#i haven’t found anyone else i can tolerate much less love nearly as much as him

[itsstrange]

I’ll Be Here

Adam Ruzek x Reader

A/N: Here’s something short for y’all meanwhile I continue to procrastinate with other stories 💗I haven’t posted in a few days due to certain things happening in my life, so I wanted to drop something here for y’all. ✨

Summary: After a tough case everyone is in much need of a few drinks, Reader taking the case a lot more harder, decides to down her sorrows shot after shot, leaving her unstable to get home. Ruzek, being the ever loving gentleman and partner volunteers to take the Reader home. During the process of doing so, Reader accidentally slips her true feelings towards the man.

Word Count: 2.7k

Warnings: Alcohol, highly intoxication, Mentions of Violence, Ruzek being a gentleman, comfort, kissing,

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ENJOY!! ✨

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“‘Nother one,” You mumble, tapping a finger on the rim of the shot glass,

Greg, the bartender, who you learned through a blurry version, gives you an unsure look, but the one you give in return has him pouring your 8th refill of straight vodka. Giving him your best loopy sided smile, you tip your head back as you down the liquor, not even wincing at the bitter taste as it falls down your throat, which should be a sign to stop drinking but after what you saw today you needed it. Needed the blackout. It was the only way for you to fall asleep without the horrifying image playing in your mind all night. So getting drunk till your completely shit faced is a must.

Motioning another refill to the poor man, he forcefully obeys, not wanting to get on your drunk bad side, because from the looks of it he can tel it won’t be fun. Just as you downed the liquor once again a voice settles right next to you.

“Alright you, how bout we call it a day huh?” You snort, turning your eyes to the one man who can tolerate you in any given state,

Literally.

“I told you... I’m gonna get s’drunk,” You slur at him, slightly catching the way his lips curl upwards,

“Looks like you succeed that goal. C’mon, I’ll take you home,” Adam offers a hand for you to take, but you shake your head,

“Nah.. it’s still early, and m’not even there yet,” You grin at him, eyes twinkling in dim light from the liquor,

Adam softly chuckles, “(Y/n) it’s two in the morning,”

Your furrow your brows at him, “Wha-?”

Looking over your shoulder as much as you can without toppling off your stool, you noticed how the place looked completely deserted, only a few people remained. The rest of the gang had left an hour ago while you were busy downing the image away at the bar. It was just you and Adam now. Giving a surprise hum, you turn back to the bar, calling after Greg, which sounded more like ‘Reg’.

“You can leave if.. y’want,” It was more of an offer than a question,

Adam shakes his head, “Not without you,”

“Geez Ruzek.. if you’d wanted m’in your bed, all you hada’ do is ask,” You give him your best smirk,

Adam chuckles and nervously scratches the side of his neck. If only it would be that easy with you, not that he would only want you on his bed, no that would be the bonus, what he truly wanted was to claim you as his own. You two have been friends since the academy days, and when you both got chosen by Alvin it just grew from there. Especially with the death of your recruiter, something had been built in between you two, causing the both of you to show your vulnerability to one another. You guys trusted each other and knew each other better than anyone else, and as the years passed, your relationship grew as well.

Your feelings to one another wasn’t visible after the whole marriage devastation with Burgess, then once again with Hailey. Adam wasn’t sure at first, would do his best to deny such feelings by sleeping around, but once he’d wake up he felt guilty about the whole night. Feeling wrong for sleeping with a women that wasn’t you. He finally admit to the feelings one day during a case, it was a close call, he didn’t say anything, but he certainly realized how much he cared for you. The moment he saw your body falling on the ground, face twisted in pain as you tried your best to gather air, he thought the worse. If it wasn’t for your awkward position and the heavy bullet vest, the entire situation would have been a lot more horrible.

“‘Reg,” You call out again,

Adam watches as the bartender makes his way over, vodka bottle in one hand and a weary look on his face. Just as nears them both and brings the bottle towards the shot glass, Adam throws a couple bills on the counter.

“She’s done for the night pal,” The bartender nods his head, relief showing on his face as he quickly collects the payment,

You turn around with narrowed eyes, “C’mon, everyone else went home, it’s time for us to do the same,”

You stay quiet for a few seconds before dropping your eyes down to the counter, “Not everyone,”

Adam’s smile slowly falters. He knew exactly what you were referring to. The little girl that had been kidnapped along with various other kids, had been rescued, except for Isabel Pace, a 7 year old girl. She was one of the offenders favorite apparently, just as the gang found his hideout where he kept all the kids, he had took off with her. You had followed him in the car, tried to keep up with him, but an oncoming truck had rammed you off the road, making you lose visual on the beaten up car. Although, after a few minutes later a park ranger caught visual on the car, but once you all arrived on the scene it was a horrifying sight. Sat on the drivers seat was your perk, bullet wound to the head, but what made your stomach twist with pain and rage was the little girl in the back seat who shared the same wound to the head.

The image would forever haunt you along with the others. So of course, Adam couldn’t blame you for wanting to drown yourself in liquor, it wasn’t easy.

He watches as you down the rest of the drink before sighing quietly through his nose, “Come on,”

With hesitation you finally climb off your stool, gripping tightly on Adam’s jacket as he helps you with an arm around your waist, steading you on your feet before slowly walking out the bar and towards his car. Luckily, you hitched a ride with Hailey, leaving your car back at the station and not having to worry about it in the morning.

The ride to your apartment was less than 20 minutes, but still managed to doze out with your head leaning heavily against the cool window. Parking in front of your apartment building, Adam softly nudges you awake before climbing off and walking over to your door. Once helping you out and up the flight of stairs, the both of you finally made it to your front door after what seemed like ages. The elevator had broken down, leaving the stairs the only option available, Adam thanked the lord you stayed in the second floor, he didn’t think he’d be able to go through another pair of stairs with your drunken state.

Another minute passed of Adam trying to open your door while you leaned heavily against him. Kicking your door open with his free shoulder, he leads you both inside and shuts it with his foot before walking you over to your couch. Gently settling you down on the cushions, he walks back to front the door, locks it and turns back, heading towards the kitchen. He’s been in your apartment long enough to know his way around the house. His movements in the kitchen can be heard, but honestly it didn’t faze you, in fact you were nearly dozing off—again— on your couch as he made himself at home in the other room.

“Here,” Adam’s voice makes your eyes flutter open, he sat on your right with a large glass of water,

With slow movements you sit right on the couch as you reach out towards the cup and finish it one gulp. At least it’ll somewhat help with the headache in the morning, it won’t subside the brutal hangover, but it’ll at least help some. Handing him the cup, you settle back in the couch, not to sleep, but to drift off. It wasn’t even a minute when tears start to fall down your cheeks, you thought they were silent tears, but the way you sniff had Adam turning towards you. Not wasting a second he wraps an arm around your shoulders and brings you towards him, your head resting heavily against his chest as silent sobs leave you. Seeing you in pain was the last thing Adam wanted, no matter the situation, he hated seeing you in pain, especially when he doesn’t know exactly how to comfort you. Physically he’s good at, but when it comes to words, he’s the worst, till this day it still surprises him when he manages to spill any comforting words to anyone who’s in need of them.

Comforting someone with words wasn’t his best suit, but words weren’t exactly what you needed at the moment, hell, it never is most of the time, so all the detective does is wrap a tight arm around you as he softly rubs soothing circles on your shoulder and leaning the side of his cheek at the top of your head. Getting a small whiff of your coconut shampoo, along with your Calvin Klein perfume he had gotten for your birthday a few months ago, the scent alone made his heart flip.

A few moments had passed when your tears had finally subsided, but still remained on the couch with Adam, head leaning against his chest, heartbeat playing in your ear and feeling yourself calming down. Another minute passes as you two remain on the couch, his fingers gently massaging your scalp as your own fiddle with a button on his shirt. Although, the sound of you yawning finally breaks the silence in the room, and bringing Adam back from his thoughts.

“C’mon, let’s take you to bed,” As much as he wants to hold you in his arms all night, Adam knows you both need sleep to get up for work in a couple of hours,

Which will be a bitch for the both of you. But mainly for you.

You shake your head and only bury yourself closer to his chest, which honestly made Adam want to allow it, want to fall asleep on the couch with you, but he knows it would be uncomfortable and knows it will only worsen your headache in the morning. Slightly chuckling to himself, Adam places a finger underneath your chin and lifts it up until you meet his chocolate orbs.

“You’ll be okay,” He referred it as a reminder more than a question,

Which was true, and you knew it was. Your job was all about dealing with tough cases that will sometimes get personal, that will have a strong effect on you, both positive or negative and then slowly learning how to move forward. Whether the pain is still there, you learn to use it as motivation to be better, stronger, and knowing you have support from your team, Adam, you knew the pain that you were currently dealing with would also be easy to get through. It might take days, weeks, but you knew it was all about time and patience.

With a hint of hesitation you nod your head in agreement, earning a small smile from the man and then getting lost in each other eyes. Your eyes dart from one pair to the other and then down to his lips, you repeated it a few times before finally closing the little gap between you two. You rest your lips against his for a few seconds and slightly pull back, testing the waters before seeing him lean back in. The way your lips felt together was like a feeling no other, like the missing pieces of the puzzle have been placed in their proper spot, they felt just right. Relief and happiness washed over both your chest, after what seemed like a lifetime you two have finally gave in to one another, and it honestly felt fucking great.

Gentle kisses were exchanged for a few minutes before slowly growing into firmer and deeper kisses. Without much warning you straddle his lap, immediately feeling his hands on either side of your waist, holding you upright as you two continue to lavish each other’s mouths, however, the way you begin to move your hips has him coming back to reality. A small gasp escapes from him when you circle your hips once again, giving you the opportunity to dive your tongue, earning yet another small moan from both of you. The moment was quickly escalating when Adam was beginning to feel all his blood going south, not that he didn’t want to continue, matter of fact he’d take you right here and there but he knew it wasn’t the right way nor right time. You are just acting on impulse, heat of the moment, and more importantly you weren’t sober. What if whatever is going on at the moment is all just a drunken night for you, what if you’d regret it when you awoke? Even if the kiss felt just right to Adam, and to you, he still didn’t want to take advantage of you at this state, it would feel real to him.

“(Y/n),”

“Adam,” You whimper against his lips, moving your hips once again, emotions heightening at the feeling of his member growing underneath you,

The hand that was resting against the mans chest had made its way at the back of his head, fingers finding they’re way into his small soft locks. It wasn’t the way you had pulled his hair that made Adam stop your movements, no, it was the way you angled your hips against his. He had to stop otherwise he knows things will soon start to escalate even more. Gripping tightly on to your waist with both hands he hauls your movements, earning another small whimper from you. Breaking the kiss you stare at him with hooded yet confused eyes.

“You don’t-..,”

“No I want to,” Adam stops you, placing a hand on the side of your cheek, “but I want it to be you, the real you,”

You melt against his hand at his words, you never knew he could be such a gentleman, well more than you’ve already seen him act towards females, and that alone made you fall harder for him.

“Okay?” He asks, hand still on your cheek while eyes search for any disapproval in yours,

Placing your own hand over his, you angle your head to place a chaste kiss in his inner palm before nodding in understanding. Feeling less weight off his shoulders, Adam nods as well before helping you off his lap and leading you towards your bedroom. Helping you remove your denim jacket, boots and pants he tucks you under the covers. Just as he pulls away you grip on to his wrist, holding it loosely as you glance up at him.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Adam didn’t need words to understand what you were asking for,

You drop his wrist and watch as he shrugs off his own jacket and boots before climbing on the other side of the bed, where you immediately settled against him. Your head leaning against his chest, just like earlier while your fingers drew imaginary shapes on his black undershirt. The feeling sending relaxation to the man and making his eyes flutter shut, awhile so many questions piled in your head. What does it mean for you two now? Did he feel the same way or was he just being a gentleman and not wanting to take advantage? Was it just the heat of the moment? Not being able to handle so many thoughts you call out his name.

“Shh..go to sleep,” He says through closed eyes, as if knowing exactly what you were planning on asking and continues with, “I’ll be here in the morning,”

A small smile tugs at the corner of your lips, even if the questions still laid heavily in your head, you knew he would be there in your arms when you awoke. You just hoped you would be able to wake up next to him in the upcoming weeks and in the future. As you got comfortable against him and start to drift off, you fell asleep with his last words of the night..

“I’ll always be here,”

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- Hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

- Make sure to turn on those Notifications on to get new updates!! 🔔

- Love you all for the support!! 💗✨

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#adam ruzek #adam ruzek x you #adam ruzek x reader #patrick flueger #Patrick flueger x Reader #chicago pd #chicago pd x reader #fluff #cute #gentlemen #drunk reader #alcohol #Adam ruzek is a gentleman

[masonscig]

holiday

pairing | mason x aimee lin

word count | 2.5k

warnings | cursing, innuendos [it’s mason and aimee u know what to expect]

author’s note | so our friend group decided to do a little secret santa type gift exchange and i got the lovely @masonsfangs – i couldn’t NOT write maimee !!! not gonna get super sappy on main but i’m so grateful for your friendship, becky and i love you so so so much!

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Out of all the fucking times he has to run out of cigarettes, it’s the moment he needs them the most.

His hands were quivering ever so slightly in his pockets, but no one would be able to tell unless they were looking for it. And even then, he was hidden by the shade of the door frame – not dark enough, but it’d do.

Why the fuck did he agree to a holiday party? In what world was he the type to go to parties, much less celebrate anything?

The laughter of the surrounding agents, mingling in clusters around the room, pounded at his eardrums like a mallet to its surface. The music flooding through the speakers was even worse, grating at him so intensely that he could feel the individual droplets of sweat start to bead across his palms.

A century’s worth of annual holiday festivities at the agency, and he chooses to attend when there’s ample sound technology to add to the already irritating sound of each voice – he could normally block them out if he needed to, but in a crowd this size? He was lucky if he could manage a couple of seconds where he could hear himself think.

He wasn’t looking for her, no matter how many times Farah tried pestering him about it.

“You got here pretty early, Mason,” Farah started, a teasing smile tugging at her lips. “It’s almost like you’re… waiting for somebody –”

“I’m not,” he snapped – two words were an effort to say.

He was straining himself trying to adjust to his surroundings, but it was like no matter how hard he focused, the noise was still deafening, still restricting.

“Well, tough luck. You know she’s fashionably late to everything,” she said. “Said so herself.”

Farah waggled her arm in front of Mason’s eyes, flashing the bright screen of her phone, the string of charms nearly striking his face.

“Yeah, I get it.” He’d been at the party for nearly a fucking hour and she hadn’t shown. He was growing more and more frustrated with each minute.

By the time a few agents had loaded up the table with platters of both human and… not so human foods, he was ready to bolt. The smell of the sweets mixed with the eggnog was overwhelming.

He’d barely been able to manage a couple minutes at Haley’s Bakery each time he went before he dipped out because he craved fresh air.

“Mason,” Nat called from a couple feet away, approaching him with furrowed brows. “You look pale. Are you feeling alright?”

“I’m fine. I’ll manage.” Two word sentences were all he could handle – he hoped Nate wouldn’t notice the slight waver in his voice. He did.

“This isn’t an obligation, by any means. You’re free to leave at any time –”

The side door burst open, and she strode through, her heartbeat faster than normal. A soft flush painted her cheeks, likely from the frigid December winds.

Mason pushed away from the wall, leaving his shaded door frame for the first time that night, completely ignoring Nat’s vocal realization as she figured out why he was there in the first place.

Aimee approached him, still panting from the effort. “Thank god. I thought I ran here for nothing.”

Something about her was different – a good different.

His eyes raked over every inch of her, his nausea fading away as he settled on each change.

Wild curls free from their normal elastic constraint, cheap stud earrings traded for tasteful emeralds, lashes thinly coated and curled, lips a soft rouge – even the flannel was traded for a tinsel lined sweater.

“What’re you looking at?” She asked, lip raised in annoyance.

“Who do you think, sweetheart?” Quick flirtatious retorts were the fastest way to get him feeling like himself again.

She rolled her eyes, trying to hold back a smile. “Oh, shut up.”

His stomach churned as he watched her take a few steps toward the main area. She stopped when he didn’t follow, sneakers squeaking against the linoleum as she swiveled around to throw a look his way.

“You coming?”

He shrugged, hands still trembling in his pockets. “I’m good here.”

Her brows pushed together, brown eyes (almost black as the night sky) flitting across his face.

He should’ve fucking lied better. He didn’t need her worrying and bitching at him because he was a little uncomfortable.

She closed the gap between them, sliding an arm around his waist. “Let’s go.”

“Damn, you really wanna do it outside? You’re adventurous today,” he teased, shoulders instantly relaxing as soon as he felt her hand slip underneath the hem of his henley, cool fingertips grazing the small of his back.

“Maybe,” she grinned, tugging on his torso, leading him to the back doors.

“You haven’t said a word to anyone else here,” he said, planting his feet.

“Since when do you care?” She laughed, flicking a thick curl off her shoulders, clearly not used to the feeling of it on her neck. “You don’t want to be here anyways.”

“Fuck off. I’m just trying to save you from some weird tension with Rebecca.”

She huffed. “Fine. I’m saying hey to Farah, Nat, and… Rebecca, and we’re dipping. Meet me outside.”

He shot her a look, and she shot one right back, challenging him. “Sure,” Mason said finally, shrugging, then strode towards the door with a second glance.

The feeling of the freezing air against his exposed skin was painful to say the least, but holy shit did the knot in his chest vanish the second the night sky was in view.

Within minutes, Aimee pushed through the doors, keys in hand.

“Seems like you were looking for a way out,” he said, trailing behind her.

“Don’t flatter yourself, sunshine. I can think of quite a few places I’d rather be than here,” she winked, unlocking her car and slipping in.

He perched against the side of her hood, feeling the rumble of the engine beneath his hip. Normally he’d be fumbling for a cigarette right about then, but Aimee’s pulse in his ears was the perfect comedown.

The window squeaked as it rolled down, her lips just barely visible over its edge. “Dude, get in. It’s freezing.”

He took a step towards her, pressing his forearm on the top of the door, using it as leverage to lazily bend down. “Where are you taking me?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” she teased, her breath curling and twisting in translucent streams around them, their faces close enough that he felt the warmth of it. “It’s a surprise, dummy.”

He pushed away from the window, making no hurry to walk around the front of her car. Through the windshield, he could see her reel her arm back and motion like she was going to lay on the horn, but the sound never came – a muffled cackle met his ears instead.

He settled into the passenger’s seat, wondering how the fuck it felt colder inside of her car than outside of it. “Jesus Christ it’s freezing.”

He kicked a few wrappers out of his way so he could spread his legs comfortably.

“Once we start moving it should warm up.”

“Or we could heat it up on our own,” he said, head lolling to the side, a lazy grin slowly spreading.

“Oh, keep it in your pants,” she laughed, tossing him a glance over her shoulder as she backed out of the parking spot.

The ride there was calm. The stuttering purr of her engine, the soft gusts of warm air, the faint sweet smell of her gloss – sensations he could handle. Hell, sensations he’d come to tolerate.

Aimee’s quiet hum was the loudest of them all, but he didn’t mind it, oddly enough. He found himself timing her soft intakes of breath between hums with the hypnotising cadence of her heartbeat.

Aimee was a symphony without even realizing it.

“Hey, I’ve got a pack of cigarettes in the glove box and a lighter in my cup holder. Knock yourself out,” she said, breaking him out of his train of thought.

“Thanks,” he murmured, reaching for the lighter and the handle of the compartment.

He placed it between his lips, flicked the lighter, and inhaled, but… he didn’t need to. Force of habit, he guessed.

She pulled into a gravelly patch on the outskirts of Wayhaven. He was familiar with the quieter parts of town, but even this terrain was new to him.

“It’s just down this path,” she said, tossing a blanket over her shoulder while walking away.

He flicked the cigarette onto the ground, grinding his heel into the bud without a second thought. With a few brisk strides, he caught up to her, slinging his arm around her neck over her thick mass of hair.

“You look good with your hair down.”

She tried holding back a smile. “I didn’t do it for you, but I’m glad I have your stamp of approval.”

“I know you didn’t do it for me. I’m enjoying it, though.”

She laughed, her free hand raising to grip his forearm. “I’m happy to distract.”

“Distract me from what, sweetheart? You haven’t even kissed me yet,” he teased, leaning in to speak into her ear.

A slight shiver made its way up her back, but she quickly masked it. “You were uncomfortable.”

They reached the clearing, the edge of the cliff open, overlooking Wayhaven. Aimee laid the blanket down and plopped down wordlessly, patting the seat next to her.

She still hadn’t explained what she meant, and he was too prideful to ask.

He sunk down onto the cold blanket, dangling his legs over the edge alongside hers. They weren’t up too high – far enough that most of the stars were visible, but close enough that the carolers strolling downtown were mere background noise.

The wind whipped at Aimee’s curls, strands tossed around her face like a halo of coils, the scent of her shampoo filling the space between them.

“Your face was contorted when I walked in. Like you’d sucked a lemon or something,” she said, kicking her feet.

“I was fine.”

“You were not.”

“Yeah, I was.”

“You know I’m right.”

He scoffed, leaning back onto his elbows. “No.”

“Whatever you say, honey,” she teased, leaning over, shoving her arm against his, but he didn’t budge.

He eased back onto his elbows, nonchalant. “I didn’t really care to be there. You’re right about that much, detective.”

“Ouch. That almost hurt,” Aimee laughed, pulling her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. “‘Thank you, Aimee’,” she said in a voice like she’d swallowed jagged rocks – her worst impression of him yet.

He grumbled in response, settling into his propped up position as the crowds thinned downtown. He wasn’t sure how much time passed before she spoke again.

“They’re gonna be turning on the lights, soon,” she said offhandedly, voice barely above a whisper. Like she didn’t want to interrupt whatever was about to happen.

The lights caught his attention before he could think of a quip. Line after line of Christmas lights lit up, a net of stars hovering above the businesses below. The wind must’ve shaken some of the wires – the breeze made them nearly shimmer.

Nothing was said for a while – the hum of the occasional car passing and the rustling of the tree branches was comforting enough.

Mason caught himself stealing a couple glances her way. Something was still a little different about her. Something he couldn’t put a finger on, but it was undoubtedly there.

“They’re like stars,” he murmured, feeling a little different himself as he watched a shit-eating grin stretch across her face.

He was more surprised with his own reaction than Aimee’s childlike expression at the lights.

“Is that holiday cheer I’m detecting?” She said, whipping around, shifting her weight to her hands so she could lean closer to him.

He shifted, reaching out to her, wrapping a curl around his knuckle. He tugged just hard enough to elicit a soft gasp, followed by her smirk, one that was becoming so familiar to him that he wondered for a split second if to others they looked like mirror images of each other.

“I don’t know, are you gonna show me the true meaning of Christmas or what?” He asked, pulling her even closer – so close that their cold puffs of breath intermingled.

“I would, but I don’t feel like getting arrested for public indecency tonight,” she laughed, her breath a soft gust against his face.

“Then why’d you bring me out here?” He asked, dropping his hand, shifting back to lean on both of his elbows.

She shrugged and turned back to face the town. “Thought I’d show you this place in case you wanted to come back. The warehouse rooftop might get old someday.”

His brows furrowed. She’d never gone out of her way to do something like this for him. She just wasn’t the type.

It’s what he liked about her.

Shit was simple. No complications. Just good, casual sex.

But this was… different. She was different.

And then it dawned on him

That’s what was different about her – holiday cheer? Whatever the fuck she wanted to call it, Aimee had a lot of it.

She didn’t have to say it out loud. Her expression was enough proof.

“Rooftop works fine.”

He didn’t know why he said it. He wasn’t upset with her for bringing him there. He was just… taken by surprise.

Not a bad surprise at all. Just unexpected. Kind of… nice.

She’d brought him somewhere that meant a lot to her, completely unprompted, and didn’t try to jump his bones. 

She rolled her eyes, sighing heavily. “This is the thanks I get for trying to get you to branch out.”

He sensed a shift in her demeanor – she was definitely a little upset with him. He hated damage control in most situations, but with her he’d rather do it before it blew into a bigger fucking mess he wouldn’t be able to clean up.

“Aimee,” he said, waiting for her to turn back and look at him. “Thank you.”

He held her gaze, knowing good and well it was hard for him to convey sincerity, but he’d be damned if he didn’t try.

He pushed himself up into a sitting position, their faces close.

A genuine smile stretched her lips thin in a wide grin, eyes crinkling at the corners. Aimee traced the pad of her thumb over the stubble on his chin. “Don’t mention it.”

She tugged his chin forward, lips meeting his in an enveloping kiss, Mason’s experience at the party long forgotten, cigarettes a distant thought.

He’d humor her by indulging in at least the reflective aspect of the holidays.

The shittiest parts of Wayhaven couldn’t touch his best moments with Aimee.

