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princesachicana · 9 months

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𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 pt.2

a/n: it's finally here!! how long has it been?! first things first i want to say thank you to everyone who's been rooting for this fic!! I honestly hit a huge writers block and had no motivation to write!! but all the sweet messages from people saying they enjoyed my work has made me so happy!!! SO ONCE AGAIN THANK U AND I HOPE U ENJOY!! I tried my EXTRA HARDEST SO I HOPE THIS GIVES U THE CLOSURE YALL WANTED I LOVE YOU SM! ALSO THIS IS NOT PROOF READ SO PLEASE EXCUSE ANY MISTAKES!! I JUST WANTED TO FINALLY POST FOR U GUYS!!

It took a lot out of you not to stay in bed the next morning. The softness of your bed wrapped around your body gives you some sort of comfort. But of course, staying in bed would only make you feel worse. At least if you got up it would be easier to fake happiness. To no surprise, your phone was flooded with missed calls and texts from both Steven and Belly. Of course, you only responded to belly telling her that you'll explain your reasoning for ditching your "date" with Steven later.

Why did Steven even bother leaving you so many texts last night? If you were such a bother to him? Annoying. That's what he thinks you are. And what if you never heard those disgusting things he said about you? and went on the date with him? Would he just continue to lead you on?

Steven: waiting for you by the pool.

Steven: ur late

Steven: u look pretty even though i can't even see you. pls im starving

Steven: is belly holding you hostage?

Steven: it's been 18 minutes cmon.

Steven: the guys are going to laugh at me for being stood up I'm getting nervous.

Steven: did something happen are you okay?

Steven: belly is worried as well lmk.

You laughed at the messages blinking back angry tears that threatened to fall. Gosh! he was so fake. You could only imagine how relieved he must have been to not hang out with you.

Belly: have funnnn

Belly: no funny business!!

Belly: wait where did you go?!

Belly: Steven keeps pacing back and forth waiting for u

Belly: what’s going on?

Belly: just let us know ur okay

Belly: y/n ??!?!??

Y/n: hey, something came up last night sorry I had you worried. can u come over?

Belly arrived 20 minutes later. You spent the time together watching reruns of your favorite Disney show. “Do you want to talk about it?” Belly asked after a while, noticing something was bothering you.

“I overheard the guys talking about me last night.” You fiddled with the throw blanket that was on your lap. “At first it was just them teasing Steven about our date or whatever.” You took a deep breath upset that you felt like crying. “But Steven only agreed to hang out with me…” You paused blinking back tears. Belly moved closer immediately pulling you into a hug. “He only agreed to hang out with me…so I could stop annoying him! I honestly don’t know what I did wrong?” You pulled away from belly’s arms wiping your tears that had fallen.

“Maybe I was too forward? but I just wanted to see if he felt the same way…it was dumb.” You shrugged. Belly shook her head “Nope my brother is a fucking idiot!” she stood up taking your hand in hers and pulling you up. “I won’t let you mope around all day because of him!” You sighed “I don’t even have a choice do I?” Belly laughed shaking her head. “What do you say we go to the boardwalk? Taylor’s coming in today too” she smirked.

“And maybe someone would be happy to see you I don’t know” she whispered with a grin. “What are you talking about?” You questioned. “Well you know Xavier..the one that works the lemonade stand?” You nodded your head yes. “Well, he totally has the hots for you.” You cringed at her word choice. “He does not!” You laughed. “Oh, he does! you were too busy ogling my brother last summer you didn’t notice him ogling you.” she poked your side teasingly.

“Now let’s go!”

“Stay still before I poke your eye out” Taylor groans finishing up your eyeliner. You were now at the Fisher’s beach house getting ready to go down to the boardwalk. You laugh pulling away “I think that’s enough…if you make my eyeliner any thicker I’d cry!” Taylor playfully pushes your head away. “Sorryyyyy i want to make Xavier fall to his knees when he sees you!” You frown when she brings that name up. Sure, Xavier was a nice guy…and he was cute…but he wasn’t Steven.

You’d always imagined Steven being your first everything. First kiss, first date, first time. It was something you’d dreamt of all this time.

“Yeah…im going to get a snack before we head out do y’all want anything?” You ask heading towards the door. Both girls gave you a sympathetic smile shaking their heads no.

As you reached the kitchen you stopped in your tracks. Steven turned from looking into the fridge. You made eye contact for about 5 seconds before you beelined for the cabinets. “Hey,” Steven broke the silence as you pulled out a granola bar. You felt the warmth of his stare and turned finding him now leaning against the counter. “Hey…” you whispered looking anywhere but his face. “So you gonna tell me what happened last night?” Steven crossed his arms around his chest.

“Just didn’t feel up for it anymore ..” You shrugged nonchalantly. “That’s it?” Steven scoffed. “Yeah…that’s it” you whispered about to walk away. “What’s going on? I’m like so confused right now.” Steven gently gripped your arm. “Nothing just forget it…it’s not like you wanted to go anyways.” you rolled your eyes. “And what makes you think that?” He muttered eyes scouring your face for the truth. “Um, I don’t know let’s see …you quite literally ignored me this entire week!” You responded sarcastically.

“I didn’t mean to. I had a lot of shit on my mind alright?” Steven uttered softly. It almost felt genuine. The words he spoke just last night almost became liquid. “Yeah like what?” You whispered eventually looking into his eyes. “You can tell me..” You spoke gently stepping into him closer. No matter how much he’s hurt you. Steven would always make you melt. “Nothing let’s just forget about it…he pulled away opening up the fridge once again.”

It was like a switch was flipped. How he went right back to that cold shoulder he had been giving you all week. “You're a fucking asshole” You spewed, already ready to walk out of the kitchen. “Where are you going?” He abruptly spoke again. “The boardwalk…you know? so I won’t annoy you here.” With that, you left a confused and remorseful Steven behind.

“Hey, look y/n why don’t you go get a lemonade?” Belly suggested with an eyebrow raise. Shit. you were hoping they forgot about that. “Guys I don’t feel up for this..” You pouted looking between both Taylor and Belly. “Noooo go talk to him! you look hot as fuck.” Taylor gently grabbed your face giving you a mini pep talk.

“What if Xavier wants to hang out..I cant just ditch you guys?!?” You were stalling and they knew it. “We’ll be here waiting for you” Belly smiled. “Just try to have fun alright? But hey if you don’t really want to do it …we’ll back off” She narrowed her eyes at Taylor. “No…I’ll go” You laughed giving both of them a hug “Thank you guys.i really appreciate this.” You’d definitely still be moping around in your room about Steven if it wasn’t for Belly and Taylor. They both wished you luck as you headed straight for the lemonade stand.

As soon as he spotted you. The biggest smile spread across his face. “y/n? damn, it’s been so long” Xavier greeted you with a hug. “It’s only been a year!” You playfully ruffled his curly hair that sat atop his head. “That’s way too long…I enjoy seeing pretty girls year-round.” He spoke smoothly, he definitely knew how to talk to girls. “Shut up” You laughed pushing him away with not that much force.

“I have an hour lunch break…you up for arcade games?”

“So…you seeing anyone?” Xavier asked as he ate a scoop of his mint chocolate chip ice cream. You thought about it for a moment. Technically no you weren’t seeing anyone. But you knew you were still hung up on Steven. A day at the boardwalk with Xavier wouldn’t change that. “It’s complicated…I guess” Xavier sighed “I've been there…it’s rough” You nodded you were curious as to what he meant but you didn’t want to be nosey.

“Hey, look they have street fighter..” Xavier smirked. “Want to go a couple of rounds?” You nodded immediately pulling him towards the game. “Mhhm loser buys the winner a funnel cake!” You suggested with a chuckle. “Ouuu im so down y/n” Xavier squeezed your hand that held his quickly striding towards the arcade game.

Just two more steps, Just two more steps and you’d be fine. The rowdy yelling completely threw you off. You stopped in place looking behind you where the voices were coming from. You had no time to move out of the way, no time to prevent this from happening.No time to stop the trio of boys that you knew all too well. Suddenly a body collided with Xavier, the force immediately making your intertwined hands lose. “Dude, what the fuck?” Xavier groaned. It was then that you snapped back into reality. Eyes wide when you noticed Xavier’s ice cream now all over his shirt.

“What’s up? how are we doing?” That voice full of humor made you scoff. Steven stood tall a smile on his face. You hated that it kind of made your heart flutter. “Steven, what is your problem?” You gestured towards Xavier’s now ice cream stained shirt. “He’ll be fine y/n it’ll wash out.” Steven laughed, but once he noticed you didn’t find this funny at all he frowned. “I’m sorry man, I just came over to say what’s up..” You ignored Steven’s apology not believing he meant it. “Hey want me to help you get cleaned up?” You asked Xavier voice full of concern.

“No.I got it…I’ll see y’all later.” Xavier spoke nonchalantly as he walked away. When he was out of eyesight you brushed past steven heading out the door.

“Y/n” Steven immediately followed behind you. His long legs make it easier for him to catch up with you. “You embarrassed me” You stopped outside the arcade, letting him pull you to the side. “Embarrassed? sorry to interrupt your little date” Steven scoffed. “It's not a date we were just hanging out, why do you care?” You groaned running your hands down your face. “Maybe because just yesterday you were supposed to hang out with me?” Steven spoke definitively.

“Oh my god, just earlier you agreed to forget about it,” you said with an eye roll. “It was dumb, stop acting like you care just go home Steven I did you a favor.” He shook his head “What are you talking about right now?” Steven pulled you in closer, one of his hands placed on your waist. The other coming to the side of your face, willing you to look at him.

“I heard you.i heard everything,” you spoke up voice hoarse. Steven’s heart carried pain at the tears that stood brimming in your eyes. The realization was clear when he made the connection. “And you know..who cares what Jeremiah and Conrad think! what hurt the most was you.” You shrieked. You hated that you were crying in front of him. You hated that when he hauled you against his chest you felt secure.

“I'm sorry baby... I'm sorry” Steven sounded voice vulnerable. Leaving kisses atop your head. “Why would you say that?” you sobbed breaking down in front of the boy who caused it. “I didn't mean any of it” Steven brought your face between his hands once again. “But you said it..it still fucking hurts Steven.”

You wiped your face getting prepared to pull away and walk back home.

“Wait, please let me talk to you.” Steven begged. “okay” you replied being prepared to cry all over again. “My head has been all fucked up..and that isn't an excuse I know” Steven looked down as if he couldn't construct the next words. “Please don't shut me out.” you pleaded gently. “I want you...i have all this time.” Steve confessed for the first time.

“—And I didn't want to fuck anything up we've..been so close all our lives if I ever messed that up I would never forgive myself.” It's as if you were dreaming, the boy you loved stood in front of you disclosing his feelings for you. “And what? this whole week of you acting cold towards me, were you trying to avoid your feelings?” Steven bobbed his head “Yes, if I lied to myself it would make lying to everyone else easier because the fucking truth is I want you so bad” You didn't tell him but at that moment you forgave him.

“And you called me the annoying one?” You giggled pushing on his chest gently. “Right now we could have been making out on the beach….but noo you had to be a brooding boy” Steven tickled your side, causing you to squirm in his arms. “Yeah, my fault can I kiss you now? been practically wanting to my whole life.” Steven threw his head back fake pouting setting one hand over his chest. You figured you'd throw his words right back at him. “You're so desperately desperate”

Steven smirked “Yeah for you? I am” Those words welcomed a whole lot of beautiful feelings. At that moment is when Steven bent down bringing his lips down onto your own. As your lips moved together, butterflies erupted in your belly. You smiled against his lips when you both needed a breath. “Hey, by the way, your not off the hook.. I'm still sort of pissed at you.” You declared pointing a finger into his chest.

“Yeah, I figured” He laughed wrapping his arms even tighter around you. “How about I make it up to you this whole week? I'm taking you out on dates…ill even get on my knees if I have to. I'm going to follow you around like a puppy.” Steven rambled on. You laughed out loud covering your mouth with your hands. “Oh, it's funny?” Steven raised an eyebrow suggestively. “Yeah, you're such a loser.” You joked.

Before Steven could respond you tugged him into another kiss. Perhaps everything wasn't one hundred percent fixed. But you and Steven were finally here together. You and Steven were finally in each other's arms that's all that mattered. You’d figure out the rest together.

tags 🤍: @gillybear17 @snowsharkk @tesssastle @conradsupporterr @alyssa-cabrera @eranthisphiny @xoxoloverb @lostaurorax @lanisdreams @alexzluvz @lalaland-notfound @liltimmyst @unsaidjaelineose @buckys2thicc @lilygreennn @t8lzw @medusaslilsister @1-800-stilinski @yazmi710 @j-brielmalfoy @ashcannotwrite @colbysbrocks @exonct07 @multilover19 @mimisparkle12

@littlefreaksatellite @vintagebitc @lexi-2004 @melllinaa @xcallmetaniax @brizzlessizzler @haroldpotterson @livinginaglasspalace @delicatekidpeanut @queenanababy

@drinkawinchester @sarahbutnot @salvatoremikaelson54 @furiouscopsherduniversity @marrigold-2002 @angeliquelunasstuff @mariaelizabeth21-blog1 @daphnen21 @ietss @imanaforever @itsreynasworld @she-is-a-happy-girl @joeybandthings

@kateisintrouble @stvrdustalexx @fictionisjustbetter @whezzy223

@conradssupporterr @clubmeredith13 @fatduck45 @trampstampz @fangirl-kimora

@just-let-me-fangirl-in-peace @reenfluffmarshmallow @kaz-mf-brekker

@yazmunson @bookg1rl @hockey-lover86

@just-a-pink-lady @moo-b1tch

#tsitp series #tsitp x you #tsitp fanfic #the summer i turned pretty #the summer i turned pretty fanfic #belly conklin #steven conklin x reader #steven conklin imagine #steven conklin tsitp #tsitp #prime video tsitp #prime video #Conrad fisher #jeremiah fisher

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chemdisaster · 4 months

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bbbb au fic! in which the bad boys have a sleepover and we learn a bit about scar and lizzie's roles in this au

"Here, Jimmy, have some of this—"

"Wh—Ew! Joel, get off me! Oh, I swear—"

All the blankets are sent flying to the floor as two of the three attendants of the sleepover erupt in a very noisy scuffle.

From his relatively safe corner, Grian chuckles and looks away, laugh tapering off again. Abandoning his place on a very unwilling Jimmy's lap, Joel leaps across the bed, sending a few crisps flying, and shoves his face right in front of him, staring intently into his eyes.

"You've been weird since lunch today," he states bluntly. "What's wrong?"

Meeting his friend's exaggeratedly attentive gaze, Grian feels his reluctance grow. Not that he has any real secrets from his Bad Boys, it's just that he has doubts over how helpful they would be in this particular situation.

Oh, well.

"Scar and I had another fight."

"Really, what about?" Jimmy asks curiously, placing his popcorn to the side and swiping at his messed up hair and flushed cheeks. Beside him, Joel scrambles back, though he doesn't lose the interested glint in his eyes.

"Oh, just—well, it wasn't really a fight," Grian confesses. "He followed me around the entire day and then accused me of avoiding him. Said," and here Grian attempts his best Scar impression, making quotation marks in the air, ""Why, it's almost like you don't want to be my friend, Grian!""

