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ginnyzero · 4 years

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Completely Harmless Ch. 30

Completely Harmless An SSO SilverGlade Re-imagining Story (Or Fix it Fan Salt fic) By Ginny O.

When Lily and her friends wanted to buy horses and were directed to the Silverglade Manor and its myriad of problems, they didn’t expect to start a revolution. They were just a bunch a stable girls. Completely harmless. Right?

A/N: Things are only canon if I say they’re canon. Pre-Saving the Moorland Stables compliant for the most part. Posted in its entirety on my website. Posted in 2000 to 4000 word bits here. Rated T for Swearing Word Count 177,577

Chapter Thirty A Very Bad First Meeting... Twice

Alex Cloudmill, beanie cap and all, strolled into the temporary pavilion with a look of complete and utter awe on her face. Like, she couldn’t believe everything she was seeing.

Now, Lily didn’t have the best impression of Alex. She’d heard through Pia about the way Alex treated James once she found out about Token after the big meeting. While, Lily didn’t like James, Alex wasn’t helping matters with her attitude. James wasn’t the only Cloudmill with social and behavioral issues. So what if James had a plushie he cared for, a lot of teenagers had plushies they cared for, and he wanted to do something positive with it for Jorvik.

But no, she had to pick on him about it.

Alex had her fingers in her pockets. “So, you must be Lily,” she said as she sidled over towards her.

“I’ve seen you around Moorland, Alex Cloudmill, right?” Lily tried to keep her voice polite. She didn’t know what Alex wanted and she shouldn’t be Loretta.

Alex rubbed the back of her neck and chuckled. “There are so many campers, I can’t keep track of all of you.”

“We’re coming and going all the time,” Lily said, sarcasm rolling off of her in waves. Not that she expected Alex to remember her at all. It wasn’t like Alex even bothered to try. Maya had more of an excuse than Alex did. Or maybe it was less of one since she worked with the campers. Lily pushed it away for later. Alex wasn’t a camp counselor.

Alex missed the sarcasm. “Exactly.”

“What brings you out here, other than Linda,” Lily decided to cut to the chase.

“Well,” Alex scuffed her shoe on the ground. “I want you to come meet Elizabeth Sunbeam. I mean, you’ve been doing all this great stuff, and,” she trailed off.

“Being a good leader with a mild side of delegation and organizational skills doesn’t make me a candidate to be a, what is it again?” Lily said.

“Soul Rider,” Alex supplied. “I think Elizabeth could help clear up any misconceptions you have about it.”

“If she’s not going to work with Melissa, who, by the way, is the Club leader at her stables, then why is she going to work with me?” Lily crossed her arms. “I’m, for all intents and purposes, the Baroness’ lady.”

Alex shrugged. “I think you should meet her. She’s a power.”

Lily glanced around. The other girls had edged closer and were blatantly listening in. “What do you girls think?” She asked.

“Go,” Pauline said.

“Get it over with,” Regina nodded. “We’ve got our stable and we don’t want any problems with Melissa though.”

“Nope,” one of the other girls said popping the p.

“All right, I’ll go,” Lily said.

Alex grinned. “I’m sure this is all some miscommunication and a good chat will clear things up.”

Lily strode past her to get to her horse. There was another horse next to hers, golden in color with a blonde mane. “Yours?”

“You should see him out in the wild.”

“Yeah, we haven’t been out far enough for that yet, I guess,” Lily said.

“You do know about it,” Alex blinked.

“It was brought to our attention that the Jorvik Warmblood Sports aren’t like other horses.”

“Well, this Tin Can.”

The horse whinnied.

“Nice to meet you too, Tin Can,” Lily said as she mounted her horse. “Transports okay with you, or would you like to get your hooves dirty?”

“Uh, he’s fine with a transport,” Alex said slowly, brow furrowed.

Lily nodded and urged her horse over to the transport. They rode in silence to Valedale. The transport slowed to a stop.

“I want to thank you for um, looking after my brother, and Justin,” Alex said abruptly. “I know he’s a pain in the ass.”

“James or Justin?” Lily asked.

“James,” Alex said quickly. “Look, I, I appreciate it. I mean, he told me how it was your plan to buy some of the Baroness’ horses for his stable and everything. We want him to succeed.”

“No one really wants anyone to fail. I mean, unless they’re a murderer or a fascist or something,” Lily blinked rapidly. “He’s got good ideas. He has really bad ways about executing said ideas.” She nudged her horse down the ramp.

Alex followed her. “Right.”

“Good people help other people,” Lily said. “So, you’re welcome.”

“And expect the same treatment?”

“Verily,” Lily nodded.

“I don’t know what that means,” Alex said.

Lily looked around. But what grabbed her attention first was the waterfall. It was neon green. It tumbled down the mountain and into the pool below with a great deal of mist and spray. If it was this bad at the head of the river, Lily couldn’t imagine what it was like over the mountain with the Lake that was placid in comparison. (She pondered if the Lake drained down into the river as well through underwater channels. The water had to go somewhere if it was constantly being filled.)

She tore her gaze away from the green water. She didn’t see any of the girls in their celtic uniforms.

Melissa and the others must be at the ruined summer house still. All for the best, she guessed. She stopped by a girl that had to be related to Jenna and Judy. “Morning, I’m Lily with the Silver Drakes Riding Club.”

“I’m Claire, Valedale Stable Master. Melissa’s told me a bit about you.” Claire grinned at her.

“All good I hope?” Lily’s lips twitched.

“Absolutely. Looking forward to Rainbow Week, it sounds like what you girls are putting together is going to be awesome. Going to have to take some days off to enjoy it all.” Claire nodded. “You might set an entirely new standard for holidays.”

“We hope so,” Lily said. “You have a lovely stable.”

“It’s quiet. We like it.”

“Nice meeting you, Claire,” Lily said.

Alex nodded at Claire. “Claire.”

“Alex.”

“She’s this way, cottage right next to the inn,” Alex said.

Lily noted a blonde woman sweeping her stoop wearing a dress with Celtic patterns on it.

“Elizabeth!” Alex called out as they got closer. “I brought someone to meet you.”

Elizabeth Sunbeam set her broom next to the door and brushed down her skirts. “How kind of you, Alex.”

Alex grinned. “Elizabeth, this is Lily. She’s the President of the Silver Drake’s Riding Club at the Manor.”

“Charmed,” Lily said.

Elizabeth peered at her. “Are you, are you really?”

“If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t say so,” Lily said blandly.

“I suppose like Young Melissa you think you know everything.” Elizabeth pushed her hair back over one shoulder.

“I know nothing about the druids or your religion or much about Jorvik. I lead a group of girls that like horses and want to see our stable thrive. Hopefully, if we get to train, we can make it to the Claymore Challenge. However, as my friends and I go about our business in Jorvik, we keep running up against the G.E.D. and a group called Dark Core. These groups we understand are rivals to you. While in most circumstances this would make us allies for the enemy of the enemy is my friend,” Lily trailed off.

Alex stared at her with parted lips.

“The battle between light and darkness,” Elizabeth started.

“Your methods of fighting the darkness leave me questioning how light you actually are. The ends don’t justify the means, Ms. Sunbeam.” Lily shifted in her horse’s saddle. “Dark Core is trying to steal horses from South Hoof Peninsula. The Hightower family won’t listen. G.E.D. has drilled deep into the Greydew Mountains and has completely blocked off Old Hillcrest, yet, no one does anything. Dark Core is situated just up there,” Lily nodded at the mountain side above Valedale. “You can see their camp through a telescope or with a zoom lens. You’re happy to help sick horses. Are you going to help a sick land?”

Elizabeth frowned at her. “I must advise patience.”

“Patience? Lisa Peterson. Anne Von Blissen are missing without a trace. These are your people.” Lily squared her shoulders. “I came here willing to listen and thus far you have neither been welcoming nor said anything I care to hear. I judge you on your inaction. You allow the Silversong River to be tainted on your watch. First the fish near here will die. The plants on the banks will dry up and rot. The dirt will start falling into the stream choking the waters. Then it will spread to the ocean. It’s a ripple and it starts here in your sleepy mountain village.”

Elizabeth straightened. “You play with forces beyond your understanding.”

“And you seriously underestimate how much I don’t care,” Lily said in a tight voice. “Ms. Sunbeam, I don’t know who you work for or who you worship, but here’s my message. Lead. Follow. Or get the hell out of my way. Change is coming on swift wings to South New Jorvik County. So far, none of you have been part of it.”

“You overestimate what I can do.” Elizabeth’s voice turned harsh. “And what you can do, a teenager, and a stranger to Jorvik, her magic, and her ways.”

Lily leaned down. “You were all strangers to Jorvik once.”

Alex shivered.

Lily straightened up and gathered the reins in her hands. “I’m sorry that this didn’t go as you hoped, Alex. With great power comes great responsibility. Do keep an eye on Justin for us.” She nudged her horse with her heel and he turned and flicked his hoofs daintily as he went down the hill.

Lily rode off to the Summer House.

Melissa looked confused to see her coming North from Valedale instead of West from the Manor.

Lily opened up without any preamble. “The Druids have gotten complacent.”

“Wow,” Melissa said. “You met Elizabeth. What did you say?”

“I threw down the gauntlet, quoted Spider-Man, and departed before she could get over her shock at my audacity.” Lily let her gaze rove over the Summer House.

“You should have seen it before,” Melissa joked.

Lily grinned. She sobered. “I wanted to warn you because I’m sure Claire will tell you I showed up.”

“Yes, the famous Lily,” Melissa leaned against her shovel and peered at the fire they had going on what remained of the hearth.

“Infamous more like,” Lily said drolly. “I really don’t know what came over me. Maybe it was seeing the waterfall and the camp right there. How can she live with that every day and claim to be a druid?”

“I don’t think she’s a druid in the way that we think of druids,” one of Melissa’s girls said. “She worships this Aideen woman, rather than nature.”

“The problems with language being imprecise and terrible for nailing down ideas,” Lily shook her head.

“Well, I’m properly terrified,” one of the other girls said.

“Oh you,” Melissa snickered.

“See that you are,” Lily teased. This was going much better than meeting Elizabeth.

“Now that you’ve seen it, any ideas?” Melissa asked.

“Everything we’ve done before has been through proper channels making sure they had permits and all.” Lily shook her head.

“You know, those are probably supposed to be posted,” one of the girls said.

“There’s a Ranger station in Firgrove. Ingrid told me about it,” Melissa examined her nails. “It’s small.”

“Rangers take their duty of care to the pristine land of Jorvik seriously,” Lily said and almost managed a straight face. She sobered. “Just be careful.”

“We should have reconned better the first time,” Melissa fretted. “This could be over already.”

“You don’t have my club’s flair for skullduggery,” Lily wiggled her eyebrows.

“Next meeting, tips for skullduggery,” Melissa said solemnly.

They all burst into giggles.

Lily’s phone buzzed. She frowned. “It’s Sonja. What in the world?” She picked it up and put it in her ear. “Lily, champion of horses, at your service.”

“You’re in a mood already,” Sonja said. “I need your help. Luciana is having a run in with someone who I’m sure has lovely intentions and, I think she’s one of those druids.”

“I’m on my way,” Lily said and hung up. “Code red at Dundull,” she explained. Sensing her urgency, her horse spun on a dime and galloped back towards Valedale. She slowed him down long enough to enter the transport without running into anything, shouting “Dundull, ASAP,” at the driver.

The driver gave her a thumbs up and they were off.

Lily wondered what was going on the entire way. Last she had heard, G.E.D. had tried to bottle and sell the water of the spring at Dundull and in order to save the town or at least the lake water, Rania’s mother had become Mayor.

The trailer parked and Lily shouted her thanks as she got out. She texted Sonja about where they were.

“Stable,” the text read. “Turn right.”

So, Lily went right and found herself in a large stable yard. Rania and Luciana were squared off against a woman in a green vest over a green shirt and actual brown leather breaches.

Emma looked close to tears.

Horses stood in a circle around them. A big palomino draft horse with a strange blaze in the shape of a lightning bolt. Lily wasn’t sure of the breed.

“Harry Potter, much,” Lily muttered. Then she grinned. Her name was the name of the main character’s mother after all. “No relation,” she added under her breath.

Then there was Dellinger, Rania’s Commenara who was trained to help her with her blindness. Sirio, the black Lusitano that was Luciana’s main ride. Sonja’s white on white Jorvik Warmblood Sport. And lastly, a muddy colored palimino horse that looked to also have the lines of a Jorvik Starter Pony.

“Muddy is Emma’s horse,” Luciana said. “You can’t just take him away when she’s bought him fair and square from Kirsty.”

“They even had the proper bonding ceremony,” Rania added. “It was very beautiful. I cried.”

“I’m sorry girls,” Rhiannon said. “Muddy is a Starbreed.”

“You can’t take Starbreeds from people they’ve bonded to,” Rania argued. “I’ve lived here all my life and I know that much!

Sonja trotted over. “They’ve been going around in circles like this for close to twenty minutes.”

Lily rode over. “Excuse me,” she said.

“Lily,” Emma said and ran over. “You have to make this woman listen. I love Muddy. I bought him fair and square with my earnings. We’ve bonded. Muddy is my horse.”

“You have papers?”

Emma nodded.

“I’m not asking you to give me, Muddy. I’m asking you to sell him to the druids.” The woman said. “He’s a special horse.”

