything is your fault...ok? Bad things happen, and you don't always cause them to happen...they just happen...and right now you need to help make sure we all make it out ok...right?". She needed to pull him together, especially if they wanted to get out of here in a single piece.

Judas trying to pull himself together as he nodded, "Right, you're right...we better keep moving and find the others...they might be hurt out there and...we just need to make sue they're alright".

He needed to focus right now, focus on finding all of them right away.

If he was landon, celeste, or angel, where would he be right now?

Anywhere.

They could be anywhere.

They were able to make their way to the staff break room, knowing well enough there was an exit there if anything, sky trying to text the others to get to that exact location or just to any exit if they could. No replies from any of them, which wasn't exactly very reassuring for the group, though hopefully they made it out of here ok. Some of the regular staff already hidden in there and trying to flee.

"My prince!", one of them called out, "The other kingdoms are coming to help, come, you must leave before-".

"Wait, landon, prince arachford and uh...Celeste who stays in one of our guest rooms, they're around here somewhere, please, we need to make sure they're all ok. They split off from us and-", though one of the butlers spoke up, raising his hand, "Young master, your brother was spotted earlier with Eclipsa Buttterfly, It seems they left the castle a little but before this attack...".

"Landon's with eclipsa?".

"Indeed sir.".

But if his brother was with eclipsa...then there was a good chance.

Judas shook his head out of focus, "Well, if he's safe...good...but there's two others...has anyone seen a spider monster or a grumpy mewman girl running around since the attack started? We need to find them and-". one of the demon maids who was ushering others out the door snorted, "That prince was last seen near the offices, i was sent there to clean and he ducked inside when everything started shaking.".

"He must've come back to meet up with us when it got too dangerous to look for eclipsa...", sky whispered, "And what about celeste? Have any of you spotted her? She kinda walked out on us and we have no idea where she might've went".

But no one seemed to have an answer for any of them.

Where was she?

They all exchanged nervous looks.

"I'll get angel...".

Judas looked bewildered at sky, "Sky, you can't go out there by yourself! What if something happens and-". Sky was quick to put her hand over his mouth, shushing him, "I'll text you if i find anything, you get nora out of here, she and you both need care anyway...i'll make sure i'm safe...i could just...freeze time, use my spells and what i've learned...I'll text you if i had to...and if our parents are almost freed...well i won't be in danger for long...ok?".

"Sky you know it's a bad idea.."

"It's better then leaving angel behind...ok?".

Jude went silent, thinking about the spider prince who was probably terrified and hiding, waiting for his friends to come for him.

"I'll be ok jude...just...I promise, just keep yourself safe...do that for me...".

He was reluctant, but, it was their best bet, wasn't it?

"You think you can make it there and bring him back on your own?", he was on he verge of tears, leaving sky more nervous, but answering with a quick nod. "I have to try, it won't be long, our family will be back soon...just get to safety...ok? ". He nodded, "I'll see you soon sky, take care of yourself out there and just make sure he's safe, he's probably terrified after last time.".

"Trust me, he'll make it out without a new injury if i can help it".

Considering what happened last time, it sounded like a threat to blast someone's face off if anything where to happen to the prince.

Sky pulled judas in for a quick hug before leaving the room, closing the door gently behind her as nora tugged for judas to leave through the exit, he looked longingly at the door his best friend left through before following nora to the exit.

"Stay back against the wall, as far as possible, and maybe to the side...yeah, like that.", marco directed everyone out of the way for globgor to smash his arm through the brick wall, last thing they needed right now was to have flying bricks crush them. Honesty it was great globgor was here, none of them were strong enough to punch through solid brick.

If the magic was being shielded, star would've definitely blasted the wall herself.

But brute force it was, and they had no time to waste.

They left their kids at home, to keep them safe, and now they were the ones in danger because they had been trapped.

Perhaps this was planned or maybe improvised since the thief had gotten lucky enough to have all these threats come here. Either way this whole thing worked out in their favor, and very much so not in the favors of these terrified parents and kids. Bernard, who had been relived to have been saved, now seemed extremely worried, having been used as a diversion for others to be in danger.

He was saved, but who might perish because of that?

"On three!", globogor shouted on the other side.

"One!".

"Two!".

"Three!".

The brick smashed against the walls, nearly missing the group as a large fist that sat in front of them began shrinking down to fit the body of their savior. Globgor looked tired, but relieved to see the group come out uninjured, eclipsa collecting evidence from the rest of the room as landon stood there, still a the sight of bernard. The human tired and freaked.

Well, this was his moment.

Right?

"Bernard?".

The tired boy turned to see the demon on the other side of the wall, just as tired and dirty as he was, Bernard sighed in happiness, relieved at least landon himself wasn't in any danger. Landon froze up the moment he looked at him though, holding his tongue on the confession entirely upon seeing how tired and stressed bernard looked despite what he said before.

Somehow, he couldn't get it out.

The moment he saw him, his voice suddenly couldn't work anymore, only gapping noises coming out.

Maybe it was because bernard looked so...well like the last thing he needed was something else to stress him out. He had been in a cage for days, alone for hours, and now he had to deal with the results of what happened and...what would happen if landon just then told him how he felt on top of all of that? Landon suddenly seemed at loss for words as his confidence drained, he really should've considered bernard's mental state before he considered this.

He couldn't tell him like this, in front of everyone, when the boy was panicking about the situation at hand, it'd be...uncaring. Landon gulped and his shoulders sagged, realizing his confession was just going to have to wait for a little while longer. At least until things were a lot less stressful and his crush hadn't just been locked up in a cell for hours.

So much for the confession he was going to do in case something bad happens.

Bernard himself didn't even have much time to react to landon because the king and queen of the underworld were quick to see their son and run towards him, checking him for any scratches or marks.

Marco pulling them into a tight hug

Frankly they should be mad landon was out here to save them, on the other hand the danger was actually at home, not here, so landon had technically accidentally made the safest option in this situation. Also eclipsa technically was the one to drag him out here anyway, so landon himself didn't exactly entirely make the choice to come,, even if he had wanted to anyway.

Landon hugged his parents tightly, at least they were ok.

"Landon, where's your brothers?".

"Well...mason is with his grandpa on earth and judas...is uh-".

That was enough of an indication for his parents they needed to get back pronto, though eclipsa was already approaching them with a handful of items she had picked up and off the shelves that had intrigued her, or at least she had found suspicious. Which was quite a lot by the looks of it, though they didn't have the time to mess with it when they had kids and people to save at home.

"Thank goodness you're all alright...did you run into her?", eclipsa asked, Putting stuff under her hat.

"No, she was gone before we came in it seems".

Well that was a relief...sorta.

"We better get back, now, as soon as possible, i'll move the kids over to earth, and i'll meet up with you there...", though katrina was right on top of it, already trying to get in contact with the knights back home to help if they weren't already and get updates on the situation. Eclipsa pulling landon away from his parents, bernard with him to get them to safety, tom giving his soon a quick hug before everyone started to portal out.

So much for the reunion.

He hoped his brother was doing ok.

Sky crept along the halls of the castle, carefully on her way back to the office they had met back in not too long ago. The plus side is she knew how to get there, the downside is going back wasn't as easy as it normally was. She was on high alert, who knows what might of been around the corner at this point? The castle was now a lot more empty and she was left with an uneasy feeling.

Did the guards get her? Did they die?

Maybe the masked thief left, and they got what they wanted.

God she hoped that wasn't the case, but it was a possibility that she could not ignore entirely.

Hopefully angel hadn't left the room or anything, because if he wasn't there she had no idea where to go next. They were in a massive castle, angel could literally hide anywhere he wanted around here. This also decreased sky's chances of running into their old foe, but if she was there on the basis of hunting them anyway that really didn't matter much.

God she hoped her parents showed up soon.

Angel better be ok.

The halls of Lucitor Castle never had been more creepy, and they were the halls of the UNDERWORLD. The creepiest kingdom in all of mewni, where they ate things live and participated in torture for fun. Angel could really be anywhere at this point if he wasn't in the office, knowing him he might even attempt to go and hide on the ceiling with his spider abilities.

She found herself tiptoeing through dark red hallways, trampled furniture, and only lit by the torches along the walls. Not a peep could be heard outside of her footsteps, she felt like she was in a horror movie, waiting for the monster to pop out and get her at any second. The guards might be able to allow her more time if they were distracting the foe from her goals.

The door was in her grasp soon enough, hiding behind a pillar.

She'd have to dart out, there was nothing else to hide behind for the time being.

She held her breath, clutching her fists and wand tightly, before making a dash for the door, closing it behind her quickly. She caught her breath, hiding up against the wall, no angel in sight, but that didn't mean he wasn't here. "Angel? It's me sky...are you still in here?", she whispered it at first, not wanting to draw too much attention in case someone might be in the hall behind her.

