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themadlostgirl · 3 years

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Keeping Warm (2)

*Did I make a second part to this because one person asked for it? Yes I did. Come to me my Felix simps! Enjoy your fluff!*

~~~

That had to be the best sleep I’ve had in a while! This cloak was a lot better than my old one. I wonder how long I could get away with keeping it before the boys stole it back. I folded it up neatly and hid it under my cot so it wasn’t out in the open for them to steal back.

I left my tent and noticed that the boys that had been laughing and teasing me yesterday were keeping a wide berth from me today. I had no problem with that. The farther away they stayed the better.

Since I was truly well rested for the first time in a long time I decided to take advantage of my energy and practice my archery. Before Neverland I never had a need to learn how to wield a weapon but archery was fun and it helped in hunting small game. I grabbed my bow and quiver of arrows before setting off into the jungle. When it came to game on the island there wasn’t a whole lot outside of fish and some birds but they didn’t make for much food.

If you wanted a good meal you had to head into the dark jungle of the island. It’s where all the big game lived since anyone ventured in there. You could sometimes find a rogue boar running around outside of the dark jungle but they mainly stayed within the perimeter. Other than boars there was also a type of goat that lived there. The boys had tried keeping some of the goats for milk a while back but after the “incident” all the goats were shoved into the dark jungle and water became the only acceptable source of drink. Probably for the best.

I was out tracking for a while when I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I tried to make it out through the foliage and saw the head of a goat pop up. Gotcha. I notched an arrow and took aim. I let the arrow fly and cheered when it went right through the goat’s eyes.

“What the hell?” Another head popped up, this time it wasn’t a goat though. Felix turned to look at me. “What was that?”

“Sorry!” I rushed over, “I was hunting and saw the goat head. I didn’t mean to shoot at you. What are you doing out here?”

“Same as you it seems. I had been tracking this fat bastard for over an hour.” He kicked the dead goat at our feet. “Almost had it too before you got it first. Nice shot by the way.”

“Thanks! I was really lucky this time around. I usually don’t get a clear shot like that.” I tore the arrow out of the goat’s head. “Since you’re here do you mind helping me lug this beast back to camp?”

“Sure,” Felix heaved the goat up and threw it onto his shoulders. “Let’s get moving.”

“This will surely make for a good dinner tonight.”

“You really wanna let those jerks tear into your catch?” Felix asked.

“I mean not really but this is way more food than you and I can eat so we kinda have to split it up.” I shrugged, “Why do you care anyway? I thought you liked the other Lost Boys.”

“They’re my brothers but brothers can get damn annoying.” He muttered, “Taking shit that doesn’t belong to them and whatnot.”

“Ugh, I know what you mean.” I sighed, “They stole my cloak out of my tent last night so I stole one of theirs as payback.”

“Did you now?” Felix trudged further ahead, “Did you give it back yet?”

“No and I don’t plan to. Mine was so thin it didn’t help at all but this one is really warm so unless they come and pry it away from me I’m not giving it up. It also helps that is smells good so I cuddle up in it even tighter.” My face started heating up after I realized what I just admitted. “Sorry, that was a lot of unnecessary information.”

“It’s fine,” Felix muttered.

I jogged to fall into step next to him. I grabbed an apple out of my bag and started cutting off slices with my knife. I wordlessly offered one to Felix. This time when I popped it into his mouth for him though I didn’t roll my eyes since his hands were full carrying the goat. We trekked back to camp in companionable silence. Felix set the goat down for the others to skin and cook while we rested.

We sat down on a log together while I picked bits of goat fur off his shoulders.

“Felix,” One of the boys approached us, “Pan was looking for you earlier but you were away from camp so he wanted me to pass on a message.”

“And?” Felix asked.

“He’s gone off the island on a mission of sorts. Says he may not be back till morning at the latest so you’re in charge till then.”

“Got it.” Felix nodded and the boy ran off again.

“Man in charge tonight,” I poked his shoulder, “Don’t crack under the pressure, captain.”

“Har har,” He rolled his shoulder ushering me off, “Being in charge for a night doesn’t entail much. I just have to make sure these idiots don’t go rogue during Pan’s absence and do something stupid like burn the camp down again.”

“These boys can really be just the dumbest things on the face of the earth, can’t they?” I shook my head. Then my body shook. A cold gust of wind blew through the camp. It wasn’t like the slightly cooler breezes that Neverland usually had. This was cold. Really cold.

The other boys felt it as well. All of them rushing to their tents and reappearing with cloaks and others running for firewood. “What’s going on?” I asked Felix as I rubbed feebly at my arms.

Felix sighed. “I almost forgot that this happens when Pan leaves. He so rarely does anymore it didn’t even cross my mind.”

“What?”

“When Pan leaves then time stands still. I don’t mean that in the way that tie naturally stands still here. I mean the island basically goes into hibernation without him around. Depending on how long he’s been gone we should start to see the beginnings of…” Felix looked up. The once clear sunny sky had been replaced with dark dreary clouds.

“Oh don’t tell me it’s gonna rain!” I pouted.

“Worse than that.”

We sat there for a minute as delicate white flakes started falling from the sky. “Snow?!” I gaped at the offending weather. “How is there snow? This is a tropical island!”

“It is a magic island too though.” Felix said. “You may want to grab something to put on, viper. It’s only gonna get colder.”

“Right, I’ll be right back.” I ran back to my tent and pulled the cloak out from under my cot. I put it on but while it was thick enough to keep out the chill of the night it was just another feeble layer against the bitter cold that we had been subjected to now.

I went back to the log where Felix and I had been seated but he wasn’t there anymore. I made my way towards the bonfire the boys had started and huddled as close as I could get to the flames. I really hope the boy I stole the cloak from won’t try to take it back now. I fear I’ll freeze to death without it.

The sky grew even darker and the island got even colder. We were quickly burning through our supply of firewood and I knew that it would run out soon. When that happened it was every man for themselves. I figured I’d hunker down in my tent and try to keep warm by myself until Pan returned and the cold went away.

I stayed by the fire as it dwindled down to faintly glowing coals. The snow had really piled up and my toes were numb in my boots. Oh no! I didn’t even take into account the snow! I ran as fast as I could to my tent but it was of no use. The snow had weighed it down and it crumpled. My cot was soaked and the beams I had used to pitch it had snapped. This was just great.

It looked as if the other boys had gotten the memo to keep the snow from piling up on their tents since they rest were still standing. Would have been nice if they mentioned something to me. I shivered violently against another harsh gale of wind and trudged away from my ruined tent. Maybe I could find Felix and he’d take pity on me and let me stay in his tent for the night.

I scoured the wintry white camp but saw no Felix. He was probably already hunkered down. If only I knew which tent was his.

~~~

Damn this cold. Why did the island have to go into hibernation just cause Pan wasn’t around? It really wasn’t fair. Felix hated it all the more since he didn’t have anything to keep him warm now that he had let you have his cloak.

Upon realizing just how bad it was going to camp Felix remembered something that could help him keep warm. He jumped up and ran into the jungle until he found the old, gnarled dead tree that years and years ago had been the first home of the Lost Boys. He knocked against the trunk until he found the hatch that opened up. It would be a tight fit but if he kept his arms close to his chest then...Felix slipped down the hollow trunk of the tree and was deposited into an underground cavern.

He lit a torch along the wall and breathed in the dusty but altogether warmer air. This place looked as if it hadn’t been touched in decades. It probably hadn’t. Felix only ever remembered this place when Pan left and turned the rest of the island into a wintry hellscape. He never told any of the other Lost Boys about this warm oasis since he didn’t want them crowding in around him.

Felix was down there clearing cobwebs and shaking out the dusty furs and blankets when he was hit with a sharp realization. He left you back at camp. He left the one person who cannot handle any amount of cold in any way back in a blizzard!

“Shit!” Felix hissed and climbed back out of the cavern. He raced back to camp and spotted you easily enough since you were the only one still outside. Why were you outside? Why weren’t you in your tent at least?

“Hey,” He shouted, pulling you away from where the bonfire had been, “What are you doing out here?”

“Tent collapsed under the snow.” Your whole body was shaking so bad that it even bled into your voice. “Was looking for you…”

“Come on,” He grabbed your hand and tugged you along, “I know someplace we can go to wait this out.”

Felix knew it was a bad time but he couldn’t get over the sight of you in his cloak. It was just like last night when he got that strange fluttering in his chest. He gripped your hand tighter and tried pulling you faster but you ended up losing your balance and tripping. Felix caught you before you landed in the snow but he could tell you were having trouble keeping up.

“We’re almost there, just a little further,”

“I can’t feel my toes,” You whimpered.

“Damn it,” Felix ran a hand through his hair. “Well we can’t stay out here. Hold onto me.” With that Felix gathered you in his arms and pulled you off the ground. He hiked his way back to the dead tree with you held in his arms. This was the first time he had really been this close to you. Your head nestled on his shoulder as your body trembled. He set you down long enough to open the hatch on the dead tree again and set you inside. You went sliding down and Felix shortly followed.

“Where are we?” You gazed around the cavern you both were in. “It’s warm in here.”

“My own little get away when the island goes into stasis.” Felix explained. He helped you up and ushered you towards the bed at the back of the cavern covered in blankets and furs. “You’ll keep warm down here.”

“Blankets!” He burrowed underneath the blankets with a content sigh. “I am never leaving this pile.”

“Thought you’d enjoy that.” Felix smiled. “Are your toes still numb?”

“A little.”

“Let me see, I want to make sure you don’t have frostbite.” He instructed.

You untied your boots and Felix grimaced when he saw that your socks had been soaked through. You peeled those off too. There was no way to make this awkward so Felix grabbed your feet and inspected them, pushing on your toes to make sure they hadn’t incurred any damage.

“Good news, you get to keep your toes.” Felix pushed your feet off his lap and pulled the blanket you were wrapped in back over them.

“That is a relief.” You smiled brightly. “Thanks for sharing this space with me.”

“Well I wasn’t just gonna let you suffer out there in the cold. The others deserve it but not you.” Felix said. The fluttering was back and he could feel it’s way creeping up his neck into his face. The air in the room suddenly felt too hot. He shuffled back to the foot of the bed further away from you.

There was a beat of silence.

“Hey Felix?” You crawled over to sit next to him.

“Yeah?” Felix tried not to look at you lest the pink in his cheeks be noticed.

“Where is your cloak? Don’t tell me you were out running around in this weather without grabbing it.” You said. Felix resisted a bark of laughter. Said cloak was still around your shoulders and you clutched it tightly in your hands as you looked at him.

“I didn’t have much of a choice.” He pulled the hood up over your head and down in front of your eyes. “You kinda stole it, viper.”

“Huh?” Your eyes peeped out from under the hood. He watched with amusement as the realization hit you and you pulled the hood back down to hide. “I’m sorry! I had no idea it was yours! I thought it belonged to one of the jerks that stole mine!”

“It’s alright, you needed it a lot more than I did anyway.” He chuckled softly. “Glad to know you think I smell good though.”

“AGH!” You dove under the blankets to hide further. Your embarrassed voice still rung clear from underneath the furs. “I cannot believe I told you that!”

“Come now, it’s not that bad.” Felix couldn’t help the spark of joy he felt when he teased you. “Come out. I wanna talk to you.”

“Nope! I am never leaving again for the sake of my dignity.”

“Fine.” Felix took a deep breath and pulled the covers up over himself. Your face was inches away from his under the blankets. “I’ll just come to you.”

“Felix…” You muttered, you were still keeping your eyes down so you weren’t looking at him.

“I wanna know something.”

“What?”

“If you get so cold at night why didn’t you ask me for help? I could have brought you as many blankets as you wanted from down here.”

“I didn’t ask because I had already tried asking the other boys for help and all they did was make fun of me. I didn’t want you to tease me too.”

“Teasing you is fun but I’d rather you not freeze to death.” He said, “I also told the boys that if they steal anything from you again then they’ll answer to me.”

“Why would you do that?” You asked, “I get that we’re friends but you don’t have to fight my battles.”

“It’s because you are my friend that I want to help you, idiot.” He poked your forehead, “Which means threatening Lost Boys and letting you steal my cloak. It kinda feels like it’s my mission to keep you warm.”

“A noble cause indeed.” You laughed and Felix decided then that he had never heard a more pleasing sound.

Your smile softened and Felix got lost in your eyes for a moment. The fluttering was getting worse but he found he didn’t mind it. “Here,” You closed the distance between the two of you and left a quick kiss on his cheek, “A little token of thanks.”

Okay. Now he minded. It felt like a billion butterflies had gotten trapped in his ribcage. It was just a moment. A mere second of contact but it lit his body from the toes up as if he had stepped into a fire.

“You okay? Did I cross a line? Sorry. I didn’t mean to. I was just thankful for what you did and you’ve always been nice to me so--”

“Give…” Felix mumbled under his breath but it was enough to stop your mess of ramblings.

“You say something?” You asked.

“Give you…” Felix took a deep breath but it did little to calm his nerves. “Want to give you one.”

“Give me one what?” You asked.

“A...um…” he tapped his cheek. This was stupid! Why was he trying to initiate this right now? It was only meant to be a thank you kiss between friends and he was making it weird!

“Oh!” Your face got even hotter than it had a moment before. “I mean if you really want to then go ahead. Can I ask why first?”

“A thanks for never dropping a hermit crab in my mouth whenever you offer me food?” he joked. You laughed again, the tension between you breaking.

“I do deserve thanks for that.” You nodded and presented your cheek, “Go ahead.”

Okay Felix. Do not screw this up. There is not conceivable way to mess this up. He inched closer and left a darting kiss to your warm cheek.

“I bring you a lot of snacks,” Your voice was a whisper, “I think maybe that’s worthy of two kisses.”

“I was thinking the same thing.” Felix turned your face so he could kiss your other cheek. “While we’re at it I think I’m owed more thanks for lugging that big goat of yours back to camp. It wasn’t light at all.”

“I suppose you do.” You grinned wider. This time when you kissed him you pressed it to the tip of his nose. “You also carried me here so if we think about it logically then I should--”

“Just kiss me already.” Felix pulled you closer.

“Yes sir,” You held his face in your small warm hands and kissed him on the mouth. Your lips were so soft and you tasted sweet like berries. “Felix,” You murmured against his lips.

“Hm?”

“If this is another way of keeping warm, it’s working.”

“Then we probably shouldn’t stop.” His lips met yours again. He couldn’t have you getting cold again after all.

---

(Part 1)

#felix imagine #felix x reader #ouat felix #ouat #neverland #peter pan ouat #request

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valkyriesryde · 3 years

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Release the Hounds {15/15}

Chapter 15: Get Down

Chapter Summary: The search continues for Hades in the mortal realm and on Olympus Thor must face the reality that his council will never be the same. The End.

Word Count: 3,700ish

A/N: its been about three months since I wrote the last chapter and I’ve lost motivation to write, had depressive episodes, moved cities away from my family and spent countless hours writing and rewriting this chapter not wanting it to end. Thank you to everyone who read and will read this, your support will forever hold a dear place in my heart and I appreciate all of the messages I have received from the beginning of this story more than any of you will know. Here is the finale, I hope I did you all justice <3

“Harley, Peter, you two take to the south down the mountain, Rebecca will take to the skies and I’ll go west,” Natasha handed out the instructions for their search as if it were another battle plan. To her and everyone else there it was just that. Time was of the essence and if they left it too long there was a high chance that Hades was dead.

From the amount of blood and gold on the snow in front of them, they didn’t have much time at all, and by how weak Harley was already feeling, he knew it was near.

To the east was a cliff, Rebecca had already peered down and Natasha’s owl had done a closer inspection with no evidence of the queen of the Underworld.

“Steve, you’ll go north into the woods, you’ll be stronger in the trees.” That was her last instruction before they parted ways. If one were to find Hades a flare would be sent into the sky that lit up the sky like the Star of Bethlehem. If they came into trouble, well, they’d have to figure that out when they came to that obstacle.

It’s good to know what these gods were going up against, yes they were searching through a mountain range with a forest climbing its sides. But they were also in the middle of nowhere. There was no sign of human life for miles upon miles and that meant one of two things.

The first thing it meant was that this was a hunting ground at the best of times but unsurvivable for humans majority of the time, this was in the favour of the gods, it was the middle of winter, it was slim to none that they would come across a human while searching the land in this area.

The second thing it meant was that with the lack of humans came an abundance of other things. Animals filled the land, from the woods to the cliff faces. Predators like eagles, foxes and wolves hunted the land. Prey like small birds, rabbits and even goats lived as best they could. It was hard for any mortal animal to really thrive in these woods though. With no humans in this land it meant there were no demigods, no half and half’s to protect the preciousness of mortal life, so the supernatural, the monsters that were too rabid for the city roamed the land freely.

The further Steve stepped into the woods the less connected with the mortal world he felt. Cerberus walked in front of him with his nose to the ground but he hadn’t picked up the scent of Hades yet, there were too many other smells. Smells that Cerberus liked, minotaurs, werewolves, even a griffin but too far away.

Steve was on high alert, every noise, every rustle of leaves and breeze that blew past him caught his attention. He had to take it slow, a hunt, not a fight. Go too quickly and he could miss something, a sign, blood, a mark she could have made, anything. There was evidence of the beasts all around him, paw prints and scratches on tree trunks, leftover hunted prey left to the other animals in the woods but no sign of Hades.

Hades sight was hazed. She couldn’t make out details around her as she reached out across the ground and felt the ground beneath her. Cold stone under her fingertips, sharp rocks up the side of the wall. She was in a cave, deep into it with little light around her, it wasn’t just the injuries that had taken her sight.

There was no portal near her, she was too weak to make her own way to the underworld but she could feel the magic around her. She could feel the supernatural beings’ powers and strength more than the weakness that the mortal world put her through. But it wasn’t enough to help her move out of the cave herself.

In the snow, in the middle of the forest, wolves stalked the trees. They kept watch and growled at any noise or critter that came close. It didn’t take much longer for Cerberus to smell the wolves. A scent that Cerberus was familiar with but not for years.

It was getting cold and dark when they came to the small clearing at the front of the cave. Steve could almost sense the wolves stalking the area around him as they walked out of the tree line to be met with one lone wolf standing at the entrance.

Cerberus immediately bowed to the wolf who’s fur was a crisp white like the snow beneath his paws. It stood side on but as it turned to bow down to both Steve and Cerberus, Steve caught a glimpse of something that made his skin crawl and his heart drop.

Gold. Soaked into his fur mixed with dark red in the matted fur.

“Where is she?!” He choked out, trying to be strong even though his body was crippling with fear. The wolf was big, bigger than any he had seen before. It currently towered over both he and Cerberus, who was still bent down to the ground. It stood, looked at Steve and then turned back into the cave. Cerberus sat patiently in the snow now, he knew this wasn’t his place, he knew this pack, he was a part of this pack, he would do what the leader said.

Steve however, he followed the white wolf into the cave, deeper and deeper until it stopped and stepped aside to show Steve the lost treasure he had been looking for.

And there she was.

And there he stood.

She could feel him, that same smell from the first time they met, fresh rain, pollen in the air, it stood out against the damp, the stone and the stench of death she knew was coming from herself. Maybe she wasn’t so much better than Demeter said. Maybe she deserved this.

It took some time to convince the wolves to let him take Hades. She’d fallen back asleep soon after his arrival, not even acknowledging him, he wasn’t sure she actually knew he was here. The wolves were protective of their fallen angel. But Steve was able to convince them that he was her safety, he told them he would protect her, that he would take her home.

“There must be a doorway here?!” He said into the darkness but only stone walls surrounded him. “How am I meant to get her home?” He come all this way, he’d worked so hard this entire time to help her and the Underworld, and now? All of his work, all of the time he’d spent learning about her world when he could have spent it with her. His priorities were morphed to what he thought was right, putting her on the council. But what was right had nothing to do with her position, nothing to do with anyone else but her, she should have been his priority.

She was too light in his arms as he picked her from the group. Her skin was cold, lacking of any sort of colour. The wolves stepped aside as he carried her out of the cave where Cerberus waited, now standing tall in his true form. Three heads, obsidian black fur and paws as big as Steve’s chest.

“Take us home Cerberus?” He asked and the pet growled in response, kneeling as Steve placed Hades on his back and climbed up afterwards. “As fast as possible Spot.”

Cerberus bound towards the edge of the cliff, closer and closer until he jumped. Steve held Hades tight as they fell further and further until the depths below turned black and rimmed with gold.

