#the one on the top left is him stuck on a dungeon puzzle I like to imagine

[initforthecache]

What Link is this? Original Link? ALttP Link? LBW Link? I sure don't know

#ollie's art #ollie draws #link between worlds #alttp #loz fanart #link to the past #tloz #the one on the top left is him stuck on a dungeon puzzle I like to imagine

[luimagines]

Two in a Bush

Another commission!

They asked for Reader getting separated in a dungeon and Wild panics to find them. :D 

Masterlist

Content under the cut!

Wild wasn’t sure what to expect of a place like this.

He didn’t have anything like this in his world. He had the Divine Beasts that he had to figure out but those were giant mechanical weapons. Not some fortress that had a hidden secret at the end. 

Comparing the two- he supposes they aren’t all that different. From the monsters, to the puzzles, to even the multiple floors for a few of them, Wild could confidently say that he still had no idea what he was doing. Luckily, many of the others seemed to have more than enough practice and experience to go around. Wild was more than happy to leave the spearheading to them.

It gave him an excuse to look after you instead.

You were a special circumstance amongst this group of heroes. It caught Wild’s attention in more ways than one.

It was just unfortunate that you had zero fighting experience like the rest of them. Not that he personally considered it a fault of yours, don’t misunderstand him, but the idea of being with a group that does nothing but fight without being able to fight didn’t sit right with him. Granted, he was happy and delighted by the idea that you came from a place where you could live normally. It made him jealous in a good way. He wanted that for himself as well- but you would have had it from the beginning and that’s something that he knew he would never achieve.

However this also meant that they would have to be on the lookout for you specifically. Without any knowledge of how to properly defend yourself, it meant that they would have to pick up the slack.

Not that they would ever phrase it that way and much less to your face. Wild had thought that he could take the opportunities to look cooler and more heroic in an attempt to catch your attention but even he knew that it was a fool’s dream to picture it that way… That didn’t stop him from day dreaming though.

Regardless, he stuck by your side as the group explored the dungeon, sword at the ready and willing to defend you if needed.

You seemed content to explore the dungeon just like the rest of them, keeping pace and looking around with childlike wonder on your face. It made Wild smile.

Suddenly, the group was attacked.

Everyone sprang into action, Wild included to take down the threats in the new room. While there was usually only a handful per section, this room had an unusually high amount of monsters. It took all hands on deck to diminish the threat and clear the area before they could continue exploring.

Wild was lucky enough to stay behind the larger hoard of monsters, shooting at the threats to help his brother before they broke the line. He switched to his sword and charged ahead, slashing the threats along with the others until there weren’t any left. Tired, but relieved, Wild turned back to you with a smile on your face.

But you were nowhere to be seen.

His heart dropped and so did his sword from his hand. The metal clang echoed in the room. “Guys?”

Many turned their heads to him. 

Wild looked back to the group asking for where you were, prompting them to look around the room as well. Wild didn’t like the looks on their faces as they came to the same conclusion they did.

“Where did they go?” Wind scratched the top of their head.

“Were they pushed out of the room?” Twilight stood straighter, jogging to the entrance for a better look.

Hyrule followed the Rancher without missing a beat. “If they didn’t, then we have a bigger problem on our hands than any puzzle we can find in this dungeon.”

Wild could feel his anxiety rise within him. You were right there. How could he lose you? There’s still more monsters to go through. You can’t fight them. You can’t. He needs to find you. He needs to find you now.

“Oh hello.” Legend whistles, calling the attention of the others. “Champion, were you over here at first?”

Wild turns around and nods. “Yeah, I tried to keep them here so they wouldn’t be cornered so easily if they had to run.”

He doesn’t like the look on Legend’s face. There’s a panel on the wall but Wild didn’t think much of it at first.

Legend points to it. “Who wants to bet they’re on the other side?”

“What?” Warrior furrows his eyebrows. “What does a weird wall with a human shape have to do with-”

Legend grins and places himself in the human imprint. The wall spins suddenly with a quiet whirr and returns to its original position. Without Legend in it.