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#the wayhaven chronicles #twc #twc mason #agent mason #detective aimee lin #my fic #i already got becky approval for how i wrote aimee and mason so im content <3 this is for everyone else's enjoyment now #I LOVE BECKY!!!!!!!!! my woman my bestie my shawty my lover my bitch

[writeraquamarinara]

as with everything else in life, I’m late to making this post. I tend to make one around Jan 1st every year, but it’s now a few days after that, and all i can say for myself is that time is non-consequential during a pandemic, right? right.

anywho, this is my usual “thank you for keeping me going this year” post, but with even more fervor. 2020 would not have been nearly as tolerable without you all in it. and when i say all i really do mean all. thank you to anyone who follows me here or has read and supported my work on AO3 or has sent me a message or an ask or even just likes my posts. you can never know how many people’s hearts you’ve touched, lives you’ve made better, but i’m telling you now: you made me smile and laugh and feel love in a year that could have easily stolen all that. thank you for sticking around.

a few more specific shoutouts are under the cut to keep from flooding your dashes. i hope you’re all having a wonderful start to the new year.

much love, mari

to @anniemurphys: ria, i cannot thank you enough, for so many things. you played such a vital role in turning this year around for me. your friendship, and the friendships you’ve helped me make through book club, kept me smiling from week to week. i never wanted to leave our meetings, no matter how long they’d already gone. I could listen to your literary analyses and life advice for days on end. you’re such a kind, patient, loving person, and I’m so lucky to have you in my life. here’s to another year of freaking out over taylor swift albums and the power inherent in voluntarily turning oneself into vegetation.

to @bigdsgirl: heidi, you’re one of the sweetest, most hard-working people i know. you amaze me, and you graciously humor my latest hyper fixations—somehow always knowing, always reblogging content related to what i’m obsessing over at the moment. you give such great advice and have such a calming presence that i love being in chats and on calls with you. i cannot wait for more zoom movie nights in 2021.

to @hellodinoflower: raptor, you’ve supported me for so many years now, and whenever i feel down about my writing i’ll go back through the comments on some of my old fics and yours always make me tear up. you’re so thoughtful and kind and excited about my work that i cannot help but be the same. i hope you enjoyed the little dino reference in pride & publishing—i tried my best, i really did—and i hope you’re doing well. sending you so much love.

to @soyforramen: soy, i promise i’ll get to your head canon asks some day. i promise i haven’t forgotten them; i’m just uncreative and uninspired, but what else is new. you, however, are brilliant and kind and thoughtful, and your guidance in making both life and fic-writing decisions has been so important to me this year. wishing you so much luck with school this year, and even more happiness.

to @ithoughtyoulikedmereckless: rach, where to even begin? you’re the person i talk to when i’m feeling happy or sad or annoyed or angry or pretty much anything, really. our FaceTime convos are my favourite, no matter what time of day we have them at (somehow, the ones at 10pm are just as crazy as the ones at 3am, and i don’t really understand how or why, but i love that for us). i’ve learned so much about myself through my conversations with you, and you keep me level headed when i start doubting myself too much. you understand me on such an amazing level and i’m so lucky that you reached out to me so many years ago. i’m so lucky that we just happened to find each other on here and just so happened to move near each other this year. i still cannot believe i get to see you in person and go on walks in the woods with you. you’re such a talented photographer, writer, painter, baker, and all around artist; an incredibly kind and funny person; and i aspire to be you. i’m rambling now, but just know that i love you.

to @catthecoder: lav, my light, my love. seeing your icon and username on my dash makes me smile so hard. you just give off the best vibes and chatting with you always leaves me feeling like i’ve been basking in the sunlight for the past few hours. we need to make a resolution to sprint with each other more often this year, even if 2021 is going to be as hectic as ever, as i find so much joy in reading your snippets as we go along. you’re such a wonderful writer, and i often read your gift to me from years ago for inspiration and comfort. i hope you’re doing well and am sending so much love.

to @stirringsofconsciousness: stirrings!! i know you’ve had a super busy year, but you still made time to chat with me and i’ll be forever grateful. i often think about the advice you’ve left for me and the thoughtful responses you’ve given to my personal posts and find so much inspiration in your own words and actions. i also still cannot get over the time when you sent me a post of artful vases because you thought of me when you saw them. mortifying ordeal of being known who? anyways lol, i just wanted to thank you for being in my life and wish you a happy 2021.

to @heavy-lies-the-crown: alex, i just wanted to thank you for putting your time and energy towards answering my incessant questions this year. you’ve been an inspiration to me as a writer ever since i first found your work, but you’re also an inspiration to me as a person, and i’m always thinking about the advice you’ve given me. i hope you had a wonderful end to 2020, and that 2021 brings you even more joy than seeing your posts on my dash brings me. much love.

to @stonerbughead: maria, you brought so much happiness to my 2020. your support for my work took my breath away every time, and I swear I nearly cried when I saw your latest comments on pride and publishing. you put so much time and energy into this fandom, and into supporting the people in it, and I hope you know that it doesn’t go unnoticed. we all love you, and we’re so lucky to have you; your fics are brilliant, your podcast highlights are a joy to read, and your disdain for ras is hilarious. thank you for being you. sending lots of love.

to @sullypants: sully, it’s been years and i still marvel at how lucky i am to know you. you’ve taught me so much, from how to be more thoughtful to how to navigate therapy and self-love to how to be a kinder person in the world. you introduced me to ask polly and you send me really nice asks and you’re one of like four people who interacts with my posts on a consistent basis, which makes me feel a little less alone in the world, if that makes any sense. i’m going to stop myself from rambling on or else i might cry, but i just wanted to thank you for—here comes the cliche—changing my life (doesn’t everyone we meet change our lives, in some way or another? but you’ve changed mine considerably, and for the better). sending you so much love (in the form of both yellow and blue heart emojis)

to @justcourbeau: mel, our paths cross less frequently now than they used to, but that doesn’t mean i don’t think about you and the conversations we’ve had, or smile when i come across your posts on my dash, or when i happen to open up instagram once in a blue moon and see you’ve posted on your story. please never stop sending me sparknotes memes—especially cask of amontillado ones. your words of advice from the night i called you, distraught, a few years ago live in my brain rent free, and i will continue to carry them into 2021 with me. i hope 2021 treats you well, and that you achieve all you want and more. sending you an immense amount of love.

to @protectorofthesmoll: your string of comments on pride and publishing made me cry multiple times, i swear. i still read them back every so often, when i’m trying to muster the courage to start up on the new chapter. your support means so much to me, and it amazes me how far back it goes: I’m pretty sure I have at least two asks of yours sitting in my inbox, from back in 2018 when I had barely any followers or supporters, both of them writing prompts that I never filled. i promise i’ll get to them one day. anywho, i just wanted to thank you for your support this year, and every year before that. wishing you so much love and happiness in 2021.

to @panalegs27: 2020 was the year of figuring out that we have so much in common: a hatred of dating apps, confusion over tumblr’s obsession with the raven cycle, and an attraction to logan lerman with gray hair. thank you for chatting about all of these things, and more, with me; seeing that you’ve sent me a post always makes me smile, and our conversations make me laugh. wishing you even more love and laughter in 2021.

to @indiebughead: maria, it’s been so lovely getting to know you more over the course of this year. i love listening to your stories and living vicariously through you, lol. (i want updates on new neighbor boy, asap!) thank you for listening to my petty rants and for encouraging me to make bad decisions and be salty on main when i want to be. i couldn’t have asked for a more supportive conspirer ;) sending lots of love.

to @redundantoxymorons: iz, you’re one of the smartest, most eloquent, most supportive people i know. i know 2021 will be both stressful and exciting in many ways, and i wish you all the best. i know you’re going to thrive wherever you end up, and i’ll cheer you on as you navigate this new world, just as you’ve done for me all these years. i’m so lucky to have you as a friend, supporter, and beta, and all of our conversations bring me so much joy. pls continue to gush about taylor swift and rec books and send uquizzes with results that make me feel Known in 2021. i love you very much <3

to @cracklr: leda, i’ve missed your passive aggressive smiley faces, but your gushing insta comment more than made up for that, i promise :) sending you so much love and happiness in this new year <3

to @dottie-wan-kenobi: dottie, the posts we send each other make me so upset, but in a good way—the “if i just had to see this nasty shit then so do you” kind of way—and i love that about our relationship. who else would understand how disgustingly hilarious something is other than my wife? no one, that’s who. i often think about how you were the first friend i made in fandom, and i’ll be forever grateful for that: i couldn’t have found a better person. i love you so much, and am sending you all my love.

this list of shoutouts is really much shorter than it should be, but my brain is currently friend and i cannot seem to think properly anymore. therefore, i’m going to call it a day and reiterate my above statements that I love you all, and I hope you have a fucking amazing 2021.

#i can't find my 2019 one of these so i've decided i need to start tagging them with something so i can read them back #so for posterity: #end of the year appresh #anywho #none of this is edited or read over #so if it's embarrassingly cheesy or there are typos... welp

[things-we-used-tc-share]

Empty Spaces

Ships (For the whole fic): Demus | Logince | Moceit | Background Remile | Brotherly!Creativitwins

Warnings (For the whole fic): Alcohol, swearing, kissing, innuendo and flirting (or Remus, being Remus), mentions of mental health problems, mentions of tough family backgrounds, smoking and vaping mentions. (For this chapter: sex mention in conversation, drunken kissing, Remus being Remus)

Fic Summary: At the age of 16, every person wakes up feeling their soulmates emotions alongside their own. Scientists are unsure whether this is an evolutionary tactic or divine intervention, but most soulmates are twinned in the same general vicinity and don’t move away until they’ve found their ‘other half’.

Roman and Remus have spent their entire lives by each other’s side, and are ready for their next adventure; university. Remus is more than determined and ready to meet his soulmate, whereas Roman has to unlearn much of his upbringing before he’s ready to meet his own. Still, only fate really decides, right?

Word Count: 2712

Part A: Calming the Storm

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3

Part B: Creating a Storm

Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6

--

“I apologize in advance,” Roman sighs, dragging his feet up the stairs, Logan offers his usual amused smile in response “...they’re both quite a handful, Janus will pick apart your brain and Remus will shout until your ears bleed, just as a forewarning.”

“I’m sure I’ll survive,” Logan replies, his lips half in a smile, but Roman can feel the very small tremble of anxiety coming from the other man. He doesn't know the root cause but wishes he could reassure his soulmate more effectively. Unfortunately, the other man does seem to be a little bit of a brick wall when it comes to discussing emotions like anxiety.

The two had kept in contact over the last month, predominantly through texting as Logan was so far buried beneath his books he may as well make a house out of them, and Roman is very much used to using academia as an escape method. They’d met a couple of times in person too, but the little pull that they’re used to resisting still unnerves them. What unnerves Roman even more is not the cliche, he doesn’t want to kiss Logan in a fit of passion, nor is he suddenly desperate to be in a relationship with him. But he would very much like to hold his hand and talk to him.

He figured inviting him to one of Remy and Remus’ drinking nights would be a good enough place to start.

Remy is sitting in Emile’s lap when they enter the living room, a bottle of cider gripped eagerly between his hands as he talks with a volume not entirely made for indoors. Remus is sitting on the floor, his head resting back against the couch between Janus’ knees, where the blond plays soothingly with his hair. Tucked up to Janus’ side is Patton, who is silently smiling down at Remus with a fondness that no one in the room can mistake.

When the two enter, Remus darts up to his feet in excitement, darting over to greet the newcomer. “Hi! I’m Remus!” He declares, a little drunk and very much ecstatic to finally meet the ever-elusive soulmate. He shakes Logan’s hand with fervor, leaving the other man to look just a little terrified, inadvertently shifting a little behind Roman. “I’ve heard so much about you, well, okay I’ve heard a little about you, but that’s why I’m excited you're here! So I can learn more about you!”

“Remus,” Janus speaks softly, and the other man turns on his heel with the sort of look a puppy gives its master. “Let the poor man sit, you’re terrifying him.” Roman can feel Logan’s anxiety building a little, and leans out to rest a gentle hand on his arm just briefly. Remus sits back in the place he’d been lounging before their entrance. Patton and Emile both offer reassuring smiles, whilst Remy automatically begins his quest to get the newcomers drunk.

He seems to have made that his mission in life, getting everyone around him anything other than sober; Roman thinks he just finds it amusing, the way a photographer watches nature, or the way a zookeeper observes animals. Logan accepts a can of pre-mixed gin and tonic, before making himself comfortable on the floor, his back to the radiator, where Roman sits beside him. “Are we playing any games tonight?” Remus asks, always eager to kick up a fuss.

“I think if I have to make out with you again I’ll cry,” Remy replies, always eager to make his friend pout.

“And if I have to watch it one more time, I can die a happy man,” Janus comments absently.

“Whore,” Remus teases.

“He tries,” Patton interjects, amused.

“Are they always so hyper?” Logan whispers to his soulmate as a slight bicker breaks out between them all.

“The drunker you are, the more tolerable it becomes,” Roman replied, eyebrow raised as he watches Patton fall into a fit of giggles whilst Remus and Remy start a conversation that’s very loud, half full of laughter, and the rest a genuine discourse. “I tend to acknowledge less after my third can.” They both drink, for the most part talking between the two of them and observing the flitting conversations between the others. The more Logan drinks, the more tired he seems to get, yawning softly as he rests his head forward a little, the can placed on the floor.

“Hey, Logan!” He lifts his head a little to meet Remus’ gaze, which is unnervingly similar to Roman’s. “What about you, when did you have your first kiss?” He’d tuned out so much of the conversation he didn’t even know where they were up to.

“I don’t know,” he finally responds. “I can’t…” he hiccups a little, followed by a very small burp “...I can’t foresee the future, clairvoyance is not yet one of my skill sets.” The younger twin gasps like he’d been told some revealing secret, his eyes falling to his brother, who shakes his head in discouragement.

“So, that means...Roman will be the one to pop your cherry?”

“Holy shit Remus,” the elder twin replies, his cheeks flushing almost as red as his hair. “You can’t just say things like th-”

“Sure,” Logan shrugs. “It’s not like I have a queue, might as well.” He tugs lightly at Roman’s sleeve, his eyes unfocused and drowsy. “Do you want to get it out of the way or…?”

“Absolutely not,” Roman sighs, shaking his head. “And we are not having this conversation in front of my brother.” Patton is giggling again, looking about as sober as Logan currently does, he leans down and pokes the side of Remus’ head by way of chastising him. Remus tilts his head and nips at the pointed finger.

“It’s not like it’s important,” Logan continues, oblivious to the sudden silence his words bring. “And it’s certainly not like anyone else wants me, or ever will, you don’t even want me, you’re just forced to deal with me by some divine intervention.” Patton’s smile slips off his face, and Remus turns his head away from the playful fight he’d instigated with an almost heartbroken expression.

“Shit,” Remy utters quietly.

“I think it’s bedtime for you,” Roman mutters, his voice shaking as he speaks. He stands up with a slight sway to his step, Logan tries to follow suit and instead slips back down, spilling his can over his shirt. He stares down at his shirt with a forlorn expression. Roman helps him up, prying the can from his hand to set on the windowsill. The moment they leave the room he can hear quiet whispers between his friends.

He helps Logan out of his shirt with some difficulty, because the other man seems to have as much trouble standing as he does. His hands grip onto Roman to steady himself, leaning his head forward to rest on his chest. And then he begins to shake, his shoulders trembling with the silent sobs that crawl from his lips. “I’m sorry,” Logan whispers.

“You haven’t done anything wrong.”

“I took half of your soul, and now you’re forced to love me, and that’s not fair, but it makes sense, because no one would actually choose to!” His voice raises a pitch higher and cracks at the last word, Roman shakes his head.

“Logan you’re not nearly as unlovable as you think you are.” Logan lifts his head, his eyes unfocused and ringed red from his tears. “You’re just a person like the rest of us.” He isn’t sure what the outcome of the words are supposed to be, after all, he still doesn’t really know Logan, although now he feels like any barrier they had intended to put up has crumbled with drunken honesty. Although it explains a lot that the other man is lonely. It makes sense.

But whatever he had predicted, it wasn’t the other man gripping the back of his head and pulling him into a firm, clashing, uncoordinated, and rather messy kiss. He steadies himself, resting his hands on his soulmate's hips and pulling away with a shake of his head. “No.” It’s all he says, firmly. “You’re drunk, if you still want to kiss me in the morning, then by all means, but not like this, not whilst you’re upset and drunk.”

Logan gives a resigned nod, stepping back a little. “Sleep, okay?” The kindness on the redhead’s face is nothing compared to what Logan can feel at the moment, a course of worry and care flooding through him, radiating off of Roman like a beacon to a more hopeful life. He leads Logan to his own bed, kneeling down to take off his shoes for him, before tucking him into bed.

“What about you?” the other man asks, his voice coming out as a dry, sleepy whisper.

“I’ll sleep on the couch, it’s fine.”

“Nonsense,” he holds out a hand, pats the space beside him. “Come and sleep properly, your back will be a mess in the morning if you sleep on that thing.” Then he rolls on his side and closes his eyes, leaving Roman to chuckle softly at the demand. He slides off his own shoes, and changes into some sleepwear, before climbing in next to Logan, unable to avoid their bodies fitting snugly together. But mostly, it’s simply that it feels right.

By morning, his soulmate had gone.

--

“So he just...left?” Remus asks over breakfast, a frown on his lips.

“Do you blame him?” Janus asks, placing a carton of orange juice down next to Roman, who is frowning at the toast on his plate. “He just spilled out half his emotional trauma to a group full of strangers, I’d leave too.” Remus shrugs slightly like it’s not something that would bother him in the slightest; it probably wouldn’t be. “How’s he feeling?”

“Upset,” Roman utters immediately “...scared, embarrassed, anxious, sick.” His eyebrows furrow as he realizes that these are all discernable emotions, not just absent nothingness. “I need to find him,” he darts up off the chair, grabbing his coat off the couch. “See you in a bit.”

The door closes behind him with a thud, and he walks quickly down the stairs, but before he even really realizes it he’s running. His heart hammers in his chest as he runs, the adrenaline from sheer anxiety alone, his own, Logan’s, intermingling into this horrible sensation like a pit ripping through his stomach.

He doesn’t even know where he’s running to until he’s on the other side of campus, falling to a halt outside the other dorms, they’re smaller than the ones he stays in. Roman stares up at the building with a dry swallow. Is this where Logan lives? He’s never been to his dorm before. He stares at the list of dorm numbers and realizes that he’s gotten this far, but still doesn’t know where he’s going.

“You alright?” He turns around on the spot to see a man with deep purple hair and lined eyes looking at him with amusement and worry.

“Uh yeah, I’m...looking for someone, he...well it’s a long sorry but I think he might be in trouble and I…” Roman sights “Logan Crofter, do you know which dorm he is?”

“You’re in luck, he’s my flatmate,” he scans his card “...didn’t think he had friends you know?”

“I’m his soulmate actually.”

“Damn, good luck,” the man holds open the door for Roman to take, leading him up the stairs. “...I didn’t think he had one of those either, but I don’t know him that well it’s just he...uh...well he’s got a bit of a temper, can’t really see past what people show you, you know?” He opens the door and gestures. “That one’s his, nice to meet you by the way.”

“You too.” Roman stares at the door for a long while, nervous, then he lifts a hand and knocks. There’s silence on the other side bar the creak of bedsprings. He knocks again.

“Virgil I swear to…” the door opens to a disheveled Logan, halfway through a sentence, which falters. “Roman,” he utters in surprise “...I was wondering what all that anxiety was.”

“Sorry, I was...worried.”

“I’m quite fine, just hungover.”

“No, you’re not.” There’s a long silence, Logan’s eyes fall to the ground, his cheeks flushing red. Of course, he can’t lie to someone who feels what he feels. Wordlessly he holds open the door for his soulmate to step through. It closes behind them with a low thud, the lock clicking shut. “Look, Logan, whatever happened last night...it doesn’t matter, I just want to make sure you’re okay, you know? I just want...I want you to be okay.” Silence, Logan shifts uncomfortably on the spot, his arms wrapping around his stomach.

“I don’t remember everything,” he finally says, barely a whisper “...I remember kissing you and you pushing me away, I remember feeling sad and I...I don’t know why.”

“You told me you felt like no one would ever want you.”

“Is that not true?”

“You’re speaking sarcastically, but no, it’s not true.” Roman sighs, shaking his head. “...I don’t know what our relationship is, what it’s going to be, I don’t know the future at all and it’s scary, sure, but I do know I want you in my life, I do know I miss you when you’re not here and I do know that if you had been sober when you kissed me I would’ve kissed you back, and the rest of that shit can just sort itself out on its own time…” he shakes his head, shrugging with an almost hopeless expression “...I didn’t want a soulmate, but I at least want you to be my friend if nothing else, because you’re interesting and you’re funny and you don’t beat around the bush when you speak, and because I know what it feels like to feel as though nobody really wants you…”

“Roman please stop talking.”

“No, I need you to know that I like you, not because of fate or…”

“...Roman I get it, please…”

“...or this soulmate thing, you are genuinely an interesting person and you’re smart, although I also wish sometimes I could pay for you to shut up and…”

“Jesus Christ,” Logan growls, gripping the front of Roman’s shirt in both hands, his face very close to the other man’s “...shut up.” And then he kisses him, a warm sensation floats through Roman’s body, his shaky hands coming up to cup Logan’s jaw, sinking into this lovely feeling. When they break apart, Roman’s eyelids flutter open to stare in absent shock at his soulmate, a quiet ‘oh’ on his lips. “You wish you could pay for me to shut up? Have you heard yourself?” Logan asks incredulously.

“If that’s how you intend to shut me up I’m not going to argue,” Roman utters quietly. The two of them seem to just stare as the realization sinks in on what they had just done. The redhead chews his bottom lip between his teeth (and he still feels them tingling from the force of Logan’s mouth against his own.

“Stop that,” the smaller man utters, caring in his tone that he’d never given a single person in his life. He reaches up to brush his thumb against the abused lip. “You’ll get chapped lips doing that.” Roman sighs quietly, deciding for a moment that he doesn’t care about the future, or what that entails. Couldn’t give the slightest worry to that whole situation. So he leans down and kisses Logan himself, never once wanting to part from him.

Logan kisses him back with a sigh, Roman can feel how fast his heart is beating. But he can also feel this nervous sensation that is wrapped around happiness and relief. He can’t tell if it’s his own or Logan’s but he is so glad to have it, like a wildfire flickering in his chest, keeping them both warm.

“And now you’ve had your first kiss,” he whispers quietly “...properly, that is.”

“Indeed I have,” Logan smiles, his cheeks flushed, a look that is utterly stunning on his face. “I wouldn’t mind getting in a few more before class.” Roman grins.

“Me neither.”

#ts sides fic #sanders sides fic #ts sides #sanders sides #ts logince #logince

[small-as-a-mouse]

Party Fouls

This is a one shot set in the Universe of my story, Woodward! It takes place two years before the main story which you don’t have to read to understand this but I’d love if you did, it has very little to do with the main storyline, and there’s just a hint of g/t which I may expand on later which is why I’m posting it here.

Aeran (he/they) is an antimonarchist size shifting/shape shifting ex bard who loves bad decisions and Halys (he/him) is an extremely uppity prince.

(Content warning: abuse of alcohol*, using alcohol as a coping mechanism, flirting while intoxicated, fade to black implications, *fae get drunk on honey)

Aeran didn’t want to be here. He didn’t need to be here. He wasn’t here to play, none of his friends were here, and it wasn’t part of any contract he was entangled in. So... why was he here? Well, hopefully to forget that he was here in the first place.

Aeran liked to tell himself he didn’t drink often. He used to just avoid it when he could- honey could be good on the throat in small doses, but singing when your teeth were stuck together was as hard as it sounded, and his decision making skills had never been the best when he’d had more than a cup.

But sometimes he needed a break. Especially now that Steller could be left to his own devices, once every couple of months he could slink away to a revel and allow himself to go numb. Steller didn’t know- the poor kid would probably tear Aeran a new one if he knew the fae was purposefully getting drunk to quiet his mind. But what else would he be doing? Just waiting around for the world to pass by until he found a way out of court?

He huffed a laugh into his glass. Steller had told him that one time his dad had brought him to a music festival, and a drunk man had thrown up all over his dad’s shirt and they ended up going home early. Human alcohol didn’t work on him, but... he still desperately wanted to go to one of those. He wondered how simultaneously tame and exhilarating it would be.

“Shouldn’t you be singing?” A voice snapped him out of his reverie. He choked a bit when he looked up and realized who had interrupted his monthly mind-numbing. Prince Halys, professional princeling and certified downer, was standing in front of him in all his wintery glory. Dressed in his usual furs and finery, he looked regal enough, but he was missing his crown, which Aeran didn’t think he’d ever seen before. Halys was of a height with Aeran, but had a willowy frame that might have made him seem less threatening if you didn’t know who he was. Aeran knew Halys in the way everyone did, but he also knew him from when he was playing as the court musician. He knew Halys well enough to know that the prince was currently very out of his element.

And very, very, drunk.

“What do you mean, your highness?” Aeran asked nonchalantly, tacking on the honorific as to avoid any offense. He’d done this for years. He knew how to handle himself, even if he was starting to feel a little fuzzy, and the man he was honoring was quickly losing the blue pallor of his cheeks to a light purple blush.

“Well, you’re… you’re a bard. You sing, you play multiple instruments. That’s what you do. This is a party, don’t they want you to play for them?” Ah. Prince Halys, always so focused on the jobs people should be doing. He must not have heard.

“I’m sorry to disappoint, your highness, but I do not play in public anymore. I haven’t since I stopped playing at court. I am… taking a break.” The full truth was he only ever now played for Steller, and occasionally Prince Pieridae, but he didn’t think the flowers that grew around the spring prince were that good at listening, so he didn’t consider his audiences to be larger than two members.

“Really?” Halys replied, his nose wrinkling in distaste, “But you’re so good at it. Surely you would rather spend time improving your already abundant skills than letting them decay without use,” Aeran gave the prince a smile.

“Your highness, I didn’t know you felt that way,” Aeran watched with growing delight as the purple deepened on Halys’s skin, “about my music.” The prince huffed and crossed his arms, and Aeran’s eyes followed the nearly empty stein in his hand.

“Everyone feels that way about your music!” He said loudly, not quite shouting, and a few nymphs who had gotten close to them jumped and moved away. Aeran glanced down, already expecting the shards of ice that had appeared around the Prince’s feet. Seemed Halys wasn’t as in control as he typically appeared to be. Aeran looked around.

“Your highness, perhaps we should move away from this area, you can continue telling me about what a mistake I’m making in wasting my talents in a less crowded space,” Something flickered in Halys’s eyes at Aeran’s suggestion, but Aeran chalked it up to the mead.

Halys nodded. “... perhaps.”

The prince was surprisingly easy to lead into the quiet hall. Aeran didn’t have a lot of magic, especially now without any of his instruments, so he couldn’t do much to help either of them sober up, but the blush had started to fade from the prince’s face, so perhaps he had a higher tolerance than he let on. Besides, a part of him desperately wanted to see more of the Queen’s perfect child be not so perfect. Luckily, Halys didn’t need any prompting.

“Everyone feels that way about your music. Mother wouldn’t pick just anyone to play for us,” Halys obviously thought this was a compliment, but Aeran scowled in response, and the winter prince looked at him strangely, questioning.

“I honor the Queen, but I care little for her taste in music.” He said sharply. He prayed that he hadn’t overstepped and that the prince wouldn’t run back to his mother to inform her of how rude her former bard had been. Halys didn’t even blink.

“But you’re so good at it,” Halys repeated, softer this time, and Aeran had to stop himself from physically reacting to the shift in tone. “And,” He stepped closer, “You always looked… so pretty…”

The prince was definitely well within arms reach at this point and was staring intently at Aeran’s face. Aeran felt his smile widen despite himself, but he had a large enough sliver of self restraint to hold up his arm.

“You’re drunk, Halys,” he said firmly, dropping the formalities. If the prince wanted him in the way it was starting to seem then he didn’t expect it to matter, “You are not thinking clearly,” the prince didn’t falter at Aeran’s lack of propriety, only shook his head.

“I am more clear headed than you think,” he frowned, “I didn’t think this would be so hard,”

“What would be so hard?” Aeran asked.

“Talking to you… flirting.” He said the last word quietly, but Aeran’s brain had already stuttered to a halt. He remembered being younger, with pitch black eyes watching him from behind a terrifying throne. He wondered at what point this idea had gotten into the prince’s head.