Behind them, at the entrance to the cave the wolves ventured further into the woods again, their debt owed to the god who saved their youngest. Behind them, as they went out of sight, a birch tree sprout. Taller than any seen before in the mortal realm, leaves full and green in the middle of winter. A normal looking tree apart from its height to many but to those that knew, to Natasha and Rebecca as they saw it grow from the top of the mountain, to Peter and Harley who saw it tower over everything else, they knew what it meant. A new beginning was here and the Queen will be returned home.

One Week Later

Thor stood overlooking Olympus from his balcony. It was filled with life and freedom, as if the past few months had never happened, as if his sister hadn’t been attacked and left for dead by someone he trusted, as if everyone was safe and things we normal.

“Funny how little they really know isn’t it?” Loki stood by his side, as he always had. The green and teal of his cloak reflecting in the sun overhead and against the snow on the ground. “Bucky has come full force today it seems,” he smiled.

“Its in celebration, she woke up today, she’s doing much better it seems. MJ has been by her side continuously to help the healing. She’ll be back to herself soon enough.”

“Say her name would you Thor. What could go wrong if you say it here, no one is around.” Loki slithered behind Thor, his hands dropped onto his shoulders, “Hades.” He said into his ear. “Our darling sister, our first protector, the selfless one, the keeper of our secrets. Say her name in Olympus dear brother, shout it from the rooftops!” Loki leaned his back against the railing as Thor whispered her name and they felt the wind settle briefly around them.

“Hades is awake,” he said quietly, “Demeter is locked in her home and Hades will sit on the council. Are you happy?”

“I am, though I do wish you had given me the pleasure of tearing that godforsaken mother from earth apart myself but to each their own.” Loki smiled jokingly at Thor who let out a deep laugh back. Brothers, until the end of time.

The air began to still in Olympus as the two stood overlooking it, the people in the streets and the market stood still, the bustling sound softened to a murmur that they could no longer hear.

And when the brothers looked out at the steps of Olympus they saw the reason for the silence. First it was the black petals that floated through the air around her, the blackened path that dragged behind her cloak, turning to a gold pathway as the judges followed her in full adorned armour. Pietro in silver, a hero, Wanda in red, to remember the innocent, and Sam in black, for the monsters, his wings mixed with the colours of the judges and dripping gold for his queen as he walked a step behind the other two. One, two and three, they followed her on the gold plated path. A few steps behind them was the final member of her entourage, his armour held the most colour, blues and reds, pinks and greens and a shield on his back.

The queen walked with purpose, she didn’t look to the sides at the nymphs and olympians, she didn’t take in any of their judgements. Even though they murmured with gossip as they watched the son of Demeter follow his mother’s enemy. They whispered about how Hades had kidnapped Steve, how she had lured him with a flower so beautiful he couldn’t resist, others whispered about how it was Steve that turned his back from Demeter, that he was coerced by the judges to join the Underworld before the debate and they had poisoned his mind. Rumours ran hot in Olympus as the five continued to walk onwards towards the temple.

Inside the temple was chaos. Thor and Loki moved quickly to the throne room where the rest of the Olympian gods were already waiting, having been summoned by Hades herself to meet. Something the brothers weren’t aware of until a nymph of Thor stopped him in the hallway and exclaimed as such.

The letters had appeared on their desks, their counter tops or bedside tables late last night and had been kept under wraps from all after the heat of the last few weeks.

The doors burst open before the council and Hades stepped into the room. The twelve gods sat in their seats and stood as she moved to stand in the centre, the judges stayed back, as did Steve, awaiting their next order.

One bowed to the queen, Ares, he kneeled as soon as she entered. No one knew what this meeting was about, no one knew why they were called and everyone feared the worst, especially with the absence of Demeter. Ares feared Hades’ wrath the most, he would have no part in this, he’d chosen his side and continued to be loyal to both Olympus as well as Hades.

“Good morning all,” she smiled sweetly and bowed her head but none replied.

Then the doors opened and in walked Thor and Loki. They moved to their thrones, side by side the biggest of all and at the forefront of the council, one empty on one side of Thor. Hades knelt, her entourage followed.

“What are you doing out of bed so soon?” Thor questioned as he sat, his voice seeped with disappointed.

“I’m fine brother, no need to worry,” she rolled her eyes lovingly at her brother and stood straight. “I’ve come to present my statement, and return what was taken.”

Steve tried to protest, he had no idea this was what she was doing, he thought she was taking her rightful seat on the council. Sam glared in his direction, daring him to speak.

“You’ve already come home sister,” Loki said and Hades cocked an eyebrow at him. “May I?” He gestured to Thor who simply nodded his head. All of the olympian gods looked on confused, they all assumed the same, that she was here to give back Steve, they had no idea what was really going on. “Transparency is key it seems and we have learnt that the hard way here haven’t we? Hades I believe I speak for everyone here when I say we are pleased to honour your rightful place on the council beside us, this throne was and will always be yours if you wish to take it.”

“What of-?”

“She’s been banned from any council business.” Thor stood before the council as Loki sat back down, he slowly walked down the few steps to Hades. “Demeter’s views do not match that of the council, she no longer has Olympus or the mortals in her best interests, only herself. She’s been locked in her home, awaiting punishment.” He looked past Hades towards Steve with sorrow in his eyes, “we were to meet later today to discuss her punishment, but I’m glad you’re here, we can begin business. Now sit, judges, you may wait outside as is custom.”

Hades followed Thor up the steps and so casually that it never felt out of place she sat, on the council of Olympus.

“God of Spring,” Steve heard as he turned to walk out, “won’t you be sitting to speak for your domain?” Bucky smirked at his friend, inviting him to the seat beside him.

Steve looked to the big three, to the other gods surrounding him, they were all waiting for his answer, waiting for him to sit where his mother once had. And of course, he would never keep them waiting long.

“Are you sure about this?” She asked him at the rivers’ edge. He looked up to the gates as they glistened and moved, the flowers bloomed, the gold sparkled in the sun, the daffodils were scattered far and wide and he looked back to her.

“My task isn’t done yet, if I’m to teach Olympians everything they need to know about the Underworld, I need to know everything myself.” He smiled at her, his Queen.

“You don’t have to do this Steve, I can get MJ to reverse the curse,” she was so unsure, with no one around she was always so much more vulnerable with him.

“I don’t want it to be broken, and even if it was it wouldn’t stop me from coming back any chance I could to see you.” A step closer, a whisper under his breath just for her. “The fates brought me to you-“

“That doesn’t mean you have to stay.”

“Would you be quiet,” he laughed and she shied away. “They are not why I want to stay,” a gently hand on her cheek, pushing a boundary they had unspokenly set for themselves. Never to succumb to the fates, to form their own opinions, to have their own conclusions. “I have to have you in my life.”

“And you in mine,” she gleamed and when he beamed back she thought Bucky had brought the sun down to the Underworld with how warm she felt.

“I have to collect some things from Bucky, but I’ll be back later tonight, I promise.” Steve turned to leave before she could even say goodbye but he stopped in his tracks at her voice.

“Take Cerberus! He’ll protect you where I can’t.” The dog shrinking to the Doberman he was familiar with by his side.

Under the stars of the souls, painted in the skies of the Underworld by artists the God of Spring held the Queen of the Dead. He kissed her in front of the Gates of the Underworld, where their symbols were intertwined for eons before their paths even crossed, before either of them knew of the importance of each other.

A kiss that was a promise, a see you soon, a please be safe. The two gods were never away from each other for long. When the God of Spring returned in the darkness later that night, when everything was sound asleep he walked into the home of Hades to find her still wide awake, sitting and watching over the gates, waiting for his return. He was welcomed with a small smile, a “you were gone too long” and tugs towards bed.

The fates dropped him in the Underworld at her feet. They twisted and pulled at their strings together and bound, no knife or scissors could ever break them apart. All the gods knew, all those who were witnesses were well aware now and none feared they were wrong. The protector, had her own protection.

That is the story of Hades and Persephone. Of love and betrayal. Of chosen family. Of new homes and realising ones worth. I don’t think I’m missing anything, they lived happily ever after and all that good stuff. Why are you still here? They kissed, isn’t that what you wanted?!

I know what it is.

What punishment did the council decide on you ask? What consequence did Demeter face?

It was winter in Olympus, the God of Spring returned to collect his belongings to go to his new home in the Underworld where he would spend each winter for the rest of time. But there was one step he had to make along the way.

In the dead of the night Demeter sat at the gazebo that was once her son’s. She’d torn through the drawings and belongings she’d found there, they sat amongst the cold wood. Her tears had quietened as she began to accept her defeat and fall from power. As she did so the leaves began to move.

She heard footsteps in the snow, crunching under the weight of whoever moved towards her.

“Who goes?! No one is allowed in here show yourself!” She yelled into the darkness with no reply.

Through the splitting wood of the gazebo behind her, flora began to grow. Vines, roses with thistle sharp as knives, asphodel in the corners. And at its centre Demeter saw the fruition of the prophecy she once thought she controlled.

In the darkness of her garden, eyes shone through behind her. A man standing tall, his eyes a crisp blue, anger seething from them. Above him were three more sets of eyes, red, glaring at their prey.

No nymph could have this power, no member of Olympus par from the big three were allowed to step foot within this home anymore. She was to be locked away from all that she held so dear. But there were still pathways, there are always pathways even into a locked room. And he had found it.

Demeter felt her breath shorten as it flowered, the daffodil, through the cracks of her son’s gazebo it flowered bright and tall in the night. And when she turned she saw the moon catch sight of the metal weapon in his hand. No nymph would feel her wrath again, no child would think they were less than loved in her presence ever again, no god would think they had no worth because of the poison that left her tongue. Because she would never be seen again.

The eyes slipped back into the darkness and disappeared as if they were never there. He left the same way he came, through the cracks in the stone that the caves reached. Ironic that the place she feared most was just a doorway away from her home this entire time he thought as he left her fearing for her life.

“The scythe will swing low,” he whispered as it closed behind him. The three headed dog by his side, back in the realm of the dead and moving towards the home on top of the hill as if he’d just popped down to the store. Now he was home.

“When the wind is still and the air is cold, the sun will shine in Hades.

When what belongs is brought home the snow will fall.

It will crunch under the steps of the taken, it will slice through the heart of the fallen.

The harvest will not grow when spring is taken.

But the daffodil will grow through the cracks of the grave

And the scythe will swing low.”

The End

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boop-le-snoot · 3 years

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masterpost • main masterlist • taglist & faq

previously on...

Chapter 1! Reader's job has no chill and Wanda means well (Tony does too), but, as we know, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. Reader discovers the source of some peculiar things and can't help but be overcome with curiosity. F-bombs galore!

Fun fact: this story's main soundtrack is Claire de Lune, for some reason. Usually I can't stand classical music.

I didn't anticipate my first day at the bodega to be remarkful in any way but I was quickly proven wrong. My expectations were low: few customers, some of them flat-earthers of the garden variety, perhaps one or two of those 'witches' from social media blogging platforms and an overzealous Satanist or two, since I was pretty sure I saw an Ouija board and a silver pentagram hanging in Odette's office on the day of the interview.

Boy was I wrong.

We averaged a customer every fifteen minutes with each person requesting increasingly strange items: healing quartz and sage were on the closer end of normal; I felt like I had teleported to Hogwarts and was now attending Professor Snape's Advanced Potions class, having to race between the high shelves and memorize the exact location of each and every ingredient. In the end, I sacrificed a few dollars and bought one of the beautiful, leather-bound notebooks off Odette to write down the shelf and position number for the most commonly requested items and planned to begin memorizing them at home.

There's a little bit of Ravenclaw in all of us, I supposed. My curiosity only extended further: sometimes, a haggard looking person would come up and declare they had an appointment with Odette and was quickly whisked away by my boss to her office, coming out looking slightly less haggard in about half an hour or so.

I adapted to the routine fairly quickly, choosing to make my personal peace with the strange customers and Odette's mysterious meetings: after all, I got the job because I needed money - who was I to judge her for doing Tarot readings and spiritual séances for an extra dollar?

The bodega's atmosphere did grow on me rather quickly, as I had thought it would. It was warm and homely even on the rainiest afternoons, there was an unlimited supply of herbal tea, free of charge, and I grew to appreciate it just like I learned to find the positives in my job at the café. That remained a constant, mildly interesting affair too - my regulars, especially the superheroes, had started coming in during the morning hours and we were able to resume our chit-chats without a hitch.

Wanda still fished for my most recent, memorable reading and Dr. Banner left his incomprehensible scribbles on every napkin within an arm's reach for me to return to him on his next visit. The fully grown man with multiple PhDs didn't fail to blush like a schoolgirl every single time it happened, causing Mr. Stark to double on his own salacious jokes, should the engineer have had come with. They often came together, blabbering things I couldn't even fathom understanding even with the help of Google.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Wanda sounded surprisingly chipper for it was freaking seven in the morning.

I blanched, banging my arm against the display door painfully with a softly muttered, "Fuck!".

The witch frowned. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I muttered, hoping my face wasn't portraying the mixture of confusion and fear that I felt. "Something weird happened at my other job yesterday, I'm still processing," I replied honestly, looking to the side.

In fairness, I didn't know what to think. The situation wasn't something that should have shocked me, with aliens and magic people an abundance in NYC, but seeing it with my own two eyes had been jarring.

A limping, paranoid young man had arrived for an appointment with Odette shortly before closing time; I had escorted him to her office without as much as a blink, only noticing he was dripping oddly colored blood when the door behind him had closed. I cleaned it up, dead set on confronting Odette about the obviously injured person - the blood, it was more of an attempt to clean it, since it merely stuck to the rag, refusing to wash off it with water or any of the organic cleaning solutions kept under the sink.

I had to leave the rag in a paper bag, acutely aware of the fact it could not have belonged to a normal person. My best guess was that a man was a mutant - NYC had plenty of them living behind a blue wall. Odette's office wasn't soundproof: I heard a pained yelp and then a vocalisation of relief as whatever was causing the man to bleed had been removed. In a few minutes while I was closing the cash register, he came out looking almost brand new - and as I paid him a more careful look, he was missing his scleras, leaving his eyes to look slightly terrifying.

And then he winked at me, a surprisingly human, boyish gesture - the smile that crawled up my face was purely automatic. I was sure it looked frozen. He disappeared without a word as Odette herself emerged from the backrooms, a tired sheen to her brow.

"Did you manage to clean up?" She asked, eyebrows raised at the lack of stains on the hardwood floors.

"It stuck to the rag," I replied, eyeing her warily. "The rag is in the unmarked bag next to the sink. I didn't know what else to do with it."

"Sometimes it does that," her sigh was very telling. This was to be expected to become a regular occurrence. She motioned for the notebook I got to keep track of everything in the store, rattling off a recipe for a cleaner and solvent combo, made purely from the items she had inside the store, giving me stern instructions to add the ingredients in the exact order I was told. I sighed but added the footnote. Odette was a far cry from the greasy git from Hogwarts so she deserved the benefit of the doubt at least.

I didn't dare to ask any more questions about the strange man; not that day, not after I had suprised Wanda with a quick recap of my story. It's not like I had anything against mutants - as long as they were peaceful and didn't harm humans with their abilities, I was content to co-habit, share my space and even be friends with them. A very nice old lady who came by three times a week had gills peeking out of the top of her turtleneck and she was just the most polite, sweetest thing.

Wanda's curiosity was understandable and not suspicious in any way: I was under the impression she was a mutant, too, along with her twin brother - so the feeling of dread that blossomed within me as soon as the two suited figures entered the small store I attributed to the larger size of the man and vulture eyes of the woman. They both appeared extremely out of place with their black two-pieces and badly hidden pistol holsters, topped off with badges I couldn't take a good look at without losing my customer service facade.

I decided to play it dumb, self-conscious of the thudding of my heart in my ribcage. My body screamed 'danger' at me. "Hello, how can I help you?"

The woman cast an observant look over me, my plain clothes, lingering on my star-patterned scarf and matching hair band. "Are you the owner of this store?"

"No," I frowned, not liking where this was going. "Do you have an appointment with Odette?"

"We'd like to see her," the man pointedly moved his arm, exposing the gun and the badge.

I dropped the nice act, staring him down in earnest. I never liked self-righteous, pushy government officials; even less so, when they didn't follow protocol and started the conversation with demands instead of proper introductions. As I shot a quick text to Odette, noting that there were 'strange people in uniform' looking for her, my suspicions were only confirmed when the woman looked around the store with eyes that knew what they were looking for. Those two definitely weren't cops or even feds, they were straight up shady.

Odette all but flew to the bodega, the imposing, suffocating aura I'd seen only once on full display. It was hard to breathe standing so close to her; with muted satisfaction, I noticed both agents squirm, their fingers twitching, as they took in shuddering inhales through their, undoubtedly, lying mouths.

The whole spectacle was over quickly. I had managed to serve and quickly usher out Ike, one of the Satanists (yes, we did, in fact, have a few of those as regulars) with his paper bag full of powdered goat horn and a fresh cat skull under his armpit before the curtains parted and the two agents left without saying a word. I thought their eyes looked - wrong, like glass marbles, dull, lifeless and unseeing.

Odette dismissed my worries with a frivolously waved hand: "They won't be bothering us anytime soon," closing the door to her office - it reeked of strong incense and horseradish, for some reason. Like she'd been making some hell salad in front of the two nosy officials.

I took a deep breath in and then a deep breath out. The weirdness should've bothered me more, I knew, but I couldn't bring myself to decide whether I wanted to know what that interaction was actually about or live in blissful ignorance, where my boss might be some sort of a mutant or an actual witch that helps other mutants.

The longer I thought about it, the louder anti-mutant propaganda articles screamed at me: children being killed or abandoned because one day, they woke up and could fly or move things with their mind; every potential situation could end up like Carrie or Brightburn - two movies so blatantly obvious in their point to instill fear against children that could grow to work alongside Earth's Mightiest Defenders.

Needless to say, my conscious calmed down pretty quickly. I had felt the hairs on my nape stand up as soon as the agents entered the room and in my experience, a reaction like that was never good. I had been taught to trust my gut.

Odette had cancelled her visits for the day, holing up in her office as the whole store rapidly filled up with the stench of horseradish, old blood and sage. The occasional noise came from the office, interrupted by mumbling, and I was quickly told to just turn up the old, vintage radio if it bothered me.

I was too busy taking in the contents of her office - the table that previously stood in the far end of it, stood in the middle, folded out into the shape of a circle. Something was drawn on it, something the color of dried blood, and there were light candles, white and blue, littered on almost every possible surface. The air was clouded with incense smoke, so thick, it made my eyes water.

Odette's grin was sardonic as she met my eyes, wide and shocked, that had previously landed on what looked like a pot- or a cauldron, emanating the strongest bitter stench that wafted even through the lead curtain of incense. No wonder the whole store reeked.

Before she gently shut the door in my face, I caught the centerfold of the whole show - an extremely large, tattered, leatherbound tome with yellowed pages and a heavy metal padlock laying next to it. Overcome by stupor, I didn't manage to make out the intricate silver letters on its cover.

Needless to say, walking home that day was an adventure. In part, I was cautious that the agents would find me, follow me home, interrogate me - I've never been arrested even by usual cops and it was unlikely that shady government agencies were delicate in their approach. A larger part of my brain was wondering about the implications of what I had seen, I'd nearly chewed off my fingernails remembering the vacant, lost face expressions on the agents' faces.

As soon as I got home, I set to do some serious googling. And find information, I did. Plethora of minor details - candle colors, herbs used, deeply individual incantations and mythical deities that chose to work with a particular witch. It was nothing short of a whole science; I'd go as far as to say it was a complete lifestyle. The use of magick bled into every aspect of daily life, from sleep to food to communication with others.

Part of me felt incredulity at the implication of sacrificing so much to get results that might be the opposite of the ones desired. A larger, braver part of me - the very same that used to push me to explore abandoned buildings with my friends and drink booze given by a stranger - admired the work and the dedication my boss and her kind put into their work.

Having received my first paycheck and successfully having made it through rent day without having to make excuses, my conscious allowed me to treat myself to a few items - I decided to give into my curiosity and placed an order for a few books on modern witchcraft, happily waiting for the package to arrive next afternoon. I went to sleep with my head full and a new world at my feet to explore.

The books were late - or more like, never showed. The refund couldn't come soon enough. My curiosity began to reach unbearable levels the longer I worked the front desk at Odette's. These days I didn't need much assistance anymore, ready to help any new or returning customer with the help of my notebook. Time after time, I noticed a certain working order, a pattern to things if you may - and was able to recommend a few things here and there. In short, I stepped over my initial apprehension and dove into the world of natural remedies and energetic manipulation headfirst.

