#it was a stalemate as neither of them won or lost

[ashboilol]

Why Naruto always lost rightfully to Sasuke

Tbh I know Naruto lost to Sasuke in the Valley of the End, but I don't think Sasuke wanted to kill Naruto either. Neither he, nor Naruto, wished to kill each other. Both still went all out against each other. Btw I'm talking about their first fight in the VOTE, not the second one.

So many people say Naruto should have won. No, Naruto rightfully lost that fight. Now, I know Naruto only attempted to hit Sasuke's headband, but if Sasuke used Chidori on Naruto's heart, Naruto would be dead, Sasuke may have unlocked the Mangekyo earlier.

Ofc, in Shippuden, Naruto's first fight with Sasuke was an utter 4v1 loss, but the main point is Sage Mode Naruto. First of all, Sage Mode Naruto cannot beat EMS Sasuke. EMS Sasuke was able to block so many of Juubito's attacks, whereas KCM1 Naruto and KCM Minato were unable to react in time, so EMS Sasuke blitzes Sage Naruto who is slower than KCM1 Naruto. Now, MS Sasuke is a more even match. Sage Naruto can stomp Taka Sasuke, who JUST awakened his Mangekyo (who the hell pits a dude with a newborn Mangekyo against a guy like Killer Bee, that made no sense and the Akatsuki was horribly dumb to do that), while Naruto now has more chakra. Kage Summit Sasuke, however, can defeat Sage Naruto. This Sasuke managed to hold his own against the Fourth Raikage, which puts him near the level of KCM1 Naruto (since he can't defeat that version of Naruto), and after that Sasuke managed a stalemate against Gaara who was at peak health. Ofc Gaara can't beat or even match KCM1 Naruto, but still Gaara is a powerful shinobi. So Kage Summit Sasuke beats Sage Naruto.

EMS Sasuke is also a lot stronger than KCM1 Naruto. EMS Sasuke managed to, as I stated before, be a tier of reaction speed even higher than Minato the Yellow Flash, in KCM no less. KCM2 and KCM2SM Naruto can beat EMS Sasuke, which is where it gets to Naruto's favor.

War Arc (Six Paths Naruto vs Rinnegan Sasuke): Now we know that these two fought, with Sasuke have all the tailed beasts under a Genjutsu (no he did not use their chakra), and Naruto having half of Kurama. Now, people say Naruto held back, but that is false. Going all out doesn't mean going for the kill. Did Naruto want to kill Neji in the Chunin Exams? No, but that never stopped him from going all out against Neji, so it cannot have stopped him against Sasuke who is far more dangerous. Plus, Sasuke, as I said before, never used the Tailed Beasts chakra, but he put them under a Genjutsu because he can't logically have let them be without them supplying chakra to Naruto, so it was Sasuke with a base Sharingan (he for some reason, maybe loss of chakra), and a Six Paths Rinnegan versus Naruto with SO6P + Kurama's chakra, so evenly matched. It ultimately ended in a tie, so they both are equally matched at this point. By the end of the series, they are equals.

The Last: Sasuke hands down. Sasuke was stated to be Kakashi's strongest student, so Naruto loses this, but not as easily as most of the main series.

Boruto: Equal, but Sasuke has the edge due to high amounts of time actually facing threats. Amenotejikara is also a good move against Naruto if dear Lord Seventh tries anything. After Naruto and Sasuke lose Kurama and Rinnegan, however, Naruto far surpasses Sasuke due to SO6P.

Ultimately, I think Naruto lost to Sasuke rightfully most of the time. Naruto and Sasuke are true rivals, atleast by the end of the series, and both acknowledge each other as equals. Don't ruin their rivalry and friendship by constant bickering over who is stronger. They acknowledge each other as rivals, so don't make it look like Naruto or Sasuke are far stronger than the other. Same with Madara, he did surpass Hashirama, he only used Hashirama cells to gain the Rinnegan.

Thanks for reading!

#They are rivals for a reason #Dont diminish their rivalry #naruto #Pro naruto uzumaki #pro sasuke uchiha

[pinkafropuff]

(prt3)

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 4]

She'd been crossing her arms and frowning the entire time they'd been out. Even though it was a simple material run, she looked overly stressed about it, which was probably his fault.

He hadn't wanted to come in the first place. It was best for them to have space, especially because she wasn't the type to let somebody off the hook for dipping in the middle of a conversation. Goredolf though it was strange for her to not pick him to come (since she usually would), so in the end she did. For posterity or something. Which was a good call, if he'd thought of saying so. Being awkward around other people was worse than being awkward around each other, because then everyone wanted to stick their noses in, make things worse-

"Robin."

Shit, that scared the hell outta him! He'd been lost in his own thoughts for a while, hanging behind, as he usually did on these things. In fact, he hadn't expected to be called on at all. Usually the front line had that job, and if all else failed, he'd clean it up. "Yeah?"

Something at her throat bobbed. "You-"

A pause. He waited, too close and too far to decipher it, but she only shook her head and no answer came. Eventually, she said, "Can you bring me my backpack? I have this...awful headache."

He obliged by shrugging it off his shoulders and shaking it around at his side. "Tylenol?"

When she didn't answer, he brought it over anyway, going so far as to shake it to show he was near.

Her lips parted. When her tongue darted out to wet them, she reached for the bottle herself, reluctant to let go when her knuckles brushed his own- but taking it anyway. Eyes cast downward, her thumb rubbed across the label for a while before her eyes closed in thought- and then aloud, she said, "Why didn't you just say 'no'?"

He didn't answer. Instead, he shifted the bag at his side and zipped it up to the top before slinging it over one of his own shoulders.

"Robin." She repeated, and not for the first time did his title feel like a more potent poison than one of his own.

"What?" If it sounded crabby, he didn't mean for it to be. If he sounded tense, he was sorry.

Her eyes flickered to his with an intensity that made him turn his head. The heat smoldered there, between them both, before she blew out a breath like she'd been holding it for centuries.

"...what do you want me to say?" He shrugged with one hand, the free one, not holding the backpack.

Bewilderment. "What do I want you to say?"

"Yeah," he half-shouted, letting the backpack slide to the ground by his feet, "what do you want me to say! Because I can't think of an answer good enough for you."

Stubbornly, leaned towards him, one hand sliding down to her hip. "It's a yes or no question."

"We both know," he said slowly, his voice lowering as he leaned to meet her, "it's not."

A stale silence settled between them, its existence evidence of their stalemate- and then her face fell and she looked away, the plumpness of her lower lip sticking out just a little as she tried to hide her disappointment. "It is to me."

Her hand shot out to swipe her pack from its place at his feet before she turned and stomped to the rendezvous point where the other Servants were waiting. Clearly this argument was over and though neither of them had won, someone had clearly lost.

Robin Hood put both hands on his eyes and swore.

#fgo #fic #robin x ifumi #i love lover's quarrels #love love them #theyre my fav~! can always tell how much someone loves someone by how they fight

[odyssey-owl]

TGTB&B Rewrite Scene 12

(Note: This is a rewrite of the AIO episode "The Good, The Bad, And Butch." The original episode dialogue was written by Marshal Younger. Any added/removed/altered dialogue and actions were written by me!)

The boys sat cross legged on top of Sam's bed, a chess board in between them. It was their third game that afternoon. Sam won the first within minutes, but they called off the second game because it had turned into a stalemate. It seemed that Sam would win the third game, too.

"Check."

"Where?"

"My bishop."

"Oh." Butch stared at the board, calculating his next move. "You know, there was something I wanted to tell you, something funny." He blocked with a pawn. "I can't remember what it was."

"If it's a dirty joke, I don't want to hear it." Sam slid his knight two spaces up, and one to the right. It hit the same space as the pawn, so Sam removed it from the board. "Check. Again."

"Look, I'm sorry." Butch shifted his king a space backwards. "We usually don't do that at our meetings."

Sam looked up from the board. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Why are you in the Bones of Rath?"

Butch folded his arms, and leaned back. "What do you mean?"

"Whenever you're with them, you just get into trouble. Why do you want to do that?"

He shrugged. "I dunno."

"How can you even stand being with them?" Sam shuddered. He moved the knight again. "I couldn't wait to get out of that meeting yesterday. With you guys telling those jokes..."

Butch cut him off. "I quit."

"W-What?"

"I quit the Bones."

"Really?"

"Yeah, yesterday," Butch stuttered, "After the meeting, uh, I quit."

Sam nearly leapt over the chessboard. "Butch, that's great!"

"Yeah," He laughed nervously, "I don't need those guys."

"I didn't even know you were thinking about quitting."

"Oh, sure, f-for a while now. A couple weeks, even months. Months."

"This really changes things."

"Yeah." Butch looked back down to the chess board. In their excitement, neither of the boys had noticed that Butch was now in checkmate.

Sam didn't even seem to care about the game at that point. He slid off the bed and walked past Butch, to the bookshelf on the opposite side of the room. "Hey, listen, I found something I wanted you to see."

Butch wished that Sam would turn around, holding the tickets. If Sam brought up the banquet in conversation, Butch wouldn't even need to ask.

No such luck. Sam ducked down to the shelf below the tickets, searching for something.

It was now or never. Butch stood up and moved behind Sam. "Look, I gotta go, but I wanted to ask you about the banquet?" He took a breath and talked quickly. "Do you have any extra ti-"

A Bible was shoved into his hands. "Here," Sam's eyes hovered on the Bible for a moment. "Look at this."

"It's... a Bible."

"Do you remember it? It's mine, but I let you borrow it for a while 'cause you lost yours." Sam reached over and flipped open the front cover of the Bible. On the paper was scrawled a short prayer in Butch's handwriting. "Read it."

"Dear Jesus," Butch started. "Thanks for the trees and the sun and the water and dogs. And for my best friend Sam. Thank you for moving him next door to me." Butch looked up as he finished reading the prayer. "Amen."

Sam met his eyes. "After I found it in there, I read it over and over. Memorized it. You were the best friend I'd ever had."

There was a long pause between them.

Sam finally broke eye contact and cleared his throat. "Anyway, I thought you might like to see that." He walked towards his bed to put the chess pieces away. "Now, what did you say about the banquet?"

Butch was shaking. When he didn't answer, Sam turned around. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," Butch was deathly pale. "I-I just..."

"You look like you're going to be sick." Sam dropped the chess pieces and rushed over. He held Butch by the shoulders.

Butch froze. "I'm okay." He let Sam take the Bible and guide him to a chair, in which he sat down, then pulled away. "Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering..."

"Wondering what?"

Butch took a deep breath. "Could I go with you to the banquet tonight?" He tried to play it off, although his voice wavered. "I mean... You still got an extra ticket, right?"

Sam hesitated, thinking. He made his way back over to the shelf. Placing the Bible on top and reaching for the pair of tickets, something dawned on him. "Why?"

"I just... I want to go." Butch's eyes stayed glued to the floor. "I've never been to one."

Sam shrugged. "It's not really that exciting."

"That's okay."

"It's two hours long."

"That's fine, I wanna go, okay?"

"Okay," Sam handed Butch one ticket. "You can come."

"Fine, I'll see you tonight. I'll meet you here." Butch squeaked the chair back. "I gotta get out of here." His hand reached for the doorknob.

"Okay, well..." The door closed. He didn't even look back. "Butch?"

He was gone.

#adventures in odyssey #aio #sam johnson #butch evans #odyssey owl tgtb&b rewrite #odyssey owl writes

[on-stained-glass-wings]

Is there anything that embarrasses Malenia?

Honestly, Malenia's a pretty hard nut to crack, especially after her fight with Radahn where she decided that pride? Eh, it didn't give me shit in the end.

Malenia before Caelid would have definitely been embarrassed by a stalemate with Radahn. She would have handled herself with decorum in public, of course, but she also would have shrieked in anger into her pillow that night (much to Finlay and Miquella's amusement). In the 'AU' verse where she gets Miquella back, though? Nah, she's kinda over it. There's so much more that's worse to lose than a fight or your pride.

(Plus, she'll argue that while neither her nor Radahn won that day, he lost a lot more than she did (excluding, of course, Miquella being taken in her absence). She's not exactly wrong.)

She can be embarrassed, though! For one, she's a pretty modest person, so someone walking in on her and Finlay naked in bed together or walking in on her in the shower would definitely fluster her (unless it was Finlay or Miquella, of course). Just because the flower burns off her clothing in the second phase of her boss fight doesn't mean she likes it (and she probably walks off to find a robe after she smears the Tarnished into grace particles).

Secondly, she can get embarrassed by deficiencies in situational knowledge. In the middle of her depressive fugue, she's (unwillingly and willingly) let a lot of the day-to-day minutae of running the Haligtree slip away. If she were to have a non-hostile visitor, she wouldn't know if they had any food left in the larder or pantry for them or what types of tea they had available, and that would make her feel pretty dumb. It's more of a quiet embarrassment, though, which is expressed not through stammering and blushing cheeks but through becoming slightly more withdrawn and quiet than before.

Frankly, it's one of the reasons it's hard to tell if she even gets embarrassed, let alone what embarrasses her, because a childhood of living with a cold, cruel, and demanding mother has caused her to hide most emotional expressions under an air of nobility. If she's happy, you get a small smile. If she's displeased, you get clipped words and pressed lips. If she's irritated, you get snorting and pacing.