He breaks off, breathes as he feels himself getting heated. Before Joel or Jimmy can interject, Grian continues, now in a more level tone, "I was avoiding him."

A moment of silence.

"Oh," Jimmy says, and then his eyebrows scrunch up on his forehead, "Why? I thought you guys were okay."

"We were, I just—I don't know." Grian rakes a hand through his hair. "I don't know why, but I just—for some reason it's so easy to be mean to him. Ever since we agreed we were friends again, it's been awkward and it—it makes me angry, I guess."

He looks away, not meeting his friends' eyes.

"I can't stop thinking about before. Every time I look at him."

Silence falls once again after Grian's guilt-ridden proclamation. His boys are quiet, and so is he as all three of them mull separately over these new issues that feel like they just keep coming and coming.

"Maybe you just need to not speak to him for a bit?" Joel suggests. "Clean slate, or something. Like me and Lizzie."

"Yeah, but Lizzie just moved towns. You guys were still on good terms," Grian says, and then adds, "and besides, it's been, what, a decade? Who knows if she even still remembers you."

Joel pauses.

"Nah, we'll find each other," he asserts with a dreamy look on his face, and Grian gives up, instead looking over at Jimmy, who shrugs.

"I don't know, I think Joel has a point."

Though something within him lightens, Grian makes a noise of frustration. "Ugh, you guys suck at this."

"Well, yeah, Grian, we're the Bad Boys, not the Therapy Trio, I mean, come on, Grian, what kind of friend even are you, Grian—"

A pillow hits the wall next to Joel's head. Narrowly twisting out of the way of a second one, Joel falls over on the bed and dissolves into breathless giggles. Jimmy tries to move away from him and gets a pillow to the face, prompting even more screechy giggling.

Grian sighs. Maybe not talking to Scar is the way to go, after all. At least that way, he can't make things worse.

#bad boys best buds au #pspspsps send me asks if you want to know more #worddisaster #the bad boys #joel smallishbeans #smallishbeans #grian #grianmc #jimmy solidarity #solidaritygaming #desert duo #jizzie #limited life #limlsmp #llsmp2 #trafficblr #life series #trafficfic

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sequinsmile-x · 7 months

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Stained Glass Windows - Chapter Fifty

Life was complicated, but they wouldn't have it any other way.

-x-

Hi friends,

I cannot believe this is chapter 50 of this fic!! Thank you so much for still being here, for still loving on this version of our favs almost a whole year into writing SGW (end of November 2022 is when I started to post it!). It means the world to me because I love this version of them so much.

As it is October 12th, our beloved Emily Prentiss's birthday, I have dedicated this chapter to celebrate that, and given it a special banner to mark the occasion.

There is still SO MUCH of this fic to go in my little head, so who knows...maybe we'll have another 50 chapters?!

Please do let me know what you think <3

-x-

Words: 3.9k

A full list of warnings for the fic can be found on the Series Master List and will be updated as we go along.

Read over on Ao3, or below the cut

October 12 1991

She just needs a minute to herself.

It’s what she tells herself as she leaves the party supposedly being thrown in her honour. The house filled to the brim with her mother’s friends and their sons, men deemed suitable for her to date and marry, and people Emily hadn’t really seen or spoken to since she left for college.

This had never been her home, not really. It was a base. The place they came to for a month or so in between her mother’s postings, somewhere she knew could have been a home if her parents had made different choices.

She sighs as she hears her mother’s laugh, the gregariousness that Elizabeth only ever truly had when she’d been drinking. It had been a problem for years, since her father had left, but Emily knew it had got worse since she’d gone to college, as if the loneliness her mother had always seemed to strive for hadn’t been as peaceful as she thought it would be. It made guilt bubble in her stomach even though she knows it’s not her fault, that she finally deserved her own life. The chance to find some stability.

She pulls the office door closed behind her, grateful for the barrier it creates, for the way it muffles the sound she was hiding from. She pauses when she spots the mostly empty bottle of scotch on her mother’s desk, its presence answering a question she’d never dare ask. She walks over and grabs it, pouring herself a measure into one of the crystal glasses Elizabeth kept in here. She then drops the, still not empty, bottle into the trash can, finding satisfaction in the sound it makes as it hits the bottom, the clang echoing around her, briefly blocking out the sound outside.

She sits on the couch in the corner, sinking into it as she looks at the drink in her hand before she blows out a breath.

“Happy 21st birthday to me,” she says, taking a sip of the scotch. She drops her head back against the couch cushion, “At least she buys the decent stuff.”

Her peace is disrupted as the door opens, a brief burst of sound draws her attention towards it. She furrows her brows as she sees one of her mother’s new security agents walk in. He seems just as shocked to see her, freezing in place in the doorway as their eyes meet.

“Miss Prentiss,” he says, clearing his throat, “I’m sorry I didn’t realise you were in here, I was just looking for some paperwork.”

She smiles politely at him, “That’s ok Agent…” she drifts off, cursing herself for not remembering his name.

“Hotchner,” he says, finishing for her, his smile polite as he steps further into the room, “Isn’t it your birthday party out there?”

She smiles and nods, “Yes, yes it is. I just needed a break from all of the suitors my mother lined up for me this evening,” she says, and he raises his eyebrow at her, clearly trying to stop himself from smiling, “I’m being serious.”

He smiles politely, “Well, I’ll get what I came for and leave you to it.”

She’s not sure what makes her say it, whether it was the fact he was nice, or because he was handsome, but she’s speaking before she’s aware she’s going to, “You should stay. Have a drink with me.”

He furrows his brow, a mix of confusion and something close to absolute horror that makes something spark in her chest, “I’m working, I can’t-”

“Come on,” she says, smiling at him, “I won’t tell anyone. Besides, it’s my birthday. It would be rude not to.”

He thinks about it for a moment, wondering if he should just leave, politely say he had things to do, or if he should stay. His decision is made by the slightly sad sheen to her eyes. He’d never spent much time with her, but she always seemed lonely when he saw her.

“Ok, one drink,” he says, turning to where the glasses are, his eyebrows knitting together when he doesn’t see any liquor.

“The scotch is in the trash can,” she replies, sipping her drink, finding herself amused by the look on his face, how he doesn’t question what was, on the surface of it, a ludicrous statement. She watches as he pours himself the smallest amount, the amber liquid barely visible from where she is sitting, and he crosses the room and sits next to her, a respectable distance between them.

“Happy Birthday Miss Prentiss,” he says, raising his glass, and she smiles at him.

“Emily,” she corrects and he nods as he swallows thickly.

“Happy Birthday Emily,” he says, clinking his glass against hers. They exchange a smile and drink. “Your mother seems to be the life of the party.”

Emily hums and finishes her scotch, letting the liquor burn the back of her throat, “Yeah,” she replies, smiling tightly at him, “She really is,” she looks him up and down, taking in his suit, the way he looked nothing short of an agent. She has an urge to mess with him, to mess up his hair and see what he does, “What does your girlfriend think of you working late?”

He frowns, “How do you know I have a girlfriend?”

She shrugs, “I can tell,” she says mysteriously, smiling when he looks confused, “You’re a nice guy. The nice ones are rarely single.”

He clears his throat, feeling his cheeks go warm at the compliment, “She’s okay with it,” he explains, “Haley, my girlfriend, she knows it’s a means to an end.”

“That’s good,” she replies, watching as he finishes his drink, “I hope she knows she has one of the good ones.”

He chuckles as he stands up, placing the empty glass on the desk before he picks up what he had come in for, “I’ll let her know,” he walks towards the door, “Happy Birthday again, Emily.”

“Thank you for having a drink with me, Agent Hotchner,” she says, and he turns to face her, offering her a half smile.

“Aaron.”

She nods and presses her lips together to stop her smile from getting too wide, “Aaron.”

___

October 12, 2000

Emily curses under her breath as she pushes her apartment door open, her arms full of groceries, her briefcase and the birthday gift her colleagues had bought her.

She makes it to the kitchen counter and dumps everything she’s holding onto it. She turns and closes her front door, making sure it’s locked before she puts away groceries she knows will go bad before she eats them. She pulls out the card her colleagues had given her, the number ‘30’ emblazoned on the front, and she takes a moment to read the messages inside before she sets it down on the counter, next to the one her mother had sent her, and she heads to the fridge. She pours herself a glass of wine and stares at it for a moment, the scar on her abdomen throbbing.

A silent warning, a phantom of her worst fear - that she’d turn into her mother. After she’d saved her mother’s life, literally giving her part of herself and turning down a once in a lifetime job opportunity to do so, things between them hadn’t got better. There were no apologies from Elizabeth, no thank you. No acknowledgement of what Emily had done. It got too painful to be in DC, to watch her mother act as if nothing had ever happened, so when she’d been offered a job doing translation in the FBI Detriot Field Office she hadn’t thought twice. She’d taken the job and started again, only letting her mother know when it was already a done deal.

She shakes her head and pours the wine away, tipping it unceremoniously down the sink, before she makes herself a hot chocolate, the warmth of the mug in her hands a comfort.

She settles on the couch and is about to turn on the TV when she hears the phone ring. She groans and gets up, but sees her mother’s number flashing on the screen and she decides not to answer, feeling wholly not in the mood to listen to comments about her life. Thinly veiled criticisms that she thinks she’d accept from someone else.

Emily knew she wasn’t entirely happy, but it would do for now. She was content to simply exist until she figured out what she wanted her life to look like.

She sits back down and waits for the call to ring out, the beep of the voicemail ringing out around her.

“Emily, I had hoped to catch you, but you may still be at work. I just wanted to say Happy Birthday. When you’re here over Thanksgiving I’ll introduce you to Bruce Cameron’s son. He’s your age and is about to get divorced-”

She rolls her eyes and stops listening after that, not paying attention as she flicks through the menu on the television, finally pressing play on something she knows she also won’t pay attention to when the message comes to an end.

She couldn’t help but wonder if she should be sadder about her 30th birthday being like this. If the loneliness should bother her, but she was used to it. She had friends here, people who had tried to coerce her into going out for drinks, something she’d got out of by lying and saying she was seeing her boyfriend that night, a man she’d broken up with a few weeks ago without telling anyone.

Emily sighs as she takes a sip of her hot chocolate and she thinks of her 21st birthday. Of Agent Hotchner and how he’d been nice to her, the few minutes they’d spent in her mother’s office the highlight of her day that year. She hadn’t thought about him in years, but all of a sudden she wonders where he is, what he’s doing. If he’d married the girlfriend she’d tricked him into mentioning. If he had kids.

It’s something she knows she wants. A family. People in her life she knows love her unconditionally, something she’s not even sure her parents had ever done.

She just hoped she’d get the chance. That her life wouldn’t pass her by, years melting into decades, as she turned into the one person she told herself she’d never be.

As she drinks her hot chocolate and barely pays attention to the TV, she idly hopes that one day, life will look a lot different for her.

___

Emily is woken up by a tiny hand on her face, small fingers and sharp nails digging into her skin.

“Careful, Lilypad.”

She opens her eyes at the sound of her husband’s voice, and smiles at the sight that greets her. Aaron is sitting on her side of the bed, Lily in his arms, and a tired smile on his face.

“Happy Birthday, sweetheart.”

“Thank you,” She says as she sits up and stamps a kiss on his lips, her hand ghosting over the back of Lily’s head as she does so before she rests her back against the headboard, her hands reaching out for Lily, “Give me my baby.”

Aaron smiles as he does as he’s told, handing Lily over immediately. Emily laughs when she sees the onesie she’s wearing, one she’s never seen before with flowing words on the front.

Happy Birthday Mommy

“Oh my god,” she exclaims, lifting Lily to press several kisses to her cheek before she settles her into her arms, “You’re so fucking cute.”

“Em.”

She looks up at Aaron and raises an eyebrow, unable to stop herself from smiling, the happiness and joy in her chest too overwhelming to suppress, “She’s 13 weeks old, Aaron, it’s going to be a while before she picks up on cursing,” she says, her smile only getting wider as Aaron shakes his head at her, love shining in his eyes, “So, what’s the plan for today? Now you can finally tell me.”

He’d kept it secret from her for weeks. His insistence on planning her birthday for her was as endearing as it was irritating. He’d said not only was it her 40th and special because of that, but it was also her first birthday as a mom, and he wanted it to be perfect.

Aaron swallows thickly, suddenly nervous that he’d got it wrong, but he nods, “Well, first thing this morning Lily and I went out to your favourite bakery to get those pastries you love.”

“You did?” She says, looking down at Lily, the baby’s hand tangled in her hair, “You’ve been busy this morning, huh?”

Aaron hums in response, smiling at the sight of the two of them together, “By the way the woman at the bakery is obsessed with her.”

“As any sane person would be,” Emily replies, tickling her daughter to make her laugh before she looks back at her husband, “So that’s breakfast?”

“Breakfast and then presents. Then Jack is coming over this afternoon,” he says, his heart warming at how excited she looks, her love for his son one of the many things he adored about her, “And this evening Dave is cooking us your favourite meal, and the team are coming here so Lily and Jack can sleep in their own beds and we don’t have to worry about bedtime being disturbed.”

“You really thought of everything,” she says, the thought of spending the day with the people who meant the most to her a perfect one. She smiles at him, unhooking a hand from under Lily and wrapping it around the back of his neck, pulling him in for a kiss, “Thank you.”

“I know it’s a bit simple-”

“Honey, it’s perfect,” she says, stamping another kiss to his lips. She smiles at him as she pulls back, “So, are you worried about no longer having a hot wife in her 30s?”

“No,” He shakes his head at her and reaches out to tuck some of her hair behind her ear, “You just keep on getting hotter, baby.”

“Good answer,” She smiles, her cheeks aching with it, and she looks down at Lily, the infant chewing on her fist, “Daddy is so getting laid tonight.”

“Emily.”

___

The house is bursting at the seams.

The whole team is there, the gifts and love they brought with them filling all the space. The laughter was so raucous that Emily keeps glancing at the baby monitor, checking the lights on it, just in case she misses Lily crying upstairs.

As she sits at her dining table, Aaron’s arm slung around the back of her chair with his fingers skimming her shoulder, she feels lucky. She takes a sip of her wine as she looks around, not paying much attention as Derek gives Dave crap about something said on a recent case, the older man taking it in his stride. JJ was smiling wistfully at them in between continuing her conversation with Spencer, her secrecy about her new job something that scared Emily, a feeling she would put away for tonight. Something she’d bury deep inside so she could enjoy this - the life that not all that long ago she convinced herself she’d never have.

She’s pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of a fork being tapped against a glass, the noise enough to draw everyone's attention, and she looks at her husband, her eyes going wide as she sees him raise his glass, her cheeks already turning pink at the thought of a speech.

“I just wanted to take a moment-”

“Oh God, not a speech,” Derek exclaims, any further protest cut off with a yelp as Penelope stamps on his foot, her eyes narrowed as he looks at her in question.

“Don’t ruin this for me,” she says, always keen for any insight into Aaron and Emily’s life, and she turns back to the couple in front of her, “Carry on boss-man.”

Aaron shakes his head and turns to look at Emily, his spare hand on her leg under the table, squeezing softly to stop her protest. They exchange a small smile and she nods. He was never one to talk about how he feels in front of other people, never one to reveal too much, so even though she already felt a little embarrassed she let him carry on.

She could never get enough of his love. It was her lifeline, the very thing she knew she could always rely on.