"Angelus Sebastian Arachford, I swear if you're not here i'm gonna lose my mind", sky muttered, only to hear a squeak as angel's head popped up from behind the desk, he must've had a hard time trying to squeeze his legs in there with him. His hair was a complete mess and he seemed to be panicking and in utter terror. The sight of sky seemed to have made him feel a little better though.

He'd never been more relieved.

"Sky...you came back.".

"You though i was gonna just leave without you?".

"Um...erm...no...uh...".

He was quick to hug the princess, before backing away, embarrassed. Though they didn't have the time to linger on that, they had to get out of there. Though sky had the impression based on angel's behavior he was in the middle of a panic attack, as he should all things considered. He was blasted in the back and nearly killed, he probably had nightmares about this person coming back from him.

This would definitely be a nightmare for anyone, especially since he had been alone, terrified that any moment from now she'd come through and kill him for sure this time. He was getting better with his magic but not enough to fight her, he wasn't physically strong and he got destroyed last time, he nearly considered crawling to the ceiling to hide there but that wouldn't last long if they looked up.

Regardless he looked shook up, but alive.

Thankfully.

"Where's...judas?", he asked carefully, clearly worried about the boy's absence from his best friend. Sky grabbing the boy's arm reassuringly, "He left, with nora, they got out, but we refused to leave you so I came back for you...I heard you were in here, we don't know where celeste is though...we haven't seen her and no one else had either...we don't know if she's ok."

"I haven't seen her either...", angel said, suddenly back to being worried and sad again. "Maybe...Maybe we should go find her first, before we leave...we can't risk her...getting hurt.". Angel was desperate to leave but not so desperate that he'd leave celeste behind, rubbing at his arms and trying to cool down before he went into another panic.

"Maybe we should drop you off first-", the princess's expression was enough to indicate she wasn't sure having angel tag along like this was good for his health, angel was a prime target if something bad were to happen. The guy was already in bad enough shape as is, he was probably better off taking the nearest exit out and she could try and find celeste while waiting for her parents to arrive.

"No! By that point, we might already be too late...I don't want to be the reason she might get hurt".

"Angel, i can't just bring you along either, we have to-".

"I can handle it, for a little longer...ok?", he didn't mean to sound so demanding, or interrupt her like that, but he wasn't taking no for an answer. Celeste was in danger and the only way they might find her is if they left immediately, not by looking for a way out. Sky took a long look but stopped protesting, knowing he wouldn't budge on this one and wasting time trying to make him took time away from finding her sister.

"Fine, just stay behind me...".

She could feel angel clutching her shoulders as she creaked the door open, taking a peek before heading out. They were silent, not a peep coming from either of them as they crept around the halls, listening out for noises to be concerned about. Angel was practically clinging to sky's back in fright, though sky was sure if something popped in he'd shoot webs at it, ask questions later.

But little life could be seen as of yet, no doubt because a ton of people must've evacuated by this point.

Was anyone still left?

"Angel...hey...I have an idea...that might allow us to get around faster and find celeste".

She said it so nervously, as if whatever her idea was, angel wasn't going to like it, but angel couldn't tell her no, they needed to keep going and any ideas they could still come up with at this point was a good idea. "So look, you have a good nose between the two of us, so if celeste was around you could smell her, and you can go faster...if you crawl on walls...right?".

"Sky?".

"Carry me, see if you can track her scent, i'd ask lucy but who knows where she went in this chaos...if something bad happens...I'll fire at them...hopefully", it wasn't a bad idea overall. Having angel here did have an advantage, angel had superior monster senses to her, so he had a better chance of finding out where celeste was then she was. If only landon was here to help her with a spying spell...

Angel didn't put up much of a fight, "Just...let's hope we don't run into a situation where you fly us out of there, no offense, it's just...you kinda need all your strength if we're ever going to have to fight". He had a point, plus angel was a little heavy, so hopefully this time around she didn't have to attempt flying unless well, they were kinda forced into it.

Hopefully.

Sky climbed onto the prince's back, legs wrapped around him so she didn't accidentally fall off his back onto the daggered floor. She might've accidentally kicked at his side a couple of times but she still managed to get on his back successfully for their duel partnership. As long as sky didn't kick the prince in the face on accident they'd probably be just fine.

Eclipsa's training for them really had come in handy, they made a pretty good team like this, sometimes.

The prince needed a second to adjust, but he felt a lot more confident then he had been before with sky helping him out. After making sure she had a tight grip on him his spider legs adjusted to the wall, "Uh...just let me know if you get sick like this..". Sky was turned sideways as he was stuck to the wall, taking a breath before crawling at a faster pace through the dark halls.

Angel was surprisingly more quiet crawling like this then he had been on the floor.

His nose sniffing around for any sign of the girl.

All he could get was the scent of mostly demons, and a big dog, the castle had people come and go often...it was hard to make out one scent over another just as well. But he'd have to try, and he'd have to try soon. Crawling along the walls as sky wrapped her arms tighter around him, still no sign of anyone as they crawled around the castle, searching from head to toe.

And sky was only more and more worried.

"Nothing?".

Angel sniffed the air again, "Nothing".

Sky was getting more and more desperate, trying to think or anywhere they could go that might give them better odds before she went to the worst possibly outcome.

"Wait...have we checked celeste's room?".

It came on like a lightbulb in her head, celeste was staying here wasn't she? And the masked being had no idea where her room was and sure couldn't waste time going through every single one until they found her. It would be a perfect place for the girl to really hide until she was either caught by someone or left entirely. Why hadn't they considered that in the first place?

Even angel seemed to be wondering why that wasn't the first place he tried to look.

"Let's go...fast.".

They carefully crawled through the long hallways, down some stairs and listening out for noises in the dark fiery castle to make their way to the guest rooms. Noises could be heard , but it seemed more likely to be the sounds of animals then anything more humanoid. There did appear to be a few demons hiding in some of the rooms though, peaking through some cracks on closer inspection.

So there was people here, but they were hiding, guess it was safer then being out in the open halls at least.

But why hadn't they tried leaving yet?

There wasn't anyone around as far as they could tell and they never ran into anyone the entire time they've been around, they had every opportunity at this point to find an exit out. This left sky with more unease then she had before, clinging onto angel even together then she had been before, her blue eyes scanning around for any danger that might just pop out and come after them.

Angel should be able to smell them if they're here...right?

Then again, angel couldn't smell them before either, they'd probably hide their scent if they came here, lest lucy tracked them entirely down.

She quickly got back on track, she was overthinking things, she was paranoid. If they wanted to get out of here in one peice they needed to do it fast, and not start panicking about everything.

Besides, if they were here, sky had every intention to blast first, ask questions later.

"I think we're onto something, well...it's her room, so of course it smells like her...but still", angel whispered as they finally found celeste's door, sky nodding before they carefully opened it, heading inside. Angel let sky down off his back, allowing her to get a better look inside of celeste's room, it also appeared to be empty, but they had to try and search it.

"Celeste?"

Nothing...yet.

Sky went off to the bathroom as angel nervously went into the closet, hoping maybe she had hidden herself like angel had done before sky had found him, though they were nervous what they might find if celeste was possibly in here. They had no idea what state they might find her in at this point, she could be just as injured as angel was, if not even worse.

But nothing was in the bathroom either.

Where was she?

Angel sniffed the air more, leading him away from the closet and over to the bed of all things. The smell was at it's more prominent here, but granted, it was were the girl slept, it was bound to have the most of her scent. But he still felt the need to take the lead and his ear twitched as he heard a breath, there seemed to be someone under the bed.

"Celeste? It's um...me, angel, you can come out...I promise it's really us...".

"Shhhh", came a noise from under.

"Celeste!".

"I said SHHHHHHH".

Sky quickly made her way back in, looking under the bed to see celeste's dark brown eyes staring at her, "Celeste? Why didn't you respond? We were worried sick about finding you!". Celeste shushed them further, "There's something sneaking around and you idiots are screaming and yelling about finding me? I'm tryning to be quite, get out and find a place to hide".

"Celeste we're trying to get you out of here, we have an exit".

"An exit?".

"Yes, now do you want to leave or not?".

Celeste quickly crawled out, wand in hand, "You should've said that from the beginning!". She looked stressed out, and like she had gotten herself a bit scratched up throughout...well, whatever had happened. Her hair was a complete mess as well, and she seemed thankful they came to save her, even if she was annoyed they might've almost revealed her hiding place.

But her having one and wanting them to be quiet left a lingering fear in sky's mind.

They were nearby, weren't they?

"Celeste...what...happened?".

The girl brushed herself off, grumbling for them to be more quiet.

"I'll tell you what happened, i went off to find a place to sulk after that fight since i wasn't gonna go with you anyway, and next thing i know the place starts going up in smoke, people sreaming, i got trampled for a bit, there were blasts everywhere. I saw that freak, they even tried to blast me! I zapped them in the face but they were after me, i didn't think i would ever lose them but i guess when y'know...jude's grandmother popped in and punched that thing through a wall they kinda had to give up."