It made all the sense that Odette would start to take absence from the bodega as my training progressed. On the days she had fewer or no appointments, she would don her favourite scarf and trot out the front door, large purse in tow, to run errands or restock on the rare, pricy items that couldn't get delivered directly to the shop. I'd grown accustomed to locking up on my own; the spare key to the entrance door was my pride and joy, the dull silver a warm comfort hanging on a chain around my neck. Its antique design made a fairly pretty necklace.

The customer coming to pick up a special order hardly disrupted my time. I had Janis Joplin blaring from the old radio, my skirt swayed to the rhythm of the song together with me. The elevated mood while working in the shop was something I appreciated fully - with a kind smile, I departed for the backrooms to search for the package with the customer's name, not finding it anywhere near the proper place. A call later, I was opening Odette's office and extracting the paper-wrapped shoebox from the fridge, passing it into the customer's arms with utmost care: 'FRAGILE. KEEP REFRIGERATED AT ALL TIMES.' read on it in Odette's sharp cursive.

The bell above the door rang as the woman departed but I was already inching behind the curtain, overcome by sudden inquisitiveness.

The book. It stood right in the middle of Odette's desk, shut, but missing its padlock, beckoning with the thick gothic letters spelling out 'PRACTICAL ALCHEMY'. I noticed it as soon as I stepped into the office, confused and puzzled by my own unbearable desire to approach it immediately. I knew something was amiss, yet, my legs had a mind of their own and my hands firmly placed themselves upon the heavy cover of the book, seemingly without the input from my brain.

"What the hell..." I muttered to myself, finding the books contents to be - for the lack of a better word - peculiar. "Protect a babe born on all Hallows Eve..." I numbly mouthed the first words that my eyes registered. The pages made a soft noise as my shaking fingers turned them, one after the other. "Bestow healing upon a barren womb... Punish a thief..." There were - spells, and potions, and so many plants I've never even heard about before.

The pages turned and handwritings changed - at the start, words were written out precisely, the cursive neat and sharp, obviously written by an ink pen. Some things were scribbles, pencil or charcoal, so barely intelligible I had to guess about a third of the words written. Towards the end of the book pages made with a typewriter appeared - blocky letters and numbers, language modern, ash and cigarette smell coming from the paper.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The longer my hands touched the pages, the stronger the tingling sensation became - I failed to notice it at first, attributing it to the exhilaration of finding something so strange yet so precious, but as I was finishing a page that contained a fairly short spell for protection of a witches' home, the discomfort of my palms rose into a mild stinging pain.

"Fuck," I yelped, casting a look at my fingers. They were hot, angry, as if I had briefly touched boiling oil - and the skin on my fingertips began to blister, little white pustules forming where I had gingerly held the pages of the book in place. "What the fuck?" Was my reasonable question to nobody in particular.

The books contents were, no doubt, interesting but I was more concerned with the state of my hands - had I ignored the pain for five more minutes, I might have had to go to the hospital to treat what was beginning to look like a second-degree burn. I slammed it shut none-too-gently, placing it exactly as I found it and winced when barely a second of touching it brought on more excruciating pain.

The healing peppermint oil salve I knew people bought for mild burns only soothed the initial sting, so I had to suffer until I clocked out, stopping by a drugstore on my way home to purchase some much-needed burn cream. And while it didn't make it worse, I knew that my next day at work was going to be Hell.

Most thankful, however, I was to my voice-to-text option on my cell. Not only it allowed me to communicate with my friends without hurting my abused skin even more, but it also dutifully saved the short, simple spell that was supposed to protect my house. There was no harm in trying it, I supposed, after seeing what I didn't doubt was the book's own protection wreak havoc on my snoopy little hands.

The tag list is open until the story is finished.

@couldntbedamned @mikariell95 @letsby @sleep-i-ness @toomanyrobins @mostly-marvel-musings @persephonehemingway @schemefrenzy @lillsxd @bluecrazedandbeautiful @slothspaghettiwrites

#bun writes #practical alchemy #tony stark x reader x stephen strange #tony stark x reader #stephen strange x reader #stephen strange x y/n #tony stark x y/n #Stephen Strange x you #Tony Stark x you

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doomedandstoned · 3 years

Text

Prog-Doom Trio APE VERMIN Blast New EP, 'Arctic Noise’

~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~

By Billy Goate

Album Art by Steven Yoyada

One of the most impressive release years on record was 2018, when all the big dogs of doom dropped new albums. It was a tough year for a fledgling band to make its big splash, but somehow APE VERMIN made us all turn around and take notice, birthing a massive full-length debut 'Sonic Monolith' (2018) -- still a favorite among doomers. Now, we herald the return of the North Carolina heavyweights with an extended play record, 'Arctic Noise' (2021).

Having already crossed the 2-3 year threshold that seems to either make or break many a promising band, Ape Vermin seem here to stay as they near a half-decade together. Originating in 2017, Brett Lee (guitar, vox), William Deal (bass), and Charlie Burleson (drums) dub their style progressive doom. Through firmly grounded to the storied tradition of deep, reverberating doom, these guys are explorers who like ancient man simply are searching for new horizons.

“Our records are stepping stones for us,” frontman Brett Lee states. “We put our heart and soul into them and where Sonic Monolith had a very drone-type feel with an avalanche of groove, this new EP is a little more over the edge, and more melodic at times. We wanted this EP to represent the celebration of echo, death, and rebirth.”

Based in the small town of Valdese with barely 5,000 souls to speak of and nestled near the Catawba River 'neath the looming mountains, Ape Vermin have developed a club weilding style that's also surprisingly spiritual. Their bio depicts their artful style as comp[ose of "juddering riffs, thundering drums and otherworldly concepts that underpin the sheer mania of their music, along with hypnotic riffs and nimble fretwork" which gives"genuine virtuosity to the sonic vistas they create." That, my beloved Doomers & Stoners, I can firmly endorse.

And now to the record before us. We first encounter on Arctic Noise a song called "Megaliths Of Echo." Warping pedal effects and feedback are interrupted by a declamatory guitar lead accented by bass and drums, establishing our main theme. If you listen carefully, a story is being told in the music alone. Chugging riffage erupts with a stampede of rhythm bringing us caveman-like grunting, "Arctic Drone! Asteroid Explode! Shadow! Behold! Echo! Unfold! Astral Fate, Colossus Awake!"

Something momentus has happened, and suddenly the mood shifts down to a Cathedralesque riff that reminds me of that chilling moment on "Tower of Silence" when Lee Dorian announced, "The circle of time has stopped...sun no longer shines." And we're but five minutes into this gigantic near 17 minute slab of ice core.

Fire in the arctic! To celebrate this guilt. We've been surrounded, By the ice! We've killed the martyr, to set free this realm. We've been surrounded, By the ice!

Fire in the arctic! We've been surrounded! We've killed the martyr! The stone has fallen!

It's clear that someone's doom has come. For a moment, you can see it in your mind's eye, perhaps a churning in the gut, as the Neanderthal DNA still abiding inside has a sudden flashback to this momentous day in prehistory. What is happening? No one knows. Confusion abounds. All one can do is stand, watch in awe, and contemplate their fate.

We fade in the end, You've been holding the earth, We've been mining the sun, You will fade in the end.

I talked last night to frontman Brett Lee, who shared: "These songs were written during an intense emotional period." You can see the lyrics both describing some long ago fantastic calamity and also doubling as a metaphor for the bewilderment that comes with change and uncertainty, which all of us know far too well in recent days due to pandemic pandemonium.

Open the door, To find reason to kill, Locked up inside, For 10,000 years.

Something is encased in ice, and thawing. An ancient spirit lies within with the raw instinct for survival. It grabs us in our weakest moments and shouts, "Live, god damn, you, live!" The emotion laden writhing of the axeman seems to stir up such sentiment as I listen. Then a reminder of my own mortality.

We fade in the end, We echo.

We have such a short time to live. Our time is now. Let's attack it with the same uncouth gusto of our forebears, who struggled to survive in the ice and snow. The words of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" comes to mind in these closing minutes:

We come from the land of the ice and snow From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow The hammer of the gods Will drive our ships to new lands To fight the horde, sing and cry Valhalla, I am coming

Ancient Ruin takes the stage next, with a Near Eastern sounding motif with an attractive hook accompanied by tribal beat and voices singing in Forming The Void like harmony, "Orion." Following this is a vicious drum dominant slog and once again, we hear from our gruff caveman, who exclaims:

Fading out, Cosmic temple Riding out of this hell fear thy brother, meet thy maker Feel the darkness in my soul.

It's clear a religious ritual of some sort is underway, perhaps in response to the inexplicable disaster of the opening number.

We finish our adventure with the namesake track, Arctic Noise, which could very well serve as a Part B to the previous song. The riffage here seems more curious and wandering. A tale is told 'round a cave sheltered camp fire as cold, vicious winds blow about.

Arctic samurai, Astral vision May the arc of life BURN! Ancient avalanche echo All hail noise

I am the wretch I am the fiend Out of the void and in the machine I am the failure I am the one Out of the rapture and into the sun.

A searing solo breaks through that reminded me of one we'd hear on the first High on Fire record, only it begins feeling kind of wobbly and wounded, as if in pain. It quickly becomes seized by adrenaline and expresses itself in a confident, warm-blooded tone. I haven't said enough good things about the drumming so far, but it really shines in the second half of this song, and of course William Deal's basswork is as hearty as ever. The song ends on a cliffhanger, as if to say: "To be continued."

"I leave a lot of imagination in the lyrics," Brett told me, but dispels any notion that this is thematically linked to their debut LP, 'Sonic Monolith' (2021). He ended our conversation with an intriguing footnote: "Although deep in the lyrics in the debut album and also this E.P may you unlock what is to come next!"

Next did you say? That's something to look forward to, for damn sure! What better time than now to become a fan of Ape Vermin and revel in their dirty, gritty doom and fuzz-loaded stoner vibe!

I would be remiss were I to compliment the extraordinary album art by Steven Yoyada (who also penned the remarkable cover for our recent Doomed & Stoned in Denver compilation). Gaze upon this moment frozen in fantasy and you'll discover that it, too, has captured something of the record's soul.

Arctic Noise by Ape Vermin will be officially see the light of day on May 7th via Koloss Records (pre-order here). Fans of Conan, High on Fire, and Mastodon are you listening? Good, because Doomed & Stoned is rocking this mother in its entirety today.

Give ear...

Arctic Noise by APE VERMIN

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#D&S Debuts #Ape Vermin #Valdese #North Carolina #doom metal #sludge #metal #heavy metal #progressive doom #Koloss Records #D&S Reviews #HeavyBest2021 #Doomed and Stoned

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nikkoliferous · 5 years

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Loki Deserved Better

At last, Loki has been neutralised, Thanos's control over his mind broken. He's seeing his family for the first time since his suicide attempt. No one asks him where he's been. Or why he's done these violent things. No one notes how out of character his behaviour has been. No one asks him what happened to him. And Loki offers up none of these explanations, either because he doesn't think he would be believed or because he doesn't think it would make a difference. So he allows the people who should know him best to believe the worst of him. Because it's easier. Because they really don't know him at all. They never did.

From the very start of his conversation with Odin, something we touched on briefly already, Loki is reminded of just how little his "father" of the past millennium understands him.

► Loki is told, "Everywhere you go, there is war, ruin and death." But what of Odin's own past? He conveniently ignores his own role in the violent colonization of the Nine Realms. How many people has Odin killed in his long life? How little regard has he shown for those lives? This man raised his children to believe certain races were subhuman. Later, he will tell Thor that human lives are "nothing". Later, when Jane is brought to Asgard, he will refer to humans as "goats" in comparison to Asgardians. Later, in Loki's cell, Frigga will ask, "What of those lives you took on Earth?" and Loki will reply, "A mere handful compared to the number Odin has taken himself." It doesn't justify his own actions, but is he wrong?

► "All this because Loki desires a throne," Odin says. But it's not, is it? In Thor (2011), Loki—in the midst of a mental breakdown—tells his brother, "I never wanted the throne. I only ever wanted to be your equal." He does not mince words, and yet this family who still cannot seem to hear him, no matter how loudly he shouts, decides that he's just evil. He's just a bad kid. He's just greedy and selfish and power-hungry. And Loki lets them believe it because he's exhausted. He's tired of fighting to be seen for who he is. He's tired of justifying his existence to these people who seem intent on misunderstanding him, no matter what he does. No matter how hard he tries. He's done trying. He's done fighting for their approval.

► "Your birthright was to die as a child. Cast out onto a frozen rock," Odin tells him with a cruel smirk on his face. The last time Loki spoke with his kidnapper father, he was told he was Odin's son, irrespective of blood ties—that he was overreacting, twisting Odin's words. Any such pretense of love is entirely gone now. Why should Odin bother? Loki is of no benefit to him now that he sees the man for what he really is. Imagine your parent telling you that they should have left you to die. Incredibly, this is not the worst thing Odin will do or say to Loki before this "trial" is over.

► Finally, Odin reaches the grand finale of his cruel display. Loki was prepared to embrace execution. Instead, he's sentenced to the rest of his ~4,000 remaining years of life in solitary confinement (a punishment classified by the UN as torture). He's told that the only person who has ever cared about him, he will never see again. Death would have been kinder. And Odin knows this. He knows this will hurt Loki far more than execution ever could. Of all the cruel, baseless things Odin has said throughout Loki's sentencing, this is the only one Loki has an overt reaction to. He staggers as though he's been struck in the face. Because he has been. He knows exactly what Odin is, and still he cannot believe the man is this cruel.

Marvel has a bizarre penchant for leaving scenes that make Loki look sympathetic on the cutting room floor. In one such scene, we see Loki creating illusions to entertain himself. Illusions that see him respected, honoured, admired—things he's never gotten to experience in his life. It's worth noting that Loki's idea of worthiness seems to be inextricably bound up in being Thor. His fantasy dresses him in a red cape; he wields Mjölnir; he is adored by Thor's friends. In his wildest dreams, he cannot even imagine a world in which being Loki could be enough. And Frigga, witness to all of this, doesn't tell him that he doesn't need to be Thor. She doesn't tell him that he is already worthy. She merely criticises him for choosing to live in a fantasy world rather than face the reality of millennia alone and forgotten—as though he never existed. As though he did die that night he fell from the Bifröst.

Frigga and Loki spend some time arguing about Loki's genocidal actions and apparent lack of regret for the things he's done.

Frigga: "Your father-"

Loki: "HE'S NOT MY FATHER!"

Frigga: "Then am I not your mother?"

Let us not forget that this is the person who loves Loki most in the entire galaxy. This is one person he has ever felt valued by. This is what Loki knows as "love". To be manipulated. Gaslighted. To have his very real and valid pain dismissed as irrational and inappropriate. To be told in no uncertain terms, "you don't have the right to feel betrayed, even though you were, because it inconveniences the rest of us." And this conversation ends with Loki feeling like the asshole. This is abusive. There is no other word for it. There is no justifying Frigga's behaviour here. No matter what her intentions are or how much she cares for Loki, what she does to him here is unconscionable. I am immeasurably proud of him for standing up to her, for refusing to fall for her attempts at manipulation in this scene. And yet even though he did nothing wrong, their conversation will go on to haunt him.

Not only will Loki lose Frigga; he will learn of her demise not from his brother, not from his father, but from a random guard. He will not be allowed attend her funeral. He will not be permitted to say goodbye. He will grieve alone. He will blame himself. He will scream and cry and rage until he is utterly spent.

And when Thor finally comes to him, it is not to mourn their loss together but to use him for his own ends.

"So I am no more than another stolen relic, locked up here until you might have use of me." - Loki, Thor (2011)

How prescient this statement was. "Did she suffer?" he will ask his estranged brother. Thor will refuse to answer because cruelty runs in this family. Thor is only here because he needs Loki. Thor always needs Loki. And despite his hatred and madness—and in direct contradiction to Ragnarok's narrative that Loki betrays Thor every time he takes a breath—Loki will always take care of his brother. Because that’s what heroes do.

There's a strange pattern in the Marvel fandom of conveniently forgetting every time Loki does something good. Loki risks his life to save Jane twice, despite barely knowing her, because he loves his brother. He sacrifices himself, fully expecting to die, in order to save Thor's life, because he loves his brother. And still people speak of his need for redemption. In Thor: Ragnarok, Loki is disparaged, dismissed and physically tortured by Thor*—and still he shows up to save the day, because he loves his brother. And still people speak of his need for redemption. And in Avengers: Infinity War, Loki faces down his tormentor bravely, knowing he's about to die, all to save Thor yet again—because he loves his brother. And still people speak of his need for redemption.

"Your world in the balance, and you bargain for one man..." - Loki, Avengers Assemble

He deserved so much better.

↩️ back to the compendium

#the big damn ragnarok sucks compendium #loki meta #thor the dark world #loki #thor #odin's a+ parenting #frigga's b+ parenting #mcu

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mar04isdead · 3 years

Text

So I’m writing a book...

I already have the chapters up on Wattpad. I decided to post it here too to expand my audience. I hope it gets the interest of people!

Freaks But Family

Maria, Favion, Kayla, Alyssa, and Immanuel have been best friends since they can remember. They were their own little family, doing everything together. They were inseparable, that is until Maria disappeared when they were ten. It hit Favion the hardest, and he stopped talking to his other friends. But a few months after Maria's disappearance, two villians came to town. And Favion was chosen by the government to exterminate them. Now, sophomore year of highschool five years later, Favion is surprised when he finds out his long lost friend, is his new math tutor. How long will it take for him to connect the dots?

This book is dedicated to four old friends of mine. Four idiots who have been my ride or die crew since preschool. I miss them a lot, and I hope wherever they are, that they are also doing what they love. These four people have inspired four characters in this book, I hope that if they ever read this book, they like what I'm doing.

Chapter 1: The disappearances

Hi, if you're wondering who I am don't worry. I'm just here to tell a story, a story that is all over the place. Okay, so most stories start at the beginning so let's start there. But this isn't like other stories, first a history lesson.

The Aztecs, a great civilization, but their downfall was their amount of enemies and when the conquistadors came around, they had no help defending their home. But there was a certain clan that managed to escape, the Alebrije clan. They made a temple where they could escape, and they kept on living since. But after one thousand years, their line of chiefs was broken. That ended their civilization, but some escaped and kept the clan living. And it is said that there is a way to save the clan, but the new chief has to find the temple.

Alright! Time to start at part of the beginning. I'm just gonna tell you the story year by year right now. Then we can get into the real stuff.

When Maria was born, she was born in Mexico. But when she was brought home to Loganville, Georgia, her oldest cousin, Esme, was sent away. No one knows where she was sent to, and they've learned not to ask unless they wanted to be next. Her family owned a antique store, and the people next door owned a bakery where they lived above it. And that family was the Freeman family, they only had one son. Maria's parents had her over there for playdates all the time, and pretty soon three more children joined and then they formed what their parents like to call 'The Chaos gang.'

When Maria was a year old, something happened. Something very weird happened. She was trying to reach for her favorite toy which was on a high shelf, and she was mad she couldn't reach it. What was weird was how it suddenly floated off the shelf and into her hands. But she was alone, no one could have helped her, right?

When she was two, another one of her cousins was sent away. Sam, Maria cried a lot that night. But only she noticed how when her tears fell from her eyes, they started to freeze.

At age three, her older brother Liam was gone. She woke up on her birthday to find him gone, but her parents didn't care. Instead what they did was lock her in a room, there was no sunlight and no way out. And no matter how many times she blasted fire at the walls, nothing happened. She eventually gave up and curled herself up in a corner. She covers her eyes and starts to cry, that is until she hears hissing. She looks up and sees a spider crawling to her and a snake slither it's way over to. She tries to back away but she's trapped in the corner. She covers her face as both the spider and snake jump at her, they both bite her arms. When Maria looks at the bite marks, she feels tired, and passes out.

Age four, one eye green and the other blue and vitiligo that has gathered on her stomach and back. But pretty soon the vitiligo turned into scales, and she started to get hungry for abnormal things. One day she was helping one of her uncles make traditional goat meat, but when it was time to drain the goat of it's blood Maria found herself wondering what it would taste like. When her uncle told her to take it to her aunts so that they could make the blood into stew, she couldn't help herself. She grabbed a cup, took some of the blood from the pot and took a drink. When she went to give the blood to her aunt for the stew, the pot was less than half-way full. She couldn't wash the blood from the cup so she decided to hide the cup, she easily moved the earth to make a hole and covered it up like it never moved.