“As I was saying,” he says, raising an eyebrow at Derek before he looks around the table, “I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for being here tonight to celebrate Emily’s birthday,” he looks back at his wife, his smile soft, “Em, sweetheart, it’s been 19 years since I first met you and somehow you’re infinitely more interesting and more beautiful than you were even then. I love you and Happy Birthday.”

She chokes on a sound halfway between a laugh and sob, and is grateful that it’s drowned out by the other’s cheering and clinking their glasses. She had no idea that he remembered. He’d never alluded to it, and neither had she - so sure that it was something that existed only in her memory. A moment between the two of them that was just for her, so worried he didn’t remember it that she hadn’t wanted to embarrass either one of them by bringing it up.

The sound of crying cuts through everything, and Emily goes to stand, but Aaron stops her, his hand still on her thigh, and he leans in to kiss her cheek.

“I’ve got her,” he says, stamping a kiss against her lips, both of them ignoring Penelope’s enjoyment as Emily places her hand on his cheek and keeps in place a beat longer than he’d intended. He pulls back and smiles at her, “You enjoy yourself.”

She watches as he leaves, her eyes fixed on him until he disappears from view.

“Em.”

She turns to see JJ and Penelope leaning in over the table, “You never told us you met Hotch when you were young.”

She shrugs, trying to act nonchalant, “It was nothing really,” she says, and both of her friends raise their eyebrows at her. She’s not sure if it’s the wine in her system, or the love that was warming her from the inside out, but she sighs and carries on, “It was my 21st. My mom threw me an awful party and I hid in her office. Aaron was working there at the time, he came in to get something. I made him have the world's quickest drink with me.”

Penelope squeals and sits back in her chair, her smile so wide Emily’s sure it must hurt, “It’s like you’re meant to be.”

For once, Emily can’t bring herself to say she doesn’t believe in that kind of thing, because she thinks she agrees.

___

“Dave sure knows how to use every dish in a kitchen.”

Aaron chuckles at his wife as she stacks dishes next to the sink and he walks over, wrapping his arms around her from behind and pulling her into his embrace. He kisses her shoulder, smiling into her skin when it makes her shiver.

“It’s your birthday, you’re not supposed to be doing the dishes,” he says, his hands on her hips as he turns her in his arms, “I’ll sort them later.”

She nods as she wraps her arms around his neck, her fingers trailing through his hair, “Thank you for everything today,” she says, smiling as thought of it all. Of the jewellery Aaron had bought her, a beautiful necklace with a Lily flower carved into the small disk pendant, the line of cards on the mantel from the team. The glitter that she knew she’d be finding for months which had come loose from the handmade card that Jack had made, Haley’s neat writing on the inside.

“You deserve it and more, sweetheart,” he says, leaning in to kiss her, his lips firm against hers. He presses his hand to her lower back to pull her closer. She hums as she pulls away and she rests her head on his shoulder, content to stand there with him.

“Mom didn’t call,” she says, her cheeks pressing into his shirt, “I knew she wouldn’t, I asked her not to but…”

It was a complicated feeling, a situation she knew her mother couldn’t win. If she’d contacted her she’d be going against what Emily had asked of her, but it was still her birthday. A big milestone that had gone unmarked. Their usual game of Elizabeth calling and pretending she didn’t know Emily was screening her call, only for Emily to return the call a few days later, nowhere to be found.

“I know,” he says, kissing the top of her head, “It’s hard.”

“Yeah,” she replies, giving herself a moment before she clears her throat, wanting to only focus on the good today. All the ways she’d been shown that she was loved - everything she’d hoped for as she sat in her apartment in Detriot on her 30th birthday. She bites her lip as she pulls back to look at him, her eyes meeting his as she says what she’d been wanting to say all evening, forcing herself to wait until it was just the two of them, “I didn’t realise you remembered that moment on my 21st,” she says, pressing her lips together, “I…never wanted to bring it up in case you didn’t.”

Aaron cups the back of her head, “Sweetheart, there is nothing on earth that would ever make me forget you,” he says, his fingers trailing through her hair, “Even then I was fascinated by you.”

She blushes and bites the inside of her cheek, “Why did you never mention it?”

“I didn’t think you remembered,” he says, and she raises an eyebrow at him, “I’m serious, I really thought you forgot. Then a few weeks ago when we went looking for that scotch for Dave, you picked up that bottle and said-”

“I drank this on my 21st.”

He smiles as she finishes his sentence, “Yeah. And then I realised you remembered too.”

She leans in to kiss him, her lips firm against his, and she loses herself in the feeling of him, of the way she was drowning in his affection. They eventually pull back, both breathless with swollen lips. She looks towards the diffraction of the stairs.

“How long do you think we have until Lily wakes up?”

He looks at his watch, “Maybe 20 minutes?”

She smiles devilishly at him and pulls away just enough to push herself onto the kitchen counter, “Then we’d better be quick.”

She pulls him in by his shirt collar and kisses him again before he can complain, her legs wrapping tightly around his waist.

He was going to clean the kitchen in the morning anyway, so she saw no harm in making it a little dirtier beforehand.

-x-

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snelbz · 1 year

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Better Or Worse {Chapter One}

Nessian. Angst. Modern AU.

@snelbz x @theladyofdeath collab

Better or Worse Masterlist

A/N: We are so excited to share this one with you guys! As you know, angst is sort of our specialty and while this one will be pretty heavy, we’ve tried to sprinkle a good amount of fluff as well. We hope you love it and always, please let us what you think!

Chapter Warning: Language.

Nesta -

“I'm going to bed.”

My fingers come to a pause on my keyboard. I glance up and find Cassian leaning against the door frame of my office.

The clock in the corner of the computer screen tells me it’s 10:46. I know he’s not telling me to try and entice me to join him. No, he’d given up on that weeks ago.

My fingers go back to flying over the plastic keys, clicking as I try to pick back up the stream of consciousness I was working on when Cassian interrupted. “I want to get this draft finalized tonight. I only have a few chapters left. The publishing company will have my ass if it isn’t submitted before tomorrow afternoon.”

Excuse.

That’s all I’m full of anymore. Excuses.

Excuses as to why I’m always at my office downtown late or don’t ever want to go to dinner. Why I’m distant or never try to touch him.

“Can you at least try to make it home by six tomorrow night? Please?”

My gaze leaves the screen and lands on him again. “I’ll try. You know I’ve got deadlines I have to hit.”

He’s as handsome as always, even more so with the shadow of stubble across his jaw. He must not have shaved this morning, if the dusting of hair was any indicator. That wasn’t like him. Shaving was a part of his daily routine, quickly followed by his morning shower. My husband may be brash and blunt, but he’s a man who has and loves his routines.

Routines that often feel like they are smothering me, stifling any spark of spontaneity in my soul.

His arms are crossed over his muscular chest, his tattoos just barely peeking out over the neckline of his t-shirt. I know those tattoos intimately, can trace them with my eyes closed.

It’s been far too long since I’ve done that.

His voice pulls me from my thoughts of the ink adorning his skin. “I’ll cook. Get a bottle of your favorite wine. We don’t have to go anywhere.”

He sounds like he’s negotiating a hostage situation, not asking me to dinner. I hate it.

I stop typing, trying my best not to show my annoyance. “I don’t know. I’ll have to see.”

Cassian's reaction does not reflect any sort of satisfaction. “Come on, Nesta. We haven’t had a date night in months. I will literally bring date night to you—”

“I said I’ll have to see.” The moment the words come out of my mouth, I feel guilty. My tone is embarrassing, but I can’t control it, the snap.

Cassian's mouth shuts and his jaw locks. “Fine.”

“Good.”

A beat passes between us before I start typing again. I can feel Cassian’s eyes blazing into the back of my head for a minute, then he’s turning around. “Night.”

“Goodnight,” I say, trying to sound as genuine as possible, but mostly I just sound stressed.

Which I am.

So damn stressed.

I hear him walk down the hall and close our bedroom door. I stop typing yet again, my eyes shutting as I rub my temples.

At least I’m honest. I could tell Cassian that I’d be home by dinner tomorrow, but then I would be late and he would just be disappointed and get pissed. It’s better to let him down up front rather than too late.

Being a best selling author isn’t all I was expecting it to be. Sure, seeing my book on shelves next to some of my all time favorites is awesome, but it’s daunting. My first book was self published, coming to life out of my own blood, sweat, and tears. So once it took off and I started working with a publishing company, I thought I’d made it. Things were going to get easier. All I had to do was get my words down onto paper and they’d do the rest.

Wrong.

Someone is always demanding something. Whether that’s a finalized draft, an update on an outline, or approval for cover artwork, I never have a moment to breathe.

As if the universe is laughing at me, a new text chimes on my phone, lying face down on my desk. I recognize the sound, immediately knowing it’s my agent, Eris.

I sigh, telling myself to ignore the notification. I’m already editing hours after I should be, but my eyes keep bouncing up to my phone. After reading the same sentence four times, not comprehending a single word, I snatch my phone up.

Got a phone call from the Velaris Times. They have an opening for an interview tomorrow afternoon.

An opportunity I can’t pass up.

Sounds like a plan. My office or theirs?

If I thought I would be able to focus back on my edits, I was wrong. Eris is typing back as soon as my text is received.

Over dinner, actually. Viviane Whittaker will meet you at Rita’s at 5:30.

My thumbs hover over the screen.

Can you at least try to make it home by six tomorrow night? Please?

Swallowing, I type out my reply.

I’ll be there fifteen minutes early.

I should go tell Cassian that there will be no date night tomorrow, but I think better of it. I’m already so tired and that is not a fight that I want to start so late at night. I’ll just text him about tomorrow.

I look back up at my screen and try to reset my mind, call back my concentration. Just as I begin reading, a jingling bell comes closer and a ball of fluff settles on my feet.

I look down at the chubby black cat and reach down to scratch him between the ears. “Hi, Greg.”

Greg shoots me a look full of judgment.

“Don’t try to guilt me,” I say, straightening back up in my chair. “I already feel guilty enough.”

With a huff, Greg lays his head against the carpet and closes his eyes. I’m officially the only one in the house not fast asleep.

Cassian -

I haven’t gotten mind-numbingly drunk since college, but all I want to do once I get out of work is drink to forget. I’ve never been good at handling my anger, and I was already on edge, so when Nesta texted me saying that she had dinner plans and would be home late, I was automatically seeing red.

I just want one night with my wife but I should have known that was too much to ask for. It usually is.

Already finding Rhys’ number in my phone, I hop in my truck and start the engine as he answers.

“We’re going out tonight. Drinks are on me,” I say, before he can even say hello.

“It’s a Thursday,” he replies with a laugh, but I know he’d be there regardless. Out of all of us, Rhys was the one who had ended up with a real “big boy” job. He’s one of the most respected lawyers in Velaris, and having his own practice, he basically gets to make his own hours if he isn’t in court.

“Glad you can read a calendar.” I sound like a dick but I can’t bring myself to care. “I’ll be at Windhaven in fifteen.”

“Should I call Az or is he already on the way?”

“I texted him first. Didn’t want him to leave work and have to turn around.”

Azriel works in a tattoo parlor two blocks down from our favorite spot, but lives outside of town. With Elain being pregnant, there’s only so much time we get with our brother.

I look over at the empty spot in the garage next to mine and sigh.

A hole in my chest that has been progressively growing larger aches. I’ve always been proud of Nesta. She’s always wanted to be an author since the day I met her, and she’s living her dream. And she’s really damn good at it. She has a way with words that I could never understand, that I couldn’t even come close to matching. She was meant to be a writer.

But ever since she’s found success, I’ve come in second.

It’s not that I always have to be her first priority. I want her to live for more than me, but it would be nice to be a priority sometimes. It would be nice for her to put our marriage first, to make time for me, for us. I barely even see her, and when I do, her eyes are glued to her laptop screen. She didn’t come to bed until four, then was up again at seven, barely uttering a word to me before she left for her office.

“Cass?”

I haven’t even realized that Rhys has been talking to me. “Sorry.”

“I’ll be there in half an hour,” he says, and his tone has softened, fully aware of where my mind has gone. “Get a booth.”

“Alright.” I hang up, reading Azriel’s text on my screen once I pull the phone away from my ear.

Perfect. Had to tattoo a flower on an 80 year old woman’s ass today. I need a drink.

Despite my current mood, I chuckle and pull out of the driveway. Keeping the radio off, I drive, wondering if I should send Nesta a good luck text. In all reality, she probably won’t reply, so I toss my phone in the passenger seat and let it be.

If Nesta wants to talk to me, wants to spend time with me, she would be home for dinner for once. I know I’m being petty, but after a while, being neglected by the woman you married becomes exhausting.

And I’m so damn tired. I need booze and bad food and my brothers. I’m man enough to admit when I need to get something off my chest, but not enough to do it sober.

Rhys’s instructions to get a booth were unnecessary. Azriel unsurprisingly beat me here and is sitting in our normal booth, the one with a direct line of sight to the bartender. A pitcher of beer sits in the middle of the table as well as three glasses. I appreciate my brother’s propensity to think ahead, but I need something harder than beer tonight.

Nodding to Az, I make a beeline to the bar. Breathing a sigh of relief, I see Ace is the one behind the bar tonight, not Devlon. The old man owns the bar and has never been a fan of me, Rhys or Az.

“You look like you need a free drink,” Ace says, as I make it to the bar and lean against the cool wooden top.

“I always need a free drink.” The words sound pitiful coming out of my mouth. Ace just winks and pours me a glass of whiskey without even having to ask me what I want. “Thanks.”

“Always,” she says, patting my hand before I turn to walk to the booth. I’ll see her again shortly. I don’t expect the glass of whiskey to last too long before I need another.

Azriel watches me approach, his glass already halfway gone. I nod to it as I sit across from him. “Has the image of elderly ass been erased from your mind yet?”

“No,” Azriel says, taking another drink. “But the memory looks better and better with every drink.”

I huff a laugh as I sip from my glass of whiskey, enjoying the burn as it slides down my throat and I pour a glass from the pitcher in the middle of the table.

Rhysand appears beside me and slides onto the bench. I hadn’t even realized that he’d walked in, but in my defense, I’m hardly present.

After pleasant hellos and Rhysand pouring his own glass, he asks, “So, is this when you tell us the reason you want to get plastered on a Thursday?”

Swirling my glass, I watch as the whiskey moves through the ice cubes, the color diluting as they melt slowly. Bringing my drink to my lips, I drink deeply and set the glass down, staring at the table top.

“My marriage is falling apart.”

Neither of them speak.

Neither of them do anything.

I wasn’t expecting them to fall over themselves to comfort me, but I was at least expecting a back pat or an I’m sorry, man. Glancing up from the table, they both just stare at me.

The look in their eyes tells me they knew. Everyone knows. We haven’t been ourselves in months. I can’t think of the last time we were both at a family dinner.

“I don’t know what to do,” I go on, when neither of them say a word. “I’ve been trying…but every time I try, no matter what I try, I feel like I’m pushing her further away.” I take a drink. “I’m exhausted.”

I down what’s in my glass and motion for Ace to make me another.

“I tried to give her a date night tonight,” I go on, working on my beer that’s quickly disappearing. My brothers simply watch me as I babble. “We haven’t had a date night in months. She never seems interested, so I stopped asking. Last night, I asked, for the first time in a long damn time.” I gesture around the table. “As you can see, I’m not with my wife.”