"Through a WALL?".

"You heard me.".

Sky and angel both needed to take a moment to process that information, how was this person not dead at this point?

"Are they...are they still fighting?".

"Last i checked, but that was awhile ago, and i heard them passing nearby recently, i wasn't taking my chances at this point".

Well if grandma lucitor was currently leading the charge that would very much hold them off for awhile. Granted, they probably shouldn't underestimate the scary weirdo with magic powers at all in this situation. They could come back this way any second for all they knew and they were running low on time as is. "Let's get going, quickly, get those other people out too.".

They headed outside, demons from the other rooms sneaking down the halls, bumping eac other on their way to get out as finally some guards actually showed up after so long. They looked tired, clearly they had been in quite a bit of a fight, almost trampled by the citizens trying to escape. Sky led the charge for the three to get out and find judas.

Their parents had to be on their way by now right?

As if on cue, noises could be heard nearby, the king and queen of the underworld turning down the hallway, marco almost crying in delight at seeing the kids safe and sound for the time being. They rushed up to them, "Your moms are searching the castle for any other signs of them. they might of given up and left, but we need to evacuate until further notice...".

"Sorry about your castle..." angel said, looking at the mess only for king tom to grin.

"Eh, we can fix it in no time, the important thing is you're ok".

"Judas...he-".

"We saw him outside, with nora, don't worry, but...he looks in rough shape.", marco commented, "But we'll have to worry about that later...c'mon, we can't stay here and chat, we better get a move on if we wanna get to safety." They ushered the kids, one in front and one in back just in case they needed to protect them from either end. There was no telling if the masked being was looking to hurt them at this point.

But it wasn't worth risking.

"Is bernard-?"

"We have him, landon too...apparently eclipsa took him on her little rescue mission when she found out we were missing. They had a whole slew of evidence in their hideout, but we had to get to you guys as soon as possible when we found out what happened. None of you are injured right? If you guys need aid we can take you straight over to the-".

There was silence as something passed by the team, a cloaked something.

Though judging by the pause itself, it was just as surprised to see them as they were surprised to see it.

The cat mask clearly mentioned to the adults was enough to know who this was. They had indeed replaced their mask after what happened, but it was still rather obvious that the person under this mask and the other were one on the same from clothing alone. They were floating in the air as well, like a ghost. Though most likely they were just using some magic then anything.

Marco didn't hesitate to blast right at them, followed immediately by tom, shooting right for the head as the being dodged. But they didn't fight back, in fact they immediately began to make a run for it, tom following them right from behind as marco ushered the kids to follow them. This was their chance, they could catch them and end this right away before anyone else got hurt.

But why were they running? Why didn't they turn around and fight?

Sure they knew how dangerous these two were but-

Tom managed to set the being's dress on fire, startling it even more as it actually and finally shot a spell back, sending tom backwards before continuing to keep running. Send another spell out at the rest of the group in order to stop their attacks, one shooting back and hitting sky's wand right in the middle of her spellcasting. Were they even hear to steal the wand at all at this point? They seemed more then eager to get out of here instead of risking their life to go and take celeste's or sky's wand, of had they finished their task already?

Either way they were clearly looking to get away.

They were pretty outmatched, even if most of these guys were kids.

Though it became even clearer why they ran as the former queen herself, wrathmelior burst through another wall, hand reaching out for the being before missing. She hadn't been as far behind as everyone had assumed after all. They may of cleverly snuck in and trapped the leaders somewhere else but the underworld was ready for another break in this time.

One wrong move and they would be deader then dead before they could even portal out

They must've realized that as well, and they portalled away in a hurry, leaving everyone in their dust as spells were thrown from all angels towards the being. Tom quickly shouted at any remaining guards to go back and search the castle in case they were still here. Everyone scattering as the kids were escorted away as fast as possible, wrathmelior back on the hunt and heading down the next hallway.

What a ride.

They were half expecting it to pop right back in behind them and shoot at them again.

Sky had never seen jude's family so angry and aggressive before, they were usually some of the sweetest people she knew but they felt like they had every intention of destroying this thief the next time they showed their face. Granted, sky nearly did the same thing herself and had technically almost did it already, so she was not one to complain.

She'd happily blast that cat mask right off it's mask when she could.

if she could.

Crashes could be heard throughout the castle, the demon queen clearly still running around after the being. And them they got louder, the group bracing for impact as a large black three headed dog appeared, way too excited in comparison to everyone else. She must've been running around the castle like mad looking for people and for the thief who was running around.

Though her noses couldn't do much more then angel seemed to be able to do.

"Lucy!"

The dog stopped in front of her owners, tom and marco thankful as ever to have found her, "She can take us back, she's faster, c'mere girl!". Everyone was piled onto the large dog who bounded through the castle, everyone struggling to hold onto the beast as they moved up and down on her back. It wasn't exactly all fun though, In fact sky was sure angel was getting a little motion sick.

The dog bursted out of the castle a large audience outside of it before stopped in her tracks, the people on her back eager to get off the rather excitable dog. All of them tired and in a mess, judas running straight forward to hug sky and angel, before pulling celeste in as well, clearly he'd been panicking for their safety. His arm swelling and unsweling with them in his grip.

"God...thank lucifer you're alright...".

Everyone finally together, but tired all around.

It had been one hell of a day.

"I-I'm contacting dad right away...", tom patted marco on the shoulder as he headed off to the side, petting lucy as he went. Star running forward to marco with a pleading look, the queen looking tired and annoyed but they knew what she was asking. "Alright, you can go in blasting, but you're in charge of fixing this castle up as soon as you've checked to make sure it's entirely safe and empty.

Star squealing before running to the castle and blasting a hole inside, janna following her right after.

"Judas...we saw her...", sky mumbled to the boy, who immediately detached from them with worry in his eyes, "Are you hurt?".

"We're not hurt, but...judas she ran from us...she didn't even try to take our wands, they were too busy trying to get away...they didn't get them...but...".

"Sky?".

Sky pulled out her wand, judas blinking at the blue, pink and purple device.

A small crack could be seen within the pink heart gemstone

"I think we have a problem".

#star vs the forces of evil #svtfoe #svstfoe #sky and the forces of the multiverse #Fanart #fanfiction #janstar bby #tomco bby #starco bby #eclipsa butterfly #globgor #globclipsa #marco diaz #marco #tom the demon #tom lucitor #star butterfly #janna ordonia #spiderslime

[mrslittletall]

Bravely Default II Update: After convincing myself that I had no fun with the beastmaster class, I put Elvis back to black mage and continued with Bernard’s Mansion. It went pretty smoothly until Bernhard himself. Dear god, he was the hardest of the bosses so far! He had so many cheap attacks that could oneshot my guys and he was constantly stealing their MP. Defaulting also did nothing, because he was simply stealing their BP. So I changed tactics and simply let my guy go into the minus all the time. No BP stealing for him. I was pretty salty that he countered martial arts, because that made my Adelle pretty useless besides from item throwing. Mostly I have let her punch him to a pulp by using up all rounds.  Still, at the end almost all my phoenix downs went out, but we won, barely.  Then, Anihal came to stop him, Prince Castor came too and... it turned out that Prince Castor is a twist villain. What the freaking fuck?! If you have a twist villain, FORESHADOW them somehow! That came out of nowhere! We were left to believe that his advisor was the bad guy, not the prince! That was just plain bad writing, I am really sorry to say!  Ah well, at least it seems like thief is one of the better classes, so I look forward to test this asterisk out. 

#little plays games #bravely default II #bravely default II spoilers

[nekojitachan]

How to Steal a Million (part 4?)

I think it’s part 4. We’re going with part 4

Find previous part here

This is really along the ratings of ‘T’. Mentions of forgery, stealing, threats of bodily harm (it IS Neil and Andrew, after all) but nothing serious. Lots of snark.

*******

Neil pressed against one of the doorways which led into the main gallery of the Kleber-Lafayette Museum, where the Cellini Venus was currently on display; he’d heard so much talk about it at the party he’d attended with Allison that he couldn’t resist coming to see the exhibit. After a minute of surveilling the room (checking the exits, any signs of cameras, the position of the guards, etc.) he stepped away the room… only to bump into someone a moment later due to the crowd of people.

Only to bump into L.A.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Neil hissed as he recoiled in surprise (and forced himself not to pull a knife).

“Huh, funny how we only meet under the most ‘artistic’ of circumstances’,” L.A. remarked as he gestured to the artworks hung on the walls around them, his deep voice sarcastic yet expression impassive; he was dressed in black pants and a black dress shirt which actually looked expensive and showed off his muscular build.

“Funny how I always feel the urge to stab you when we meet,” Neil muttered as he smoothed down the front of his dark blue jumper; Allison had dressed him before he’d left her house that day, so at least he appeared presentable.