“I don’t know,” Aeran said softly. “I think you’re doing a fairly decent job so far.”

For the first time that night, and possibly ever, a smile appeared on the prince of winter’s face, and the last of Aeran’s good judgement stepped back.

“You were always so pretty when you sang,” Halys murmured, stepping closer once more and pushing against the hand that Aeran hadn’t realized he was still holding up. “I miss you when the court grows tiresome.”

Aeran felt more than he saw Halys’s arms wrap around his neck, as if the prince were pulling himself up, even if Halys wasn’t much shorter. Aeran considered transforming, shrinking and fluttering away. Shrinking and clinging to the prince’s furs, maybe, not letting go. He considered being frozen into an ice statue. He considered being watched by sad, cold eyes, as he ran from this.

He considered what a good distraction this would be compared to honey-wine.

‘This a is bad idea. The Queen would kill me if she knew. My head gone from my shoulders. Wings torn from my back.’ Halys lips pressed against his own, his arms wrapped securely around the back of his neck like his scarf. Comforting. Trapping.

‘Such a bad idea,’ He thought, pressing back.

#my ocs #hey Sam why are you posting so much about your ocs tonight I don’t know I want people to look at them #faeries #my writing #I actually wrote this like three months ago and just needed to post it somewhere

[theres-a-goldensky]

BL Show Review Series - Until We Meet Again

The next show I am going to review is (spoilers) my favorite BL to date. It’s called Until We Meet Again, and it is fantastic.

Disclaimer that these are my own opinions, and I don’t know where the BL community as a whole stands on these shows. If I disliked a show you loved or visa versa, no disrespect is intended!

MASTERLIST OF BL SHOW REVIEWS

Mild Spoiler Warning and TW: brief mentions of suicide and homophobia

Until We Meet Again Rating: 9 / 10

I’ve put off writing about this show, because I’m finding it hard to articulate all of the reasons why the whole thing works so well. First of all, it needs to be said that whoever did the casting should get whatever the Thai version of an Emmy is, because every person involved in this show is so, so good. The standout, however, is Fluke as the main character, Pharm. 

Fluke is, in my humble opinion, unequivocally the best actor in the Thai BL world. So much of the emotional work is done by him, in a show that is very, very emotional, and he carries the weight of the narrative really well. This man can cry on cue, and I swear he can make himself blush on cue too. You believe every second of his performance, and he makes Pharm very likable, relatable, and sympathetic without tipping over into helpless damsel territory.

Part of what makes the character so good is the quiet but firm way that he sticks up for himself. When Alex, the popular drama club president, starts to flirt with him, instead of running to Dean or meekly tolerating it, Pharm smiles politely and rejects him in a way that leaves no room for confusion. And when Dean does something that Pharm is uncomfortable with, Pharm forgives him with the gentle caveat that he never do it again. It’s said kindly, but you understand that Pharm means it, and Dean understands that too. 

Anyway, that’s a hundred words just about how much I love Pharm, and we haven’t even talked about the main relationship. See, this is why I haven’t written about this show yet. 

A quick overview of the show is that back in the late 80s, two university-aged men named Korn and In fell in love. However, their fathers disapproved, and Korn’s father was a mob boss who had tight control over his son. In despair, Korn kills himself and In, sick with grief, follows. 

(left: Korn, right: In)

Then, cut to modern times, we meet Pharm and Dean, who we quickly understand are the reincarnations of In and Korn, respectively. It’s Pharm’s first day at university, and while he’s there doing all the introduction stuff, he meets his future best friends, Team and Manaow, and locks eyes with Dean. 

Dean and Pharm both feel this connection, and their relationship is the sweetest, softest, kindest thing you will ever encounter in one of these series. Dean is a taciturn third year who is the president of the swimming club. He has plenty of female admirers, but he’s been looking for someone all his life. When he finds Pharm, he knows that his search is over. He is so gentle with Pharm, who is dealing with PTSD from In’s memories. At the same time, Dean doesn’t play any games. He makes it clear that he likes Pharm and wants Pharm to like him back. He never tries to hide his feelings with Pharm or anyone else. 

(left: Dean, right: Pharm)

Ohm, who plays Dean, has less to do than Fluke, because Dean is not the primary POV character of the show, and he’s much quieter overall. But what he does well is watching Pharm and touching him like he is the most important thing in the world. He’s open with his affection and never gets hostile or aggressive the way characters often do in these stories. He’s a big guy, but he’s very kind.

Korn and In’s story is told through flashbacks that are mainly meant to mirror Dean and Pharm in the present. It’s hard to watch their happiness when we know how it’s going to end up. Earth plays In, who patiently and insistently chases after Korn. His smile is like sunlight. Seriously, he is a gift, which makes it all the harder to watch him go through so much pain. Korn is much more stoic. I think of all of the characters, he’s the one I had the hardest time connecting with. He keeps a very stern face most of the time, but by the end, it still hurts seeing him suffer.

One of the key things that makes this drama different than other BLs is that it has a genuinely compelling plot. We get to watch as Dean and Pharm navigate their new relationship while trying to piece together what is happening inside their heads. They also need to figure out how much of what they feel for each other is them and how much of it is because of Korn and In’s memories. The story went places I truly wasn’t expecting at times and kept me interested the whole way through.

The supporting characters on this show are also great. The secondary couple is Pharm’s friend Team and Dean’s friend Win. Win is the vice president of the swimming club, and Team is a junior member of the club. They immediately have that playful, fighting vibe between them that is really fun to watch. 

(left: Team, right: Win)

Win’s character has lots of tattoos and piercings. He looks like a bad boy, but just like Dean, he’s actually very nice. He’s more mischievous and outgoing than Dean though. This makes him a better match for Team, who isn’t afraid to match Win’s attitude and return his teasing back at him. 

Oftentimes, the secondary pairings bore me a bit, but I loved, loved, LOVED Win and Team. They are getting their own series next year, and I cannot wait for it. 

Something else I want to point out about this story is that there are no Evil Female Characters. No clingy ex-girlfriends or scheming, jealous love rivals anywhere to be seen. But there ARE female characters, and they’re all great. Manaow, Pharm’s other best friend, is the main one. She’s played by Thai BL mainstay Sammy. Manaow is loud and friendly and supportive. She also gets her own boyfriend, though I wish we saw more of that relationship (give it to us in the sequel, pleassssse). Dean’s sister Del quickly joins their group of friends as well. Then there’s the less prominent members of Pharm’s cooking club. Female family members who also play big roles in the narrative. 

The show isn’t without its faults. The one BLARING example that comes to mind is product placement. Until We Meet Again has the most blatant and annoying product placement I have ever seen. It almost feels like the show is stopping and having the characters give full commercials mid-episode. I refuse to mention the names of the products, but they are highlighted in a ham-handed way that is even more crass when you contrast it with the quality of the rest of the show. The worst one, by far, is at least relegated to a sort of mini-story after the episode. It involves one character encouraging another to go to the sponsored clinic and get cosmetic work done. The whole thing is not just gross but also out of character for both of them. I’ve pretty much erased it from my mind. Capitalism can burn.

The other thing is that occasionally the pacing drags a bit. I enjoyed it, but the director lingers 5-10 seconds too long on some shots, especially those involving eye contact. This is normal for BLs, but not to this extent. There’s an almost-kiss scene that drags on for nearly a FULL MINUTE in an early episode. At this point, I’ve rewatched the show so many times that I know when to hit the skip 10 secs button to move things along at a faster clip. But the first time I watched, I was like, “OK, I get it. They’re looking at each other and remembering events from their past lives. You have thoroughly conveyed this.”

But those are comparatively minor gripes and didn’t detract too much from my enjoyment. Watch this show. Have tissues ready.

And if you’re interested in fanfic, I put together rec lists for multiple BL shows including this one that can be found here and here. 

MASTERLIST OF BL SHOW REVIEWS

(Send me an ask if you have a show you’d like me to review - with the understanding that I will be completely honest - or if there’s anything you think I forgot or got wrong in this review.) 

#until we meet again #uwma #bl review series #ohmfluke #deanpharm #dean x pharm #bounprem #winteam #win x team #kornin #korn x in #cooheart #kao x earth #thai bl #bl recs

[scribbling-stiks]

Puppets Extras - Just a Bit of World Building

-Giving a creature a name gives it more power, hence why many of the creatures go unnamed

-Everyone's face is the flag of the country or state they are a resident of or were a resident of.

-If someone is not a resident of any country, they are blank until they become residents. ie. if they are born on a plane.

-If a person has dual citizenship, their flag will change based on which country they are in or stayed in most recently.

-The main visual difference between personifications and citizens is the eyes. Personifications have eyes that have a slight yellow glow, and the citizen's eyes are plain white.

-A second visual difference is that, for personifications, their flag's design can extend past their face.

-Simpler, color-based flags show up more vividly than the more complicated, picture-based ones.

-First-generation immigrants often, but don't always, keep their original flag. Second generations have fewer ethnic flags and third generations are completely based on their current citizenship.

-English is the language of international policies, hence why countries without a large  population of English speakers can still communicate in fluent English

-Personifications and citizens alike can have the ability to do magic. The ability is not common.

-Personifications have stronger magic/more potential strength than citizens

-The states all have their own homes in their respective state. They only stay at the main house together during holidays or emergencies.

-The nickname "Mass-hole" came about during Thanksgiving when Massachusetts insisted on calling Pennsylvania "Penny." Eventually, Penn had enough and he shouted, "Shut the f*** up, Mass-hole!" It stuck and the states have used it ever since.

-All states know how to cook their regional food, and America knows how to cook any American based dish or popular dish that the states make.

-Some states are fluent in more than one language and America is as well. This is based on two reasons

               >The current languages spoken by their citizens

               >Any past mass immigration of foreign people

-Australia and New Zealand have met the states, but because of distance, they do not visit much

-The states call Australia "Spider-Man"

-Most countries have scars from a history of violence in their land. Russia keeps his arms covered because the scars on them are sensitive to touch. Most of the time, long sleeves are good enough, but if unavailable, he'll wrap them in dry, clean bandages.

-New York has a prosthetic leg. He lost his right leg and nearly lost the other during the events of 9/11/2001. His leg ends just below the knee and both legs are heavily scared. His prosthetic is life-like, and you wouldn't notice it was a prosthetic unless he exposes his legs.

-America made sure that all the states know how to swim. Hawaii is the best, closely followed by California and Florida.

-The monsters seen attacking Russia are not necessarily doing it for the same reasons.

-While America is gone, Dixie has attempted to take over his duties. Unfortunately, New York often has to get involved because of the arguments Dixie's involvement has caused with some of the other countries.

-Monsters can not perfectly imitate a person. The ones that are the most accurate at copying faces can not do it for long, and the mimicking cries of others always have strange distortions. Most of the monsters are imitating things to lure people toward them, but only have the intelligence of a wild animal.

-Most of the monsters that roam the North American continent are monitored by the personifications representing the different Native American tribes recognized by the Federal Government. These personifications do not typically interact with America or the states, but if worse comes to worst, they are willing to help.

-New York and New Jersey have the strangest relationship out of the states. The two are opposites but act as best friends. They will go from insulting each other to defending each other if anyone else tried to insult one of them. Jersey's more obnoxious tendencies are only tolerated by New York because he's New Jersey. If any of the other states tried blasting music into New York's office or room when he was on the phone, they would get a much larger reaction than just an annoyed look.

-Wisconsin is in charge of getting cheese, end of story.

-Most midwestern states know how to ride horses, and the southern states know how to grow produce and hunt.

-If someone finds a snake in the Big House, its Florida's problem to get rid of it.

                   >Alligators go to either Louisiana or Florida.

-During Hurricane season, the states that are heavily hit(Like Louisiana) get sick and are often bedridden until the damages begin to be fixed.

-New York handles most of the logistical things for his family.

-Florida was terrified the world was ending the first time he saw snow.

AND SOME MORE

America's magic runs on the same logic as Massachusetts, just to a lesser extent.

Nations heal the fastest, followed by states, and regular people heal the slowest.        Sidenote: Texas, California, and Hawaii heal faster than the other states.

Alabama owns and modifies old cars. Most end up with rocket boosters attached. Indiana occasionally helps.

Countries(and states) all have at least one home in their country, but many have family homes centered between relatives. The larger the country, the more homes they own.

The idea that the USSR crumbled because of new freedoms giving to citizens is where I get my interpretation of Soviet. I read it as he was controlling when his kids were little, but once he realized his kids weren't happy, he backed off, and the USSR fell apart.

America was severely neglected as a child, so when he started finding states(small children) as a young teenager, he wanted to get rid of them. He didn't want them. But when he turns his back on Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, their cries draw him back. They sounded so much like his own.

-"Daddy! Come back! Please." -"Where are you going? Why can't I come with you!" -"Daddy, wait!"

He vowed from then on to raise these kids as best as possible, and he made it a goal to do better than UK or England ever had. He likes to think he succeeded.

If a personification dies, their country crumbles. If the country crumbles, but the personification is still alive, they will become less powerful, but still amortal(meaning unable to die of disease or age).

Nevada and New Mexico are NEVER to be left alone together. Chaos ensues.

Florida has several pet alligators that live in a moat around his house in FL. His siblings don't visit often.

Georgia and North Carolina make Moonshine and fight over whose is better.

California is the worst driver.

New York has an attitude that demands respect, even if he's in pjs.

Colorado, Florida, and California do parkour. Texas won't admit that he does too because he doesn't want to have anything in common with Florida and California.

New York and New Jersey like to race each other across rooftops in NYC. New York normally wins, even with his prosthetic. Jersey always demands a rematch.

Louisiana and Georgia can tap dance. New Jersey can breakdance.

Florida can play the grand piano, but his siblings say he can't play any "good music." Even still, he insists that "Never Gonna Give You Up" and "All Star" are perfectly reasonable choices of music.

West Virginia always has a few marbles in his pocket. Always.

Instead of faces, different people have different face shapes, eye sizes, and slight alterations to their flags, mostly colors. Flags keep the same shape.

Extra Facts:

-Had a horrible childhood full of neglect. He was left to fend for himself in brutal winters of the northeast or the brutal heat and humidity in the south east. UK does not know how to be a parent and didn't want to learn.

-America doesn't ever want any of the states to feel the same kind of doubt about themselves he felt, so he showers them with affection as much as he can. Unconditional love.

-The states, though they are a big group, are one of the most functional family units. They can work as a (sometimes) well-oiled machine.

-Philippines was taken in and treated like a state for a while, so he fits right in.

-America allows his states to do as they please, but insists that they have nothing to do with international affairs.

-He knows the states can handle themselves, but if they need help, he'll run in behind them, guns blazing, no questions asked. And he knows the rest of the states will follow him in the same fashion.

-He doesn't really remember birthdays. Instead he will just randomly mail them gifts that remind him of them. So it's like surprise birthday presents.

-The states love him, and will support him no matter what. His asking is the only reason they haven't mobbed a nations' meeting to beat the crap out of the people making fun of their dad.

-America is hyperactive and forgetful. New York took on the logistics early on because he saw that though his dad wouldn't mean to, America would often forget important meetings and dates in time.

-Texas was scared to join another family, but found himself in a group that looked up to him and laughed with him and he was happy. He doesn't care that he was a country(unless it's to tease his siblings), his is one of the states and will deal with anyone who messes with his family.

~

Table of Contents

#countryhumans #statehumans

[talpup]

Summary: Yami Sukehiro just wanted to join the Magic Knights and make his mentor proud. He knew there would be trails. He knew trouble would come his way. Knew he would be faced with discrimination for being a foreigner and a peasant. What he didn’t know. Didn’t expect. Was that literal Chaos would come his way. That he and his mentor’s sister would be at the center of world ending trouble. Or that he would fall in love with his mentor’s sister and face more than discrimination; but the jealously of Nozel Silva who loved the same woman he did.

Please remember this fic is rated mature and has warnings of violence, abuse, sexual tension, eventual sexual behavior, and other possible triggers. For a full list of story tags please check the fics AO3 (link to that at the top of my tumblrs homepage).

Chapter 93

Jax, Yami, and Teris landed in Saussy. After a two day flight, all of them were glad to be off their brooms.

Ill tempered, Yami grumbled. “Come next Entrance Exams we really have to get someone capable of long distance travel. It doesn’t even have to be a spatial mage at this point. Air, wind. Heck Fuegoleon can make some kind of fire lion, right? We should’ve brought him.”

Teris frowned at the mention of her cousin, the two still not having made peace from their argument the day of the Star Awards. “He’s not a Black Bull.”

“Still could’ve asked him for a ride.” Yami shrugged.

“Or I could have simply light traveled us.” Teris said.

“As much as hate flying by broom, I’m not rolling the dice on getting burned and blinded unless I absolutely have to.” Jax said.

“I’ve been practicing and gotten better.” Teris said.

“Thanks nice.” Jax quipped.

“It’s not as if we’re not on our way to see an excellent Healer.” Teris played.

Jax stared at her unamused.

“Without rest from taking down that gang you came across on your trip to see Zora, light traveling the three of us this far would taken too much out of you.” Yami told Teris.

“Yami’s right.” Jax said.

They were close enough to the Spade Kingdoms boarder that Jax wanted his Vice Captain's as fresh and full of mana as they could be. He missed the days when Yami and Teris could simply feed off of each other’s mana. No doubt they did too. Glancing at them, he wondered if they would ever be able to do so again.

Taking in the village, Teris thought of the time had Yami gone on a mission only for her to return from her birthday at Nova house to find him mad and refusing to speak to her.

Thinking of that same mission, Jax asked Yami. “You’ve been here before, right? The time you, Bronn, Olsen, and Iban dealt with an outbreak of Wild Fire.”

“Never came into town. Saw the place from the hills though. Lots of caves in there. Either of you?” Yami asked.

Teris shook her head.

“Use to come to Saussy for a day every other week.” Jax told. He smirked, recalling the amount favors he had ended up owing Bronn for the many trips.

“Family?” Teris questioned.

“Girlfriend.” Jax answered. “My first, actually. Was on a mission my first year as a Magic Knight. The thugs we were chasing came upon this girl and her friend foraging in the woods.” He jutted a chin towards the forest to the west of town. “They took the girls as shields. Long story short we took the thugs into custody and she was so thankful and impressed she agreed to let me call on her. We were together for a little less than a year.”

“What happened?” Teris asked.

“The following years Magic Knights Entrance Exams. The Azure Deers took on this girl, Belinda. She caught my eye as soon as Julius introduced us. I never returned to Saussy after that.”

“You just left her!” Teris exclaimed.

Yami laughed at both Jax’s story and Teris’ reaction.

“I was young. And clearly much more uncertain about who or what I wanted than Yami was at that age.” Jax said, giving Yami a wink.

Teris followed her Captain wondering if the second girl he mentioned was the one the Spade Kingdoms Sorcery Lance had eluded to the night of the Wild Fires in Hage and Hornsby.

Jax stopped at the door of the place that matched the address on Gilly’s letters. He thought it best to check in here than go knocking on the door that bore her room number. Gilly might’ve been an adult; but she was still an unmarried woman who lived alone. Jax didn’t want to start the towns rumor mill going or call Gilly’s image into question.

The door opened to reveal an older, though not elderly, woman. “Magic Knights. You lot are sure quick. We even got three of you, huh? Come in. Come in. She’s in the kitchen. Name’s Mora by the way. I own the place.”

Yami shared a look with Teris, not recalling Jax saying anything about anyone expecting them. They followed Mora through to the back.

“He messed her up pretty bad. Good thing she’s a healer else she’d be in a lot of pain. We haven’t had a proper healer in town for years before she came along.” Mora said, over her shoulder.

“You’re talking about Gilly.” Jax realized, looking at the short woman.

“Of course. Did they not relay my message before sending you?” Mora asked.

“Jax! Teris. Yami. Wha—what are you doing here?”

Jax and Teris stepped passed Mora toward Gilly.

“What happened?” Teris asked, taking in the Healers bruises and bandages.

“I can only do so much magic on myself. It has the same effect as on anyone else. If I do too much, I’d just fall asleep.” Gilly explained.

“Which wouldn’t be a bad thing. You need your rest.” Mora said.

“That’s not what Teris meant.” Jax said, finding his voice. He glared at Gilly’s injuries as if they offended him. “Did the guy that’s harassing you do this?”

Gilly’s lip twitched, embarrassed at causing Jax any trouble. “I told Mora not to report it. I can’t believe your squad got the call. Or did you ask Commander Greywright to inform you of disturbances in and around Saussy?”

Teris looked at Jax. When he didn’t respond, she nodded. “Sure. Let’s go with that.”

Gilly’s eyebrows furrowed. “Then why are you here?”

From near the rooms entrance, Yami said. “Doesn’t matter. Where is he?”

Gilly shook her head. “I don’t want any trouble. It’s why I told Mora not to report it”

“We don’t always get what we want. You should know that better than most.” Yami said.

Casting Yami a look over her shoulder, Teris told Gilly. “Trouble’s already found you. Let us take care of it, so he doesn’t trouble you or anyone else anymore.”

“I can tell you where he lives, but I doubt he’s there. Maybe Seihi knows what holes he hides out in.” Mora said.

“The Village Chief?” Teris asked, turning to the woman.

Mora nodded.

“Where will we find him?” Yami questioned, hoping this Seihi knew. He didn’t fancy spending days searching the countless caves of the surrounding hills.

“Town hall of course.” Mora said.

Ready to go, Yami looked at Jax. But it was clear the Captain didn’t want to leave Gilly in the state she was in. “Teris and I will go. Maybe you should stay here in case he comes back around.”

As unlikely as such a possibly was, Jax gave Yami a nod.

Yami looked to Teris. “Ready?”

Teris gave Gilly a small smile. To Jax, she promised. “We’ll get him, Captain.”

Yami turned away, Teris following him back to the front of the house. He opened the door and blinked at the man standing in front of him.

“Yami? What are you doing here?” Jack questioned, hand still raised to knock on the door.

“I could ask you the same.” Yami said.

“Captain Win got a mission order about some retired lady from Healer’s Hall being beating near unconscious.” Jack said.

“You’re here for the same reason we are.” Yami said, stepping outside.

“They sent two teams of Magic Knights?” Jack questioned, dubiously.

“The woman attacked is a friend of the Bulls.” Teris said, closing the door behind her.

“We’re on our way to see the Village Chief.” Yami told.

“Is that the person who attacked the lady?” Jack asked, following Yami and Teris down the walkway.

“He’s the one who might be able to tell us where to find the guy.” Yami said.

Jack looked over at Teris. “Haven’t seen you since the Wild Fire in Hornsby.”

“Nearly two months is far from long enough to go without seeing you.” Teris muttered, thinking two decades wouldn’t be long enough.

Yami huffed in amusement. While he was curious why Teris couldn’t stand Jack, Yami didn’t care what she thought of his friends. Though admittedly he had tried to get Teris to give Jack a chance the night of the Star Awards, thinking it would be easier on her if she found a way to tolerate the Green Mantis.

Yami gave his friend a shrug, thinking that if an evening of alcohol couldn’t warm Teris up to Jack then nothing could.

Jack grinned at Teris. “I’m impressed, Princess.”

“Don’t call her that.” Yami told.

Jack’s eyes flicked to Yami before focusing back on Teris. “Didn’t think you’d be able to hold your drink against me and Yami. Must’ve gotten a lot of practice at those fancy boring parties you high-ranking folk have.”

Teris smirked, feeling pride at having impressing Jack. Then remembered that she didn’t care what the man thought and faced forward. Truthfully, the only reason she had held her own that night was because her system was use to the higher alcohol content of her preferred mead. Even then, she had gotten a bit tipsy. Though she couldn’t blame the events of that night completely on that.

Reaching town hall, Jack rushed to open the door for Teris, grinning as she glared.

“She doesn’t want to be friends with you.” Yami said, as he passed.

“Who says I’m doing it to be friends?” Jack asked.

“You’re doing it to annoy her.” Yami realized.

Jack’s grin widened.

“Fine. Hate each other all you like.” Yami said.

“I don’t hate her.” Jack said.

“Pretty sure she hates you.” Yami told.

Drawn by the sound of the door opening and closing, a man came out of a side room. “Are you the Magic Knights Mora called for? Or the ones Captain Jax said he was sending?”

“Both.” Yami said. He jerked a thumb at Jack. “He’s official. We were sent by Jax.”

“Master Seihi?” Teris questioned.

“Just Seihi is fine. Thank you for coming.”

“The old woman said you’d know where to find the man who attacked Gilly.” Yami prompted.

Seihi shook his head. “I don’t; but I got someone who can show you. That’s if he’s up to it.”

“Just try and stop me, Seihi.” A boy said coming from the same room the Village Leader had.

“It’s Master Seihi to you.” Seihi said.

“Who’s this?” Yami questioned, looking the kid over.

“One of the village orphans.” Seihi answered.

“Name’s Magna.” Magna said, extending a hand to Yami.

Yami noted the boys bruised face before looking down at the offered hand. He turned back to Seihi. “Can’t the kid just tell us where to find him?”

“He’ll only get in the way.” Jack agreed, smirking at Teris who shook Magna’s hand.

“You won’t find the place without me. He’s hiding out in a cave at Blind Bluff. That’s my spot. No one else knows where it is or how to get there.” Magna said.

“If that were true. Then how’d he know about the place and kick you out?” Yami asked.

“I’m fine and can still fight.” Magna said.

“Fight? Don’t know about that. But you got some spunk kid. Alright, show us this supposedly unfindable place.” Yami commanded.

93.2

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Jax asked.

“Maybe I would have if you showed up last week for Vanessa’s birthday party.” Gilly said, and immediately felt guilty.

Sinking into a chair beside her, Jax sighed.

“I didn’t want to be a burden.” Gilly admitted, feeling foolish.

“You’re not. Looking after you… It’s what Bronn would've wanted.”

“You got real responsibilities, Jax. You shouldn’t have to look after me. I’m a grown woman. I can take care of myself.”

“Clearly.” Jax looked over her battered face.

Gilly’s eyes hardened.

Running a hand through his hair, Jax reasoned. “You’ve seen enough Magic Knights carried into Healer’s Hall. Even trained fighters need someone looking out for them.”

“I didn’t want to be a burden.” Gilly muttered, again.

“It’s not a burden to take care of your own.”

“But I wasn’t a Magic Knight. Wasn’t even married to one.” Gilly finished, softly.

“You made my best friend happy and a somewhat better man. Not to mention the number of times you’ve helped out me and my squad. Magic Knight or not, you’re a Black Bull, Gilly. We take care of our own.”

93.3

Magna had led them through the woods east of Saussy, and up what had looked like a small hill that ended in steep cliff.

“It’s a blind jump down. There’s no lip to land on. You have to swing into the cave.” Magna said.