Miquella, of course, sees a more intimate side of her. Finlay, meanwhile, took a few decades of service to break down Malenia's walls and earn enough trust to see her true, unfettered emotions. Some of Malenia's more trusted soldiers have learned to read her restrained body language (including Loretta), but it still doesn't tell them the whole story.

...but yeah, back to the point, the easiest way to embarrass Malenia is to catch her with her pants down, so to speak. Irritating her pride works to some extend before Caelid, but after? She literally couldn't give a fuck. Radahn could literally pound her into the ground out of revenge and she'd just force herself out of the crater like 'okay, yeah, I deserved that L.'

#about the rot goddess (malenia) #golden abundance and scarlet decay (headcanons) #the goddess and her valkyrie (finlay and malenia) #answered entreaties (asks) #(marika's A+ parenting)

[basil-babylon]

Perhaps the echoes of people we once loved still linger in the places we frequented with them and that is why we go back… Not so much to remember them as to feel them…

You made me feel worthwhile…. like for once it mattered if I was here or not because I actually meant something to someone…. because I meant something to you. I miss that feeling.

It’s the intricate details you miss the most.

For me, it’s the soft lines around the eyes when he smiles… Or that look he gave me sometimes that I cannot begin to describe - but I would know it if I saw it again.

It was the look that gave him away.

I’d know that look anywhere…

It used to be my everything.

I've never been the most important person to anybody - not even myself.

You loved him enough to let him leave… Now you need to love yourself enough to let him go.

It’s just never going to get any easier is it.

It’s never going away, this missing you.

It’s going to become a sadness I incorporate into myself – along with all the other sadnesses – and quietly carry around with me forever…

I don’t think you ever really understood….

…. All the love I had in the world went to you.

My heart’s been empty since you left - but still I refuse to put up a vacancy sign.

I’m just not ready for anybody else to move in yet.

They say “Follow your heart”….

…. But I can’t follow you where you’re going…

Though life has fated that we never cross paths again, don’t ever feel alone. For we are parallel …. and I will always be by your side.

Our parting was like a stalemate….

Neither of us won. Yet both of us lost.

And worse still … that unshakable feeling that nothing was ever really finished.

Deep down, I think everybody wants to be ‘the one’ to someone. I don’t know if I’ve ever been that person to anyone else – but I do know you are that person to me. You are the one. The only one. And you always will be.

Every quote, every book, every film seemed to suggest that ‘one day’ someone would come into my life and love me with an intensity and a passion I had never experienced before. And to their credit they were right; It all came and went so fast it really did feel as if it were just ‘one day’....

I believe in love at first sight…

But it’s not the first moment you lay eyes on a person, it’s the moment you first see

the person they truly are.

I try to do something positive – I socialise more…

But deep down I know the truth.

An entire world of people can never replace the one that I’ve lost.

There comes a point where you no longer care if there’s a light at the end of the tunnel or not.

You’re just sick of the tunnel.

You can miss places. You can miss people.

Just know that what you’re really missing is the way things were. And even if you could go there again…. see them again…. you can’t go back.

They’re not the same.

You’re not the same.

The loss of them changed you.

It’s times like this…. when it’s over a year later and I’m still crying over you that I want to turn to you and say: See…. This is why I asked you never to kiss me.

The only place I ever felt at home was with you. There isn’t a place for me anywhere anymore… I’ve been evicted.

Your smile and your laughter lit my whole world.

The last time I felt alive – I was looking into your eyes.

Breathing your air…. touching your skin…

… Saying goodbye….

The last time I felt alive…. I was dying.

I raised you so high that every other man on earth is now doomed to live in your shadow.

I didn’t love you to seek revenge.

I didn’t love you out of loneliness or unhappiness.

I didn’t love you for any of the misguided reasons that time might convince you I did.

I just loved you because you’re you.

He was both everything I could ever want…

And nothing I could ever have…

It’s difficult for me to imagine the rest of my life without you. But I suppose I don’t have to imagine it... I just have to live it

Though these words will never find you, I hope that you knew I was thinking of you today….. and that I was wishing you every happiness.

Love Always,

The girl you loved once.

I had someone once who made every day mean something.

And now…. I am lost….

And nothing means anything anymore.

Your memory feels like home to me.

So whenever my mind wanders, it always finds it’s way back to you.

Ranata Suzuki

#quotes #ranata suzuki #love #sorrow #writings #collection #the hair

[ofwcsteros]

❛ grasp . run to my muse & jump into their arms . ( cerelle and tybolt )

It was the first time that he had any sort of mixed emotions about returning home and this time his albeit triumphant return was overshadowed by the fact that it was undeniably delayed. The walk from the stables alone had felt endless, steps made heavy by the ache of weary limbs and the exhaustion that had lasted so long it felt as though it had become part of his bones. He was unsure what kind of reception he would receive when it felt as though all he and Cerelle had done before he left was argue. For a pair who had fallen into such a natural harmony, their regular sparring matches over his decision to lead his troops into battle himself had marred the days before his depature. Many of them had ended in a stalemate with neither of them willing to concede an inch of ground let alone defeat. But as someone who had always prided himself on an honesty that allowed him to see his flaws and improve himself, Tybolt knew that he had not won them all either.

He had known Cerelle was brilliant - it was why he had married her, after all, her intelligence too impossible for him to resist - but he had never expected her sharpened blade of wit to be aimed his way. He had been underprepared for the argument that she had leveled at him and he recognised that one of their debates had been the first argument in his life that he could remember losing when it came to both logic and feeling. She'd put her case forward with such eloquence balanced with emotion ( he could see that emotions had threatened to overwhelm her but both of them had begun fraying during the debate, their usually well-tied together selves slowly falling apart at the reality he had created ) that he had wavered and almost promised he would stay. Almost. But he had not. His desire to be the leader that the Westerlands needed outweighing the considerable love he had for her.

The first argument in his life that he had lost and he had not even possessed the decency nor grace to honour her wishes as the victor.

War was not something new to Tybolt but love was. He was a man who learned from experience as much as from scrolls or tomes and matters of the heart were an area that he found himself lacking. He had braced himself for a chilly reception, it was no less than he would have deserved after disregarding his wife's feelings in the name of what needed to be done. There's a legion of words ready to fall from his lips when he sees her, starting with a sincere apology and prepared to veer into groveling should he need to. But to his surprise, he does not have a moment to do draw breath before she was in his arms. The distance between them had been closed so quickly any thought of words left his mind, for the first time in his life. Instead, he relied on actions and simply embraced her. As he did, his aching muscles found a new lease of life, and the pain of battle was forgotten when all that occupied his thoughts was her. Relief became the overwhelming emotion. Relief that he had survived to do this at least one last time. Relief that she still wanted to. The words would come later and she would get the apology that she deserved but for now just holding her was enough.

#muse: tybolt #answered: tybolt

[dimitrscu]

without fail when i see someone talking shit about malenia with low-key sexist comments, i look at their profile and 99% of the time it’s like ‘27, male’ and i nod at the complete and utter lack of surprise

#malenia has a line where she says she’s never known defeat plus she’s considered the hardest boss in the game #and men lose their collective shit #yes i know she didn’t technically win against radahn in caelid #it was a stalemate as neither of them won or lost #‘nah radahn won’ dude he lost his mind and basically turned into a zombie who roamed around eating corpses #he lost everything and may as well be dead #all malenia did was go home and take a nap #somehow i think he came off worse #anyway that’s not my point #i’m pretty sure malenia views defeat as death and as she hadn’t yet died she technically hadn’t been defeated #honestly there’s so much more to their conflict than ppl realise but unfortunately souls fans have like one collective brain cell #and don’t like looking at things in detail #they act like radahn was just riding his pony around the countryside and malenia was like woe plague be upon thee #elden ring #malenia blade of miquella

[ais-for-alex]

The Scars of Our Past: chapter 24

Hiya 👋 hope y’all enjoy this chapter =D

All the while Finn’s mind just kept wandering back to that morning he woke up in Leo’s arms. He had looked almost ethereal, the soft morning sunlight turning those blond curls splayed out over his pillow into a golden halo framing Leo’s soft sleeping face. Finn had sighed, relaxing his body completely to form against Leo. He relished in the strength of those arms wrapped so very secure around him, holding him safe and close, he never wanted to move. Finn didn’t want even an inch of space between his body and Leo’s because somehow the closer he pressed into that warmth the easier it was to ignore the growing feeling inside him that something was missing- someone was missing.

Finn's heart ached; he knew exactly who was missing. Logan, Finn could almost feel the way his body should fit against his own, fit against Leo’s, both of them so warm in his bed. As he lay there in Leo’s arms thinking about Logan an odd fluttery sensation took up residence in his stomach, it was unpleasant and sent buzzy zing through his veins, it almost… it almost felt like guilt. Finn couldn’t stop it, he felt guilty. Guilty for lying there in Leo’s arms while wishing for Logan and guilty that everything in his was begging to be closer to Leo when Logan was taking up his thoughts. Everything was so confusing; his brain ran in circles between the two of them until he just wanted to cry.

Leo sighed softly in his sleep, he shifted wrapping his arms tight around Finn’s torso and rolling them on to their sides, cocooning Finn in long limbs and warmth. Finn felt so very safe there, tucked into Leo’s chest, a jolt of tender affection rushed through him pooling in his belly. He couldn’t stop himself from leaning in and pressing a kiss filled with every unspoken emotion inside him directly over Leo’s heart. Their position felt so very intimate, Leo’s large palms pressed against Finn's back holding him close, like a lover.

But he wasn’t, was he? A sharp pain shot through Finn's heart at that thought, this place wasn’t meant for him. The warmth of Leo’s embrace wasn’t his to enjoy because he wasn’t his partner, this was a borrowed moment. Gathering every ounce of willpower Finn carefully slipped out of Leo’s arms, he needed to think, needed to get his brain and his heart back on the same page when it came to Leo and Logan. He needed to run.

Finn bit back a little smile that tried to sneak onto his face as he watched Leo let out an exasperated huff in his sleep. Leo scrunched his face into a cute pout and pulled one of Finn's pillows closer only to bury his face in it. Quietly making his way over to his desk Finn snagged a notebook and quickly scribbled out a note explaining where he was going, for when Leo woke up alone.

He placed the paper where he had lain only moments ago wishing he could just crawl back into the dip in the mattress and back into the warmth. Finn looked at Leo with soft eyes, he couldn’t stop himself from reaching out and gently brushing a bit of that soft blond hair out of his face tucking it behind his ear with careful fingers. Leo just sighed and pressed his nose into Finn's pillow completely lost in blissful sleep.

Finally turning away from the man in his bed, Finn grabbed a shirt and his running shoes and quietly made his way out of his apartment. Then, he ran.

Finn ran far and hard until his body burned, his lungs, his legs, even his skin felt like it had been set on fire and yet for some reason his overheated body didn’t burn away the feelings that had pooled in his heart. Slowing to a light jog Finn realized he had made it all the way into the main part of the city and was currently jogging along the winding river sparkling in the early morning light.

Finn let his legs carry him while his mind began to turn gears and cogs, trying to make sense of everything that had happened since Leo had skated into his life.

***

A couple days after that emotionally charged night when Leo finally opened up about the horrific tragedy that left him haunted by the specters of the loved ones he lost; Finn had to push all of those thoughts out of his mind because the Lions had a game. Gryffindor vs Slytherin on their home ice. While the game itself wasn’t exactly the most important one of the season, not by a long shot, every Slytherin game felt like it was high stakes and that day Finn was definitely feeling excited jitters in anticipation.

He had tried to convince Leo to come but Finn understood his decision to stay home that night, it was still so hard for him to be surrounded by the reminders of everything he lost. Finn didn’t have time to dwell on it though because in what seemed like the blink of an eye everyone was gearing up and heading to the ice for warm ups. He laughed aloud as he caught James carefully inspecting his blue Gatorade and shooting death glares in Logan’s direction. The whole team was tense, on edge as the Slytherins moved on the opposite end of the ice running through their own warm ups.

The first two periods were rough, neither team making much progress as they fought to bring the puck down the ice only for it to be snaked away again. The score sat at 0:0 going into the third period, every player tense with the desire to break the stalemate and gain some momentum for their team. The Snakes were playing dirty, they had racked up several penalties for high sticking and tripping. Frustrated by the stagnate score Finn pushed himself harder, with a hard check to Snape he got the puck on his stick and fought to get a ways down the ice. He spotted Sirius open and quickly flicked the puck over just before he got hit himself. Finn was fast to recover as Sirius took the puck the rest of the way down the ice, there was a tense moment between the Lions captain and Riddle but Sirius quickly flicked the puck past him with a beautiful shot officially breaking the score and putting the lions in the lead.

The team slammed Sirius into the boards in celebration affectionately slapping his helmet as they made their way over to line up for the face off. The Lions won the puck, it was quickly shot over to Logan who began fighting his way closer to the Snakes goal. Finn could have sworn the next moments passed in slow motion, because though it must have only been a split second he saw every move in crystal clarity. Logan was skating along the boards moving the puck up the ice toward the goal when what seemed like out of nowhere Carrow was there next to him. He shoved Logan so hard into the glass it nearly lifted him off his feet, the end of Carrows stick coming up under his visor and slashing him violently in the face. Logan dropped to his knees as bright red blood began dripping onto the ice through his fingers as he pressed a hand over his eye.

White hot anger flared to life inside Finn's chest at the sight of Logan down, injured on the ice. Before he could stop himself Finn dropped his stick and gloves, throwing them away from himself. Carrow didn’t even see him coming before Finn had a hand fisted into his jersey and the other punching him full strength in the face.