Why did he suddenly care if he appeared presentable?

There was the tiniest twitch to the left corner of L.A’s mouth before he stepped forward. “You might want to look into that.” While Neil glared at the asshole’s back, the American nodded toward the crowd. “Lot of people here to see your statue, seems it’s famous.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Neil accused the man as he reconsidered the whole ‘no stabbing’ thing.

L.A. held up his hands and shook his head. “I’m off duty at the moment. What about you?”

Before Neil could question why the asshole had asked that, someone called out his name; he turned with a fake smile and nodded to Aldritch, who held out his hand to be shook.

“I’m fine, how are you?” he asked in return, then motioned to L.A. “Uhm, Monsieur Aldritch, the director of the museum and….” Well, he couldn’t exactly say ‘Larcenous Asshole, semi-decent thief’, could he?

“Minyard,” L.A. said without missing a beat as he gave Aldritch’s extended hand a very brief shake. “Josten and I are old friends, we used to spar together.” He leaned in as if to share a secret. “I usually won,” he said in a mock whisper.

While Neil glared at the asshole and Aldritch chuckled, L.A. continued. “Beautiful exhibit you have here, lots of valuable things.”

“Oh yes,” Aldritch agreed as he turned to Neil. “Please notice all of the security precautions we’ve taken with your family’s statue.” Then he turned back to L.A., who somehow managed a semi-interested expression on his usually impassive face. “Are you interested in art, Mr. Minyard?” When L.A. nodded, Aldritch smiled. “And are you interested in security?” the middle-aged man asked.

“Oh yes, very much so,” Minyard assured him while Neil wondered if there was a suitable place to hide the asshole’s body (after it was perforated to his heart’s content).

“Wonderful, let me show the two of you around.” Aldritch didn’t wait for their agreement before he walked away; since L.A. followed, Neil gritted his teeth together and did the same.

Aldritch headed straight for the Cellini Venus; L.A. made a mocking bow then held out his left arm in a clear sign for Neil to take it. At first he was about to ignore it, then Neil ‘smiled’ and accepted it, just so he could ram his elbow into the bastard’s ribs.

L.A. stumbled but otherwise remained on his feet and didn’t make a sound, but gave Neil a narrow look as they reached the pedestal which housed the Cellini Venus. Aldritch, oblivious to what had just happened, smiled at them and motioned to the blue lights which circled the base of the pedestal. “These are infrared beams which surround the Venus.” When L.A., acting like a proper idiot, went to touch the Venus, Aldritch gasped and swatted at his hand. “No, don’t touch it! That will trigger an alarm if the beams are broken, it’s an E.E.D.A. system.”

“That’s so impressive.” L.A. somehow managed to put a little emotion in his voice while Neil fought not to roll his eyes over what was really a common security protocol. “What happens if a thief somehow manages to turn off the system?”

“No, not possible,” Aldritch insisted with a slight frown. “There’s guards here all the time, and only myself and two other people can disable the system. We have back-up generators in case there’s a power outage, and it’s offline to prevent anyone from hacking into it.”

“Amazing,” L.A. drawled. “You’ve truly thought of everything.”

“Yes, I feel that my family’s statue is in perfectly safe hands,” Neil said with a slight inclination of his head. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve an appointment I can’t be late for.”

“Oh, of course! I’m pleased you were able to stop by.” Aldritch wished him well, and somehow Neil wasn’t surprised when L.A. followed him out of the museum.

“Look, stay the hell away from this place or I’ll report you to the cops, whoever you are,” he insisted as he went over to where he’d parked the MG. “Go find something else to ‘liberate’.”

“Minyard, Andrew Minyard,” L.A. said with an offending sniff. “It’s like you don’t trust me or something.”

“Might have something to do with you breaking into my house,” Neil muttered as he climbed into the MG.

“That was us meeting cute.”

Neil stared at the insane American for a couple seconds before he shook his head. “Do me a favor?”

“Hmm?” Despite Andrew’s (was that his real name?) curious tone, there was a hint of wariness in his hazel eyes.

“Stand in front of my car,” Neil asked as he motioned at the hood of the MG.

“Why?” Now there definitely was a gleam of wariness in Andrew’s eyes.

“So I can run you over and not have to worry about you bothering me anymore.”

The American radiated disapproval as he crossed his muscular arms over his chest. “As much as I find this flirting routine somewhat amusing, I need to talk to you about-“

Once Neil heard the ‘f’ word, he started the car’s engine then took off, unfortunately without hitting the asshole.

*******

Andrew collapsed on the bed in Kevin’s hotel room and sighed.

“If you’re about to rant about the coffee again, I don’t want to hear it,” Kevin said as he henpecked at the keyboard, his attention focused on the monitor.

“As if you’re bundle of joy until you get a few shots of espresso in you,” Andrew muttered while he scrubbed at his face with the palms of his hands.

“I don’t need ten spoonfuls of sugar and a pint of milk to go along with them,” Kevin argued before he turned to look at Andrew. “Now tell me you did something today other than haunt several bakeries.”

“Fuck you.” Andrew gave his partner the finger as he sat up. “Only two bakeries today, and yes, I did.” When Kevin gave him an expectant look, he rolled his eyes. “I talked to one Bernard Grammont, who is certain that Stuart Josten is a forger though he lacks any concrete proof. Also, I ran into Neil Josten again, who was checking out the display at the Kleber-Lafayette Museum.” He did his best not to wince as he felt a twinge in his ribs from where the sneaky bastard had hit him. “Didn’t seem to want to run into anyone there, which was rather odd.”

“Hmm, it does seem suspicious, but remember we’re not being paid to prove anything with Josten, at least not yet.”

Grammont would have hired Andrew to investigate Josten… but for some reason he didn’t want to work for the man. Maybe there was something to Renee warning him about the family… or maybe the game he’d started with Neil Josten would be ruined if money was involved.

Whatever the reason, for once Andrew found himself interested in something other than cracking a case or catching a bad guy. The more he interacted with Neil Josten, the more he couldn’t stop thinking about the enigmatic young man with the pale blue eyes and sharp tongue.

He’d most likely be disappointed once he got to the bottom of the mystery, but until then… until then he’d let things play out as a rare break from boredom. What could it cost him? Other than some bruises and a bit of blood loss, that was.

He might want to stop by the nearest pharmacy the next time he was out.

*******

Neil took a sip of the red wine he’d barely drank all night and managed one of his ‘fake’ smiles everyone except those who knew him (a rare few) fell for. “It’s a very nice wine.”

Riko grinned and tapped a finger against the base of his own wine glass. “My family owns the vineyard.”

“Oh really?” Neil managed to look impressed by that declaration, even though he knew very well what all the Moriyamas owned (and that the Hatfords owned a vineyard or two as well). “But it doesn’t have the Moriyama name on it.”

“It’s under one of our subsidiary holdings,” Riko explained, as if he held any real power when it came to the Stone Mountain corporation.

“It’s always good to diversify.” Or so Neil had been told – that’s why Stuart did his art forgery thing, Uncle Will and Henry oversaw the main business, Jamie was expanding into online money laundering and had offered for Neil to help (something he was considering, if he could extract Stuart out of this most recent mess), and Ally… eh, Ally was Ally.

Riko beamed at Neil as if he was a pet which had done a particularly clever trick. “See, you’re different from the others, I can be myself with you and not have to talk about silly stuff.”

No, not really; Riko hadn’t started screaming and throwing a temper tantrum yet, which was his ‘real self’ by all accounts, but Neil merely ‘smiled’ and had another minute sip of the wine (which was so-so) while Riko rambled on (more like bragged) about how rich and powerful his family was. All the while, Neil glanced around to make sure that Matt and Dan were seated on the other side of the room, his ‘back-up’ for the night.

As soon as Riko paused for breath, Neil ‘smiled’ and poured him more wine. “I’ve a feeling that there’s something you’re holding back.” When Riko stared at him in interest, he tilted his head to the side. “Something… something to do with my uncle, perhaps?”

He knew that Riko had bought a painting from Stuart a few years ago, and was renowned for his own collection; the Moriyamas were famous patrons of the arts, and Riko had believed himself to be something of an artist while growing up – him and his foster brother, Kevin Day. From what Stuart had told Neil, Kevin was the one with the real talent, but there had been some sort of accident which had left the young man unable to paint anymore, and Riko had eventually gone to work for his uncle, Tetsuji.

Yet Riko had said nothing to Neil when they’d met at the party the other night, had done his best to flirt with Neil until he’d agreed to a date. That behavior had made Neil suspicious as hell, made him want to figure out what was going on with a scumbag like Riko Moriyama.

Well, and it was always nice to get on Renee’s good side, which would happen if he and Allison could figure out some way to get Riko in trouble while helping out the man’s assistant, Jean Moreau, whom Renee had somehow befriended….