“I don’t want to sell,” Emma said. “I just got him.” She flung her arms around the horse’s neck. “I’m not going to give you up, Muddy.”

“Not gonna let you down,” Sonja sang. “Not gonna run around and desert you.”

Lily glared at her.

“Sorry,” Sonja muttered.

“I didn’t come out here to be rick-rolled,” Lily hissed. “Look, Ms.,” she paused.

“Rhiannon,” the woman said.

“Rhiannon,” Lily repeated to put the name firmly in her mind. “If Emma has papers, the law is clear. The horse is hers. If she doesn’t want to sell Muddy, she doesn’t have to sell Muddy. Repeatedly asking when the answer doesn’t change is not only the definition of insanity. It’s harassment.”

“I’m afraid that Emma won’t be able to take care of Muddy properly. Muddy’s a Starbreed.”

“He’s a Jorvik Starter Pony,” Emma defended with her face in Muddy’s neck. “And his name is Mudskipper.”

“By what authority are you saying that he’s a Starbreed?”

“I’m a druid,” Rhiannon said.

Lily wanted to scream. Oh, she was not getting on a good start with these druids. “I’m sure druids understand property laws. I know the G.E.D. and Dark Core don’t seem to but surely an upstanding, are you even an organization, like the druids would,” Lily sighed. “What am I saying? I sound crazy. Fine. What is a Starbreed?”

“I can’t tell you that,” Rhiannon said. “You aren’t a druid. They’re special.”

Lily’s temper broke and sarcasm filled her voice. “And you used your mystic powers to determine this and now you want Emma to sell her special friend.”

“Essentially,” Rhiannon tried for a smile.

“Mudskipper,” Lily addressed the horse directly. “Are you happy with Emma? Is she your special rider?”

The horse nodded.

“There, it’s settled. The horse wants to stay with Emma.”

Rhiannon’s brow furrowed. “Can you talk to horses?”

“We can all talk to horses.”

“I mean, can you understand them when they talk back? Are you a druid?” Rhiannon asked.

“You couldn’t pay me at the moment to be a druid,” Lily’s voice turned icy. “I’m dedicated to getting things done in a prompt, efficient, and timely manner.”

Sonja ducked her head and smirked.

“Motivation that the druids seem to be lacking,” Lily finished.

Rhiannon’s eyes unfocussed. “Your horse is also a Starbreed.”

“And you’ll get my horse over my cold dead body,” Lily snapped. “You can’t just look at horses, wave your hands, and expect people to turn them over.”

Rhiannon shook her head and her eyes focused. “You aren’t from around here.”

“What gave it away? My accent or my attitude.”

“The druids,” Rhiannon began.

“Sorry. I already got into this with Elizabeth Sunbeam not thirty minutes ago.” Lily held up a hand. “People have more to fear from G.E.D. and Dark Core than they have to fear from you, and G.E.D. is barely competent at what they do.”

Rhiannon sucked her cheeks in. She nodded at them. “I’ll leave you to think it over.”

“There’s nothing to think over,” Emma wailed.

Rhiannon mounted her horse and took off.

They all watched her go, the other stable girls drifting from where they’d been watching.

“She’s off to chat with Elizabeth over how rude and disrespectful I am, I’m sure.” Lily said. “So, anyone have any idea what a Starbreed is?”

“The druids claim all the horses they ride are Starbreeds,” Sonja said. “They sweep in at foaling time, check out all the foals and come back for the ones they claim are Starbreeds when they’re weaned. No one is quite sure where they take them or what they do with them.”

“Are there enough druids to justify taking all these horses?” Lily asked. “I mean, that’s rather suspicious. And how did my horse get missed then?”

“The Baroness banned them from her paddocks. They might have missed Muddy by accident,” Sonja shrugged a shoulder.

“Good on the Baroness,” Lily murmured. She picked out her phone and texted all the other presidents that there were special horses called Starbreeds that could be found among the horses and if anyone knew anything about them, they should share.

Kelsey texted back that it sounded suspicious. What if Dark Core wanted a Starbreed horse?

It made sense to Lily. If the Starbreed horses were the horses of the druids and these dark riders were the druid’s opposites, then of course, they’d want a Starbreed horse for whatever they were doing. She didn’t and couldn’t text all of that to Kelsey. Linda hadn’t texted her druid business for a reason. Maybe Dark Core or G.E.D. was more tech savvy than they appeared. So, she texted back a confirmation. Though if only the druids like Rhiannon knew how to figure out which was which, she didn’t know how that would help Kelsey.

Or Dark Core.

If Dark Core couldn’t tell. They’d get a lot of horses before getting the one they wanted. Not that Lily wanted them to get their hands on any horses. She sighed. “I think I’ve done enough damage for today.”

“No. No. No. Don’t say that. Watching you stand up to that woman was empowering,” Sonja said.

Lily smiled tightly at her. “Last straw, I guess. I’ll see you guys before Rainbow Week I hope.”

She used the transport to get to the Manor. Tracking down Linda, she interrupted Alex rhapsodizing about her stand against Elizabeth.

Linda cleared her throat. “Lily.”

“Oh, I was going to tell you all about it,” Lily flushed. “I don’t want you feel forced to choose sides or anything.”

“No. No forcing here,” Linda reassured her.

“Yeah. It was excellent.” Alex said. “Like, I’ve been pushing for action ever since Lisa and Anne went missing!”

“Well, Rhiannon, another druid, I guess,” Lily explained the situation with Emma and Mudskipper. “Do you two know what a Starbreed is, and can you tell me?”

“Only in the way it related to Starshine,” Linda said. “His mane turns electric blue out in the wild. Herman thought it made him special, a Starbreed. I suppose by being our horses, they have to be Starbreeds. Though, Herman always said that Starshine, Meteor, Tin-Can, and Concorde were reincarnated versions of the original Starbreeds. Not that they remember their lives before, but that our souls have been together a long time.”

“You’re reincarnated too.”

“I guess?” Linda shrugged.

Alex sighed. “They really don’t like to explain unless you’re high up in the inner circles. We’ve only been at this a year.”

Linda gave Alex a chiding look.

“Not that we’re supposed to talk about it.” Alex waved her hands.

“All right, if you can’t, you can’t.” Lily said. “Be warned though. We can’t guard against people we don’t know about.” She left them there to get back to work. She’d been gone long enough.

She hoped those words wouldn’t come back to haunt her.

FOR THE ACCOMPANYING IMAGES PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE MY WATERMARK AND CONTACT INFORMATION. THANK YOU. I get it. Some of you might get excited and want to see this stuff in the game, especially the clothes, tack, and pets. However, the only way I want to see this in the game is if I get paid for it. If I see it in the game and I’m not paid for it, there will be hell to pay. You think I’m salty. I’d be angry. Personally, I’m not going to send this info to SSO. If you do, leave my contact information there! Don’t give them any excuses to steal.

Now, I’ll know you haven’t read this note if you leave me comments about how ‘salty’ I am about the game and if I hate it so much I should do something else. I am doing something else. It’s called Mystic Riders MMORPG Project. Mystic Riders however is a very baby phase game. You can check out our plans on the game dev blog. (Skills, Factions, Professions, Crafting, Mini-Games, 25+ horse breeds!) If you know anyone who would be interested and has money or contacts about game making, direct them to the blog.

#star stable #sso #star stable online #fan fic #jorvik reimagined #star stable salt #silveerglade reimagined #completely harmless #many nods to ruth westside #the druids didn't make a great impression #also conflict means plot #i blame the update schedule #though the story doesn't help

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soulephant · 5 years

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It’s been a while since I last posted about 3H. Then, I implored people not to give shit to Black Eagles players for liking a house. By the way, don’t do that.

Turns out that isn’t the extent of the disrespect and snobbery that is displayed sometimes in regards to Three Houses.

Some people compare Three Houses ridiculously unfavorably to either Radiant Dawn or Conquest(?!?!). And then proceed to be all high-and-mighty and talk people down implicitly if not explicitly. Again, please don’t do that. Anyway, let’s address the comparisons first because I have some choice opinions about that.

(I guess, by the way, I’ll give some spoiler warnings for those who have not played Three Houses yet)

Let’s start with Conquest. It plays really well. That’s more than can be said for the vast majority of pre-awakening games, most of which were marred by awful handling of weight (in what world should specific people be slowed down by Iron Lances?), multiple promotion items, handaxes and such being broken at the expense of bows, and other assorted problems, to a point where I wonder “how is this supposed to ever become more than a cult classic?“. Then again, so does Three Houses.

Conquest pretty much always has some difficulty. Conquest normal is perfect for me, but then, I’ve played several Fire Emblem games at this point. Now I’m not giving Conquest shit for this because it was designed for veterans difficulty-wise. It’s what the game set out to do and Conquest was marketed as such. Ideally though, normal should be normal. It should give the “average“, whatever that may be a challenge, but not be too punishing for exploring whatever the player wants to explore. My inner jury’s still out on whether Three Houses is too easy instead or not. I do not rule that out at present. But too easy is better than too hard, because with too easy, people at least get to play your game and like things about it.

Anyway, I will give Conquest props for gameplay, which I can’t stress enough is quite a good thing.

Characterwise, Conquest is a mixed bag. In part, because some characters had some pretty bad gimmicks (Setsuna would have been maybe okay if she was a general airhead, and didn’t have an absolutely ridiculous focus of falling into traps instead, which is simply not a viable primary trait), though it also has some characters like Niles and Peri, who have backstories and reasons for being the way they are. So far, there isn’t a single stinker in Three Houses, and the cast is shaping up to be stronger in general.

Storywise though... I’m sorry, I can barely begin to reasonably grant Fates fans any points in this regard. I was promised conquest, and what was I given? A conquest that is undesired to the point of Corrin being very whiny pretty much always, when ideally you would expect Corrin to at least toughen up a little (hell, his Nohrian siblings were right there to show him how it’s done!). Other than, what, chapter 16? Where Corrin actually quite masterfully plays Iago, they actively reject character development and keep embracing angst (after Ryoma’s death being the best example). And I get what IntSys/whoever the writer was was going for, because the war isn’t pretty. But it fails to work I find. Also, Conquest throws deaths left and right but... how are most of those supposed to affect the player again? Lillith being the most glaring example. She’s the reason your castle exists, and that’s... about it. Conquest just falls flat storywise (even if bits and pieces could have been okay), and comparing it to Three Houses favorably in that area is something I can already never comprehend.

Now Radiant Dawn. This mostly comes up because Edelgard is compared to Micaiah and people favor Micaiah? But here’s the thing: Radiant Dawn has a prequel (that, on a side note, is a more solid game). That prequel has a cast. That cast benefits from a support system, which Radiant Dawn practically removed. Then Radiant Dawn puts that cast, Ike and co and basically every legitimately good guy, against Daein, which has mostly just lost its mind again. Daein did not deserve the brutal occupation it had during Part 1, but that’s all I can say in Micaiah and the Dawn Brigade’s favor. The key thing is that if you have played Path of Radiance, and notice that Daein is awfully racist and quite unhealthy besides, why would you still willingly side with Micaiah? Why would you not wonder why the game forces you to guide her to victory, instead of teaching Daein a lesson again with a cast that you actually got to explore?

Basically, Micaiah’s enemy is not wrong. Daein may have been yoked by a blood contract, but let’s face it, most of Daein’s army just revels in fighting “sub-humans“ again regardless of why they would actually go to war. To boot, most of Daein’s cast has... little to no character to be found. Even if there was, the player would only have had Part 1′s 10 chapters to get that depth as opposed to the 26 or so that Path of Radiance’s cast had.

The same can’t be said for Edelgard. IntSys made the attempt to treat all houses equally, for starters. All houses are on equal footing. Edelgard’s methods are wrong, and she’s more extreme than most of the Hardin archetype, so please spare me that old news because I know already. But there’s enough things in the game to prove that Edelgard has a point regarding the nobility and crests (just look at some characters’ backstories!). To boot, there’s enough implications that the church has been untruthful for, what, at least a century? And don’t get me started on Rhea because she seems entirely too eager to execute dissenters and erupts the moment she doesn’t like something. Edelgard’s enemy has skeletons in its closet, is implied to be problematic, or at least aren’t the literal heroes of the game. Her enemy is actually potentially wrong!

Two other things in Three Houses’ favor are balance and difficulty. Radiant Dawn’s normal difficulty is... schizophrenic (supposedly localization turned what was hard mode into what we know as normal mode), sometimes too easy, other times outright making me break my no-death rule out of sheer frustration, and further serves to make Part 3′s Daein chapters absolute nightmares because the Dawn Brigade has like no exp pool. Three Houses, again, may turn out to be too easy but I’d take that over whatever Radiant Dawn’s normal mode was. Also as alluded to, a fair few units especially among the new cast just aren’t good. In Three Houses, everyone is usable. Sometimes a few units are broken but at least you can use everyone!

So for short, Three Houses:

The most morally gray or whatever side has a point and their enemy has actual skeletons in their closet.

Normal difficulty is perhaps too easy, but at least the game is accessible. You know, unlike most of the franchise.

Balance is satisfactory. No one is really useless.

Has a proper support system.

Radiant Dawn:

If you played Path of Radiance, why the hell would you still side with Micaiah? Her enemy is not equally wrong. Not even close!

The normal difficulty is schizophrenic because it was in fact supposed to be hard mode. Also because Dawn Brigade has like no exp pool. Still accessible enough, but only just, and pales in comparison to PoR and basically every post-awakening game including Three Houses.