Wild doesn’t want to waste any time. He runs to the panel despite the cries of the other boys, too in shock over Legend’s disappearance to stop him from doing the same. He places his back to the metal and gasps as it spins just as it did for the Veteran.

He comes face to face with another room entirely and takes a step away. The wall stays the same. 

Legend dusts himself as he takes in the new room. He’s looking at the map they collected earlier, trying to figure out where they go and where this would lead. He’s scratching the side of his head, pushing his hat to a dangerous edge where it could fall off with one movement. He looks perplexed. He doesn’t seem to like what he’s seeing. Wild doesn’t want to think about going into uncharted waters and what that could mean for you.

Wild scans the room as well. There’s some more monster hidden in the shadows to his left and there’s a deadend to his right. In front of him, there is a hallway just beyond the room but there’s another exit just ahead of the monsters.

The monsters notice him and begin to make their way closer to the duo. The wall behind them spins again, signaling the arrival of a third member but Wild pays no attention to it.

He still can’t find you so he takes off running, picking a random exit in hopes that it leads him to where you could be. How far could you get in such a short time? Surely he could catch up in time before something happens, right?

He hears the Four call after him but he pays no mind to it. Footsteps begin to echo behind him along with the muffled cries of the monsters as they were shot on sight.

Wild takes a deep breath and looks around. He finds a new spot but there’s still no sign of you, even as he desperately begins to call for your name. There’s more monsters in this new room and he’s quick to deal with them. His building panic and frustration adds fuel to the fire as he channels it into a quiet rage to kill the offending beasts.

Once the room is empty, it remains empty. Not wanting to waste any more time, Wild turns on his heels and runs out as fast as his feet can carry him. 

He’s already lost. He doesn’t know where he is. He doesn’t know where the others are, nor does he hear them anymore. His breath is the only sound to surround him. It comes out haggard and stunted. He coughs- feeling a drop of saliva attempt to go down the wrong pipe.

Wild whips his head up, not bothering to continue catching his breath. He starts running again, finding a new path into a new room. There’s more monsters and he deals with them as quickly as the prior ones. 

Panic has fully set into his bones as each turn produces more and more failure.

Tears well up in eyes and in his frustration, Wild punches the wall. He hurts his hands more than he hurts the wall.

As in response, he hears a sound. It’s muffled and faint, but he can hear the familiar cry of rage and determination just beyond the bricks and mortar. It’s a battle cry.

It sounds like you.

Spurred on by the sound, Wild goes on the attack. He beats the wall with everything he has before the ground beneath him gives way. He tumbles and instinctually tucks himself into a ball. Wild wraps his arms around his head and uses his legs to try and gain control of his graceless descent. He eventually comes to a grinding halt and he unfurls himself from the positions he’s put himself in.

He is only inches away from the edge of what appears to be a cliff. His heart jumps at the sight as he rolls away.

Wild, remembering why he had tried to get through the wall to begin with, pushes himself to his feet.

A monster cries before it dies, quickly followed by more and more sounds of pain and anger. Another battle cry rings out, this time much more clear than what Wild had heard previously. 

It is most definitely you.

Wild looks over the edge hesitantly. It would be great if he had finally found you… But it would be a hit to his psyche if he were to see you in battle. He’s afraid of what he might see. Are you hurt? Are you terrified?

He looks over anyway.

Instead of terror, he’s pleasantly surprised to see that same determined look on your face that he’s seen on so many other faces. Your eyebrows are closely knit together and there’s a glint in your eyes that he’s never seen before.

They’re hardened and sharp. There’s an ax in your hand that you no doubt stole from one of the monsters you must have come across. You look angry and there’s multiple splatters of blood over your clothes and exposed skin. The fabric that covers sticks to your body from the sweat you’ve produced from the intensity you’ve put into defending yourself. 

Wild finds himself glued to your figure. You fight ferociously even though your lack of training is evident. He watches you with his jaw agape and his hand on the handle of the sheikah slate. He’s entranced. This is hot.

The sheikah makes the familiar sound of a picture being taken before he reaches for his bow. From above, he aims for the monsters that come against you. His attacks throw the monsters into confusion as they search for the second hidden threat. The distraction gives you the perfect opportunity to strike them back and finish them off.