"So, what's the plan?" Alyssa looks at her friends from her place next to the cliff.

Favion shrugs, "Just jumping in and us learning how to swim."

"But we don't know how, we're five." Kayla countered.

"We're five and we don't know how to swim!" Immanuel shouts.

"Don't worry, I do! Now c'mon, i'm gonna help you swim!" Maria makes her friends hold hands before they all run off the cliff and fall into the water.

They spent the whole afternoon, in their favorite spot learning how to swim. Maria helped them by making sure the water kept a hold on them.

When they all went home, Maria's cousin Clarisse was sent away too. And if people were being sent away by order of age, she would be next.

Age six, instead of her being taken away, her younger cousin Yallesia was. She was with Favion in the cemetery they found in the forest. They were playing on the big sycamore tree when she brought it up.

"I don't know where they go, I ask but they don't tell me." She complains. She was still recovering from accidentally letting out so much electricity after jumping on the trampoline the other day.

"Well, do you want to keep naming the branches?" Favion suggest. "Might take your mind off of it."

Maria nods, "Sure, I was thinking we call this one Roberto. I traced it back and it points to Mexico."

"Okay, Roberto it is." Favion pulls a marker from his pocket and writes the name on the branch.

She didn't understand, she was the oldest left so why were all the younger ones being taken away? Age seven, and no matter how many times she made the wind knock them over without them noticing, they took her twin cousins Joseph and Cameron away. How many more times, how many more times until they leave them all alone? At least she got a new baby brother, Angle, at least he wouldn't leave her.

"Dude you got a new bed? No fair I just have that twin sized one from when I was younger." Maria complained as she and her other friends jumped on Favion's bed.

"Yeah, no fair man! How come you get a new bed? You're eight just like the rest of us." Immanuel asks while throwing a pillow at Alyssa.

Favion grins, "I'm just that likable."

Maria laughs, "Let's see if that helps you, you race you all back to the cliff."

They all take off running out of the bakery, down the block, and into the woods. Maria ends up falling behind but she beats them there. It was like she just popped out of nowhere.

"How did you beat us?" Kayla asks while gasping for breath.

Maria thought to when she reached out for her hand to tell them to wait, but instead this weird hole popped up in front of her and when she ran through and ended up at the cliff.

"Guess I'm just lucky." She shrugged.

But that luck couldn't help her when two more of her cousins were taken, Nico and Imelda, leaving her alone with just Angle for company.

"They like each other, all three of them. Why can't they see it?" Maria asked Favion as they were walking home from school.

"I couldn't tell you, but one of them needs to get it together and they need to talk about it." He too, tired of their three friends pinning.

Maria groaned, "The day they talk it out is the day I die! Gardening can't unstress this!" the nine year old flopped her arms around.

"Hey, it's getting to your neck now." Favion pointed at Maria's neck, where the vitiligo has started to form patches. "Anyways, how's that garden of yours going?"

Maria smiles, "Great actually, just sprouted this really big daisy. I honestly don't know how I got it that big." Actually she did, she just thought 'Oh I want this flower to be big.' and in seconds it grew big.

By the time she did get home, Angle was gone. And once again she was alone, alone and with no one to help. Now she really felt like she was next to go.

There was a knock on Favion's window at sometime in the morning, he was too lazy to look at the clock. He looked over to his window, and there on the fire escape was his ten year old best friend, Maria, she had urgency in her eyes.

"Hey, what's up?" he ask her.

"C'mon, we're going to the tree. I really need to talk to you." Maria grabs him by the arm and pulls him out the window.

Favion tries to stop her, "Wait what if someone sees us?" He whispers.

She shakes her head as they head down the stairs, "Don't worry about that, just follow me. We don't have much time."

When they are both off the stairs they start to run down the block, but Favion notices people still on the streets.

"Wait, there are people still out here." He tries to stop Maria but she keeps running.

She looks back at him, "Don't worry about them. They can't see us." She grabs him by the arm again, "Like I said, we don't have much time." She growls.

They kept running until they arrived at the sycamore tree, "Okay, what's up?" Favion asks.

"They're sending me away next. I don't know where, they never tell. I have to go, I got away but not for long. I have to leave you guys." Maria looks like she's about to cry.

Favion shakes his head, "No, you can't leave! Where are they going to take you, we don't know where they are going to take you!"

"I know, but I can't get out of this. They're gonna start looking for me in a while. But tell the others that I am just going away to boarding school." She tries to explain.

"No, you're not leaving! You can't leave! Please, please try to stay." He hugs her and refuses to let go.

"Hey, man? I love you, but there's just no way." She starts to cry.

They both start to cry, eventually she pries her way out of his arms and runs off into the forest. defeated, Favion goes back home, hoping that it's all a bad dream.

Maria was sent somewhere, but not where her cousins were sent. They were relocated to another part of the city, she was taken to a research center. The place was pretty empty, except for one other person, a girl her age.

"Hi, I'm Rose! I've been here all by myself! What's your name?" The girl, Rose, asked Maria.

"Maria, nice to meet you Rose." Maria blushes.

Maira was there for five months, and her only friend was Rose because they were the only two there. Rose was like her in a way, Maria found out that when Rose got mad vines and plants would start growing uncontrollably. She found out that Rose has been here all her life, and that she's never been outside.

Once a week the people watching them, would give Maria a bag of blood. She didn't know why they did that, but it kept her calm. But one month they stopped giving her blood, and that went south. She usually preferred to never shift, to never do that thing where her bottom half grows into a snake tail and on her back long spider legs break through her scaled skin. It scared Rose, it scared her more when the people took Maria away and had her locked up for days. When they got Maria to calm down they gave her blood, more than they have ever given her.

Maria and Rose decided that they wanted to run away, they wanted to be free. Rose was worried about where they would go, but Maria said she could find her family. So in the middle of the night, time stopped for them. They packed their things and very easily got out, they went through a tunnel that Maria made to get them to the city. Once they were out, Maria made the tunnel collapse and they started to run. They ran until they found a large house, Maria said that that was where they needed to go. Time started again and the girls knocked on the door, hoping someone would help.

A twenty-five year old Esme didn't expect to see two ten year old girls on her doorstep in the middle of the night. She let them in and woke up the rest of her family. The girls were given food and while they ate they were asked questions.

"So, instead of sending you here they sent you to a research center? And you," Esme points at Rose, "You've been in that place your whole life?"

Both girls nod, "Well, Maria, do you at least have your telekinesis ability? Can you shift?" Clarisse ask.

"I have telekinesis, but what's shifting?" She wonders.

"We can explain that another day, but when you were three were you bitten by an animal?" Liam questions.

Clarisse snaps her fingers, "No, they locked her up in a room. I don't know why but they did, she wasn't let out and I doubt anything could have gone in."

"Okay," Sam taps her fingers against her thigh, "She can't shift but that's okay. She still has levitation abilities. Do you have any other abilities we need to know about?"

Maria shakes her head, "No, I don't have other abilities." She lies.

"That's good, what about you Rose, do you have any abilities?" Esme wonders.

"Yeah, I can control plants." Rose responds plainly.

Esme nods, "We'll let you two finish up eating, then it's off to bed so we can start getting you both ready for school." Esme looks at her cousins, "All of you to bed, and this is your last chance if you need me to sign anything."

During that summer, Rose and Maria were playing around the sewers. Maria managed to get them in there by making some weird wobbly portal and by thinking of where she wanted to go.

"Try to catch up!" Maria shouted to Rose.

"Stop shooting water at me! It's gross sewer water!" Rose shouts back.

Both girls laugh and keep running. Eventually they arrive at a weird door, they try to see a way in but give up.

"What if I blast it?" Maria suggests fire starting to form at her fingertips.

Rose smirks, "Do it."

Maria concentrates on the wall and tenses her hands as the fire starts to grow. She lifts her hands at the wall and relaxes her hands, letting the fire go. The wall crumbles down and rubble flies everywhere. Smoke swirls and settles and both girls look into through the door.

"Cool." They say.

They step inside of the room, that is awfully large. One of the walls has a large computer screen, with the screen open.

"What does it say?" Rose wonders.

"'These are people who rely on us for money. The government is corrupted and has taken everything from these people. Most of these people are single parents and need as much help as possible. There are also children who need to get out of abusive homes and out of the corrupted foster system. How you solve these things is up to you.' There's a long list of people here." Maria points out.

Rose looks at the list, "You need to teach me to read. But I can tell that it's a lot. How long ago was this made?"

Maria starts to read through the message. "About a week ago maybe, kind of hard to tell. What do we do about this?"

"Should we do this, should we help these people?" Rose asks.

"I mean, if these people really need our help. I always knew the government was corrupted, you know because of where we were a few weeks ago. And we have one advantage, no one would mess with kids with abilities." Maria smiles.

Rose smiles back, "I'm guessing that's a yes."

"No one will believe that eleven year old's rob banks!" Rose laughs as she helps Maria sort money.

Maria laughs with her, "No one, even if they have that so-called hero what's his name."

"It was The Liberator, kind of stupid." Rose puts a rubber band around a bundle of money. "Also funny how you used that new light bending ability to blind him for a while."

"Do you want to know what the city is calling us?" Maria asks.

"What are they calling us?" Rose wonders.

"They're calling you Thorn and me Madness. You Thorn because of your plant work, and me Madness because I accidentally shifted and to everyone I looked insane." Maria starts laughing again.

"That reminds me, are we telling your cousin's about your shifting? We haven't been able to find you blood in weeks, we don't even know if you can drink anything other than goat blood." Rose wraps the last bundle.

Maria sighs, "I know, I want to tell them. But how will they react, I can shift into two things. That is one more than normal." Maria raises her hand in a puppeteering motion, sorting the money in their corresponding bags with the name of families.

Rose shrugs, "Well, what if you go feral like last time? You know, that thing where you can't control anything you say or do, shift uncontrollably, and over use your powers because you couldn't get blood."

Maria nods, "Fine, I'll tell them tonight. Hopefully I can get some blood before we have to distribute tomorrow. Are we doing patrol tonight?"

Rose shakes her head, "I understand we need to help them all, but we need a break. And you really need blood."

When they get back home, it's already dinner time.

"Nice of you two to show up, we got news that the center where you were both in was closed down. Now help us set the table." Esme starts handing out things for everyone to do.

Apparently using their abilities is common, nearly everyone used their levitation ability to help set the table to get things done quickly. Imelda was levitating the lemonade pitcher, but because she was still learning, she accidentally spilled it on Maria.

"Ahh!" Maria screams.

Maria's body started to smoke and she felt like she was burning up. She quickly took off her shirt, revealing her scaled chest and her makings. Due to the scales, her breast don't develop, and she has several burn marks from where the lemonade hit her. That was her breaking point, her eyes started to glow red with anger and hunger. Slowly her fangs began to grow in and her legs join together and form a snake tail. From her back the ripping of skin and scales is heard as her spider legs split through her back. Her eyes turned a solid black and two more pairs appeared on her forehead and under her eyes.

Everyone is staring at her, Esme is the one who breaks the silence. "Help me get her into the dome!"

Maria blacked out for a moment, when she woke up she was in a large dome. A glass dome, like the one she was once held in. She could see her reflection, and she also saw her family on the other side of the dome.

"Let me out!" she roars in anger. She stabs at the dome with her legs, but it doesn't break. She proceeded to use all of her abilities, and nothing happens.

"Don't bother, great-grandmother made it. She didn't finish but it's enough, she made it for someone like you specifically." Esme explains.

Rose approaches the dome, "Maria, we are trying to get you some blood. We found a replacement for the goat's blood. You've been out for a few hours so don't worry about anything."

Maria notices how Sam and Clarisse are levitating a huge paint tub, Maria assumes it's full of blood she can smell it through the glass. Esme opens a slot so that Clarisse and Sam can put the tub for Maria.

Once Maria gets a hold of it, she drinks the entire thing in under five seconds. She calms down a bit but still feels hungry. It's clear how her eyes are still dull and empty.

"Give us a second, we are trying to get more. Just focus on me, okay just focus on me." Rose talks Maria through her current state.

"Let me out... Let me out!" Maria stabs at the glass again. After nothing happens she starts using her abilities again. She tries to make a portal, but they won't go through. She tries to make tunnels but they won't go past the dome. She tries to stop time but she can't focus enough, she's too hungry.

"We have more blood, don't ask where we got it from." Esme rushes back towards the dome, levitating another large tub of blood.

Maria get's the tub again, and she finishes quickly like the last one. Once she's done she starts to calm down, her body slowly starts to go back to normal. Only thing that is new is the burn marks from the lemons. Maria blacks out again, whether from the exhaustion or drinking too much blood, she couldn't remember.

"This should help you control your abilities," Esme hands Maria a small circular hoop no bigger than her head. "That inner rod has a button, try it."

Maria gets an evil grin and presses the button. The hoop folds into the rod and it becomes a three foot staff with dull blades on each end.

"That, can help with your other abilities. Might also help with the fights you and Rose have been getting into with that Liberator boy." Esme smiles and watches as Maria does some tricks with it. "Just keep me updated with your abilities, and I can keep upgrading it to help you. I already added your new ability to the dome, you can start training soon."

Maria looks over the hoop, "Is this as big as it gets for my portals, or does it expand?" she asks.

"Depends on what you want, just think about where you want to go like always and just think about expanding the portal." Esme explains and takes the hoop back from Maria. "You'll train with it later, it's dinner time and it's Wednesday which means you get your blood."

Maria smiles, "Great, what do I still have?"

They both head back upstairs and to the fridge, "You have bird, fish, fox, bear, and cat. So what are you in the mood for, and make it quick before your cousins see you drinking their blood."

"I want... give me fish. I'll down some hot sauce while I'm at it, and what else is for dinner?" Maria gets a bottle of hot sauce from the pantry and gets a blood bag from Esme.

Maria tears open the bag with her teeth and drinks the blood, then she uncaps the hot sauce and downs the whole thing.

"That is disgusting, hope you still have room for enchiladas." Esme goes up stairs to get the rest of their cousins. "Oh and don't forget to open a portal for Rose, she'll be back in a minute."

Maria moves some things in the living room and opens a portal. It's wobbly and needs her constant focus to stay stable, after a few seconds Rose jumps out of the portal.

"Hey, did you find anything?" Maria helps Rose up from her spot on the ground after she closes the portal.

"Yep," Rose hands Maria some binders. "Everything they had on us, I double checked and yeah that place is pretty much abandoned."

"Okay," Maria instantly lights the binders on fire. "No they can't get to us, so we'll be safe for now.

"Hey, how's that new ability going for you?" Rose asks, dusting herself off.

Maria shakes her head, "I can read minds very clearly, and it's a nightmare in the middle of the night, and so far I can't control anyone's mind yet. I'm trying though, might not know when we need it."

Rose puts an arm around Maria's shoulders, "We are twelve and we have committed more felonies than anyone else in this city in the past two years. Even if we don't have your mind control, we still have you reading minds that can help us knowing what the Liberator is up to."

Maria smiles, "We have your ability too, so we just might be able to do some good in this world."

"Try it again, I know you can break it!" Rose keeps banging on the dome to encourage Maria. "Try lightning, I'm right here babe!" Rose smiles and blows a kiss to Maria.

Sam laughs, "You just made her angrier, how has she not broken up with you?"

Maria keeps hitting at the dome with her abilities and her webbing. She recently acquired more spider abilities that she's been trying to gain control over. Rose made fun of the fact that she's now a real life spider woman.

"I can't even use my portals to punch you in the face!" Maria shouts at her girlfriend.

Rose starts to step back, "Ummm... do we have any blood or after this to calm her down?" She questions.

"You did this to yourself kid." Sam shrugs.

After a few more minutes of Maria attacking the dome, Esme let's her out. As Maria walks out of the dome, she slowly has her legs sink back under her skin. She grabs a shirt from Sam and puts it on.

"Rose, you're dead to me now." Maria shoots a piece of webbing at Rose's mouth.

Rose rips the webbing off her mouth, "You still love me." Rose makes a daisy out of thin air and gives it to Maria.

"Are you two done, Maria we still have to see if you can control your fortune telling and telling people's past. First up is checking people's past." Esme looks at things on her clipboard. "And if your girlfriend would so happily volunteer." Esme looks over at Rose.

"Ummm..." Rose grimaces. "I'm good, there's some stuff in there even I don't know about."

Esme sighs, "Fine then, let's just try average fortune telling. What's going to happen in the next... five minutes let's say?"

Maria closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She tightens her eyes and tries to search for something, and she finds it.

"Rose, don't go into the kitchen. And Sam, I see that whip cream, don't you dare try it." Maria opens her eyes and points at Sam.

Sam slowly puts the whip cream bottle back on the desk next to her. "Darn." She complains, monotone.

"Wait, what happens if I go into the kitchen?" Rose asks.

Maria just shrugs and walks away, ignoring Rose calling after her.

At age fourteen, Rose and Maria were stopped by a couple when they were on patrol. The couple just handed them a one year old baby before disappearing. They agreed that it was too dark and late to look for a proper orphanage so they took the baby home.

"Okay, I know you two have a good relationship, but a baby! You're only fourteen!" Sam makes fun of Rose and Maia when they get home.

"No, a couple just gave him to us! Now keep it down, it took awhile to get him to sleep. Where's Esme, she's got to see what this kid can do." Maria smiles and instantly disappears.

Sam sighs and looks at Rose, "Time travel." they both say. They head towards the basement.

"Okay, so he has a telekinesis ability. And someone help us!" Esme shouts as soon as Sam and Rose enter the basement.

The baby is sitting up and giggling while Maria and Esme are floating in mid air. Maria is doing what looks like sitting down, while Esme looks panicked.

Maria laughs at Esme, "This is great, this kid is as old as I was when I got my abilities." Maria then slowly drifts back down to the ground while Esme straight drops.

Esme groans with pain, "How did you do that?" She questions Maria.

Maria picks up the baby and taps the side of her head, "Mind control." She fixes the baby onto her hip, "Also I can finally make large barriers, how do you think we escaped the cops earlier."

"Well, what are we going to name him? They didn't give us a note did they?" Rose walks over to the baby and gives him a dandelion puff.

"Hey, dandelions are my thing. And he does have a name, it's Mike. He's one of us, our youngest aunt and uncle had him last year. Making him the youngest Alebrije-Gonzalez we have." Maria gives the little boy a tiny snowball to play with.

Esme smiles and takes the baby from Maria, "Well, welcome to the family little man. Let's get you some food and get you situated."

"Freshman year of highschool. You have that new ability, and hopefully no more abilities because of what your great grandmother said, and we have finished with most things on the list." Rose points out to Maria.

Maria shakes her head, "The thing is you have never been to public school, I haven't been in five years. I once knew people here, hopefully none of them recognize me."

Rose nods, "Okay, just tell me what to do and what not to do."

"No direct eye contact with the male species, no abilities, no being a teacher's pet, and sorry babe." Maria pries her hand out of Rose's. "No pda, especially since we're lesbians. We'll be reported to the principal and a lot of things can happen after that."

Rose groans, "People are annoying, we're like any other fifteen year old couple. What's so wrong about both of us being girls?"

Maria shrugs, "People are just... weird. They just don't know people like us because they don't want to get to know us. We can try, but people might never change their minds."

They got Esme to talk to the school and were put in all the same classes. First block was algebra, second block was biology, third was world history and then lunch, and lastly literature. The first three classes were fine but things got weird when they left for lunch. They both just sat in the courtyard under one of the trees.

"Does this look like blood, it's not that red is it?" Maria asks, showing Rose her bottled blood.

Rose tilts her head to the side, "It looks like raspberry lemonade, we should be fine. Is that all you packed?" Rose unwraps a sandwich and begins to eat.

Maria nods, "This and some crackers, but you know that this is all I need for now."

Their lunch period is thirty minutes, and when they finished early they just decided to stay and talk. But three people walked up to them.

"Maria, Maria Alebrije-Gonzalez? It's been five years, where have you been?" Some girl ask.

She has dark chocolate skin, and dark brown eyes. Fair golden brown curls pulled into a high ponytail. To her right another girl with dark skin and light eyes, but she has her hair in braids with a small bun on the top of her head and with dark red glasses. Behind them both is a boy, same dark skin but with darker eyes, with his hair in short waves.

"Kayla, Alyssa, Immanuel? What the heck, I haven't seen y'all in years." Maria stands up and gets pulled into a group hug.

Alyssa hit's Maria upside the head, "You leave us for five years and just show up! Favion just stopped talking to us out of nowhere, then we were pulled into something weird and you were gone."

"Dude, why'd you leave? What the heck happened, where were you?" Immanuel asks.