Riko appeared startled for a moment, and then tried some sort of shy act which Neil could see through with ease. “Well… to be honest… yes, there is something I wanted to talk to you about in regard to your uncle – your uncle and his collection.”

Neil managed to retain the mild smile while he braced himself for what might come next, if it had anything to do with Stuart’s ‘little hobby’ or not (had Riko figured out that the Monet he’d bought was a fake?).

“That is, I-“

One of the servers approached the table and gave a short bow. “My apologies, Mr. Moriyama, but there’s an urgent call for you.”

Riko frowned as he patted his right thigh as if to check his phone, which hadn’t rung or vibrated during their meal. “That’s odd, I shouldn’t be interrupted tonight.” He then gave an apologetic smile to Neil. “I’m sorry, but it has to be important if they tracked me down here.”

“That’s okay.” Neil watched him leave before he slumped back into the velvet-covered booth… only to jerk upright when Andrew slid into it a few seconds later. “Oh for fuck’s sake, really?”

The slightest of frowns tugged at the corners of Andrew’s full lips. “Is that any way to greet me after the trouble I went through to arrange a few minutes alone with you?”

Neil’s smile took on a sharp edge. “Well, I can do the usual way when you startle me.” His hand crept toward the butter knife on the table while he spoke.

“I thought you French people weren’t supposed to be so violent,” Andrew said as he leaned away a little.

“You’re certainly living up to Americans being rude cliché, now go away.” Neil made a shooing motion with his napkin. “My, uhm, dinner partner isn’t known for his even temper.”

“Your ‘dinner partner’ is a known psycho. Nice taste in dates there,” Andrew said with blatant disapproval.

“He’s not my date and I’m not interested in the opinion of a barely competent thief, now go away before you need more than a simple bandage,” Neil hissed out.

For some reason, Andrew’s left eyebrow raised the slightest amount. “I’ve something important to tell you, if you’ll stop trying to kill me for five minutes.”

“Where’s the fun in that, and leave before he returns!” As annoying as the American could be, Neil didn’t want to deal with the mess Riko could leave if he returned and found someone sitting at his table with the person he’d asked out for the night.

“I will, if you agree to meet me tomorrow afternoon. Suite 136, the Ritz.”

Andrew showed no sign of leaving, while Neil could see Riko across the room; luckily, Matt had gotten up and currently was running interference. “Fine,” he gritted out, conceding that Andrew had won for the moment with ill grace. “Now go before you really do get stabbed.”

“Tomorrow,” Andrew said before he grabbed Neil’s wineglass, managed to gulp down its contents in a couple seconds then slipped away.

Neil really should stab the bastard, he thought as he fought not to grin.

His amusement vanished when a scowling Riko sat down beside him. “I think it was a prank call, there was nothing but gibberish on the line,” Riko muttered as he pulled out his phone and typed something on it. “I’m going to have someone look into it.”

Neil hoped that Andrew had done a good job of covering his tracks and mumbled something soothing until Riko was finished. “Now where were we… ah yes, your uncle’s collection.” Riko summoned what he probably thought was a friendly smile but was ‘off’ enough to make Neil want to shiver. “I have to admit, I’ve always admired it, especially one piece in particular.”

“And that is?” Neil asked, no longer certain that Riko had realized that he’d bought a fake.

“The Cellini Venus.” Riko’s gaze grew unfocused as he discussed the statue. “There’s something about it, something that haunts me. I admit, I was happy to meet you since I’d hoped you might be able to intervene with your uncle on my behalf since he’s refused all offers to buy the statue before now, but I’m enjoying our time together.”

Ah, that’s what it was – another person enraptured with the Venus. Neil gave him a sympathetic smile and dared a slight pat on the hand. “I understand, it is a true masterpiece and I wish I could offer it to you, but my uncle is adamant about it remaining in the family. If that ever changes, I’ll reach out to you first.” Not that it ever would.

“It was worth a try, wasn’t it? And at least I’ve you as a consolation prize.” Riko grinned as he twisted his hand around to capture Neil’s.

Not quite, but Neil was still for a couple of seconds since he noticed the server returning to the table and used the young man asking if there was anything they needed as an excuse to tug his hand free and order a cup of tea rather than jab the assuming asshole with a fork. That was the signal for Dan to call him soon after the drink arrived so he’d have an excuse to end ‘the date’.

Unfortunately, he had to agree to see Riko again, but he was free of the man’s presence for the night. After thanking Dan and Matt via text and assuring Allison that he was safely on his way home, he ensured that he wasn’t followed to the small mansion he shared with Stuart and Davis, where he gladly collapsed into his own bed.

He wasn’t in the mood to leave his home the next day, but he’d promised Andrew to meet up with him, as well as brunch with Matt and tea with Renee. After lounging around for part of the morning, he finally got up and dressed in a comfortable pair of jeans and an old sweatshirt of Matt’s then went downstairs. Davis shook his head at his appearance and handed him a cup of tea before Neil went into Stuart’s study.

“There you are, interested in some breakfast?” Stuart asked as he motioned to the plates of food set out on the small table.

“I don’t have much time, I’ll eat something at Matt’s,” Neil said as he grabbed a small croissant to hold him over until then. “You’ll be happy to know that you can keep selling your artwork to Riko Moriyama since he has no clue about them being fakes. He asked me out because he was hoping I could get you to sell him the Cellini Venus.”

A predatory grin spread across Stuart’s face. “That’s a relief, he’s terrible at bargaining.”

“He’s terrible at a lot of things,” Neil muttered; during their conversation, the doorbell rang and Davis admitted the guest.

Stuart put aside his own cup of tea to go see who it was and Neil followed; there was an older gentleman dressed in a suit who nodded when Stuart greeted him, then pulled out a notepad to ask him about being the owner of one ‘twenty-nine inch marble statue named Venus by the artist Benevento Cellini’.

“Yes, that’s my statue, on loan to the museum,” Stuart agreed with a hint of suspicion. “What is this about?”

“It’s in regard to the insurance loan,” the man responded as he tapped the thick folder held beneath his left arm.

“What loan? I’ve never insured it since it’s priceless,” Stuart insisted while dread grew inside of Neil, thick and cold and slimy.

“It’s a precaution that the museum has taken for all the pieces in the exhibit,” the man explained, “except somehow your signature was overlooked on the Venus’ document.” He glanced around went over to the nearest table (18th century French) so he could pull it out, the intent clear for Stuart to sign it. “There’s no cost to you, it means that the work of art is covered until it’s returned to your possession in good order.”

Stuart approached the man with his hands clasped behind his back; Neil could tell that his uncle did his best to appear unruffled by this sudden complication. “That’s it? I just have to sign the paper?”

“Yes, and the statue will be fully insured for one million. It’s required of all the items for them to be in the exhibit and really should have been done weeks ago.” The man held out a pen for Stuart to use to sign the document.

It would look odd if Stuart refused and suddenly pulled out the Venus, especially when the exhibit already started. Still, Neil felt that sensation of dread grow as his uncle signed the paper. “Is there anything else? Any other requirements?” he asked as he approached his uncle.

The man nodded as he folded up the signed document. “As part of the insurance verification, the statue will be examined to ensure its authenticity. The company will send someone to do that on Friday, if you’d like to be there when it happens. This should have been explained already.”

Neil could barely nod, the same for Stuart, as the man promised to send them details before he left and apologized for the confusion. As soon as the door closed behind him, Stuart started to curse up a storm while Neil slumped against the wall.

“I can’t believe this, they told me nothing about authenticating it! How dare they not trust me!” Stuart ranted once he stopped cursing.

It was on the tip of Neil’s tongue to say ‘I told you so’, but how would that help the situation? Instead, he went back for his unfinished cup of tea then put on his shoes so he could leave.

“Where are you going at a time like this? We need to figure something out, to come up with a plan!” Stuart called out from the salon, where he was busy pouring himself a glass of whiskey.

“I have,” Neil said as he stood up. “I’m going to steal the damn thing back.”

*******

#nekojitachanfics #mumbling into the void #how to steal a million fic #aftg #andrew minyard #neil josten #stuart hatford #andreil #aftg au #matt boyd #dan wilds #renee walker #allison reynolds #riko moriyama #more snark #kevin day

[thisispurpleyam]

Surreptitious Candor part 4

A beautiful lounge singer and Napoleon Solo cross paths during U.N.C.L.E.’s mission in New York. 

Napoleon Solo x WOC oc

I thought that this fic would only need 4 parts, but apparently it calls for two more...

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Playlist

*****

Knocking out and tying up the owner of the invitation was much simpler than Gaby and Illya expected. The man was the personification of nervous, awkward, and clumsy. He tripped over his own feet and started sobbing immediately after Illya kicked his door down. When Gaby suddenly appeared behind him, the poor guy just couldn’t take it and passed out. They finished the job quietly and swiftly before their oblivious victim’s neighbors noticed something was amiss. Shortly after, they set off to the rendezvous point the team had agreed on. 