Several new units are as useless as they are underdeveloped.

Has a pathetic excuse for a support system that makes any new addition to the cast a pretty poor character because they have no real opportunity to actually have potential depth explored.

I wish I could change people’s minds but I know there’s always people I disagree with. That’s fine, despite some of my strong word choices. If I end up displaying some hypocritical snobbery of my own in the process of outlining my own thoughts, that’s my mistake and one I will own up to.

What I am not okay with is when people go like “they’re just generous“, “they must be men” or any derogatory variation thereof. Come on man, that’s not being a critic! Being a critic is outlining positives as well as the negatives, and not getting particularly hung up on any of them. It especially isn’t being a snob towards people who don’t see things the same way! They don’t deserve that treatment, much less over video games!

So I hope I have clearly outlined my thoughts here.

#Soul talks #fire emblem #Fire Emblem Three Houses #rant #I guess #long post

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caelin-ismycity · 5 years

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My Lord’s Disease : Prologue

[This thing’s gonna be an elihec fanfic where Eliwood is lovesick with hanahaki disease yeehaw. I think I’ll update this thing once a day or every so often since it took me a while to type up this first bit, but I hope you guys become interested.]

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Ever since I was a young man, I have always the honor to serve under the Pherean household. Whether it be behind the castle’s impressive walls or out on the field aiding my fellow knights with border patrols, bearing the crest of Pherea on my sleeve has never once brought shame nor regret. It was through the circumstances that Lord Elbert pushed onto me that helped mold me into the man I am today, and for that it is impossible for me to fully repay him; no matter the favor nor challenge, I can never shy away from a duty milord bestows upon me.

I was but the ripe age of eighteen when Lord Elbert pulled me aside one afternoon. The weather bore such indescribable radiance- a loving warmth that I would be ashamed to ever forget; I had taken what little time I allowed myself to have to bask in its light in the castle's gardens when I saw milord approach from the east gate. Lord Elbert came to me alone, a noticeable pep in his step as he strode from the gate across the cobbled pathway; my lord was perhaps in his mid-thirties, yet from his mannerisms he emulated the energy of a young knave as he attempted to conceal his apparent excitement in hopes of impressing his matured peers.

From where I previously lounged against his porcelain fountain, I corrected my posture in an instant. I greeted my lord as per usual as I attempted to assume what task he had prepared for me.

While there was very few to begin with on such a fine day as this, the clouds seemed to part a bit as the garden began to practically illuminate in sunlight, milord’s eagerness beginning to chip at my professional stature. “Marcus, I want you to meet someone.”

It was was nowhere near unusual for Lord Elbert to introduce business partners to me. Despite my young age, Lord Elbert seemed to entrust me with generous importance in comparison to his more veteran soldiers. I had little to complain about however as I began to follow Lord Elbert into the castle. I had expected us to approach the war room as where it was typical for meetings to be held, but rather we took an oppository right turn, admittedly into a hallway I had vague memories of. As a knight of Pherae I was expected to memorize the castle’s layout as though I was observing my backhand, but as we furthered down the well-lit hallway, the windows graciously doing little to barricade the light from flaring the passage, I had realized I came up short in my memorizational duties. However in spite of my initial confusion, seeing various clerics and nurses briskly pace in and out of doors allowed me to conclude something quite apparent- Lord Elbert was leading me towards a nursery, presumably where his and Lady Eleanora’s newborn child was.

The first thing I noticed upon Lord Elbert opening the nursery door was the smell. In truth I never bore witness to childbirth, let alone set foot in a nursery- it simply was not within my profession to do so. Frankly it was a difficult scent to describe, however I would be lying if I described it as ‘unpleasant.’ In fact, it smelt like the natural odor of how a home feels like. The next thing I took notice of was the infant bundled in a lilac blanket, cuddled closely to Lady Eleanor’s breast. I felt my shoulders slack as I focused on the child. From what little of the child was exposed, the small tufts of red hair poking out of the blanket were apparent, the vibrancy and warmth those small strands of hair produced emulating how I imagined Lord Elbert’s to appear when he was younger.

Milord tugged at my arm, gleefully noticing my awe with the new family member. He urged me to approach Lady Eleanora seeingly as her own voice, for she hardly seemed to acknowledge our presence. Undoubtedly, Lady Eleanora was more than elated to introduce her child to us, but it was with that elation she directed it solely to the infant. As any well-trained knight would do, I took heed to my Lord and my Lady’s wishes and approached the ecstatic parents.

“His name is Eliwood,” my Lady greeted me, her delicate fingers stroking Eliwood’s plump cheeks as he lay in her arms. I stood frozen in place, for what was I to do in such a position? Lady Eleanora clearly possessed supernatural ability as she finally looked up at me (with a notable hesitance honestly), her eyes crinkling with an unrestrained smile. “We want you to care for him.”

I stood in front of milady, my mouth agape; a protest rumbled in my throat, ‘Forgive me milady, but shouldn’t this task be handled with a knight more veteran than I?’ However my actions rejected this concept as I quietly accepted her request with a nod.

Up until that point, there was only three of us in the room. But Lord Elbert, just as vibrant as his (and his son’s) hair, was seldom one to let others forget he was in the room as he gripped my shoulder, turning me to face him. “Marcus,” he began with a shaky tone. Perhaps he too realized that I was not the one fit for a job as paramount as this one, but his following words rejected that concept as well. “You’ve worked under this house for nearly a decade now, and in such little time you’ve shown us how much of a reliable knight you are. Yet not only that, you’ve become quite close to Eleanora and I, haven’t you?”

Lord Elbert had a fair point in his appraisal. It was unbeknownst to me how the relationship between the three of us developed, however it would not be honest of me to deny the paternal treatment I have felt from the two before me. My glance broke from milord to return to Lord Eliwood, cerulean eyes fluttering awake from a brief, unnoticed nap. Lady Eleanora was quick to pepper her son in kisses, Lord Eliwood responding with a bubbly giggle. Needless to say, I felt my heart flutter and I was able to truly feel the personal love Lord Elbert and Lady Eleanora oozed within that small room.

Lord Eliwood and I shared eye contact. While mine had seen tiresome wars and battles and paperwork and business partners, my new Lord before me had only just begun to see the world and life ahead of him. Yet, even when my Lord becomes exposed to the horrors and sluggish nature of life as he ages, I knew it would be difficult for eyes of such a brilliant hue to lose that sparkle- that glimmer of curiosity and optimism and joy.

“Of course, milord,” I replied, hesitantly breaking eye contact with Lord Eliwood to return to his father’s. Lord Elbert’s cheerful expression seemed to radiate further, vaguely-hidden tears beginning to bleed through his eyes. “Thank you, Marcus. It would be impossible for Eleanora and I to think of anyone more fit nor more reliable for this than you.” With a final pat on my shoulder, Lord Elbert approached his son and delicately kissed his forehead, whispering a quiet ‘farewell’ to him before exiting the room, undoubtedly to return to his lordly duties.

Such a series of events quickly reminded me, too, of my own responsibilities. I approached Lady Eleanora once more, a foreign nervousness tickling my shoulders. “Milady.” I did not expect my voice to come out so shaken, but I made quick efforts to cover my fault with a cough. “Might I hold him? If I’m to take up this task, I feel as though it would be best if I get used to handling him.” Lady Eleanora looked at me with a joyous expression, and if I knew any better it looked as though she were about to laugh. Perhaps I had been too forward in my request to handle Lord Eliwood? He was born mere moments ago, perhaps he should spend a little more time in the arms of his mother opposed to the arms of his knight. Yet Lady Eleanora seemed to reject this concept, gladly nodding her head as she carefully extended Eliwood to me.

“Make sure to support his head, Marcus,” she instructed. And as any good knight would, I complied with milady’s orders as I cradled Lord Eliwood in my arms. He greeted me with a look of confusion- although my hair was similar to his mother’s (to an extent anyhow), it was clear that I was not her. I feared that Lord Eliwood would soon turn me away, for perhaps he found fault in the position I was assigned to in being his caretaker. But he was quick to accept me, a toothless smile and a giggle rejecting the concept that Lord Eliwood would find only distaste in me. The unease in my arms faded as this point, and in its place was a pleasant warmth radiating throughout the rest of my body.

When my parents had sent me away to become a knight of Pherae, I had little knowledge of what to expect. It has been nearly a decade since my arrival to Lord Elbert and Lady Eleanora’s doorstep, and since that day it has become my purpose to fulfill every one of their wishes and orders. As any good knight should do, I never intend to break that oath I made with them. I intend to continue my lifelong devotion to Lord Eliwood, and should I fail him I should fail as a knight as well.

#FE7 #elihec #uh fuck i need a writing tag dont i #snap writes #sure we'll go with that #anyways i thought this was gonna be a quick thing but i guess im making it long #next chapter eliwood and hector'll meet when they're kids and then things'll pick up #if im motivated pray for me #also hi i dont know what proof reading is sorry if its ass :(#im a lazy bitch

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nomattertheoceans · 6 years

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I don’t idolize Severus Snape

I think I might have already made this distinction in my post about Tamlin from ACOTAR, but I'll just do it again for good measure :) I'm here talking about Snape as a person. His character is very complex and really interesting to read about. But him as a person? Awful human being in my opinion.

I’ll try to make this post logical and not get too carried away hahaha I’m working off memory of my last reading here, and it’s been like a year and a half, so I might not get everything correct, feel free to correct me, and to let me know what you think.

So first, let’s take a look at his actions as a teenager

He was already extremely prejudiced before they even went to Hogwarts. You can see that he despises Petunia because she’s a muggle, and he’s only nice with Lily because he’s “in love with her” (I’ll come back to the love part a bit later)

We see in the flashbacks from their first year that when Lily and Severus meet with the Marauders in the train to Hogwarts, there’s instant hatred between them. But it’s mutual, it’s not just James and Sirius bullying him, it’s the three of them instantly despising each other. And may I remind you of another instant hatred relationship we get to see in the books: Harry & Draco.

Ok probably the biggest point that's brought up when people defend Snape’s actions: the flashback from the OWLs. We follow the Marauders, Harry discovers how arrogant his father was in school, and witnesses him hexing Snape. This scene alone is certainly good at presenting Snape as the poor guy that was bullied through school and couldn’t get out of it. I mean, James does attack Snape without any reason. But what do we learn later? That Snape used to hex the Marauders as much as they hexed him. We learn again that their hatred was very much mutual, and that it's his worst memory, not because of the bullying, but because his shit treatment of Lily got her to abandon any hope of friendship with him. Which leads me to my next point:

He insults someone who's supposed to be his best friend, with the worst possible insult in the Wizarding world. He humiliates her in front of an entire crowd. And even if the insult kind of comes out without him thinking about it, it shouldn't have, because a non-bigotted person wouldn't have had the reflex to use this word. And this comes from the fact that even when he was a teenager, he was already...

A Death Eater. That's right, in one of the flashbacks, he clearly states that he considers the use of an unforgivable curse on a muggleborn a joke.

Also,

Sectumsempra. Need I say more? He invented a potentially deadly curse in school, and didn't hesitate in using it, since we have an account of Remus saying it was his “signature move."

Granted, all of this happened when he was still in school, so somewhat immature. So let's take a look at everything he did afterwards, as an adult.

Working for Voldemort even though, once again, he was targeting primarily people similar to the woman he supposedly "loved."

Not hesitating in giving Voldemort the prophecy, knowing full well that he would kill any threat to his power, so giving away innocent people.

Only feeling remorse about the prophecy when he realized it concerned Lily

Being ready to let her husband and son, the people she loved, die, because he only cared about keeping her alive.

Begging Voldemort to keep her alive, again not caring about the people she loved.

Only turning on Voldemort's ideas because she was in danger, and then only starting to want redemption because she was dead.

Once Harry gets to Hogwarts and the books begin, a whole new lot of awful is in store. Snape is a professor at that time, he is supposed to help his students grow and be confident about themselves, he's supposed to teach them potions, but also be helpful to them (they're in a boarding school, so the kids don't have their parents with them and the teachers have a much bigger role to play in their education).

He is biased, he's deliberately advantaging his house by giving them unfair points, and unfairly taking points away from other students.

He destroys Remus' career out of spite, even though he knows damn well that Remus is not a danger to the kids, and actually a good and beloved teacher.

He's ready to let Sirius be kissed by the Dementors because of their old school hatred, even though he knows he's innocent (or at least suspects it).

He stops teaching Harry occlumency , once again out of spite. Harry doesn't want the lessons either, but he is a teenager, and it should be Snape’s responsibility to keep the lessons going.

And the biggest problem, he is a bully.

He bullies Hermione, calling her a know-it-all, and calling her out on a physical trait she's not comfortable with, when she's thirteen.

He bullies Neville all throughout his school years, treating him like he's worthless, becoming his worse fear by third year (and probably before). Snape actually tries to murder Neville's pet, and he's upset when the potion turns out not killing Trevor, actually taking points from Hermione because she helped him save his pet!!!!!

And finally, he bullies Harry from day one. Harry arrives at Hogwarts, it's the first time he's away from his abusive family, he's very eager to learn everything there is to learn and he's very humble. And what is the first thing Snape does? He asks him a bunch of trick questions to humiliate him in front of all his new comrades. Then, he spends the rest of Harry's school career bullying him, angering him into getting detentions and losing points, telling him his father was the most awful person to ever live when Harry never even got to meet him, and trying to get him expelled from Hogwarts.