“How’d you find this place?” Yami asked, looking over the cliff.

“I know every inch of this forest.” Magna said.

“No family or friends?” Teris asked.

“Master Seihi looks out for me. Taught me right from wrong. Did the same with Wright, I think. Too bad he didn’t learn.” Manga said.

“That the name of the guy that attacked Gilly?” Teris questioned.

Magna nodded. “He’s about twelve years older than me. Still acts like a young thug.”

“I don’t like the idea of dropping in blind.” Yami grumbled.

Jack cackled. “You scared, Yami?”

“No, you String Bean idiot.” Yami told the Green Mantis.

“What’d you say, you over-muscled Bull Brained--”

“Yami’s right.” Teris interrupted Jack. “A blind jump is one thing. But we’ll be going from daylight into a dark cave we don’t know the layout of. I’ve done a blind jump before. Hardly fun when there’s a lip to catch you.” She looked at Jack thinking his gangly height would be an asset. But Yami’s weight and size could be a problem. “How’s the space in there?” She asked Magna.

“The entrance is small. You might be able to fit through fairly easy.” Magna told Teris. He looked at Yami. “Don’t know about you. The cave closes in right away and doesn’t open back up for seven or eight meters.”

“We’ll be lined up and tripping over each other if we all go down there.” Jack said.

“I’ll go.” Teris said.

“Why do you get to go? You’re not even suppose to be here. This is my mission, therefore it’s my call.” Jack said.

“What was your rank again?” Teris questioned Jack.

Scowling, Jack muttered. “Stupid Vice Captain.”

Ignoring him, Teris turned to Yami. “You heard Magna. It’s a small entrance and closes in. Even if you could fit, you wouldn’t be able to move. And I highly doubt Beanstalk would be able to properly stand.”

Yami smirked. Teris did often use nicknames so her doing so meant she was either warming up to Jack, or really hated him.

“What are you thinking?” Yami asked.

“I light travel in. Surprise and subdue this Wright and bring him back out.” Teris replied.

“I couldn’t care less about the bastard being blinded for good. But if you’re in the back of that cave and there’s no fire, you’ll be hard pressed to use your magic and unable to light travel out of there.” Yami said.

“I can still do magic in the dark.” Teris argued.

Yami shook his head. “Your magic will be sluggish and not as powerful.”

“It’ll still be faster than most and powerful enough to get the job done.” Teris told.

Magna looked back and forth between the two. “I can help light up the cave. I haven’t gotten my grimoire but I can throw a mean fireball.”

“That’ll work.” Yami said.

“What? Yami. You can’t be serious.” Teris exclaimed hoarsely least Wright hear.

“It’s either that or Jack is going down with you.” Yami said, knowing which she would choose.

“Fine.” Teris snapped. She pointed at Magna. “You stay out of his reach.”

“I just want my home back.” Magna said.

Teris looked at him feeling bad that he lived in a cave with no one to care for him. “I’ll give you a second to get down there and light up your fire ball. Soon as you do, close your eyes and turn away.”

Magna’s eyes narrowed. He wasn’t some kid that needed to be shielded from seeing violence.

Yami plopped a heavy hand on Magna’s head. “She’s serious. After you’ve lit your fireball, look away till she’s given you the all clear.”

“What kind of magic does he have?” Teris questioned Magna.

“You’re just asking that? I thought you were suppose to be the smart one.” Jack taunted.

“Invisibility. He’s so bad at it, he may as well not bother. Instead of turning invisible, he just turns super blurry.” Magna said.

For some reason that made Teris like the man even less. She could imagine someone like him wanting to use his magic to peep in on girls but getting caught and becoming bitter.

Disgusted, Teris grumbled. “Let’s get this over with and get back to Jax and Gilly.”

93.3.2

Yami and Teris let Jack take Wright in since it had been his mission. It would mean the Green Mantis’ would get the stars; but that’s not what this had been about. And neither wanted to have to deal with the man or hassle of taking him in.

As they made their way back to Gilly’s, Yami looked down at Magna. The boy looked a bit sunburned, but no worse for having been near Teris’ light travel.

“Not bad kid.” Yami praised.

Magna looked up at Yami, beaming with pride.

As if he had been waiting on the other side, Jax opened the door at the first knock. “Took you long enough.” He looked at the two Vice Captain's, then the kid they were with. “Did you not find him? Where is he?”

“Easy there, Captain.” Yami passed Jax, Magna on his heels.

Teris entered and told. “The Green Mantis got the call Mora mentioned. Jack showed up and saved us the trouble of taking him in.”

Yami looked back at Teris. “That almost sounded like something nice.”

“Hardly. Though I suppose he does has his usefulness.” Teris said of Jack.

Jax gave a satisfied nod. Healers, Sentries, and Investigations Mages might not receive a pension when they retired; but that didn’t mean the Clover Kingdom completely forgot about their service. Along with sending Magic Knights out when a case involved them, any criminal act against a retired Healer, Sentry, or Investigations Mage always bore the highest sentence. In any case, Jax would be appearing before the sentencing judge to make sure this man got the harshest punishment possible.

“Did he give you any trouble?” Jax asked.

Yami scoffed. “Never got the chance to try. Not the way Teris light traveled into that cave. The guy was badly burned and will be lucky to recover his full sight.”

Jax gave another nod, darkly pleased at that. He looked at Teris wondering how she felt about possibly leaving a man partially blinded and saw that his Vice Captain’s expression was far from troubled. Jax guessed that despite Teris’ claims of not being all that close with Gilly, Teris truly did view the Healer as part of the Black Bulls family. He gave a smile at the thought.

“Thank you.” Mora told the Magic Knights. “That girl has quickly become like family. The way she dots on my boy.” Mora shook her head over come with emotion. Taking a breath she went on. “Saussy went a long time without a healer of its own. But to have someone like Gilly… It was worth the wait.” She gave the Magic Knights a smile. Seeing Magna, she tisked. “Look at you. Go get yourself cleaned up. You’re staying for supper.”

Hungry as he was, Magna didn’t like being told what to do. “Am not.”

Yami placed a heavy hand on Magna’s head. “Men don’t refuse an earned meal after a hard days work.”

Magna looked up at him and then back at Mora. “Fine. I’ll stay. But there better be pudding for dessert.”

Teris smirked at Yami. Turning back to Jax, she asked. “How’s Gilly?”

“Better. She’s resting up in Mora’s guest room. Didn’t want to go back to her place, even with me here.” Jax said.

“It’ll take some time before she’s fully comfortable, but she’ll fine.” Teris said, thinking of the scare she had in the slavers cell during the Nine Day War. She had long since moved past it; but was still visited by the occasional nightmare.

As if reading her mind, Yami stepped closer to her, chest brushing her back.

Hungry long before he got a whiff of whatever was cooking in the kitchen, Yami asked Jax. “Are we staying to eat?”

“After what you told that kid about not refusing a meal, you sort of have to.” Jax smirked.

“It smells really good.” Teris commented.

“It does.” Jax agreed.

“You mean you haven’t been in there sampling?” Teris teased.

“I was repairing Gilly’s apartment door and table.” Jax said.

“Only after I kicked him out telling him I didn’t need no taste tester.” Mora said from the kitchen.

“The woman knows how to wield a spoon.” Jax murmured in warning.

93.3.3

Though they were invited to stay the night, Jax was eager to get home. He undoubtedly had apologies to make to Julius and Greywright for his cryptic note and hasty departure; never mind the journal in his desk drawer waiting to be read. He just hoped the thing had something in it that would give them insight into the Agents of Chaos’ next plans.

Flying over the trees Yami felt a powerful presence from the forest below. It was there one moment and gone the next; making him wonder if it had been there at all.

Eyes lifting from the treetops, Yami looked at Teris and Jax wondering if they had sensed it too. Seeing Teris laugh at some comment the Captain made, Yami looked back down at the area they were passing. It hadn’t been Ki he had sensed; but Teris’ sense of mana was greater than his. If she hadn’t sensed it, he couldn’t say what it was he had felt.

Looking back up, Yami considered mentioning it to Jax and asking to stop and investigate. They were Magic Knights after all. But his gut urged him against it, and his gut had never steered him wrong.

“Yami?” Teris called.

Yami looked over at her, an instant smile creeping onto his face. He couldn’t have stopped the smile if he’d tried. Foolish as it was, even the thought of Teris made him smile.

“You’re beautiful.” Yami said, wind stealing away his words before they reached her.

Teris flew closer to him. “I’m sorry. What?”

“Let’s hurry back so I can kiss you.” Yami told.

“Not if I kiss you first.” Teris said, with a blush.

“You’re welcomed to try, Princess.”

Comments are VERY MUCH appreciated and really make my day. Thank you to those who have left hearts. And a special THANK YOU to those who have recentlycommentedor re-blogged. Itreally meansa lot.

Next chapter snippet:

“They’re fine. Their mission was interrupted by someone claiming to be a member of the Agents of Chaos who says they’re seeking refuge.” Greywright told, wondering if his expression had been similar to Teris’ when he had heard Venice and Bran’s report.

#yami sukehiro #jack the ripper #magna swing #black clover #light in the darkness

[psychosistr]

Kings

Summary: Domino is forced to attend a party for FOWL’s top agents, and is having a hard time enjoying himself when the presence of someone in particular makes him feel very uncomfortable. Good thing Steelbeak’s there to provide both a distraction and some surprisingly good advice.

Notes: This was a little something written to wish @thefriendlyfour a happy birthday! Thanks for everything you do!

(P.S.- All OC’s in this story belong to her, not me)

Dominic was not having a good time…

It wasn’t often that FOWL High Command granted permission and spared funds on things deemed “unnecessary” for work. Everything from bank heists to political blackmail schemes and even the smallest pieces stolen from museums- every cent earned was carefully accounted for, recorded, and allocated properly. FOWL was a big organization that had many facilities to maintain- and even more workers to pay (maintenance and repair men, scientists, eggmen, all the way up to the special agents) to keep everything running smoothly.

Still, even with everything that had to be paid for, High Command understood the basic concept of things like “morale” and had to relent and reward their workers- particularly their top agents- every once in a blue moon (though it was mostly to make sure that they would feel content with their jobs and not try to leave and use their skills and training to make it as solo villains). Parties seemed to be the easiest and most effective way of keeping employee morale up: It only took one day of actual work, and food and beverages were easy to acquire and serve. After that, all that was required were a decently sized venue and some half-way decent music.

That was how the chief officer of FOWL, Steelbeak, and his partner, Dominic “Domino”, found themselves spending the evening in a heavily fortified and closely monitored outpost several miles away from Saint Canard at a party for FOWL’s most accomplished agents.

The large central room of the relatively unused outpost had been cleaned up and hastily decorated with a few different colored lights and decorations that were likely leftovers from the last party that had been thrown there. There were tables of catered food and drinks ranging from standard soda to a large punch bowl and even a fully-stocked bar all along one wall, leaving the majority of the floor open for agents to mingle and converse freely. The wall opposite the food and drinks housed a small stage that was being used for the evening’s entertainment: A small but highly talented orchestra with a full string section and a full-sized grand piano that had been brought in just for the occasion.

The party had been in full-swing for more than an hour already, but Dominic wanted nothing more than to leave and it was for one reason and one reason alone…

It wasn’t because he hated parties. Granted, he was by no means a party-loving social-butterfly, but he could still have fun and enjoy himself so long as the venue wasn’t overly crowded and his fellow partygoers weren’t so intoxicated that they forgot to respect his boundaries. In fact, compared to the parties he’d been dragged to at the northern base (which tended to involve excessive amounts of alcohol, brightly colored flashing lights, deafeningly loud pop music, and half of his team drinking to the point of passing out while he stayed sober to keep them from getting into too much trouble), this was one of the nicer soirees he’d been to in a while.

It wasn’t because he disliked his fellow agents. While there were still many new people that he was getting acquainted with and had yet to familiarize himself with each and every person present, the others in attendance all seemed like intelligent, capable, reasonable individuals who were pleasant to converse with in small doses. They also had enough common sense to not trust one another, so no one was trying to get hammered- meaning no loudmouthed or clingy drunkards to deal with, which always made for a much more pleasant evening.

It wasn’t because of his partner- if anything, the other man’s presence was one of the only things making this whole evening more bearable. As chief officer of FOWL, Steelbeak’s presence was required at any gathering of its most elite agents, which meant that Dominic, as partner of the current chief officer, was also required to attend. To the loon’s surprise, Steelbeak seemed even less excited to attend the event than his partner, stating that he found High Command’s mandatory gatherings boring and repetitive (if they were all like THIS, though, Dominic could certainly understand why the rooster felt that way after eight years of forced attendance). The lighter fowl’s hushed banter and sarcastic remarks about the party and some of the other agents never failed to bring a small smile to his more serious partner’s face and even elicited a few quiet laughs that were drowned out by the music.

No, everything else at the party was somewhat boring, but otherwise tolerable…except for one thing…one frustratingly perfect, ever present thing that he tried VERY hard to stay as far away from as possible…as long as he stayed by the wall and what he was trying to avoid stayed in the center of the room conversing with another agent about who knows what, then he’d be fi-

“Geez, short fuse, ya look like you’re waitin’ for a bomb t’ go off.” The familiar voice of his partner offered the loon a much needed distraction from his thoughts.

Dominic glanced away from the crowd of agents in front of him and looked instead to his approaching partner who’d broken away long enough to join him in his sequestered corner against the wall by the stage. “If that were the case, we might have a valid reason to get out of here.”

Steelbeak leaned against the wall beside the loon, looking across the room at the bar as if he were seriously considering it as a solution to their current predicament. “Well, there IS a full bar over there…find me a microwave an’ a can of that spray-on oil from the kitchen and I could whip somethin’ up.” It was hard to tell how much of that was actually a joke.

A smile tugged up the corners of the darker bird’s beak even as he shook his head. “Tempting as that is, we would probably just receive orders to turn the event into some sort of ‘garden party’ in the woods..and I know how much you love nature.”

A visible shudder ran down the taller fowl’s body at the thought of spending that much time out in the forest. “No-ho thank you, all that fresh air makes me gag.” He even made a retching sound to prove his point, earning a quiet laugh from the other man that made him smile and laugh along for a moment. “So, if we’re not all ‘bout t’ go out in a big ball of fire, then why’re ya over here lookin’ like you’re ‘bout t’ dig someone’s grave?” He asked after they’d both had a moment to regain their composure. “I’d ask if someone touched ya or somethin’, but I haven’t seen anyone go flyin’ through a wall or stuffed inside a cello case, so it can’t be that bad.”

Darn it, Steelbeak had gotten too good at reading the darker bird after three months of dating him. At times like these, Dominic wasn’t sure if he was more annoyed or grateful for that fact…

“No, nothing that extreme yet.” Red eyes glanced over the crowd and once more found their target. “I’m just…trying to avoid someone..”

Dark grey eyes followed the other’s gaze and landed on a well-dressed man who stood out among the crowd. “Wait…Osprey? Ya know ‘im?”

Of course he knew him. Who didn’t?

Agent Edward Osprey was a statuesque brown and white hawk that was even taller than Steelbeak. Everything about him was elegant and perfect from his immaculate feathers to his tailored blue suit coat, long-tailed shirt, black pants, and neatly folded white ascot. On top of being well-groomed and well-dressed, the man was undeniably handsome with his sharp features and piercing black eyes offset by yellow sclera- his eyes were even accentuated further by the brown band of feathers that cut perfectly across the lighter feathers on the rest of his face. He looked like he’d just stepped out of a painting; to have such perfect features shouldn’t have been possible in nature.

Oh, but the perfection didn’t end at the osprey’s looks- oh no. He was one of the most musically talented men Dominic had ever seen, being both a concert-level pianist and conductor- the orchestra which provided most of the evening’s music had been led by him when he wasn’t playing the grand piano for the crowd’s applause. The hawk was also an incredibly skilled agent specializing in sharp objects and weaponry with a nearly flawless track record under his belt. Add to that the fact that he was nothing but charming and gentlemanly to everyone he met (enemies not withstanding), and you had the walking reality-defying-perfection that was agent Edward Osprey.

“We’ve..met before, yes…” Dominic folded his arms over his chest, trying to look away while still keeping the source of his current stress and anxiety in his peripheral vision.

“Ya don’t sound too thrilled ‘bout it.” Steelbeak pointed out while eyeing his partner with one brow cocked. “I’m guessin’ ya don’t like the guy?”

Oh boy, now THERE was mine field that was difficult to navigate.. “I don’t…dislike him..”

“But ya don’t like ‘im either, right?” Once again, Steelbeak proved how good he’d gotten at reading the loon over the past few months.

Exhaling a heavy sigh, Dominic closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall behind them. “…Promise you won’t laugh.”

“Hmmm, weeeeeellll~” The fake contemplation ended when a single red eye opened just enough to side-eye the rooster with a warning glare, making said rooster break into a grin. “Alright, alright, I’ll hold it in.” The red eye narrowed at him and he held up his hands to show he wasn’t crossing any of his fingers. “Promise.”

Though he hardly trusted the other man’s word, Dominic would take what he could get. After taking in a deep breath and closing his eyes again, the words he’d been trying to avoid speaking aloud finally came out. “He makes me feel………uncomfortable..”

A brief but repressed snicker was heard before his red eyes opened and gave the taller fowl a warning glare. “Sorry, somethin’ in my throat.” A clear lie, but Dominic let it slide (this time). “So, why does Mr.Fancypants over there make ya uncomfortable? Knowin’ ‘im, he probably didn’t do nothin’ to ya on purpose- the guy takes it as some sorta personal offense if anyone forgets their manners ‘round ‘im. Think he’d have a stroke if he was the one bein’ rude for a change.”

“No, he isn’t rude- I don’t think he has it in him to be anything less than an absolutely perfect gentleman.” The loon looked across the room again, making sure the man in question was still far away and that no one was close enough to overhear him aside from his partner. “And that’s part of the problem: He’s just so..so-!”

“Practically perfect?” Steelbeak supplied, the look he gave the shorter fowl both amused and understanding.

“Yes.” Dominic groaned, rubbing a hand down his face in frustration. “He’s just so perfect in everything he does- he’s attractive, strong, clever, talented, gets along with EVERYONE, and has the highest record of successful missions in FOWL ever.” His eyes lingered on his hand as it lowered once more. “He’s so infuriatingly perfect that it makes me seem so…” His words trailed off into a mumble at the end, not wanting to voice how the hawk really made him feel…

“So, just t’ make sure I’ve got this whole thing right-” The lighter bird began without waiting for Dominic to repeat himself (likely because he knew he wouldn’t do so willingly). “Osprey’s so perfect that ya feel less perfect bein’ around ‘im?” Darn it, three for three- Steelbeak was on a roll tonight.

“Who wouldn’t?” He didn’t bother to look at his partner again while muttering his response.

He was right, of course: Who wouldn’t feel inferior next to someone like Edward Osprey?

“Heh.” The answer he received was a short, clipped laugh followed by the sound of retreating footsteps.

By the time Dominic looked back up to see what the other man was doing, the metal-mouthed fowl was heading towards the stage. “Steelbeak?” He called after him, but received no response.

One by one, others in the room began to notice the new figure stepping up onto the stage. It had been vacant for about twenty minutes now, allowing Osprey and his orchestra to take a break and enjoy the festivities themselves. With this in mind, it was understandable that the others in attendance were reasonably surprised to see none of the previous performers take to the stage- but the chief officer himself.

Steelbeak ignored the confused looks and hushed whispers as all eyes in the room were suddenly on him. He simply cracked his knuckles and shook out his fingers before seating himself at the grand piano, never even acknowledging them or saying a word.

Then, after taking a quick breath, he began to play.

The melody was captivating- soft but passionate; steady but rapid; light but powerful. Everything about it was such a contradiction, but it somehow just worked. It seemed to change and evolve as the song progressed, sometimes changing to the point of almost seeming like a completely new song, but then that familiar pattern would find a way to weave itself back in naturally to connect it all back together.

And then there was the sheer amount of skill and movement of those off-white fingers across the keys; they were practically a blur during the crescendos. The notes came so quickly that Steelbeak’s hands were never still, even for a second, often having different fingers of the same hand playing at completely separate rhythms from one another. Honestly, it was astonishing that they didn’t trip over themselves. It was almost mesmerizing to watch them fly and jump from one key to the next with expert timing.

Dominic was transfixed by the sights and sounds. While Steelbeak had told him of his experience as an undercover concert pianist on their first date, he had never actually heard him play before. He’d also never heard this song before, but there were no doubts in his mind that few could play it as well as Steelbeak was then and there.

Managing to tear his eyes away from the spectacle long enough to look around the room, it seemed he wasn’t the only one to feel that way. Everyone was staring in awe at their chief officer’s jaw-dropping performance. Even Osprey, who’d worked his way closer to the stage since the song began, seemed genuinely shocked and amazed by Steelbeak’s playing.

The song reached its final crescendo and Steelbeak let it drag on for a moment. Before anyone could pick their collective jaws up off of the floor and react appropriately, however, he immediately began to play another tune.

While still incredibly difficult to play and requiring a good deal of hand-acrobatics to hit each note properly, this one was softer than the last. There was something light and almost..sweet to it- as if the first one was to show off, but this one was to communicate something deeper.

This was another song that Dominic was unfamiliar with but, judging by the similar movements required to play the complex melody properly, it felt like it was by the same composer.

It stirred something in him as he listened, the gentle tune causing a pleasant shiver to linger in his body and a warm feeling to blossom in his chest. For a moment, he thought of the love songs he’d heard in the past- of their cheesy lyrics declaring adoration that ultimately became meaningless with how many people sang those words over and over again. Those songs were cute, but they ultimately felt hollow without a sense of genuine romance to them.

This song, though…This one, without any words or blatant messages to project, somehow felt more like a true love song than any the loon had ever heard in his life. This was raw, passionate, gentle, and beautiful all at once…and he’d be lying if he said the thought didn’t have him blushing a little..

By the time Steelbeak finished playing and stood up, the partygoers had recovered from their initial shock and finally applauded the exemplary performance they’d been treated to. Steelbeak, for his part, just smirked and gave a quick wave over his shoulder as he left the stage, not even taking a bow despite how well-earned it was at that point.

“Not that I’m complaining,” Dominic began once the other man joined him against the wall once more. “But what was that about?”

Steelbeak looked down at him with a smirk, but it was less teasing and far softer than usual. “Just MY way of answerin’ your question.” Before the loon could ask for clarification, Steelbeak looked towards the piano he’d just been playing. “You were askin’ who wouldn’t feel less perfect ‘round someone like Osprey: I wouldn’t ‘cause I know I’ve got somethin’ I’m better at than him.” Dark grey eyes returned their attention to the red ones still looking up at him. “One thing I’ve learned from bein’ chief officer all these years is that ya can’t be better than everyone at everythin’, someone’s ALWAYS gonna have somethin’ they’re better at than you are. The trick t’ stayin’ on top an’ remindin’ everyone why YOU’RE the king an’ they’re the pawns is t’ find the one thing you’re better at than whoever you’re up against an’ make ‘em feel like you’re superior ‘cause of it.”

Dominic took a moment to digest this new philosophy. It certainly seemed to make sense, and would probably explain why Steelbeak always acted like he was better than everyone- it was a way to stay on top and keep others from challenging him by appearing superior. While this information was useful, there was still one part of the chief officer’s advice that was easier said than done: “So you’re saying that I have to find something I’m better at than him? That’s asking a lot since I don’t have any comparative talents like you do.” Dominic didn’t really have much experience with playing instruments or conducting, so he couldn’t use that for any sort of advantage (and while his singing voice was pretty good, he’d never heard Osprey’s so it would be hard to compare them). They were experts with completely different weaponry, so no luck there. The hawk had a better track record for missions than he did, so he couldn’t use anything work related. “I don’t think-”

“You’re a better leader.”

Red eyes blinked in confusion and stared up at the taller bird. “What?”

“You’re a better leader.” The other repeated once more, looking down at the loon with an expression halfway between a smirk and an encouraging smile. “Osprey’s got one heck of a record with missions an’ gets along with everyone, but you’re a better leader than him: Ya know when t’ be nice an’ when t’ be serious. Ya know when t’ listen t’ others an’ when t’ make ‘em listen t’ YOU instead. Ya walk int’ the room an’ command guys three times your size t’ shut up an’ do what they’re told an’ put ‘em in their place if they even THINK ‘bout talkin’ back.” With a smirk, he inclined his head in the general direction of the crowd. “That’s why you’re over here with me an’ he’s over there with them. Sure, his track-record’s higher, but YOU’RE the one High Command picked t’ stand at the top with me- ya beat him an’ everyone else in FOWL for your position ‘cause ya deserved it.” Having made his point, Steelbeak reclined fully against the wall once more, his hands raised to cushion his head against the hard surface in a casual manner. “If anyone ever makes ya question yourself, just remember: I actually listen t’ YOU.”

Dominic was floored (and..maybe a little touched?) by his partner’s words.

After a moment of contemplation, he began to feel a smile slip onto his beak. Steelbeak had a valid point and wasn’t just stroking Dominic’s ego: The loon WAS a pretty good leader. He could coordinate teams ranging from two people to two hundred. He learned his teammates’ strengths and weaknesses and planned around them accordingly to complete any task he’d been assigned.

And, if nothing else, getting someone as bigheaded and arrogant as Steelbeak to listen to him HAD to count for something.

Before he had the chance to thank the chief officer for his rare-words of encouragement, another voice added itself to their conversation. “Steelbeak, your performance was absolutely awe-inspiring!” Looking away from one another to see who’d come to join them, the deadly duo saw none other than Edward Osprey approaching them. He smiled and bowed his head politely. “Do forgive my intrusion, but I simply HAD to commend you for your beautiful rendition of La Campanella: That is an incredibly difficult piece that I struggle with even after a few warm-ups.”

Steelbeak ate up the praise as one would expect, giving Osprey a smirk while idly bringing one hand around to inspect his fingers like a girl checking her nails for imperfections. “Woooow, really? That’s what I play FOR my warm-ups. Start with the harder ones an’ everythin’ else’s easy, y’know?”

“I suppose you’re right.” Osprey was quick to agree, never losing his genial smile. “Though, I must say, I didn’t know you were so familiar with Liszt. Your playing of Love Dream was very emotional- anyone in particular you were dedicating that performance to?”

That actually seemed to trip the rooster up a little, Dominic catching a bit of red on the other’s cheeks between his light feathers as he tried to play it off cool-and-casual. “I mean…maybe…it’s just a song, though, no big deal..”

It was Dominic’s turn to smirk knowingly at the other man. “Well, if there was someone you had in mind while playing it, I’m fairly certain they would have found it beautiful and charming.”