The crowd roared, thrilled to watch the fight but Finn didn’t hear it past the blood rushing in his ears, anger and adrenaline fueling him as he pummeled Carrow down onto the ice. The Lions and everyone else on the ice stood in shock at the sight of Finn’s rare display of aggression, the refs snapped out of it first pulling Finn off of the now bloody faced Carrow.

Distantly he could hear the commentators and the still frantic audience but Finn didn’t really care, he glanced over to see Logan blood still dripping down his face from a large gash in his eyebrow he had an unreadable expression in his eyes that Finn had no idea how to interpret. Instead he quickly looked away, and began making his way off the ice not even waiting for the refs to make the official call, he knew he was done in this game. Out of the corner of his eye Finn saw a paramedic come out to lead Logan off the ice as well, rather than following him into the locker room though they headed into the quiet room to take care of the cut.

Finn stalked over to his stall and sat down heavily, he looked down at his hands and saw the blood on his knuckles, he flexed them feeling the ache. Adrenaline was still coursing through his veins making Finn feel buzzy, he heard the crowded stadium roar as the third period resumed, the lions now down two players.

Sighing deeply Finn began unlacing his skates and pulling off his pads. He had stripped down to basically just his Under Armour when the locker room door banged open and Logan came walking through in a huff coming to a stop just in front of Finn’s stall. The gash through his eyebrow was held closed by a steri strip, he still had smudges of dried blood on his jaw, his neck, even soaked into the front of his jersey.

“What the fuck was that?” Logan asked with the sharp bite of anger in his voice.

It was quiet for a moment, Logan evidently waiting for an answer but Finn had no idea how to explain the rage and the fear that had burned through him when he had seen Logan get hit, when he saw him bleeding, so he simply shrugged.

“Are you ok?” he asked rather than answering.

Logan scoffed and rolled his eyes, “Yeah, I am.”

“Why are you mad at me?” Finn asked, exasperated by the irritation written all over Logan’s face. He stood up to stand face to face with Logan who with the added height of his skates was just about as tall as him.

“Because you got yourself thrown out of the fucking game Finn!” Logan snapped, “over what? A dirty hit? I was fine! And watching you out there, it was like I barely even recognized you. You nearly broke Carrow's face!”

“Carrows a douche.”

“That’s not the point!” Logan shouted.

“No, you’re right it’s not,” Finn snarled. They were standing close now, chest to chest, breathing hard from anger, “this is about you ! Why can’t you just let someone care about you for once!”

Logan was speechless for a moment; Finn could see it in his eyes that his words were working their way into his brain.

“I don’t need you to fight my fights, Finn,” Logan said softly, no longer shouting and taking a step back.

“Then what the fuck do you need!” Finn cried out, finally snapping completely. For the first time after years of dancing around each other he couldn’t take it anymore, “I’m not a fucking mind reader! What do you need from me! Lo, I’ll give it to you in a heartbeat but I can’t do this anymore.”

“I-“ Logan looked shocked, Finn watched him open his mouth and close it again, his eyes were locked on Logan’s, they were bright and wide.

“J'ai seulement besoin de toi,” Logan's voice dropped to a whisper, the words flowed like water from his mouth but to Finn they sounded like retreating footsteps, like doors closing as Logan ran away yet again.

“Every. Single. Time.” He said closing his eyes and breathing in deep, filling his lungs until they felt like bursting and when Finn exhaled it was full of hurt.

“You know,” he said softly, the anger faded in the pain of Logan's blatant refusal to talk to him, “I can see it in your eyes when you do that.” Finn took a step closer, “Logan, I can read you like a book, and every time we get close to something, I watch it build in your eyes like you’re about to finally say it, finally reach out and grab the hand I’ve been holding out to you. But then I watch as you cave in, I watch you give up and run away in fear.”

“Finn, I-“ Logan started, his voice breaking with emotion, “I’m sorry.”

Finn felt the apology like the lash of a whip against his skin, it made him step back leaving Logan’s space, “you’re willing to fight anyone at the drop of a hat, but Logan, you’re a fucking coward.”

A sheen of tears gathered in Logan's eyes making the green sparkle even in the dim locker room, he took a breath and turned to walk away but before he left Logan spoke one last time so softly Finn almost didn’t hear him.

“I know,” with that Logan quickly walked out of the locker room to rejoin their teammates for the end of the game leaving Finn there alone.

With a sigh he turned back to his stall to finish changing but as he pulled his shirt off the image of Logan's glassy eyes glistening with unshed tears flashed in his mind. Angrily Finn threw his shirt into the corner furious with himself for putting that look on Logan’s face but so incredibly hurt himself that he felt as if he was being ripped apart.

“I need a fucking drink,” he sighed before sitting down heavily preparing himself for the shitstorm he was going to be facing the minute the game was over.

French translation: I just need you

Read on ao3

Chapter 23 Chapter 25

#sweater weather #coast to coast #leo knut #logan tremblay #lumosinlove #finn o'hara #writing #the scars of our past #hockey #figure skating #angst

[dumplingfaye]

Here’s my top 30 strongest characters in Black clover

(I’m trying to be extremely fair but there is some biased so if there’s someone that doesn’t make that much sense why they’re highly ranked it’s because I’m biased one character in particular and I’m doing this because someone made a absolutely god awful top 15)

Charlotte Roselei .30

if you wonder why she’s ranked so low it’s because even though she fought Vanica and won that was when Vanica was weaker and once Vanica went 100% she creamed Charlotte plus her magic was only effective because it was cursed magic if she fought any of the other dark triad members she would have probably lost

Lumiere Silvamillion Clover/Licht .29/.28

if you’re wondering why they’re so low on the list it’s because they couldn’t defeat Zagred and contrary to some people’s beliefs Zagred is actually extremely weak at least compared to the other Devils

Zagred .27

he’s very powerful what can I say but he’s pretty low on the list because well he is smart however when it comes to fighting he’s very bland and does the exact same thing over and over

Luck Voltia/Leopoldo Vermillion/Charmy Pappitson/Mimosa Vermillion .26/.25/.24/.23

a basic summary they all have true magic and intern they all have ultimate magic (Luck has Elven magic as well which also gives him an extra boost) (Leopoldo is a Royal and trains a lot so he doesn’t gets left behind)” not that that helps”(Charmy is a hybrid of a human and a dwarf)and (Mimosa is a Royal as well as a recovery mage but that doesn’t mean that she can’t put up a good fight)

Nozel Silva/Fuegoleon Vermillion 22/.21

(Nozel to tell the truth i’m not actually sure how much powerful he’s gotten over the last six months but he’s probably going to play a big role soon so this is also kind of his biased) as for (Fuegoleon to tell the truth I kind of think he’s pretty weak but maybe he has spirit dive so that’s why he’s here if he doesn’t well he’s not even on the list in that case)

Zora Ideale .20

you’re probably wondering why he’s here This isn’t me being biased because I’m kind of indifference towards Zora but he’s here because his magic is quite interesting he can reflect someone’s attack and double its power and he possibly even has more tricks up his sleeve after all it has been six months

Magna Swing: .19

now you’re probably wondering why he’s so low on the list after all he beat Dante well that’s actually pretty simple it’s because to me this is actually kind of me being biased I don’t actually like Magna in fact I actually hate him but to me personally I think his trump card is for very pacific conditions for starters we know that Dante is extremely strong right when it comes to magic but when it comes to intellect or physical strength he has none so to me if Magna fights someone with either of those things or God for bid both I personally think he would lose but this could just be my bias talking

Gaja .18

he fought the wizard king to a stalemate and he was able to fight Devil Lolopechka to an even degree when he wasn’t even trying to hurt her but she was trying to hurt him (I could be wrong please don’t get mad at me keep in mind this is just my opinion)

Julius Novachrono(at prime) .17

Julius at his prime everyone stroke his power and even though Yami trained for six months he was still weaker than Julius he only became stronger after he surpassed his limits

Yami Sukehiro .16

(dimension slash/Equinox)(death thrust)(Black hole) etc.

Jack the Ripper .15

if I’m being honest I’m pretty sure if he fought Magna he would probably lose (because he has a weak body and doesn’t have that much intellect) but because his magic is so versatile that he can adapt to the magic attribute it’s against he possibly could do incredible things with it even though I kind a wish he would die I don’t like him either

Devil Lolopechka .14

To tell the truth I’m not exactly sure if she’s stronger than anyone who’s on the list but I assume she is at the very least I know she’s stronger than Charlotte but because she’s a devil she’s probably stronger than most of the other characters

Zenon Zogratis /Yuno Grinberryall .13/.12

if I’m being honest I don’t actually know who’s stronger because even though at the beginning of their fight (of course not in their first one) Yuno was indeed winning the fight but after Zenon went 100% it came to a stalemate so I’m not exactly sure who is stronger (one is a devil user) and the other (is a spirit user) so 50/50 ╰(0 ~ 0)╯

Dante Zogratis/Vanica Zogratis: .11/.10

I mean they’re both stupid and they’re both strong and I didn’t put them in the same boat as Zenon because when Vanica heard that “Yami was defeated by Zenon” she said that he might not be as strong as she hoped implying that she was stronger than Zenon plus Dante has the king of all devils so that’s why there here

Dorothy Unsworth .9

this might be my bias talking but because she has her own world (created by magic) she can conjure up anything she wants and of course she’s gotten stronger over the six months so that’s why she’s highly ranked

Mereoleona Vermillion .8

She’s fighting a demon God and even though her magic is being absorbed she can still fight so yeah

Noelle Silva/Acier Silva .7/.6

to me personally they don’t actually have that many differences when it comes to strengths because both of them defeated Vanica and sure Vanica was weaker when she fought Acier but (Acier had to protect both of her children plus she died because of Megicula’s interference) and Acier was able to leave a permanent mark on Vanica

Nacht Faust .5

(OKAY if I’m being honest this is extremely biased I really like him a lot) but Nacht was able to cream Asta and Liebe for two days straight and while they were being cured he wasn’t (I mean it’s possible he was but I didn’t see it and neither did you” except in Fanart”) and they were able to defeat Dante and fight on par with Yami when they were weaker and out of breath and not even working in conjunction with each other so yeah and when he fought Naamah and Lilith he was able to perform a spell that is on the same level as supreme devils and the only reason why they were able to break through it is because Naamah and Lilith burn/freeze everything even invincible concepts/constructs and they were the strongest Devils we’ve seen so far at that pint in time and even though they were playing with him at a stalemate they were still stronger than anything they faced before and he was able to keep them busy for a little while wow this one was long

Naamah and Lilith .4

I just said it before but they’re able to burn/freeze everything you need including invincible concept/constructs anyhow they’re basically extremely strong and they could cream everyone on the list except the people who are higher than them

Megicula .3

well he/she (I don’t want to assume genders and be wrong) basically trashes on everyone in mere instant

Asta & Liebe .2

Devil union is just that over powered I mean it’s able to take out transformations such as spirit dive possibly other devil unions and of course normal spells such as Valkyrie dress or princess healing flower robe as well spirit of hellfire etc. able to dispel mana-zone based rooms is able to cut through any type of magic even if it’s a physical being and the sword themselves already pack a punch by themselves so with extra power that’s just over powered

Lucifuge/Lucifero .1/.0

Who the fu*k did you think was going to be number one/number zero Seriously who they’re literally the main bad guys in this arc it is impossible to tell what they’re capable of but whatever it is we know that they can kill anyone they want in an instant without even trying this isn’t me overhyping them this is a factual thing they are practically the most overpowered creatures in Black clover we have yet to see them and frankly I don’t think we want to I mean both of them killed really kind people Lucifero killed Licita Lucifuge I mean technically he didn’t kill Morgan (Morgen died because he interfered with the Devil ritual) but they killed Nacht and Morgan parents and if we’re being honest their parents well they kind of did deserve death

#Black clover #Black clover Asta #Asta #Black clover Liebe #Black clover Nacht #Black clover Nacht Faust #Nacht Faust #Black clover Noelle #Noelle #Black clover Noelle Silva #Noelle Silva #Black clover Yuno #Yuno #Black clover Yuno Grinberryall #Yuno Grinberryall

[unmaskedagain]

Rather be Me (than with You)

Hey everyone. This is a kind of angsty ONE-SHOT; not the usual humor and fun I usual go for. I decided to do something a bit different. I experimented with the idea of a story where Lila doesn’t get exposed. Marinette just moves on. Decides she deserves better.  This ISN’T a QUEEN MARI but Marinette does realize she’s a queen. 

This is Anti-Class but not Lila bashing. I didn’t not to got the normal LILA BASHING everyone usually does. Don’t get me wrong, Lila Bashing is my favorite tag in this fandom. But I wanted to do something different. Tell me what you think and if you like it.

It had been a long time since Marinette had cared about their snickering; cared that sometimes she ate alone. Marinette hadn’t given a rat’s ass about what anyone in her damn class thought. She had been done for a long time.

A year had passed since Lila created the hurricane that pretty much turned Marinette’s life upside. A year since Alya had been her best friend, since Adrien was her crush. Since Ladybug’s partner was Chat Noir, a year since she was anyone’s everyday Ladybug.

These days the other students in class ignored her, and she was fine with it. The minute Marinette stepped back and decide to say, “Fuck Them.” Lila had left her alone. The Italian girl still side-eyed her every now and then but was content to let Marinette be. One thing Lila did right was that she saw Marinette exactly as she should be seen; an unbeatable threat, and one hell of pain in the neck if she tried hard enough. For a while, Lila was sure the Marinette would expose her, that every lie she spun would come undone.