Maria smiles, "I was taken across town to live with my cousins, and I was homeschooled. But it's so great to y'all again." Maria brings them all in for another hug. "What happened to Favion, He was the only one who knew I left. What happened?" Maria asks when she pulls away.

"He-he just avoided us the whole time. Started working more at the bakery, and if he wasn't there he was at his internship. Remember his uncle in the FBI, Favion helps him now." Immanuel explains.

Kayla nods, "Yeah, it's been just the three of us for all these years. And umm, we started dating. All three of us." She says nervously.

"Fuck yeah! I called it!" Maria shouts jumping up and down in excitement. "I fucking knew it, c'mere you beautiful dipshits! If Favion were here I would have just won a bet and gained forty dollars!" She pulls them all into a hug again.

"Oh, after school we're going to the cliff. You want to join, we can catch up more." Immanuel suggest.

Maria grins, "Yeah, hey can my girlfriend come along?" She points to Rose who has been waiting patiently under the tree.

Kayla nods, "Sure, you do remember how to get there right?"

"Yep, see y'all after school." Maria waves as her old friends leave. She walks back to the tree and sits next to Rose. "So, just wait until you see the cliff."

"I'm questioning that, but I am willing to see what happens." Rose kisses Maria's cheek.

"So that means we have to skip training and then go straight to patrol, think we can get away with it?" Maria wonders.

Rose shrugs, "Just don't tell Esme and we'll be fine to do what we want."

Right after school, Maria created a portal for them to get to the cliff. While they waited for the others, Maria explained things to Rose about how things happened when they were kids.

"That's around the time I got my water ability, I was able to phase through things a few days after." Maria shows Rose the water from the cliff.

Rose smiles, "Y'all were kids, how did you manage to survive this?"

"My abilities, how else did you think we made it?" Maria grins.

They hear rustling in the woods and Alyssa, Immanuel, and Kayla emerge from the trees.

"How did you two get here first?" Alyssa asks while she sets down her bag.

Rose shrugs, "I just followed this one, you guys jumped off this cliff for fun when you were kids?" She asks in shock.

"Maria started it, she jumped first and we learned that if she jumps we jump." Kayla smiles, leaning on Alyssa.

Maria laughs, "And I'm betting that if i jump first that you will all go in after me, or are we doing a chain reaction?"

The four friends look at each other before shouting, "Chain reaction!"

"Alright get changed dipshits! We are jumping off of a cliff." Alyssa shouts with excitement.

Kayla and Alyssa pull Immanuel over to the side to get changed and Maria pulled Rose to another side.

Once all of them are done changing, they all hold hands. "Maria, do the honors?" Immanuel asks.

Maria smiles, "Alright guys, I'm gonna help you swim!" Maria runs and jumps off the cliff bringing the others with her.

At the end of the afternoon the group separates and Maria and Rose go on patrol.

"I am hoping Esme doesn't get to us on this. Your friends are pretty cool, baby you was adorable." Rose pokes Maria's cheek.

Maria pat's Rose's head, "We are totally getting grounded when we get back home. And you haven't met everyone, you still haven't met Favion."

"And I keep hearing about him, so who was he?" Rose puts an arm around Maria while they watch a bank and record the shifts of the guards.

"I was closer to him more than the others, he was my first friend. He might be the only person who really knew me, but you are the first." Maria kisses Rose. "You're the first that I was able to trust with everything."

Rose smiles, "Look, this bank has them change shifts every four hours. So we know stopping time drains you in minutes, so do shadows, death, lightning, and light manipulation. Oddly enough portals don't so, sewer system is right under the bank, we can teleport from under. Leave the portal open as long as we can and take as much money as possible, close it in under five minutes."

Maria nods, "Sounds good, we hit tomorrow. I just read the schedule, everything is the same. And everyone in that building has a one hour lunch break and everything is locked up. We can hit then, tomorrow is Friday and their lunch is during our lunch."

"You stopped time and teleported into the manager's office to read the schedule didn't you?" Rose asks smugly.

"You know me so well babe!" Maria gives Rose another kiss. "And now that we have that, let's go home. Time to go get grounded, Esme is going to be real mad."

Well, the first part of the story ends here. But don't worry, there is more. This isn't even the real beginning, there is still so much to cover. Just come back when you can, I'll tell you the rest then.

#Freaks But Family #original work #fantasy story

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im-not-a-joke · 4 years

Note

Mmh... All the field

the whole- the whole field....

thank you for asking, this is going to be one long post

Alisons: Sexuality?

asexual, unlabeled/queer romantic

Amaranth: Pronouns/Gender?

they/them or he/him, nonbinary

Amaryllis: Birthday?

february 4th

Anemone: Favorite flower?

bleeding heart

Angelonia: Favorite t.v. show?

steven universe

Arum-Lily: What’s the farthest you’d go for a stranger?

probably offer a place to sleep overnight

Aster: What’s one of your favorite quotes?

“Do you think God stays in heaven because he, too, lives in fear of what he’s created?”

Aubrieta: Favorite drink?

strawberry lemonade

Baby’s Breath: Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?

my gf? yes, absolutely.

Balsam Fir: Have you ever been in love?

i’d like to think so, yes

Baneberries: Favorite song?

currently “better than me” by the brobecks

Basket of Gold: Describe your family.

a mess, i have three siblings, and two of them are currently living at home, we also have two large dogs

Beebalm: Do you have a best friend? Who is it?

yes! my best friend anna, and her brother bryan!

Begonia: Favorite color?

purple

Bellflower: Favorite animal?

mantis shrimp

Bergenia: Are you a morning or night person?

night person

Black-Eyed Susan: If you could be any animal for a day, what would it be?

dog, i want the constant love and affection

Bloodroots: When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

first a botanist, then a geologist

Bluemink: What are your thoughts on children?

i want to adopt some someday! sometimes they suck, but i want to be there for someone who doesn’t have a family to lean on.

Blazing Stars: What are you afraid of? Is there a reason why?

abandonment, because i’m annoying

Borage: Give a random fact about your childhood.

i shared a room with my little brother until i was like 12.

Bugleherb: How would you spend your last day on Earth?

visiting all the people i love most, all of my friends, my gf, i’d call my sister

Buttercup: Relationship Status?

taken!

Camelia: If you could visit anywhere, where would you want to go?

france

Candytufts: When do you feel most loved?

when people take the time out of their day to talk to me

Canna: Do you have any tattoos?

nope, i do want some someday, though

Canterbury Bells: Do you have any piercings?

yes! i got my ears pierced twice because it ripped my earlobe the first time

California Poppy: Height?

~5′8″

Cardinal Flower: Do you believe in ghosts?

yes, and if i die before any of my friends, i’m coming back to haunt them

Carnation: What are you currently wearing?

a floral tank top, my favorite sleeveless cardigan, and jean shorts

Catnip: Have you ever slept with a nightlight?

yes, my little brother was afraid of the dark and insisted on having a nightlight on

Chives: Who was the last person you hugged?

my mom

Chrysanthemum: Who’s the last person you kissed?

my gf

Cock’s Comb: Favorite font?

architect’s daughter

Columbine: Are you tired?

yes, very

Common Boneset: What are you looking forward to?

tomorrow i get to leave the house all day to drive across the state and it’s going to be a lot of fun

Coneflower: Dream job?

language teacher! either english to people who don’t speak it or german/french to english speakers

Crane’s-Bill: Introvert or extrovert?

introvert. i’m on tumblr all day

Crocus: Have you ever been in love?

yeah, i think so

Crown Imperial: What’s the farthest you would go for someone you care about?

i’d actually die for multiple people in my life

Cyclamen: Did you have a favorite stuffed animal as a child? What was it?

yes! a stuffed white dog with a plaid scarf and matching antlers! my friend got it for me because it reminded her of my big white dog.

Daffodil: What’s your zodiac sign?

aquarius

Dahlia: Have you done anything worth remembering?

once i came 3rd in my age group for a 5k i ran

Daisy: What do you feel is your greatest accomplishment?

i successfully kept a frail axolotl alive for an entire summer

Daylily: What would you do if your parents didn’t like your partner(s)?

i dont care what my parents think about stuff like that, they cant tell my who i am or am not allowed to date

Dendrobium: Who is the last person that you said “I love you” to?

@byler-obsessed literally like, maybe 15 minutes ago as of writing this

False Goat’s Beard: What is something you are good at?

i’d like to think i’m decent at singing

Foxgloves: What’s something you’re bad at?

staying awake during the day

Freesia: What are three good things that have happened in the past month?

i saw my gf for the first time in months! i came out to the girls team for xc! i spent a lot of time with one of my closest irl friends!

Garden Cosmos: How was your day today?

decent, i had coach practice, which was nice

Gardenia: Are you happy with where you’re at in your life?

yeah, i’d say i’m pretty happy where i am

Gladiolus: What is something you hope to do in the next year or two?

learn guitar

Glory-of-the-Snow: What are ten things that make you happy/you’re grateful to have in your life?

my best friends anna and bryan, my older brother, the girls on the team, my ukulele, my therapist, my dogs, the creek in my back yard, my grandma’s amish apple dumpling recipe, random internet memes, books

Heliotropium: What helps you calm down when you feel stressed?

listening to my spotify playlist

Hellebore: How do you show affection?

reassurance and/or talking about things that i enjoy, i’m really insecure so if i’m talking about something i like, that’s me trusting you.

Hoary Stock: What are you proudest of?

the mental health progress i’ve made

Hollyhock: Describe your ideal day.

i lay in bed until like 11, then, i spend the rest of the day out with my friends, we get sushi for dinner and stay up until like 3am

Hyacinth: What do you like to do in your free time?

be on tumblr

Hydrangea: How long have you known your best friend? How did you meet them?

i met them both in 6th grade, anna nad i were in the same science class and i met bryan at lunch, he didn’t talk to me for at least the first half of the year.

Irises: Who can you talk to about (almost) everything?

bryan, he always knows just what to say, and knows that he doesn’t have to fix my problems to be a good friend.

Laceleaf: How many friends do you have?

like, 13?

Lantanas: What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received?

my friend once told me that they couldn’t tell if i was a boy or girl upon first meeting me and it made my day.

Larkspur: What do you think of yourself?

i’m a mess, an anxious, depressed, gay mess

Lavender: What’s your favorite thing about yourself?

my hair, it’s really fluffy and soft, and just about light enough to dye bright colors

Leather Flower: What’s your least favorite thing about yourself?

my chest, it’s always been a huge part of my dysphoria and i want it gone please

Lilac: What’s something you liked to do as a child?

i would play dress up with my dog, he had to suffer through wearing all my old dresses, but he got treats so it was ok

Lily: Who was your best friend when you were a kid?

my friend ry, we met in second grade, we’re still on and off friends, currently off

Lily of the Incas: What is something you still feel guilty for?

in 5th grade i used the word “suck” in class and got yelled at

Lily of the Nile: What is something you feel guilty for that you shouldn’t feel guilty about?

see above answer

Lupine: What does your name mean? Why is that your name?

carson: christian. it’s my name because i like how it sounds, and anna really liked it too, she picked it for me.

Marigold: Where did you grow up? Tell us about it.

white, suburban ohio. all the kids had cliques by the second day of kindergarten, and if you were knew, you generally had a pretty good chance of being picked up by the popular kids.

Morning Glory: What was your bedroom like growing up?

i had bunkbeds with my little brother, i slept on the bottom.

Mugworts: What was it like for you as a teenager? Did you enjoy your teenage years?

so far, not really. i’m just mentally ill and closeted, it’s not great

Norwegian Angelica: Tell us about your mom.

she likes to dye her hair crazy colors, and she used to be a beekeeper, even though she’s allergic to bee stings.

Onions: Tell about your dad.

he rides his bike almost every day, and supports my mom in whatever she does

Orchid: Tell about your grandparents.

on my mom’s side, the kindest boomers i’ve ever met, my grandpa used to take us on “adventures” to the park and just watch us play

on my dad’s side: my grandpa loves seeing us but doesn’t get out much, my grandma laughs hysterically at every family gathering, and has all the best amish recipes

Pansy: What was your most memorable birthday? What made it be so memorable?

when i turned 13, i went ice skating for the first time and fell and sprained my wrist

Peony: What was your first job?

mowing lawns

Petunia: If you’re in a relationship, how did you meet your partner(s)? If you’re not in a relationship, how did you meet your crush/how do you hope to meet your future partner(s), if you want any?

we had mutual friends and slowly ended up being close, we were in school plays and track together.

Pincushion: How do you deal with pain?

i bite down on my finger to simultaneously distract myself, focus on something else, and hold myself back

Pink: Where is home?

my best friends’ living room at 1 am, with the golden girls playing in the background

Plantain Lilies: If you could go back in time, what is one thing you would stop/change?

i’d go back and stop current president from becoming president

Prairie Gentian: Who is someone you look up to? Describe them.

my sister, she has always been driven and passionate and talented, and she makes everything seem effortless and still gives it her all.

Primrose: Describe your ideal life.

me and my spouse and my kids amd my dogs all live in a decently spacious house in europe, my job is stable and i love my work, my students think i’m cool and come to me if they need help, i am doing well.

Rhodendron: What is something you used to believe in as a child?

i used to believe that the smoke from fireworks was where clouds came from

Ricinus: Who’s the most important in your life?

my best friends

Rose: What’s your favorite sound?

the sound of rain on my roof at night

Rosemallows: What’s your favorite memory?

when my sister, dad, and i all climbed to the top of a mountain in california

Sage: What’s your least favorite memory?

throwing up in the car on the way home for visiting my sister in new york

Snapdragon: At this moment, what do you want?

a hug from anna

St. John’s Wort: Is it easy or difficult for you to express how you feel about things?

it’s hard because i don’t trust people

Sunflower: What is something you don’t want to imagine life without?

the internet

Sweet Pea: How much sleep did you get last night?

like 5.5 hours

Tickseed: What’s your main reason to get up every morning?

to run, it makes me feel better and i love cross country

Touch-Me-Not: How do you feel about your current job?

lmao i dont have one

Transvaal Daisy: What’s your favorite item of clothing?

my binder!

Tropical White Morning Glory: Describe your aesthetic.

the record player song but a boy

Tulip: What would be the best present to get you?

a list of reasons why you deal with me/things you like about me

Vervain: What’s stressing you out most right now?

the fact that this is taking a lot longer than anticipated and i don’t want people to think i’m ignoring their asks

Wisteria: How many books have you read in the past few months? What were they called?

actual books? only 2, Catcher in the Rye and the Night Circus

Wolf’s Bane: Where do you want to be in life this time next year?

out with my friends

Yarrow: Do you know what vore is?

yes, and i regret it

Zinnia: Give a random fact about yourself.

i’m double jointed in my left pinky

#fuck dude this took forever #long post #carson rambles

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7deadlycinderellas · 4 years

Text

If the summer of lives could just come again, ch16

A03 link

Over the Wall

Several moons into that year, Rowan stills in the middle of a sentence, and quietly says,

“I think we have a visitor.”

The visitor, causing Jon’s heart to leap into his throat with joy, turns out to be Ghost. Ghost, dragging a dead doe at that. Ygritte attacks the dead animal with a knife and gusto, and they all eat terribly well for several days, Jon scratching Ghost under the muzzle and feeding him the best bits.

And Ghost is excellent for making the caves warmer at night. Sometimes, he even lets them use him as a pillow.

He even allows Ygritte to do it. She pets his head idly.

One night, when Jon is resting his head on the opposite side of him she is, Ygritte quietly asks him.

“I suppose it would never have worked out. We’re just too different.”

Jon doesn’t respond, but it doesn’t really feel like a question.

“I wanted to see over the wall. I’d wanted that since I was a little girl. We saw it together. But it wasn’t enough. You still left me for them.”

“I did swear a vow.”

Ygritte exhales loudly.

“How long were you a crow?”

Jon thinks back, remembering when he took his vow, and the start of the great ranging.

“A little over a year.”

“Do you think any of them are still looking for you?”

Jon feels his insides twist. Sam, Sam would never quit, but he could be overcome. Commander Mormont, he would never willingly leave a man behind. Pyp and Grenn…

“Maybe a few...but I suppose most of them must think I’m dead.”

Ygritte’s silent for a long time, and eventually it’s Jon who breaks it again.

“Once whatever this is is done, I can take you over the wall again. I can show you the south.”

Ygritte sounds half asleep when she responds with,

“That better be a promise.”

Gilly and the other women spend the days up and about, marking on bits of parchment.

“None of us learned to read,” Gilly tells him, “But Rowan wants us to help her map the caves down here, and I can draw well enough.”

Mapping the caves is just one of the things Rowan does. Her and the others occasionally disappear for half a day, gathering something or another.

In the early days, she led him to the heart of the cave, where the corpse of the old weirwood lay, and where Rowan had planted the bulb of a new seedling.

“This was what I was traveling further south for, to find this little babe of a tree,” she tells them, gently petting the turned earth where it will reach upward for the sun.

Jon reaches into his jumbled memories of his last night with the others.

“My brother...he said the three-eyed Raven taught him to see through the weirwoods.”

Rowan nods.

“We fed him from the seeds of the weirwoods, and that allowed him to see through their wood. It was a poor choice.”

Jon tries to imagine Bran, who seems so small, so young, in his memory.

“You said because he was a child.”

Rowan shakes her head softly.

“Not just that. He was a human, and humans cannot carry the weight of the power these centuries old trunks bear. Even the humans gifted with what you call greensight are often afflicted with illness by it.”

Jon watches Rowan stand, and touch the dead roots.

“My name is not truly Rowan. The common tongue has no word so specific for the sound a rowan tree makes when caught in a summer storm. But our language does. We call it the True Tongue. This is the tongue shared by the children of the forest, the plants and animals and the soil of the earth.”

She looks at Jon, gently, like a grandmother might.

“The only human who is said to have ever understood the True Tongue was your ancestor Bran the Builder. He knew how to listen. This is what makes you special Jon Snow, you can speak, and you cal listen. I’m not going to teach you to see through the weirwoods, I’m going to teach you to talk to them.”

King’s Landing

It’s just a normal, clear, sunny-but-cold day when Sansa touches Lady on the neck and slips into her skin.

She creeps through the Red Keep, quiet as a septa, neat as a maid, not even drawing the attention of a mouse.

Not even when she winds up outside the Small Council chambers. She doesn’t linger, doesn’t want to jinx this whole thing. Stannis and Renly have both lingered, seemingly lacking will to leave their brother’s side, even as their feuds rear their heads every other day.

It really does incense Sansa sometimes. Was this was raising her and Arya had been like, she wondered. Did Father and Mother fear that they would still be quarreling well into womanhood?

“It makes me sad,” Shireen had told her one day, out in the garden, The flowers had been dusted with snow, their petals beginning to wilt.

“Do you like living with your uncle?” Sansa had asked.

Shireen nods,

“He doesn’t pay a ton of attention to me, but he’s always light-hearted and up for a laugh. Father always went on and on about how irresponsible he was, but he’s always made sure I ate and went to my lessons…”

The younger girl trails off. Sansa had seen her speak kindly with Renly, and seemed happy spending time under Brienne’s guard, but she also saw the whisper of homesickness in her.

She recognizes it with ease, having gone through plenty.

It is Shireen she thinks of while Lady watches Renly attempt to defend his current lack of heirs.

It isn’t fair, not really, Sansa thinks to herself. She remembers the first day at court, when she’d caught a glimpse of Renly holding Loras Tyrell’s elbow that the truth had struck her like a lightning bolt.

Even Shireen had seen it, it seemed.

“I don’t think he likes ladies, well not like other men do,” Shireen had told her in confidence, “He was always quite kind to Lady Brienne, and many men can’t even muster that.”

But still, it was his house duty, she thought. And Stannis, on the other hand, could always be counted on to do his duty. Which must be why he’s here tending to his brother, even as he’s shouted and raged at on the regular.

She’s seen no sign of the red woman, to her relief.

She pulls herself out of Lady, when she hears someone call her name.

The voice turns out to be that of Lady Margaery, flanked behind by many of her own ladies. She is in the garden again, and Margaery is extending her hand to her.

“My apologies, my lady,” Sansa tells her, moving to lift her skirts and stand, “I’m afraid I was somewhere else for a bit there.”

“No offense taken, Lady Sansa,” Margaery replies, her smile seeming natural, though somehow still somehow painted on. “I was merely hoping to invite you to have tea with my grandmother and I.”

Sansa smiles, and allows herself to be lead.

She would be lying if she said she hadn’t been looking forward to see the old Queen of Thorns again. As the years had gone by, her appreciation of the acid tongue matriarch had only increased, along with her confusion as to her motives.