And there's nothing to justify acting that way towards Harry. Yes, Snape holds a grudge against James, yes he never got over his feelings towards the Marauders, and yes, it angers him that Harry looks so much like his father. But these are no reasons to bully an innocent child. In comparison, could you imagine Neville (canonically teacher to the New Gen) treating Scorpius that way just because his father used to bully him?! No? Me neither. Because Neville is a good person.

His "love" for Lily

One last thing before we part. I don't think he was in love with Lily. I think he was obsessed with her. Because when you love someone, you don't treat them like crap just to please your new racist friends. When you love someone, you don't humiliate them in front of the whole school when you're hurt. When you love someone, if they find love and happiness somewhere else, you don't want their family to die.

He stole the photo and the letter that Lily sent to Sirius. He found a photo of her laughing at her family, and cut them out to keep the illusion she was smiling at him. He found the words of love that she'd sent willingly to a close friend of her, and stole them away, to keep the illusion that she was in love with him.

Again, I can't stress this one enough: Snape was fine with the idea of James and Harry dying, as long as Lily lived. He didn't care about her losing the man she loved, didn't care about her losing her child. That's not healthy, that's not love.

The quote "Always" is creepy. Because it's supposed to be this grand gesture of love, showing undying love even after years apart. But that's not undying love. That's unrequited, one-sided obsession.

Also, little bonus because I don't believe this scene is in the books, just in the movies. But who enters a room with a crying baby in it, and instead of trying to calm down the baby and hug him, goes to the corpse of the woman that's always been rejecting them? That is so creepy, I can't even emphasize it enough so here's the scene:

Anyway, all of this to say that while his character is one of the most well-constructed of the books, it makes me extremely uncomfortable to see that a lot of people see him a this white knight that couldn't do any wrong, whose bad actions were all redeemed by the sole fact that he was indeed working for the good side at the end. Working for the good side doesn't excuse racism. And it certainly doesn't excuse bullying.

If you want to read my other thoughts on stuff

#sorry i went a little overboard with this one!#but i have so many feelings about snape #hp #harry potter #snape #severus snape #the marauders #james potter #sirius black #remus lupin #voldemort #lily potter #lily evans #hermione #hermione granger #neville #neville longbottom #bullying #anti snape

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uhhhhhhokay · 5 years

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My Unpopular Opinions of 2018

This is messy, a bit mean, and full of my mad/irritated feelings. You’ve been warned. No slipping into my asks as an anon to fight with me because I’ve posted this on my account. These are my opinions and I’ve already said that they aren’t that nice to some shows

1) Charmed and Black Lightning are the only good CW shows and it has the best lesbian rep of 2018 (and Rosa from b99 would be the best bisexual rep)

2) Melanie Scrofano/Wynonna Earp is the best part of Wynonna Earp. Honestly lately the rest of the characters for me have either awful or boring or funny but given nothing to do

3) Also even though she’s the main actress, Melanie is somehow the most underrated actress/character in the show. She’s disregarded by so many fans, either in favor of Wayhaught or Doc, and the show treats her like shit by constantly putting her with Doc

4) Descendants fans who pit Dove Cameron and China Anne McClain against each other in the hopes of making the other seem superior are doing absolutely nothing for their careers and are contributing to the unnecessary comparison between successful women

5) Also I don’t care if you don’t like Dove Cameron, but hating her for that Mal/Harry comment she made months ago is so fucking ridiculous. She’s a girl in love who also loves her character, god forbid she make her own headcanons for it, and it wasn’t like she was asking for it to happen (and no she wasn’t disregarding Mal’s current relationship Ben because she was talking about Mal and Harry being exes god damnit)

6) I can’t believe i have to say this in 2018 BUT STOP WITH THE INCEST STORYLINES! IT AIN’T CREATIVE OR SURPRISING BITCHES JUST GROSS

7) ALSO STOP SHIPPING INCEST GOD PLEASE STOP

8) Timothee Chamalet or whatever his name is, isn’t that great. Like he’s fine I guess but like....Have you seen other actors? I mean, there’s Fady Elsayed, Jack Black, Jordan Renzo, Greg Austin (rip Class), and so many more actors that are, in my opinon, significantly more talented

9) Letterkenny and Galavant are the best comedies out there

10) Riverdale is shit for erasing Jughead’s asexuality and queerbaiting fans at the beginning with Beronica

11) I’ve said this before, but people disliking Cole Sprouse because of the abuse allegation against him is incredibly valid.

12) Mike Flanagan, Jordan Peele, and Kate Siegel are the only people I trust to write some bone chilling horror stories

13) The Haunting of Hill House is better than American Horror Story and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrine combined

Now it’s time to get serious.....

14) I have no respect and cannot get along with people who talk about how ugly people are

15) The hellsite is shit for so many reasons but some of its worst qualities are when people take a situation and make it black and white, have zero sympathy or empathy for other people, and twist peoples words and put in meanings that were never there

16) I also hate how how people only care about mental illness when it doesn’t come to their jokes or memes. For example, mental health has been talked about a lot in regards to Ariana Grande, which is good, but once her engagement with Pete Davidson ended, no one hesitated to attack him in almost every way possible even though the man has been very outspoken about his depression. I don’t know shit about Pete Davidson but I’ve seen him relentlessly be attacked and have his depression and suicidal thoughts be joked about.

17) Stanning is a fucked up culture that we need to leave behind in 2018. There are some celebrities who have a lot of projects that I love and I admire their talent, but the concept of stanning either includes an unhealthy amount of devotion to a celebrity or it erases them as a human being and reduces them down to objects. In some cases, both of these are true. It’s a sick thing for both fans and the celebrities. If a celebrity does something wrong, call them out, and if they don’t listen, well forget it or move on. Cancelling them as if they can be thrown in the garbage and disposed of promotes negativity and hatred, which is doesn’t solve anything, and it can inhibit any growth from that celebrity. They are human and will inevitably fuck up. It’s the only way to learn and grow.

18) This is about Wynonna Earp but it’s a serious post. I’ve made my thoughts about this show abundantly clear but there is one thing I haven’t talked about at all and that’s the racism in the show and in the fanbase. Disclaimer: I am white. This show hasn’t treated any of their poc or black characters well. The latest example would be the treatment of Dolls and Kate. The last two seasons Doc has had two women of color as his love interests, and both of these characters have been treated as objects to make Wynonna jealous. There is also the lack of story and villainization of these women. There is also the major lack of story with Dolls, which most likely led to Shamier Anderson’s decision to leave. I won’t get into anymore, this is how I’ve always viewed these poor storylines, but I will say this: white fans of Wynonna Earp, we do not get a say on how black viewers should feel about any of these storylines. White lesbians, you would be livid is Waverly or Nicole were killed, and rightfully so. Black people or people of color probably felt the rage you would’ve felt if you lost one of those characters when Dolls was killed off. Telling people to get over it is cruel. If people want to stop watching, that is their right. We have no place in telling them how they should feel about the treatment of their representation.

19) I made this post a while ago but it holds true: https://uhhhhhhokay.tumblr.com/post/179314393735/shows-with-good-lgbt-rep

20) Everyone needs a break from social media. I know that for some people, it really helps because we have friends on here that we can talk to, but it also has so many negative effects. The real world is nothing like this toxic website. You should take breaks from it every once in a while. You need to get hobbies. You need some other past time than this website. The majority of people on this site aren’t good and everyone should take a breather from it. I take breaks from this site on a regular basis and when I do it feels so fucking good.

21) Random but The Lodgers is the worst movie ever and it’s an even worse horror movie. Would not recommend. Unless you feel like roasting something for an hour and a half. The only good part about watching that movie was that I watched it with my roommate who I am good friends with and we laughed our asses off and made fun of it so much. It is truly awful. Even though I had a blast roasting it, I will never get that time of my life back.

22) The Last Jedi does not deserve that 91% on rotten tomatoes. Just like how The Lodgers deserves far less than 56%.

23) Time to get serious again. I get that a lot of us wished that the shows we loved were real, but they aren’t. That’s a fact that everyone needs to realize and accept. To me, hating an actor for their character’s actions is just as fucked up as stanning. They aren’t their character. They are not responsible for the shit their characters pull. They are carrying out the story written for them. As for writers, sometimes the writers do not support their characters actions either. Just because the character is evil or mean or whatever does not always mean that the people who work behind the curtain support that.

24) Shipping real people and harassing them is sooo inappropriate and messed up. I shouldn’t really have to explain this one but too many people on this site don’t seem to grasp it. I mean, didn’t Harry Styles say a while ago that all the smutty fanfics, tweets, and fanarts about him and his bandmates effect his friendships with him? Him reacting that way is not homophobic, btw. It is him reacting naturally to people fetishizing and sexualizing him and his friends. These are real people. Their relationship, sexuality, and god just so much of their lives is none of our business. They don’t owe us any information about their personal lives. We don’t own them. They are their own people, which also means that they make their own mistakes.

25) Random again, but original Charmed fans put their show too high of a pedestal. I never got really into show. I tried it, think I watched half of the first season, and I did a little research on it and I was in the fanbase for a hot sec but it was very short. From my research, it seems to me, that for a feminist show, the cast (except Shannon Doherty) was the opposite behind the scenes. I know you can’t help who you don’t like but you can control how you talk about someone, especially to the public, and from what I’ve seen there’s been more negative comments from them about their castmates than positive. I don’t think anyone will know the whole story but to me the feud between the og’s leading ladies has always very catty to me, and it’s gotten even worse with the remake. You can be protective of your show without being rude. You don’t have to support the remake, and you can do that without being rude either. By the way, this is more directed towards Holly Marie Combs, who I believe has been the most outspoken about being against it. Three young actresses are doing the job they love and they were given a chance to be the new charmed ones for a new generation. There is no reason to be so negative about it. It looks even more immature when you see the cast of the original Sabrina who gleefully gave their support to the new cast.

26) Adults please stop thinking every show is for you. it’s not. Some shows are for kids, some shows are for teenagers, and some shows are for you. If you enjoy the show that’s directed towards a younger audience then that’s great. If you don’t enjoy it, then that’s fine too. What is not fine is you acting like that show was meant for you and tearing it apart and bullying people of that directed age group online. I can’t believe the amount of times I’ve seen some 19-40 year old dipshit on the internet go and bully a 15 year old only because they said they loved a show. That is not only sick and immature but it’s uncalled for.

27) Also 15 year olds or younger, do not use your age as an excuse to be mean either. You might be young and you will definitely make huge mistakes, but there’s is nothing to justify you telling someone to kill themselves or insulting them just because they don’t like your favorite character or something. You might not be as experienced as some adults, but you’re old enough to know what the fuck you’re doing and how wrong it is. Don’t be cruel and blame it on you being young and stupid. You maybe young and all of us will always be a bit stupid, but that does not excuse your behavior. And @ older people who do that shit too, your older age and power does not excuse your cruelty either. Nothing excuses telling someone to kill themselves. Ever. Especially if it’s over a goddamn tv show.

28) Can Ryan Murphy please just make one tv show and stick with it until it ends? He has so many great concepts but because he wants to do all of them at once they all go downhill after one season.

29) On the same but different note, fuck Ryan Murphy for having Violet and Tate get back together. My girl deserves better than a serial killer/rapist that also got her mom killed because he impregnated her with the anti christ. Fuck that.

I never intended this to be so long lol no one will read this

30) The Hormone Monster is literally a metaphor for hormones. Stop twisting it into pedophilia. That show is so sex positive and is so much better than most of the sex ed that we got.

31) Let’s leave monster fucking behind please

32) Puzzles are a treat to do

33) Funko pops are cute but they make a lot of dumbass decisions regarding which ones to make (like I saw pops of that new nutcracker movie a while before it was released like maybe wait and see how it does first????)

34) Also lets stop thinking of ships/shows as a way to up yourself as more progressive or whatever. We all have our trash shows and ships, stop acting like a saint. Just because someone has a trash ship, does not mean they are lesser than you.

35) Fanbases are usually always trash. This didn’t change at all in 2018.

36) Class’s first season was significantly better than Torchwoods first season. You guys are just mean.

37) While I adore Class, Patrick Ness’s dialogue was really YIKES sometimes (the Charlie April deleted scene nearly killed me). Overall it was good though because it was the closest depiction of how teens speak.

38) Also any teen drama show that has a teen speak seriously in a hashtag should burn in hell (if a hashtag is used in dialogue as joke then it’s fine because it’s funny)

39) An actor being on a show you don’t like does not warrant hate

40) It’s been two years since Class but still, fuck the dw fans who were/are so mean to the class actors, especially Vivian Oparah and Sophie Hopkins.

I think that’s it.

#40 points long #bbc class

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tilltheendwilliwrite · 6 years

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Balance on the Head of a Pin*

Chapter Nineteen

Previous Chapter

Pairing: Loki Laufeyson x OFC | Word Count: 5081 Warnings: Swearing, yelling, Smut, NSFW

Thor’s mood was high when he returned to the tower. Was he a little worried? Certainly. The task his brother had set himself was large. Huge in fact, but, if he succeeded, Thor knew his future with his brother at his side would be assured.

All he had to do was make sure no one screwed it up. In this, he eyed the tower lit like a beacon against the backdrop of the city. The team would need to be warned to keep their noses out of it.