But then one day, just a few months after Lila had returned, Marinette came to school with a big grin on her face. Lila said one tall tales, and the other girl didn’t even blink. Lila still remembered that their eyes met and saw: nothing. No longer did righteous fury reside there. No hurt expression. Or tears. Just apathy, sheer indifference to everyone in class.

Lila didn’t smile that day. In fact, she found it hard to really smile for the rest of the week. Because though technically she had won, it didn’t feel like a victory. It was like the game the two girls played had resulted in a stalemate and Marinette decided the battle was over. Marinette lost all her friends. Lila had no choice but to keep up the lies, particularly, after her mother announced they wouldn’t be moving like they usually would after a few months. It took a lot of work. Lila could admit that if she had know Paris was permanent, she’d have been a little more honest.

So, in the end, neither girl won but neither girl lost.

Nevertheless, Lila was smart. She knew when to back off. And so she did. She learned quickly that if she kept Marinette’s name out of her mouth, she was golden. Lila also learned that Marinette wasn’t made at Lila. It was everyone else the Asian girl had a problem with.

Everyone else in class who quickly realized just what life was like without their everyday ladybug.

Gone was the random sweets from her parents’ bakery. Gone was the well planned birthday parties and class trips. Gone was the comforting shoulder. Gone was the friend who they could call no matter time of day or night if they needed someone to talk to. Gone was their biggest supporter. Gone was the always friendly face that promised to brighten the darkest day.

           The kids learned quickly, that if they were in trouble, they were on their own. Apart from Akuma attacks, that Ladybug still showed up for. Though Ladybug had taken to ignoring the students, particularly Alya. Even going as far as to say to the teen reporter, in front of other journalists, that she doesn’t talk to tabloids; too many rumors and lies.

           This had slowly but surly caused the downfall of the Ladyblog. Alya could no longer get the best scoop; no that went to Aurore who created an entire website with tips and advice and videos about and straight from Ladybug. The website fully endorsed by the hero. Alya had quickly decided that she just needed to talk to Ladybug to clear up whatever was caught the strife. It was then that Alya remembered that Marinette had gotten her that first interview, the interview that had launched the Ladyblog’s success. Marinette who she was no longer friends with.

           Marinette who had it clear that she didn’t care. She didn’t are that Alya’s beloved blog had spiraled into nothing. That Nino’s music career seemed to be at an all-time standstill. That Marc and Nathaniel’s comic and partnership had gone down in flames. (Mostly because Nathaniel had taken too much of Lila’s advice and changed too much of the comic to be recognizable.) Or that Ivan and Mylene had broken up. Juleka had gone back to never showing up in pictures. Rose was in tears that Prince Ali no longer wished to speak to her. Kitty Section had broken up. Chloe was a bigger bully than ever, though she too was smart enough to stay clear of Marinette. The list went on and on, getting worse and worse.

           Even the teachers realized just how much of a control presence that Marinette had. And just how lost their classrooms were without her.

           But still, Marinette didn’t care.

Marinette had been screwed over. Once. Twice. A dozen times. Her best friend, her sworn bestie, hadn’t been the loyal friend she promised she was; acted nice when was so not nice. Chat Noir, Adrien, had left her to fight alone so many times that Master Fu took back his Miraculous. Screwed over by her best friend. Twice. And then by all the other kids.

Still, no one could understand how the sweetest girl could go full Ice Queen.

They had been smart enough to get Luka and Kagami to ask Marinette at the school’s end of the year party. Adrien got Kagami to ask as Marinette had taken to ignoring him for a long time by then Juleka got Luka to promise to find out. Kagami and Luka had become her closest friends. And the fact that her classmates would use them to get information on her, just reminded Marinette just how done she was.

She was so done.

So after the two had asked. Instead of answering, Marinette texted Colton, her friend, and DJ of the party. Marinette needed to make something clear.

When the song, ended Marinette got on stage.

“Hey,” She said into the mic. Her hair was only a bit longer but the blue had been dyed out of it. Her skinny jeans were black and ripped and she had on a red halter top was lacy and elegant. “Someone of you might not know me. But I’ve done enough for this school and a lot the students, to know majority of you do.” Her tone was dry and her stare blank. “Over last year, I took a step back you could say from, well, bullshit.” There were laughs. Most of the students who knew of Marinette and had been affected by her kindness had reached out almost immediately when they realized something was wrong, something had changed.

           Marinette looked at the students, “I got screwed over by too many times to count.” She sighed. “Turns out, a lot there’s a lot of assholes in my class.” She said bluntly. “So how do I deal with it all. In fact, how do you deal with all the drama and bullies and liars and two-faced bitches in your life? I got some advice for you. Pay close attention because it worked great for me.” The music started and Marinette started to sing.

“Here's my secret strategy

It always works because

The world doesn't end

It just feels like it does”

           Marinette wasn’t the best singer but she was decent. The song wasn’t about high notes or theatrics. It was sung with grace and humor. A strong daria morgendorffer vibe.

So raise your right finger      Marinette raised her right hand flicked off the entire school and looked right at her classmates. There faces turned red and their eyes were wide.

And solemnly swear

"Whatever they say about me

I don't care!"

           The first few months had been hard. And full of mean looks were way and nasty remarks. Until they realized they needed her. They needed her charm. Her can-do attitude. Her to come back as class president. Her ideas. The free handmade clothes she designed.

I won't twist in knots to join your game

           Rose, surprising, had been the first to try to tempt her back. The other having enlisted the second sweetest girl in class to talk to Marinette. Rose had told Marinette that if she just admitted she was wrong Lila and apologize, they’d take her back. Marinette had told her to fuck off.

I will say, "you make me mad."

And if you treat me bad

I'll say "you're bad"

And if I eat alone from this moment on

That's just what I'll do

'Cause I'd rather be me, I'd rather be me

I'd rather be me than be with you

           Marinette had eaten alone for weeks until she made she found real friends in other classes, both upper and lower grades. That was when Marinette found out that she was well-liked by the majority of the school. And the majority of the school didn’t buy Lila’s lies.

We're supposed to all be ladies

And be nurturing and care

Is that really fair?

Boys get to fight, we have to share

           Marinette found new friends, made new plans, her schedule filled up again, and she was happy. That was when the rumors started. Alya and Alix, leading the charge, had taken upon themselves to tell Marinette new friends what a bully she was and the rest of the school as well. They got upset when no one believed them.

           They got even more upset when they realized Marinette didn’t care. At all. However, when Alix had taken it too far, he had decided to get physical and trip Marinette in the lunchroom….

Here's the way that turns out

We always understand

How to slap someone down

With our underhand

           Marinette got up, pulled her arm back, and knocked Alix’s lights out. “Don’t try that shit again,” Marinette had warned her ex-friends. “I have no problem kicking each and everyone one of your asses.”

She got a week’s detention but she smiled all the way through.

So here's my right finger Marinette flicked off the school again; waved it around so everyone could see it.

To how girls should behave

'Cause sometimes what's meant to break you

Makes you brave

So I will not act all innocent

I won't fake apologize

           From then on, it was everyone understood that a new Marinette walked the halls. One that didn’t care about being nice. How ladies should behave. She refused to apologize after a fight. And she never backed down from an agreement.

           Turns out losing all her friends didn’t break her. It made her braver. In a way Ladybug never managed to before then.

Let's just fight and then make up

Not tell these lies

Let's call our damage even

Clean the slate till it's like new

           Marinette never gave in; even when the ice out happened. All the kids in her class ignored her, they didn’t say a single word to her. Refused to pair with her. Didn’t even acknowledge her existence.

It's a new life for me

Where I'd rather be me

I'd rather be me

Than be with you

The once bluenette just laughed at their childish antics. She didn’t bat an eye as they wanted her too. She didn’t understand why they couldn’t fight like normal people. Or the very at least call the war done, the damage even on both sides, and then move on with clean slates.

I'll say, "NO!"

NO!

I'll say, "knock it off,

with your notes and your rules and your games."

           Marinette had just gone: NO. No. She wasn’t going to play their little games. Do anything to make it even remotely look like she card. It was over. She was done. It was all just a waiting game.

           Waiting for them to grow up and realize, it was game over. There was no magical way their friendship would ever be restored. They should move, let go. Find something better. Accept the loss and learned to live with it.

           Like she’d done with Lila. Marinette hadn’t been happy with the results of their chess game but she could live with it. Move on. Got a new life.

And those sycophants who follow you, Marinette turned her attention to the pretty Italian girl. If Lila ever came after her again… Or when her kingdom of lies fell, and there was no doubt it would. Marinette would be there to watch it burn.

I'll remember all their names, She sang to Lila who nodded having understood. Even she knew her time was running out. Though Lila wouldn’t just hand over her power willingly. No, Lila knew it would have to dragged away from her bloody hands before she let it go. Lila would fight. It was just the way she was.

           The one thing Marinette liked about the girl.

           Alya was getting desperately. Eventually, she’ll realize the answer to all her problems lay in the comments on her blog. All questioning why she was promoting such an obvious liar. And when she did… There would be hell to pay.

And when they drag you down

Like they inevitably do

I will not laugh along with them and

approve their palace coup, 'cause that's not me. She promised her once the greatest enemy. (Hawkmoth’s was Ladybug’s.) That caused Lila to smile.

           Because when the faux-faced kids turned their ire onto Lila. When they dragged her through the same torment they put Marinette though. At least the wannabe Volpina wouldn’t have to worry about the once Every Day ladybug.

           In fact, if Lila played her cards right, and she nearly always did. She’d find an alley to teach her. Teach her not to care. Teach her to be stronger. Teach her out to say “Fuck you” to the world.

           Because Marinette no longer cared enough to have any reason not to. Granted she could just say, “I. Don’t. Want. To.” Like she did frequently these days.

Janis. Janis. Janis. Janis

I don't need their good opinions

I have plenty of opinions

Everybody has opinions but it doesn't make them true

           Marinette didn’t care what her old friends thought. Or that they didn’t like her. Who cared? So what if they thought she was a bully? Or a jealous liar. Or a bad friend. Or the new Ice queen.

           She shrugged. She had a lot to say about them to.  And sure she bitched with Luka, Aurore, and Kagami but it wasn’t serious. It was just to vent. Because who cared?

What's true is being me

And I'd rather be me

I'd rather be me than be with you.

So raise them high 'cause playing nice and shy is insulting my IQ

           Marinette had no problem being a bitch if they pushed. She was no longer shy and sweet and far too nice for her own good. Because she had learned her lesson.

           And, Marinette thought, she learned it was so well that life rewarded. She was making clothes for Clara and Jagged. Worked with Chloe’s mom. She had an internship with Teen Vogue, in New York, that summer. Won several design contests. Got to see one of her designs on the red carpet worn by an up and coming actress that Jagged recommended her to.

           The actress said the brand was MDC, created by a kickass teenager name Marinette. That dress got the actress on the best-dressed list, and Marinette twenty more commissions by other almost, or kind of famous celebrities.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah

I'd Rather Be Me

I'd Rather Be Me

So maybe I should thank you. Marinette adlibbed the line but sang it directly to Lila who smirked as she knew exactly what the other girl was referring to.

           While Marinette would never say it, Lila knew, she had done the girl a favor. Showed her who her real friends were. Or weren’t. And without them, without the niceness and overly caring nature she once had, Marinette had thrived; gone further than Lila ever imagined.

           Lila had only wanted them because she liked the attention. However, she knew they weren’t real friends. No matter what Alya said, they weren’t besties. Lila didn’t trust the glasses-wearing girl as far she could throw her.

Because now I know…

I'd Rather Be Me than be with you!

           Most of her classmates looked sad. A few looked angry. Lila just looked up at her used to be nemesis with admiration and a small smile.

           A brief look of wonder and hope flashed over her face and for a moment she of just saying “To hell with it.” Screaming her sins and go binge watch Grey’s anatomy. Take up dance class when summer was over and the new school year began. She always loved dancing.

           It was the only thing Lila knew was honestly good at; great at even.

           But that moment passed. Lila liked her power. Besides, there was a good chance she could make everyone think Alya was crazy or lying to convince to save her blog; that Lila wasn’t the liar.

           Lila smirked. She had all summer to slowly leave breadcrumbs that Alya was reading too much into the situation, was too desperate, didn’t know what she was talking about. By the time the summer ended, Lila could have all other students convinced the once future great journalist had just lost her edge. So much so that it was reason Ladybug dissed the Ladyblog.

           Alya wouldn’t be a challenge like Marinette had been. Not even close. Marinette had been the Sherlock to Lila’s Moriarty. (If Marinette had kept the game going, Lila would’ve too. Until it was a full-scale war. No prisoners. Just blood; both metaphorical blood and the real red stuff.)

Alya would be too easy. But it would still be fun. Even if Alya managed to pull a fast one, there was no way their little friendships would survive what they did to Marinette. Not all the blame could be put on Lila, no matter how much they tried.

And when Marinette didn’t come back after the truth was revealed and they begged and apologized for never believing her; for not trusting her. Blame would shift. Especially if Lila changed classes like she knew Marinette had to be at least considering.

I'd Rather Be Me

           Because, Marinette would never be their friend again. They were just pawns in the game of life. And Marinette realized that while pawns could become queens. They never went back to being pawns again.