“Where is she?” Azriel asks, when it’s clear I’d paused my rambling, at last.

Another glass of whiskey is set in front of me. I give Ace a grateful look before shrugging. “With some reporter. Not sure where. They’re out to dinner and will probably be there until some ridiculous hour.”

Azriel looks away from me, his eyes locking with Rhys and then I feel both of their gazes on me. I turn to Rhys, who is usually the one who takes the lead in awkward situations. Tonight is apparently no different.

“She won’t have dinner with you, but she’ll meet some skeezy reporter for dinner?” He asks, an eyebrow raised.

Shrugging my shoulders, I start on my second drink. “So it seems.”

He folds his arms atop the table and leans towards me. “And you didn’t ask where they were going? Or when she would be home?”

“I stopped asking what time she’d be home months ago.” My voice sounds hollow, empty. I wonder how long it’s sounded like that. “And begging for answers seemed pathetic.”

They make eye contact again and Azriel clears his throat. “You don’t…think she’s having an affair, do you?”

“Absolutely not.”

He sighs. “Cass—”

“She isn’t sleeping with anyone else.”

“Cass,” Rhys begins, his tone as placating as possible, slipping into the voice of the man who can convince anyone of anything. It’s what makes him such a good defense lawyer. It makes me want to break something. Makes me feel weak. “We know you love Nesta and that she loves you.”

“She wouldn’t cheat on me,” I snap, and I mean it. We might not be on great terms right now, but Nesta is loyal to those she loves.

And despite the distance between us, I have to believe she still loves me.

“Sorry,” I say, trying to calm myself down once the silence between us stretches on for too long. The air is thick. They know they had struck a chord and are surely deciding if they want to keep the conversation going. “I just…don’t think that’s the case.”

“If she’s not cheating, then what’s the issue?” Azriel asks, tentatively. “Her work?”

“Yeah, she’s busy,” I say, staring at my empty glass. “But…I don’t know. Honestly, I have no fucking clue how we got here. We barely talk. Most nights, she doesn’t even come to bed. I can’t even tell you the last time we had sex.” That was a lie. I remember it, and it was way too long ago for me to admit. “Every time we do talk, it ends in a fight. I’m just…at the end of my rope. I don’t know what to do.”

The table is quiet for another minute before Rhys asks, “Are you saying that you want to leave her?”

It’s not that the thought has never crossed my mind. Lately, I think about it often, filing for divorce, giving up, but hearing the words out loud make me feel sick to my stomach.

I don’t answer.

I wave to Ace for another whiskey.

The table is silent until she brings the drink and returns to the bar.

“I don’t see what other options I have.” My words are whispered, as if I can’t hear them, they aren't coming out. My words are starting to slur a bit, a good sign I should probably slow down.

I ignore that sign and take a drink.

“You two fought like cats and dogs when you first met,” Rhys reminds me, as if I could somehow forget. “What’s different now?”

“Those weren’t fights, that was sexual tension,” I admit, shaking my head. “Gotta have sex for there to be sexual tension.”

Azriel refills his beer. “She hasn’t said anything to Elain, as far as I know.”

“Or Feyre,” Rhys adds.

“You both know Nesta,” I start, looking between the two of them. “She doesn’t talk about her feelings with anyone, much less me or her sisters.”

They both frown, watching me with concern, seemingly at a loss for words.

“Do you still love her?” Azriel asks.

“Of course I do,” I say, my anger fading as the alcohol calms me, consumes me. “But just because I love her doesn’t mean that it’s working anymore.”

“Don’t make any rash decisions,” Rhys says, calmly, refilling my beer for me before motioning to Ace for another pitcher. Seems I’m done with whiskey for the night. “I know you, don’t act out of anger. You have to tell Nesta how frustrated you are. You have to communicate.”

I know he’s right, know that communication has become a weakness in our marriage. I don’t want to communicate, I don’t want to work for it, I just want my marriage to right itself, to return to the way it used to be.

And I want to fucking drink.

So that’s what I do, alongside my brothers, until I’m not thinking about my crumbling marriage at all.

#better or worse #nessian better or worse #acotar #acomaf #acowar #acofas #acosf #nesta x cassian #nesta archeron #snelbz x theladyofdeath collab #snacmc collabs

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redfurrycat · 8 months

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🤠👨‍🏫🏫🐓Educational Occupations Fic Recs🐓🏫👨‍🏫🤠

Check the Top Gun Masterlist post for the latest updated version. 💕

Ao3 Authors: Callsignsmax, Davidbyrne, Greenstuff, Hangmanbradshaw, LulaluzHazel, MadeItUp, Nimuetheseawitch, Ok_thanks, ReformedTsundere, Rnadison, SunMonTue, Teacupivy, Vannral.

> High School & College/University

learning steps by vannral {E}

/Top Gun Instructor!Bradshaw/

”So, an instructor?”

A straight hit. Bradley shifts uncomfortably on the leather seat and clears his throat. ”… Yeah.”

In which Bradley becomes an instructor after the mission, Jake keeps showing up to his classes and his students are very curious about their dynamic.

sereshaw student/teacher 'verse by callsignsmax

/Physics Teacher!Seresin/

a first time for everything {E}

Mr. Seresin is his new physics teacher, he’s twenty six at the most. With how he looks Bradley would be shocked at anything more. He’s from texas, obvious from his accent and the obnoxious Texas Rangers banner he has pinned on the cork board next to his desk.

I see right through you {E}

“Nothing’s fair, Mr. Seresin,” He hiccups, throat sore and scratchy from suppressing his sobs. “Why don’t my friends support me and you being together?”

NSFW alphabet with Mr. Seresin and Bradley {E}

Learn the ins and outs of Mr. Seresin and Bradley's sex life, including the struggles of true love in a teacher/student relationship.

I’d wait forever for you {M}

“Red,” he manages to choke out, even though Mr. Seresin had already stopped. His hands were off of Bradley the second the younger froze up. “Stop, please.”

You Are My Treasure by hangmanbradshaw {E}

/Librarian!Seresin/

History's Like Gravity, It Holds You Down Away From Me

“That’s too much thinking for you, obviously. You should leave that to the professionals. Don’t want to hurt yourself.” This time Bradley let out a laugh. Jake had missed that sound. “I don’t see any professionals around here, do you?” “You wound me, Bradley.” “Sorry, princess.” Bradley didn’t look sorry at all. “Just don’t come crying to me when you get lost in the tomb and can’t read the hieroglyphics that say this way to the exit.” “I’m not worried. I don’t plan on leaving your side, problem solved.” “I will leave you behind.” “You would never. Plus, someone’s gotta talk you out of leaving society for good and moving into the ancient burial grounds to live amongst your favorite mummies and old ass relics, like some modern day form of an Egyptian hobbit hole.” Jake stopped. “You know, that’s a valid point. Weird ass way to put it, but valid.” Bradley grinned. “What can I say, I know you.” Jake was starting to realize just how accurate that statement was.

You Can Make My Wish Come True, If You Let Me Treasure You

“Jake…you know you’re my family right? If we do this, we do it together. It’s not a Bradshaw only thing.” The man blinked at him and then smiled softly. “Okay. You’re my family too so if you’re doing this, I’m riding shotgun.” Bradley nodded and grinned brightly. “Think we’ll have to fight off any zombie founding fathers brought back to life?” “I’m putting $5 on at least two. I call dibs on fighting off Franklin though.” Or, The one where, fresh off their mummy adventure, Jake and Bradley steal the Declaration of Independence, make way too many mummy related jokes, and get married, all with a little help from their friends.

I can be your fantasy (football punishment) by ok_thanks {_}

/HS Teacher!Seresin/

“This year, the second annual season of the Dagger Squad Fantasy Football League, the loser, one Bradley Bradshaw, must face a fate worse than death.” Nat pauses for dramatic effect. “He must – drumroll, please, boys... — Successfully and wholly complete the Scholastic Aptitude Test, also known to some as the SAT.” As if that wasn't bad enough, the proctor being Javy's stupidly handsome best friend — who he keeps running into — adds to his misery. AKA: the one where Bradley's fantasy football punishment leads to an embarrassing crush of high school teacher Jake.

it's such a magical mysteria, when you get that feeling by hangmanbradshaw {E}

/Paleobotanist!Seresin & Paleontologist!Bradshaw/

“So, they pulled you away from some bone dig for this? Let me guess, you were looking for a velociraptor?” He asked as he pulled out a toothpick and stuck it in his mouth. “It’s a little more than that.” Bradley replied with a furrowed brow. He was annoyed that he was right. “Sounds like a lot of sand and dirt to me. Then again, your type always loves that stuff. I’m shocked they were able to pull you away from it.” The man said with a smirk around his toothpick. He was being obnoxious, but the smirk sent a jolt down Bradley’s spine. “You’ll have to excuse Mr. Seresin here.” Simpson said with an annoyed grimace. “He suffers from a case of extreme personality.” “It’s Dr. Seresin.” Simpson rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”

The Penguin Agenda by greenstuff {E}

/Marine Biologists!Bradshaw & Seresin/

Penguin Day at the aquarium not only means Bradley has to put on a penguin costume for their full day of elementary school kid tours, but he has to work with his rival in academia and life: Jake Seresin. He should have called in sick.

but I absolutely love him (when he smiles) by rnadison {G}

/Field Trip Educator Contractor!Bradshaw/

“Did you just hit on me?” Jake tilts his head, weighing his options. Clearly this wasn’t the response he’d been anticipating. “...Yes?” Bradley nods. “Right. Okay.” He pulls himself closer to his monitor and opens a new browser window. “What are you doing?” “Trying to see if I remember the link to the Title IX complaint form.” -------- In which they work in a museum, and Jake is the director's annoying assistant, and Bradley is just trying to get the Education Department name-brand markers.

Extra Credit by ReformedTsundere {T}

/History Teacher!Seresin & Maths Teacher!Bradshaw/

"I'm going to kill him," Bradley seethes, stomping into the teacher's lounge and briskly cutting across the room to get to the fridge where his lunch is waiting. Or 5 times Jake and Bradley's teaching forces them together, and 1 time there's no force at all

you were nothing but trouble, baby and I've been sifting through the rubble lately by hangmanbradshaw {M}

/Professor of Meteorology!Seresin & Storm Chaser!Bradshaw/

Rooster rolled his eyes, but didn’t go any faster. He was in his head, which Jake knew how to handle. He pulled out his phone and tapped on the music library, swiping until he found what he was looking for. The beginning strums of Slow Ride filtered through the car bluetooth. He lulled his head over, smirked widely, and said, “I love this song.” Rooster shook his head, but Jake could tell a small smile was threatening to blossom. It felt like a small victory. “You haven’t changed.”

Suitable Replacement by ReformedTsundere {E}

/Professor!Seresin/

It's the middle of mid-term hell week, Jake's vibrator is broken, and the fastest Amazon can get him a new one is after the weekend. His only salvation seems to be the newest sex shop in town and the weirdest, hottest clerk Jake's ever seen.

A thief to catch a heart by LulaluzHazel {E}

/Art Professor!Seresin/

Using as an excuse that the Head of the Department, Professor Mike Metcalf, a goofy but authoritarian guy, was away one week before the Spring Break, Jake ditched Javy and Reubens, telling them that he was going to have some sort of crazy party. (Even if he would probably stay home browsing dating apps where people would promise crazy plans that would entitle them to pretend to go hiking and end up getting drunk at brunch. In the best case scenario.) What he didn’t expect, is to have to receive on Friday morning to the FBI in his boss’s office. “Sorry, Special Agent Mitchell,” Jake sat behind his boss's desk. He felt it was too big and out of place. “Let me get this clear, you need my help to certify if two paintings that were stolen from a museum in Spain are authentic.”

Most Arduously by MadeItUp {M}

/Film & Media Associate Professor!Seresin & English Literature Associate Professor!Bradshaw/

When the Dean of Hale South Western College announces a prestigious new writing course, rival Associate Professors Dr Jake Seresin and Dr Bradley Bradshaw find they've got to co-operate. But as the two of them pit their disciplines against one another, each set on proving the other wrong, they're grudgingly forced to admit that in order to teach, they've got to learn... Jake stares forlornly at his laptop as he contemplates withdrawing his acceptance. But damn if that wouldn’t make Bradley fucking Bradshaw happy. And Jake would rather drive himself to the depths of misery than give that dickhead one single second of satisfaction.

my love life waits for me by davidbyrne {T}

/Chemistry Teacher!Seresin & English Teacher!Bradshaw/

Jake’s been a Chemistry teacher at Winthrop Preparatory Academy for more than three years and has, so far, avoided holding over, the dreaded duty of having to stay over the holiday break to watch the kids who aren’t going home. It’s a two-teacher job, and in Jake’s experience, it’s always been Bradshaw and some other poor sap. Jake had been promised it wouldn’t be his year. He has plane tickets, family plans, and his mother’s pecan pie sitting on a kitchen counter in wonderful, warm Houston. And now he’s gonna have to stay trapped in this snowy hellscape with a bunch of obnoxious kids and Bradley fucking Bradshaw. or jake and bradley are two teachers at a boarding school, forced to spend the holiday season together

Experts In A Dying Field (the math prof au) by nimuetheseawitch

/Math Professor!Seresin & Poli Sci Professor!Bradshaw/

Experts In A Dying Field {T}

He gave in to the inevitability of gravity and slid to the floor, taking off his glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose. Taking a deep breath, he looked around his office and saw his early career researcher award and the excellence in teaching award he’d earned last year, and he reminded himself that he loved math, he loved teaching, he was good at both, and that the beginning of his fourth semester here was too early to lose his shit just because a student had asked him for the 27th time today what was going on with him and their favorite Poli Sci professor, Bradley fucking Bradshaw. It was the end of January, he hadn’t even seen his ex-husband this calendar year, and yet, their supposed rivalry and mysterious bad blood were the talk of the campus yet again. Jake had hoped that the incident in December would’ve been forgotten by now, but apparently not. OR Jake and Bradley used to love each other, and now they're working at the same small, Midwestern college.

I just want back in your head {E}

It's the faculty holiday party, and all Bradley wants is for his ex-husband to notice him. Once Jake does, the rest is history.

It's all academic darlin' by SunMonTue {E}

/Engineering Professor!Bradshaw/

Bradley is a professor but living his best life with IceMav parents. Jake is a pilot. Maverick sort-of tries (and fails) to play matchmaker, so he tries again. Touch of epistolary and sprinkling of one-sided unknown/mistaken-identity.

vesuvius by teacupivy {M}

/Chemistry lab/

It’s too much, and it’s infuriating, and Bradley has a lot of shit he should be doing, but instead he’s making goo-goo eyes at the asshole in the corner.