On Asgard, an Ástvinur was a rarity, but then so was a dark god. Loki was, quite honestly, the darkest god Asgard had seen in generations. The last god Thor could recall having been in need of, and blessed by, an Ástvinur was Aegir.

The sea god had been a most violent male, feared by sailors as he would appear on the surface to take ships with him to the bottom of the deep where his hall was located. One of short temperament, Aegir had calmed substantially, found peace with Ran, his wife, who’d born him many daughters. After Ran and Aegir completed their bonding, Aegir’s entire demeanour changed. He did everything he could to keep his Ástvinur happy and became known for his lavish entertainment.

Thor had been to many a feast given by the sea god. They were all quite memorable.

Ran liked a good party.

To find that Loki, his brother, beloved even after everything he’d done, was now in the hunt for his own Ástvinur, well, Thor could have shouted down the heavens he was so happy.

Still, he worried a little. When Loki finally told Lauren everything, all of it, Thor hoped she would take it well. If not, he worried for the brúðr steinn.

If the Avengers had thought they could smell the crazy on Loki before, it would be nothing in comparison to what would happen this time if someone interfered with their bonding.

On Asgard, the news of Loki’s discovery would have been celebrated. The woman would have been given a wide berth. Her status among the court would be elevated to that of princess no matter her current position. Anything she might have wanted would have been given to her, and everyone would have walked with respect around Loki. To be blessed with an Ástvinur was like being told you were worthy of redemption. Loki desperately needed that assurance.

That he had found his Ástvinur on Earth was not of concern. The stress of the situation Loki had put himself in while courting her was. The strain was already showing.

When Loki had turned on him in the past, though Thor had felt infinitely hurt and betrayed, not once did he genuinely believe Loki would actually kill him. Even that time Loki had dropped him from the Helicarrier in the Hulk’s containment cage. While it had caused Thor a moment of concern when he couldn’t grab hold of Mjolnir, then couldn't hit the glass, he knew he’d get out. It was only a matter of timing.

It had pissed him off something fierce, though.

But tonight, when Loki had put himself between Thor and the house it had been entirely different. There had been little doubt in his mind, if he’d made the wrong move, said the wrong thing, Loki would have torn into him with all the ferocity of his darkness.

Usually, Loki was more trickster than truly bad, even when he was playing the villain, Loki was only mostly dark. The only exceptions had been when he’d attacked Midgard on behalf of the Chitauri and tonight.

It was strange how those two instances stuck out in his mind. The same, but different. The rage in Loki then had been a fire burning with the flame of madness in his eyes. Tonight, the flame had burned with passion and love.

And fear.

That Loki was having moments of foresight was disconcerting. Frigga used to see, though she rarely spoke on it to him, leaving those disturbing moments for Odin’s ears alone. Odin would then decide whether to act or not and tell only what needed to be told.

Loki had never shown signs of being a seer… before now.

He put it aside to dwell on later and landed on the balcony of the Avengers tower. The lights were all on, and he could see the majority of the team gathered. They were arguing as Natasha and Bucky were nearly nose-to-nose with each other.

Steve, Tony, Sam, Wanda and Vision were all in some state of intervention, gathered around the pair. When Thor pushed open the door, the noise assaulted his ears.

“You aren’t budding the fuck in, Natasha!” Bucky bellowed.

“How can you say that? Something is clearly wrong! Thor bolts out of here, swearing at his brother over some Asgardian trinket and none of you seem to care that Lauren could be in danger!”

“Do not call the brúðr steinn a trinket, and she is not in danger!” Thor roared, not needing to hear any more. Never in all his life had he been so incised. The anger inside him sent sparks and whips of lightning racing up his arm and over his chest. “If anyone is, it is Loki!” His rage sent him striding forward to tower over the Widow.

She looked at him with wide green eyes. For the first time ever, they were full of fear. “Thor…”

“Your hatred blinds you. I have tried, sincerely tried, to be understanding with you for your bond with Barton is as close as that of a sister, but no more. I can no longer allow you to continue to cast Loki in this light. I won’t have it!”

The glasses in Tony’s liquor cabinet rattled with the volume and strength of his yell.

“Thor… you need to calm down,” Steve said, taking Natasha by the arm and pulling her away from him.

“Perhaps if you explained in better detail,” said Vision, ever the peacekeeper.

Thor straightened to his full height and cast a harsh glare at them all. “You are not of Asgard. You do not understand our ways.”

“Then explain it to us mere mortals, Fabio, cause if you don’t-”

Tony never got to finish his threat for Thor’s hand cut off his airway. “Speak not another word.”

When Tony nodded, he released the man, who gasped for air, and patted his shoulder. “I apologize for the roughness of my treatment, Stark, but you cannot, you must not, interfere with Loki and Lauren.”

“Why?” Wanda asked, lowering herself to sit on the arm of the sofa. “You are… happy, yet fearful. Excited, yet worried. What is a… uh… br… brod…”

She faltered in her pronunciation, and Thor took pity on her. “Brúðr steinn. It is a sacred gift, given when a dark god finds his Ástvinur.”

“What’s that?” asked Bucky.

He looked to the soldier, the only other ally he had in this room. The only other to defend the relationship between Lauren and Loki. “It closely translates as beloved. She is the light to his darkness.”

Silence. A thick, heavy silence filled the room while they all stared at him, not comprehending his meaning.

Natasha finally broke it. “What the hell does that mean?”

Thor was regretting stopping now, wishing instead he’d just gone back to Asgard. “Loki is a dark god. Unlike myself or Odin, or our mother Frigga who are all balanced, an even amount of light and dark, goodness and evil, Loki tips the scale toward darkness. It is the price he pays for being a dark god.”

“What’s that got to do with Lauren?” Sam asked.

The concern on his face was the only reason Thor chose to elaborate. Already he’d said more than he wanted to, but the group as a whole cared deeply for the woman. “Dark gods are rare in my world. They are necessary to the balance of Asgard, and the health of Yggdrasil, the world tree. But they are… dark. More inclined toward mischief, and in some cases truly evil.”

“Been there, seen it, kicked its ass,” muttered Tony.

Ignoring him, Thor continued. “When a dark god comes into his power, he is tasked with creating a brúðr steinn, the necklace around Lauren’s throat.”

“Swanky piece of bling,” Sam smirked.

“It is more than simply bling. It is a declaration, a promise, and an oath bound in the God’s blood.” Thor looked at Natasha. “You are so concerned he will hurt her, but that is where you are wrong. He cannot hurt her. She is his Ástvinur. He has given her his promise, bound in his blood, and his magic, and the flames of Valhalla. There is no one safer in the nine realms than Lauren. Loki would die for her. He would slit his own throat before he ever caused her pain.”

“What’s the catch?”

Steve, of course, the ever-observant Captain would be suspicious. “None, on Lauren’s part.”

“And Loki’s?” Bucky asked.

He looked to the sergeant and sighed. “The bond has five stages. Until it finishes all five, Loki will be less hospitable to people he feels are a threat to his and Lauren’s relationship. Heimdall has been watching and says he circles her, a wolf protecting its mate, and after tonight, I agree with him.”

“What happened down there?”

Tony kept his distance, and Thor had a moment of guilt for frightening his friends. But this was Loki. No one was more important to him than his brother. “Nothing which concerns this team.”

“Now just one damn minute!” Stark barked.

“No.” Thor lifted his chin. “You will wait, and you will hear me when I speak. These are Asgardian matters. As you did not wish me interfering in your war, you will heed my words and stay out of things which have nothing to do with you.”

“Thor, it wasn’t like that!” Steve said.

“I do not care if it was or wasn’t, Captain, but this, here and now, has nothing to do with the Avengers. This is Loki’s one chance at true happiness. At finding peace! After everything that has happened, he never expected to find his Ástvinur. He has been blessed by fate in an act which has changed him greatly. On Asgard we would be feasting nightly, celebrating not only Loki’s good fortune but ours as well! A balanced dark god is… most powerful, and lives for the happiness of his or her Ástvinur.”

“And what’s Lauren get out of all this?” Natasha asked, striding forward to plant herself in front of him, defiance written all over her. “Seems like Loki gets an awful lot out of this deal, but I haven’t once heard you say what she gets out of this… bond.”

“She gets Loki.”

Natasha snorted. “Wow, such a prize.”

“You would be surprised at what a gift that is.”

“Doubtful,” she scoffed.

He arched a brow before bringing his hand up slowly to cup her cheek. While he didn’t banter it around to the others, preferring to be known as the God of Thunder, Thor had another title, one which he tapped into to give Natasha a taste of what she was missing out on.

As the God of Fertility, he had little trouble attracting a female and exuded his allure to prove his point. “Oh, really? Imagine if you will, fair Natasha, a male, a God who is so enamoured with you, he would do whatever it took to see you happy. Whether it be food, clothes, jewels,” he lowered his head and gently stroked her cheek with his thumb, shifting his body closer as he went so she could feel the heat off his frame, “or sex, he would see you happy, blissfully so, at every hour of the day. Now, imagine that someone is the greatest magic wielder Asgard has ever known. What lengths he would go to? What actions he would perform. All in the name of seeing you, the one woman made for him, was happy, healthy, and… satisfied at every interval… at every moment,” he breathed against her lips, watching her pupils dilate, “of every… single… day.” A flush had lightly coloured her cheeks, and he placed a small kiss, more of a nip, to her bottom lip before drawing away. “To be worshiped by a God as the Goddess you have now become for him? Would that not be reward enough?”

She blinked up at him, confused then embarrassed when she stepped further away. “Sure, I guess,” she said, working to compose herself.

Unfortunately for her, the effects of that tiny bit of enticement would not wear off for at least an hour. A swift glance around the room showed Thor had made the group uncomfortable as a whole and grinned. Midgardians were all so stuffy when it came to sex. “If that has satisfied your curiosity, I must be off. I have preparations to make, items to obtain, and good news to give my father before I return to the house of Lauren for tonight’s party.”

No one moved, and Thor made a quick escape, calling for Heimdall to open the Bifröst before he was even out the door. The sooner he got home, the sooner he could come back.

Loki needed him, and he would not let his brother down.

***

The group at large took a collective breath when Thor left, the Bifröst opening and closing in quick succession.

“Well, that’s that, then,” Bucky said, picking Felix up off the back of the couch. The cat hadn’t even twitched with Thor’s angry yelling.

“Unless…” Tony smirked a grin worthy of the Trickster god himself.

“No.”

“You haven’t even heard my proposal!”

Bucky threw him a disdainful glare. “You want to meddle. Thor said we should keep our noses out of it.”

“Would I meddle?” Tony asked, looking insulted.

“Yes,” grumbled Steve.

“So would you,” quipped Sam.

Vision held up his hand before the conversation deteriorated into personal jabs and snarling. “I, for one, am concerned. Thor was quite insistent nothing would befall Lauren should this bond fail to finalize, but he never did explain what would happen to Loki should it be halted.”

“He was most worried in that moment. Nearly fearful. All of it aimed at Loki, not himself,” Wanda said, coming to Vision’s side.

“He did say if anyone was in danger it was Loki, not Lauren,” Sam agreed.

“And Loki’s never been overly hospitable,” Nat added. “Thor is getting better at evading than he used to be.” She almost sounded impressed, even as she shifted restlessly.

“Kiss get you going, Red?” Bucky asked, smile smug.

“Bite me, Barnes.”

“Anytime, Red.” He grinned even wider when her eyes narrowed.

“I’ll be fine, metal-armed asshole,” she huffed.

“Tony, what was your idea?” Wanda jumped in, trying to steer them all back on topic.

Having gone to pour himself a drink, Tony waved them all over and began mixing everyone’s preferred cocktail. “How do you all feel about a little Fourth of July, soiree?”

“He’ll kill you. Loki already doesn’t like you, and if you show up uninvited, ain’t that considered rude by you rich people?” Bucky asked.

Tony waved him off. “I have a standing invitation to the Annandale’s Fourth, well technically it would be third, of July party.”

“How?”

He smirked a grin Vision's direction, but waved at Steve and Sam. “Like I told those two, the brother-in-law wants to rub elbows with some of New York’s elite. Once he found out where Lauren was, he cornered me at some function or other and tried to charm Pepper. When that didn’t work, he invited us to attend the quote-unquote highlight of Greenville’s summer kick-off, at our convenience.”

“So you’re just gonna show up?” Steve shook his head. “I’m with Buck. This is getting out of hand. Lauren and Loki don’t need us getting all up in their business.”

Another round of arguing, explaining, rationalizing, and playing on their feelings later, and the two super soldiers were outvoted. Tomorrow night, Tony, Natasha, Steve and Bucky would be going to Greenville.

Sam had flat out refused. He had no desire to be on the receiving end of Lauren or Loki’s ire, and Wanda and Vision chose to stay behind and watch over things, keep the world from ending, just in case.

The only reason he and Steve had given in was that Bucky figured they were the only ones capable of keeping Tony and Nat out of trouble, and there was no stopping those two.

When he finally got to his room a few minutes later, Bucky pulled out his phone to shoot off a quick text to Lauren to let her know what was coming, only to find he no longer had her or Loki’s number.

“Friday? What’s up with my phone?”

“I’m sorry, Sergeant Barnes. The boss won’t let anyone spoil the surprise.”

Bucky was going to surprise Tony in the morning. With a fist to the face.

***

Loki came awake with the first stirring of Lauren against him. She gave a soft, sweet, almost kitten like sigh which had Loki smiling into her hair. It was adorable, and he tucked her in tighter to his body.