Once the last of the monsters has fallen, its body fallen beside the others, you take the last remaining part of your sleeve and wipe your forehead. You smear the blood splotches over your cheek in the process. Wild takes another picture. You look up, using your hand to try and block out any competing light and see him.

Wild snaps one more picture, hoping that it catches the way you instantly relax and smile up at him. He hopes he catches the way your eyes light up at the sight of him and the way you’ve held the weapon high in the air in greeting, making it look more like a victory stance over your enemies. He waves back enthusiastically. He’s never felt more proud in his life. “You did it!”

“Link!” You cry back and drop the weapon. You run close to the cliff, craning your neck to your sight on him. “You found me!”

Maybe you didn’t hear him.

Wild shakes his head affectionately and takes a few steps back. He doesn’t see your eyebrows furrow again or the confused tilt to your head. Instead, Wild takes a running leap and jumps off of the cliff. He opens up the paraglider and uses it to glide down safely to where you stand.

You run to him before he hits the ground, nearly tackling him as he lands. Wild wraps his arms around you instinctually, calming his pounding heart now that you’ve returned safely to his arms. You take in a shuddering breath and tuck your face into the crook of his neck. You feel inclined to repeat yourself. “You found me.”

“I wouldn’t stop searching until I did.” Wild whispers. He pulls back and wipes the remaining blood off of your face. “What happened? How did you end up here?”

You smile sheepishly and scratch the back of your neck. “During that first fight, I got pushed back far enough into the wall. It spun around and next thing I knew, I was in another room. I saw the monsters on the far end and figured that it would be better to not be spotted. I snuck out and only ran into more monsters so I kept going. Next thing I know I ended up down here and couldn’t not fight back.”

“Where did you even get the ax?”

“I stole it.”

Wild snickers and finally lets you go. His hands rest on your shoulders, rubbing them affectionately. “I didn’t think you had it in you.”

You grin in return, putting on a smirk. “I just pretended they were customers on Black Friday. I’ve always wanted to fend them off with a stick.”

He has no idea what that means. “Ok- but you had an ax and they were monsters.”

“...High stakes Black Friday shoppers.”

Wild hangs his head in defeat. He tries his hardest to not laugh at your facial expression. It seems as if you know what you’re talking about at least, so it’s a small comfort. “Alright. Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

“Are the others waiting for us?” You take his hand, stepping in time with him as he takes a good look around this new area. For the better part, it looks like a ditch with no way in or out- except for above.

“Sooomething like that.” Wild chews on his lip, switching to his climbing gear. He picks you up with zero hesitation, throwing you onto his back and he begins to scale the wall. You yelp and shriek, hitting his back as he climbs.

“Hey! A warning would have been great!”

“Hang on. I got this.”

“...Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

You snort. He’s ignoring your tone on purpose. Slowly, you adjust yourself on his back so you don’t fall off and wait until he’s reached the top. Once he lets you down, you smack the back of his head.

He blocks it effortlessly, leaning in instead to kiss your cheek. There’s laughter on his breath as he checks you out once more.  “I hope you're ready for a lot of walking. I’ll have you know that we are very lost.”

“Are we?”

“Oh yeah.”

“Oh.” You think for a moment and look back at Wild. You end up chewing on your lip as well. “Are we in trouble?”

“You? No. Me? Most definitely.”

#linked universe #linkeduniverse #linked universe x reader #lu x reader #lu wild #the title was a placeholder #and it stuck #it has nothing to do with the story ^.^*

[circusgoth-dotcom]

The Path to The Top

Ship: The Sheriff of Nottingham x Gabriel of Blackburn

Word Count: 1017

Summary: The Sheriff pardons Gabriel's minor "misdeeds," cleans him up, and opens the floodgates for him to discover just who his birth father was. CWs for some mistrust, the sheriff being repressed-but-still-horny.

Tag List: @canongf @futurewife @myers-meadow

The following day, the sheriff immediately instructed one of his men to fetch fresh clothes from Gabriel’s room at the church, before descending into the dungeons himself to release them. Pushing past the sleepy-looking guards, the sheriff opened the door.