Steelbeak side-eyed the loon, his cheeks going a bit darker, but was saved by another agent coming up to them. “Hey, can you play one more? Everyone loved you out there!” To the trio’s surprise, the request was directed at Steelbeak rather than Osprey.

“Eh, I dunno-” Steelbeak started to say, but his eyes wandered over to Dominic and something in those dark grey depths shifted. “…Ya know what? Sure. I can handle one more.” Then, to everyone’s delight, he walked back up to the stage and took his seat at the piano once more.

“I had no idea he was so talented.” Osprey admitted to Dominic once the lighter bird was out of earshot. “I must admit, I’m a little jealous that you get to work so closely with him- that man’s been chief officer longer than some of us have even been agents.” He looked away from the stage to meet the loon’s gaze directly. “I can only imagine what you must have gone through to earn his respect and companionship.”

“Thank you. It has been.. a journey, to say the least…” Dominic was more than a little surprised..but not necessarily by the taller man’s words- Osprey was polite to everyone and was no stranger to sincere flattery. No, what REALLY surprised the loon was the fact that he just had a conversation (albeit a brief one) with Edward Osprey without any feelings of anxiety or inferiority rising up within him.

What Osprey said next was lost on Dominic as he heard Steelbeak begin to play. This song was different from the others. It was a completely different composer, era, and genre of music- one that the loon was all too familiar with since it had been played in his car a couple of times while his partner sat beside him in the passenger seat praising his singing of the accompanying lyrics. A soft smile tugged at his beak as Dominic listened to the equally soft melody, knowing that this was likely just Steelbeak’s way of driving his earlier point home and wasn’t really meant to be recognized by anyone else.

It was Dominic’s turn to receive a few stares- first from the other agents in the room, and then from Steelbeak himself when he passed in front of the piano to grab the microphone that had been left in its stand nearby. Once he removed it from its spot and made it more mobile, Dominic walked closer to the piano and leaned against it casually. He did a circular gesture with two of his fingers and Steelbeak smiled, instantly knowing what his partner wanted.

Without missing a beat, Steelbeak smoothly looped the song back to the beginning and nodded to Dominic when it was time to join in.

Nodding back, the darker bird brought the microphone closer to his beak and closed his eyes as he began to sing. “You're a-lone. You're on your own. So what? Have you gone blind? Have you for-got-ten what you have and whaaat is yours?”

He blocked out the stage lights; blocked out the crowd around them and their eyes on him. “Glass haaalf empty~, glass haaalf full- well~, either way you won't be go~ing thirsty; Count your blessings, not your flaws.”

There was only one set of eyes on him that mattered right now, and he knew the look they held without even having to see them. “You've got it all~ You lost your mind in the sound. There's so much mooore, you can reclaim your crown. You're in controoll- Rid of the monsters insi~de your head…Put all your faults to bed…You can be king a~gain…”

Another quick breath stolen between verses and he gained the confidence to open his eyes, but he kept his gaze locked solely on the one gazing back at him with awe and adoration. “You don't get wha~at all thiiss i~s a~bout. You're too wra~pped up in your self-doubt. You've got that young blood, set it free…”

The smile on Steelbeak’s face was brighter than any of the lights pointed at the pair on stage, making Dominic feel twice as warm and making him smile just as much. “You've got it all~ You lost your mind in the sound. There's so much mooore, you can reclaim your crown. You're in controoll- Rid of the monsters insi~de your head…Put all your faults to~ bed…You can be king.”

There was a spark of something in the air between them- that same connection they shared when they were working together to take down an enemy that made both of them feel so much more aware of one another on a completely different level. “There's method i~n my ma~adness…There's no looogic in your sa~dness…You don't gaaiinn a siinngle thing from misery~yy…Take it from mee~ee…”

He used his free hand to close the piano’s cover, careful not to let it drop and ruin the gentle decrescendo of the song. “You've got it all~ You lost your mind in the sound. There's so much mooore, you can reclaim your crown. You're in controoll- Rid of the monsters insi~de your head…Put all your faults to~ bed…You can be king.”

Dominic gracefully lifted himself up to sit on the closed piano, one hand holding the microphone in front of him while the other was braced behind him so he could lean back with his legs crossed in front of him- head tipped back as he belted out the notes of the final verse. “You've got it all! You lost your mind in the sound! There's so much mooore, you can reclaim your crown! You're in control- Rid of the monsters inside your head! Put all your faults to bed…You can be king again!”

Red eyes met dark grey, one additional line being sung softly and with so much more feeling than any other line before it. “We can be kings a~gain.”

Steelbeak’s playing came to an end and the two were left staring at one another fondly. There were cheers and applause and words being called to them, but neither man payed them any mind.

After all, they were the kings standing at the top.

End Notes: For anyone who’s curious, here are the songs that Steelbeak played in order: The first is La Campanella by Liszt. The second is Liebstraum No.3, also known as Love Dream, also by Liszt. And the final piece that Domino sang along to at the end was King by Lauren Aquilina.

When choosing the first two songs for Steelbeak to play, I asked a couple of my friends who were piano majors in high school what the most difficult type of music to play is that still sounds good. The general consensus among most of them was, and I quote, “people who hate their hands but love to please others usually play Liszt”- and La Campanella came up repeatedly as one of the hardest songs to play, so I went with it xD

Once again, happy birthday to @thefriendlyfour / @eleanorose123 ! Hope you had a good one and thank you for another year of awesome content!

#steelbeak #Dominic Domino #steeldomino #darkwing duck #dwd #darkwing duck oc #not my oc

[god-shops-at-thot-topic]

Okay so I had a real wack idea and that is: Jekyll and Hyde but in Danny Phantom AU. Basically it would be like an episode where Dr. Henry Jekyll becomes a new teacher at Casper High and right after he arrives a new ghostly menace (Hyde) shows up to terrorize Amity Park. I’ll put more info under this if you’re interested in my ramblings. 

Okay so basically, when Henry Jekyll was in college he got in an accident that  involved a homemade/really shitty ghost portal that he and (Hastie? Robert? Maybe something else?) Lanyon built. Lanyon and him had a fight over it and after Lanyon leaves the room to calm down Jekyll says “fuck it yolo” and decides to start up the machine himself. It blows up in his face giving him a scar on his right cheek and turns him into a half ghost. His halfa form appears younger than Henry and seems to have a bit of a mind of its own (due to the shoddy construction of the ghost portal). He calls himself Hyde because his first instinct was “HIDE” when security, medical personnel, and other assorted people on campus run to the wrecked lab. The name Edward comes later mostly as a personal “Ooo I like that name” kinda thing (if anyone has a better idea for this please share because im a dummy and can’t think of anything). Jekyll comes back and since he has the scar on his face Lanyon thinks he caused the explosion on purpose and whoop there goes their friendship. They end up both getting the blame but it’s less of a “you tried to blow up the school” thing and more of a “you really fucked up on your experiment and must have really miscalculated” thing. The school has their families pay for most of the damages (which is a-okay because they both come from wealthy families) and it just ends up becoming sort of an on campus joke. 

Years go by and Hyde ends up getting more and more of his own personality. At first he was almost completely influenced by Jekyll but now it’s become more like Hyde is a separate ghost possessing Jekyll. This becomes a problem when, as Jekyll is working in his lab, Hyde decides he’s bored and takes over. Jekyll ends up developing a chemical to control the transformations (HJ7) and put him back in charge of the situation. It works for a while but then Henry starts seeming black out for times, and what he hears about his actions as he’s blacked out makes him realize that Hyde is taking control/possessing his human form (basically green eyed Jekyll type scenario). This freaks Henry out, so he decides he’s going to find professional help. Low and behold, Amity Park, the town where some of the most famous ghost hunters live in, has a job opening for a new chemistry teacher at the local high school. Jekyll easily gets the job and starts working immediately. 

Henry soon becomes the teacher everyone either totally loves or totally hates. He’s very passionate about chemistry but knows a lot about other scientific fields and will talk to students about their favorite studies. Because of his passion for chemistry though, he grades very harshly and does not tolerate disruptions such as talking during lectures and arriving tardy (without a good excuse). This is what causes the great divide on the students opinions of him. Everyone stands on one side or the other. Everyone except Danny Fenton. Danny is the child of scientists, the local ghost hunters Jack and Maddie Fenton, and is very passionate about astronomy and wants to work for NASA when he grows up. The problem is he’s always either missing, tardy to, or sleeping in class. He also doesn’t really seem to grasp the material. Dr. Jekyll is torn because he can tell that Danny loves science and he has had really great conversations with him about astronomy but he’s just upset at how Danny is in his class. He ends up deciding that he will take the boy under his wing and tutor him to help him pass. This will also get him closer to Danny’s parents who he thinks can help him with his Hyde problem. 

Danny goes after school for tutoring (surprisingly there were no rogue ghosts attacking today) and waits for Dr. Jekyll to show up. And waits. And waits. Then his ghost sense goes off and he just can’t wait anymore. Danny grabs his bag and runs into down the hall to the boys room where, with a quick “I’m going ghost!” he’s off to fight the ghostly menace of the day. When he spots the spirit, he sees this is one that he’s never fought before. He’s tall and quite lean with bluish skin, venomous green eyes, green hair pulled into a flaming ponytail, and a nasty scar across the right side of his face. The ghost takes notice that Danny’s there and a fight ensues. And then it ends when Danny gets yeeted through a wall and the ghost disappears. At least Danny was able to pick up that the new ghost’s name is Edward Hyde during the fight. He goes home to work on his homework go to sleep. He just crashes right into bed and sleeps till the next day. 

When he gets to school, Dr. Jekyll comes up to him and apologizes that he couldn’t make it to the tutoring session and that an emergency had come up that he had to attend to. Danny was like no biggie and continued on with the day. He talked with Sam and Tucker about this new ghost. They go over where he may have come from, if he’s working for Vlad, and all the other possibilities including that it could be that Dr. Jekyll may be a halfa like Danny and Vlad, but that got brushed off as wrong (”That ghost did not seem like the kind of guy who’d have a PHD. He’s a MR. Hyde at best, not a Dr. like Jekyll”). The school day ends and Danny’s off to learn the ways of chemistry. This time Dr. Jekyll is there and the lesson goes according to plan. At least right up until Danny’s lesson is about over. When the topic of talking to Danny’s parents about his tutoring (and the possibility of them helping out with Jekyll’s halfa problem) is brought up, all of a sudden a change comes over the good doctor. He starts saying nasty things and acting like real bitch. That’s when Danny notices that Dr. Jekyll’s eyes are a vibrant shade of green. Seeing this as a sign that Jekyll has been possessed (hopefully by that Edward Hyde ghost from yesterday, Danny wants a round two with him) Danny goes ghost (because it’s not like Dr. Jekyll will remember anyway he’s possessed. 

This freaks the shit out of Hyde because a. he thought he was the only halfa there was b. holy shit this little scrawny kid is that ghost that nearly kicked his ass yesterday c. he thinks he’s been found out and d. holy shit this little scrawny kid is that ghost that nearly kicked his ass yesterday. Since he’s so freaked out, he slips a little and Jekyll comes to for just long enough to be punched in the face by the kid he thought would be his favorite student. This “little” punch shakes up Jekyll but acts as a snap back to reality for Hyde who makes them go ghost. When Danny sees the rings go around Dr. Jekyll turning him into Edward Hyde, he realizes he fucked up. A fight ensues which ends with an agreement between the two (three???). Basically Danny will leave them alone and not tell his parents as long as a. Hyde doesn’t forcibly take over Jekyll and when he’s out he doesn’t cause problems and b. Jekyll doesn’t try to destroy Hyde.

(when Danny tells Sam and Tucker about all this Tucker yells “HAH! I told you!”)

I think Hyde still gets up to mischief but he’s not a real villain just more of a pest. The real villain is Jekyll who goes to Vlad Masters for a side job (cause teaching don’t pay nearly enough as it should) where he ends up helping to develop ghost weapons. I’d actually see him being able to get close enough to Vlad that he learns a lot of his little secrets, just not the one about Vlad being a halfa. (I think Jekyll might be brought in to help with cloning Danny.)

And that’s pretty much all I got. I might make a fic if anyone wants it but there’s no real guarantee on the quality since I haven’t taken a creative writing class in over 4 years.

#jekyll and hyde #danny phantom #au #halfa jekyll au #henry jekyll #edward hyde #my art #i sorta drew all this really quickly because the only other drawings i have of it are two years old #and also i wanted to post something for strange case day #i probably should have put a danno in here or something but whatever

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

have u seen Crimes of Grindelwald? i’m curious about ur thoughts on [REDACTED] siding with Grindelwald? (just in case u haven’t seen it and don’t wanna be spoiled)

Oh, I’ve seen it! I actually thought it was better than most people give it credit for, but I agree that it’s weaker than the first Fantastic Beasts film, and that it feels more like a novel than a film. I think I know which character you mean, but just in case, I’ll talk about both people who sided with him. 

Queenie

I’ll admit, this movie didn’t really make her much more likable, but I understood the struggle she was going through. It humanized her. The scene where we see what it’s like to be a born-Legilimens really hit hard - they show that it’s not all fun and cool powers. Having to hear everyone’s thoughts would be exhausting. It could easily drive someone “crazy” especially if they can’t turn it off and hear all the things that their loved ones think about them but don’t say. Jacob shouldn’t have to answer for his private thoughts, because they aren’t actions - but Queenie can’t help hearing them and she’s only human, she’s going to have reactions. The enchantment, which I assume was an entrancing charm, is another story. (Anyone else reminded of Penny Haywood?) That was messed up and over the line. Way over the line. Even if I understood why she did it, she still completely disregarded Jacob’s choice and robbed him of his autonomy. Doesn’t matter if she thought she was getting them their “happy ever after.” But as we see by the end, she’s willing to do practically anything to get that happy ever after.

I don’t blame her for being swayed by Grindelwald’s rhetoric, because it’s written magnificently and both actors who have played him have brought it to life in enchanting ways. Seriously, on both of my first viewings I found myself thinking, “Well, maybe he has a point...” Before I caught myself. That’s the danger of propoganda - no one is immune to it. I don’t believe Queenie will be remaining with Grindelwald. I mean, she was shown to struggle with getting through the blue fire, indicating that her loyalties are still up in the air. After all, if Jacob won’t be with Queenie so long as she sides with Grindelwald, what’s the point? Sooner or later, he’s going to slip up around her.  He’ll say or do something that exposes him for not being nearly as tolerant as he pretends to be, and Queenie will realize what a terrible mistake she’s made. At which point, I’m sure the heroes will take her back, but she might need to do something cool and save the day first. If only to be forgiven in the eyes of the audience. 

Credence

I’m a little confused about his relationship to Grindelwald in the movie, I won’t lie. The main thing that I don’t really understand is...er, is Credence aware that Grindelwald is the same person as Graves? I can’t tell. The way that he reacts to seeing Grindelwald again is a little ambiguous. Does he recognize him as a famous, wanted criminal in the Wizarding World? Or is that look meant to signify a reunion? I want to say Credence does know that this is Graves, but I’m not sure how he could know that, seeing as how he “died” before Graves was unmasked. Oh well, it’s not a big deal. He wants to know who he is. I can respect that. I feel terrible for him though, returning to his abuser. And I feel terrible for Nagini, the poor thing, who can see what Credence cannot, that he’s just being used. Side note: I know everyone got really angry about Nagini getting a backstory as a human, but I can’t really understand why...I’m hyped for it! Come on, there was always something a little off about her, even in the books. And hearing lines like “Purebloods hunt the likes of us for sport” Oh, honey...how do you wind up working for Voldemort? Oh well, nevermind. We both know what the real topic of interest is. 

The ending twist. Literally, what the fuck. It’s impossible. It’s just plain impossible without rewriting the books themselves. If J.K. wants to ret-con McGonagall into being older, whatever. That was a minor detail. But the history of Dumbledore’s family? Sorry, but no. That is too important and is set in stone by the books. She can’t just change her mind now. Now I want to be clear, this isn’t a problem with Crimes of Grindelwald itself. This isn’t a flaw in the movie. It’s a cliffhanger, so by definition, it’s not going to be explained. But this sure puts a hell of a lot of pressure on the third Fantastic Beasts film to explain this in a satisfying way, and I’m not seeing how they can. Grindelwald could be lying, but that’s more or less the same as lying to the audience - since this was treated as a big reveal - so that’s not cool. The other possibility is that Credence is somehow connected to Arianna. Since she was clearly an Obscurial, but J.K. “hands out trivia like candy” Rowling has never confirmed this. Maybe Credence somehow has Arianna’s Obscurus? Or he could be Arianna reincarnated? Which would be bloody hilarious, actually, because that would make Credence a female character in a male body. If J.K wrote a trans woman by accident and made her a major character in this series I am going to laugh my ass off. 

#Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them #FBAWTFM #Crimes of Grindelwald #Gellert Grindelwald #Queenie Goldstein #Credence Barebone #Aurelius Dumbledore

[alarawriting]

Inktober 2020 #17: Storm

Iris was laughing as she got in the car. “Weather reports say it’s gonna be a big one!”

Caitlyn had just met this woman. This was a ridiculous idea. Chasing a violent thunderstorm had to be the dumbest idea any human ever had, surpassed only by chasing tornados, which apparently Iris also did when she was further west. There was no way in which it was a good idea to get into the passenger seat of the car.

Caitlyn slid into the passenger seat. “Just so you know, I feel like this is probably a dumb idea.”

“Of course it’s a dumb idea!” Iris started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot. “Humanity only progresses by having dumb ideas!”

Her laughter, her cheer, was infectious. Iris was nearly six feet tall and easily two hundred eighty pounds, her hair buzzed short and her arms tattooed. She was everything Caitlyn’s mother would have told her to be wary of. She was also sunlight in human form. Her force of personality was blinding, overwhelming, but warm, and it lit up the world.

On the interstate, the miles per hour crossed the 55 line and continued to go up. “Where are we going?” Caitlyn asked. “I mean, yeah, a thunderstorm, but physically where?”

“We’re going south to intercept it. Probably hit it near the Maryland border, so we’ll take the bypass to the wild side of Delaware and follow it down on local roads.”

“This is crazy. You know that, right? It’s just a storm.”

“They’re never just storms, Caity.” Caitlyn could have gone a long time not knowing how Iris was spelling that, but unfortunately, Iris had addressed her by name in the text she’d sent to provide her number and email address. “Storms can kill people. They don’t have to be hurricanes. They knock down trees, they take out the power, they cause accidents. So I hunt them down.”

“That… really doesn’t make any sense.”

“Oh, you’ll see! It’ll be fun, I haven’t had a friend along on one of these trips in a year!”

Iris cut off a tractor trailer, causing the bellow of an air horn behind them. Small wonder no one wanted to go with her. “What happened with the last friend?”

“We broke up. She thought I was reckless! Can you imagine?” The smile Iris briefly flashed at Caitlyn before turning back to the road knew exactly why her ex thought her reckless, and was self-mocking about it.

“No, I can’t imagine it,” Caitlyn said, deadpan.

“But you know I’m reckless and you got in the car with me anyway, so if sometime in the future you say to me, ‘you’re too reckless’, I can say, ‘you knew that about me on the first date.’”

“This is a date?”

Iris’s laughter this time was almost a bark. “Pretty sure it must be! You’re not in love with storm chasing and you don’t like the way I drive, so you must have gotten in the car on the strength of my beauty and charisma, or something.”

“Something,” Caitlyn agreed, though in fact that was exactly why she got in the car. There was no way Iris could be considered beautiful by airbrushed Hollywood standards, but Caitlyn had always thought those women seemed somehow plastic, unreal, and now she knew why. Iris was realer than real, larger than life, and since they’d met and started talking at the mixer less than an hour ago, she’d known she was willing to get in Iris’s car and go anywhere. Including to Maryland to find a thunderstorm.

“You must be looking to add some chaos and recklessness to your life. Every woman who gets in my car is looking for that, or they wouldn’t get in the car.”

“How many women have gotten in your car like that?” Caitlyn asked, somewhat taken aback.

“Oh, only three.” Iris wove in and out of a wolfpack of cars. “Four, now, counting you. I don’t exactly run around luring all the women in with my siren song.” She laughed. “How about you, any ex-girlfriends? Or boyfriends, I don’t judge.”

“One boyfriend when I was fifteen, back before I knew I was a lesbian. One girlfriend. We were together for ten years.”

“Oh no! What happened?”

Caitlyn shrugged. “She thought I was boring. And not very good in bed. She wasn’t rude enough to say it in those words, but I can read between the lines.” Strange; Caitlyn hadn’t told anyone else that, and would normally have thought it oversharing. She wasn’t entirely sure why she was telling Iris, now. It didn’t seem like a great idea to warn a woman you were interested in that your last girlfriend thought you were boring in bed.

“Well, my philosophy is, if your girlfriend is bad in bed, it’s usually because you’re a lousy communicator and you never told her what you wanted, or else you’re a picky picky princess and you have a very narrow range of tolerance for what you like. At least, if she’s a cool human being in the first place, which you seem like you probably are.”

“No, it – she was wilder than me, and she wanted more than I could give.”

“Then it just sounds like you were incompatible,” Iris declared.

She glanced down at her tablet. “Huh. It’s changing course. We’re going to take the highway all the way down, Caity, be faster that way. I think we’ll be able to intersect it at Delaware House.”

“At where?”

“It’s a rest stop on I-95 near the Maryland border. I’m gonna need somewhere to pull over and it’s not a great idea to do that on the highway itself if you have any choice in the matter.”

“What’re you going to do when you catch it?” Caitlyn asked.

“I’m gonna punch it in the nose!” Iris laughed.

Caitlyn chuckled. “Okay, but seriously. You take pictures of them? Do you send them to NOAA or something? What do you do when you catch the storm you’re chasing?”

“You’ll see!”

***

An hour later and they were inside the storm, according to Iris’ tablet, which was set to a live feed of satellite imaging from weather.com or someplace. They’d just crossed the Delaware Memorial Bridge, and it was raining hard. The tablet said it was eleven minutes to Delaware House, but that was probably assuming normal highway speed, and despite the rain, Iris was still driving at least 75 miles an hour.

“So you wanna get some food or something after we’re done here? Delaware House has a Popeye’s, we could get fried chicken.”

“Sure, why not.” Caitlyn had spent the past hour talking about herself, which was weird, because usually she was quiet and would hang back in any conversation, and she usually preferred to listen rather than talk. And you’d think Iris’ boisterousness would make it so she’d always be the one talking, but in fact she’d said almost nothing about herself. She’d talked a lot, but mostly questions for Caitlyn, who’d found herself as a result telling Iris her entire life story. “Maybe you can tell me some things about yourself. I feel like I’ve been talking and talking. You must be sick of hearing my voice.”

“I would never get sick of that voice, Caity. You have a lovely voice.”

“Most people don’t think so. They think I’m quiet and monotonous. Or, sometimes, loud and monotonous.”

“Some people have no grasp of subtlety,” Iris said. “Oh, good, the timing’s perfect. Looks like the center of the storm’s going to be passing over here in minutes. If I speed up just a little, we should get to Delaware House in time.”

“Why is the center of the storm so important? Does it look any different than the rest of the storm?”

“Not to most people,” Iris said cryptically, and leaned forward like a race car driver, her foot presumably turning into a block of lead from how the car sped up.

“Uh, aren’t you worried about hydroplaning?” Caitlyn yelled over the sound of the engine revving as they accelerated.

“Water knows better than to do that to me!” Iris yelled back, grinning.

“No, but seriously--!”

“Don’t worry about it, I’ve got the car under control!”

Caitlyn held onto the handle above the car door, awkwardly – it really wasn’t positioned well to be a safety handle – as Iris raced through the storm, only slowing down when she reached Delaware House. She coasted onto the left-side exit and allowed momentum to carry her to the parking lot, only braking once she was there.

As she pulled into a parking spot in the back, she said, “I don’t know if you wanna stay in the car or come out with me, but you can do whatever you like. I gotta get a move on, though, the storm center’s almost here.”

“I’ll stay in the car for now,” Caitlyn said, wondering if all of this was a terrible mistake. Maybe Iris was right and she was looking to add some recklessness and chaos to her life, but maybe this was too much.

“Okay.” Iris got out of the car, and looked up at the sky. The rain was coming down in sheets so thick, it was hard for Caitlyn to actually see her through it – she was a blob of color, not a clear human shape. But she heard Iris’ voice with surprising clarity.

“OKAY, MOTHERFUCKER! IT’S ON, NOW!”

What.

“COME ON, YOU LITTLE PISS TRICKLE! YOU CALL THIS RAIN, MY MOMMA DUMPED MORE WATER DOWN MY THROAT WHEN SHE GAVE ME A SIPPY CUP TO DRINK FROM! GET OVER HERE, YOU COWARD, AND FACE ME!”

The wind moaned, making the car creak.

“YEAH? YOU WANNA SAY THAT TO MY FACE, YOU DUMB SHIT? COME ON! LET’S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!”

And then, as Caitlyn stared in absolute shock, Iris punched the sky… and the sky reeled, the clouds parting for a bare moment, before thunder rolled and lightning slammed down, hitting a nearby tree.

“YOUR AIM’S WORSE THAN A BLIND GRANDMA THROWING A DISHRAG! THINK YOU CAN HIT ME? COME AT ME, FUCKER!” Iris punched the clouds again – impossibly, because they were however many thousands of feet in the air and she was here on the ground, but the clouds roiled as if they’d been struck. Then she went to the ground, rolling, and came up to a sitting position next to an oversized pickup truck. Lightning struck the truck, and Iris sprang up and swung her fists at the sky again, her body language suggesting that she was putting all of her body’s force into the punches, and meeting resistance. One, two, three punches, and a gap opened in the clouds and stayed that way. Lightning came down again and hit a tree in the picnic area.

“OH, YEAH! GOTCHA ON THE ROPES NOW! GIVE IT UP, YOU SUMBITCH, IT’S ALL OVER FOR YOU!”

She swung her left arm out in a blocking gesture. A moment later, lightning struck inches away from the arm. Iris followed up with multiple punches, clearing more of the sky. The rain had significantly diminished, making it much easier to see what she was doing. “GET OUT OF MY GODDAMN SKY, MOFO! DID I GIVE YOU PERMISSION TO BE HERE? WELL, DID I, DIPSHIT?” More punches, more clear sky. Another lightning strike, and an increase in the wind, blowing hard enough that the car actually rocked in it. And then Iris swung her arm out against the wind, and it dissipated. “THAT’S RIGHT, YOU LITTLE SHIT CREEK, WHO’S YOUR MAMA? WHO’S YOUR MAMA? I’M THE GODDAMN MOTHERFUCKING RAINBOW, KIDDO, NOW GET BACK TO YOUR FUCKING PLAYPEN AND DRINK YOUR BABA!”