Neither had moved much during the night. Loki’s leg still held her captive, though the hand she’d collected to her heart was now free. She shifted, wiggling against him, her satin covered bottom moved against his partial erection, waking it to full arousal in an instant.

He managed to contain his growl by will alone. The scent of her filled his nose. A soft one of lilies and Lauren, something uniquely her that he was becoming addicted to. She sighed again, moved against him again, and drove him a little mad. Not even awake and she was tormenting him already.

Unable to resist the throbbing of his cock, Loki cupped her breast. She hummed but otherwise seemed unaware of his actions. He could no more contain his devious smirk than he could stop his thumb from finding the rapidly beading peak in the fabric.

He rubbed it in slow circles, taking special care not to over stimulate her. She would be tender still from his actions the previous evening, but thinking about those actions did nothing to calm the monster in his drawers. It only made it throb and twitch against her buttocks.

Her bare shoulder called out to him, begging for his lips, and Loki was more than willing to oblige. He placed a tender kiss on the sleek curve. A soft, open-mouthed kiss in which he could flick a small lick over her skin.

She was sweet like honey, but there was a fire in it. A heat which burned straight through him.

Another growl of pleasure almost escaped him, but he quelled it in favour of nibbling on her skin. From shoulder to throat, he kissed and nipped, making his way to the crook between shoulder and neck and a sensitive spot. All the while he continued the slow manipulation and massage of her breast, a pleasant weight and size in his palm.

When he began to suck lightly on her tender throat, she moaned herself awake. “Loki…”

“Good morning, my sweet,” he whispered against her skin.

“Time’s it?” she asked.

“Barely dawn. Too early to be thinking of getting out of bed. Especially when you can stay right here and let me touch you.” He gave her nipple a tug, and quickly covered her mouth when her moan rose in volume. “Shh, my darling. You will wake the children.”

When she nodded, he released her. His opposite hand curled beneath her torso to begin the gentle massage and tweak of her breasts and nipples again. “Are you tender, pet? Should I stop?” he asked, continuing in his quiet voice, keeping it a barely-there whisper, deep and husky still with sleep.

“Don’t stop.”

The thrust of her hips against his loins was a decadent kind of torture, one that finally had the rumble of a growl escaping his lips. “You must be ever so quiet, my sweet. Can you do that for me?”

She gave another nod, her lashes fluttering with the pleasure his touch produced.

“You’re very sensitive though, aren’t you, pet? I can feel it in how hard these little buds are, in how fast they have filled. How heavy and swollen your breasts are. I love it.”

“Loki,” she whimpered.

“Quiet, my heart. Be quiet as a mouse or I will have to gag you.” She shuddered, and he smiled. “Would you like that, my love? Perhaps a pretty blindfold and cloth for your lips?”

Another shudder shook her body, but she radiated uncertainty.

“Later, then.” He stroked his free hand down her side soothingly. “I will do nothing which makes you uncomfortable, Lauren, only blissfully happy.”

She turned her head to look at him. “I know, Loki.”

Again her trust humbled him, and he rolled her to her back where he could hover at her side. “Elskan min, you bewitch me.” His lips were on hers before she could respond, taking everything she offered and returning it in kind.

Starry-eyed, she stared up at him when he drew back, a haze of need surrounding her. He laced his magic into a second kiss, heating her blood, making her all but pant with desire.

“What do you want, my heart?” he asked, tracing circles on her abdomen.

Her hands threaded into his hair. “Touch me.”

“Where?”

“You know where.”

“Say the words.”

A pretty pink blush filled her face, but her fire came out in spades when she whispered sharply, “Oh merciful God of Asgard, will you please get me off?”

A small chuckle escaped him. “Cheeky girl.” But he let his hand slip beneath the sheet and vanished her gown to her squeak of surprise.

Her surprise quickly morphed into a sigh of pleasure when his fingers softly pet her mound. “Is that what you wanted, my sweet?”

“More.” She spread her legs farther apart.

“Demanding little thing, aren’t you?”

Her arms went around his neck, and she pulled him down to her. “If I am, you’ve only got yourself to blame.”

“Me?” he asked smugly when he skimmed a little lower through her curls and into silky wetness. “How is this my fault?”

“I didn’t know how good this felt before you. You make me this way, Loki.”

“And does that please you, darling?”

“Yes!” she gasped, arching into his hand when he flicked a finger over her firm bundle of nerves.

His finger skimmed her again, circling her so slowly she was writhing, arching and thrusting against him for more, but she remained quiet throughout besides small panting breaths and gasps. Her eyes pleaded with him to stop his torture, and Loki granted her a reprieve.

He sank a single long digit into the tight passage, and almost groaned when her walls gripped him. Scooting down, he whispered near her ear, “You are so tight, pet. So wet. So hot. When I finally make you mine, it will be the most exquisite coming together in history. You will fit me so well. Your body was made for mine and will receive such pleasure in our coupling you will think you had died and gone to Valhalla. Soon I will sink myself inside you, take you for my own, and you will know nothing but happiness.”

“Ah!” moaned from her lips, and he ducked his head to lave her beautiful breast with his tongue. A gentle pluck of her nipple with his lips set her keening. Again he shushed her. “You will wake the little ones,” he warned her.

A fist flew to her lips, muffling the sounds she was struggling to contain.

Loki plunged a second finger inside her. The heel of his hand came down to grind carefully into her sensitive nerves. He went back to treating her breast like a sweet, with gentle licks and soft nips.

Her body glistened in the barely there sunlight, just beginning to lighten the sky to pink. It highlighted her curves and shadowed her valleys. The golden sheet which covered her lower half shimmered and shifted with her restless legs. A flush had coloured her chest and face, and her eyes had long ago become green emeralds filled with fire.

Though his body ached, his cock the hardest he’d ever known it to be, he held himself in check, unable to tear his eyes away from the woman coming apart beneath his hand. A third finger joined the other two, and he was rearing up to seal his mouth to hers when she made to scream in ecstasy.

The tightening of her walls on his fingers and the rush of fluid over his hand, along with the clamping of her thighs around his wrist and hard thrust of her hips told the story of a powerful orgasm. One given by nothing more than his hand and mouth. Gently, he continued to press in and out, taking her even higher, send the rolling, crashing wave through her over and over until she went limp.

“Enough,” she sighed, tugging at his wrist.

“Are you sure, greedy girl? Were you not the one demanding more but a few moments ago?” he teased, but he gave in and removed his fingers from her core and licked the generous offering from his fingers.

“Loki, love, I can’t feel my legs.”

A small roll of laughter had him pressing his face to her throat to stifle his amusement. “Is that so?”

“Everythin’ feels so… heavy and relaxed.”

Her eyes remained closed, and he kissed her on the cheek. “Then go back to sleep, my heart. You have earned a rest.”

“Laze around in bed all day?”

“Not all day,” he assured her when a small frown formed between her brows. “But the sun is barely up. The birds have not even begun to sing.” Loki skimmed his finger up her torso to lay over her heart. “Another hour or two won’t hurt anyone.”

“Party day…” she sighed. “Lots… to do.”

“None of which needs doing now.” He stroked her hair back in soothing passes until her body softened once more. “Whatever needs handling, my Lauren, I shall take care of it and you. You sleep, renew your energy.”

When she did not reply, he flicked his fingers, returning her previous attire, and looked her over. Gold really did suit her.

***

The sun was well up when the children stirred. Feigning sleep, Loki cradled Lauren close and watched them from behind cracked eyelids. Even if he had not set the barrier, he would have known they were awake for they were not very good at being quiet.

Benny giggled when he and Sara tiptoed closer to climb slowly up the foot of the bed. They knelt there a moment, hands muffling their laughter at playing a trick on the grownups.

Lauren sighed, and they froze. She settled, and they crept forward again.

He wondered momentarily what they were about before cluing in. At the last possible second, right before the leap came, Loki murmured, “What do you two think you are doing in my bed?”

Sara shrieked, waking Lauren who jumped in his hold, while Benny broke out in nervous giggles.

“We were being Freyr and Freya from your story, sneaking up on the dragon,” Sara said, a blush on her cheeks.

“Not a dragon, precious. They fought a wyrm, a serpent, when they were young and brash and full of it, like… you two are!” he growled, sitting up to catch them both and wrap them in a flurry of sheets and pillows.

Lauren shrieked and giggled right along with the children until Loki drew Sara and Benny up with him and looked at her, a wicked glint in his eyes. “I think I see the wyrm now, my darlings. Best to catch her unawares!”

As a group, the three of them tackled a wide-eyed Lauren.

Loki took his fingers to her ribs, while the children gave her a few gentle smacks with the pillows. She was laughing and struggling, trying to get away when she ducked and the pillow Sara was swinging caught Loki directly in the face.

It exploded on impact sending white feathers and fluff all directions.

“Oh, dear,” Sara said, biting her lip to contain her giggles.

“Aunt Lu, Loki looks like Santa!” Benny said, clapping his hands excitedly.

Feathers fell like snow around him, swirling and dancing on the air, and coating both him and the bed in white. “Well… I believe that puts an end to the fun,” he said when Lauren could only stare at him.

“Oh, my…” she finally murmured, clearing her throat once, likely to keep from exploding in laughter. “I think, peaches, y’all should run back to your room and get dressed. Then head down to the kitchen to see if Sue Ann can fill those bellies.”

They pouted a little, but the children eventually slipped off the bed and trudged out the door, shutting it quietly behind them.

Lauren bit her lip.

Loki only glared. “I do not look like Santa.”

“Yes, you do!” She fell over in peals of laughter, raising a cloud of feathers with her flop. “Oh, Loki! Oh, wow! I wish I could take a picture!”

“I am so glad you can’t.” Waving his hand, he returned all the feathers to the pillow and formed it anew.

“But that was adorable,” she said from her place curled up on her side.

“You’re adorable.” He bent over her and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

Her hands lifted to cup and hold his face. “No, Loki. That was adorable! You are adorable. The way you are with them is... beautiful.”

“They are good children,” he said quietly. “It is easy.”

Gentle hands caressed his jaw. “You make me so happy, elskan min.”

“Darling.” His heart melted, and he lowered down to give her his weight.

“That’s seven, Loki,” she whispered, excitement shining in her eyes.

“One more, my heart. One more, and I will make you mine.”

“Tonight?” The hope in her eyes was his undoing, and he sealed their mouths together in a kiss which made thinking difficult.

“Tonight.” After the ball was over, she would be his, as he would be hers.

He could hardly wait.

Next Chapter

#balance #loki #Loki Laufeyson #loki fanfiction #god of mischief #god of mischief fanfiction #Avengers #The Avengers #avengers au #avengers fanfiction #southern belle #testy

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anxiousanimal · 7 years

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Favorite Adam moments

It’s Adam Parrish’s birthday and since he’s a character that has made me bite my fingernails and yell at the page and grin like an idiot and maybe even get a moist eye or two (this despite being spoiled to his ending), here are some of my favorite Adam moments in (I think) chronological order:

(Note: Some notable fav moments I omitted because I felt they fell more under “Pynch”. I admit the line between the categories can blur a little.)

Adam and his Spongebob ball:

Gansey joined Adam at his safely distant vantage point. In comparison to Ronan, Adam looked clean, self-contained, utterly in control. From somewhere, he had gotten a rubber ball printed with a SpongeBob logo, and he bounced it with a pensive expression.

"I convinced them not to call the cops," Adam said. He was good at making things quiet.(TRB ch7)

This scene is such a deft, innocent way of hinting that this character is going to be Trouble.

Adam sends Blue flowers:

As the woman headed back to her car, Blue turned the arrangement in her hand. It was just a spray of baby’s breath around a white carnation; they smelled prettier than they looked.

Calla commented, "The delivery must’ve cost more than the flowers."

Feeling around the wiry stems, Blue found a little card. Inside, a woman’s scrawl had transcribed a message:

I hope you still want me to call. — Adam

Now the tiny bunch of flowers made sense. They matched Adam’s frayed sweater. (TRB ch19)

Man, I wish I could just include all his scenes with Blue because their whole relationship is such a rollercoaster ride. Blue got to see the best and the worst of Adam Parrish, but I picked this moment because it’s hopelessly adorable.

Adam puts his head in Blue’s lap:

She’d given up and leaned back by the time Adam appeared. He stepped into the dim green shadow of the tree from the house side.

"Persephone said you were out here." He just hung there at the edge of the shadow.

Blue thought about saying I’m so sorry about your dad, but instead she just stretched out a hand toward him. Adam gave an unsteady sigh of the sort that she could see from six feet away. Wordlessly, he sat beside her and then laid his head on her lap, his face in his arms.(TRB ch41)

I’m thinking about the line “Adam had been starving for longer” in TRK. It’s both touching and unsettling how readily he opens up to Blue during TRB. There’s the sexism in seeing a girl as someone you can automatically confide in, but there’s also a boy who’s clearly starved for affection and hasn’t learned proper boundaries yet. In some ways he’s very emotionally mature, in other ways he has miles to go.

Adam vs Declan:

"You’re not going to fight me, are you?" Adam asked, as if he wasn’t nervous. "I thought that was Ronan’s thing, not yours."

It worked better than Adam could have imagined; Declan immediately fell back a step. Reaching into his back pocket, Declan withdrew a folded envelope. Adam recognized the Aglionby crest on the return address.