At the soiree, Napoleon was blending in with the crowd perfectly, being the usual charmer he was. Amalia and Bernard didn’t even recognize him, as he had anticipated. So, when they paused to ask him who he was, he flawlessly delivered his story of being Alan Sinclair, the only child of the late Mr. and Mrs Sinclair. Everything else would have gone smoothly if it wasn’t for the gossip filling the room unnecessarily dragging out his job.

“Leon?” he heard a familiar voice call out to him, distracting him from his thoughts. 

He turned around and faced the singer whom he had recently become very well acquainted with. “Ah, Eula. Fancy seeing you here.” 

“After last night, who would have thought we’d run into each other again so soon?” she responded with a suggestive smirk. 

Napoleon knowingly smiled back, taking pride in the secret only they had the privilege of knowing. He took her hand in his and kissed her gloved knuckles. “Fate has its ways.” 

“I thought you didn’t like to dance, though?” Eula slyly asked, making a point of darting her eyes toward the dance floor. 

“I suppose I could make an exception for a certain chanteuse again, considering how well my night ended the last time I did,” he replied with a wink, taking the lead and joining the pairs swaying to the music. 

As the two of them moved in time with the song, it dawned on Eula how much time she had been spending with Napoleon. She preferred to be detached from people, being the independent and self-sufficient woman she was. Every involvement she ever had with a man, and they were very few and far between, only lasted a night. All of them, she either met at the lounge or worked with during one of her side jobs before she became a regular at the diner. She seldom let things get far as breakfast. Yet here she was, in her highest heels and most expensive dress, dancing with the devilishly handsome spy and enjoying his company for the fourth night in a row. 

“Alan,” Amalia Fernsby called out. “I see you’ve gotten comfortable enough to partake in the festivities.”

“Mrs. Fernsby,” Napoleon greeted as he pulled away from Eula, noticing her expression sour the moment they heard Amalia’s voice. He pretended to not notice and settled for an arm around her waist instead. “I couldn’t possibly say no to such a lovely dance partner.”

Amalia turned her focus to the singer and remarked, “you never told us the two of you know each other.”

“I prefer to keep our conversations on a need-to-know basis,” Eula responded curtly, flashing an artificial smile to emphasize her point. 

Bernard sensed the tension and stepped in, “I’m really glad you and Alan Sinclair are getting along well, though. His mother really meant a lot to our family. She was a wonderful tutor to you, and we’ll forever be in debt.” 

“She absolutely was. Maybe you could come over for dinner sometime, Alan,” Amalia excitedly added. “How your mother didn’t talk much about you, I will never understand. If I had a son as handsome as you, I would-“

“Mother,” Eula sternly cut in. “Let’s not make our guest uncomfortable, shall we?”

Before the conversation could get any further, their assistant came to inform Bernard and Amalia that their presence was requested by an important guest. 

Napoleon waited for any woman’s reaction whenever they realized a man had been dishonest with them. He anticipated Eula’s rage or tears, but neither came. Instead, she took her parents’ absence as an opportunity to get away from the crowd. 

“Let’s get out of here,” she said as she grabbed him and pulled him to an empty hallway, leading him to the fire exit door. She looked both ways to make sure the area was clear before dragging him inside the stairwell. 

Napoleon lazily raised both of his hands and offered Eula a sheepish grin, “Alright. You got me.” 

“Relax, Alan,” she said in sarcasm and leaned her back against the door. “I’m trying to help you.” 

Napoleon incredulously eyed the brunette. “You are?”

“Yes! So you better listen carefully before anybody notices anything out of the ordinary,” she responded all in one breath. 

Still doubtful, Napoleon inquired, “but why? Considering you just found out I used you and lied to you, the last thing you should be feeling is generosity.”

Eula rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Leon, I knew. From the moment we first met, I knew you weren’t who you presented yourself to be.”

“Alright, humor me then,” he challenged. “What do you know about me?” 

“First of all,” she started, taking steps closer to him and meeting his piercing gaze, “I know that you’re a conman. You always don designer suits that only the upper class of New York can afford, yet your hands are way too rough to belong to a man of wealth. Hell, even your car is more expensive than any I’ve driven before. As far as I know, no man can get that rich off physical labor alone. Hands like yours could only mean being heavily exposed to either field work or combat. My suspicions were proven right when I saw your scars last night. I’ve had my fair share of men, and I think I can tell the difference between a puny heir with no backbone and someone who had to do whatever he can to survive.” 

Napoleon could only look at her in wonder. None of the women he had been with were as observant. They usually swooned over the smallest things and bought whatever persona he sold to them. 

“I also know that you’re a thief. A good one, I might add, who would have gotten away with stealing my bracelet if I didn’t know the contents of my jewelry box like the back of my hand. After all, how can my bracelet disappear after I first spoke with you and suddenly turn up in my jewelry box after you spent the night?”

Napoleon snickered. “A good thief probably shouldn’t return items they’ve stolen.”

“Even if you hadn’t given it back, I still would have figured you out,” Eula confidently retorted. 

“Oh really? Why’s that?”

“Simple. You’re not at all the type of man to stick around. You’re the type who leaves after you’ve had your fun. And if the object of your desire doesn’t take you up on your offer right away, you move on to your next conquest. With me, you actually waited for three days and even visited the diner despite barely knowing me. What other reason would you have to stay other than the fact that you’d already figured out who I really was?”

Napoleon hated to admit it, but he was impressed. The CIA and U.N.C.L.E. had done a good job covering up his criminal record, yet Eula was able to glean that much information simply by paying attention. She might not have figured out the exact circumstances, but she got pretty damn close. “You’re perceptive, I’ll give you that.”

“Alright, then. My turn to ask now. How did you find out I was a Fernsby?”

“Your bracelet,” he answered nonchalantly. 

“My bracelet?” Eula asked in puzzlement. “But it’s a unique design that never reached the market.” 

“Precisely. At first I considered it was a knockoff brand, seeing as it had an emblem vaguely similar to the Fernsbys’ trademark logo, but the quality was way too high to be that cheap. Then I found out that in every photograph taken of the Fernsby women from different generations, each had that bracelet in common. I gathered that it was a jewelry unique to every woman in the family.”

Eula shook her head and scoffed. “I knew I should have thrown that stupid thing away. It never did quite fit me right.” 

“But there’s just one thing I couldn’t quite figure out.”

“And that is?”

“Every single Fernsby woman of the last three generations have their photographs in the paper, except for you.”

“I don’t really like to associate with my family. That’s the whole reason why I left the day I turned 18. I’ve been working at the lounge since then and even took up graveyard shifts at the diner.”

“So that’s why you’re helping me? Because you hate your family?” 

“Don’t mock me,” she firmly told him. “They’re not as ‘glamorous’ as they make people think. I may not know the exact details, but I was groomed to be the company’s heir and trained to understand the ins and outs. I know they’ve been caught up in human trafficking and drug dealing of some sort. I can’t exactly report them to the cops because even they can be bought by our family name alone. The money from the business my ancestors started deserves to be put to better use.”

“And you think I won’t misuse the money?” he sarcastically asked. 

“I think, you’re not doing this heist completely out of selfish reasons.”

“What makes you say that?”

“When you left the diner, I saw what you did to that young news boy. I saw how you bought all of the papers he had left just so he could go home. I also know that on the evening we met, when it was a really slow night at the lounge, it was you who tipped every single server on duty. Leon, you’re not as terrible of a person as you seem to think.”

“You’re trusting me way too much, Eula” Napoleon warned her. 

“Well, I’d rather trust you than my manipulative and controlling parents. At least I know you’re capable of helping people on your own free will. They only do it for show.” 

“If you hate them so much, why’d you come to the soiree?” he questioned. 

“Because it’s part of the deal,” Eula bit back. “I promised I’d show up to every stupid gathering they’d hold in exchange for them getting their ‘henchmen’ off my back. It doesn’t guarantee my safety from the tabloids, but it’s worth a try…”

Napoleon wordlessly studied the brunette. All the years he spent in his trade taught him to recognize dishonesty, and Eula showed no sign of it. “Fine,” he gave in. “When do we start?”

“We? I can’t go with you. I go on stage in a few minutes. You’ll be on your own, so you have to pay close attention to everything I tell you.” 

“Alright, what do I have to do?” 

Eula looked around the fire exit staircase to make sure no one could overhear and hurriedly instructed, “go into the janitor’s closet at the end of the hall. The wall on the left side of the door is hollow and has a hidden elevator behind it. You’ll need this,” she took off her bracelet and handed it to Napoleon, “because the emblem on the pendant unlocks the elevator doors.”

“Ah, so this ‘stupid thing’ has a use after all,” Napoleon teased.

She let out a dry laugh and answered, “yes, but I won’t be needing it anymore, so you can keep it. The elevator takes you to the most restricted area of the building. When you get there, you’ll see a steel door with a passcode. I would tell you the code, but they change it every 12 hours. You get past that, and then there’s a safe you gotta crack.”