#Educational Occupations Recs List #hangster #sereshaw #hangaroo #bradley rooster bradshaw x jake hangman seresin #bradley rooster bradshaw #jake hangman seresin #🐈red🐈furry🐈cat🐈tag🐈

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galaxywhump · 1 year

Note

For the Berkeley AU: Berkeley teasing Wren with the idea that Wren killed the only person who ever loved him/will ever love him/was capable of loving him

[SV-240 AU Masterlist]

contents: recapture, muzzle, insults, verbal abuse, referenced creepy/intimate whumper and forced relationship, victim blaming, self-loathing, death threats.

~~~

As if the restraints and the collar weren’t enough, it turns out that the duffel bag contains a muzzle as well. It doesn’t have a bit, but that doesn’t make it any more bearable, especially when Berkeley pulls the straps just a little too tight to ensure it never gets less uncomfortable.

Then, he takes advantage of Wren’s silence and talks, and talks, and talks, his words seeping like poison into Wren’s mind.

“Was Daniel really that bad, Rackham?” He’s busy cleaning the hideout, making it more homely, changing the sheets on just one of the bunks, confirming that Wren will be sleeping on the floor. “I mean, sure, he was kind of a weirdo, but who wouldn’t be after living on that planet for more than a decade.”

A weirdo. Wren frowns. Euphemism of the century.

“Speaking from experience, as far as sadistic buyers go, he wasn’t that bad," Berkeley continues, smoothing out the blanket on the bunk before sitting down with a satisfied sigh. “Especially when he decided to make you his sweetheart.” He rolls his eyes, shaking his head. “And he was head over heels for you, happy like a highschooler with a crush. He had a weird way of showing it, but he must have really loved you. I’m sure he'd told you that a bajillion times.”

“I love you, Wren.”

“I love you too.”

The memories make Wren shudder, but he tries not to react otherwise and tune out Berkeley’s voice like he’d learned to tune out Daniel’s, to no avail. Daniel’s words were predictable. Berkeley’s are new, dangerous, and can at any point let him know what to expect before he’s killed.

“If you had given in, I think he would’ve stopped hurting you after a while. Then you’d be two happy lovebirds, or something.” He pauses for effect, then snorts. “Get it? Lovebirds? Because of your name? Fuck, my jokes suck now. And I blame you.”

This time it’s Wren’s turn to roll his eyes when Berkeley points his finger at him.

Still, unpleasant thoughts assault him, hit him like a powerful wave. If he had given in, he wouldn’t be here right now, waiting to be murdered, and before that - tortured. Daniel wanted to kill him too, but if it wasn’t for his escape, he would’ve had several more decades before his life was cut short.

And there were nice times, or as nice as they could be. Cooking together, working in the garden, lying down on the ground to look up at the sky visible among tree branches, swimming in the impossibly beautiful lake, playing board games - all, at least, until Daniel would take his hand, kiss him, whisper words of affection.

But there were other times. Times filled with pain and tears and useless begging, which he could never accept as part of his life.

“You know, Rackham, I’m just wondering… What if that was the best you deserved, and you blew it?”

Wren nearly jumps in place, shocked by the blunt question, his most disturbing thoughts verbalized as if Berkeley could read his mind. He shakes his head, but Berkeley isn’t even looking at him, lying on the bunk, staring up at the low ceiling of the hideout.

“You were a lonely mess before we caught you. That was the reason why I even agreed to sell you in the first place despite whose son you are. I wanted to refuse, but after watching you for a while I realized that no one would’ve missed you, that you could’ve just… disappeared and no one would have cared enough to question your death.”

The longer he talks, the worse Wren feels, curling up to hide the fact that he’s shaking like a leaf. He knows. He knows that he was depressed and lonely and pathetic, he knows he’d made himself an easy target, he knows, he knows, he knows, but he didn’t deserve to be kidnapped and sold, tortured and forced into a relationship he didn’t want, he deserved better, didn’t he?

“And Daniel didn’t mind all that. He liked your personality. If he hadn’t, he would’ve made sure there was nothing left of it.” Berkeley looks at him with a thoughtful frown. “He put up with you. Maybe he was the only one who could.”

Wren shakes his head again, doing his best to glare, but his mind betrays him, descending into self-loathing, agreeing with Berkeley’s words.

“No?” Berkeley scoffs. “You sure? Who else, then? Who else would even want to be around you? Who else could love you? I know you can’t talk, but it’s okay. We both know the answer.”

Nobody.

“Nobody,” Berkeley echoes his thoughts. “If we hadn’t caught you, you would’ve started drinking even more, making out with randos to get the illusion of someone liking you. If I hadn’t caught you, you would’ve realized you’d be alone for the rest of your life. You being a freakin’ hero now doesn’t change that.”

The muzzle makes it hard to breathe. Tears threaten to gather in his eyes, and his heart to crush his ribs.

“I hate your guts, but maybe you should be glad. It means I’ve spent enough time around you to feel some kind of way about you at all. To others you might as well be invisible.”

Stop it. Stop it, it’s not true. It's not.

“There was only one person capable of loving you, and he’s dead now.” Berkeley shakes his head, as if deeply disappointed.

He didn’t love me. It wasn’t love. I deserved better. I still do.

“Yes, Rackham, that’s good.” Berkeley smiles when tears overflow and trickle down Wren’s face, and his chest stutters with a choked sob. “Cry if you need to, but it won’t change a thing. You ruined everything.”

In his current state Wren can’t bring himself to disagree.

~~~

taglist: @faewhump @inky-whump @whole-and-apart-and-between @whatwasmyprevioususername @procrastinatingsab @funky-little-glitter-bomb @goneuntil @redstainedsocks @luminouswhump @lonesome--hunter @as-a-matter-of-whump @renkocchi @whump-only @muddy-swamp-bitch @girlwithacoolcat @watermelons-dont-grow-on-trees @sophierose002 @whump-headspace @to-whump-or-not-to-whump @kixngiggles @ohwhumpydays @whumpvp @wibbly-wobbly-whump @stab-the-son-of-a @his-unspoken-words @pumpkin-spice-whump @onlyhappywhenitpains @suspicious-whumping-egg @morning-star-whump @there-will-always-be-blood @springwhump

#captivity whump #recapture #verbal abuse tw #muzzled #wren rackham #peter berkeley #sv-240 #sv-240 au #berkeley's revenge au #my writing #apparently i'm capable of posting writing more than once every few months #thank you so much for the request anon!

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fairytail-whathesays · 6 months

Note

Top 10 fights you'd change or rewrite entirely?

There shouldn't be ten to begin with but here we are...

10. Natsu vs. Totomaru

I remember this one being the first fight of the series that really just made me pause with irritation. The fight is pretty obviously one Natsu can't win--he can't control any fire he emits, and Totomaru can't be taken down quickly with pure melee, either. So...seconds before Jupiter is charged, Totomaru just stops being able to control his fire, for no reason at all. Totomaru's all "how did he figure out how to do that?!" and maybe it wouldn't have irked me so badly if Natsu hadn't outright been lauded for it with Happy saying he outright felt bad for rushing Natsu because Natsu needed time to "figure out" how to beat him. But the only thing he "figured out" was "it's mine".

What's worse is that a more logical solution was readily available. All Natsu had to do was create a really, really big fireball, one growing to a size that renders controlling where it goes moot. Big enough fireball explodes, it takes the Jupiter Cannon with it, kaboom.

9. Laxus vs. Orga & Jura

While I don't mind Laxus actually struggling for a win in a fight, I disapprove of that fight being...Jura.

The fact of the matter is, we had long since left "wizard saint" as a measure of power behind, with Jellal's fight with Natsu not even being as one-sided as later fights before Natsu powered up and beat him down. Laxus' last onscreen fight was with freakin' Hades, the guy who learned magic directly from Zeref, personally taught the Saint-level Seven Kin, and basically is the standard for power short of the Spriggan 12 tier. And Laxus fought him pretty evenly. I'm not willing to buy that in the arc immediately after this one, Jura--who confessed himself to be weaker than Jellal last time we saw him--is just that difficult for Laxus to beat.

The one who should have given Laxus trouble is, you know, Orga. The guy who would be completely unaffected by Laxus' magic, but could hurt Laxus pretty badly with his own. If you wanted to force the issue, at least let Laxus struggle for a win against Orga and then force him to fight Jura without a break. Instead, Orga goes down in one hit and Laxus vs. Jura is the highlight, which I don't like.

8. Natsu vs. Ikusa-Tsunagi

The Avatar arc sucked. The whole thing just felt...pointlessly fawning. Every time an enemy should reasonably have challenged the heroes--especially Natsu--he just blew through them with no trouble. Bluenote, then Arlok...and then finally Ikusa-Tsunagi.

The whole arc felt devised as a way to hype Natsu, and the breaking point was the final boss. Designing and drawing an entire god just for Natsu to one-shot it felt like a slap in the face.

Cut it. Cut all of it. You could cut the whole arc and lose nothing, really.

7. Sting & Rogue vs. Mard Geer / Erza vs. Neo-Minerva

You know, if you didn't want to have Sting and Rogue defeat Mard Geer, you didn't have to include them at all. The Tartaros arc was long and very busy, there were plenty of other things for them to do in order to contribute.

But instead, Mard Geer isn't threatened by them at all--doing nothing to fix the deflated hype issue from when we last saw them--and this despite Sting explicitly using holy magic that you'd think would be extremely threatening to a literal demon.

Having them be of no real consequence, and then shoving Jiemma back into the story just to give them something to do while Natsu and Gray handle Mard Geer, just felt irritatingly transparent--as if to say outright that yeah, they can be cool, but anything they can achieve should be overshadowed by Natsu so nobody gets any ideas about who's stronger. It was a cheap tactic.

Gray ultimately should've been the one to defeat Mard Geer, sure, but a better scenario would've involved Sting and Rogue being the ones to defeat demonized Minerva, rather than Erza. They had more right to that victory, physical and moral, than Erza did.

6. Erza vs. Kyoka

The infamous "it's because she's Erza!"

Like Natsu vs. Totomaru, this one readily came with an easy justification--Erza has a false eye. One that's protected her from visual sensory deprivation before, in fact. And yet, despite this, Erza is explicitly shown with both eyes darkened and it's made clear yes, all her senses are gone, and the win--which is underwhelming and not nearly what Kyoka warranted as a serious antagonist--is literally attributed to her being just that awesome.

It was downright disrespectful to the audience and, if nothing else, it was cheap and extremely thoughtless.

5. Erza vs. Kagura & Minerva

Are you sensing a pattern here?

The bullshit starts with Kagura. At the end of the day, Mashima succumbed to the same hype-slaughtering weakness he exhibited throughout the GMG arc: introduce an enemy too strong for a hero to overcome, and then have the hero win without any real attempt to justify it.

Kagura was far and away too skilled for Erza to beat--too strong for even her toughest armors and too fast for her on an even keel. I don't necessarily have a problem with Minerva intervening given Kagura was whooping Erza seven ways sideways, but I do wish we'd gotten there faster than Erza randomly blocking Archenemy--something that destroyed her Adamantine armor while sheathed--with a normal sword and then spewing Jopaganda (Jellal Propaganda) at her.

Furthermore, the random "Nakagami Armor" and Erza using her second origin like a mid-fight power up to defeat Minerva was just...garbage. It was, again, disrespectful to the audience. Why Minerva didn't just teleport out of the way of the attack is anyone's guess.

And again--easy solution. Minerva says verbatim during the fight "As long as I can see you, I can tear you to pieces!" in essentials spelling out an exploitable weakness--she needs to see Erza to attack her. Erza has a Morning Star armor that utilizes bright light, which we see her do later in the Alvarez arc--use this to blind her and then go in for the kill.

But no, we have to suffer through bullshit.

4. Erza vs. Azuma

A lot of people consider the Tenrou Island arc, and in particular this fight, to be the point where Fairy Tail started to go bad. It's no real wonder why--a lot of shit builds up in the Tenrou Island arc, and one of the last major slaps in the face is Erza's defeat of Azuma, someone who even at base power is simply too far above Erza's level for her to defeat, before even taking into account Azuma's dramatically increased power due to holding all of the magic on Tenrou Island via his connection with the Tenrou Tree.

Really, it should've been Gildarts who fought Azuma, and even he probably would've had a hard time of it as souped up as Azuma was. If it had to be Erza, she needed some sort of advantage that was set up properly, not magically surviving two nukes to the face composed of massive amounts of magic, and then just yoinking control of it from Azuma in no adequately explained way...and then defeating him with one hit when she hadn't gotten any good licks in before.

Fights like this are frustrating because they never seem to actually give the heroes a chance before the win comes. Me saying Erza couldn't beat Azuma in a million years isn't me being a hater--it's textual evidence made abundantly clear by the fight itself. So the viewer is asked outright "how can she possible win this?" and then the answer never comes before she does.

3. Natsu & Gajeel vs. Sting & Rogue

These last few fights are ranked the worst, because they go directly against the stated themes of Fairy Tail.

Quite frankly, this is one of the most egregious slaps in the face in the entire manga. It's where the Fairy Tail audience had to become familiar with that habit of Mashima's I brought up earlier, where he sets up an antagonist as a difficult fight for a hero and then walks it back without the hero even really struggling for the win.

I never would've minded Natsu and Gajeel winning, if only because up until now we hadn't gotten a very good feel for Sabertooth's strengths--we'd been told they were strong, but not told they were out of Fairy Tail's reach (like so many other antagonists).

However, this fight seems to go as hard as possible to pervert and distort Fairy Tail's themes of friendship. Natsu outright kicks Gajeel out of the fight to handle Sting and Rogue himself, a display so stunningly petty, immature, and unsportsmanlike that it shocked me, and I didn't even like Natsu. Then Natsu's 1v2 with Stinge and Rogue is set up with a passionate speech about friendship from Mavis, who is looking on...but not only has Natsu just thrown his friend out of the fight, Sting and Rogue are performing a Unison Raid, which had up until now been heralded as a powerful magic exclusive to those who have a powerful bond. It's rare to see--we saw Lucy and Juvia do one, and then Gray and Juvia had one that was anime-exclusive, and then Wendy and Lucy got one in during the fight with Master Hades. This is a very powerful and exclusive magic embodying everything Mavis is talking about, but the purpose of her speech is intended to put Natsu on the pedestal. Natsu, who then overpowers Sting and Rogue's Unison Raid with...no effort. Not even a Lightning Flame Dragon Mode power-up, not even the Phoenix Sword move he used against Zero, his basic Exploding Flame Blade.

Personally, I would've had Najeel vs. Stingue end in a draw, with both combatants utilizing a Unison Raid that ends up taking everyone out in the blast. You know why? 'Cause that would've been pants-wettingly, balls-to-the-wall awesome. But what we got instead was effectively sitting down viewers who, up until now, had been carefully directed towards anticipating an exciting fight between these four, constantly highlighting their desire to meet in battle and overcome one another, and dangling the idea of Stingue and Rogue as superior dragonslayers over their heads...and telling those viewers that they were stupid to expect that and that the results wouldn't be nearly that exciting.

2. Jellal vs. Oracion Seis

I emphatically skip this episode every time I rewatch the anime. I skip the chapter when I'm reading the manga. To this day I refuse to refer to Hoteye, Cobra, Angel, Racer, or Midnight as "Crime Sorciere" the same way I refuse to refer to Doranbolt as "Mest Gryder".

Jellal attacked these people.

And don't give me any shit about how they attacked him first. He was clearly there with the intent to induct them into his guild, by force if necessary, and he made that known. The Seis weren't threatening him or Meredy--they just wanted to be free and were happy to finally be able to pursue their lives how they saw fit.

And he attacked them and beat them down.

All while telling them that what they have isn't "true" freedom, and using their real names to their faces.

As a reminder, Jellal held these people in slavery. He was their slavemaster, and terrorized them in the Tower of Heaven.