“Lady Tyrell,” she says, “It’s an honor.”

“Oh, dispense with the arse-kissing if you would, I feel I’ve had more than my share being back in this city.”

Yes, that was the Olenna Tyrell that Sansa remembered. She offers her wine and cheese, and she takes lightly of both.

“So,” Sansa starts, finishing a bit of soft goat cheese, licking her thumb, “is this just for pleasure, or did the two of you want something from me?”

The older woman nodded to herself, though it was her granddaughter who spoke up first.

“Well, you have lived here in the Red Keep for far longer than we have been at court. I imagine you’ve noticed my courtship of Prince Joffrey-”

As if anyone could miss it. Margaery was not subtle when she wanted people to notice her. As she called it ‘her courtship’, which she couldn’t imagine most proper ladies doing.

“-and I was hoping you might tell me about him. He has seemed gracious and gallant to me, but I imagine you know as I do, that men have the same carefully constructed masks we women do.”

“And we would like some insight,” Olenna interrupts, “Into why you, a lovely young maid yourself, seem to have no interest in him yourself.”

Sansa snorts softly, then meters her voice very carefully.

“Because he’s a jackarse that’s why. Met him years ago back home in Winterfell, first thing he did was insult my little sister.”

Her voice is casual, light.

“He likes to slap around his younger brother and sister too. I’ve seen him leave nasty bruises on both. “

Only a small fib. Myrcella had once confessed to Sansa that Joffrey hadn’t hit her since she had learned to stop reacting.

“Both of his uncles give him hell about it. I saw Lord Tyrion slap him once for a comment he made about my crippled younger brother. I’m rather fond of all of them, so I take their words over his. You have siblings, my lady, you must understand.”

At some point, Lady has quietly padded her way into the gardens, and sits by Sansa’s side. She pets the wolf on her head.

“And I am very thankful that Lady here hasn’t even caught his eye, if what poor Tommen said happened to his cat wasn’t just a tantrum.”

If he had ever tried it, Sansa thought, she’s not sure she would have stopped Lady from tearing his throat out this time.

Olenna snorts in response to her words though.

“If you’re assessment of the prince is accurate, than I wonder why wouldn’t tried to dissuade us.”

Sansa shrugs carefully, before meeting Margaery’s eye.

“If you think you can handle it, then who am I to tell you what to do? But you should be aware of what you’re getting into. Not just the prince, the Queen is a whole hornet’s nest herself.”

Sansa feels vaguely trapped inside. This whole game, the politics and the alliances. She had grown good at it, she knows, but she’s become so disdainful of it.

After she finishes her cup of sweet wine, she spies Tyrion walking into the garden and sitting at one of the tables they often played cyvasse on.

“If you’ll excuse my early exit, “ she tells Lady Olenna, standing and brushing off her dress, “Lord Tyrion beat me at cyvasse three days ago, and I believe I am owed a rematch.”

When she approaches the table, she notes Tyrion watching her out of the corner of his eye.

“Tired already of more quality company than me?”

Sansa shakes her head.

“Tired of being used as an unwitting informant.”

Tyrion raises an eyebrow. He has the cyvasse pieces out, and is playing with them idly, though not setting them up properly.

“Seeking advice for the courtship of my dear nephew?”

Sansa smiles wryly. She glances back over at where Margaery sits, with her immaculate hair and gown. Tyrion interrupts her gaze.

“Seemed there was a time you would have wanted the exact place she is in now.”

Sansa laughs bitterly.

“I did. And that wish got me nothing but heartache, abuse and suffering. I was stupid. A stupid little girl with stupid dreams who learned too slowly to even protect herself from her own mistakes.“

Thinking of her younger self, how blind and easily led she had been, nearly makes her want to retch. She shakes the memory off, as she moves to set the cyvasse pieces up. They play nearly in silence until the sun is no longer high in the sky.

“Is it so awful though?” Sansa asks, breaking the silence, in an unusually small voice, “To want to be loved, to want it so much that you let yourself be blinded?”

“No,” Tyrion replies, fiercely, “I don’t think it’s awful at all. Everyone wants to be loved, even if no one admits it. And in my experience, it’s made a great many men and women commit very foolish acts.”

She won’t say to him, won’t admit even to herself, that she’s even sure she would know love anymore. That if it weren’t for her sister, she wouldn’t even be sure if she believed in it anymore.

There’s a flush over their conversation, and Sansa feels a strange warmth bloom in her chest. One she might recognize, if she reached far enough back in her memory.

It’s interrupted, when her father approaches, telling her it’s time for supper.

It’s a simple potato and leek soup tonight, rich with cream and brightened bacon. Over it, Sansa hopes her father won’t bring up the subject she’s been avoiding since they arrived here nearly three years ago.

“You seem quite fond of Lord Tyrion,” he begins, “Any particular reason why?”

Sansa nods softly. She no longer thinks there’s a point in hiding this.

“He was my first husband.”

Ned stares, seeming not to know which word to latch onto. Sansa chuckles. It’s really ridiculous in hindsight.

“It was Tywin Lannister’s handiwork, meant to keep control of the North. We both objected loudly, but didn’t have a leg to stand on to refuse, but we tried to be kind to each other at least.”

She swallows, bitterly.

“I was fourteen, and in retrospect, our complete farce of a marriage was the closest thing to a reprieve I had while I was stuck here, and then…” she trails off, still unsure how to explain the next part, “I didn’t see him for nearly four years, but when we saw each other again, it was the strangest thing...it was almost like we were friends.”

Ned finally cuts her off, with a question.

“You said he was your first-”

Sansa ducks her head, so he will not see her face.

“My second was Ramsey Bolton. He was...not kind.

Ned’s expression of horror is all she needs. She shakes her head roughly again, changing the subject as fast as she can before more questions come.

“Anything new with the council today?”

“Stannis got a raven from the Wall,”

That gets Sansa’s complete attention.

“Who’s in charge now?”

“Alliser Thorne,”

She groans internally. Jon’s words on the man had not been kind. Not that Jon was even there now.

“He’s asking for more men, because wildlings have been attacking the outposts regularly. They sent them to all the Lords.”

Sansa rubs her forehead.

“And of course, Stannis is the only one to take the request seriously.”

Sansa wishes Shireen’s death wasn’t such a black mark on Stannis’s life. That his willingness to follow Melisandre so fanatically hadn’t besmirched him so. He was one of the only men in Westeros who truly seemed to consider the needs of the Realm.

Even before that, she muses, he also killed his own brother, so maybe she was being too generous.

Stannis’s actions end up being overshadowed anyhow.

It’s the middle of the year when Balon Greyjoy dies.

Sansa groans deeply when she learns. This is going to be a mess. She doubts Yara will be able to gather any sort of support without Theon to back her up, so somehow she thinks Euron will end up in charge again. She sends a raven, one of Bran’s that she’s been letting rest on a perch in her chambers and rest, back to Winterfell to try and see if Theon had said anything on the matter at all.

Theon had kept Balon in line, but she doubts Euron has any sort of similar loyalty.

It distracts her though, and she blames that distraction for why she lets someone sneak up on her early the next morning, when she’s down at the training yard.

Thankfully, it’s just Brienne.

“Didn’t take you for an archer, my lady.”

Sansa shrugs her off,

“It’s just for fun. Daughter of one of my father’s friends was a great archer. I thought she looked so elegant doing it. So I asked her to teach me.”

Elegant is pushing it. Sansa might describe Meera in her element as having a sort of wild grace, but she’s not sure she would ever call it elegance. But she is a young woman, with thoughts only of gowns and games, and so she admires elegance.

“For fun? Pulling a longbow takes nearly a hundred pounds of force.”

Sansa laughs, trying to sound blithe. She looses her arrow, and hits the target she has set up. It hits close to the edge, but it’s set further away than she’s set them before.

“You’re assigned to guard Lady Shireen, right? Is she about already?”

Brienne shakes her head.

“The girl is a bit of a late sleeper, and I felt the need for some early morning air before resuming my duties.”

Sansa sets down her bow and sits on one of the brick columns that line the ends of the walkway.

“How is she? I remember when I came here for the first time, I felt so alone.”

“She is..coping. Like she always has. She didn’t have many other young people for friends in Storm’s End, or from her stories, before either.”

Brienne frowns as she continues speaking.

“I fear she may always feel out of place just because of how she looks. I feel coming here, with all the power and attention may only make it worse.”

“This city isn’t a very good place for anyone,” Sansa ruminates, playing with the feather on the end of her bow.

What about you? She thinks, but doesn’t say. Here, Brienne looks the role of a knight, even if she will still insist she is not. She spends her days guarding a defenseless girl for no personal gain, and she will still deny it.

And she has no idea who she would have become.

Joffrey and Margaery announce their engagement halfway through the year. Ned spends the back half of the year with his head between his hands trying to get a grasp on the plans.

“Robert’s not going to make it to the end of the year,” he admits one day during supper.

Sansa purses her lips as she sips her soup.

“I didn’t think so. He looks awful.” Robert’s whole body has become swollen, and despite his famous appetite, he rarely eats anymore.

“I can’t help but feel that planning a lavish wedding while his father dies is in poor taste.”

“He will be king,” Sansa considers, “maybe he wants his reign to start with a celebration. Or maybe Robert wants to see his eldest wed before he passes.”

Ned shakes his head.

“I still can’t wrap my head around Joffrey being king. He doesn’t pay a lick of attention in small council meetings, and on the occasion he does, he lashes out and suggests violence for nearly every issue.”

“He will be an awful king,” Sansa agrees, “But I don’t expect he will be king long.

He probably won’t be murdered at his wedding this time, she thinks, or at least if he is, Sansa doesn’t think she will be the tool of poison. She hasn’t received any unexpected gifts anyway. The Iron Islands are in flux, something tells her Stannis still has his doubts about Joffrey’s parentage, and Littlefinger is still manipulating things (his own wedding to Lysa has just been announced).

And, barring all of that, Varys spoke quietly to her once about the songs of his birds from overseas. The thought of Joffrey being eaten by a dragon does give her a certain sense of satisfaction.

‘You don’t imagine Joffrey will want to keep you as his Hand though do you?” she asks out of the blue.

Ned’s words are rough,

“I can’t imagine. The boy dislikes me, his mother dislikes me more, and they’ve both been vocal about it.”

“Perhaps, once his graces passes, then we’ll be able to go home.”

It’s the only hope they have to hold on to, as the wedding draws near.

Sansa’s not in a good mood the day before. Aside from her general distaste for weddings, she has also just got the raven telling her that she was going to miss Arya’s...again.

Ned is at least as upset about that as she is.

“At least there are still four more of you.”

Sansa is quiet for a long time, then suddenly interjects,

“Robb was married. No one was there but Mother. I don’t even remember his wife’s name. She was from Volantis, I think. None of us got to meet her. The three of them all died the same day.”

Ned reaches out and touches the back of her neck. The gown she’s dressed in for the wedding is a light gray, with long sleeves and a full skirt. She’s tall enough at seventeen that she can now look him straight in the eye.

She stands beside him during the ceremony, and he watches her eyes drift over most of the room.

Joffrey and Margaery say their words, and Ned and Sansa try their best not to roll their eyes.

There are performers after, but scanning the crowd, Sansa lets out a sigh of relief, seeing only one dwarf. The pigeon pie doesn’t choke anyone.

Sansa quietly sips at her wine, and watches.

At one point in the evening, she sees Ned take a sip from Robert’s goblet, and wince. Pycelle is accompanying the King, who is barely holding himself upright. He has not eaten or drank anything at all during the festivities.

“I’ve never tasted anything that strong, I’m almost frightened where he found it,” Ned comments, off hand. Sansa wonders at his words.

Time comes for the bedding. Sansa notices Shireen looking a bit apprehensive, and so grabs her hands and the two of them linger at the back of the mob of women.

“Trust me, you don’t want a hand or eyeful of any of that,” she assures the girl.

The dancers and celebrators still linger in the hall. Sansa notices Cersei still at the high table, seemingly quite drunk. That’s a mess she wants no part of either.

Her and Shireen sit alone, sipping lightly from one cup of wine.

"Do you like it here at all?" Sansa finally asks her.

Shireen shrugs.

"I like meeting other people. I like seeing things happen even if I can't be involved. Renly told me when he was helping me get my gown and everything for the ball last year that it was a shame a girl like me had been kept from the world for so long."

"Aren't people sometimes mean to you though?"

"Of course they are, but they don't matter. Maybe in this life I'll be alone, but that's why I like my books and stories. That's I think what I'd like to do with my life. I want to write stories, whether they're real or not."

Sansa sees in her eyes a touch of resentment, she figures for her parents having kept her trapped for so long.

And slowly, and very quietly, she asks her.

"If I told you a story, a very complicated one, could you keep it to yourself, whether you believed it or not?"

Shireen looks at her oddly.

"I wouldn't tell a soul."

And just like that, Sansa has another confidant.

It feels like things should change all at once, but it still somehow happens slowly.

It’s a few days after the wedding, while guests are beginning to leave. Sansa is wandering the halls, again in Lady, when she comes upon Cersei leaving the royal apartments, with an empty bottle.

Sansa-in-Lady takes a moment to heel behind a statue in the hall, when Littlefinger comes in her direction.

He barely even stops upon encountering Cersei, he merely nods in her direction.

“Such a shame it is,” he says, eyes on the bottle, “For a man to be leveled by something he loved so much.”

And Sansa finds herself slipping out of Lady’s head, a heavy sensation causing her stomach to sink.

Of course it wouldn’t be hard, the way Robert drank, to spike his cups even more heavily. Even if someone were drinking first from his cups, they wouldn’t likely notice.

A death he may have brought on himself, hastened by someone who desperately wanted him gone.

A death that comes barely a moon after his eldest son’s wedding.

“I have to make funeral arrangements,” Ned tells her that evening, when the are sitting and talking, “And arrange for Joffrey’s coronation.”

“And after that?”

Ned sighs. It seems to be his primary vocalization now.

“After...we’ll find out.”

Sansa stares out the window in her chambers that night. It’s a deep, dark, clear night, and the raven for winter flies through.

#game of thrones #A Song of Ice and Fire #gendrya #sanrion #jongritte #time travel fix it #fic

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sherlollysecretsanta · 4 years

Text

Soulmates & Cell Phones (Marvel Cinematic Universe; Bucky x Darcy)

So this is the first of the mod gifts! This one is for @juldooz, who mentioned that they were a fan of Bucky/Darcy as a ship and soulmate AUs. Enjoy!

Soulmates & Cell Phones - Bucky Barnes meets his soulmate outside Stark Tower.

READ @ AO3

He had stopped looking at the damn tattoo on his arm long before Hydra had gotten their hands on him, knowing how many Debs and Donnas there were in Brooklyn when he was a kid. A D for a letter was nothing special. Steve, at least, had an N for his, and aside from a handful of Nancys in the area, there weren’t many people whose names started with N. Or at least it didn’t feel like it.

But now...well, now that his brain was sorted, the snap had been averted and Stark was having everyone check in on each other more often in the newly expanded superhero community, he was wondering if his D would be for some random civilian he helped save or someone who could actually deal with the weirdness that was his life.

After all, he was a centenarian who looked like he was in his thirties. If they could get past that, then they could stay. If not...well, soulmates weren’t that big a deal anyway, right?

Then he’d glance at Steve and Natasha, who were as close as peas in a pod, and know it was a big deal.

So much had happened since he’d gotten his brain fixed in Wakanda. There had been the fight with Thanos, which Thor had finished by using the axe of his and chopping off the gauntlet and then putting it on and snapping away the invading army, at the cost of his arm. Then there was the scare with the Mysterio guy using intel from SHIELD to pretend to be an ally but then turned on all of them. Some heroes like Parker had their identities revealed to the public at large, and it took a blow to all of them.

Him, personally, he didn’t care; he’d still felt he should pay for the debts he’d incurred as the Winter Soldier, whether he’d done the things while being brainwashed or not. But after the mess with Thanos, Steve and Tony had made their peace, and both vouched for Steve being his parole officer, of a sort, and making sure he stayed on the good guys' side. So no going back to Wakanda, much to Shuri’s disappointment. But New York...it was good to be home, he guessed.

“Have you found her yet?” Shuri asked on her side of the phone conversation. During his time in Wakanda, they had talked. Shuri was one of the few people he had met that didn’t have a soulmate tattoo in any known Earth language, so if had been a topic of conversation between them. Her mother had embraced him as a lost child of sorts, and so while he had lived alone with his goats for the most part, technically he was welcome at the palace any time he wanted. Right now, Shuri was bored, so he had been speaking to Ramonda about having her come to New York for a bit, and the Queen had agreed. So now he and Shuri were planning their time when she first arrived.

“How are you so sure my soulmate is a she?” he asked, amused. He’d been attracted to guys back in the day before it all got shoved down in Winter Soldier programming, but he’d always seemed to prefer women, and he was sure he’d told her that before.

“Because you deserve someone soft.”

“Men can’t be soft? Shuri, take a look at your brother around Nakia. He turns into a pile of goo.”

Shuri chuckled. “That is not what I mean, White Wolf. Men are hard. Even you are hard. Women are soft. And you deserve someone soft after all you have been through. Therefore, I am certain your soulmate is a woman.”

Whatever he was going to say next was cut off by a slew of Hebrew curses to his left as he got to the doors of Stark Tower. He turned and saw two women standing there, one with shoulder-length brown hair and a brown jacket and jeans, and the one cursing in Hebrew was looking at a phone in her hands. He grinned slightly at that. It had been a long time since he’d heard some good Jewish curses, which reminded him he should go to the synagogue soon.

“I broke my phone,” she said, looking up. Her hair was a long mess of curls, topped off with a cat-eared beanie, and she wore glasses and an all-black outfit: black turtleneck, black leather jacket, black skirt, black tights, black flats. And he damn near dropped his own phone when he felt a searing pain on his wrist where his D tattoo was, and when he looked down there was a name, slowly fading: Darcy.

“Hey, Shuri? I ever tell you you’re damn near psychic?” he said, putting his phone back to his ear.

“You just met her?”

“Yeah, I did. And I’ve got to go apologize for a broken phone, I think. Talk to you later, okay?”

“Make sure to tell me everything.”

“Will do.” He hung up and made his way to the two women. “Are you Darcy?” he asked as he pocketed his phone.

“I am, and this is your fault,” Darcy said. “I was looking over at you and my damn wrist started to hurt and I dropped my phone. Your my soulmate, aren’t you. James?”

He nodded. “James Buchanan Barnes. Also known as Bucky.”

“Darcy Lewis,” she said sourly. “I liked this phone, too. I just got it all set up for me.”

“Well, I’m sure we can fix it,” her companion said with a wide smile. “Jane Foster.”

“Nice to meet you,” he said, reaching over to shake her hand. “And I’m sure we can too. Looks like we just need to replace the screen, and I’m sure Tony can do that if he’s not in the middle of making stuff for his kid. If you ask nicely, maybe he’ll even improve it.”

“Or we can ask Thor to get it upgraded to Asgardian tech,” Jane said.

“You know Thor?” he asked, surprised.

“The big guy? Yeah. Jane is his on-again, off-again girlfriend,” Darcy said. “On again, currently.”

“And on that note, I need to get inside to meet him for lunch,” Jane said a small gleam in her eyes. “I shouldn’t wait up, should I?”

“I’d say call me when you’re done, but...” Darcy held up the broken phone.

“If Thor is staying here at the Tower, I’m two floors below. I can make us something while we wait for your phone to get looked at.” Bucky gave Darcy a grin and was surprised to see Darcy blush slightly. He had no idea his grin still had that effect on women. Showed how out of touch with the dating game he was. “Shall we?”

“I guess,” Darcy said with a small smile. The three of them went inside Stark towers and then headed to the private elevator. Jane keyed in Thor’s code and he waited with them. He looked at her phone in her hand and motioned for her to hit the floor under the penthouse when they piled in. “That’s Stark’s lab, right?”

He nodded. “Someone there should be able to take a look at your phone. If Stark isn’t there, Parker or Banner could be. I’d put my money on Parker being able to make quick work of it over Banner, but the three of them and Parker’s friends spend tons of time in the lab.”

“So you really live here?” Darcy asked.

He nodded. “I’m kind of on parole.”

“Bad boy,” she said.

“You could say that, though it wasn’t my fault.” He stuck his thumbs in the pockets of his jeans and saw her eyes go wide at the sight of his metal arm. “I’m known as the Winter Soldier.”