“Gabriel?” He prompted, slowly approaching the heap on the floor. Gabriel had curled itself into a fetal position, covering the back of its head with its hands, its chin tucked toward its chest. When it didn’t stir, the sheriff wasted no time prying its hands away from its head and forcing it onto its feet. Gabriel flinched, half awake.

“Sheriff...”

“Hush. You’re off the hook, for the time being. Come with me.”

It made a soft whimper but did not protest when the sheriff wrapped his arm around it and began guiding it out of the cell and up the stairs. Neither of them said anything as Gabriel was led to a room with a large, wooden tub, heated by an equally large and intricate fireplace.

“I thought you might like to wash up.” The sheriff subtly cleared his throat before he spoke, watching Gabriel carefully.

“How can I know for sure?”

“Know what??”

“That I am no longer a criminal in your eyes.”

The sheriff winced and exhaled, slightly exasperated. “Gabriel, I am showing you the furthest extent of my kindness. Of course you’re pardoned.”

They finally turned fully toward him. “So you’re not going to put me on trial? Cut off my hand? Make an example of me?”

The sheriff wrapped a hand around Gabriel’s own, closing the gap between the two of them and speaking softly. “These hands are capable of so much more than, as ridiculous as the truth sounds, accidental thievery.”

Colour flooded Gabriel’s face for the first time since exiting the dungeons, swallowing in the sheriff’s shadow.

They pushed his hands away, speaking with a breath: “You’re the ridiculous one,” before beginning to strip away their undergarments. It was the sheriff’s turn to blush, swiftly turning away from him. Gabriel paid him no mind as he slipped into the steamy water, sighing contentedly as he laid back. Once he grew used to the feeling, he opened his eyes. “What’s with you?”

“It would be indecent of me to see you like this,” the sheriff answered in a rush. So soft and supple and open, a vision of grace--

“You have my permission to look. I’m only a peasant, after all.”

A shiver found its way down the sheriff’s back and he half-turned, keeping his eyes above the clear water. “That is something I’d like to speak with you about.” Hands shaking slightly, he removed his gloves and picked up a bar of soap, handing it to Gabriel without looking at him. “Do you have any siblings?”

Gabriel’s expression puzzled as he weighed the soap in his hands. “Not as far as I know. You did ask me if any of my relatives lived around here when we first spoke, if I recall correctly… the answer is still no.”

The sheriff nodded slowly… how to break the news to him? "You're absolutely sure?"

"Yes, sir. My birth father left me with my mom before I ever met him, so I guess it's not impossible for me to have a sibling somewhere out there… then my mom left my step-father and I stayed with him until I was old enough to work…"

"Did your mother ever talk about your father?"

Gabriel wrinkled his nose. "We never had a great relationship, so I never asked."

"I see." There was a pause as Gabriel soaped himself up and rinsed off. The sheriff felt as if his entire body was on fire as he kept catching glimpses of Gabriel out of the corners of his eyes, struggling to regulate his breathing. He robotically handed him a cloth to dry himself off as he stepped out of the tub, heavy eyes firmly stuck on his collarbones.

“So, why do you ask?” Gabriel was officially feeling a helluva lot better than when he had woken up, though he was certainly still a bit sore. As the sheriff opened his mouth, a knock came at the door.

“Blackburn’s clothes have been placed in your chambers, sir.”

The sheriff tore his gaze away from Gabriel, a relieved breath filling his lungs as he put his gloves back on. “Very good. Shall we?”

Gabriel followed the sheriff back to his room, finding it the same as it was the last time he had been there.

“Dress and make yourself comfortable. Then we will discuss why I’m so interested in your family history.”

Gabriel nodded and did as he was told while the sheriff feigned interest in whatever was going on outside of his window. He only turned back toward Gabriel when he heard them settle into his armchair. “You’ve prepared yourself?”

Gabriel made a bewildered sort of scoff. “Yes… what on Earth…?”

“Maid Marian.”

“Excuse me?”

“Maid Marian,” the sheriff repeated. “Daughter of King John and King Richard’s lower-ranking brother, a local… and your sister.”