"He’s getting kicked out," Declan said, stuffing the envelope toward Adam. "Gansey promised me he would turn his grades around. Well, that hasn’t happened. I trusted Gansey, and he let me down. When he gets back, let him know he’s gotten my brother kicked out."

This was more than Adam could stand.

"Oh no," he said. He hoped Ronan was listening. "Ronan did that all by himself. I don’t know when you both are going to see that only Ronan can keep himself in Aglionby. Some day, he has to pick for himself. Until then, you’re both wasting your time." (TRB ch31)

What I love here isn’t just that Adam stands in the way of someone much bigger and stronger than him, that he knows what to say to get Declan to back off, nor that he does all that for Ronan. It’s that he then can’t help but yelling in Declan’s face about his and Gansey’s treatment of Ronan. Adam may be a careful sort, but if you step on his principles, goddammit, he’ll let you hear about it.

Adam and Gansey at the hospital:

This was where Adam always said something. Where he got angry. Where he snapped, No, I won’t take your damn money, Gansey. You can’t buy me. But he just turned that paper bracelet around and around and around.

"You win," Adam said finally. He rubbed a hand through his uneven hair. He sounded tired. "Take me to get my stuff."

Gansey had been about to start the Camaro, but he took his hand away from the ignition. "I didn’t win anything. Do you think this is how I wanted it?"

"Yes," Adam replied. He didn’t look at him. "Yes, I do."

Adam stopped. Climbing in jerkily, he pulled the door shut. He didn’t do it hard enough, so he had to try two more times. They were silent as Gansey pulled back into traffic. Words pressed against his mouth, begged to be said, but he kept silent.

Adam didn’t look at him when he said, finally, "It doesn’t matter how you say it. It’s what you wanted, in the end. All your things in one place, all under your roof. Everything you own right where you can see …"

But then he stopped. He dropped his head into his hands. His thumbs worked through the hair above his ears, over and over, the knuckles white. When he sucked in his breath, it was the ragged sound that came from trying not to cry. (TRB ch38)

God, this scene is so tense and awful and heartbreaking, and the car door that won’t shut just emphasizes the frustration so perfectly. He may have just escaped an abusive home, but it feels more like a defeat than a victory.

Adam picks the Magician:

He said, “I am. I’m — I’m pulling another card.”

He hesitated, waiting for her to tell him it wasn’t allowed. But she just waited. Adam cut the deck, laid his hand on each stack. He took the card that felt warmer.

Flipping it, he placed the card beside the nine of swords.

A robed figure stood before a coin, a goblet, a sword, a wand — all of the symbols of all the tarot suits. An infinity symbol floated above his head; one arm was lifted in a posture of power. Yes, thought Adam. Understanding prickled and then evaded him.

He read the words at the bottom of the card.

The Magician.

Persephone let out a long, long breath and began to laugh. It was a relieved laugh that sounded as if she’d been running.

“Adam,” she said, “finish your pie.” (TDT ch50)

I don’t know if I even need to explain this one. After reaching his lowest low and then being told that his future is bleak, Adam decides that no, screw fate, he’s going to take charge of his own future. It’s such an exhilarating moment and might be my #1 favorite.

Adam relieving Gansey’s anxiety:

“No, it’s not. It’s disgusting of me.” Gansey didn’t open his eyes. “Everything has gotten so ugly. It wasn’t supposed to be this way.”

Everything had begun ugly for Adam, but he knew what Gansey meant. His noble and oblivious and optimistic friend was slowly opening his eyes and seeing the world for what it was, and it was filthy, and violent, and profane, and unfair. Adam had always thought that was what he wanted — for Gansey to know. But now he wasn’t sure. Gansey wasn’t like anyone else, and suddenly Adam wasn’t sure that he really wanted him to be.

“Here,” Adam said, standing, fetching their history text. “Do the reading. Out loud. I’ll take notes.”

An hour passed this way, Gansey reading out loud in his lovely old voice, and Adam jotting in his overambitious hand, and when Gansey reached the end of the assignment, he closed the text carefully and set it on the upside-down plastic bin Adam used as a bedside table. (BLLB ch12)

I think this is such an Adam Parrish way of taking care of his friends. While he can often be harsh and hard, when Adam does reach out to help, it tends to be in a way that is tailored to the person in question. Here he can see Gansey’s facade unraveling and so he asks Gansey to read aloud under the pretext of helping Adam with his homework, something that soothes Gansey and leaves his dignity intact. See also: soothing Ronan after Whelk almost shot Gansey.

Adam gives Opal his watch:

As Gansey circled the tree, trying to look useful if nothing else, he saw Adam crouch in front of the hooved orphan girl. She continued staring past him as he unbuckled his cheap watch. He tapped the top of her hand, lightly, just so that she marked that he was offering the watch to her. Gansey expected her to ignore him or to reject the gift like she had Aurora’s rose, but the girl accepted it without hesitation. She began to wind it with intense concentration as Adam remained crouched before her for a moment longer, eyebrows knitted. (TRK ch8)

Another example of tailored caring, although of course, in this case it ties to very personal memories of Adam’s. Either way, it’s one of the best moments in the books.

Adam scries into headlights:

He spotted it, the headlights still on, engine off. Adam was crouched in front of it, staring unflinchingly into the headlights’ brilliance. His fingers were spread on the asphalt and his feet braced like a runner waiting for the starting shot. Three tarot cards splayed before him. He’d taken one of the floor mats out of the car to crouch on to keep from dirtying his uniform trousers. If you combined these two things – the unfathomable and the practical – you were most of the way to understanding Adam Parrish. (TRK ch18)

This is just a very Adam thing to do.

Adam sets out to find a demon, ends up back at the trailer:

The dust cleared and Adam finally saw where he had brought them.

He sighed. (TRK ch19)

I love that twist. He’s come so far at this point, but here’s this nasty little reminder that some things you don’t escape easily. Instead of letting it get him down, though, Adam lets it motivate him to save someone else.

Adam saves Ronan and Opal:

This was what had saved them from drowning. They had been lifted by the branches. Adam crouched on the other side of the pool, head dropped low like he was about to sprint or pray, his hands pressed to the rock on either side of him, knuckles white. He had placed a few small stones between his hands in a pattern that must have made sense to him. One of the still growing tendrils had tangled around his ankles and his wrists. The proper truth struck Ronan: The plants had not saved their lives. Adam Parrish had saved their lives. (TRK ch23)

Adam forced a demon-possessed magical forest to do his bidding. I thought covering them with leaves to protect them from the acid was a nice touch. .

Adam goes back to the trailer in the TRK epilogue:

He felt a sudden urge to save all these other Adams hidden in plain view, though he didn’t know if they would listen to him. It struck him as a Gansey or a Blue impulse, and as he held that tiny, heroic spark in his mind, he realized that it was only because he believed that he had saved himself that he could imagine saving someone else. (TRK epilogue)

Of course this had to be here. Not much explanation needed, but I do like that though Adam didn’t exactly happily wrap things up with his parents, that wasn’t the point. We see that he will be fine, he’s in a good place mentally, he and Ronan are going strong, he thinks of Gansey and Blue in admiring terms, he’s heading off to college and he wants to rescue kids like him in the future. We just know he’s headed for great things and that it’s all well-deserved. Such a perfect way of wrapping up his arc.

#adam parrish #ronan lynch #gansey #richard gansey #richard gansey III #blue sargent #persephone poldma #trc #the raven cycle #trk spoilers

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limpblotter · 7 years

Text

Fly me to the Moon

[Next Part] A/N: Shamelessly saw some really inspiring art. Decided to write it. Probably only a three-four part fluff.

Summary: Rainbow drags Johan to New York for a thing. Johan finds out New York is pretty neat after all.

WordCount: 3855 Warnings: None that I know of

“This is so great, I am so happy you decided to come with me!” Rainbow beamed the moment they got out of JFK. “New York City, ugh, this place is absolutely amazing. Can you believe just a few weeks ago that huge protest happened right here, a united stand towards equality on the same ground we are walking on.” “Which one?” The man who accompanied her and all her chatter; rolled his luggage along as they approached the rental car station. “I’m pretty sure New York has a protest every other night. Why else would the streets be so dirty?” Bow shot Johan a dirty look as he pulled his hair into a bun. Rainbow had been invited to a Medical Convention down at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. The convention from what Johan remembered from her babbling was just a bunch of doctors getting together to advocate their liberal ideals of health care and free, unbiased treatment. Or something… Rainbow picked out a sweet 2016 Chevy Impala. “Alright, let's go!” She spun the keys around her finger, even after flying across the country she seemed perfectly fine and fresh...in comparison to her younger brother who seemed to have grown crustier the longer he went without caffeine and wifi. “Seriously? You pick the newest car they have? Rainbow do you know where we are?” Johan shook his head, Rainbow’s naivety was showing brighter than the colors in an actual rainbow. “This car screams ‘rob me I’m not from here’” “Johan, please we are in New York City not some third world country. Now get your behind in the car or I will leave you behind.” She motioned Johan into the passenger seat. With a defeated sigh he marched himself into the car dumping their luggage in the trunk. “Honestly, this is NYC, a mecca of liberal, free thinkers, don’t you feel innovation and empowerment just oozing from the atmosphere? Some say it's a lot like California.” “And just like California and every other city there is a large rate of marginalization and angry prejudices.” He countered, his eyes on his phone as he scanned yelp for the nearest 4-5 star place to eat. After a long flight and listening to Rainbow chime and chirp for hours, Johan was ready for a big breakfast and a tall glass of Cabernet. “Don’t be fooled by your idealism of cities who voted Hilary, New York is basically the Thunder-dome, shall I remind you about some of the racially charged assaults and murders that’s happened the last few years in New York alone?” “Johan if I listened to every single report about a ‘brother’ or a ‘sister’ going down because of the color of our skin I would be in over hundreds of years of negativity. Things are what they are but we still have to live on, for example I had a patient once came in with a nasty tumor, it looked life threatening and lo and behold…” And there she went. Johan tuned her out. He wished he had his sister’s ability to look at a clearly black and white world and see nothing. She lived in a world where she could fix things and the color of skin didn’t matter. Johan was living in the now, with President Trump and countless senseless acts of injustice. It was times like these he wished he was back in Europe, backpacking his way to seclusion away from the worries and troubles of their present world. Alas, Dre basically begged him to go with Bow, with reason. If this was how she was coming to New york, with some cinematic mentality of a hopeful city then there was a good chance Dre would be looking for wife number 2. Not to mention Bow was expecting.

After a good hour moving through streets that mirrored LAX, bumper to bumper traffic and an endless symphony of horns blasting from all directions, Johan finally looked up from his phone. (Because it died). He noticed Bow was leaning into the steering wheel, squinting at the nearby street sign. “...you’re lost.”

“Nooooo” she held out the word for some time, puckering her lips as her eyes look more and more like a deer caught in headlights. “I’m just...making sure what number we’re on.” Rainbow made a left down from Ft. Washington and West 176th street into a little Avenue called Haven. The brick buildings were jammed together side by side it looked like they were built as one continuous unit. She parked the car in front of a corner store and sighed. “Ok...we have to be close…” she ran her hand along the side of the steering wheel. “This looks like a little local place.”

“This looks like the where that murder case happened.” Johan answered her.

“What case?” Rainbow blinked, curious if this was truly the scene of a crime.

Johan’s lips turned up into a cold smirk, “the one where two Californians were lost in the ghetto’s of New York city and found dead and dumped into the Hudson. One a wonderful, handsome, well loved adventurous spirit and his idiotic sister who happened to be a decent doctor.” He wasn’t surprised Rainbow slapped his shoulder. He was a little surprised it actually hurt. “Bow just use the GPS on your phone.”

“Or instead of wasting batteries I can ask for directions. My phone is dying and Dre promised he’d call me when the kids got home from school.” She was not going to lose the rest of her battery for something as silly as directions. “Why don’t you use your GPS?”

“My phone died, where is your charger?” Johan arched his eyebrow.

Bow did the same, copying his expression. “In my luggage, where is yours?”

“Same.” There was a silence between them, absorbing their shared moment of absentmindedness. Neither willing to dig through their luggage for a couple of chords. Siblings through and through.

“Look, locals have the best directions. I’ll go ask one and we’ll be on our way. I have to check into the Hospital before we get to our Hotel.” Bow exited the car leaving the keys and the car unlocked. Not waiting for protests the pregnant doctor scampered across the street to a nearby appliance store. Johan watched his hard headed, pregnant sister did whatever it was she wanted, and hoped he didn’t have to be the one telling Dre he lost her. It took him a split second to realize she left the car unlocked and keys still in the ignition.

“She is seriously asking for someone to …AH?!” He jumped at the sight of a young man walking past the car. His hands in his jacket as he tilted his head, eyeing up the vehicle. Johan scrambled to take the keys from the ignition and locked the car. The loud click of all four door locks going off made the young man stop in mid-step. He gave Johan an undisturbable look before continuing his stride into the corner store.

“Sonny you’re late...Again.”

“Aw~ chill out primo, I was at class.” Sonny smirked walking through the chip aisle, snagging a bag of fifty cent doritos. His cousin shook his head, the class did nothing for his slang apparently.

“Nice try, your last class was over an hour ago.” Usnavi glared from behind his polished counter. “Let me guess, you were with your boyfriend, again.” He grunted not waiting for Sonny’s confirmation, his silence was enough. “I hope Pete is worth the pay cut.”