“Oh! You’re Steve’s friend from the past!” Jane said.

Bucky nodded. “Yeah.”

“Oh, Thor’s talked about you. He likes you a lot,” she said with a smile. “I think you’re going to have a good time, Darcy. Bucky is supposed to be a good cook.”

“Is he?” she asked, looking up at him. “At least my day is improving a bit.” He turned his grin from Jane to Darcy again and relaxed when Darcy gave him a wider grin back. He had the feeling next time he talked to Shuri, there was going to be a lot to talk about...

#marvel cinematic universe #mcu #bucky x darcy #fanfic #Mod Gift #sherlolly secret santa 2019

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randomestfandoms-ocs · 5 years

Text

Percy Jackson OC Masterlist

Name: Amelia Sawyer

Story: Underestimated

Godly Parent: Hermes

Face claim: Sadie Sink

Summary: tbd

Name: Ashley Wilson

Story: Chaos Killed The Dinosaurs

Godly Parent: Eris

Face claim: Madison Mclaughlin

Love interest: Percy Jackson

Summary: Ashley Wilson had always known that she was unusual, even for a demigod. Claimed by Eris at seven years of age, everyone had always held her at arms’ length. Everyone, that is, until Percy Jackson. Having made her first friend in five years, Ashley is determined not to lose him; even if that means going to the underworld to save his mom - and the world. She’s a daughter of chaos, and it’s about time people see what that really means.

Name: Atalanta Jackson

Story: The End Of The Sea

Godly Parent: Neptune

Face claim: Zoey Deutch

Love interest: Jason Grace

Summary: Atalanta Jackson didn’t remember her life before Camp Jupiter, before being claimed as Amphitrite’s hero. It’s always been she and Jason Grace, the Fifth Cohort, and their “special training” with Hera and Amphitrite. Everything is fine, everything is good, even, until Jason disappears and, six months later, a boy who shares her name, father, and eyes shows up at the border, and Atalanta knows everything is about to fall apart.

Name: Avery Thomas

Story: The Saviour Of The Broken (The Beaten, And The Damned)

Godly Parent: Hecate

Face claim: Emily Rudd

Summary: tbd

Name: Blake Morris

Story: Die For Me

Godly Parent: Hermes

Face claim: Dylan Sprayberry

Love Interest: Jasper Gabriel

Summary: tbd

Name: Calliope

Story: Memories Don’t Die

Godly Parent: Hecate

Face claim: Danielle Campbell

Summary: tbd

Name: Cassandra Aelius

Story: (You’ll Believe) God Is A Woman

Godly Parent: Apollo

Face claim: Kathryn Newton

Love interest: Jason Grace & Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano

Summary: You want to know what’s really fucked up? When you’re a daughter of Apollo and the actual reincarnation of a woman he cursed for refusing to fuck him. Cassandra Aelius, or as she used to be known, Cassandra of Troy, doesn’t remember everything about her past life, but she gets flashes of it. And like her past self, no one believes in her visions or her powers. But she does. And if the only two people who even humour her warnings are Jason Grace and Reyna Avila Ramirez Arellano, well, at least they’re in charge. And if she has to handle all of this herself, well, so be it. It’s been thousands of years, but Cassandra will never let herself be ignored again.

Name: Ciara Mare

Story: Princepes Maris

Series: Primordial Daughters

Godly Parent: Oceanus

Face claim: Auli'i Cravalho

Love interest: Percy Jackson

Summary: tbd

Name: Crystal Solace

Story: Walking on Sunshine

Godly Parent: Apollo

Face claim: Annasophia Robb

Summary: Referred to by her twin as an “actual ray of sunshine,” Crystal Solace was everything you might expect of a daughter of Apollo. Sweet, bubbly, and welcoming, everyone wants to be friends with her - until they find out that she has an inhuman ability to tell when she’s being lied to. When every friend you’ve ever had casts you aside as a freak, it would be easy to grow resentful, but Crys lives up to her nickname. There’s a war coming, and even no one outside of her cabin wants her around, Crys is still ready to fight for her family - whether they like it or not.

Name: Davina Gerwin

Story: Love In The Time Of Monsters

Godly Parent: Eros

Face claim: Madelaine Petsch

Summary: tbd

Name: Delia

Story: Total Eclipse Of The Heart

Godly Parent: Redacted

Face claim: Candice King

Summary: tbd

Name: Esmerelda Wilde

Story: Legacy of the Father

Godly Parent: Hermes

Face claim: Sky Katz

Love interest: Clarisse La Rue

Summary: Children of Hermes were never taken seriously. People only ever saw them as pickpockets and pranksters, in a cabin that was barely even their own. And Esmerelda Wilde absolutely hated it. He was also the protector of travellers, the god of trade, eloquence, orators, wit, literature, poets, and athletics. There was a lot more to her, to all of her siblings, than just petty theft and dumb jokes, not that anyone cared. But she cared, and with a war on the horizon, she’d be damned if she let anyone underestimate the Hermes cabin again.

Name: Helena Jackson

Story: A Thousand Ships

Series: A Thousand Ships: Or The Trojan War In Half The Time

AO3 | FFNet | Wattpad

Godly Parent: Poseidon

Face claim: India Eisley

Summary: Helena Jackson’s life is fine, really. Sure, she hates her boarding school right in the city, her mom is married to an abusive asshole, her dad is some flake, and she and her twin brother are for some reason not allowed to ever go to the same school, but really, it’s fine. And then Percy gets expelled, again, his best friend turns out to be a goat, their mom gets kidnapped, and her flake of a dad is actually a god. Oh, right, and apparently they’re now the lead suspects in the case of Zeus’ bruised ego. But still, her life is fine, really.

Name: Jasper Gabriel

Story: Die For Me

Godly Parent: Hades

Face claim: Danielle Rose Russell & Millie Bobby Brown

Love Interest: Blake Morris

Summary: tbd

Name: Lila

Story: The Truth About The Moon

Godly Parent: Redacted

Face claim: Olivia Holt

Summary: tbd

Name: May Tierra Anderson

Story: Terra Heredis

Series: Primordial Daughters

Godly Parent: Terra

Face claim: Vanessa Morgan

Love interest: Jason Grace

Summary: tbd

Name: Melody Weiss

Story: A Song Of Forgetting

Godly Parent: Apollo, Granddaughter of Athena

Face claim: Sabrina Carpenter

Summary: tbd

Name: Nina Callie Turner

Story: My Head Is Bloody (But Unbowed)

Godly Parent: Bellona

Face Claim: Lana Condor

Love Interest: Percy Jackson & Jason Grace

Summary: My name is Nina Turner. I was kidnapped. I will get off Ogygia. Callie--Nina Turner has repeated this mantra to herself every day for nine years, ever since Calypso had taken her from her home. As Nina would soon learn, every century the vengeful titan would steal a young demigod to raise as her “maid” - slave, if you asked Nina - as a small revenge against the gods who kept her on her island. Nina just happened to be the latest. For nine years she’d only been called Callie, as was every other kidnapped girl, she’d been told about how evil the gods were, and she’d been treated worse than dirt. And then, just when she’s started to give up hope, a boy with jet black hair and the most gorgeous green eyes crash lands in her personal hell.

Name: Penelope Grace

Story: Where The Sky Meets The Sea

Godly Parent: Poseidon

Face claim: Kaya Scodelario

Summary: When Poseidon’s second demigod child - a girl by the name of Penelope Grace - was born, he panicked. Breaking the oath once was bad enough, but twice? Zeus would destroy her. And so, Amphitrite convinces the girl’s mother to let her take her stepdaughter, and a three year old Penelope is brought to Poseidon’s kingdom. The next nine years are a blur of training; learning to fight with Triton, politics with Amphitrite, and mastering her powers with Poseidon. And then Zeus’ master bolt is stolen, and Poseidon’s other demigod child is attacked by Alekto, and Penelope is sent away from her Atlantian home to a camp in New York city with only two instructions. Don’t let anyone know where you’re from, and keep Percy Jackson alive at all costs.

Name: Skyler Caelestis

Story: Caelum

Godly Parent: Uranus

Face claim: Kiernan Shipka

Summary: tbd

Name: Stella Beauregard

Story: Sad, Beautiful, Tragic

Godly Parent: Aphrodite

Face claim: Chloe Grace Moretz

Summary: Love is bullshit. An uncommon opinion for a daughter of Aphrodite, but Stella Beauregard knew it to be a fact. Her mom had supposedly loved her dad—enough to have two children with him three years apart, but she still left both times. Her dad had loved her mom, enough to welcome her back after she’d left him a broken shell, only for her to leave him again. And her sister? Her sister had loved Charles Beckendorf. So much so that she sacrificed herself almost immediately after his death. Yes, Love was bullshit, and Stella was going to break the cycle of heartbreak that seemed to haunt her family. What better way to do that than join the Hunters of Artemis—than to be the first daughter of Aphrodite to ever do so?

Name: Summer Sol

Story: Cross My Heart And Hope To Die

Godly Parent: Apollo

Face claim: Lily James

Love interest: Luke Castellan

Summary: Summer Sol. Daughter of Apollo. 21 years old. California girl. Luke Castellan’s girlfriend. Summer had always considered these to be her defining traits, and so had everyone else at Camp Half Blood. She’s perfectly happy with that, until her boyfriend betrays the entire camp, and their parents, and suddenly everyone is looking at her like she’s about to betray them too. She won’t, she’s loyal, she swears it: cross her heart and hope to die.

Name: Sybil

Story: Holy Ground

Godly Parent: Redacted

Face claim: Ginny Gardner

Summary: tbd

Name: Thea Carol

Story: The Mirror Of Your Dreams

Godly Parent: Athena, legacy of Apollo (Roman)

Face claim: Malina Weissman, Lea Michele

Summary: tbd

Name: Victoria Blofis

Story: Victory’s Contagious

Godly Parent: Nike

Face claim: Meg Donnelly

Love interest: Jason Grace

Summary: Victoria Blofis didn’t consider herself particularly ambitious, especially for a daughter of Nike. She wanted to cheer for the Goode High Sharks, she wanted to maintain her 4.0 GPA, and she wanted to not die every time that she went back to Camp Half Blood. But during the Christmas of her freshman year, her childhood best friend is kidnapped. Sure, Victoria and Annabeth hadn’t been as close over the past couple of years, but that didn’t mean that she wouldn’t still go to the ends of the earth to save her. Or, in this case, it didn’t mean that she wouldn’t still partner up with Percy Jackson to break out of camp and join a quest that they weren’t chosen for. As luck would have it, she and Percy make a great team, and even better friends. And then she finds out. Her dad’s new girlfriend? None other than Percy Jackson’s mother.

Name: Viola Di Angelo

Story: Come Hell Or High Water

Godly Parent: Hades

Face claim: Anya Taylor Joy

Love interest: Percy Jackson

Summary: It was practically unheard of for a god to have two children with the same mortal, let alone three. But Hades has always been the odd one out, and had done exactly that. First there was Viola, then Bianca, then Nico. And then came Zeus, the River Lethe, over seventy years at the Lotus Hotel, Westover Hall, and finally, finally, along came Percy Jackson. He brought with him answers to two lifetimes of questions, and he offered her a home. But then her sister abandons them for a goddess’ girl gang, and Percy is gone, and Viola has a thousand more overwhelming questions. And then he comes back, without Bianca, and Viola can no longer pretend that everything is going to be okay.

Name: Xena Gale

Story: Perfect Storm

Godly Parent: Zeus

Face claim: Madison Davenport

Summary: tbd

#randomestfandoms construction #masterlist #percy jackson oc

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starlight-starwings · 5 years

Text

The Adventure Zone Season 2 quotes.

Unfortunately the quotes I saved between seasons 1 and 2 were lost because I got a new phone, so this is starting with episode 6 of Amnesty. If anyone has good quotes from the first arc, experimental arcs, ans the live shows during the experimental arcs, feel free to add or send them.

• - listen... ok, we could... agdgsbjsbuhah. how they eat and breathe... its just a show, just relax

- technically the .. waste water systems and the regular water systems of a city or not connected, and so like theres a lot of.. a lot of ways to figure it out. But yea, maybe you get the idea that this thing doesn't.. it can.. it.. is weird man...

• hey there adventure zone lovers. I dont know if that means you love adventure zone, or you... heh heh heh, ya know.

• - can you feel it?

- the idea of feeling is kinda weird-

- close your eyes and tell me if Im doing it

- well you already did- ok.

- close your eyes. Did I do it?

- you did it

- aaahh, I didnt

- ok. This is not a fun game for me

• - its our first day here!

- yeaa. Like... Let me ask you about the fucking... cast of Friends

- youre talking about Matt Leblanc and Matthew-

- Ah fuck.

- ah shit

- damn

- son of a b- he's good, he's real good

• - Don't I have to roll?

- we have not played dungeons and dragons in so fucking long!

- Here

- what are you rolling to do?!

• - tell me, is patience one of your more valued v-

- yes!

• Hey. No ideas bad. It just wasn't good.

• - I got eleven? You got any cash on you?

- uhh yea I happen to have nine bucks right here. Griffin cant prove otherwise.

• listen Pidgeon, here's the thing: I... love... to... practice fishing. But... the running water... frightens me. Its called hydrophobia. And I would love to practice my cast in a real water environment, where I can get in a large body of water, where I can guarantee that running water wont be a factor. And I would just love to practice my casting in a guaranteed still body. But here's the other thing! Sometimes if you do it in a lake, thats what youre thinking, a fish will bite it. And normally thats ideal but Im just trying to practice casting. If like.. when you dont want to catch em. Thats when they're biting. Ya know what I mean? I need a still body of water, that I can guarentee won't move, to practice my fishing casting.

• - Noooo

- are you sure?

- yeaaaaa

- Beause its our podcast!

- noooo

- we're actually doing our own podcast

• - Make uhhh.... check. You're gonna need to make a check for this one

- I got the gum. But I have the gum

- It's good gum; you'll have advantage on it.

• Cause I mean a 4 legged octopus is a horse.

• - What does control water do?

- Merle can- well gee wiz. It makes spaghetti! What do you think control water does?

- whats the fucking card say?

• Good you know my sister Jane was doing missionary work in Honduras and normally I would spend the uh, holidays with her. But uhh I had some friends come in from uhh out of town. And uhh... I wanted to communicare this to anybody who might be listening somehow, and I thought this might be a more organic way of uh, doing it.

• um... nah so ok right... so... the pizza hut sign... started to fall, cause of the weather. And he ran up there on a... fire escape, and tried to... push it? With a bat? Dammit. Nah. He just pushed it. And it fell. But then he fell. Cause he got shocked. I bet. Mmmm. I didn't see. I was in- Ah shit. Alright. Hey folk- hey guys. Rewind. I- hey guys rewind a second. Aahh fuck. I was inside I didn't see. Anything. I don't know. This man. I do know this man. His name- fuck. Alright. I'm met.. high net... here... Mmmm, alright. So, This man's is name is Ned. And he's uh.. friend of mine. And I dont know what the hell happened to him. But you know this guy. He's always getting into something. I don't know. I was in the building. I almost got killed by a pizza hut sign. I might be in shock.

• Write the fucking story with me! We are New York Times bestselling authors!

• - Ok. Go ahead. Uhh where are your wings? Obviously you can't see them right now because I'm wearing my disguise. Would you like to see my wings?

- Yes.

- I don't know you very well, so no, not- not quite yet.

• Aw Juno this is so embarrassing. Um last week, uhh, my truck got beat up, and I... I had to take it over to Whistle's. And he wa- while he was fixing it up I had to borrow yours to run out uh... to- to do a check on... a body of water. In... the... tree... zone... forest. Fuck. It was a body of water in the tree zone. And I had to check on it in your car. And when I- I drove your car, without asking, and... I think I left my... pants? No. Wallet? Money. I left my wallet in your truck and I was wondering if you could go look for it real quick.

• - a goat..

-well. No its.. i mean you look at the legs you can kinda see... yea...

- its pan!

- no were not crossing over

- there no crossover here sir. No.

• - oh thats easy. All you have to do is press that red button right there.

- and what will that do?

- itll give you the key sphere

- well hold on....

- merle casts zone of truth!

- so what happens when I press that button?

- the red button? Itll give you the key sphere

- what will the blue button do?

- it'll kill ya

- what would the other frankenstein tell us?

- well my companion over there always lies. He'll tell ya to hit the blue button.

- oh okay. Its kinda one of those- ya know what Im gonna check his flavor real quick

- ok.

- I flip the lever

- No that'll kill me!

- the other Frankenstein sits up and says oh hey! Im Frankenstein. A lot of people say Im Frankenstein's monster but-

- yea yea yea. Ok we get it. Uh is this Frankenstein in the zone as well?

- uh yea.

- These buttons over here what will the red one do?

- oh the red one? Its the key sphere one. I would've told you its the blue one.

- ok I slam-

- No listen. Listen. No listen. Listen listen listen. Hey. Stop wait! Im the liar Frankenstein.

- I hit the red button.

• - Merle casts shield of faith

- ok. On whom?

-um.. it surrounds a creature of my choice

- yeap. So..

- time to make that choice

- that is kinda the question I asked

• - are you a grief counselor?

- yea you a grief counselor?

- I do have some counseling experience, um, but right now think of me more as your friend.

- I could really use a grief counselor I think more than a friend at the moment. I got-

- ok then Im a grief counselor, yes.

• - and Im gonna roll 2 d6... god almighty... hatchy matchy...

- howd you do, Justin?

- Well I got a 4 on that one, Trav. Which is, what we call in the biz, we call that bad. That is less than ideal.

• A charisma check. Okay. Hahahaha! That's a threeee.

• I know how you young people talk: It was rad.

• hey! Hey man fucking bigfoots behind you dude, drive! Jesus Christ! Hey Ive been skitching this whole time brother, Im really sorry but you gotta fucking drive right now dude, come on! Im vulnerable as hell! Come on! Dont make me fight bigfoot, I want thinking through this shit, go! Im not gonna fucking fight bigfoot.

• No, you know what- I'm gon- ya know what? It's fine. Ya know what? Its fine. Its fine. Im gonna- it- thisll be fine. Thisll actually be fine. Uhhh Im gonna cast lightning bolt on the tank. I thought about it, thisll be fine.

• - dont worry, the rest of us will take care of this. I think the best plan is if the three of you go up the spire to face the final confrontation alone

- why is that the best plan??

- cause theres exactly enough people outside- robots outside, that we'll need all of the army...

- but then why dont we wait and help you kill all of the robots?

- we'll kill them and then we'll all go up together

- theres no time!

- what are you talking about were just fighting a bat- theres plenty of time

- we got a whole other act!

- huurrryy

- okay we'll hurry, yes fine, yes.

- good luck

- well now dont say that! You said to go on ahead!

- I'll remember you

- this passive aggressive stuff...

- youre sending mixed signals. Should we stay and-

- the doors that ive just invented shut behind you.

• Okay uh, Hollis. Let me ask you something: Okay, on the other side of this portal- im gonna lay it out for you. Alright. Are you ready? One hundred percent honesty. On the other side of this portal is another world. Just like, the same scope and size of ours, with a population of people, and... just like us. People just like us. Right? And... think about this. In... lets say West Virginia alone, not even the whole world, the whole earth, west Virginia alone, right. How many people do you think there is, a per capita ratio, thats murderers to just regular people? Right? So what if somebody said "there are murderers in west Virginia, so we're gonna march into west Virginia and kill everyone there, cause they might be murderers." Right so what if the only thing you knew about west Virginia is that some murderers came from here? And you said "so let's just go in and wipe everone out"? You would come in and wipe out the whole state, and murder innocent people, just in case they might be murderers. What does that make you, Hollis?

• - Aubrey what... what are you?

- Oh I'm bisexual.

- Do all of bisexuals have this power?

- Yes.

• - uh lets jump right in

- im in. Already. I actually got in before you did. Just to make sure the water was okay.

- oh how is it? Hows the scene doing?

- the scene is good. Im already in it, but because the narrator has not joined us we are locked in... stasis. We are characters in search of an author as it were, in the pernella play.

- so theyve been there for 2 weeks? Or whats up?

- theyve been there for 2 weeks. Locked in perfect stasis, until time itself should turn its gaze upon us and let us resume our merry roles in this play called existence.

• - did you get the part where we're gonna find the quail and just crush its heart or whatever?

- its uh- its- it- its quell

- yea thats what I said, quail

- you said quail like a big ol bird

- wait what are you saying?

- yea quail

- no quell

- quell?

- quell

- quail?

- quell

- kwäil?

- listen- listen kwaiell

- quail!