There was, in fact, a rainbow glittering in the sky, as the storm turned to mist.

Iris pulled the car door open. She was completely drenched. “Well, I kicked that thing’s ass,” she reported gleefully. “You up for fried chicken?”

“How – how did you –”

“Hon. You are the Greek mythology expert. How do you think? I said I was the goddamn rainbow, and I know you heard me, right?” She grinned widely.

“Iris was the goddess of the rainbow, and messenger of the gods,” Caitlyn said, mechanically, “but there was nothing in mythology about her fighting storms.”

“That’s because the Greeks were a bunch of patriarchal assholes. They saw Zeus throw some lightning bolts around one time and decided he was the god of storms. Never thought about the fact that rainbows come out after a storm’s over, did they?” She took a step back from the car and shook herself, like a dog, sending raindrops flying everywhere. “So. Do I drive you home now or do we go get fried chicken?”

Caitlyn took a deep breath. “Fried chicken. I have so many questions.”

“And I’ve got so many answers, so this will work out great!”

The storm had turned into nothing but a misty drizzle. Caitlyn got out of the car and followed Iris toward the glassed-in building that was Delaware House.

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

While this is far from the only story idea of mine inspired by it, I definitely do have to credit “Fear for the Storm” by Jessica Best, from the podcast series “Starship Iris”, for inspiring this story. Also the Holly Near song “How Bold”, but with a happier outcome.

#inktober 2020 #alara's october 2020 prompt fics #lesbians #stormchasers

[ayma-nidiot]

“Don’t Speak Their Names” - Shrimpshipping fic Chapter 29

This chapter can be found here on AO3.

Author’s Note: This chapter will have implied Prideshipping, as will a small number of subsequent chapters. I will put warnings for when that happens.

Also suicide TW.

Chapter 29 - Peacemaker

~29 November 2005~ 

“Ugh, Doc, can I leave yet?” Rex whined after Dr. Balls had just finished a checkup at the off-campus hospital. “I feel like I’ve spent most of my college life in the hospital. I’ve already been here long enough when I had morning sickness. I wanna go have fun like every other freshman.”

“Unfortunately, that’s what happens when you’re about to have a child, young man,” Ptera spoke sternly. “You’re about to become a mom, and you need to act like it. You need to be a good role model for your daughter, and that includes not treating college like it’s a place just to go party.”

“Nag, nag. I got all my homework and projects done, didn’t I? I even got an A on one of my tests for biology class. I’ve never done that before! And while I’m hospital-bound too! Aren’t you proud of me, Mom?”

Ptera ruffled her son’s hair. “Well, I suppose I can’t expect you to turn into mom of the year overnight. But work on it, okay?”

Dr. Balls spoke up, “As your doctor, I won’t try to parent you. But I will say that you are good to go after today.”

“What, really?” Rex would have jumped out of bed if Ptera didn’t hold him down in it.

“Yes, but do not push yourself too hard - mentally or physically. Even though you’ve only got four weeks left in your pregnancy, it’s in your baby’s best interest to avoid going into labour early. And you need to tell me if anything - and I mean literally anything - goes awry. Is that clear?”

“Crystal, Doc. If he forgets, you can be sure that I’ll remember.”

“Much faith in me, Mom. Much faith.”

“Papa! Papa!” Amber could be heard shouting all the way from the first floor, along with the stomps of dozens of soldiers.

“Hey!” Dr. Balls shouted down the hallway. “No running in the hospital! I don’t care who you are!”

“I’m so sorry, Doc.” Amber bowed before talking to her mother. “Papa, I’ve just-”

“Not another word, young lady!” Ptera got up, noticing before anyone else just how wounded Amber was. “Look at your arm! And… Is that a broken arrow sticking out of your butt?”

“Amber, please…”

Amber wouldn’t let Dr. Balls or her grandmother sway her. “After almost a month, we finally cornered two of the Earthbound Gods, Wiraqocha Rasca and Ccarayhua! But… But… Hah…”

“DOWN.” Ptera demanded as Amber reluctantly knelt while Dr. Balls tended to her arrow wound. “Now, then, you were saying?”

“Ngh…!” Even though she had a high pain tolerance, Amber nearly cried when she felt alcohol enter her wounds. “They found out what my intentions were before I even revealed myself. There were too many strong monsters... As a result, I’ve already lost some of my men. I intend to go back to the hideout I’ve found once I’ve gathered the rest of the army.”

“I feel like I’ve heard that second funky name somewhere…” Rex looked to the ceiling before deciding that, indeed, he hadn’t actually heard the name. “Eh. Must be my imagination.”

Just then, the building shook so hard, small pieces of rubble rolled into Rex’s room. “Don’t tell me that that’s your imagination too?” Amber yelled as she half-shifted, even before Dr. Balls finished treating her.  “Tch! Looks like those Earthbound Gods found us. ”

“I’m still concerned, but I’m confident that you’ll heal quickly.” Dr. Balls opened a safe in his office, which held his Gravity Axe - Grarl. “Know that I am on your side.”

“All this time, I had no idea… Er, I mean, thanks for the help.”

“I… I can fight too!” Rex stumbled on his way out of bed. “Whoa!”

“Get back in there, you.” Ptera growled.

“That’s right,” Dr. Balls added. “I said you’re good to go starting tomorrow. You shouldn’t be fighting when you’re this close to your due date. Besides, you’re not an especially strong monster; what do you honestly think you could accomplish out there?”

“How dare you?! I’ve still got my Duel Disk and my duelin’ dinos - Urk!” Though he was in far less pain than he was a month ago, Rex was still extremely fatigued and suffered swelling in his feet.

“I think I can make far better use of that Duel Disk than you can,” Ptera declared as she put Rex’s Duel Disk on. “Now, Amber, lead the way.”

“Hmph. Buttmunches, one and all,” Rex grumbled as his family left the campus hospital without him.

Are you really going to let them take all the glory while you sit here like a log? spoke a voice in Rex’s head.

Rex threw the covers over his head, fidgeting and grumbling, hoping the hallucination would go away. He swore to himself that he would tell Dr. Balls about it when he got back from the battle, however long that would take. “Well, why don’t you try caring around a 6-pound sack of rice for eight months, then getting beat to a pulp while you’re at it? ...Wait, who the hell are you, anyway? Another hallucination?”

Please, listen… I am not a hallucination. Rex Leonidas Raptor, hear my plea. You must get out there and talk to Earthbound God Ccarayhua. She doesn’t really want to fight.

“Apparently, you weren’t listening to the part that I said I was eight months pregnant! And you really have no idea who you’re talking to, so let me remind you. I am a ‘shoot first, ask questions later’ kind of guy - a.k.a. I do not ‘talk’ my way out of my problems.”

But your boyfriend, Weevil, is coming, spoke another voice.

Rex froze at the mention of Weevil’s name, and dug himself even further into the bedsheets. “I… I know I’ll have to face him eventually, but… I can’t do it - physically or emotionally. And even if I don’t fight him, someone might kill him before my eyes…” Rex hugged the sheets around him more tightly. “I don’t want to go through that again.”

Just trust us, spoke a third voice. We will protect you.

“...” After a long contemplation, Rex gave in, slowly lowering his feet onto the floor and using the wall as a crutch on his way out. His unborn child squirmed, not allowing him to walk any faster than a snail’s pace. “Okay, but I’ll never forgive you if something happens to either me or my baby!”

While Rex trudged towards the hospital exit, Dr. Balls and his ‘gang’ ran down the long main corridor. “I’ve only read about the eight Earthbound Gods,” he remarked. “I thought they were just a legend. If they’re real and as powerful as I think they are… We’ve got quite a battle on our hands.”

“Yes, but thankfully, we have to deal with only two of them for now,” Amber answered.

“You’ve got quite a battle on your hands, hmm?” spoke a voice, whose source had already summoned his monsters. “Why don’t we help you with that a little bit?”

“Joey! Everyone!” Looking past her family and the Club members, Amber saw her mother’s Red-Eyes Black Dragon defeating some of the lesser enemies already. “...You better not let anything happen to Papa’s Red-Eyes, you hear?”

“I wouldn’t dream of it!” Joey stood back-to-back with Mai as the latter had three of her Harpie Ladies in front of her. 

“These guys…” Mai used her Harpie Lady Phoenix Formation spell; even then, the onslaugh of the enemies seemed endless. “Is it just me, or are they even tougher than last time?”

“So you’re admitting your own weakness?” Joey chuckled.

“Speak for yourself!” Mai scoffed as Joey’s Iron Knight Gearfried fell.

“Okay, okay… Say, Mai. I know I’ve been chicken about it, but…”

“Less talk and more fighting, Joey!” Mai barely dodged out of the way so she could summon her Harpie’s Pet Dragon too, while Joey summoned Gilford the Lightning and Jinzo.

“Joey…” Amber could still fight well enough, even though she stopped to talk to Joey. “Don’t tell me you still haven’t told her in the past month!”

“Told me what? N-Never mind, it can- Ouch!” While running, Mai tripped on a rock, and her three Harpie Ladies perished trying to protect her.

“Mai!” His monsters were already fending off some strong monsters, and Joey had no room left on his Duel Disk to summon more. So without thinking, he jumped in front of Mai to shield her from a direct Cyber Dragon attack. “Aaaaah!” 

“Joey…” Mai still remained unwounded, but Joey suffered abrasions all over his body. While she spoke to Joey, Téa’s and Tristan’s monsters protected them. “You idiot… You could have used your monsters like every other damned duelist on this battlefield!”

“I know what I said about Red-Eyes, but I wouldn’t have minded if you used it to protect Mai.”

“I guess… If I’m gonna die anyway, then… This is as good of a time as any to say it… Mai…” Joey laced his bloody finger’s with Mai’s. “Mai… I love you more than anything else in the world. I… Urk! I just wish I… had told you during the Orichalcos mess. Maybe… Maybe then you wouldn’t have…”

“Joey, shut up!” Mai shut Joey up with a kiss. “You’re gonna make it… I love you too much to let you die here!”

“Aww, how cute!” Seymour, as Wiraqocha Rasca, hovered over the new couple. “Too bad your relationship isn’t going anywhere, because I’m going to kill you here!”

“I’ll let you have that honour, Seymour,” Dip spoke as she continued to attack her enemies in lizard form. “I’ll make sure these weaklings don’t stop you.”

“Joey! Argh, let go of me, you fucktard!” Amber had broken free of the Guarddragon Justicia that held her down, but was too far away from Joey to save him now. 

Yet there was someone who could - a dragon clad in pure white armour and light. “Shining Neutron Blast!”

“Huh. I’ve never heard of that attack name before.” Before Dip could study this new enemy closer, she could hear a baritone voice singing. “Ugh… That song… What’s this, my strength is… fading? Dammit, I can’t hold onto my lizard form!”

“Now… Where have I heard that song before?” Joey lifted his head up to see a young man with cinnamon-coloured skin and spiky brown hair. 

“Aww, that’s kind of mean,” the young man whined as he used healing magic on Joey. “After all the battles you fought with Father and Papa, you don’t remember them?”

“Come to think of it, there’s only one person I’ve ever known that’s used Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon…” Joey still felt tired, but could stand on his feet again. “It’s…”

“Big Bro!” Mokuba hugged Kaiba from behind, recognizing his brother’s dragon form easily. 

“Mokuba, now’s not the time! Save the pleasantries for later!” Kaiba jumped out of the way with Mokuba on his back.

“Hah!” Now that Atem had stopped singing, Seymour could transform back into his condor form. “I really wanted to hear your beautiful song some more! Too bad!”

“I’m more than just a song, you fiend.” Using his DiaDhank, Atem summoned Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl. 

“The dragon… Could he be-”

Before Amber could say another word, Phuckdis and William had just come onto the scene with the rest of the army. “Sorry we’re late, Amber!”

“About time!” Amber backflipped in the air to avoid an attack from Dip. “Help me take down this overgrown lizard, will ya?”

“‘Overgrown lizard…’ Ah!” Upon seeing his sister again, Phuckdis froze in place. “Dip… Is that you?”

“Well, so nice of you to visit after, what? Sixteen fucking years?” Dip set her sights on her brothers. “Why don’t you finish what you started back then?”

“Sister…” William couldn’t move either. “I don’t want to fight you.”

“Oh, that’s rich!” Dip’s attacks got more intense. “You disown me, and then now you say you don’t want to fight? You cowards!”

“William, we need to fight her.” Phuckdis began to fight back, albeit reluctantly. “She’s an Earthbound God.”

“Yes, those were almost the exact same words you used! So come at me with your bullets, Borreload Savage Dragon, and run your dear sister through!”

“W-Wait!” 

“Huh?” Ptera turned around to see a half-shifted Rex hobbling out of the hospital. “Rex! Get the hell back in your room!”

“Oh my fucking gods, Rex, you’re insane! Ggh!” Dr. Balls swung around with his axe, striking the enemy that lunged towards Rex. “Are you trying to give birth in the middle of a battlefield?”

“Mom… Dr. Balls… Please…” Rex tried his best to hide the deep pain he was in. “And you too, Phuckdis. Dip doesn’t want to fight either of you; she’s just very hurt by what you guys did to her.”

“And what the hell would you know, rabbit?” Dip turned her attention to Rex now. “You have no idea what I’ve been through, what being estranged by your ‘family’ feels like!”

“I may not understand you, but I know what it’s like to have your family abandon you… and to reconnect with them after so long. If I can do it, so can you.”

“Rex…” Spinos looked at his son in sorrow for a brief spell before summoning Jurrac Tyrannus and Jurrac Velphito just in time.

“Dip, you told me yourself when I was your prisoner. Don’t you remember? And… And how I told you about what Weeves and I have been through?”

“Ggh…” Dip could feel the darkness in her heart leaving her.

“Stop poisoning her mind, you weak cur!” Seymour readied a beam to fire at Rex.

“It isn’t too late. Just like Weeves did once, you can change your destiny. Join us!”

“Like hell she will! Take this you-” Seymour couldn’t say another word as Dip impaled him with a lizard claw. “Ccarayhua! What are you doing?”

“...” Dip said nothing as she withdrew her claw and reverted forms.

“Damn you, you… traitor… Argh…” 

When all the enemies had been defeated, Rex slowly walked up to Dip, but didn’t touch her. “I knew you would come around and help us!”

“Who’d have thunk that the tyrannical, arrogant Rex Raptor would be a peacemaker?” Joey chuckled. 

“Sh-Shut up!” Rex blushed. “I’ll have you know that I didn’t do it because I wanted to! A nagging voice in my head told me to.”

“It… It did?” Amber sounded curious.

Joey interrupted whatever she was going to say next. “If this ‘nagging voice’ told you to jump off a bridge, would you?”

“It’s not uncommon to experience hallucinations in a pregnancy, but if it becomes frequent… We’re going to need to have a private talk about that later.”

“I’ll take you up on your offer, Doc!” Rex gave Dr. Balls a thumbs up.

“Um…” Dip felt awkward being in the literal middle of this conversation.

Joey turned to their new ally. “Hey, aren’t you technically one of the bad guys? Why should we trust you?”

“ This is why.” Dip lifted up her shirt to reveal several deep scars on her abdomen. “After my brothers disowned me, I was so ashamed of my powers that I tried to kill myself… It turns out that we Earthbound Gods are not capable of doing that. However, the incident left my reproductive system so badly damaged… Now, I’m infertile.”

“So you can’t have kids with Daddy.” Amber still wasn’t wholly convinced. “And you think that’s a good enough reason?”

“If it pleases you, Lady Amber, you can kill me as soon as you suspect me. You’re welcome, by the way, for killing an Earthbound God for you.”

“I…” Amber had to admit that killing Seymour was a good enough reason in and of itself. “Okay, we accept you. But you better not chicken out when it’s time to kill the other Gods.”

“L-Like, right now?” Joey shook his finger at the changing sky above them. “Where have I seen that spider symbol before?”

“It’s the Mark of Uru…” Amber’s eyes opened wide. “Daddy is coming!”

“Weevil…” Rex trembled in place, hugging his baby bump. “I’m not ready to face him yet!”

“Don’t worry, you don’t have to be.” So Dip said, but after trying to transform, she found she had no will to do so. “Dammit! Why can’t I…?”

Dr. Balls couldn’t hold onto his animal form either. “Such is the price we strong shifters have to pay… There’s nothing more we can do here, Dip. Let’s go to my office, before Weevil arrives! Hurry!”

“I’m not scared of that bug boy!” Joey got up, with only Red-Eyes Black Dragon to defend him. “Bring it!”

“Hahaha! Gladly!” Weevil came to the battlefield alone, but with all the confidence in the world. 

“And what makes you think you can take on half of an army by yourself?” Joey smirked.

“Because unlike your idiotic friends, I know better than to fully shift unless the situation demands of it.” Weevil’s arms and legs glowed bright red as he spared Kaiba a passing glance.

“You… little…” As strong as Kaiba was, he couldn’t even half-shift.

“Ah, yes, I remember you…” Weevil cackled upon seeing Kaiba. “You’re the reason why my father pushed me so hard… I would have been spared so much pain and suffering if it weren’t for you!”

“Do you honestly expect me to care about your pain and suffering?” Kaiba scoffed.

“I’ll happily make you care!” Weevil shot a quick ball of spider webs at Kaiba from which he couldn’t escape.

“I’m… I’m not afraid!” Despite what Joey said, after seeing Kaiba fall so easily to Weevil, he wasn’t fully confident in his own ability. “Get ‘im, Red-Eyes!”

Weevil easily pushed Joey’s monster - and Joey himself - out of the way. “So, that’s the best you could bring? Hah!”

“W-Weeves…” Rex fell to his knees as he and Weevil stared each other down.

“So that just leaves me and you, huh?” Weevil could hear Atem trying to sing from behind him, and shot him down before he could get another note in. “You should have brought less pathetic friends, Rex. They all thought I was the same pathetic ‘bug boy’ from before, and now they’re all paying the price!”

“I… I don’t think you’re pathetic.” Rex panted as he spoke, feeling more Braxton Hicks contractions. “You’re strong; you always have been. Everything bad that happened to you is just bad luck.”

“So you acknowledge it. But flattery isn’t going to get you anything, except a few more quick seconds of life.” Weevil pointed his right arms at Rex. “I would give you the chance to fight me now, but I already know you can’t. Gods, how boring.”

“Daddy! Stop!” Amber’s wings were so sore from her struggle against Guarddragon Justicia that she couldn’t fly another inch forward.

“Amber, you foolish girl. You should have killed me when you had the chance! Maybe then you wouldn’t have to see your dear mother die right before your eyes!” Weevil turned back to Rex. “I think I’ve kept you waiting long enough. Prepare to die!”

Right as Weevil raised his arm, however, a voice bellowed across the battlefield. “You will not touch him!”

“Now, where have I heard that voice before?” Joey wondered out loud.

“Joseph, it has been a while. It looks like you’re having trouble; do you need some help? Why don’t I… spruce up your Red-Eyes a bit?”

“How do you know my name, and what are you talking… about… Huh?” Joey noticed the Red-Eyes Black Dragon changing forms. 

“H-Hey!” Weevil finally showed a sign of weakness. “Get out of here, if you know what’s good for you!”

“Hmm?” Rex smiled at Weevil slyly. “Where has all your confidence from before gone, hotshot?”

“Grr!” Weevil turned back to Rex, readying an attack at him. “If it’s confidence you want, it’s confidence you’ll get! Hyaaaah!”

Just then, Joey stepped in, blocking Weevil’s attack with his newly forged sword. “Not if I can help it. Leave my friend alone!”

“Ha… ha… Your friend?”

“And mine, too! Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight, charge!” Atem ordered. 

“Aaaaaargh!” This attack slashed Weevil across the legs. “You motherfucking pharaoh! I’ll not let you defeat me again! ”

“You wanna bet on that?” Kaiba smirked with Doom Virus Dragon behind him. “Even if Atem can’t defeat you, I’ll gladly do the honours.”

“You…” Weevil lunged forward, but stumbled. “You’ll pay for-”

“Uru, that’s enough!” Anita suddenly arrived in hummingbird form. “Retreat - Watda’s orders.”

“But… But I can still-”

“I will do no such thing! We leave now!” Anita picked Weevil up with her wing.

“Dammit! Give him… back…” Amber shot several arrows at Anita that missed.

“Never mind them for now, Lady Amber…” Phuckdis looked upon the three people who had saved them. “Who are these people?”

“Is… Is that you, rich boy?” Joey could hardly recognize his former rival, who had aged 20 years since he saw him last, and now wore ancient Egyptian garb.

“Big Brooooo!” Mokuba jumped in the air as he hugged his older brother. “How have you and Atem been?”

“Atem is here too?” Joey looked to the pharaoh, who had hardly aged a day. “Yo.”

“‘Yo’ yourself!” Atem gave his best friend a high five.

“I… didn’t know that Aiko’s other child was still alive.” Spinos exchanged a few words with his elder nephew, and told Kaiba about his surviving family members.

“Then who’s the boy?” Joey gestured his head towards the young man that had arrived with Kaiba and Atem.

“Darned please to meet y’all! I’m Heka Kaiba, the son of Atem and Seto Kaiba!” Heka had a much more relaxed demeanour than either of his parents.

“Come to think of it… You’re a shifter too, aren’t you, Kaiba? So does that mean…”

“That’s right, Rex. I was the one who gave birth to him - after letting Atem top me once. I’ve also got three other kids back at home.”

“Brah, I know all about that.” Rex patted his older cousin’s shoulder.

“You’re… You’re Heka?” Amber hesitated to show herself before the Egyptian crown prince. “Do you remember me?”

Heka stopped socializing with the others when Amber approached him, and reached out a hand to her. “How could I forget that beautiful face of yours? Would you… let me touch it again?”

“Heka!” Amber brought Heka’s hand to her face. “Yes! Yes, of course! Oh, my love, you’re alive! I’ve missed this warm hand so much…”

“What?” Rex blinked as he watched Amber get comfortable with this guy he just met. “What’s going on?”

“How ever did you survive?” Amber ignored her mother.

“I’m not gonna bore you with the details. Let’s just say if it wasn’t for daddy dear protecting you and whisking me away to safety at the last second, we’d both be dead.”

“Maybe my future is bright after all…” Amber cried tears of joy that Heka wiped away. 

“Oh, stop thinking about the future and focus on the present.” As Heka kissed Amber, he noticed the look of pain on her face. “Babe? Is everything okay?”

“I.. uh… might have gotten hurt in that last battle. Specifically on my butt.”

“Then how about I use some ancient Egyptian magic and help you feel better?” Heka showed no shame in lightly squeezing Amber’s butt before massaging it.

“Okay, that’s it, buster!” Rex huffed as he tried to break Heka and Amber apart. “Just who do you think you are, fondling my daughter that way?”

“Papa, you don’t have to worry about anything. Remember when I mentioned my boyfriend a few times before? This is him. He’s also a really good singer.” Amber twirled a lock of Heka’s hair. “By the way, love, you’ve got to perform a solo for everyone sometime. I’ve missed your gorgeous voice.”

“I take it you’re Amber’s mom in the present day?” Heka struck a pose. “Well, how do you do? What Amber didn’t tell you is that while I’m not a shifter, I’m one hell of a magic user. Your buddy Joey would probably be dead if it wasn’t for me. Haha!”

“Haha…” Joey answered with a half-hearted chuckle. “The pharaoh’s son is… one interesting fella, ain’t he? I bet he drives Atem and Kaiba up the wall.”

“Word. He’s nothing like my other self.”

“Hmph. I suppose I’ll tolerate your relationship with Amber for now. But make her cry, and I’ll make you regret it.”

“Daaaw, you’re a protective mother already.” Tricera smiled.

Kaiba didn’t like his son’s odd behaviour. “Heka, that’s quite enough. You need to act more like a prince and not make a fool of your father.”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, Papa.”

“Pharaoh…” Amber couldn’t look Atem in the eye. “I… Well… Thanks. Even though Daddy has caused you so much trouble, you’ve saved our lives today. And you, Kaiba. I wish you had come sooner, but it’s better late than never.”

“What do you mean?”

Phuckdis stepped forward. “In our future, we have a legend of a sacred creature known as the God-Shattering Star. He is said to be the only one capable of defeating the Crimson Devil, the strongest of the Earthbound Gods. Unfortunately, he never came… until now. Kaiba, we believe that you’re the one who will save us all.”

“That’s what I thought too.” Amber broke her hug with Heka. “And you summoned the three legendary dragons with you, dragons that are said to forge master weapons.”

“Timaeus…” Atem smiled at his old friend. “It’s been so long.”

“That explains the Red-Eyes Black Dragon Sword…” Rex could only take a quick glance at Joey’s sword before turning away, the flashbacks of their Orichalcos duel coming back to him. 

“I… uh… don’t feel like I really did anything, but okay.”

“Don’t be so modest, God-Shattering Star.” Phuckdis knelt in front of Kaiba. “You are worth all the praise in the world.”

Amber knelt too. “You’re the only one who can save Daddy. Please… Please, help us.”

“Gee, I didn’t know my role as queen of Egypt required me to help people from the future. Just how many worlds do I need to save?” Kaiba facepalmed. “Fine, I’ll do it. But this will be the last time that I do something nice for you dweebs.”

“That’s what you said last time you tried to save the world, rich boy.”

“Oh, put a sock in it, Wheeler.”

“Our circle of friends is finally back together again…” Téa pulled Yugi, Joey, Tristan, Atem, and Kaiba in for a group hug. “If we’ve saved the world twice, we can definitely do it thrice.”

“Sigh…” Rex sat down on the concrete as he waited for Dr. Balls’ nurses to get a stretcher for him. “I just wish it could wait until after finals.”

#yugioh #ygo #shrimpshipping #fanfiction #mpreg

[saiilorstars]

The Girl in the Forest

Chapter 21: Better than Death

// Story Masterlist //

Fandom: The Originals

Pairings: Klaus Mikaelson x Original Female Character

Pronunciation of OC’s name: Ma-leh-nee

Requested tag: @queenmj10​

~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~

Chapter Summary: While Klaus does everything he can to find her, he's already too late. Maleny is in her own personal hell thanks to Finn. 

Because Maleny has been switched bodies once again, her temporary face claim is Adriana Louvier.

New Orleans, 1914. Christmas Eve.

Maya Sterling, was patiently waiting for the bartender to hand over her newest drink. There were too many guests for her to keep up with and since Klaus was busy tending to his wayward brother, Kol, she was left on her own once more. Just as the bartender set her glass on the counter, Maya felt a sharp pain at the side of her head.

"Ooh…" she rubbed her temple but it was no use as she began seeing one of those visions again. The more it progressed the more she became lost in it, her painful expression turning into despondence. By the time the vision ended, she was more depressed than hurt. It was so odd seeing pictures in her head of other women, and with Klaus. What was this?