Calling them by their birth names and not the names they chose doesn't serve to tell me that Jellal has a greater understanding of the truth. It tells me he's a disrespectful monster who is reminding the people whose lives he personally destroyed that they will always belong to him.

This was abominable behavior and a disgusting thing to pen on Hiro Mashima's behalf. I absolutely would not have let it past the cutting room floor.

Personally, disliking Jellal as I do, a better end to the fight would've been each of the Seis shitkicking him in turn before killing him and removing him from the story, but I'll settle for the fight just not happening.

1. Every fight in the Alvarez Empire Arc.

You could also include the Avatar arc in here if you wanted.

From start to finish, the Alvarez Empire arc was just a mess. Hiro Mashima had very clearly stopped caring long before it started, and as such, almost none of the fights are satisfying, either relying on bullshit developments or being an excuse to basically flash titties at the reader. You know it's bad when even Laxus and Gray, characters whose fights have historically been very well-done and satisfying, are joining the piles of shameful scenes, from Laxus randomly busting out a red lightning mode to Gray forgetting that he can eat ice and then trying to su/icide Zeref out of the story.

I think it was about during the Irene Belserion confrontation near the end that everyone I saw on my dash just gave up, and even people on TVTropes gave up and started making edits about how crappy the series had become.

There's too many fights in that arc to stuff into a single 10-entry list, so I'm flushing the whole thing. I don't want this, Mashima. Scrap it, start all over, and do it right this time.

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thegodovereverything · 7 months

Text

TMNTober prompt: devour

Ao3 link

@tmntober-2023

Cw: murderous Leo, ooc Leo, implied death, stab wound

Rise verse

—————————————————

Tiger Claw, a mutated Tiger, once an elite foot ninja, knocked Raph to the side like he was a fly. The snapping turtle slammed into a nearby building, glass and wood flying everywhere. Leo’s portal brought him to his brother's side in a flash.

“You doing ok, Raph?” Raph was very clearly not doing ok. Pieces of glass and rubble struck out of his tough skin. Those didn’t concern Leo. Raph had sustained much worse before without even noticing it. What worried Leo was the sword lodged into his arm. She must’ve gotten it in him when Leo wasn’t looking.

Leo opened a portal underneath his brother, safely placing him in the lair med bay. He’ll deal with Raph's ire about moving him later.

Plus, he had a plan.

“Hey, Dontron!” He yelled out to his purple-banded brother. Donnie paused his fighting, leaning back onto his heel and completely ignoring his foe, “What?”

One portal and he was right next to Donnie, leaning on his shoulder. “Do you think we could do with a change of scenery?”

Tiger Claw growled and slashed at Mikey, who lithely backflipped away. “Mmm, what do you mean exactly?” Mikey tilted his head.

Leo swirled his sword a bit, causing light blue sparks to flash across their surface. His brothers both nodded in understanding and turned to face their foe. Tiger Claw, now with only one sword, rolled her eyes. “Stop talking like I’m not there and just face me already.” She readied her stance, motioning towards them to attack her.

Leo barked a laugh, “Didn’t realize we were fighting a masochist.”

“What? No! I just–”

She didn’t get to finish, as a blue portal was summoned under her feet.

Mikey made a motion to join her, but Leo stopped him with a hand motion.

“Trust me, little brother, you don’t wanna go there. C’mon, let's go check on Raph.”

Donnie shrugs it off. Honestly, Leo wouldn’t be surprised if his twin had done something similar before. Mikey, however, frowned at where Tiger Claw had stood.

“Where is she now?”

“I dunno,” he lied, “somewhere in Jersey.”

“Gross” Then his orange banded brother shrugged it off and headed into the portal Leo opened up. Donnie went to follow, only just pausing before the entrance. “You coming?” He raises one brow.

“Yeah, in a second, there’s something I wanna check on.”

Donnie nods, weirdly understanding. Then Leo’s alone. The building to his right is still crumbling from Raph being launched into it. There’s scorch marks along the pavement from Mikey’s kusari-fundo. The fight had gone on for a long time, and now he’s going to end it.

………………………………………………….

Tiger Claw was falling. At least, as best as she can tell that’s what she’s doing. There was no wind through her fur or the pull of gravity. But she was getting closer to a hole darker than the dark void she found herself in. Gleaming teeth pointed out from the hole, getting bigger as she approached the maw.

A flash of blue to the side alerted her to the turtle's presence.

“Having fun?”

Tiger Claw refused to give him an answer.

“Oh, well. Doesn’t really matter now. You’ll be monster chow soon enough. I just came here to watch”

They fell in silence for only a couple seconds before the blue banded turtle spoke up again.

“You should really be taking in the scenery. It’s quite nice at this time of the year. Too bad you won’t be able to experience any other time of the year.”

Tiger Claw growled deep in her throat. How dare this child do this to her. “You will regret this.”

“Oh? Regret what? Taking care of a threat that tried to kill my brother? No, I don’t think I will, thank you.”

She took her one remaining sword and launched it at the irritating turtle, who dodged right before it hit him. He laughed, harshly and without humor.

“You’ll have to throw better than that to hit me.”

She was positive that the turtle wouldn’t be able to go through with letting her get devoured. After all, he’s a child who fights for what’s “right”. A hero, the humans called him. Hero’s in this modern time didn’t callously kill. It was one of the very things that made them so weak.

But… they were getting closer to the hole, and she was starting to get worried. The turtle hasn’t spoken since she threw her sword at him. He was lounging on nothing, watching her as she slowly descended to her death. She futilely clawed towards the turtle, trying to grab him, hurt him, something.

His smirk was the most irritating thing she ever saw. She wanted to claw it off his face, but her claws couldn’t even get close to the annoying turtles.

When they got close enough, he perched on one of the gaping teeth as Tiger Claw fell.

“Have fun!” He called out. His laughter echoed in the mouth. Tiger Claw hated him. The last thing she saw was a flash of a portal. Then there was no light at all as she was devoured.

#tmntober2023 #words exist #my post #ooc Leo #Rottmnt #implied murder #Stab wound

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gildedbarbarian · 1 year

Text

my brain wouldn’t stop about it so i wrote a super quick post 6x16 buddie thing while the episode was on tonight to keep myself from looking into spoilers and live reactions. my first attempt at 911 fic, not sure how it went, but here we are anyway.

---

Sometimes when he catches Eddie in the right light, the exact singular second, Buck sees the man who broke down a year and some change ago. Not, mind you, in any capacity of shame or guilt or lack of progress–Eddie’s come further to get better than almost anyone Buck knows. But the thing about moments like that, of hitting that low of a place, is that it never fully leaves you. And sometimes, when the light is right and no one else is looking and the right-wrong-painful thing is said, lived, experienced, it bubbles back up like an awakening volcano.

This, for better or worse, is one of those moments. The upside is that they’re alone. The downside is that he can’t figure out what exactly brought Eddie’s pain to the surface and if he doesn’t know… he can’t fix it. So instead he sits there, fingers drumming on the steering wheel, and casts another sidelong glance at his best friend. “Are we good?”

Like he’s yanked out of a reverie, a lost dream, Eddie’s eyes snap to Buck. “Yeah, man, we’re good.” But there’s a thousand things wrong with how he says it: his voice is too tight and his hands are too fidgety. He can barely meet Buck’s eye as the words leave his mouth.

Okay, so not fine.

“Eddie,” he starts, quarter-turning in his seat, only pausing long enough to undo his seatbelt so he can move more freely. “If something’s up, you can talk to me. The accident didn’t make me, like, fragile. Whatever it is, I can take it.”

The firm line of Eddie’s lips disagrees, and Buck can’t help but wonder when he started paying so much attention to his best friend’s mouth. Eddie looks away, out the window, as he says “I’m all good, Buck, really. Nothing to worry about.” But he says it like now can I ask how you are, like but how could you be, like it’s a question.

Buck can feel it when his heart rate kicks up in response. “Eddie…” He tries again, reaches out to set his hand on Eddie’s arm, and loses his words somewhere along the way. “Please.”

“I’m not mad at you, Buck.” That much is clear, but there’s something more coming, a hanging “but” in the air that’s just out of reach. “I just don’t…”

“Don’t…” Buck prods, squeezes Eddie’s arm like it’ll help.

And maybe it does. Or maybe it hurts. It’s kind of hard to tell, but either way, Eddie looks at him again. He doesn’t need the heavy silence to know that he was right before, that he’s closer to that shaken version of Eddie than he’s been in months. This is the right light and the right moment and somewhere along the line, the right-wrong-painful thing was said. Or done. Or seen.

“Is this about the graveyard?” Buck asks finally, because the longer he looks at Eddie, the more he feels like he’s going to come undone in a way he can’t put back. “Is it about… Shannon?”

Eddie sounds like his own laughter surprises him, like it snuck up in him and he didn’t know it was coming until too late. It’s not the laugh Buck loves, hearty and exasperated if not a little endeared. But a laugh is better than the silence. At least he thinks so... at least he hopes so. “No, Buck, it’s not about Shannon.”

“Then what?” He hates that he sounds childish here, insecure and demanding; he hates that he feels it even more. “You’ve been acting weird since we left the cemetery, and I just… if you’re mad at me, that’s fine, but I can’t do anything about it if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.”

I can’t fix it if I don’t know, Eddie. Please tell me. Please let me fix it.��

When Eddie sighs, it’s a resigned thing, the kind he uses when he’s trying to be patient with Christopher. The kind he uses when he’s failing. “You said she sees you.”

Maybe it’s because of the sheer number of concussions and traumas he’s taken to the head, but Buck can only blink in response.

“You said she sees you better than anyone, and that’s just… I mean it’s bullshit, Buck.”

He tries to make a sound of protest but nothing comes out, and Eddie’s fired up now, or at least in a sort of unstoppable motion, because the hits keep coming. What he saw before was Eddie close, but this is Eddie on an Edge. Eddie Right Before He Blows.

It’s not adding up.

“She’s known you, what, a week? And she sees you better than Hen or Chim? Better than Bobby? Better than Maddie? Come on, man, you’ve got to see how wrong that is. After everything we’ve been through together, you think the pretty Death Doula knows you better than I do? Really?”

End of Life Doula, he wants to correct, but even Buck knows that would just make things worse.

“It’s not like I’m mad that you’re dating her or whatever, you can do what you want, but to say that she knows you better than the rest of us is a real slap to the face, Buckley. And you just need to know that. I don’t expect you to be the Same Old Buck as before—you died—it would do, has done, a number on anyone. But even with that, she’ll only know you better if you want her to.” There, he falters. “Or whatever. I just mean that she’ll only know you better than us if you choose to let her in instead of us. Which is your choice. Just forget I said anything.”

How exactly is he supposed to do that?

“I don’t.” Buck isn’t sure when he pulled away from Eddie, took his hand back to let it shake in his lap instead, but he presses it against Eddie’s shoulder now. “Eddie, listen, I don’t. It’s not like that. She’s not—she’s not permanent. Or at least I don’t know if she is. You, Christopher, the 118, Maddie. That’s all permanent.” Hear what I’m trying to say. Please. “You’re right, okay? She does know this version of me better, the post-death version, but it’s because there’s no strings. No expectations. I’m still trying to figure out who after-death Buck is, and it’s easier with someone who doesn’t have anything to compare it against.”

Eddie doesn’t look at him still, stares straight ahead with a tight expression like he’s trying to work something out. “Okay,” he says finally.

“Okay?” That’s it?

“Okay.” He turns his head slowly, easing the slightest bit into Buck’s touch. “I can’t make you talk to me. Hell, it doesn’t even have to be me, Buck, but just don’t… don’t say that. If you fall in love with her and she sees you better in six months or a year or…”

Buck can’t help the way his eyes widen. “Dude—”

“Just let me say it.”

“I’m not—”

“But if you do—”

“I won’t.”

He’s never done that before, assured someone he’s not falling in love with a girl he’s seeing. Maybe when he’s not doing damage control, he’ll think about it more.

But he must have said something right because Eddie freezes for a second, eyes wider than they have any right to be really, lips parting just a fraction. There’s only a second of it before he smooths it over, fast enough that Buck might have missed it if he blinked at the wrong time. “Okay.” Eddie says again, but it’s lighter at the edges this time, gentler, less angry. He leans into Buck’s hand against his shoulder for a second more before he leans toward the door instead, fingers on the handle. “You wanna come in for a beer?”

There’s a familiar tightening in Buck’s gut as he nods, cuts the engine, braces his back against the seat for a second to remind himself he’s in his body. Something is different. He just can’t quite put a finger on what it is.

And then Eddie grins at him, wide and endeared, and it doesn’t matter what’s changed. He can crash on the couch if he needs to.

“Yeah. Pretty sure you owe me one anyway.”

#buddie #eddie diaz #evan buckley #911 fox #eddie x buck #911 fanfic #i wrote this in like an hour i hope it's not as bad as i feel like it is

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wobinofylisse · 5 months

Note

I've been thinking of getting last faith cause I love thw bloodborne vibes and I absolutely LOVE blasphemous 1 and 2 (god I hope we get DLC for 2 like we did 1).

Anyways what issues are you referring to so I'll know

So when you look at the game it's very important to note that it's essentially a castlevania game but with some souls stuff thrown in. Kinda in a way that it feels like it was added for marketing purposes.

I'll start with a subjective issue which is the music kinda sucks. It's sad piano music throughout almost the entire game and my brained tuned it out so much that sometimes I'd eventually notice that at some point the music had stopped in entirely in the area I entered.

That aside, the dark souls stuff holds the game back.

The game doesn't ever pause despite there not being any online and you can't even use items from your inventory and have to manually set things to your hot bar so it's not like you could gain an advantage through it.

You lose currency in death but there's no physical currency you can use and health items are a limited consumable. So every time you lose a fight and want to level a different weapon or just get more health items, you gotta grind for it.

Difficulty can be all over the place so it's very hard to tell if you shouldn't be somewhere or it's just a stupid difficulty spike.

While the ds leveling system is a cool addition to the castlevania style of game, pretty much all dex weapons have actually garbage damage output and guns are so bad that the instinct stat can just be ignored altogether unless you want to use the few spells that scale with it.

Status effects are so detrimental that especially early game, getting inflicted with a status is pretty much just a death sentence.

Moving on to the more actual gameplay design.

Movement is done in such a weird way where it feels kinda clunky and a lot of moves don't properly flow together as smooth as they should.

Double jump is like 60-70% into the game which wouldn't be an issue but almost all ledges are meant to be grabbed and your jump height will only take you to the ledge, so you're constantly watching the climbing animation everytime you make a jump. It's small but it's frustrating.

Early game gives you almost nothing to work with unless you go str, which if you do play it you should. Otherwise not only is the early game gonna be a lot harder but the late game is filled with enemies that deal frost damage which your frost res scales with strength making the late game that much worse.

Guns suck especially when compared to magic as an alternative for your off hand slot. Magic doesn't need to be upgraded like guns and will scale with mind well enough and occasionally instinct. Guns only scale with instinct and with the exception of one gun they all scale very poorly. Guns need to be upgraded the same as your primary weapon but upgrading weapons is very very expensive. Guns use a limited bullet resource that when depleted requires you to scavenge from enemies when depleted meaning that they're very inconsistent in terms of use unlike magic where you can use items to restore fp. Neither guns or magic can be used in the air but some magic has anti-air potential at least. Guns don't do enough damage to bypass any of its flaws and outside of a few niche situations, it's almost always better to just walk over and hit whatever you would shoot at.