I'd Rather Be Me

I'd Rather Be Me than be with you!

Marinette was doing just fine. She wasn’t their friend. She didn’t like them.

And most importantly, Marinette didn’t care.

#ml salt fic #ml salt #marinette dupen chang #Marienette Dupain Cheng #Queen mari #alya salt #lila salt #saltinette #miraculous of salt #Nobod #nobodyfamousposts

[wish-i-was-fictional-imagines]

Make Your Move

Requests Are Open

Fitz x Reader

Summery: After your brother, Ward, gave Fitz some encouragement to confess his feelings for you, the scientist has come up with a plan on how to make the moment memorable.

A/N: Casually wrote a part two in record time thanks to the encouragement @hannahneedstocalmdown​  left on part one.

[Pt 1] [Pt 2]

You dodged another punch from your brother by ducking under his arm, getting in a couple good jabs to his side as you did. Unfortunately, it didn’t take him long to regroup and do a complicated move that had you pinned before you could even think about countering. After making sure there was no way for you to break the hold, Grant hauled himself up and pulled you up with him.

“That was good. Just have to keep working on your reaction times.” Grant barely sounded winded. “We can work on it tomorrow. I’m calling it a night.”

“Really?” You questioned, taking big gulps of breath yourself. Sometimes it irked you how rarely training seemed to effect him.

“Really. You’ve been working hard and we don’t get much time off from missions. I think you’ve earned some rest time. Besides, Fitz said something about waiting up for you.”

You launched yourself at your brother, wrapping him in a sweaty hug and babbling out a thank you before turning and taking the stairs two at a time. The only thing you could think about while training was finishing so that you could spend some more time with Fitz. You just hoped Grant was right and Fitz had waited up. When you rounded the corner to the living area of the Bus you heart dipped. The chess board was still set up, but Fitz was nowhere to be seen. He hadn’t waited up for you. You would have been lying if you said you weren’t disappointed, but there was no sense in stewing over it. Frankly, you were sweaty and hungry and just wanted to wash up.

Twenty minutes later, you were feeling clean and cozy and starving. You pulled on one of Grant’s old Academy hoodies and padded out to the kitchen, reminiscing about a gelato shop you had been to in Italy, only to stop short when you caught sight of a certain scientist sitting in front of the chess board.

“I thought you had gone to bed.” You hoped the grin that was growing on your face didn’t betray how pleased you were to see he had, in fact, waited up.

“I was waiting for you so we could play that next match.” He explained while fidgeting with the cuffs of his sweater. “I have a feeling I’m going to like how the match goes this time.”

“Oh yeah? Well you’re on.” You said while quickly rummaging around the kitchen for some pretzels. “What’s your bet?”

“I was thinking of playing for something other than sweets this time. Loser has to tell the winner something they’ve never told anyone before.” He had thought it over a lot and had decided this was the best way to tell you. If he lost, he wouldn’t be able to chicken out. He hadn’t quite thought about what would happen if you lost, but given the outcome of the last few matches, he was confident in his ability to lose to you.

You thought on the proposition for long enough to fill a bowl with pretzels, walk slowly to the living area, and settle down on one side of the board, which was sitting on a small tray the two of you had put between your spots on the couch.

“Alright, I’m game. White moves first.”

Fitz nodded and moved his first piece before looking to you with a glint of defiance. The match went by slowly, both of you taking your time to analyze the board before moving your pieces. Some banter was traded and at one point Fitz got up to fill the now-empty pretzel bowl with popcorn. Both of you could tell that the game was drawing to a close and Fitz began to fidget more than usual with anything in his reach. The current victim and pawn that you had sacrificed early on.

“Worried you’re going to lose and have to spill a deep, dark secret?” You taunted him playfully, throwing a couple pieces of popcorn at him.

“Why would I be worried? I’m the one who suggested this.” Fitz scoffed unconvincingly, “Besides, I believe I’m the one winning right now, so you’re the one who should be worried about spilling a secret.”

“I guess you have me there.” You said while moving a bishop.

“That I do.” The comment held an understanding and sense of finality that said neither of you would talk until the game was over. Both of you were far too invested to make conversation now.

Thirty minutes and a couple moves later, both of you were staring at the board, you smugly and Fitz disbelievingly.

“Stalemate.” He muttered, looking like he was going back over everything that had happened over the past two and a half hours.

“That it is. So since neither of us won, I guess we both technically lost too. Meaning we both tell a secret.” You explained while scooping up the pieces and putting them away with a clink every time one landed in the box.

“Okay, um... right. I suppose-I mean I should... go first.” Fitz shifted around nervously, crossing and uncrossing his arms, finally landing on picking at his sweater again. “I like you, (Y/N). Have from the moment you stepped foot on the Bus. I-well-I never thought that I could meet somebody as gorgeous and clever as you. Much less someone as kind.”

With one last clink of the chess pieces, you put the tray away and beamed up at Fitz, a giant grin on your face. “Guess it’s my turn. I like you, Leo. Have since I saw you tinkering with the night night gun my first day onboard. Meeting you was one of the best things that has happened to me since joining S.H.I.E.L.D..”

Ward had told Fitz that his feelings for you were requited, but hearing it from your lips was something entirely different. He shifted closer to you now that the board was out of the way, one thing on his mind, but stopped short when you looked up at him guiltily.

“I have to admit something else, though.”

“Okay.” Fitz could feel himself beginning to hold his breath in preparation for whatever you were going to say.

“I threw the match so that I would get a chance to tell you how I felt.” You glanced up to see Fitz’s mouth quirk up in a smile at the same time he let out a breath. He had been expecting something far worse, like you admitting you had ties to Hydra or something.

“I think I can live with that. Could I...?” He trailed off, leaving the unvoiced question linger in the air, but you didn’t need him to put it into words to know what he was asking. You nodded and began leaning towards Fitz, your head cocked to the side. Only five inches away. Three. One.

“Well it took you two long enough. But you’ll have to save it for later. We have a mission.” The two of you sprang apart at hearing Coulson’s voice, both of your faces growing increasingly red when you realized that he had walked in on what was about to be your first kiss.

Coulson was standing in front of the main display screen with May, Jemma, Skye, and Ward trickling in behind him. You shifted uncomfortably as each person gave you and Fitz looks of approval, feeling like a beetled pinned behind glass. Their little procession ended with your brother nodding at Fitz, some silent understanding passing between them.

“The Hub wants us in Nevada for a possible 0-8-4.” Coulson began to explain.

As you and Fitz tried to pay attention to your boss, you felt a weight settled on your hand as Fitz entwined your fingers together. Both of your minds were racing with everything that had just happened. Fitz had made his moves and you had made yours. You may have both lost in a stalemate, but who cared about a lost game of chess when it lead to holding the hand of the person you had been dreaming of from the moment you laid eyes on them?

#leo fitz x reader #leo fitz imagine #fitz x reader #fitz imagine #leopold fitz x reader #leopold fitz imagine #agents of shield fanfiction #agents of shield imagine #agents of shield #leo fitz #fitz #leopold fitz

[contagiousprincess]

i defy you, stars- Chapter 1

“From your first cigarette to your last dyin’ day”

Two households, both alike in dignity

(In fair Verona where we lay our scene)

From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,

Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.

From forth the fatal loins of these two foes

A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life;

Whose misadventurous piteous overthrows

Doth with their death bury their parents’ strife.

The fearful passage of their death-marked love

And the continuance of their parents’ rage,

Which, but their children’s end, naught could remove,

Is now the two hours traffic of our stage;

The which, if you with patient ears attend,

What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend

-William Shakespeare

The Whispering Woods were once tangled growth, full of creatures and plants alike waiting for their chance to claw to the surface. The soil was fertile and the air was sweet, but the area was crowded. The so called “whispering” was the noise of the wind pushing and squeezing it’s way through the brush and tightly woven tree trunks. Or, according to legend, it was the noise of the wildlife twisting, changing, moving to confuse lost travelers. 

No one was quite sure how the first people managed to make their stake along the banks of the river that ran through the heart of the forest and emptied into the ocean. But they imagined that they had to follow the forest's rules, because otherwise they would have been eaten up and spit out like the bugs that crawled along the skin of the ground. However they did it, those people weren’t alone for long.

Soon enough, another group came to compete, on the other bank of the river. The two different clans of people could have cooperated, learned to help each other, and survived to tell the tale to others. But just like the wildlife and fragrant trees before them, the two seemed determined to push the other down to reach the top, drawing lines in the silence that separated them. 

Where before, the forest was one giant, breathing body, a new word was introduced to the area: border. They fought for control of the harbor and the trade route along the river, but they were so evenly matched that no one ever won, instead locked forever in an endless stalemate.

So, the two groups began a bitter rivalry. One that continued for many, many, many years. Long after a bridge was built, connecting the two sides of the river for trade (though neither group would dare suggest it was necessary). Long after The Whispering Woods no longer whispered since the trees were gone and the wind had grown hot and stale. Long after the bugs and skin of the earth was replaced with cobblestone streets and alleys. So much long after, that now when asked what they were fighting over, the groups could not even remember, only that if the Horde and the Alliance ran into each other on the streets, someone would walk away badly hurt or worse. 

And this was how on a particularly sweltering hot day, six people almost died.

“Did you just flip us off?” Though most of her thick hair was pulled into a band beside her face, Mermista brushed the remaining pieces of hair out of her eyes, as if to make sure she was seeing clearly, but her dark eyes and thick eyebrows were dangerous, daring anyone to mess with her.

“And what if I did?” Lonnie catcalled, the sound ringing through the street. She was shorter, but stood tall, her boots planted firmly on the street with her hands on her hips. The braids on her head framed her face and softened the defined lines, but there was nothing soft about the way her mouth curled as she taunted the other girl.

“I’d tell you that if you apologize for it, we won’t beat you into a stain on the street.” Mermista stood shoulder to shoulder with Sea Hawk, who might not have been the sharpest tool in the box, but could fight just as well as the next guy. His dorky mustache and dumb boot and bandana combo seemed harmless enough, but he had a tendency to burn down anything in his path. Literally.

Lonnie considered this, and turned to Rogelio, who was broad and as mean as nails, visually and physically intimidating. “Do you think we would get arrested if I flipped them off again?”

“Yes,” Rogelio said simply. A man of few words, so when he used them, it was prudent to listen.

She rolled her eyes. “Fine.” Lonnie looked Mermista up and down and called, “I didn’t flip you off, but I was flipping someone off! Now, why are you still here?”

“You picking a fight?” Rogelio said. 

“Me? Pick a fight? Never,” Mermista said, eyes flashing.

“Watch it,” Rogelio grunted. 

“Now why would I do that?”

“Because Shadow Weaver is behind you!” yelled Lonnie, suddenly. She pointed, fear flashing across her face. Mermista and Sea Hawk spun around wildly, craning their necks, but they were only met with the normal hustle and bustle of the harbor. 

Lonnie busted out into laughter, doubling over and eventually having to sit on the ground to catch her balance and breath. She held her stomach, tears running down her face as her laughs echoed through the street. 

Mermista and Sea Hawk turned around, faces red and now so furious, sparks practically flew off of them. Sea Hawk unsheathed his sword and started towards them, but his friend grabbed onto the collar of his shirt, but he still strained against her.

“Oh, we got ourselves a comedian, huh?” Mermista drew her sword and faced them. “Personally, my favorite joke is the one where we pummeled the two Horde scrum into dust and they got washed down the river. The punchline always gets me.” 

Lonnie finally started to rise from the ground, and pulled out a dagger. “I’d like to see you try.”

Rogelio turned toward her, drawing his sword, and quietly said “Don’t forget that parry maneuver we’ve been working on. It’s all in the footwork.”

“Not the time, Rogelio! We have bigger problems, like a princess and her big fat mouth!”

At that, Mermista released Sea Hawk, and the four lunged towards each other. As soon as the clang of metal swords started to echo through the city, a young male voice could be heard yelling for them to stop. 

After a minute passed with no avail, an arrow careened over the group's heads, making a horrible screeching noise and catching their attention for a moment. Taking advantage of the opening, Bow pushed his way into the center, driving them apart. A top notch archer, the dark-skinned teen was well respected in the Alliance. He wasn’t necessarily the strongest, but agility and cleverness kept him on his toes, as well as alive. 

“Everybody back up! Do you have any clue what you’re doing?!” he screeched, desperately holding his hands up in a feeble attempt to keep them from colliding again. He finally managed to wrest Mermista’s sword out of her hand and pushed her and Sea Hawk away from the Horde teens. 

“We stand on thin ice as it is,” he said to the two of them. “Whatever the Horde trash did to provoke you isn’t worth it.” Raising his voice, he called, “They aren’t worth any of your time.” He gestured to Lonnie and Rogelio with Mermista’s sword, glaring as he did.

Lonnie opened her mouth to defend herself, but she was interrupted by another member of the Horde. 

Scorpia was tall and extremely buff, making Rogelio look like a prepubescent boy. Her shock of white hair on top was cropped close to her head and her eyes, normally kind and warm, were furious and focused. Scorpia, drawn by the sounds of fighting, had started running over seconds ago but now was faced with the sight of Bow pointing a sword at her two friends. 

She stormed in front of the two and stared down Bow, who paled upon seeing her. 

“Threatening my friends, Bow?” She towered over the other boy, and he craned his neck to see her. “Hope you had fun, because I won’t let it happen again.”

“I was trying to get them to stop fighting, Scorpia!” Despite their difference in size, he set his jaw and didn’t back down.