“Lucky for you, safe cracking is a part of my skill set. But I suppose you already knew that otherwise you wouldn’t be telling me all this.”

“I didn’t really know. But considering the magnitude of this larceny, I just figured.”

“Hmm, fair enough. 

“Best be on your way before people start to miss you,” Eula ordered him. “Oh, and the password for unlocking the steel door from the inside is ‘awanggan.’ It’s Tagalog for infinity.” 

“Listen, Eula,” Napoleon began hesitantly, “I’m sorry for-”

“It’s okay,” she interjected with a genuine smile and joked, “I always knew you weren’t a ‘coffee and breakfast in the morning’ kind of guy from the get go.”

Napoleon began to make his way to the door until he paused in his tracks and turned back around. He caught her off guard by pulling her in and capturing her lips with his. After she got past her initial surprise, she eagerly responded almost immediately; each of them moving with an amount of aggression to ensure neither would easily forget the physical memory of the experience. He gave her bottom lip a soft bite before slowly pulling away.

 “Don’t miss me too much,” he smugly teased. 

“Whatever you say, Leon. Now hurry!” 

#Napoleon Solo #the man from uncle #The Man from U.N.C.L.E. #tmfu #tmfu fanfic #napoleon solo fanfic #napoleon solo x oc #woc oc

[pwophet]

small infodump about ji soo’s “pets” (they’re actually strays, but they might as well be theirs!) and, in particular, those that they surround themselves the most commonly with!

boris: their shiba inu-- he’s the “leader” of the so-called pack, more-so because his personality is the loudest and easiest to translate when interacting with other humans! he tends to bark a lot... like, a lot a lot. he’s not necessarily aggressive but is just very chatty, so sometimes it doesn’t come off as well as he thinks, though ji soo doesn’t mind. they will have full-length conversations (sometimes a conversation within a conversation within a conversation within a conversation within a--) with boris no problem.

weed eater:  alaskan malamute (to which, honestly, don’t ask how he got here. no one knows.) with a surprisingly gentle personality! he’s almost outstandingly shy, more or less standing behind the rest of the pack -- despite being one of the biggest out of them all -- and waiting for humans to come to him instead. he likes laying around, adores belly rubs, and, unsurprisingly, eats weeds. no one knows why and, honestly, it’s best to not ask questions.

ryo: the mastiff and, basically, the second-in-command when boris isn’t there to bark (haha, get it? because... dog... and dogs bark...) orders at them. she’s very sociable and actually really loves being around people; she’s usually one of the first to trot (generally how she walks. don’t ask questions.) over to groups for pets and treats and what-not. she loves being around children the most, and she has no issue whatsoever in giving rides to kids that ask!

flower: their st. bernard and, similar to ryo, really friendly! she has a peculiar “quirk” with her bark in that she doesn’t exactly “bark” but more-so “boof”s at people. she’s a gentle soul and also a huge glutton-- she’ll usually be the first one to a food bowl and will regularly scope out other bowls for leftovers. additionally, she’s a naughty food thief. do not leave food out that you’re not ready to lose because she will take it. and she will eat it.

miss paris: a mini chow chow, so she’s perpetually in puppy mode all the time. super adventurous and will usually be the one to look for in your trash cans, dumpsters, and what-not-- she’s definitely an explorer and will not let her size stop her. she’s also super rambunctious and definitely thinks she’s one of the big dogs (theoretically she is. she is just... a little unexpectedly smaller.) and will unabashedly act like it. she also barks a lot, so she joins boris in that category! they “converse” a lot which sometimes garners noise complaints, though.

jin: a pekingese that’s... extremely huffy. he will always have an opinion on something (even though, sometimes, he doesn’t know what it is that requires his opinion. he just knows that it necessitates it.) even if there is literally nothing that encourages such. he’s what you’d probably describe as a “mouth-breather” because you’ll know exactly when he’s around because of exactly that. he enjoys pets and loves being carried; put him in your purse, your hood, your pockets (if you have big pockets for whatever reason), whatever else you can think of... he’ll accept it. but he won’t come out. that’s your only warning.

eun: a pomeranian that’s almost always at jin’s side because they’re best friends! they’re practically brothers at this point with jin being the “mature” big brother and eun being the impish little brother. he’s incredibly talkative but doesn’t need to converse with anyone to be so-- he kind of sort of just enjoys hearing himself but also gets simultaneously spooked which causes him to bark more. he’s that stereotypical dog you’d expect to see his own tail and bark at it while simultaneously trying to catch it.

wormy: a komondor (which, again, don’t ask how he wound up all the way over here. it’s a mystery.) that’s just a cuddle bug. he will usually stand to greet people, put his paws right on their shoulders, and lick at their faces nonstop until they either tell him to get down or step away. he’s super lovable and also is a bit of a “mouth-breather”, but on the upside he actually doesn’t bark that much otherwise. after getting acquainted with people, he lazes around but always suspiciously close just in case of emergency pets.

#✨ HEADCANON： I GUESS I LEARNED SOMETHING NEW ABOUT MYSELF！ #and more to come soon. ( -:

[nerdasaurus1200]

AU Masterlist

Any and all asks for these AUs are more than welcome.

Kwaminette AU- AU where Marinette is Plagg and Tikki’s daughter. She’s a Kwami instead of a human, but she prefers to take on a human form because she likes interacting with humans. She’s the Panda Kwami of Balance, and the kwami of Cory Bernard/Panda Girl, my Miracusona. When she’s not helping out Cory, she’s busy trying to bond with Adrien. This one takes place within the show.

Miraculous Injustice AU- AU where the members of Team Miraculous are placed in the Injustice video game. The canon Team Miraculous gets sent to a dimension where the team is split up and akumas fight for both good and evil because Cat Noir turned evil after they found out Gabriel was Hawkmoth. The Quantic Kids (Felix, Bridgette, Melodie, Sparrow, Gavroche, Kim Mime, and Mercury) are included in this AU as well.

Dupain Cheng Kids AU- AU where Tom and Sabine adopt everyone in the Miracuclass as their child (except Adrien cause he’s their future son in law). Marinette keeps an eye for fellow classmates that don’t have the best home life. She then passes word to her parents, who fight tooth and nail to earn legal custody of said child (We don’t care they aren’t on the adoption list, they deserve to be in a home FULL OF LOVE).

Catbug AU- AU where Marinette has both the Black Cat and Ladybug Miraculouses. She calls herself Catbug. Plagg and Tikki are like a second set of parents to her, and she eventually develops a harem.

Mike and Mari AU- AU where Marinette has an older brother named Michael. He is her favorite thorn in her side as well as her go-to Miraculous Holder. He’s dating Miss Bustier and is going to school to become an interior designer.

Role Reversal AU- AU where Marinette and Adrien are switched Miraculouses. Lady Noire and Mister Bug protect Paris against Pavona and Hudie (Gina and Sabine); who want the Miraculouses to bring back Tom. Involves reverse crush and somewhat reverse life.

Adrien’s Monster AU- AU where Duusu summons a full time sentimonster to protect Adrien. He names it Hiss and it follows him everywhere he goes. Hiss and Plagg hate each other.

Supernatural AU- AU where everyone except Adrien (who’s still human) is a mythological creature. Marinette is a fairy, Kim and Rose are werewolves, Alix is a Hobbit, Mylene is a Dwarf. Juleka and Luka are vampires, Ondine is a mermaid, Ivan is an ogre, Alya is one of the last of the Nine-Tailed Fox clan, Chloe is an elf, Lila is a changeling, Max is half-sphinx, Nathaniel is a brownie, Kagami is a yokai, Marc is a leprechaun, and Nino is a Kappa (though nobody knows). The Kwmais are fae creatures that run/protect the school. Miss Bustier is a pixie, Ms Mendeleiev is a witch, and Principal Damocles is the owl of Athena. Gabriel is secretly a hunter of mythical creatures and sent Adrien to the school so he could get closer to them. (Courtesy to @miraclesoup for some of these ideas)

Hive Guard AU- AU where Chloe keeps her Miraculous at the end of Miraculer, runs away, and becomes a freelance hero of sorts. She’s extremely active is trying to find and stop Hawkmoth and Mayura. She lives in the eiffel tower, and trains with Pollen every day. Nobody but Sabrina knows her location; and she becomes Queen Bee’s right hand.

Jurassic AU- AU where Emilie’s maiden name was Hammond, and one day Adrien discovers is grandfathers work and reopens Jurassic Park.

House Cat AU- AU where Cat Noir actually decides to date Marinette in Weredad and becomes the Dupain Cheng housecat.

Mother Peahen and Papallion AU- also known as the MP3 AU. AU where Duusu and Nooroo adopt Adrien after Heroes Day with Plagg as the greasy uncle.