Again with the guns and magic can't be used in the air. This means that anything flying requires you to poke it to death. Some of the endgame bosses only fly around. No this is not fun to deal with.

Lots and lots of projectile spam from enemies. Your roll only gives i-frames against projectiles but it neither tells you this nor is it consistent in what you can roll through.

The parry requires you to hold r1 and press y which for some people is a really big deal, I don't really see it as an issue tho. The issue with the parry tho is that it is extremely inconsistent and you can't tell what attacks you can actually parry.

While it is encouraged for you to use elemental buffs on your weapon, it's not very well communicated what will be effective against what and at some point I think bosses stop getting status effects all together.

Side quests seem very basic and are pretty much all just find the 1 thing that the character asked you for then you get no reward and they might just leave the game forever. There's a point of no return at the end of the game that you aren't told about and it makes it impossible to finish any side quests.

Story is kinda eh. Lot of it is characters vagueing about stuff or talking in jargon and I stopped feeling invested in the world building because it felt is need to watch some randos video essay just to understand anything. Especially with how little it explains towards the end.

I say all this and I still think it has the bones of a good game and with the proper work it could be made much better.

I'm hopeful.

#The Last Faith #Kind of a long ramble #Tried to keep it spoiler free and more objective #There's just a lot of stuff that's kinda baffling that it got through testing #I enjoyed it enough to 100% it and want to do another run after it's fixed #So fingers crossed that happens #Also thanks for indulging me #I like rambling about games at 4am

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luvyvie · 2 years

Text

BABYSITTING 4 DUMMIES — that bitch!

SYNOPSIS: you and your friend’s decided to take on a summer jobs as babysitters, even though 3/4 of you don’t have any experience. Can the 12 members make it through the summer? let alone get their first pay check?

PAIRINGS: non idol!sunghoon x fem!reader, non idol!heeseung x fem!reader, non idol!jake x fem!reader & non idol!jay x fem!reader

SUPPORTING CHARACTERS: niki + sunoo + karina + winter + wonyoung + yoon + liz + taeyeon + boA

── - ˏˋ ♡ ˊˎ - ──

“ it all started during the last year of highschool, y/n and heeseung should remember.” jake whispered in a menacing tone as if he was telling a scary story. to be perfectly honest jake was being really dramatic, what chaewondid wasn’t that bad. at-least to you.

everyone huddle around jake as he told his stop story pausing every minute or so to take a sip (gulp) of the freshly open soju bottle he found beside him.

“ me and chaewon were going out for around 1 and year 11 months around that time, we were reaching our 2 year anniversary.“ jake continued leaving our parts of the story to keep the suspense.

“ chae was really into that bastard yeonjun who was at the time dating y/n as you all know.” jake reminded everyone for context.

“ and one day i go up to her house and you know who i find?” jake continues to the bunch who was very uninterested in the boring story

“ abby lee muller in her wheelchair at the gay club?” yoon joked remembering the anormal fear of jake has of dance moms .“ no! even worse, i saw her and yeonjun kissing on the couch! with my dad-”

“ you dad joined in?!??!”

“ no he was in the house while it happened, on the same floor, in the other room 😞 he saw them and didn’t say anything.” jake finally concluded the story with a horrible boring ending

“ you hyped up that story to be something it wasn’t my god, i’d cheat on your ass too jake you’re annoying as shit.” yoon complained grabbing another bottle of soju.

“ dont say that yoon, you know i have low self esteem.” as yoon and jake argued over a trivial matter nobody had notice that you and sunghoon had snuck off to go make out in your room.

“ sunghoon.” you giggled out pulling his head away from your neck admiring the new hickeys he created on-top of the covered ones wonyoung worked so hard to cover.

“ yes love?” he continued burying his face into your neck inhaling and living in your miss dior perfume, in a drunk and giggly state you wrapped your arms around his neck shuffling your bum on the cold hard dresser you sat on.

“ loooook what you didddd, now when we go back they’ll know we did naughty stuff.”

“ let them know, i don’t like how you’re going around on lunch dates with the others anyways, if jake didn’t date you i would’ve claimed you to be mine a long time ago.”

“ who taught you to sweet talk like that? wattpad? if we weren’t drunk i would’ve clowned your ass but i am so.” you leaned in for another kiss intertwining tongues and sunghoon took you by your waist and lifted you from the cold hard dresser onto your bed’s edge.

as you both continued the door suddenly was smashed open where everyone soon saw what you guys were up too some giggling and running away others gagging. ( most are gagging)

the only one who didn’t have both reactions was jay who stood in your doorway with a seething look on your face.

“ hii guyssss, look what we did! isnt it pretty?” you flashed your decorated neck to the bunch showing off what you both had done to each other. wonyoung rushed to your sigh and lightly smacked sunghoon on the cheek pulling you away trying to wipe away the hickeys on your neck.

“ sunghoon! don’t be kissing girls while they’re intoxicated! didn’t your mother teach you that???” wonyoung scolded smacking the taller boy who laid on the floor drunk out of his mind.

“ wonyoung-ah leave me be, you know how i feel when you hit me.” sunghoon groaned out vomiting all overt your carpet soon falling over beside it.

“ oh my fucking god.” yoon cried out falling to her knees as she passed out from the stench as well, soon everyone dropped like flies passing out too from their lack of sobriety.

── - ˏˋ ♡ ˊˎ - ──

a/n: i’m gonna change liz to chaewon because she’s older lol sorry y’all 😞😞😞 ik ive been inactive and im sorry yall 😞 the drama and stuff will start soon i promise

taglist : @bloomedberry @msxflower @axartia @only2jake @theskzvibe @24h06s @enhypensfeyborit @cyuuupid @skzoddinaries @diestheticu ( send an ask to be added!) sorry if u weren’t added i don’t even remember who’s on here 😭😭😞😞

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junsei-draws-rotasu · 1 year

Text

MONKIE KID S3E5: Amnesia Rules (Live Blog) SPOILERS

Because I couldn't stop the temptation of reading, this is one of the episodes I get spoiled at. Of course, I only know SWK somehow has amnesia, how? IDK, but I'm hoping for Amnesia Wukong and Macaque interactions! It would be nice their earlier relationship! Especially with Mac's shadow play episode

I totally forgot that Tang and Pigsy are in a bad situation

Yeah! Wake that monkey up, Pigsy!

Wait, it's dangerous? Is this how we'll get amnesia SWK?

You know, I bet whatever predator outside is quite harmless and they're panicking for no reason

Good question Tang! But this is a cartoon, so cartoon logic!

Did I hear that right? Master?

Ummmm, so, like... Wukong is seeing Zhu Bajie and Tripipaka instead of Tang and Pigsy?

I had to pause the episode for 15 minutes cuz I'm reading this in

Yeah, it's the other way around Wukong

How is Mo...?! Nvm

Wait, Tripipaka isn't his Chinese name?! It's Tang SanZang!? Well, at least that explains ORV characters and how Tang got his name being the reincarnation of Tripipaka. And yes, I'll be still calling him Tripipaka instead Tang SanZang

Bonk thee head

Okay, why are you offended, SWK?

Just like Tripipaka, Tang also gets a demon kidnap

It just hit me. Scorpion female demon? That demon wanted to marry Tripipaka in JTTW, well at least that what Overly Sarcastic Productions said

Her voice is familiar. By any chance, did she voice Amethyst from SU?

SHE IS!

Tang knows what's up

Wait, Tang had been kidnapped before!? *mind blown*

One way to get a guy is through his stomach. And Tang is the embodiment of that advice

Like everything else, I'm suspicious and the foods are fake and has glamour on them!

Actually, with that evil laugh, she probs putted something in the food

I mean, SWK trainings are full of riddles and no straight answers

Then why have a successor when you, yourself don't believe in teaching someone? Oh right, 500 years on loneliness gets that to you

The local TD? What dat?

It took the whole night until the sun in the sky for this much information!?

WHAT!?

Oh, so the fire is a ring? Looking at the next episode title, seems like we're getting it there not here

The demons in JTTW would like to beg to differ

Wait, WUkong can dispel illusions!?

Not helping Wukong!

The 'ignore him', got to me. Wonder how the dynamic between Tripipaka and JTTW-SWK are. Tired master and energetic oblivious student dynamic

Awh(?) Wukong(?)

Awh, worried friend Pigsy!

Well, at least you'll have a new recipe of noodles! With permission of course is a need!

Woah! Tang!

Okay, why did you come to that conclusion? She never said anything!?

Okay, we're just rolling with it? Ok

Tang and Pigsy and shocked to be called friends

Yeah, SWK def had Mac in mind

This is what you wanted Amethyst-Scorpio-Demon

Yeah, he is getting worse

Pigsy your inner Zhu Bajie is speaking

Four?!

Okay! Bad timing! We could've gotten more info!

Don't worry! He's a stone monkey!

Aw, just like his birth

You're just feeling the effects of the chilli?

Yeah, that lonesome monkey is def missing his master and brother

And Finished!

#lmk #lego monkie kid #Monkie Kid #Monkie Kid SeiReact #SeiWatch #SeiTalks #lmk season 3 spoilers #edit: I didn’t seem to mange to say this ealier but I’m kinda disappointed that there isn’t Mac and SWK interaction here :(

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rosetheex-editor · 6 months

Text

[Video transcript begin.]

[The transcript begins from a table, the camera getting a view of a window. A woman with red hair is looking out of it as waves hit the beach, another woman can be heard yawning in the background.]

?: Ugh… my head…

[Voice identified: Ness.]

?: Pfft, lightweight. Couldn’t imagine.

[Voice identified: Eden.]

Ne: Shut. Ugh… WAIT. WHY ARE YOU. DID WE? EW BRAIN WHAT THE FUCK?

[Eden shrieks in disgust at Ness’ words, making it clear that it did not happen.]

Ed: EW NO. WHAT THE FUCK, ABSOLUTELY NOT. There’s two fucking beds in this room, idiot!

Ne: I DIDN'T KNOW THAT! ALSO I DON'T KNOW WHERE THAT CAME FROM MY BRAIN IS DUMB! Uhhhhhh…

[Ness' 'Uhhhhh' is extended for almost a minute before stopping.]

Ne: Eden?

Ed: What.

[Ness takes a pause, before flinging her arms out beside her in confusion.]

Ne: WHERE THE FUCK ARE WE?

[Eden looks out at the water, then back to Ness.]

Ed: The Royal at Atlantis, or, at least… that’s what Ophelia said.

Ne: That’s… Not in New York is it?

[Eden sighs.]

Ed: The fuck do you think, dipshit? Come look out the window.

[Ness gets up and walks to the window. Staring at the landscape in front of them.]

Ne: ARE WE IN THE FUCKIN' BAHAMAS????

Ed: Looks like it, yep.

Ne: Oh my fuckin' god I… How did I let you idiot's convince me into this shit… ESPECIALLY YOU!

Ed: You asked to be included, you dolt! You said ‘I’ve never had a girls night before, can I tag along?’ And you fucking tagged along! Now you’re in the Bahamas!

Ne: I DIDN'T KNOW THIS IS WHAT Y'ALL MENT! I THOUGHT IT WAS LIKE… GET SOME DRINKS AND PARTY!

[Eden leans against the wall, staring at Ness. A small grin on her face.]

Ed: Yeah, we did exactly that. But, it was never specified where we would be partying. I’m surprised you don’t remember any of that.

Ne: Ugh… Might as well I don't know. What do people do at the bahamas?

Ed: Hell if I know, I think everyone just… sits around. So.

Ne: Well fuck that, I'm swimming! I uh… Shit. These are the only clothes I have…

[As soon as Ness finishes speaking, someone comes tumbling in through the door, making it into frame.]

?: Ohmigodhiguys!

[Voice identified: Ophelia.]

Ne: OH SHIT! You scared me… Uh hi?

O: Last night was so fun, OMG. I heard something about clothes? And only having one outfit?

Ed: Have you been waiting outside of the room until you heard that.

Ne: Uh… Yeah I was gonna go swimming while I'm here… But Yeah.

[Ophelia digs around in her pockets, and pulls out something shiny, and rectangular. They toss it over to Ness.]

O: Go wild, girl.

Ne: Wha- What is this? Um.

O: Company card! Go and buy yourself some stuff, Ness.

Ne: Y'all aren't… Trying to get me to join showfall or PR right?

Ed: God no, why would I want to work with you?

O: Be nice! But no, we aren’t. We just want to treat you to something nice!

Ne: Uh ok… Oh did I give you those letter's? From my stalker?

O: Not yet, no. I think you were too busy singing ‘Copacabana’ on the table to remember.

Ne: Oh um… Well

[Ness digs around her pockets, casually pulling out 4 pieces of paper. And slowly handing them to Ophelia.]

O: Thank you, I’ll look into this ASAP!

Ne: And I'll keep my end… Anything PR needs, as much as it will pain me. As long as it doesn't hurt anyone currently staying in that apartment. I'll do it.

O: Glad you’ve decided to keep that part! It would have ended a little worse if you’d decided to take that part out.

[Silence.]

O: Kidding!

Ne: Ha… Ha yeah I'm gonna go now thanks for this!

[Ness runs out of the room leaving her phone on accident.]

Ed: Why the fuck did you just let her run off with the damn company card?

O: For funsies!

[Eden smacks her palm into her face.]

Ed: God, I hate you.

O: Yeahhh.

[Ness runs back.]

Ne: FORGOT MY PHONE-

[Ness grabs it and leaves again, accidentally hitting a button ending the transcript.]

[End transcript.]

#showfall ask blog #encoreverse blog

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nach0 · 2 years

Text

This Feels Familiar

Summary:

Scott walks down the steps to his dungeons, wings held high as he tries to give off a sense of calm that he does not feel.

He looks into one of the cells, and a pair of angry red eyes stare back.

“Hello, Gem.”

AO3 Link

Word Count: 1117

Scott sighed, slowly rising from his seat at his desk. He’d known he couldn’t put off the visit for long, but that hadn’t stopped him from trying. There was nothing else urgent he could reasonably say demanded his attention, though he was certainly temped to try finding something.

No, he had to do this. It wouldn’t do either of them any good to avoid it.

He walked down the steps into his dungeons, lifting his head and holding his wings high to give off a sense of authority and calm that he knew deep down he didn’t feel.

As he looked into a cell, trying to keep his face clear of sorrow and guilt, a pair of angry red eyes stared back.

“Hello, Gem. Is it comfortable down here? I tried to make it as well furnished as I could without giving you a method of escape.”

She looked at him incredulously for a few seconds, trying to figure out if he was being genuine, before she threw her head back and laughed.

It wasn’t a nice sound.

“Oh sure, Scott,” she sneered, spitting out his name like it was poison. “You’ve almost piled this place with enough cushions to block out the memories of the last time I was stuck in a cell like this. What are you going to do? Demand the egg? Kill me a couple times just for fun?”

He winced, and the triumph in her eyes almost made him sick. “I just want to help. Xornoth isn’t a good person Gem, you have to realise that.”

Slowly, she got to her feet. She walked over to the front of the cage, face entirely blank in a way that made him shudder far more than her anger did.

“I’m going to let you in on a little secret.” Gem paused before her expression twisted into a snarl, slamming on the bars angrily. “I don’t care. The world can burn, and I will happily be the one to spark the flame! Fwhip and Xornoth were the only ones there for me while I was dying, and you-”

She cut herself off, some of her anger dissipating as she sighed.