“With your sword drawn?” She scoffed.  “A likely story! You Alliance brats are always so high up on your horse, yelling about peace, complaining about the fighting but then you come into our territory and attack us when we mind our own business, and I, for one, am sick of it.” 

Bow began to speak very slowly and deliberately, as if explaining something simple to a child. “I. am. not. attacking. anyone. But if I was, it wouldn’t be much of a fight,” he smirked. 

Scorpia, enraged, drew herself up to her full height, and faced him, head on. “Lets have at it then,” she said, voice deadly even. 

Bow hesitated, and then knocked an arrow and drew it. “Fine with me”

Scorpia charged at him, leaping towards his head with her bare hands. Bow quickly ducked and rolled underneath her, coming up behind Scorpia on one knee. Just as her feet hit the pavement, he released his arrow. The arrowhead fractured in midair and split, shooting out a web, the delicate filaments of wire and carefully placed weights searching for a target to ensnare. 

The web slammed into Scorpia’s shoulder, biting into her skin and pulling her down, but only managed to wrap itself around her arm, fortunately for her. Unfortunately for Bow, Scorpia grabbed hold of the web and began to swing it, transforming her trap into a weapon. 

She advanced on him, taking the weighted net with her. Bow tried to back up and pull another arrow, but she closed in on him, taking advantage of his lack of close range weapons. She swung the web at him, and he ducked the first time, narrowly avoided the second, but on the third she feinted towards his head, changed course and then used her net to sweep his feet out from underneath him. 

Bow fell flat on his back, his head hitting the ground with a sickening thud, and Scorpia towered above him. She raised the heavy weights above her and started to bring them down on him, but a shout stopped her cold in her tracks. 

A small crowd of citizens had gathered, circling the group, but they during the fight began to chant something that completely baffled the six enemies. 

“Down with the fight! Down with the Horde! Down with the Alliance!”

The racket grew and grew, gathering almost all of the citizens not affiliated with either the Horde or the Alliance. The cacophony reached its peak when a horn call sounded and the crowd cleared a walkway and silenced. They stared up in awe as the 3 most powerful people in Whispering Woods strolled in front of them: Hordak, Shadow Weaver, and Angella. 

Hordak was muscular but not overly so. He walked with an odd gait, and his greasy black hair and beady eyes that were almost red were disquieting. But he radiated power, and as he walked the citizens bowed. Hordak was the Prince of the Whispering Woods, and he would be obeyed. 

Shadow Weaver was the leader of the Horde, one of the feuding groups, and Angella was the leader of the Alliance, the other. The two were both tall, but the similarities ended there. Shadow Weaver was lanky, and had long dark hair. She was clothed in deep red, and wore a mask covering her face. Even though her eyes couldn’t be seen, anyone who felt her stare grew anxious. Angella, on the other hand, was willowy, with long, bright hair. Her face was kind, but sharp. This along with the circlet inlaid with a pearl that sat on her forehead, immediately gave the impression that this was someone who was to be listened to and obeyed without question. 

The Prince strode in front of the other two, but they stood as far apart as possible, shooting each other with dark looks that made the citizens uneasy. Hordak, commanding the attention of every person in the street, sauntered up to where Scorpia still stood over Bow. Without saying a word, he flicked his wrist and Shadow Weaver and Angella untangled the two and dragged them as well as the other four to opposite sides of the circle that the crowd had formed. 

“Citizens!” Hordak boomed. “I have heard countless complaints about the feud which has led to this incident.” He sneered as he said it, making the fact that the enemies had almost killed each other seem as insignificant as childhood tomfoolery, and in a way, it was. “This ancient grudge has interrupted trade, caused countless injuries, and endlessly fosters riots and unrest amongst my people. It is high time for it to break.”

Angella and Shadow Weaver began to stammer, no doubt trying to pin the blame on the other, but Hordak simply held up his hand and they fell quiet. 

“I recognize that I cannot control the… feelings of my citizens.” His lip curled. “However, something still must be done. The city cannot stand with its people constantly fighting in the streets. So, my decision is this: whichever of you causes any more disturbance in my city will pay for it with their life.”

The crowd broke out into anxious murmurings, and the feuding groups began to protest, but Hordak held firm.

“I have made my decision. Now all of you go before I regret not ending you all here and now.” He leveled a glare at both groups and the citizens, who hesitated but began to disperse. Hordak turned his gaze to the women who led both groups and called out to them. “Shadow Weaver, follow me. Angella, I will speak with you later.”

The Horde and Alliance members all hesitated for a moment. 

“Was I unclear? GO!” roared Hordak.

With one final glare at each other, the two groups broke apart. Shadow Weaver fell into step behind Hordak, Angella led her Alliance towards the other side of the river, and Scorpia took the Horde members in the direction of their manor.

None of them noticed what was left behind. As they all meandered away, muttering darkly about their respective foes, a clear mark of the fight remained. Though no one could say exactly who it belonged to, it didn’t really matter in the end. 

A singular smear of sticky, scarlet-red blood stained the cobblestone street, seeping into the cracks in the mortar, already beginning to dry in the sweltering hot sun. 

notes: hiya! im katie and the idea for this fic basically mugged me in the middle of the night and i had to do something about it. this is just a teaser i think theres like a part two of chapter one but it was bulky and i wanted to post something bc why not. im not quite sure what im doing with this fic but i dont care im having fun lmfao. ive never written any fic before so be nice or i will block you i dont give a shit! this will probably go up on ao3 as soon as i can get an invite so for now this will live on tumblr yee haw! anyways lmk what yall think but only if its nice kk byeeee xoxoxo

#she ra and the princesses of power #she ra netflix #she ra #she ra fanfic #spop #angst #romeo and juliet au #mc death #adora #catra #catradora #scorpia #main character death #its romeo and juliet but its catradora #why do i do this to myself this shit bout to hurt

[zhonglishrine]

The Sky Is Too Far

Pairing: Reader x Nikolai Gogol x Fyodor Dostoevsky Note: Basically I’m trying to implement reader in Gogol’s love quest so it become triangle mess. Thank you for @fyowyn-writes​ and my friend Negin for beta/proofread this!

One of these days you might bleed your heart for real. Why? Because loving someone and having it unrequited is something is quite painful to bear. Like a cross that is forever burning inside your chest. But you already know, once you have signed the deal, seeing the subtle hints here and there, you should’ve known better than to hope for something so futile and impossible to grasp in the first place. However, you are still too stupid to believe and too naïve to think that he might spare you a little glance, looking at you back like how he did to him. Full of affection and attention— as an intimate friend, or more than that.

You never know how he truly feels for him, but hearing him talking about him is enough to tell you that.

Getting into a relationship with Gogol is never an easy thing since he wasn’t one to put any label for you and him. But you two were just that… having a dubious and questionable relationship from the start as he let you be the one to guess what you two are. Were you nothing more or less than a companion with benefits to him? Knowing Gogol, he is not one to tie himself with any commitment but that didn’t stop him from luring you with a bit of hope and whisper to you with his sweet words for his mere amusement. He enjoyed seeing your different reactions and all that surprised expression you make.

Behind his snickers and porcelain mask, he always led you to confusion as you kept searching for the answer of his riddles. Endlessly trying to catch up to him like stretching your hand up to the sky hopelessly. You are a flightless bird that cannot fly, and he is the endless mirage that you can’t touch but only can see from your invincible cage.

Just what are you to him?

That was the question that you always want to ask but too afraid to know. It stuck in your throat each time you tried to bring it up. Some things are better once left unknown, as the truth is bitter to swallow. However, you still wish if only you could do something, anything to win his heart, even if you know who has already occupied it.

Although, the said person did not reciprocate his feelings as well. At least, you can tell that as much.

But does Fyodor know about how Gogol truly felt towards him? For you, it was too plain and obvious to see, as he treasured him and had profound respect towards the said anemic man from the way he talked and the way he looked at him. And you doubt he was stupid not to see it as Fyodor is observant and nothing is left unseen to his eyes. Just like an omniscient God, he knows and oversees everything. However, that doesn’t mean that he would care for such petty feelings harbored towards him— every single person is just a pawn for him after all, a mere puppet that danced within the palm of his hand as he tugged on its strings.

That included you, and Gogol wasn’t an exception either.

As no one is special in the eyes of God since he treats everyone equally.   

Isn’t that what he hates the most? Isn’t that why he wants to get rid of it by losing sight of himself? However, it was still something quite entertaining to watch. Even he was extra hopeless in front of Fyodor. Restraining himself so that he would not appear too desperate. At times when he was frustrated although he didn’t openly display it, you are whom he came to. Either to talk or just to vent what he repressed. He dislikes not being free, he said so many times, and yet he keeps coming back to the same trap again and again and it binds him the more he was in it. In an endless circle of this never-ending wheel, unable to touch his moy d'yavol as he can only gaze from afar just like how you keep looking at him.

If only he would stop and look back for once, then perhaps you might reach him. But no, you never get that chance and he never bestows you that opportunity. Neither one of them gives that room to sort how they truly feel about. Too prideful and too egotistical to admit the truth, lest their weaknesses be uncovered and they appear vulnerable. 

And you can never understand what they are thinking. One is a man chasing down his path of Godhood, simply holding pawns in his hand, disposing them after they are no longer of use. He breaks them with bestiality prior to mercilessly tearing them to shreds, that is his melodramatic games that he likes to play with all the pieces he collected and salvaged. So beautiful Fedyushka, he graciously lifted his fingers on the chessboard without moving any muscles but he controlled all their movement from the shadows like a true ringmaster. Drawing the cards from the deck only for him to toss it aside and burn it in flames once he has figured it out. He set his own rules and he won his own game. That’s just how he is. A devil in disguise that swore to wipe clean the sinner from the face of this earth as if he was truly the God he proclaimed to be.

Another one is a clown, his whole life being a sheer joke and a satire that he parades around proudly with his maniac laugh. Playing his role as the Fool for his King and to entertain his audiences to satiate their greed. Fooling them all by the snap of his fingers just how magicians always did their magic tricks. But Nikolasha is always the sweet arlekin jester one, he knows what his audiences want to see and hear so he pulls them with his charms best with his gleaming grin. Magnificent and splendid he was, yet he never once wins against his Fedyushka in a chess or poker game or anything else. But you on the other hand, always lost to him even before the bet was at stakes. Always three steps behind as he keeps moving forward to chase his important friend that he claimed already too far ahead. And still, neither of you or him achieve what you truly want and are still caught in a stalemate. 

Why won’t he look at you, dear Kol’ka? Doesn’t he know that Fedya only manipulated and toyed with him? Fyodor wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice him even though he had claimed how Nikolai was one of his treasured subordinates. He knew how to pull the string of his words to temper with his chaotic mind. Like ivy tendrils wrapped around his heart as he was left at his mercy with every thorn pricking him within every inch. However, he still stayed, it was a poison he intoxicated himself with a perilous risk he was willing to take, yet even so, he is blindfolded by his sentiments, negligent to how they keep on hurting him. Maybe he just enjoys that thrill, the one that you weren’t able to provide him.

Oh, sweet, sweet dear Kolya. He is such a fool, really.

And you are no better either, wanting what you can’t have. It’s both tragic and pathetic, childish even. You know it already, but you can’t help wishing upon a connection solid as concrete. A little validation that there is something between you two. And it is never easy to spit it out after it has taken the root within your soul. Being attached to him when he gives you empty promises is a grave mistake. He has warned you so not to trust any of his clown words, and yet you keep falling for it, ignoring his blatant warning. So, who can you blame but yourself? Even when it hurts you piteously, as you are left unable to utter the words,  desperately endeavor to manipulate the surge of sentiments within you, those that are killing you slowly. You do love him dearly, and yet those are things that will hinder him to you. He never wants any personal feelings to be involved.

You two are similar to one another in one more ways than one; as  you were simply a grotesque reflection of his depraved desire. Perhaps, that is why he didn’t want to look at you? As  you both suffer from this torment but never bother to make it stop. Just how he never spares you a glance neither did Fedyushka do to him. Call this sentiment as one may associated with perversion, what makes it hurt there is the little reminder that left of his sanity and your will that you both are still a mortal being played by God and his destiny. You never had a place in the beginning for him and neither did he for him.

Love truly can make one blind, with one eye or not. However, it is too vast of context. His love for Fyodor can be described as a platonic one, or maybe it was twisted, a sentiment that consumed his whole mind. Fedyushka is the only one he set his eyes on, and all he wants is to prove that he can get rid of him so that he can be as free as a bird.

And it tugged the string of your heart whenever he kept reminding you of that fact. You were never of any importance to him, just how much Fyodor was with the way he treats you and the way he acts around Fyodor. It is too much of a difference with how his molten gold eye would lighten up and how enthusiastic he was whenever his Fedyushka was involved.

There is a little piece of your heart that you resent, the feeling of a tiny bit of jealousy with the unconditional treatment he gives him. You knew that he would do anything for him in a drop of a hat. What is different there to one that devoted themselves to the God that he actually despised? The duality of a man he is. If he cannot be honest with himself, what makes you think he would open up to you anyway?

You were tired, and it is mentally draining, you have scrapped your knees as you have fallen many times to give up chasing him. But whenever you see your darling jester again, despite all the bruises you had and how battered you are, you were still drawn to him. Again, and again, it was an endless chasing game in this labyrinth of a maze with no exit once you are in. 