Road Trip AU- An AU where Team Miraculous travels around the world looking for Lost Miraculouses after defeating Hawkmoth and Mayura. Ali and Aurore bear the Moth and Peacock Miraculouses in this AU.

Miraculous Descendants AU- An AU where Miraculous characters are in the movie Descendants. Most of them are the children of Akumas.

Thing 1 and Thing 2 AU- An AU where there are two boys that like Kagami. Conner (a new student from America who tries to make Kagami jealous by lying about Ryuuko being into him) & Hiroki (a rival from Japan that she beat who believes that she should be his girlfriend) & Luka/Viperion doesn't like how uncomfortable they make her or how angry they make her feel.

Guard Dragon AU (Rockstar!Luka & Bodyguard!Ryuuko AU)- An AU where Kitty Section's new bodyguard is so mysterious and tough. Anarka trusts her to keep her children and their friends (Juleka and Rose dating) safe. Ryuuko does not plan on letting her down, but with Luka? It's hard for our Lady in red black & gold to stay professional.

SongHeart & The Queen (Ryuuka's Beauty and The Beast AU)- Kim is Lumiere, Anarka as Maurice (great parents are great), Chloé and Sabrina as Gaston and LeFou (duh), Emilie and Adrien as Mrs Potts and Chip (need that adorable mother/son bond), Marinette is (a younger) Wardrobe (fashion girl!) and Luka's closest friend in the place. Luka is Belle and Ryuuko is the Beast. Instead of inanimate objects, they’re cursed to be akumas.

Scales and Whiskers AU- An AU where Ryuuko and Cat Noir fight over who gets to date Marinette. She eventually gets so sick of it that she just tells both of them to date her. Before she knows it, she’s got a superhero boyfriend and girlfriend.

Behind the Scenes AU- An AU where Miraculous actually is a show in the canon universe and the characters are all actors. Chloe and Rose are sisters from the South. Jagged, Marinette, and Kagami are siblings. Gabriel and Adrien are Uncle and Nephew, and Lila is Marinette’s best friend.

Akumavillian AU- An AU where everyone who has been akumatized has the ability to turn into their Akumas without the power of the Moth.

Cat’s Shipping Show AU- An AU where Cat Noir runs a blog dedicated to all the ships of Team Miraculous, because he’s shipper trash. He gives people the news on certain ships, and reviews ships as well.

Ghost Bug AU- An AU where the past Ladybug’s are attached to Marinette. They’re like her 24/7 Obi-Wan, and they’re a little Ladybug family. Turns out, everyone on Team Miraculous (plus Hawkmoth and Mayura) are in the same boat.

Sentibug AU- An AU where Bugette wasn’t destroyed by Mayura and instead becomes Ladybug and Cat Noir’s sidekick/daughter

Mom Pink AU- An AU where Pink appeared instead of Steven when his gem was taken out. Somehow they can both exist now and mother and son are reunited.

Adrien Universe AU- Steven Universe, but with Miraculous characters.

Momma Mayura AU- An AU where as soon as Stoneheart appeared, Nathalie grabbed the Peacock Miraculous and became Mayura. She fights on Ladybug and Cat Noir’s side to bring down Hawkmoth and quickly becomes the team mom.

Tales of Pegasus and King Monkey AU- An AU where Master Fu instead distributed the Horse and Monkey Miraculous and Kim and Max are the main characters of the show.

Chatroom AU- An AU where Team Miraculous has a group chat

Genderbend AU- An AU where everyone’s genders are swapped.

Teacher Kwamis AU- An AU where Miss Bustier is fired and the Kwamis take over teaching.

Frozen Dragons AU- A Hiccelsa AU that combines Frozen and How To Train Your Dragon. Basically, just before the events of Race To The Edge, Elsa and Hiccup have an arranged marriage and her, Olaf, Sven, Kristoff, and Anna are present for the events of the show and Dragons 2

Kumafeather AU- An AU where Max and Kim have the Moth and Peacock Miraculous and are trying to bring Max’s dad back. They call themselves Kuma and Dark Feather and are like that classic supervillain and dumb sidekick trope but they’re gay.

GrayBlue AU- An AU where Adrien and Marinette have the Moth and Peacock Miraculous and are trying to bring Emilie back. They call themselves Grayling and Beau Blue.

Mastermind Fu AU- An AU where Master Fu is evil and the Miraculass steal the Miracle Box to fight him.

Evil Miracuclass AU- An AU where the Miracuclass is evil and steals the Miracle Box. Master Fu must use the remaining Miraculous he has to fight them.

Marigod AU- An AU where Marinette and her parents are Gods.

Tangled Sisters AU- an AU where Cassandra grew up in the tower with Rapunzel and Varian is Flynn’s protege/adopted little brother. It’s be the same as the movie, just Cassarian, Aged Up!Varian of course, and the sister duo we deserve.

Apprentice AU- An AU where Master Fu was Emilie’s mentor. They have a father-daughter bond

Killer Princess AU- An AU where Juleka has the Moth and Rose has the Peacock

Timmy Dupain Cheng AU- An AU where Timmy (Sandboy) is Marinette’s foster brother and earns the Dog Miraculous under the name of Pup Fidele

Forbidden Love AU- An AU where Flynn is still a thief and Rapunzel is the ruler of Corona. The two of them have a little flirty to and fro, as he’s the most wanted theif in the kindgom and they both really dig each other but don’t want to admit it, not even to themselves. Lance is his sidekick and Kiera and Catalina are their young protégés. Meanwhile, Varian and Cass work under Raps. Cass as her royal adviser and personal bodyguard, and Varian’s her little brother and the royal alchemist.

Cousins AU- Inspired by the theory that Rapunzel, Elsa, and Anna are cousins. An AU where they were there to celebrate her birthday in Secret of the Sundrop and went with her and the gang to the Dark Kingdom! Sven, Kristoff, and Olaf tag along too, of course.

Twins AU- An AU where Marinette and Kagami are long lost twins

The Prince and The Pup AU- An AU where Prince Ali starts going to Marinette's school after falling for the heroine known as Chien De Guarde after his first encounter with her. What he doesn't know is that Chien De Guarde is Sabrina Raincomprix.

Tales of Monarch and Chien de Guarde AU- An AU where Monarch and Chien are the main heroes

Tales of Ryuuko and Viperion AU- An AU where Ryuuko and Viperion are the main heroes

Tales of Ryuuko and King Monkey AU- An AU where Ryuuko and King Monkey are the main heroes

Elsa Padare AU- an au where Elsa is adopted by Cass and Varian

Gandalf Swears AU- An au where everything is the same except Gandalf swears

#miraculous ladybug #masterlist #ml au #miraculous au #frozen #How To Train Your Dragon #httyd au

[spacetrashpile]

Blinded By The Light: A Thiala Playlist

Track List Below The Cut

Soldier, Poet, King-The Oh Hellos

“There will come a ruler/Who’s brow is laid in thorns/Smeared with oil like David’s boy”

Saint Bernard-Lincoln

“Hung pictures of patron saints up on my wall/To remind me that I am a fool”

Two Birds-Regina Spektor

“Two birds of a feather/Say that they're always gonna stay together/But one's never going to let go of that wire/He says that he will/But he's just a liar”

Bottom of the River-Delta Rae

“The Lord's gonna come for your first born son/His hair's on fire and his heart is burning/So go to the river where the water runs/Wash him deep where the tides are turning”

Pay Me Back-Rare Americans

“I didn’t know it then, I didn’t know at all/Didn’t have a son after all/I had a hand biting sinner at our family dinner”

Oh Ana-Mother Mother

“I'll be god/I'll be god/I'll be god/I'll be god today/Hold my head under that bath and breathe away/Slit my wrists and watch that blood evaporate”

The Last Day Of Summer-The Lightning Thief (Original Cast)

“What do you do when the quest has ended?/What do you do when the battle’s won?/So many questions left unanswered/So many things still left undone”

“The gods were never on our side/So I think it’s time we watch them fall/Soon you’ll see what I did/Soon there’ll be no gods at all”

Bitter Water-The Oh Hellos

“I feel it in my soul/I feel the empty hole/The cup that can’t be filled/And I feel it in my blood/In the fire and the flood/The beast that can't be killed”

Poison And Wine-The Civil Wars

“Oh your hands can heal, your hands can bruise”

Killer-The Ready Set

"I'm no good for you/Bet on love and I'll bet you lose so/Run away, run away”

It Took Me By Surprise-Amanda Campbell

“I would react badly/To the slightest hint of hesitance/He’d bend awkwardly to suit my mood/No word from his defense”

This December-Ricky Montgomery

“Only in my darkest moments can I see the light/I think I’m prone to getting blinded when it’s bright”

“Only in my darkest moments/I wanna see you with your head wide open/Empty in the ground, gone without a sound”

#thiala naddpod #naddpod #not another dnd podcast #one of these playlists is just my legendary heroes playlist with some new songs and some songs removed and a new title #can you guess which one