- you said quail. Its quell

- the mothman uh, grabs your wrist duck and looks at the watch on it and says 'boy howdy I sure hope that those arent several minutes that we will need to uh prevent the apocalypse. Because they are gone now.

• - Ju- Ju- wait a minute. Juno? Juno Devine?

- yes shes-

- Juno Devine is- shes in the forest service? (Switches to character voice) Ahh-ha! Well that makes a lot of sense! She- she loved the forest. That- ahh...

- that is... did you just do a player to character cross-fade?

- that was so fucking wild Ive never seen anything like that on this podcast

- that melted my brain

- it was like Clint started the sentence, and then Thacker ended the sentence

• I can roleplay a gay elf with magical powers. I dont think I could roleplay someone who likes beef jerky

• We've all been trying to help people right? And sometimes you fuck up. Sometimes people get hurt, sometimes you can't- sometimes you act and you do things, and you're wrong. And if you let the fact that you fucked up stop you from trying to help again, thats... thats the real mistake. Ive fucked up so many times. You cant be afraid to help. Because yea, you might hurt. But you also might help. You just have to keep helping. Dont be afraid. Im not.

• - query: are the extraterrestrial invaders engaging in deception? 89.84% affirm

- now listen. You all don't know Duck like I do. Believe me, he can not engage in deception to save his life.

- he's also an employee of the federal government!

- it skyrockets up to 98.64%

• It makes sense right? Great power; great responsibility. But you know what people forget? Is that the green goblin dosen't swing up to your door everyday and blow your whole life away and in one moment you have to figure out what to do, ya know? The responsibility is every day. Its every moment, and it's- every time I pick one of those saplings up and I put it in the ground, and pat the ground around it, and I pour water on it, and I think about our childrens childrens childrens children will breathe the air that this thing makes, and Minerva, thats power. Thats my responsibility. I dont have to fight no more. I did it. And now Im gonna grow.

#the adventure zone amnesty #mcelroy brothers #podcasts #my post #quotes

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doraspn · 4 years

Text

15x03 not-quite-coda

or how dean is forced to listen to love songs until he gets his head out of his ass

dean wakes up to the song earth angel on full blast. dean reaches for his phone to make the noise stop but it’s not coming from his phone. it’s also 4 fucking am. he’s mad. he rushes to the kitchen and sam’s right where he expected him to be, leaning against the counter drinking coffee and staring at the floor, feeling fucking awful and unable to sleep. he looks up at dean who storms in like a madman. dean shouts over the song, asking what the fuck. sam is confused and apparently has no idea what’s going on and why dean’s shouting at full volume. dean looks like he’s most likely losing it.

cas leaves the bunker and goes to a bar because he’s heartbroken and doesn’t know what else to do and dean always goes to bars. even though he said he needs to move on it’s not that simple okay. a drag queen approaches him and cas realises it’s a gay bar but it makes no difference to him anyway so he sits down and orders a whiskey because the smell of it is somehow both comforting and heart wrenching. he lets the drag queen ask him about his break up. he doesn’t even bother to clarify (clarify what though?) and without anyone else to lean on he figures he doesn’t have anything more to lose so he just tells her e v e r y t h i n g and halfway through him recounting the last “conversation” he had with dean, the drag queen is like bitch what did he say to you? and she is having none of it so she buys both of them shots and they proceed to trash talk dean.

back in the bunker sam and dean are now aware that the song is coming from inside dean’s head and they are confused. sam is researching what it could be: curse, hex, trickster, this that something else? while dean is just sitting on the sofa with his head in his hands. but they can’t seem to make it stop. the only change is that after the umpteenth time earth angel played in succession, mr sandman by chordettes started playing on repeat instead. sam is concerned, of course he is, according to what dean told him the songs are really really loud but he also finds it kind of amusing, he can’t help it. he asks dean what he did last night before going to bed, if he remembers anything strange. they have no shortage of enemies but it’s best to start with the basics, the answer could be closer than it seems. dean is convinced this is some sort of sick joke from chuck. sam isn’t so sure, though he isn’t sure why.

cas feels a little better and less stressed, and with the encouragement of monique bedazzle, quite drunk too. he should be concerned about the state of his angel powers but he’s too busy laughing at monique calling dean all kinds of swear word related names. he thinks it’s nice to have someone to be mad for you, even when you can’t quite bring yourself to be. in the haze cas isn’t even aware he’s been talking about hunting and monsters and being an angel but monique probably thinks it’s just the alcohol talking.

dean can’t remember a single thing he did differently last night. what is sam even on about. did he use too much toothpaste and somehow inadvertently ended up cursing himself into listening to do you love me over and over and over again? sam tries to summarize what they know so far: only dean can hear the music, it’s very loud (extremely fucking loud, dean corrects), the songs do change, albeit at an inconsistent rate, and they all seem to be 50s and 60s love songs.

monique puts a hand on cas’ shoulder, tells him to forget about dean’s bitchass and pushes away the whiskey glass in front of him with a cocktail, complete with a little dick on a stick instead of an umbrella. cas smiles sadly at the drink and thanks her. his angel powers must still be there because the buzz of the alcohol he consumed is now replaced with the gentle buzz of what remains of his angelic essence. monique gives cas a little nudge and tells him “sam spade, angel, darling, it’s time to move on!” but one look into cas’ eyes and she knows he will never move on.

dean is slamming his head against the table and taking the time it takes his head to reach the surface to inform sam that he can’t fucking take it anymore when devil in disguise starts playing for the 68th time. there is a millisecond of radio silence upon impact, as if his brain loses the signal for a moment. sam is growing more and more concerned now. while it was amusing for the first 5 hours, now in hour 15 it’s going on gruesome. he is typing frivolously, calling people left and right, desperately trying to find a solution. what the fuck is actually going on.

cas finds some strange comfort in the lazy way the bar staff shuffles around him as they prepare the bar for closing. it’s how he felt around dean. an unmoving fixture, always stuck in one place, as dean’s life happened all around him; always watching him, never quite participating. monique went to change out of her drag. it’s quiet but for the occasional sounds of chairs scraping across the wooden floor. he doesn’t know where to go or what to do next. a glance at the clock tells cas it’s 3:43 am, not that it means anything to him.

it’s not until late that night that dean finally gets a break. there is a short moment of absolute silence which makes dean’s head snap up. sam notices and he immediately tenses, asking dean what’s happening. then a new song comes on, but this time the volume is not obnoxiously loud. as elvis speaks the lyrics and now the stage is bare and i’m standing there with emptiness all around, and if you won’t come back to me then they can bring the curtain down the volume drops lower and lower. the song ends, and so does dean’s inner playlist.

the bar is completely empty when michael returns to cas’ side. cas is sitting still as a rock, staring at the untouched cocktail in front of him. michael’s smiling as he pulls cas to his feet, telling him he’s crashing at the bedazzle pad tonight.

dean is lying in bed, staring at the ceiling. he’s finally convinced sam he’s fine and that he’ll find him if the music starts blaring in his brain again. the headache isn’t too bad, surprisingly. he finds the quiet strange after a whole day of loud, inescapable noise. it feels clearer, like the violent sounds swept his head clear of dusty thoughts that have been there since forever. he doesn’t know how long this moment clarity will last but there is something powerful about the way cas’ name echoes inside it, and he lets himself dwell on that.

michael opens his front door and cas shuffles in politely. he doesn’t even think of potential danger. the fact that he basically told this stranger everything about himself doesn’t quite reach him at the moment. he’s too dazed. michael takes off his shoes and cas follows suit. soon enough he finds himself sitting on a comfortable sofa in a warm living room with a cup of hot coco to warm his hands on, his socked feet resting on the fuzzy cow print carpet under his feet. the socks were a present from dean, buy one get one free, ridiculous porn noodle mishmash design. michael asks cas for his phone. in the background, heartbreak hotel plays.

the next morning dean and sam are having breakfast. dean is a bit consumed with some of his new thoughts so he accidentally spills a full carton of milk all over the kitchen floor. sam understands, the guy had a pretty rough day yesterday. he prompts dean to see if he thought of anything. dean is confused for a bit before realizing that sam is talking about what caused the musical hell he had going on the day before. sam is surprised to learn that dean doesn’t really care that much about what caused it. he watches dean as he fills his bowl with a variety of cereal. dean’s back alright, he thinks.

by the time cas’ phone reaches full charge, michael and he have already devoured most of the waffles which only somewhat taste like molecules. michael’s phone vibrates and with a glint in his eye, he types a response.

return to sender

address unknown

no such person, no such zone

dean is staring at his phone, frowning. sam looks up from his laptop and asks what’s wrong. dean’s worried now.

cas is surprised as he stands in michael’s pantry. heart of a goat is not something humans keep in a jar inside their homes, he is pretty certain of that. he was only really looking for the bathroom because michael sent him on a quest for a “blue plastic container, pink flowers on the side, rattles a bit when shaken”.

sam looks at dean’s phone, then at dean, then back at the screen. i don’t think cas... no, cas no, dean finishes his thought. the words definitely not cas echo in his mind. but who?

michael thanks cas as he takes the potato salad from his hands. even cas can tell the dinner’s well made. michael jokes that he didn’t prepare any animal hearts this time, but there’s always the next. cas isn’t quite sure why he trusts the witch. perhaps it’s the bad jokes.

the day passes without any real incidents. neither brother is any closer to figuring out what’s happening. every text sent to cas’ phone comes back a lyric. dean stares at the latest one.

tomorrow will be too late

it’s now or never

my love won’t wait

cas finds himself in the gay bar again. michael is getting ready for the performance so he’s sitting alone at the bar.

dean snatches the phone from sam’s hands and presses call. instead of castiel he finds a woman’s voice on the other side of the line.

thank you for calling HeadShot, please choose one of the following options:

if you’d like to inquire about our membership program, press 1

if you’re interested in becoming part of our stage or floor staff, press 2

if you’d like to get your head out of your ass and see castiel again, press 3

dean frowns at the phone but chooses number three anyway.

sam asks him what he’s doing. dean pulls up a chair, sits down and starts by telling sam about the first time he’s ever felt scared of himself. sam does what he does best, he listens.

monique gets up on stage to check that everything is ready for the first act of the night. she checks her watch. from where she’s standing she has a very clear view of the front door. it’s almost 10. showtime.

dean finds himself staring at the neon sign proudly shining above the door. the penis surrounded by shot glasses filled with white liquid does seem a tad overkill but who is he to judge. he takes a deep breath to steady himself and straightens his jacket.

“whiskey, double” comes the order and the bartender nods in response. cas turns, his eyes meeting a pair of handsome green ones. and with that, cas is forced to acknowledge he has a type.

dean’s relieved. the inside is not what he imagined, but he doesn’t feel as uncomfortable as he expected. it’s all somehow new, even the old flannel shirt he’s wearing feels like a new skin on his body. it doesn’t take long to spot cas. or to notice the man leaning uncomfortable close to him with a sly smile on his face. or is it uncomfortable only for him? sam was right, he’s jealous. dean guesses it has always been jealousy. he can’t believe it took a day of being forced to listen to awfully loud mid century hits for him to realize that. or to realize any of that other crap he’s been keeping from himself. he’s disappointed in himself. really, really disappointed. but it’s okay. he’s got this, right?

cas looks up and immediately notices dean. just standing there, almost within arms reach. cas thinks that perhaps he’s overdone it with the alcohol but remembering josh’s words from mere seconds ago he is reminded that he hasn’t actually drank anything all night. as he stares at dean, the dull ache flares up and his whole being starts pulsing underneath the surface of his skin. will he actually explode? he never thought he’d be seeing him again, but there he is.

dean looks to the right as the first notes reach his ears. a drag queen in a bright purple sequenced dress is standing on the stage, singing the words whatever will be, will be. he smiles, more to himself than anyone else. chuck can go fuck himself honestly, because there is something fantastic about life and it’s got nothing to do with the pompous prick.

cas can only stare into dean’s eyes, as if he’s spelunking in them, looking for something. something that will make it all more than just okay. next to him, he can feel josh uncomfortably shift as dean approaches their table. but dean doesn’t look away so neither does he.

dean smiles, soft, slightly unsure and offers his hand.

cas promised himself he wouldn’t budge until he gets a full written apology. then for days he wouldn’t so much as look at dean. he would not make it easy for the fantasy dean who would come to him, begging him to come back. but cas’ allows himself something he hasn’t allowed himself lately, he reads what’s written in dean’s eyes and he accepts dean’s hand.

dean’s smile grows. there’s sadness beneath it. and fear. cas knows now. the man who didn’t believe he deserved to be saved all those years ago never started believing. cas thought he was telling him, screaming it but he himself also fell victim to the same mindset.

who knows, perhaps together they can convince each other that they’re both worth saving. maybe it will all be more than okay.

que sera sera, what will be, will be

#i dunno #don't ask me anything

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aj-the-satyr · 5 years

Text

All the Questions......

So Tag games...... Used to do ‘em a lot then kinda fell off writing for a while and then it got quiet. Well now I got tagged in 3 of those 11/11/11 things. You know the ones answer 11 questions, ask 11 more to the 11 people you tag. Well I’m not going to tag anyone other than the 3 people asking @writersblockandapotoftea @carrotgirl-1 and @rosewinterborn and say thankyou for doing so. So here goes..... the goat tries to get through all 33 questions.

1) Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?

Hmm.... I suppose that I have a habit of making the names of both things and characters have deeper meanings. Like Grigory Zmeya, his last name means snake and he is a snake shifter type person. So stuff like that.

2) If you could ask one successful author three questions about their writing, writing process or books what would they be?

Not sure about this. I’ve read interviews with many authors where they have dispensed their advice and advice is not a one size fits all thing but I would lie to ask more personal things like favorite characters, Least favorite scene to write and most surprising side character. Stuff like that.

3) Do you have a library membership?

Nope.

4) Ebooks, yay or nay?

Used them and they are fine but I am the old school like to have the physical book in my hands kinda goat.

5) What feeling do you want your readers to get from what you write?

Wow, deep question. Enjoyment? Other than that I’d like them to have feelings for different characters, to pick favorites, to hate some and love some. I suppose I’d like my characters to be memorable but I will settle for the “That was Good” feeling after reading, even if nothing gets carried with them.

6) What time of day are you most productive?

Considering how many times I’ve written my snippets after 10pm and into the wee hours of the morning, I’d say then.

7) What is your writing Kryptonite?

Myself really. There are times I just get conflicted about my writing and rather than just let it flow and let the characters lead I will find myself deleting things and starting over many times. I’m trying to do that less but it’s hard sometimes to just let go and see what happens at the keyboard.

8) Which scenes are your favorite to write?

Huh....... I’m a dialogue heavy writer trying to get more description into my scenes so I favor just talking but am trying to change that a little.

9) What comes first in your development/outlining process plot or characters?

Well considering I don’t outline anymore (Used to waaaaay back) It would have to be characters. Make the characters and pop them in a setting. Plot will happen, hopefully.

10) What is your favorite novel to film/TV adaptadion?

Comic books count right? I love the Constantine TV show. Shame it got cancelled, love the fact they brought the character back for Legends of Tomorrow and the fact he might be getting his own show again is awesome. Love Constantine.

11) Do you think yourself as more of an artist or entertainer?

Neither really. Not something I’ve ever thought about, since you are asking me to think about it...... entertainer??

Right onto the second set of questions gonna add a read more break here to avoid taking up huge chunks of Tumblr real estate and for those people that don’t really care what this old goat has to say

12) Play fuck, marry, kill with Gandalf, Aragon and Arwen.

Er........ Kill Gandalf.... no wait he’ll come back for revenge..... Kill Aragon..... man that would be hard to do..... Kill Arwen then? But I wanted to marry her.......... Man...... Kill Aragon with Gandalf’s help, fuck Gandalf as payment and then go off to marry Arwen. Problem solved.

13) If you had to set fire to a famous building, which one would you set alight?

The Vatican?

14) If you could bring someone back from the dead who would it be?

It would be Sandra, a friend I made for a brief time on the internet who I RP’d with and had a good rapport with. She died of cancer at 20 I think, it’s hard to think about. I do always remember that I talked to her through her brother in her final days and managed to make her smile, something her brother told me she hadn’t done for weeks. Crying typing this. Yeah. Fuck yeah I’d bring her back and let her live her life. Fuck Cancer.

15) Which fictional Universe would you go into?

Star Trek. No need for money, could sit at a cafe and write all day. Great.

16) Where would you go if the world ended?

Hell. Oh wait that’s not what you were asking. Er...... nowhere. No point if it’s all gone is there? I’d stay here and still be a loner. Wow..... fun goat answers.

17) What’s you alignment?

Chaotic Neutral.

18) Lovecraft or Shelly?

Er....... as much as I love Cosmic Horror Mary Shelly was one of the most badass goths there has been. Plus the whole creating the sci-fi genre as a fuck you to Lord Byron. She is amazing and doesn’t get enough respect.

19) What’s the weirdest food you have eaten?

Sea Urchin or deep fried shrimp heads not sure which I think was weirder.

20) How do you want to die?

Die? I’m immortal. Or is that immoral? One of those.

21) Who is your least favorite character to write?

Probably The Professor since he’s a homophobic bigot who killed his own son’s boyfriend (Though he claims that was merely an accidental oversight of his grander plan) since he is not a very nice character at all. Makes my skin crawl.

22) What’s your favourite fairy tale?

Can’t say that I really have one. None of them resonate anymore, neither the grimdark originals or the fluffed up modern takes. I do however enjoy the book Dragon’s Bait by VIvian Vande Velde which is about a 15yr old girl who is put out as a sacrifice to a Dragon and ends up allying with the dragon and seeking revenge.

One more set. Almost there with the goat interrogation.

23) When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

Probably in University where I started writing a little something called “Space Gerbils” and was sending it out via email to about a dozen internet friends. They were hooked, I thought it was garbage but voila! The spark ignited. Heavily got into tabletop RPGs at the same time so that probably helped my desire for storytelling.

24) What book/Book series have you always meant to read but have not yet?

The Long Earth series by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter. I have a boxed set of them all but I just haven’t cracked the cover yet.

25) Who’s you favourite writer?

Published? Either Sir Terry Pratchett or Eoin Colfer. But a special shoutout goes to @yuutfa for Caster. They are a wonderful storyteller and got many an emotion from me while I was reading an early draft.

26) What was your favourite book as a child?

It is one that sits on my shelf this very moment. It is called “Science Fantasy Stories” and is a collection of short stories that I read many times over as a child, back when I would consume a book a day almost.

27) Favorite music to work to?

Soundcloud generally has my back but it does sometimes throw up the odd track that makes me question if its algorithm has developed some sort of twisted intelligence Black Mirror style.

28) Hogwarts House?

Ah..... this question. I’ve read the books, saw a couple of the movies (Did not like the movies) and enjoyed every step of the way. I bought my first Harry Potter books when they were selling the first 3 as a set so I jumped in to see what the fuss was about. Never once have I thought about what House I would be in. Never. So Imma gonna say Slytherin.

29) Hobbies?

Writing?? Generally I play vidja games. Current faves being Monster Hunter World (PC), Endless Legend (PC) and Crash team racing nitro fueled (PS4) and I also daydream scenes with my characters in them. Trying to get back into reading regularly again.

30) Where do you draw Inspiration from?

Everywhere I guess. From random conversations to ideas had after playing games, watching TV or reading books. Sometimes I’m not sure where the inspiration comes from but I am just trying to let myself go at those moments, run with it. Who cares if The Simpsons already did it? Truly new ideas aren’t new anyway. (Except maybe for theoretical physics, that shit is bananas) I mean one of my characters basically declared themselves to be a God (At least in my head) after I read an article on Retrocausality. Inspiration can come from anywhere. Use it!

31) What do you consider your aesthetic to be?

Look I can barely spell that word you want me to have one as well?

32) Favorite mythology?

Favorite mythology of AJ the Satyr................

33) What do you think influences your work the most?

My co author?? But seriously working things out with them has been very helpful but also there’s this little writing discord that I’m part of that is really welcoming and a great source of inspiration and ideas. But all in all I think Neil Gaiman influences me the most when he answered a question about how he does it. He told the person asking that you just write everything down that happens in the first draft and then when you go back and rewrite you make it look like you knew what you were doing all along.

Right. One Goat, 33 Questions. And I won! Not tagging anyone else but I want this to get me going on these tag games. I can’t just hide in the dark corners of Tumblr anymore. I must face the light! Has @notanotherhour done this yet??

#Tag game I guess #Not tagging anyone else in this nightmare #Writeblr #About Me #I answered the questions #Yay writing!

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