“I thought we were friends. I really did. I was so happy to help you with your magic! It was the one thing I was good at! And then you stabbed me in the back, attacked me and left me to freeze.”

Scott sucked in a sharp breath, hands balling into fists. “That was an accident, and you know it. I shouldn’t have left, but I only would have made things worse.”

Gem scoffed, settling back down on the bed that was far too lavish for a prison cell. “I thought that too, at first. But Xornoth showed me the truth, showed me that champions of Aeor are not to be trusted.”

His wings flare out in anger, though whether fully his own or his god’s he’s not entirely sure. “Oh, and I’m sure Exor is so much better? The dark god? I’m sure that title doesn’t mean anything, that he’s all sunshine and rainbows!”

A flash of ice blue went through his eyes and Gem immediately backed into a corner, though she tried to hide her reaction with a scowl. “At least he’s honest. You don’t follow him and suddenly get uncontrollable powers to kill your friends with. Not unexpectedly anyway.”

Scott sighed, rubbing at his forehead. “I didn’t come down here to fight. I just came to try and help. I’m not sure, but Aeor’s influence might be able to beat out the corruption-”

“No.” She cut him off immediately, voice harsher than he’d ever heard it. “No. I am not going to go worship the god that pushed me onto this path to begin with! You can keep your statues and your churches and your fucking ice to yourself!”

Her anger was almost overwhelming, and with a loud growl her fist shot out and connected with a wall. Scott couldn’t move, couldn’t do anything as she kept hitting the wall until her knuckles were red with blood.

When she turned to face him again, she was eerily calm.

“You really want to see what happens when the corruption goes away? Fine.”

Gem’s eyes meet his, and the red starts to drain away. Her blackened veins fade and the streak in her hair melts into a stark white.

Almost immediately she stumbled, collapsing against the bed with a shuddering gasp. She looked up, desperately meeting Scott’s gaze.

“I didn’t want this- I couldn’t run to escape- it’s so cold- you have to help me!” Blue spread across her hands and face, and she shivered violently. “Please Scott, help me!”

She reached out, movements stiff and jerky, but in an instant it’s gone. Her hand retracted and she slowly staggered to her feet, the corruption taking over once more.

“That was... strange,” she admitted, still shaking slightly. “Do not like doing that, now I’m going to be cold for days. Messes with my head too, Aeor’s influence twisting my thoughts like that.”

Scott wanted to protest, to tell her to do it again so he could talk to the real Gem, but he knew it wouldn’t do anything. Instead, he just reached into his coat and pulled out an envelope.

“This is the official reason of my visit. Sausage wants to see you, but he also wants reassurances you won’t... well, do what you just did. He missed you. And Fwhip, but you’re the only one somewhere you can’t corrupt him. The letter is from him, and I’m really hoping it doesn’t detail escape plans because I haven’t read it.”

Gem scoffed but took it anyway, reading silently with a few tears falling onto the page. Scott wisely chose not to comment about it.

“He knows better than anyone else I suppose,” she muttered under her breath, carefully folding up the paper and placing it under the mattress before looking back at Scott. “I don’t know if I believe him yet, but... fine. If what he said is true, I don’t know if I physically can believe him.”

Then she turned away, lying on the bed with her back to him. He turned to leave, respecting the clear end to the conversation, but she called out one final time.

“Oh, and Scott? Tell him to hurry. Xornoth may not be able to get too far into Rivendell, but once they figure out how they’re not going to be happy. With either of us.”

And despite her warning, Scott felt a new hope rise in him as he wrote a hurried response to Sausage and sent it off with an owl.

There was a chance.

Taglist: @a-chilly-pepper @over-emotional-huffelpuff

#geminitay #scott smajor #empires smp #empires smp s1 #empires s1 #corrupted geminitay #corrupted fwhip #(mentioned)#another angsty corrupted gem fic because it's me #with a semi happy ending this time!#one very small non graphic mention of blood: gem punches a wall and finds out why it's generally not advised #writing #my writing #nach0 writing

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poedameronwifey · 4 months

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A true home(The hobbit Fanfic)

Chapter 10

Third Pov

It had been a few days since that night. The girls had gotten used to riding with Fili, Kili and Bofur. The boys would tell them stories from their younger days. Turns out they got into a lot of trouble. The other dwarves would tell them their stories and the girls really felt part of the company.

The only ones who were not happy about them coming along were Thorin and Dwalin. They had nothing against the girls, they just feel protective over them and want to ensure their safety not just because they are women but because they are the youngest of the group and dwarves were always protective of the adolescence. They know that they are strong but still worry. Thorin has been very distant with Lilith because she reminds him of his lost love. He feels if he remains distant, the feeling would go away but it just gets worse. He hates not knowing why she has such an effect on him.

It was currently raining and everyone was fed up. They all had their hoods up and followed the path with sombre looks. The girls however had no problem with the rain, in fact they encouraged it. Everyone was fed up at this point.

"Gandalf, can't you do something about this deluge?"

"It is raining, Master Dwarf, and it will continue to rain until the rain is done. If you wish to change the weather of the world, you should find yourself another wizard."

Bilbo looks curious. Renée turns her attention to Gandalf and Bilbo's conversation. Kate and Lilith also stopped what they were doing to listen in on the conversation.

"Are there any?"

"What?"

"Other wizards?"

"There are five of us. The greatest of our order is Saruman the White. Then there are the two blue wizards. You know, I've quite forgotten their names."

"And who is the fifth?"

"Well, that would be Radagast the Brown."

"Is he a great wizard or is he more like you?"

The girls tried to hide their laughter behind their hands but were unsuccessful. Gandalf was slightly offended. Kate then just hit the back of Bilbo's head, making him look at her in disbelief.

"Pops, come on be nice. Those are stuff we think not say." She pauses for a second and turns to Gandalf. "Well, are you?" Renee and Lilith couldn't help it anymore and started laughing like hyenas.

"I think he is a very great wizard in his own way. He's a gentle soul who prefers the company of animals to others."

Eventually the conversation ended. After a few hours Lilith got very fidgety and became insanely bored. Renée picked up on this and turned to her.

"You good lils? Want me to play some music to make you feel better?" Lilith just nodded like a little kid saying yes to candy. Kate just chuckled at her while Renée took out her phone and looked through her playlist. Lilith requested a song. Renée put the speaker on high volume and pressed play.

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Lilith was singing along while Renée just moved her head to the beat and Kate was humming. The others were looking at them with so much confusion. Bilbo just smiled at his daughters having fun. Kate then requested a song. One of the old classics.

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Kili and Fili were so enthralled by Renée and Kate. Lilith noticed and smirked at them. Looks like their feelings are mutual. At least she doesn't have to worry about killing them and hiding their bodies. Bofur was interested in how they were able to do that. The girls then explained everything they knew about phones. The others also listened in and asked questions.

"So you can talk to anyone from anywhere at any time with that box in your hand? Amazing." Ori exclaimed with fascination, causing the girls to nod with pride.

"Not just that but you can play music from it and games. You can also take pics as memories from your adventures. It really comes in handy where we're from. We each have one. If you want we can play some more of our music." They all nodded with excitement. Renée then looked through her playlist for something appropriate and fun. She finally found one and pressed play.

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The girls sang the rest of their trip. The others felt a lot better after seeing how happy the girls were. Renée played Whitney, Michael Jackson, James Brown and basically all the classics. The atmosphere changed thanks to the girls and now everyone felt a lot more positive. The Company eventually approached a ruined farmhouse. Thorin scanned the area, before turning to the others.

"We'll camp here for the night. Fili, Kili, look after the ponies. Make sure you stay with them." The group began to dismount. Gandalf wanders into the farmhouse, examining the ruin. The girls huddled together to come up with a plan. They sat away from the group.

"Okay so we need to think of something. We know that there are trolls around these parts but I doubt Thorin's going to listen to us. So we need to put a plan in place. That means girls, we need to come up with some form of distraction. Kate, what do you have in mind?" Renée and Lilith looked at her. Kate started thinking of a good distraction.

"Hmmmmmm. Well we need to wait until they are captured. We can try to keep the trolls busy until Gandalf comes back. But Dad would also need to buy us time. My guess, Thorin's going to make us stay here which gives us a slight advantage. Whatever we do, we need to make sure the others don't find out. Not even Dad."

They nodded and came up with a plan. Meanwhile Thorin and Gandalf were discussing the best move but of course he was stubborn.

"A farmer and his family used to live here."

"Oin, Gloin, get a fire going."

"Right you are". Gloin nodded in agreement, leading his brother into the woods. Gandalf locked eyes with Thorin as he went further into the farmhouse.

"I think it would be wiser to move on. We could make for the Hidden Valley."

"I have told you already, I will not go near that place."

"Why not? The elves could help us! We could get food, rest, advice."

"I do not need their advice."

"We have a map we cannot read; Lord Elrond will help us."

"Help? A dragon attacks Erebor, what help came from the elves? Orcs plunder Moria, desecrate our sacred halls, and the elves looked on and did nothing. You ask me to seek out the very people who betrayed my grandfather, who betrayed my father?

"You are neither of them. I did not give you that map and key for you to hold onto the past."

"I did not know they were yours to keep."

Gandalf scowled at Thorin and turned around, angry with Thorin. He passed Bilbo, tending to the horses. Bilbo seemed confused.

"Everything all right? Gandalf, where are you going?" The girls looked up to see Gandlf stalking away. They tried to call out to him to stop him but no luck.

"To seek the company of the only one around here who's got any sense."

"And who's that?"

"Myself, Mr. Baggins! I've had enough of dwarves for one day."

Thorin stepped out of the farmhouse, glowering after Gandalf. Lilith marched up to him. Renee and Kate didn't even stop her, sending glares his way.

"Come on, Bombur, we're hungry."

Bilbo turned to Balin.

"Is he coming back?"

Not even Blain knew the answer to that, making Bilbo even more worried.

"What the actual fuck is wrong with you? Were you dropped on your head as a baby? Are you so prideful and thick headed that you won't even go to the elves for help? They could help us figure out the fucking map but no, you let your pride and ego get the best of you. You are such a selfish asshole." Thorin stepped closer to her with a glare but that didn't scare Lilith. Renee came up to them while Kate walked to where her father was.

"You have no right to speak to me like that. You understand nothing. You are nothing but a child. You shouldn't even be here." Lilith just glares right back at him. She wasn't scared of him. She's dealt with assholes like him before.

"Do you think I give a fuck? I really don't. I'm not scared of you. I've dealt with enough dipshits like you, I'm practically a pro at this point. You think that just because you are some king, you can speak to me or anyone like that? I don't care if you're a god or deity. I wont let you disrespect people when you don't get your fucking way and act like a child. You think we've had easy lives? No we haven't but you don't see us acting like a toddler who just got his favourite toy taken from them. You're the one who doesn't understand. And we aren't children, We're 23 fucking years old." Lilith looked like she was on the verge of tears but she still stood her ground. Renée put her hand on her shoulder and pulled her away from Thorin.

"Lilith that's enough. He'll realise the decision he's made and he will come to regret it. Go sit down now and cool off." Lilith nodded and walked to find a nice and comfortable place to cool off. Renée then turned back to Thorin.

"I hope you realise that you just put us all in danger. We tried to warn you, Gandalf tried to warn but you are too fucking prideful to listen. So don't say we didn't warn you when things turn south. We aren't your enemies so stop treating us as if we are. We're just trying to help you. Now I'm going to make sure Lilith isn't plotting your murder because knowing her, she most likely is. We won't bother seeing as we're such burdens on your quest so we ask that you don't bother as well. Thank you." Renée was calm the whole time and Kate knew she was very angry.

The entire camp was silent and in shock from Lilith's screaming match. Kate and Renée walked to her and did their best to not let her kill Thorin in his sleep. Everyone just went on like nothing happened but Thorin could not get Lilith's words out of his head. He looked at her and for a split second he thought he saw his lost love, Elanor. When he heard Lilith's words, his heart broke a little and he didn't know why. Even now he doesn't understand why her words can have such an impact on him. He shook his head and went to talk to Dwalin. The rest of the afternoon, everyone except Bilbo stayed clear of the girls. They were afraid they might go off on them. The girls were grateful but didn't say anything. They were mentally preparing themselves for what was to come.

Lilith's POV

After the girls made sure I was okay and ,as Renée so lovingly put it, not planning Thorin's murder. I still felt annoyed. So standing up and going to my bag I brought with me everything I needed. From fresh clothes to snacks to weapons. Mom signed me up for all types of weapon training as well as self defence classes along with Ren and Kate. I sigh.

"Mom, why did you have to leave me? Leave us? I know you haven't actually left us and you are still here with us but it's hard. I miss you. So do the girls but... It's not the same. I know you have been gone for a while now and I guess I should be over it but I'm not."

I muttered not realising Dwalin was making his way towards me. I sigh and take a deep breath in. I turn to the girls and Papa.

"Guys I need to cool off. I'm going into the woods for a bit and do some things. So don't freak if you can't find me. And don't worry its not anything harmful. I'm just going into the woods to collect my thoughts. Girls, you know how to get my attention."

I told them, referring to a code that we used when we needed to get each other's attention. It was a high pitched quick whistle. For some reason we learned Morse code and we incorporated both of them. The girls and Papa nodded and softly smiled at me.

Making sure I had everything I needed in my bag I turned to the rest of the company making sure that they didn't need any help. Looking over our camp I noticed that everything was basically sorted. So turning on my heel I made my way into the woods making sure to stay clear of the directions I knew the trolls to be.

After walking for a little bit I found where I wanted to do some training. So pulling out my bow and knives and some other things I set up a target to practise on and got to work listening to music.

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After about an hour of this I take a break. I'm not sweating but I am taking shallow breaths. All of a sudden I hear a twig snap and out of instinct I spin around pointing my blade at the attacker's neck.

"Lass, relax it's just me."

I recognise the voice to be Dwalin. Lowering my blade I let out a sigh of relief.

"Master Dwalin. Sorry. You gave me a fright. Thought you were something else. What can I do for you?"

"Some of the others got worried when you didn't come back. I wanted to take a leak and heard noises. So I followed them and saw you training. I must admit I'd hate to be on the receiving end. You were very good, miss Lilith."

At the unexpected compliment from grumpy pants- I mean Dwalin. I smiled feeling prideful. I smiled and said thank you. At this point we both sat down on a rock that was near to where I was training.

As we sat in silence I looked around at my surroundings. I didn't really do that before but I'm glad I am now. I notice that there is a little stream with some fish swimming in it. Around us the trees sheltered us from the wind so everything was still.

"Lassie, I have been thinking. You seem really good with weapons and fighting. How about I help you train? I think we could both use it?"

Dwalin's gruff voice brought me back. Surprised, I turned my head and looked at him with wide eyes. Shocked, I nodded with a smile on my face. Out of nowhere I heard whistling.

Lilith can you come back please. The guys are getting worried and we don't really know Middle Earth outside of The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings.

Okay I am coming now.

"Come one Master Dwalin. The girls are calling us."

With a confused face Dwalin follows me back to our camp.

#the hobbit #a true home #kili #fili #bilbo baggins #katherine wolfe #renee griffin #lilith everdeen #the company of thorin oakenshield #dwarves #gandalf #Youtube

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