And you wonder… are you truly okay with unrequited love? Was it enough if you can talk with him and hear his voice even when a single word that he speaks was not meant for you?

Dos-kun this, Dos-kun that. Always Dos, Dos, and Dos. Everything is always about Dos.

Keeping your smile in silence, you would listen to his prattle until he is done talking. But that always ached your heart the more you tried to mask your feelings. Really, Kol’ka, would it hurt if he talked about you a little? Sparing a thought about how you feel? Or was it too much to ask from him? Oftentimes you find yourself unable to say anything as you lost your voice in exasperation, holding back your tears from falling. Yet, you are stronger than to succumb to such reasons in lieu of coming across as vulnerable in front of him. 

But you still wanted to scream bloody murder to his face, however at the same times you were also too much of a coward to let him know how you feel. Whether he was too stupid or he simply did it on purpose to mess around, you can never tell. You could never read his unpredictable nature, for he is like storms that can bring a hurricane if he desires, and for all you know, he can then be sunny and bright, as though nothing had ever happened at all. It’s frustrating to play this game with him continuously. It hurt you, so painful just to pretend that you were okay.

Or maybe that is just how he is… truly free just like his true nature is. You look up feeling rather defeated with the game you never even once won. Nothing you could do to change him after all, as bitter as it was to admit it. He is just too stubborn for his own good as he keeps pursuing his goal. But in case you ever managed to do so, then he wouldn’t be the Nikolai Gogol that you have known. Despite all of his ignorance, he is still someone that has stolen your heart and you are the one willingly let him to have it. Stretching your hand up, you shield your eyes from the glaring sun. Narrowing your eyes to filter the sunlight, you wait until your vision gets used to it to see better.

The sky is too far indeed, and it is only beautiful just to solely watch and no more. Just like him. Perhaps, this is why you can only gaze at him from where you are, still unable to reach. 

Still, hopeless to wish.

#nikolai gogol #nikolai gogol x reader #gogol x reader #nikolai gogol x fyodor dostoevsky #gogol x fyodor #bungou stray dogs #bungoustraydogs #bsd

[dothwrites]

15.05 coda--nothing means anything anymore

15.05 coda--Dean/Castiel

I had someone once who made every day mean something. And now...I am lost...And nothing means anything anymore.--Ranata Suzuki

---

How are we supposed to fight God?

The question sits like a stone in the pit of his stomach. It’s with him when he showers, when he dabs antiseptic around the cuts on his side, when he eases into a shirt and into his bed. It sits on his chest, it lurks in his mind, it rises in his throat. It’s what he breathes, what he sees. Inescapable. Total. 

It’s...They were done. 

They were done. 

The walls press in around him. He’s never thought that the bunker was suffocating, but here it is, 4 am and he can’t breathe because the walls are closing in around him. He thinks that if he was in the middle of the Grand Canyon, it still wouldn’t be enough. These aren’t real walls, they’re Chuck’s fingers, squeezing around his and Sam’s neck until finally--

Michael was right, the bastard. Chuck just writes drafts and discards them, he’d said, and goddammit all, he was right. What had that been? Some weird crossover? 

Dean’s never...Even at the darkest point, even when the Apocalypse was looming, even when he was losing pieces of himself to the Mark, even when the Darkness was pressing around him, even when he was waking up with splitting headaches because Michael was screaming inside his head--There had always been a plan. There had always been some other action to take, something to do, something to fight. There had been something. But now...The gerbil wheel goes faster and faster and there’s no way off and there’s nothing, there’s nothing--

It takes him a second to realize that he’s hyperventilating, breath turning the pillow damp. His teeth bite into the pillow, fingers tear at the sheets. He needs...he needs...

He screams into his pillow, a muffled, broken sound that rips his throat raw. It tears out from his lungs, from his heart, but it doesn’t help, it can’t help--Everyone they lost along the way--Dad, Ellen, Jo, Bobby, Kevin, Charlie, Jack...Mom...It was nothing. It was nothing but Chuck getting bored. His whole life and it’s been nothing but fucking God having a hard-on for watching him break until there’s nothing left to shatter. 

Well, the fucker might get his wish. Because right now...There’s nothing left. 

It’s not a conscious decision to reach for his phone. It’s not a conscious decision to press the name that he’s been avoiding for weeks, the name that he’s tried to forget. 

For weeks he’s avoided calling Cas. For weeks he hasn’t texted him. He knows that Sam’s called him--he’d be stupid to miss the furtive, guilty looks, or the way that Sam shoves his phone in his back pocket whenever Dean enters a room. But Dean’s kept himself separate, apart. He changes the subject whenever Sam asks why Cas isn’t texting him back or why all his calls go straight to voicemail. 

He still hasn’t told Sam about that night. The finality in Cas’ words. The resignation in his eyes, the resolution in his steps. He’d seen that same look in Cassie’s eyes, in Lisa’s. It was the look of someone when they said goodbye and meant it. He’d known then, when Cas tilted his head and the ghost of what might have been a smile crossed his face, that that was it. Cas was gone. 

And Dean had respected that, he had. He put his head down and kept on, and it had been fine. It had been fine. He and Sam would keep on doing what they were doing, and he would find new weird jerkies to eat, and it would have been fine. 

But then, Chuck, and Lilith and...Dean can’t breathe, he can’t get any air into his lungs, nothing means anything anymore. He’s drowning, he’s falling, and he can’t tell it to Sam because Sam’s just barely hanging on, and he can’t tell it to Cas, because Cas is...Cas had...

The phone rings. Once. Twice. 

---

In his dreams, Cas picks up the phone. Cas answers in that stiff way that he always does, with the weird pause that gives him away as something not originally of this world. In Dean’s fantasies, Cas answers because he can feel the force of Dean’s desperation, his need, and even though he’s angry, he listens. 

In his dreams, Dean tells Cas everything. He apologizes and Cas listens. In his dreams, Dean is a better person, one who can admit when he’s wrong. In his dreams, Dean apologizes and Cas listens, and at the end, Cas says I’ll be there as soon as I can. 

In his dreams, Cas agrees to come back, says that he’ll see Dean in a few hours, and before they hang up, Dean says I love you, easy as anything, and Cas pauses for a second, before he answers back, smile in his voice, Of course, I love you too. 

In his dreams, Cas answers and the gerbil wheel stops, if only for a second.

---

Four times. Five. 

Voicemail. 

After two weeks, hearing Cas’ voice is a sucker punch, even if it’s only the same, irritated voicemail that he’s had for years. Dean closes his eyes and bites back a sob and it’s only when he hears the discordant beep of the recorder that he realizes that he got lost in the soft growl of Cas’ voice. 

And now it’s his chance to speak and he doesn’t...There are no words. There’s nothing that can...

“Hey. It’s me. Um. Dean. I uh, I guess you already got Sam’s message. About Chuck and Lilith and...” 

The weight of the night crashes on his shoulders, as subtle as an oncoming locomotive, and Dean’s voice wavers. Suddenly, there are too many words and they pour out of him. It’s unstoppable, blood gushing out of an artery and Dean sits in his room, breath ragged in his throat and pours his soul into an answering machine. 

“I don’t know what to do. I just...I don’t know what to do and I can’t...Sam’s trying to be hopeful but I just can’t...Lilith says that it always ends the same way for him, one of us killing the other, and I don’t know how we can stop it, I don’t know how we can even think of fighting...fighting God, fuck, I don’t...” Dean’s voice breaks in the middle, awful as the time he broke his arm when he was fourteen on a poltergeist hunt. “I’m scared Cas, I’m really scared and I need...I want...I need you to come back. I can’t do this by myself, I can’t...I need you here. Please.” 

He listens to the silence on the other end. The jagged sound of his own breathing fills the room, along with the wet rustle of snot in his nose. He’s crying, Dean realizes with some detachment, big, soppy fat tears rolling down his cheeks. 

“Please. I know...I know that I fucked up, I know that, I know that I don’t have any right to ask you for anything but I’m asking anyway--please. Please come back.”

At that, Dean hangs up before he can say anything else stupid, before he can humiliate himself anymore. He places the phone down on the mattress and wastes a few minutes staring at it. 

---

In his dreams, Cas calls back. He calls Dean like he always does, with that split-second of surprise that Dean picked up. Dean can always hear the smile in Cas’ voice when he says hello and he never told Cas how much he cherished that little nugget of warmth in his chest. In his dreams, Cas calls back and Dean asks him to come back. Dean asks him to stay. 

In his dreams, Cas calls back and Dean asks him to stay and Cas says Of course.

In his dreams, Dean says I miss you and Cas says, I missed you too. 

In his dreams, Cas calls back, and Cas stays.

---

Dean stares at his phone until his eyes fuzz out. He stares at the phone until exhaustion and gravity take over and his eyes droop closed. He falls into a restless, fitful sleep and dreams of the clacking of typewriter keys. He dreams of ash, and death, and loss, of never-ending wheels, and a slowly constricting noose. He wakes with the taste of blood in his mouth. 

---

Cas doesn’t call back.

So it goes.

---

Our parting was like a stalemate. Neither of us won. Yet both of us lost. And worse still...that unshakeable feeling that nothing was ever really finished.--Ranata Suzuki

#spn spoilers #supernatural #destiel #destiel fanfic #destiel fic #castiel #dean winchester #spn15 #15x05 #15x05 coda #coda fic #fare thee well spn #welcome to the end #dothwrites

[professordrarry]

Prompt: there’s more to a seeker than seeking

I freaking LOVED this prompt. Can I possibly use the sentence again sometime? When I’m in a less…silly mood? For now I hope you enjoy this random little minute of Draco being Draco. 

Lucius was very soon going to cause Harry to become defensive. They’d been standing on Harry’s lawn for approximately twenty-five minutes, in an utter stalemate, and Harry’s patience was long since gone.

“I fail to see how that is the point,” Lucius said for the umpteenth time.

“Well, aren’t you lucky that I’m not dating you!” Harry replied, edged tone finally unleashing itself over the continual berating. 

Lucius’ eyebrow lifted in a way that was nothing at all like his son’s; he had none of the warmth and humour that came from Narcissa. Instead of being sexy and mysterious, or wry and mocking, Lucius’ eyebrow attempted to judge your soul from where it stood and always found you wanting.

“I will remind you,” he said cooly, “That right now, Mr Potter, you are dating no one.”

Harry took a deep breath. They’d been over this.

“I am very much aware of that, Malfoy,” he growled. “And that will remain the case until Draco apologises.”

“Then you’ve lost him,” Lucius sighed.

“And why do you care!” Harry shouted, throwing his hands into the quickly darkening sky and begging anyone, everyone, for a bloody answer. “Last I checked, you weren’t exactly a fan of Draco dating a man.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Lucius clipped, the ice in his voice chilling Harry even though the night was warm. “I do not care that my son is gay. I rather more think that my issue is with who he has chosen to…bed.”

There was so much malice in his tone now that Harry, against his will, burst out laughing; Lucius really had not adapted well to the fact that all his little rancourous vocal tricks held absolutely no power now.

“If that were true,” Harry shot back, “you would not be standing here, outside my house at eight in the evening, refusing to leave.”

They squared off again, neither willing to bend or readjust or back down. Finally, Lucius took a deep breath and sighed, scrubbing his forehead.

“Potter. Draco, as you know, is…well, not proud. That’s not the right word. I would say more…obstinate than anything. Always has been. Cannot admit his own failings. It has been a problem since his childhood.”

“In case you’ve not realised it, that little trait definitely comes from your bloodline, Lucius.”

The faintest wisp of a smile crossed Malfoy’s face. “I know it,” he said, a tinge of pride behind the words. “Nonetheless, he sometimes forgets to be obstinate with a cause. As is the case now.”

“Yes, well. I’ve been known to be a bit obstinate as well.”

“Indeed,” Lucius said with that same small smile. “But I’d think a star Quidditch player such as yourself would be better at playing the game.”

Harry looked at him angrily. He had no idea what Malfoy was on about and he did not like that feeling.

“What, pray tell, does one do once they are holding the golden snitch?” He waited for a reply and finally, Harry sighed in defeat and shrugged.

“One holds onto it for dear life, until the Officiant or Score Keeper has seen it and the game is won.”

Harry sighed again, at the point of really just wanting this conversation over. “I don’t…what are you on about. Get to the point.”

“The point, young man,” Lucius simpered, “is that there is more to being a Seeker than seeking. You hold onto it until the bitter end, in order to gain the prize.”

Harry stared at him. He let the thought process through his mind. “Get off my property,” he spat.

Lucius smiled, bowed a shallow, petulant bow and walked away, his disgusting walking stick in hand.

“I really hate when that man is right,” he said to himself as he went into the flat.

The next morning was sunny and way too hot. He hated it, to be honest. He thought absently that at least it was bright enough to keep the nargles away and then laughed. Luna was on his mind again. He was immediately sad because he knew Luna would be furious with him for letting this fight go on for so long. He took a deep breath and lifted the knocker in front of him.

Draco scowled when he opened the door. “What are you doing here?” he sneered. “You made it clear the last time we spoke. I’m not going to apologize, so we’re through.”

Harry took a deep breath and didn’t rise to the occasion. “We’re going to have lunch. Come on.”

Draco startled, just as Harry had known he would. He hated not having the upper hand, not knowing what cards to play.

“I’m…I’m not dressed to…I have plans.”

“You look fine, you know you don’t have any other plans, and I’m not asking,” Harry snapped. “Let’s go.”