There was a clearing of a throat beside her and Maya found a blonde woman there, wearing a sparkly blue dress, and with a warm smile on her face, "Are you okay?" she politely asked.

Maya considered the woman one more pesky guest but knew she had to be polite. She wouldn't hear the end of it from Klaus and she sure hated his endless scolds. She gave a small nod, "Yes. Perhaps it's the drinks finally affecting my head. I've had a few."

The blonde studied Maya momentarily, almost unbelieving what she heard. Of course the golden-chained necklace around Maya's neck urged the blonde to insist more. "Are you sure it's only that?"

Maya nervously laughed, missing the lingering eyes on her necklace, "What else could it be? It's Christmas, it's loud, it's full of bourbon. I'm probably just tired. Klaus, he's, um, he's had me looking into this party for weeks. I'm running on low sleep."

The blonde's eyes flickered to the side as the Mikaelsons' began emerging from a downstairs room. Her attention was returned to Maya upon hearing the ginger quietly groaning with her fingers rubbing circles over her temples.

"I'm sorry," Maya apologized to the blonde.

The blonde's gaze on Maya turned into a sympathetic one, "Here," she promptly turned Maya around and gently placed her fingers on Maya's temples.

Confused, and frankly alarmed, Maya asked, "Wh-what are you doing? I swear to God if you do something Klaus will have your head-"

The blonde didn't look remotely afraid of the threat and merely smiled, "Calm down, it's only to help. Now stay quiet and relax," as Maya reluctantly closed her eyes, the blonde began to mumble words - that of a witch's spell.

In less than a minute Maya felt her head free of any kind of pain that had been bothering her more often, "Wow…" she whispered in awe, the blonde smiling brightly seeing Maya at ease now, "How did you...know to do that? Why would you do that?"

"Let's just say...I feel like I already know you," the blonde answered after a moment, something about her smile making Maya curious.

"Why would you-"

"Merry Christmas, Miss Sterling," the blonde smiled warmly at her once more before taking leave.

Cami walked into the kitchen of the safe house with a freshly woken up Hope in her arms, "Hope and I agree it smells pretty good in here," she chuckled as she plopped down on a stool at the isle and watched Elijah cook breakfast over the stove, "...and Hope also said she wants to eat it now."

Elijah glanced over his shoulder and saw his niece happily playing with a small toy in hand, "Are you sure it was Hope that said all that?"

Cami's lips raised into an innocent smile, "All hers. She is the only one who actually needs to eat food after all."

"Vampires can also have a liking for meals. So are you sure it's not actually the therapist that's quite literally trained to talk ears off?"

Cami's mouth fell open in feigned offense, "Oh, so now my sessions are just me talking your ears off? You are a rude person in the mornings."

Elijah turned over with a plate holding an omelette and sarcastically sighed, "Then I suppose Hope will just have to have this instead."

"Well…" Cami eyed the meal, "...I guess I can forgive you this one time…" she flashed him a smile before she chuckled.

Elijah put the plate down before her with his own smile, "I do thank you for helping me."

"I'm glad I've been of use," Cami replied back and sighed, "I haven't exactly finished my course but it's good to know that I don't totally suck at it. I mean, if I'm able to help thousand year old vampires then I can do anything."

"Of course you can," Elijah assured and turned back to the stove to clean things up.

He had to admit while he'd been initially reluctant to speak of his tremors in his mind - especially the Red Door - Cami was able to do more than what any other therapist, psychologist in the past could do. But perhaps he was a little bias since he was closer to Cami than the others. Sharing with her his fear of having no control over himself and thus accidentally hurting those he cared for was monumentally difficult for him, but he'd done it and he'd done it thanks to Cami. Although, after his meeting with his other brothers through Finn's elaborate 'prison' things had been stirred up. He was just glad at the last moment Finn was forced to take down the spell thanks to a spell from Amarrah and Davina.

"And I meant what I said," Cami's voice brought Elijah out of his thoughts. He stopped cleaning and looked at her, "I don't think you'd hurt anyone you love," she finished her sentence, "Could you really think yourself capable of hurting this little one here?" she gestured to Hope.

"Never," he replied instantaneously.

"Then you can start to forgive yourself," she ordered gently. She knew the origin of his problem laid in the fact he'd accidentally killed his first human love, a girl by the name Tatia, as a vampire. Esther had buried the memory deep into his mind, morphing it so that he believed she'd killed him for the vampire spell.

"Yes, while I can perhaps attempt to do that how do I...lose fear of myself?" he left the cleaning to return to the isle, "How can I be sure that I won't lose control anymore?"

Cami stared at him sadly, hating that she had to be so blunt about it, "You can't be sure...because they're your instincts. But you're you, Elijah, and you don't hurt your own."

"Shall we go back to when I nearly attacked you here?"

"Shall we also remember you apologized for it?"

Elijah was in no mood for sarcasm this time and simply frowned, "This isn't just about me, Cami. I don't want to hurt anyone in this family. I don't want to hurt you."

Cami reached for his hand across the aisle and gave it a grip, "Back when you almost attacked me, you disappeared. You showed restraint. Why?" she leaned forwards and whispered as if it were a grand secret, "Because you don't hurt family. Anyone else, please, feel free to rip their heads off."

Elijah managed to smile at that last remark, "I'll be sure to think of that if the need should arise."

"Good," Cami slowly took her hand back and looked at her breakfast plate, "So, thank you for the breakfast. Hope really appreciates it," she bobbed the baby who giggled in response.

Elijah watched the two interact for a bit with a smile across his face. He couldn't see himself hurting Hope for any reason; the same applied to Cami. He would rather succumb to any other torture his mother had for him than to ever have to think about hurting her...Hope...he meant Hope…

~ 0 ~

Klaus watched over Amarrah as she tried conducting yet another locator spell that would hopefully find Maleny for them. But just as the other times, Amarrah stopped her spell as nothing on the map placed before her happened.

With another failed attempt, Klaus sucked in an angry breath, "I am fighting the big urge not to rip your heart out right now!"

Amarrah looked up at him, no more pleased than he was, "You think I'm not trying here?"

"I don't know, let's ask the dozen previous times you've done this and failed," Klaus sarcastically snapped at her. He began pacing in the compound's courtyard while Amarrah tried once more the spell, "We have been at this for an entire stupid night and we're no closer than when we started!"

"I know that! But there's not much more that I can do," Amarrah sighed, "They took her and I suppose wherever she is now it's cloaked. It's gonna take me some time to get it done."

"What if we add another witch to the spell?" Klaus had stopped pacing to face her, "Davina may detest me but her feelings for Mal are pretty honest. Even when crossed with each other Davina would help."

"Yeah," agreed Amarrah, "except she's a little tied up trying to find Marcel and his vampires, remember that?"

Klaus made a distressed gesture with his hand as he thought of the other problem that risen in the past day. As Marcel and his vampires made it perfectly through the Quarter during its festival after Finn's boundary spell had been lifted, they'd all somehow disappeared in his loft. Finnn had taken them and with no way to find them. Davina had offered herself to go find them, or at least attempt to, while Klaus and Amarrah worked on Maleny's location.

"Do the bloody spell again!" he shouted the order. Any other time Amarrah would have told him he didn't tell her what to do, but in this case they were both working to get Maleny back. Without wasting another second, she attempted the locator spell again.

~ 0 ~

Rebekah Mikaelson had been having the worst week possible. Being stuck inside a body that hadn't been intended was one thing, but to be stuck in it and inside a witches' asylum was far beyond her tolerance. She'd been trying to come up with a way to escape and she believed there perhaps was one last hope she could use. Up in the asylum's second floor was a room containing one sole coffin with a girl inside - or so she thought anyways - that emitted great levels of magic she could use. The only thing she had to do then was wait for night to fall and conduct the plan.

Coming into her room, she was surprised to find the new girl standing before the window that overlooked the near desolate street. Rebekah slowly came in, wondering if she'd made a mistake by offering her an apple earlier. Witches were dangerous as it was but what about crazy witches?

"Why are you here?" the girl, a blonde, asked Rebekah without looking away from the window.

Rebekah raised an eyebrow at her, "Um, this is my room, remember that?"

The blonde shook her head, "No, not the room. I mean here," she gestured to the place, "Why are you here? You don't look crazy."

Rebekah crossed her arms, huffing, "I was trying to help my brothers. My con artist of a blood relation Kol betrayed me, got me stuck in here. I tell you, now I know how Maleny feels."

The blonde turned around so fast it almost appeared like a blur had done it. "M-Maleny?"

Rebekah, being too focused in her own problems, failed to notice the distinct appearance of someone that knew someone else. "If she was here now I bet she could give me some pointers," Rebekah muttered.

"What happened to the ginger woman?" the blonde suddenly asked.

"Ginger woman?"

"She had pretty hair but her head hurt so much," the blonde continued like Rebekah hadn't asked, "I felt bad for her. I helped her sometimes but she never knew why it hurt so much. Then again, I did leave after a year…"

"Okay…" Rebekah slowly stepped back, "...stay in the room if you'd like. I'll just be downstairs…"

"I was right, though, wasn't I?" the blonde hurried up to Rebekah, her curious dark blue eyes searching Rebekah's newly dark brown ones, "She was cursed the one?"

At the mention of 'curse' Rebekah immediately thought of Maleny, "How could you...how do you know...no," she shook her head and dismissed any suspicious thoughts, "It's not possible."

"What's not?" the blonde repeated, looking lost.

Rebekah smiled, "Nothing. But, listen, I think I found a way out of this hell hole. If you want to come with, meet me at the front door in tonight. Either way, wish me luck," with a pat on the blonde's shoulder, Rebekah turned and walked out.

The blonde, the unknown elder sister of the Mikaelsons', Freya, watched her younger sister leave with a smirk across her face. She'd learned in the short time she'd woken up Rebekah was resilient and kind - she liked her.

~ 0 ~

It appeared Amarrah was finally managing to break through the cloaked location of Maleny as things got moving on the map before. Klaus hurried back to intently watch. However, after a few seconds, everything just...stopped.

Confused, Klaus looked up to the French witch, "What is it now?"

Amarrah blinked and seemed to be in thought, "It just...it just vanished."

"What did?"

"...Mal," Amarrah looked to the side, "It's like, when you…" she swallowed hard, "...die. When you die your body ceases to have a location anymore so-"

"DON'T!" Klaus shouted in a threatening tone, making her flinch, "She is not dead. And if you dare utter another senseless word about this I will personally rip your tongue out."

Amarrah kept a straight face, despite feeling her heart beating faster. With this sudden news she now knew there was no protection against the hybrid's radical movements. "Then why is her location no longer available?"

"Because Finn is clever and he managed to do something to make it appear like she died," Klaus wasted no time to explain. He looked down at the map and noticed where the sprinkles of Amarrah's spell had stopped, "What's that place?" he pointed to it.

"Huh?" Amarrah looked down and studied its location, "It's, um...hm," she leaned closer to the map, "Actually, it's pointing us near the entrance to the bayou."

"Excellent, then we start there," Klaus smiled widely and turned to leave.

"Start what?" Amarrah called after him as she rushed to catch up.

"The search, of course. Hayley's over there right now and better yet with her husband-to-be. They have wolves willing to help."

"We should call Davina, then," offered Amarrah, "tell her what's going on."

"No, let her continue her efforts on Marcel. That way I can find Maleny first without a problem," and with that Klaus hurried off into a quicker walk, leaving poor Amarrah to sprint after him.

~ 0 ~

"What do we do with it now?" Benson questioned Ela as Maleny's previous corpse was once again being placed into a coffin.

Ela glanced over to the corpse, uninterested, "Finn said to keep it safe. Put it back in the plot at the graveyard."

"All the way back to the cemetery?" another of the wolves gawked at such a waste of time, "He literally made us carry this damn thing for a stupid spell?"

Ela upheld an annoyed look on the wolf before grasping her hand into a fist and causing him to go down to the floor with a snapped neck, "Anyone else have something to say?" the rest of the wolves cleverly kept their mouths shut, "Good," Ela smiled and motioned for the remaining wolves to carry the corpse away.

"How do we proceed now, then?" Benson inquired once more after the corpse was gone. He was eyeing the blonde woman laying on the table – Maleny's now once more empty body.

"There's one more thing we have to do to make sure the message is sent and received," she picked up a couple of old spell pages and began to study their content.

~ 0 ~

Young, or not so young, Freya Mikaelson was secretly back in the asylum room that held her coffin. She was trying to construct a spell that would allow her to search for that ginger woman of 1914. Even if dead, she being who she was, would at least get a reading off the corpse. She'd managed to snag a map from a downstairs office and quickly brought up to use it. She then placed her necklace down on the map, ripping it's beads off. If she'd been right and the ginger woman had been under some type of spell, the necklace would equal to that of the gingers necklace. It was ridiculous, she knew, how she was spending her first moments of life again on a woman she'd only known a year. But she wasn't doing this for herself, she was doing it for him.

"C'mon, Maya," Freya whispered and closed her eyes, "Or…perhaps Maleny?" she took a breath and began to chant a spell. Slowly, the beads off her aunt's necklace began moving around the map trying to pinpoint the location of Maya.

She was not surprised to find the location ending up at the Lafayette cemetery.

"Did they kill you the way they have been for so long now?" Freya whispered to herself, swallowing hard. "But if this body's there, and everyone's here...then you have to be here too."

~ 0 ~

A brunette woman panted as she ran across the trees and grass, doing her best to not to trip over her own feet. Her long, wavy brown hair bounced side to side as she crossed. It bore several pieces of twigs and leaves, but she didn't care. Her face was a bit dirty, but even then her brilliant sea-blue eyes were visible as they flickered from side to side, searching for any way out. She knew at the rate she was going, it was only a matter of time before she was caught.

She heard nearby noises and followed them through, knowing they couldn't be of the wolves since they were behind. She slowly crept up to see a small campfire of two people, a man and a woman both in their middle ages. She then saw their campfire along with some other tools...guns. they must have been hunters. She saw the pair were happily conversing over by their tent and decided if she wanted to survive she would have to do what it took. As quietly as she could, she tiptoed to the edge of the campfire and snatched up a gun. As soon as they heard the click of the gun, the pair whirled around to see the brunette holding the gun at them, though terrified as it seemed.

"Hey, hey, hey, easy," the man stepped in front of the woman with his hands raised, "Take the gun, take what you want, but don't hurt us."

The woman's eyes were shiny with tears, "I'm sorry," her clear, American voice cracked, "I don't...I don't do this...but they're forcing me…"

The man could tell the woman was not just a regular thief, she looked scared out of her mind, "If you need help, we can help."

The woman's eyes lowered to the pair's hands and saw no moonlight rings, "If you try they'll just kill you."

"What ever it is, we can help," the man assured her but it was no use. The woman took a deep breath before she shot the man's leg and soon after the woman with them.

"I'm sorry!" the brunette cried and took off again, this time with the gun clutched in her hand. Wolves were wolves in the end. They didn't need a stake to the heart to die.

She had run a good deal away from the campfire before she was violently pushed towards a tree, "Ah!" she fell on the side of her head against the bark and cut the side of her forehead as she fell down.

"Did you really think you could escape from us?" Ela emerged across the brunette, wearing a satisfied smirk across her face as two wolves came up behind her. "Climbing out of a window, though, clever," she gave a small laugh. "Now it's time to go back."

"No!" the brunette declared, "I'd rather die."

"Unfortunately, that wouldn't do you any good because in the next minute I'm going to make it so that you can't body jump. Maleny Rowan, this is your destiny in life: never to be in your own body."

The newly transferred Maleny breathed in and bit her own tongue to prevent fresh tears spilling. She wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing her cry, no matter how difficult it was. "We'll see about that," she pulled out the gun from behind and fired on one of the wolves, successfully killing them.

Ela stumbled onto the other wolf from the impact of the shot but ordered in time for Maleny to be captured. Ela then fixed herself and walked up to Maleny, harshly grabbing the new brunette by the chin, "You're going to regret that, darling."

"You will!" snapped Maleny who struggled to get free.

"Hm," Ela hummed and stepped back, rubbing her hands together.

Seconds later she began to perform a spell, one Maleny couldn't quite understand. But suddenly it didn't matter what she was saying as a terrible pain surged through Maleny's blood. The wolf let Maleny go as she screamed in utter agony. Her knees buckled and she fell to the ground. She felt something burn near her collarbone. Her hands flung to the spot, her screams cut up as she tried to breathed in. It was like fire as she felt something on her skin bubble and push upwards. Through her blurry vision she could see Ela smirking while doing the spell. When it finally stopped, Maleny dropped on her side, heavily panting and her hands still over her collarbone.

Ela watched her pant on the ground for a good minute, her smirk widening, "You will die now if you try to kill yourself for the sake of returning to your body," she informed and bent down in front of Maleny, "You see, death was too easy for you. Why kill if you won't even remember it when you wake up years from now in a new body? This way, Fin takes joy in seeing you miserable in a body of a wolf. And Klaus without the faintest clue how to help you. It's all glorious and quite well thought out. The ultimate punishment for you and Klaus Mikaelson."

Maleny rolled onto her back, slowly her breathing returning to normal. The pain over her collarbone was subsiding, but very little. It was now stinging with after-effects. She let Ela laugh it out with her remaining wolf - she reached for the gun she'd dropped not too far. She shot Ela straight on the chest. The blood splattered on her clothes and face but Maleny couldn't dwell over the blood as she had to deal with the last wolf still there. She tried using the gun again but the wolf yanked it out of her hand and chucked it to the side. She was pulled up to the wolf and kept in a tight hold.

"You're coming back with us," he told her as he started turning back for the direction they'd came in through.

"No!" Maleny exclaimed, digging her nails into the man's skin.

"Sorry, your frail little nails won't do crap," the man laughed mockingly.

Maleny stopped for a moment when she saw the moonlight ring on the man's finger. With a smirk she swiftly slid off the ring and promptly put it on her finger.

"Hey!" the man called as Maleny now easily got free from him.

She punched him across the face and was glad to see her strength doubling up with the ring. It seemed for once Esther had actually helped in a way.

"Lesson number one Klaus taught me after coming back," she proudly said after seeing the good results.

"You're gonna die now, bitch!" the man forgone all the plans and torture Finn had instructed.

Maleny backed away, momentarily scared of him. He was a lot bigger than her and more muscle. She knew she would have to...kill, again, to survive. She looked around for the gun and saw it across them. With a big breath she dashed over to it but the wolf managed to snag her by the ankle and pull her down. She ignored the pain on her collarbone as the ground rubbed against it, as well as the sharp rocks underneath scraping at her thin pants.

"Give me that back!" he tried prying the ring off her finger, practically straddling her for it. He only managed to scratch her hand.

"No!" Maleny got in a punch and used the moment of surprise to push him off her. She scrambled over the remainder of the distance and retrieved the gun, using it just in time to shoot the man dead. She dropped the gun and sat up, breathing in rapidly as she took a moment to realize what she'd done.

There laid Ela and her two wolves, shot dead...shot by her. She looked down at herself to her blood covered clothes and hands. There was a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach that was terrifying her. She'd just killed three people in less than five minutes. The lump in her throat was nearing her to the brink of tears as she felt her hair - hair that wasn't even hers - that was also mildly covered in blood. But she couldn't cry then, she couldn't afford to lose time. Ela had more than two wolves and after killing her and the two it was sure to become a hunt for her.

She picked up the gun once more and pulled herself to her feet. She looked around and debated which way would lead her towards the road again. In the end, she followed the wind's direction and hoped for the best.

~ 0 ~

Klaus struggled not to leave Amarrah behind as the woman tended to a call over cellphone. They were closing in on Hayley's wolf pack yet the witch seemed to be taking her sweet time walking.

"No, that's not right," Amarrah was saying on the phone, "Mother, I don't understand."

Klaus rolled his eyes and finally stopped to address the waste of time she was causing, "Will you hang up the bloody phone already? We're on the clock and you're going slower by the second."

Amarrah raised an eyebrow at him while she continued listening in to her mother's concern, "I understand now, Mother," she continued which angered Klaus more, "We'll figure it out, I promise. Bye," she hung up and returned her phone to her pocket.

"Nice of you to remember Maleny's situation," Klaus gave her a look before continuing to walk.

"That was my mother calling in with something of Maleny's," Amarrah began to explain, "You didn't listen in, did you?"

"I tend to have no interest in conversations you have, honestly," Klaus said casually as he looked around, missing Amarrah's glare, "I tolerate you simply because Maleny has affection for you. And, because I suppose thanks to your family she was able to come back."

"Thank the people who brought her to us," Amarrah rolled her eyes. "But listen, my mother says Maleny's channel of power with our coven has stopped."

Klaus stopped to turn to her, "And what, pray tell, does that mean?"

"What I said before," Amarrah shrugged, preparing herself for another round of shouts, "Maleny is gone."

"SHE IS NOT!" Klaus roared and turned around, facing her with a furious look.

"Then what else do you think happened!?" Amarrah shouted back, though in comparison to his shouts she sounded more like a whisper.

"Finn would not kill her," Klaus said after a long moment. "I know my brother well, and he wouldn't..."

"Then what would he do?" Amarrah demanded angrily, "Your family is full of maniacs if you haven't noticed! Can you even imagine what Finn's done with her? She could be suffering right now! She could be tortured!"

"Of course I've thought of that!" Klaus shouted back at her, outraged she insinuated he was thoughtless, "You seem to forget it's been me that's protected her?"

"And how has that gone, huh!?" Amarrah leaned forwards, putting them face to face, "I love my friend but she has chosen so wrong! Look where she's at because of it?"

"It's not my fault!" Klaus furiously declared, but his face expressed honest guilt that betrayed his statement.

Amarrah calmed down as she realized he was just as terrified of Maleny's state as she was. She took a deep sigh and rubbed her temple, "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Perhaps it's not your fault but you have to admit a lot of the dangers Maleny has faced are because of your family. If she wasn't with you, she would have been-"

"Dead," Klaus whispered, silencing Amarrah. He stepped towards her, "Without meeting me she would have been dead. Probably by the hands of her own father. So, yes, she's been in danger because of her connection with me," he started walking Amarrah backwards, "But she's been protected by me. She had a family with me, my sister, my brother - as wicked and sinister as my family was she was loved by us," he cornered Amarrah against a tree and leaned closer to her, his voice lowering, "You will do best not to question this topic again. It may not always go right but I always aim to protect Maleny. Always."

Amarrah relaxed when he stepped back and started to walk again. She didn't realize it but she found Klaus to be fear worthy. The way Maleny had described him back in France was nothing compared to what Amarrah was seeing. It was difficult to believe an actual relationship could exist between Klaus and Maleny.

~ 0 ~

Maleny swore she could begin to hear the faint noises of cars from the road. The moonlight ring had allowed her the supernatural hearing that would allow her to save her life. She'd been coming across more of Finn's wolves and was thankfully able to combat them to the point of putting them unconscious or death. Most of them she had to...put to death. Her gun had only one bullet left and was close to leaving her to defend herself with her bear hands. With each kill she acted on she felt more and more distraught. She felt awful, but it was better to feel awful or be dead.

She was not going to give them that satisfaction either.

Upon hearing crunching noises behind her she froze and turned around. There was no one to see but she could hear them coming...the wolves were coming to kill her. She swallowed hard and looked up to a tree with a loose branch. Closing her eyes and taking a breath, she decided how she would fight her last battle before she could make it home.

~ 0 ~

"No, we haven't seen anything weird," Hayley told Klaus and Amarrah after hearing the story of Maleny's kidnapping. The wolves that were no longer with Esther no longer wore the moonlight rings and therefore their hearing had been downgraded seriously. But even Hayley herself hadn't heard anything strange nearby.

"We're sure she's in the bayou," Amarrah insisted, "Before the spell was cut off the location pointed towards the bayou."

"Well maybe she's deeper," Hayley suggested, and looked at Klaus firmly, "But we'll help you find her."

"She's been gone for a near day, we haven't time to lose," Klaus frantically gestured for them to start moving.

"Now wait a minute," Hayley motioned them to stay still, "You said Mal stopped channeling magic from your coven," she looked at Amarrah.

"Yeah, my mother called in concern," Amarrah nodded.

"So that means she's either dead-"

"No," Klaus gave her a pointed look.

"What if they started the curse again and she's not even here anymore?"

Klaus refused to believe that and shook his head, "She's here, I know she is."

"Okay, but what if she's not-"

"SHE IS!" Klaus cut her off with a loud shout, his anger rising with each second that passed by, "She is still here and I will look for her through every last bloody part of this bayou until I find her - with or without you."

Hayley gave him a long look, surprised of his hope in Maleny's survival. She supposed she could be optimistic like him until they saw something that would tell them it had gone wrong.

"Or," she began anew again, about to earn another shout from Klaus when she finished with, "she could have body jumped again."

The idea left Klaus and Amarrah thinking for a minute. They hadn't even considered that idea in the whole time they'd been out searching and Hayley saw it.

"Death would be to easy of a punishment," Klaus said to himself, a smirk worming across his lips. "That would be clever-"

"That would be awful," snapped Amarrah, sending him a glare.

"But she would be alive," Klaus pointed at her, still in thought.

"Yeah, but her connection to my coven doesn't exist anymore," Amarrah needed to remind. "Even if she's switched bodies, our spell was designed to carry it out no matter what."

"What about a wolf's body, then?" Hayley finally cut in, making them both look at her oddly. "Finn wouldn't be stupid enough to put her into a vampire's body. He'd be creating someone he couldn't control. Put her into a wolf's body and you've got a ticking time bomb if she doesn't wear his moonlight rings."

The idea was even more distraught-provoking.

"If she was placed into a wolf's body then she has a better chance of surviving than if she remained in her witch's body," Hayley added then noticed Amarrah's displeased look, "No offense."

"All taken," Amarrah said nonetheless, "Witches can do a lot of things, alright? We can-"

"Spare us the lecture, Amarrah," Klaus dismissed her with a wave and turned around to the settlement of wolves, "How do we begin the search, then? Mal can literally be anyone at this point."

"Well," Hayley stepped forwards and looked at the settlement herself, "There's no one missing here and all the other wolves are with Finn so…"

"Finn used one of his own," Klaus smirked at the idea, "That's gonna cost him in the long run - as well as be incredibly useful to us later on."

"Can we ask Aiden?" Amarrah thought to ask.

"No, he's completely out," Hayley shook her head, "They just turned in all the moonlight rings earlier. Finn wouldn't tell him anything anymore."

"So then how do we look for someone we don't even know?"

"I would assume the locator spell is out of the question?"

"You would assume right," Amarrah gave Hayley a nod before looking out to Klaus, "Any ideas?"