“Aw, come on, Navi! Don’t be like that.” That got Sonny’s attention. He came out from the aisle and leaned over his counter. “Pete is going off to art school in California, I gotta take these moments as they come.”

“Art School in California? Is that what they call moving-into-your-abuela’s beach-house-so-you-can-get-high-all-the-time these days?” Usnavi didn’t hide the fact he wasn’t too keen on Sonny’s choice of lovers. Not because he was gay, god no, Usnavi was not like that. It was because Pete had...so little professional ambition. Sonny was studying hard, got himself through community college now was looking at a fancy scholarship. Sonny wasn’t like Nina, it took him two years of ass busting in a community school to get his GPA to a place he could even be offered a dime. Usnavi was his biggest supporter though the idea of him losing it all rang a little too close to home. Luckily Sonny knew what he wanted, he wanted to get into law. Make the world a safer place, it wasn’t too long ago someone in their neck of the woods was faced with injustice. Sonny was living in the prime of social justice. The world needed more Sonnys in Usnavi’s eyes. That all said that didn’t mean he was going to take it easy on him. “Real jobs would fire you for how many times you’re late. No more lovey sob stories, get here on time.”

“Si señor” Sonny rolled his eyes, he leaned back eyeing up the fancy Impala that was illegally sitting in front of the store. “Yo I think he’s lost.” Sonny motioned to the skittish, big haired man sitting in the car staring out of every window.

“He’s probably waiting for someone.” Usnavi was guilty of standing around waiting for someone to run back to the car. Parking in New York was terrible. “He’ll leave soon.”

“Nah, man locked his car when he saw me pass by. He’s totally not from New York, he’s lost. I know that face.” He pointed with a cheesy covered fingertip. “That's the same face those tourists get when they realize they don’t know how to get out of Time Square. Man is lost.”

Usnavi looked out the window and wondered if it was true. He did look nervous. Not to take offense, most people who didn’t grow up in the Heights or anywhere else would have been frightened of New York City. It was a pretty intimidating city at first glance. Gritty and hard to make a living, but the real locals were just regular people trying to get by. None of those thugs and criminals sneaking around every corner with a glock in their waistband. Sure, they had some, every place had some but overall...people here were just like family. All living life and wanting the same thing...a fucking break. “He’s fine.”

“We should help him out, like, get him to buy something for directions.” Sonny nodded, partly because he wanted to mess with him a little more. “I got it.”

“Sonny? Sonny! Get your ass back here--aye mi madre ese niño me va da un solo ataque del corazón! (this kid is gonna give me a heartattack!)” Usnavi felt the stress rising as he watched Sonny walk out of the store and right up to the car. All Usnavi could do was wait, and have 911 on speed dial in case Sonny got himself into trouble.

Sonny approached the car once more. He peered into the window and gently tapped the glass. Johan jumped in surprise, he placed a hand to his chest like he was some B rank movie actress caught in a bad scene. He merely watched as Sonny motioned him to lower his window. Everything in him said get the hell out of here but he couldn’t drive off without Bow...she knew where their hotel was. Slowly, Johan pressed the window button and lowered it only just an inch. “Yes? C-Can I help you?” He was well prepared to give all of Rainbow’s belongings to save his neck. “You lost, friend?” Sonny smiled, a dimple forming at one side of his face. He looked...a lot more approachable when he smiled, just a young man with a very...openly friendly face. “Just askin’ cause like...you’re kinda parked in a no standing zone...Don’t want you to get a ticket...so if you need directions or something?” Johan looked up and noticed there was, in fact, a white and red sign that said no standing in front of the car. “Uh.” He blinked for a second. There was a catch, what was the catch, if he stepped out of this car right now was he going to get shanked? Johan was momentarily possessed by his sister’s spirit and got out of the car. Unlike her though, he took the keys and locked it once he stepped out. “A bit, yeah.” He admitted, looking down at Sonny. Before Sonny could implement his plan on of swapping knowledge with profit, Johan’s stomach growled like something fierce. It was nearly noon and they still hadn’t stopped to eat anywhere. These were trying times, “Do you know where I can grab a bite to eat?” “Actually I do~” Sonny’s cheeky grin somehow got even cheekier. “I know the single most amazing little place that serves breakfast sandwiches like you wouldn’t believe!” He turned and motioned to the store behind him. “Really? Because I already believe this will give me food poisoning…” He blinked a few times but after another rumble from his stomach Johan released his good senses in favor for anything edible. Sonny waltzed ahead of him, opening the door for Johan. Surely a customer would repay his tardiness to Usnavi. As soon as they walked in they were greeted with a “Good Morning.” Usnavi smiled brightly from the counter. Johan paused, the greeting wasn’t the regular top of the morning, how are you, please get what you want and leave sort of greeting. It was a homey almost welcoming sort of greeting. It had a ring to it like he was walking into someone’s kitchen. Too bad this place smelled like someone’s dank cooler. “What can I get for you?” Johan moved his eyes from the warm voiced fellow by the counter and scanned the menu for sometime. He was silent until Sonny tapped the counter with his knuckle and ordered for him, “Give him the best you got, primo.” Sonny winked at his cousin. Usnavi nodded and started cooking up his famed breakfast sandwich paired with a coffee all under five dollars. A deal New Yorkers dreamed of. “So, tell me, where you headed? Maybe I can help you out.” Right, directions, the other thing Johan needed. “My sister and I are looking for…” He snapped his fingers a bit, she had been talking about all flight...all week...what was .. “Colombian Hospital?” There was a small laugh that came from the griddle. Johan’s ears grew warm and pink at the sound. “You mean the ER? Uh...thats like...if you go down Broadway...or take River Drive.” Usnavi looked up from his griddle “Sonny shut up, you don’t even know how to get to your house without your maps app.” He continued to smile finding the lost newcomer funny, but he couldn’t sit there and get the poor man even more lost. “It's not maps app, its google, lord.” He rolled his eyes at his old fashion cousin. “Yeah, yeah why don’t you make yourself useful, man the griddle.” Sonny begrudgingly obeyed, he walked around the counter and took over Usnavi’s spot. While Usnavi went back to the counter top, facing Johan now. “Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, you’re real close. River Drive is terrible, you’re going to be stuck there for hours. What you’re gonna do is follow Haven down to 168th and Ft. Washington again and boom, it's gonna be right there, you can’t miss it.” “Huh, we were on Ft. Washington I wonder how we missed it to begin with.” Johan was a little ...surprised that Usnavi helped him so quickly and easily. A part of him felt a tad guilty for being so judgmental a few moments ago. “Don’t sweat it most newcomers aren’t taking in the sights of the city, they’re too busy watching their backs and keeping their eyes on the street.” He was no stranger to people being wry. “Once you pull back the stink of the city you get use to the people, and nothing about it is scary.” “Yeah only scary thing around here is your hat~” Sonny chuckled, earning himself a glare from Usnavi who purposely adjusted his cap a little more. “The hat is fine.” Johan blurted out, unsure why he felt like coming to the defense of Usnavi. He was so warm and welcoming, though watching him glare was probably equally as strangely warm and satisfying he felt the urge to insist otherwise. “I mean...its dated yes, but newspaper boy hats are cute, its like a ...Newsies style.” He spoke and both Usnavi and Sonny gave him a blank stare. Johan felt the heat rise to his face, “a Melton look?” They blinked in unison. Johan felt his cheeks heat up with color. “Its vintage, very cute.” “Ah…” Usnavi’s face did the same, he didn’t get most of the references but what he did get was the word ‘cute’. Usnavi was facing an academic so it seemed. “I mean they’re not all the rage with the kids now but wait a few more years.” “Actually kids now are loving the throwback vintage looks, France use to be big on berets, then they stopped once the Americans began sticking them onto every French representation from character to cartoon like it was meant to signifies this was French. Now it's back in style, more so even.” Johan rambled ostentatiously about his beloved-temporary home of France. How he missed teaching there...though it was nice to be home. He felt himself caught between wanting out of this place and wanting to be part of a family. Either way Johan was in a standstill in his life, suddenly talking about France was not doing him any good. Usnavi must have noticed the change in Johan’s face once he stopped rambling, the excited glow had subsided.

He did what he did best, a poor, awkward joke in hopes for a smile. “Is it as the French say, c'est magnifique?” Usnavi literally only knew that word from a movie he saw once. Johan’s eyes softened a bit. His pronunciation was pretty poor. Usually he didn’t take the jokes without undoing them and making them no longer funny. But something about Usnavi’s shy delivery combined with probably how mind-numbingly hungry Johan was made him chuckle a bit. “I would say your accent is equally magnifique.” Johan placed his hand on the counter, leaning in a bit as Usnavi placed a fist to his mouth, covering his shaky laughter. His other hand tipped down the brim of his hat. There was a strange warmth that washed over him, and it wasn’t just the summer heat of the city beating down on the corner store. Usnavi wasn’t use to having a charismatic customer like Johan...it was nice talking to someone who wasn’t a regular. A clean slate. Usnavi found the courage to meet Johan’s gaze and didn’t question why he found himself smiling wider at the sight of him. “How do you like your coffee?” Sonny’s voice broke both their gazes,forcing Johan to look over at Sonny and Usnavi to look down at his counter. “Hm... “ He looked over the store again, “I’m going to guess you don’t serve freshly ground beans?” Usnavi smirked shaking his head a bit, “Sadly we don’t grind our own beans but we have the best coffee in New York.” The shorter man turned around and picked up a yellow tin can and placed it in front of Johan. “May I entice your senses to the single most amazing brand, the very lifeblood of our people. Bustelo Coffee.” He motioned to the can, Johan rolled his eyes but his smile was wider than ever. “I recommend drinking it light and sweet unless you want to put some hair on your chest then black.”

“Whats a couple more hairs on my body.” Johan answered, and Usnavi’s Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. “I’ll take it the way you do.” He swallowed again. “I flip between light and sweet or straight black… I usually go for a happy medium.” Usnavi answered honestly unable to come up with something else that was clever. Sonny was much better at this banter, the playful kind, after a while Usnavi’s natural shyness and word fumbling came out. “I’ll take the happy medium then.” Johan was actually relaxing now, Sonny had placed a breakfast sandwich on a paper plate for him, spiced sausage with a runny egg and a couple of avocado slices. All between some buttered, toasted buns. Johan was in mid bite, enjoying the smooth, spicy, creamy sensation of a perfectly balanced sandwich when Rainbow walked into the store. “There you are! Do you know why the car is locked I swore I left it unlock..” She walked over to Johan, his mouth full of food. She looked over at Usnavi and smiled brightly. “Good Morning” He beamed politely. “...also I recommend not leaving your car unlocked. I don’t think anyone around here would rob it but I know plenty of knucklehead kids who would gladly take a nap in a car with an a/c” “Jesus, I do that one time and I never hear the end of it.” Sonny groaned, “the guy didn’t even press charges.” Usnavi chuckled, giving Johan some time to chew before addressing his this woman, was this the sister he mentioned? “Where have you been?” Johan glanced over at her, running his thumb against the corner of his lips to save a morsel of food. He was damn hungry and this was a damn good sandwich even for his palette. “I was looking for someone to give me directions, I ran into several people but...we had a bit of a language barrier.” She blushed a bit, “I didn’t think my Spanish was too bad.” From the look she was giving him, and the fact she was empty handed oh it must have been bad. Johan didn’t say that out loud though. “I got directions, no thanks to you. It just proves my resourcefulness in the city surpasses your weird romanticized ideals of this city.” “You’re Welcome!” Sonny called out from the back again. Rainbow shook her head, “Ok, fine, maybe you’re a little more savvy than I am. But this city is a lot nicer than you say it is.” She jabbed her finger into Johan’s arm. She turned to Usnavi and Sonny smiling, “Thank you for the directions, Johan pick me up a coffee, I’m going to get in the car before we get hit with a ticket!” Bow scampered out of the store. Johan felt eyes on him, Usnavi’s eyes who were staring up at him with a thousand questions. “So you think the city is pretty bad huh?” Usnavi accused in a way that sounded playful but Johan still felt guilty. “Blame the media falsely glorifying the common chicanery about New York.” He blushed a bit, Usnavi’s face softened. “...but she’s right, New York is a lot nicer than I imagined…” Perhaps, that or the people were nicer than he expected. “My sister and I will be here for a while so who knows, I might pop by for the ‘best coffee in New York’” Johan grabbed the remainder of his sandwiches and the coffee, playing for everything with a ten. “Keep the change.” Usnavi cranked his neck a bit watching Johan leave. His eyes glued to the man’s retreating back as he slid back into the 2016 Impala. He was left with only more questions, who was that strange human being. The entire time he realized he got no name from him. Nothing, just knowledge he was here and he might come back. A tender smile started to inch its way across his face. “Sweet, if he turns into a regular that HAS to make up for me being late~ Right?” Sonny smirked, Usnavi would have barked something back at him. Instead he was silent. “Usnavi?” He blinked a few times, watching his cousin. From the side all he could see was his brother’s face as the car drove off and left their store. Sonny glanced at the empty space where the car had been then back at his cousin wondering what was going on. When the answer came from Usnavi’s mouth. “You think he’ll actually come back?” (Ohyeshewill)

#crossover #crossover fic #johan johnson #usnavi de la vega #blackish #In The Heights #crossover au #fanfiction #fanfic #josnavi #johsnavi #semi edited #ran out of patience #johsnavi fic

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