He forced himself to walk away before he let Draco rile him up. That would solve absolutely nothing.

They walked side by side down the high street from Draco’s flat to the tiny brasserie that was at the end of the lane. It was small and overpriced, but it was within a short walk and was also on the ‘Draco approved’ list, so Harry had decided it would do. Inside, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all waited, a pint in front of each of them. Like a scene from a particularly predictable sitcom, they were all laughing when Harry and Draco entered, and they all abruptly stopped when they saw Draco. Draco inhaled sharply and spun to glare at Harry.

“I can’t believe you,” he whispered viciously.

“Yeah, well, I’ve spent the last two weeks not exactly believing you, so I think it makes us even don’t you? Let’s go, I’m starving.”

He walked to the table, ignoring the hesitant step Draco took toward the door. He couldn’t do anything else. Draco had to make a choice now. Harry saw the moment he made up his mind. The breath where he decided to stay. He sat gingerly at the table. At first, everyone ignored him. He sat and listened to the conversations. And yet.

When Ginny went up to get everyone another round, she brought him a pint as well and Harry slid it to him without looking at him. When their food arrived, Harry silently placed his gherkin on Draco’s plate and Draco’s tomato ended up beside Harry’s burger. They ate, discussing nothing except innocuous subjects. Finally, the plates were cleared away and the beer was gone and Hermione cleared her throat.

“Guess we can decide on pudding,” she muttered, taking the slim menu from its little stand. “I hear the tart sucre here is—”

“Look, I owe all three of you an apology,” Draco interrupted, dragging all their eyes to him at once.

Whatever he had been planning on saying fled from his mouth. Harry watched it happen; he watched about seventeen emotions scroll through his deeply reddening cheeks.

“Draco’s not so good at apologies, as you all know,” Harry murmured, taking pity on him. “It’s been made very clear, however, that—”

“Harry,” Ginny said soothingly. “We already told you, we don’t care. It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine,” Draco whispered.

They all looked back at him again. He cleared his throat.

“It’s not fine. You’re all…you’re family and I forget, sometimes, that you all went through it all together. But. I forget because Harry is my family. So I get…defensive. And angry. And I say things. Things I don’t really mean. And I…I crossed a line.”

“So basically,” Ron said with a smirk, “you were a Slytherin?”

The three of them laughed and Harry smiled down at the table.

“W-what?” Draco said, brow furrowing in his confusion.

“We aren’t actually angry, Draco,” Hermione said patiently. “I mean, it was shitty or whatever, but you’ve said worse. And done worse. We’ve gotten over that. Or at least, we’ve learned to make our peace with the past?” Hermione shook her head and gestured at Harry. “He said we had to come.”

Draco looked murderous for a fraction of a second, then looked a little more sheepishly at Harry, who now sat with his arms folded and challenge on his face. 

“You were an ass. Last time you did that, I told you that if you didn’t start apologising when you’d fucked up, this was over. I meant it.”

“We haven’t spoken. For two. Weeks. TWO WEEKS, Harry James Potter! We are engaged. I was pretty sure you were never going to see me again! I…I sent my father to try and talk to you!”

“I knew it was you,” Harry laughed with a smirk. “He was very irritating. Never do that again.”

“Yeah, okay…but the point is…the point is—”

“The point is what, Draco?” Harry challenged.

He opened his mouth as though he was going to protest more, but instead, he stood up and placed his hands flat on the table, facing them all simultaneously. “Ahem,” he began.

“Ginny. I’m sorry I told you I would curse your first born if you didn’t let me buy Pacific Avenue.” He turned slightly to the other side of the table.

“Ron. I’m sorry I cursed all your hotels so that they moved constantly to the little green squares.” He froze and looked at Harry sadly.

“And?” Harry pressed.

He sighed one more time. “And, Hermione…I’m sorry that I slowly stole all your $100 money things, spiked your tea with rum so you wouldn’t notice, and then called you a Ministry Sell Out when you won anyway,” he said all in one breath.

All four of the other people at the table burst out laughing.

“You really need to not let me play Muggle board games with you anymore,” Draco said miserably. “Even if they are the American versions you’ve borrowed from the library!”

“Agreed,” said Harry with a nod. “Though, just for the record, we only ended up not talking for two weeks because you’re a stubborn ass who refuses to a) give up his flat before we’re married and b) won’t apologise when you fuck up, even when things are stupid.”

“Yes, understood,” Draco mumbled. “What made you come over?”

“Well,” Harry said slowly. “There’s more to seeking than being a Seeker…or…something.”

They all looked at him for clarification; Harry just shrugged and stood to order a treacle tart.

#drarry #drarry os #my writing #prompts for days #love professordrarry

[keeperofhounds]

Lost & Found (Chapter Nine)

Special thanks to my beta reader @rachelbethhines and special thanks to Varian66 on Discord for their part in developing this story.

We all know how the original story started. We all know how it ended too. Let’s see an alternate take if Eugene were to have been adopted rather than being alone for most of his life.

Sleep didn’t come easy for Rapunzel that night. How could it when the unkind words of her mother echoed in her thoughts? The blond trusted Eugene with her secret, why wouldn’t she trust him to keep his word? She knew the answer of course it’s because she still had doubts about the outside world riding on this one trip and this one person. If Eugene were to leave her like nothing happened when he got the satchel back she didn't know how she would take it.

Mother had been very clear when they talked last night. The older woman didn’t believe that Rapunzel was smart enough to be out in the world, that she was naive in her beliefs. That Rapunzel was being difficult when she got silly ideas in her head, that she needed a reality check. 

The blonde had done something she had never done before which was stand up to her Mother, it left both of them shocked at the action. Mother had been cruel in her attempts to disway her daughter to convince her to come back to the tower. The satchel was just a means to warn her daughter about the darkness of humanity, that she was just a means to an end, the exact reason why she was hidden away in the first place. 

Rapunzel wouldn’t let those doubts stop her though, for too long she had let others dictate how she acted it was time for her to make her own experiences. If she was being honest with herself she believed Mothers jabs, which is why the girl had hidden the satchel from her companion. It was an attempt to protect a fragile hope, a hope that her Mother was wrong about everything. Even if she was naive about the dangers of the outside world she was out and willing to learn. If she could prove her Mother wrong about this then maybe she was wrong about other things too. Maybe this trip would only become the first of many.

Shouting jolted Rapunzel and Pascal from their uneasy sleep. It was Eugene, and he sounded like he was in trouble. Rushing towards the sound Rapunzel was met with the strangest of sights. In front of her was the same white horse who chased them in the canyon, he was trying to drag Eugene off, although Eugene was clawing desperately on the ground in an attempt to getaway. It would have been funny if the situation wasn’t so serious.

Grabbing Eugene’s flailing hands Rapunzel tried pulling away from the horse, but held fast not willing to let his prey escape again. Neither side was gaining traction however leaving them in a stalemate in their tug of war. This only prompted both sides to pull even harder until finally the boot that the horse was holding onto slipped off the panicking thief causing both sides to fall to the ground.

Finally free from the animals clutches Eugene scrambled towards the nearest tree pressing himself against it in an attempt to give distance between himself and the horse. The horse huffed running towards his target only to be stopped by Rapunzel who threw her arms out wide in an attempt to lock the horse. The horse tried to move past her only to be blocked at every turn until he could only stare at the strange girl with a chameleon on her head.

“Now sit,” Rapunzel said, lowering her hands in a downwards motion.

The horse made the motions to sit, they clearly weren’t sold on the idea when they stopped in a squat. Only sitting when Rapunzel repeated the command to the horse.

“What?” Eugene said he couldn’t believe it would be that easy.

Rapunzel pointed her hand down, “Now drop the boot.”

The horse gave Rapunzel a look as if she was asking him to do something ridiculous, but complied when she repeated herself. When they did Rapunzel showered them in praise petting their snout and talking to them in a sweet voice, one reserved to animals and well-behaved children. Eugene would have thought what he was seeing was some crazy dream if it weren’t for the fact that everything felt too real.

“Come on,” Eugene said, throwing his hands towards the horse, “he’s a bad horse.”

The horse glared at Eugene, not appreciating the slander to their character. Luckily they were distracted by Rapunzel before they decided to do anything.

“Aw, he’s nothing but a big sweetheart,” The horse nuzzled Rapunzel in agreement as if to prove her point, “isn’t that right?....Maximus.”

Eugene crossed his arms over his chest in disbelief, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Maximus glared at Eugene, it was clear the goodwill did not extend towards the thief. Although considering how things went yesterday it would be good to have a little more help in keeping the guard off Eugene.

“Look today is kind of the biggest day of my life,” Rapunzel said, slowly walking towards Eugene being mindful to keep her eyes in contact with the horse. Somehow she was able to help Eugene back onto his feet without too much trouble. “And the thing is I need you not to get his arrested.”

Maximus stared at what he could only consider as a silly proposal. Him not arrest a criminal? Ridiculous.

“Just for twenty-four hours,” Rapunzel said, seeing her lose the horse, “then you can chase each other to your heart's content. Okay?”

The thief sighed at where his life had led him up until this point. One second he was gallivanting through the forest the next he was making deals with guards to keep his freedom. His fate resting in the charm of a girl winning over a horse. Eugene held out his hand to shake on it, but he didn’t have to like it.

Maximus stared at the held out hand, then at Eugene. The horse looked away clearly not being won over by Rapnunzel.

“And it’s also my birthday,” Rapunzel said through gritted teeth clearly hoping for the best.

Which shockingly enough happened with Maximus holding out a hoof to shake. Both thief and guard shook in agreement at the supposed truce for twenty-four hours. Although it didn’t stop Maximus from punching Eugene in the gut when Rapunzel’s back was turned. The horse needed to get back at the thief for causing so much trouble after all. It was only fair.

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

There’s something about hiding from guards and seeing your face on a wanted poster that really puts the sense of adventure in you. Since arriving at the capital Eugene with the help of Maximus was able to stay out of sight, imagine his surprise at the corona issued wanted posters. Imagine his horror when they got his nose wrong, although the horse seemed in good spirits about that.

Rapunzel had a rough start when first arriving at the capital since her hair was dragging on the ground without the bands longing it up. It was only luck that she was able to make friends with a group of sisters who were nice enough to braid the long hair. Eugene imagined that they also couldn’t resist the challenge either, but the braid they left behind was much better suited to Rapunzel than what she previously had before. 

Now the thief was watching her bring people to dance with her in the courtyard. It didn’t matter to her that the people were complete strangers, she wanted everyone to join in on the fun. Not that he could blame her considering that it was a special day for her, she just wanted to share it.

“So, aren’t you going to dance with your girlfriend?”

Eugene jumped forward in surprise almost dropping the food he bought. Maximus let out a horse laugh at the thief's reaction. “What? Varian, what are you doing here?” Eugene crouched a bit looking around the crowd, “Is dad here too?”

Varian looked at Eugene as he took a bite out of his apple. “Don’t worry, Dad couldn’t make it, he’s busy working on the harvest. Like I’d miss the chance to help out my favorite brother impress a girl.” The younger boy handed Maximus an apple that the horse gladly ate.

“Taking bribes are you now?”

Maximus ignored the thief relishing the flavor of the apples.

“Also Varian, I’m your only brother,” Eugene said, placing his hands over his hips. “And she’s not my girlfriend.” “Then why is she trying to get you to dance?”

Eugene followed where Varian was pointing and sure enough, Rapunzel was motioning for him to join the dance circle. Eugene shook his head not wanting to dance, but the present company was not having any of that. Maximus strongly nudged Eugene forward with Varian giving his brother his own little push towards the crowd. The thief wouldn’t admit that he did have fun during that time dancing. He and Rapunzel tried a few times to dance with each other but someone else always came to whisk them away.

When Rapunzel and Eugene came back from dancing, Eugene saw Varian talking to the guard horse who looked too happy for comfort. Rapunzel’s face broke out in a grin rushing towards Varian, greeting him and asking if he was there to see the lanterns too. “Well, yeah who wouldn’t want to spend extra time with the Flynn Rider.”

He could at least give Varian credit, the kid knew how to butter people up. Eugene had taught him well. It also didn’t help that Varian was giving him a look which was usually the one reserved when he wanted Eugene to keep a secret from dad. Eugen let out a breath, at least he didn’t have to worry about his dad at the moment.

Rapunzel watched the interaction thinking about the words and zeroing on a few important words and details. To her it seemed obvious that Varian wanted to spend time with Eugene, how could she not? She used to do the exact same thing when she was younger with Mother.

She looked at the thief who gave Varian an unimpressed look before breaking out into a smile, “Oh, fine the more the merrier right?”

Varian jumped at the words doing a little dance in celebration, “Woohoo, Team Awesome is back!”

Rapunzel jumped in excitement almost letting out a little cry hearing those words, she gripped Eugene's bicep and leaned forward towards Varian. “Eugene, Varian is your brother right?” She remembered the words Eugene said last night before her Mother appeared. 

The younger boy’s eyes widened in surprise as he turned to Eugene, “You talked about me?”

“The subject came up.”

“It must have Eugene,” 

“Why you little.”

Rapunzel laughed as she saw the two brothers give chase to each other. Varian kept away from Eugene as he tried to catch Varian. They stuck close to her not wanting to lose her in the festival, but it was clear that it was all in good fun. The girl couldn’t help but watch seeing another side or at least the one Eugene tried to hide from all that time ago. She had a feeling that the worries she had from last night were unfounded.

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