Klaus hated his answer and the reality of their situation, "I have no idea," and he despised not knowing what to do next.

~ 0 ~

"She's around here, her scent is strong. Look close, Kenzie," a young wolf told his other friend, a young woman, as they entered a small clearing.

"Alan is right, we better find her," a second woman emerged across the small plain they were in, "She's killed five of us now."

"She's not as stupid as we thought," the first woman, Kenzie, shook her head.

Just then, a bullet rang and the second woman was shot through the chest. As she fell to the ground, Kenzie and Alan looked up into the direction the bullet had come through. Maleny shot down from the top of a tree and fell upon Alan with a piece of branch in hand. It had been fastened into a sharper object, not a stake but enough to cause damage.

"What the - get off me!"

"NO!" she furiously screamed and stabbed the shaped branch into Alan's abdomen.

"Get the hell off him!" cried Kenzie. She lunged for Maleny and knocked her to the ground. She punched Maleny on the face before Maleny kicked her off.

Maleny scrambled to her feet and breathed in heavily, her lungs hurting from all the running she'd done, "Please, just go," she motioned, "I don't...I don't want to hurt anyone else...please. Just go."

Kenzie's eyes narrowed down on the brunette, "You killed my friends and you want me to let you go? Maybe you are as stupid as we thought. I don't care what Finn said to do, you're gonna die."

Maleny tried running off but the woman tackled her to the ground. Maleny felt her cardigan and part of her blouse rip with the force of the tackle. The next thing she knew Kenzie was raising her up from the ground and throwing her against a tree. The sharp jab of the bark hitting her back made Maleny scream. She was so tired by that point she wondered if there was even a chance she could perhaps escape.

Kenzie had left her to pick up the branch Maleny had dropped in with and looked it over, "You have good wood skills," she remarked and looked up at Maleny, "I suppose you learned this in one of your past lives?"

Maleny wearily looked at the branch and felt a lump in her throat as she remembered.

The village was celebrating a festival for the Gods full of dancing and eating and games of all sorts. But while everyone was gathered at the center to celebrate, Klaus preferred to stay on the outsides on his own. He'd once again had a falling out with Mikael that ended in a near fight if Esther hadn't intervened. The last thing Klaus wanted to do was celebrate some silly festival. He preferred where he was now, calmly carving onto the piece of wood he'd snagged earlier.

"I knew I would find you here," Maleny's voice made him look up from his work. The blonde was approaching him with a smile, "I was getting lonely out there, everyone dancing...you know Mateo asked me if I wanted to dance."

Klaus watched her sternly as she took a seat beside him, "...you said no right?" his tone implied a warning for the other man's fate based on her answer.

Maleny just smirked, "You should have been there," she replied and laughed when he grumbled and returned to his carving. Maleny propped an elbow on her lap to rest her chin on her palm, "What are you doing now?" she curiously asked.

"You'll have to wait until it's finished," Klaus answered and glanced at her to see her curiosity. She always liked his little creations even when they were things he'd quite literally made up. He stopped carving for a minute and smiled, "Do you want to try?" he offered.

Maleny's half widened at the idea, "I don't know how to do that stuff. I'll just ruin it for you."

Klaus laughed and pulled her closer to him, "It's actually quite simple," he assured her as she took the tool and wood piece.

"Easy for you to say. You've been at this since you were a kid," Maleny lightly squealed as Klaus pulled her onto his lap, "Klaus, someone will see us…" she blushed.

"Nah, they're all too focused on their festival," Klaus shook his head then smirked, "Besides, you're worth the trouble."

Maleny looked at him, blushing deeper, "Am I?"

"Definitely," he promised her with a sound kiss then proceeded to guide her through the carving manners as best as he could.

Maleny scrunched her nose and acquired new motivation to keep fighting, "Klaus taught me," she leaned off the tree, "And he taught me many other things!" she growled and lunged on the Kenzie. She grabbed the branch and slammed it over Kenzie's head, "I AM NOT LOSING!" Maleny gritted her teeth as she hit harder and harder.

By the time Kenzie had fallen Maleny was sobbing. She fell back on the ground and threw the bloody branch away from her. She pulled herself up to her feet and hugged herself, though quickly felt the fresh blood on her clothes then. She ran a hand through her messy, knotted hair and looked at the newest murder scene she was responsible for. She sniffled and ran off once again, hoping to finally find her way home.

~ 0 ~

Now at night, Rebekah had put her plan to escape the witches asylum. She'd roamed the upstairs floor for her friend's, Cassie, room since they were going to be escaping together. But when she found it completely empty she grew worried and rushed down the hallway in search of her. She noticed, however, the secret room holding Freya's coffin (though Rebekah didn't know it was Freya's coffin) was opened. She stepped inside to find one of the evil witches in charge was dead on the floor, her face covered in blood. Rebekah went for the coffin and cleared off some dust to see there was no girl inside anymore!

At the sound of creaks Rebekah turned around to see her friend Cassie walking in, bearing the same type of scars as the witches in charge bore.

Rebekah blinked, "Cassie. Cassie, where the hell have you...

"I'm sorry, Rebekah, but you didn't leave me much choice," the young teen said, "I told you, there's no escape. I had to turn to the only people I knew I could trust…" behind her came a swarm of witches with canes and fireplace pokers, "And I told them that they had to deal with you. My only regret is that I didn't stop you before you killed one of our own…" Cassie gestured to the dead witch in the room, "And now you have to be punished.

Rebekah stepped back, horrified at the betrayal, "No. I didn't kill her... though, to be fair, I won't miss the ugly cow. Hrrgh…" she wasn't about to let them take her back so she began to fight. She elbowed on witch on the face and kicked another on the legs. However, one managed to get her on the head and knocked her to the floor. Rebekah fell with a thud and was about to be hit again when the witch was flung to the wall. Rebekah raised her head to see Freya at the doorway, comically bored at the scene.

"You're all so mean," she frowned, "like the mouse that torments the cat in those cartoons. I think you're the ones who need to be punished," she raised her arms up and sent the other two witches into the walls. The remaining witch, Cassie backed away, but Freya was not going to let her free, "The others were just ignorant bullies but you, you're a smart girl, powerful, and yet you still betrayed a friend," she'd walked straight up to Cassie and grabbed her head, forcing an infliction pain on her head. Cassie screamed as blood poured from her eyes and nose until she eventually fell to the floor, dead.

"I despise traitors," Freya declared in a nonchalant tone then turned to the first dead witch and snatched back her necklace that had been taken earlier.

Rebekah had watched the entire scene in silence on the floor and wondered if she was to be afraid as well. Freya noticed her sister's bandaged hand so she took it into her own hands and healed it with with a spell.

Rebekah rose to her feet and flexed her hand, "How did you do that?" Freya smiled but instead of answering she led the way out of the room.

Rebekah was stunned as they literally walked out of the asylum without a problem. Freya had used her magic to open telekinetically the doors of the place and led Rebekah down the front porch steps.

"You're her, the all-powerful girl in the coffin…" Rebekah had slowly began to realize, "That's how you did magic... But why didn't you just tell me?"

Freya stopped walking and looked back, "I'd only just woken from a century of sleep. I wanted to know you, see what you were really like, and you didn't disappoint me. There's a spark in your, Rebekah. You're willful, also kind. You're not half as bad as our brothers."

Rebekah raised her eyebrows, "What did you say?

"You're right, you know. We met once before…" Freya continued to smile, "Christmas party in 1914. I was so desperate to catch a glimpse of my family, I even made a friend. Rebekah, you know who I am."

"You're the girl in my nightmare. It really is you…" Rebekah breathed in, her eyes becoming shiny with tears, "Freya."

Freya continued walking towards the gates and gripped her hands around bars, casting a spell, "Destruccive glas enfala. Destruccive glas enfala," the spell that had been used to keep witches inside the asylum was brought down in a snap. Freya turned to Rebekah afterwards, "I slept 100 years, and now finally, I'm free. Tell our brothers I'll be coming to see them soon, and I expect nothing less than their best behavior," she telekinetically ripped the gates off their hinges and then walked out, "First, I have to pay my respects to a fallen friend at the cemetery," she said quietly and started down the sidewalk, barefoot.

Rebekah stared after her in awe and confusion. She then started on her own journey back to the compound, running as fast as she could. She had so much to tell the others and frankly she was itching to slap Kol on the face for his little prank. But when she reached the compound she was confused to find all the lights off and basically no one home.

"Nik?" she called out in the middle of the courtyard, but no one answered, "Elijah?"

Where the hell was everyone?

"Hayley!" she called again and decided to go upstairs. It was then she missed her super hearing which would save her the time of searching. Just as she was reaching the stairs, she heard low groans from the entrance of the compound. Slowly, she peered out to the entrance and saw the shadow figure of a woman leaning against a wall, using it to get herself inside.

"Klaus?" she was calling as well, her voice shaky and frankly in fear, "Klaus, where are you?"

Rebekah began walking for the woman, intrigued by the unknown woman, "Who the bloody hell are you?"

Maleny raised her head to see the dark-skinned woman with black, curly hair and frowned, "Who are you and why are you in here? What did you do to him? What did you do to Klaus?"

Rebekah could see the woman was injured and thus unable to put up any fight. Of course then she saw the moonlight ring and stepped back, "You're one of Finn's wolves, aren't you? I swear to God I'm getting Finn for this...though he may have to wait in line for Kol."

Maleny raised an eyebrow and momentarily forgone her current problem to really look at the woman in front of her, "R-Rebekah? Is that you? This is the body Kol put you in?"

Rebekah frankly didn't like seeing the strange woman know so much about her, "How do you know that?"

Maleny's eyes teared up again, "Rebekah, it's me," she gestured to herself, "It's Mal…" Rebekah's eyes widened, "Finn...he did this to me," and after such an awful day Maleny finally burst into sobs.

Rebekah caught the brunette before she fell forwards and while confused she simply held Maleny closer, feeling that the woman needed a sisterly hug.

~ 0 ~

Barefoot, Freya had found her way to the Lafayette cemetery on her own. She'd done a spell to locate her friend's gravestone but was confused to find the location being in a plot area that read 'Dawson' instead.

Stumbling back with a deep scowl, she glared at the plots. "We meet again," she muttered.

#ocappreciation #the originals #klaus mikaelson #ocapp #the originals fics #klaus mikaelson fics #tvd fics #the originals imagines #klaus mikaelson imagines #tvd imagines #oc: maleny rowan #camlijah #fic: the girl in the forest

[purplesurveys]

1086

Do you think someone is missing you atm? No. Maybe my friends do, but like in passing? since I haven’t seen most of them in nearly a year. But that’s assuming a lot and being a little too confident, lmao. Idk anyone who would be actively missing me.

Can you think of one reason why some people might not like you? I have a formal side to me especially when it comes to work, so people might see it as being cold and aloof. I’m also pretty straightforward about my feelings towards certain people, so even if we don’t really talk but I know I’m not fond of them, I’ll silently block them on social media so I don’t see them on my feed lol. That is definitely an easy way for them not to like me.

So we’re two months into 2017. How has it been for you so far? Has anything happened in the past 2 months that you think you will always remember? I was meh. It was my first anniversary with Gab then so everything was going perfectly on the relationship front. I was still struggling badly with mental health issues and a lot of anxiety stemming from my transition to college, soooo it was nice to have someone comfort me during those difficult times. But yeah, the first half of 2017 was basically still me having a tough time in university.

Can you describe what was going through your mind during your last kiss? I was thinking of how happy I was and how everything was going to be okay after all. Look at how wrong I turned out to be, haha. I laugh it off now.

Are you talking to anyone while filling this in? What are you talking about? No.

If you’re in a relationship, are you happy? And if you’re single, are you looking for someone? Not looking. A friend told me some girl was interested in me but she had asked for my star sign, which was an immediate turn-off lol. But in all seriousness, I’m not looking to be in a relationship any time soon, much less date around. It’s my first time being completely single in 6 years, so there’s a lot about me I’m continuing to explore and learn about which is a nice feeling to have. I’ve finally gotten the hang of being alone and actually enjoying being alone, so I don’t plan on breaking the routine soon.

Have you ever been so drunk that you could barely stand? As the friend with the lowest alcohol tolerance, yes.

Was your last hug from someone of the opposite sex? No, they are non-binary.

Will you be sharing your bed with someone else tonight? No.

Is there anything wrong with you right now? I need a shower lmao. But other than that, no.

Have you eaten chocolate today? No, and I’m not looking for it at the moment. Too sweet.

Think back to last night … did you go to sleep before midnight? Yeah, just shortly before midnight. I had been trying to sleep since 9:30 but couldn’t and I was only finally able to fall asleep at like, 11:30 or something.

The last time you sent a text to someone, did you add a kiss at the end? Nah. A kiss would’ve been irrelevant in the text I sent.

Where did you meet the person you love/like? Hm...do I still love her? Idk if I can refer to her in these questions anymore. You all know where we met, anyway.

Have you had any recent calls or texts from any unknown numbers? Did you answer them? It’s unknown but I knew who they were; I’m just too lazy to update their info. It was a missed call but it was beyond 6 PM so I no longer called him back.

OK … let’s just say I’m going to buy you a present … but I don’t know what to get :/ Would you mind if I just bought you a box of chocolates? I’d appreciate the gesture, definitely. It would take me a while to finish it up though.

Has anyone ever stolen food from you? Yeah. 

What is something that people make fun of you for? I’m kinda slow and it takes me longer than most to process things, from simple jokes to complex mechanics. I hate it when people I’m not close to make fun of me for it - because we aren’t even close??? but if it’s my friends, I laugh along since being slow has been my trademark for years hahaha.

Which supermarket do you like to shop at? We usually do our shopping at SM or Metro, but my dream is to be rich enough to be able to do my regular shopping at Rustan’s, ha.

Do you think you might have any obsessive compulsive tendencies? I guess. The one I practice most frequently is having to take several trips to check on something, like making sure I closed the fridge properly, or that I locked the main door when I leave the house, or making sure my bedroom light has been switched off, etc.

Who was the last person to text you? Do you think this person cares for you? Angela, and yeah and she reminds me all the time that she does.

Did you have a conversation last night that made you smile? Sure.

Has anyone paid you a compliment at all today? I don’t think so, so far.

Have you ever been told that your boyfriend/girlfriend wasn’t good enough for you? Hahaha yeah for like the past three years. It always fell on (my) deaf ears, so Angela was relieved as fuck when she found out it was finally over.

Do you think it’s okay to flirt with someone that’s already taken, as long as it goes no further? No. I’d feel pretty betrayed if a significant other started flirting with someone else.

Have you ever been on the phone for more than an hour straight? Way more than an hour.

Are you a spender or a saver? Can be both, but right now I’m a saver considering how much I had to spend in the last two months. Are you currently wearing anything pink? My shorts are pink.

If someone close to you is upset, does that make you feel upset too? Depends on how invested I am in their problem. But if I’m the one who caused them to feel upset, then yeah I’d definitely feel the same way because I hate fucking up.

Do you struggle to say ‘no’ to things you don’t want to do? Sometimes, but it’s been easier to do it these days.

Are you wearing any label brands of clothing? Not right now.

Do you think it’s really possible to love just one person until the day you die? It’s possible. It certainly happened with my grandpa, who I believe was never with anyone else other than my grandma.

Someone attractive is staring at you. What do you do? Use my phone. That, and feel creeped out.

How long can you stay single after a relationship break-up, before you feel ready to be with someone else? It’s been four months and counting and I don’t feel like jumping into another relationship. I enjoy being by myself.

Do you miss someone atm? Does that person know that you miss them? No, I don’t.

Are you friends with someone a lot of people dislike? Andi is quite polarizing, tbh. They have a loud personality that some will see as being too bold/brash or feeling too close to someone. So I guess yes.

Do you think someone else will also want to fill in this survey? Eh, sure.

#survey #surveys

[fandom-heaux]

Merry Pitchmas

@emilyjunk Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I present to you **drumroll**  your (slightly) fluffy Bemily Christmas oneshot! Hope you enjoy 💕

Dec. 5th

All Steamed Up was by far Beca’s favorite coffee shop. It was pretty much always vacant, save for the morning crowd. The staff was nice enough to treat her with respect, but not enough to talk her to death. And it had just the right amount of hipster energy, whatever that meant. Regardless, it was the perfect place for her to comfortably work on her music in peace. However, with the holidays fastly approaching, she was getting increasingly annoyed with how festive the place was becoming.

Beca looked up from her unofficial designated seat in the corner of the cafe at the line baristas behind the counter. They were all wearing some type of Christmas headdress, whether it be a sparkly santa hat or some glittery ass antlers. She thought they all looked fucking ridiculous, especially since she was not too fond of Christmas time.

Just then, an almost model-esque girl came dashing from the back room, still in the middle of tying her apron. If Beca could recall correctly, she started seeing this girl around the shop about a month ago. She wasn’t sure what it was about today, but she couldn’t help but notice a few things about her. She was incredibly tall, towering over a majority of her coworkers. She was absolutely stunning, her long brown hair flowing down her back as she worked meticulously. And, at the moment, there was no sign of Christmas anywhere on her tall frame. Could it be that she wasn’t all that much of a Christmas fan either? 

“Beca?”

When the girl she had just been ogling called her name, Beca’s eyes widened, partly from embarrassment and partly from confusion. It took her a little too long to remember that she had ordered a drink and that the girl was just doing her job. Beca slipped the bulky headphones from around her neck, stood up and made her way to the front counter.

The tall girl sent a very charming smile down at Beca as she accepted her cup. “One vanilla chai latte for you, Beca. Enjoy!”

“Thanks uh…” Beca glanced at the girl’s shiny gold name tag, “Emily.”

Beca glanced back up at the girl and tilted her head to the side.

“How come you aren’t wearing any corny christmas headgear? Not a fan of the holidays either?” Beca wasn’t sure why she felt the need to ask. Part of the reason she didn’t mind coming all the way to this specific coffee shop was because no one bothered her. But maybe, just maybe, it was worth changing that little ideology. It couldn’t hurt to have an associate here, especially if they shared a dislike for this overly cheery holiday. It’d be one less thing she’d have to explain about herself.

However, Emily seemed slightly taken aback. She reached up to her bare head before nervously chuckling. “What? No I love Christmas! It’s actually a funny story. You see, I had to rush out of the house this morning cause my stupid alarm didn’t want to go off. And then I remembered that I had run out of cereal last night, so I had to stop for breakfast because hello, most important meal of the day. Anyways, long story short, I totally forgot to grab my elf ears amidst all the cha-”

Beca’s free hand was splayed out in front of the girl, gesturing for her to stop. And she couldn’t see her own face, but she already knew that her emotions were written all over it. She hadn’t exactly meant to be rude, she was just so over this story before it had really even began. She had misread the girl’s lack of Christmas attire as a lack of Christmas spirit, and it was her fault.

“A-alright, I get it. Thanks for the drink.” And with that, she was back off to her corner of solitude.

… 

Dec. 8th

Emily was taking her time walking to work. She knew she ought to hurry up since she was almost late (again), but multitasking truly wasn’t her strong suit. So between rushing to work or sorting through what was on her mind, she chose the latter. 

Emily just couldn’t get that small grungy girl out of her head. “Not a fan of Christmas either?” Either? Did that mean the girl didn’t like Christmas? Who doesn’t like Christmas??

Emily couldn’t wrap her head around it. Christmas was the most wonderful time of the year. You had the chance to spend the day with family and friends, some of whom you haven't seen all year. The holidays encouraged happiness and true joy which was so important, especially since the winter season already provoked sadness. And of course she couldn’t forget about the presents.

So that girl, what was her name, Beca? She would have to be a real Scrooge to not like being apart of something like that.

Arriving at the coffee shop brought Emily out of her thoughts. She headed around back and slipped in through the back door, hoping no one would notice she was late (again). Finally making her way behind the counter, Emily looked over to the corner of the cafe where she normally saw Beca taking up residence. She smiled to herself when she saw the girl sitting there with huge headphones over her ears and a macbook parked on her lap. 

Emily had to admit, she liked seeing the girl around so often, but this not-liking-christmas-thing threw her for a complete loop.

During her break, Emily tentatively walked over to Beca’s table and took a seat across from her. She sighed before saying, “Why don’t you like Christmas? You look like such a nice girl and I can’t understand why you or anyone else wouldn’t find this time of year to be as magical as it is. It just doesn’t make sense to me. So can you, you know, help me understand?”

The entire time she spoke, she had been looking down at her hands and fiddling with the frayed end of her work apron. When she peered up at the girl who still had yet to say something, she noticed those headphones and mentally slapped herself. She couldn’t even hear her.

Emily lamely waved her hand at the girl, trying to her attention. When the girl in question slipped her headphones off her ears, she was all wide eyed and confused. Emily thought she looked cute.

“Hey uh, B-Beca? I just... wanted to ask you why you don’t like Christmas?” She finally asked her question, but felt a bit silly afterward. She didn’t know this girl from the next, and yet she felt so inclined to talk to her? Emily shrugged. How else does one make a new friend? 

“Uh… Capitalism?”

“Oh. Seriously?”

Beca laughed a little. “I mean, partly, yeah. Why does it matter to you anyway?” 

“Well, you’re the one who brought up this whole thing! I just want to understand.” 

“Alright alright, lighten up dude. I didn’t realize this was such a serious topic for you.”

Beca sat up a little straighter and looked upon Emily with weary eyes.

“I don't know dude, Christmas has pretty much always been a sore subject for me. As a kid I could sense the pressure that the holidays put on my parents. It made the actual holiday feel forced, you know? And then they split up and that just made Christmas lonely as hell. One year would be spent with my mom and her resentment. The next year I'd be sheltered up with my dad and his girlfriend that came from literally nowhere. But, even with all the crap that came with my mom, I still liked being around her more. And then she got sick and I could no longer visit her. And now she’s-” Beca suddenly stopped talking, her eyes cast towards the ground. 

Emily was hanging on the edge of her seat. How could she be so stupid. Of course someone would end up not liking Christmas if something tragic were to happen on that day or something. It hadn’t even occurred to her that some people probably didn’t have a family to celebrate with. That some people didn’t have anyone to love.

“Now she’s what?” Stupid question. Emily immediately regretted it, but she didn’t want this moment to end. Something told her that Beca wasn’t the type to overshare and that this moment was special.

Beca cleared her throat and hardened her face, the moment of vulnerability gone as soon as it came. 

“Nothing, it doesn't matter. Just, after all of that, I don’t feel the need to celebrate this stupid holiday.”

Beca calling Christmas stupid stung a little bit, but Emily could honestly say that she understood the girl a little more. 

Emily looked down at her watch and saw that It was almost time for her to head back to work. Her shoulders shrunk at having lost the opportunity to talk more with Beca. Before she got up to leave, she reached a tentative hand out to Beca’s, grasping her softly. 

“Thank you, Beca, for sharing that with me.” With one last smile, she got up and went back to work.

… 

Dec. 19th

For the fourth time this week, Beca stepped into All Steamed Up, the overwhelming smell of coffee hitting her nose. 

On any regular day, she would beeline to her corner and set up shop, diving head first into her latest mix. And today was a regular day, truth be told. But for some reason, her pace wasn't as fast as usual. Her gaze wasn’t fixed on her spot. Instead, her eyes were scanning the cafe, subconsciously looking for that tall, annoyingly bubbly girl named Emily. 

Ever since that day when Beca had practically shared her life story with the girl, she found it easier and easier to talk to her. (Nothing nearly as serious though. Beca still wasn’t too keen on sharing those parts of herself). 

It honestly weirded her out how much she and Emily were starting to get along. When she thought about the personalities of the people she kept in her incredibly small circle, unbelievably silly and blatantly sexual held the top spots, courtesy of Fat Amy and Stacie. Super cheery and bubbly just had no room. (Well except for one Chloe B. But that's just how her best friend was. Huh. Maybe she wasn’t as non tolerant as she thought.)

Beca finally set her stuff down at her spot after not so subtly looking for Emily. She had almost given up her search when she finally spotted the girl in the far end of the room bussing tables. Relief washed over her frame as she watched the girl for a few minutes. She made no effort whatsoever to talk to the girl. It just kinda felt good to know that they were in the same room.

… 

Dec. 24th

Emily didn’t mind working the closing shift. It wasn’t her usual time, but she was more than willing to relieve the night crew of their duties and let them have a little more time to enjoy the holidays. Besides, there hadn’t been anyone in the shop for a couple of hours. 

Emily was in the middle of busying herself (by counting how many coffee beans went into making an espresso) when the door opened for the first time in a while. She hurriedly brushed the coffee beans onto the floor and put on her best smile before looking up at the late night straggler. 

“Beca?” The girl in question stopped dead in her tracks at her name being called. From what Emily could see, the girls eyes were puffy as if she had been crying. She was clearly upset.

“Uh, Emily… what are you doing here?”

“I dunno if you noticed but, I work here.” The smirk on her face took away any venom that the comment may have possessed. She and Beca had developed a pretty healthy rapport, one that consisted of teasing and maybe a little flirting. But they hadn’t gotten to the stage where Emily felt comfortable asking the girl what was wrong. So she settled with her usual tease and hoped it would cheer the other girl up.

Beca gave a half hearted smile and walked up to the bar stools in front of the counter before taking a seat.

“So, what can I get for you. The usual?”

Beca shook her head slightly before answering, “Peppermint hot chocolate?”

Emily was surprised. That was the only thing Beca had ordered off of the holiday menu the entire month of December. “Finally feeling the Christmas spirit, huh?”

Beca looked up at her behind watery eyes. “Trying to.”

Emily noticed the the girl not making an effort to joke back and realized that this was serious. She hastily abandoned her post and made her way to the neighboring bar stool. After little thought, Emily placed a hand at the small of Beca’s back. If the girl chose to open up, Emily would be right there, listening all the while.

“It was her favorite thing to drink on Christmas eve.” 

A stray tear made its way down Beca’s cheek and Emily carefully wiped it away.

“Hey, your mom would be so proud of you for carrying on this tradition. For loving the holidays and spending time with people that care about you.”

Beca let out a self deprecating laugh. “Yeah. Yeah she would be proud.”

Emily snaked her arm around Beca’s waist and the two girls just sat there, comfortable in each other’s presence. It wasn’t until Emily looked up and giggled that the silence was broken.

“What’s so funny?”

“Look at what we’re sitting under.”

Beca looked up at the ceiling and rolled her eyes. “Who the fuck puts mistletoe right there.”

“The idea was to get complete strangers at least talking with one another.”

“You know that’s kinda stupid, right?”

“But it’s working, isn't it?”

“Yeah, I guess it is.”.

#And then they kissed #Merry Pitchmas 2019 #I hope you liked this one! #Literally my second time writing Emily #And here I am #posting late #(again)