Gabriel blinked, leaning forward slightly in his chair with an even more confused expression. “Sister?? What makes you think that?”

“I have my sources…” The sheriff exhaled. “But I strongly encourage you to talk to her. Prod her for information about her father, and his past. And when you see her, think about how similar the two of you look.”

“Why should I?”

“Don’t sound so defensive, Gabriel. It’s not an order, merely a strong suggestion. Aren’t you tired of living at the church? I am certain that you have royal blood in your veins, think of all the opportunities that are just beyond your reach.”

Gabriel shifted in the chair and silence filled the air between them once more. Finally, he stood. “So I’m free to go?”

The sheriff clucked his tongue. “Yes. As free as a bird.” He then strode over and opened the door for them, disappointed with their unconfirming reaction. They made it to the doorway before turning back toward him.

“Where might I find Marian?”

A smile curled the sheriff’s lips.

#self shipping #self shipping community #self insert #self insert x canon #self x canon #self insert oc #oc x canon #gay self ship #trans self ship #circus scripts #🗡️A Heart of Black Charcoal🖤 #🐎⛪.s/i

[brendaaaa]

Party, Do You Copy? (Will Byers x fem!Reader)

Will groaned as he switched frequencies on his radio again. “Lucas, do you copy? Over.” “Lucas, do you copy? Over.” He let out a frustrated sigh, and glanced over at you, who was messing around with a rubix cube you had found under his bed.

“I don’t think he’s there,” you stated the obvious. “I know, y/n. But he promised he would come over. I mean, look at this campaign! It’s probably my best one ever!” You nodded, even though you knew absolutely nothing about dungeons and dragons. “And yes, I know it’s only been a few months since Mike stepped down from being dungeon master, but seriously, I think I’ve made some good campaigns so far, and this one was by far going to be the best!” “I’m sorry,” you said. “It sucks that they aren’t responding.”

He put on a smile, “I’m sure they just forgot. Here, let me call Dustin again.” He clicked over to the channel your curly-haired friend usually frequented.

“Dustin? It’s Will. Do you copy? Over.” He tapped his foot, waiting a few seconds before trying again, “Dustin, do you copy? I repeat, do you copy?” You frowned, looking down at your puzzle, stuck for a second, but then you realized where you had messed up the algorithm and speedily fixed it, solving the top. “Look!” you exclaimed, holding it out to show your boyfriend. “Nice,” he said, not really looking at the rubix cube as he was preoccupied with getting his friends on the line. “Mike? Mike are you there? It’s Will. Remember you said you would come play D&D today? Over.” You watched your boyfriend sadly as he tried over and over again with no avail. You weren’t really sure how long he would be able to keep radioing them before he either got angry or started crying. You didn’t want either of them to happen, so you came up with a solution. “Will?” “What?” he snapped, and you flinched slightly. “They are obviously douches, and aren't going to respond, for whatever stupid reasons they may have. I think you should stop wasting your time on them, and teach me to play instead.” Will smiled, “but Y/n, I thought you always said D&D looked boring.”

“Well, not today it doesn’t!” you lied through your teeth, but morally you thought it was okay because it was just a little white lie, right? No harm. And hey, maybe you would actually joy the game, despite how dreadfully boring it appeared to be. Will grabbed your hand and pulled you over to sit at the card table temporarily set up in his bedroom. He asked one final, “You sure? This is a bit of a time commitment,” and you nodded.

He launched into a detailed explanation of how gameplay went, and explained all the dice. You were only familiar with a D6, so he had to introduce you to all the other types with more and less faces. He explained how he could help you come up with a character, and pretty soon you were both lost in the magical world.

Despite what you thought beforehand, it was actually very interesting and fun, and you were left wondering why you had never let Will teach you before. You two were in the middle of some intense action when you heard a knock on the door.

You turned to find Ms. Byers peeking her head in. “Hey, guys, uh just wanted to let you know that dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes, so you can maybe wrap up what you're doing…?” “Sure,” Will nodded. “Hey,” she frowned, noticing it was just you and Will. “Where’s everyone else? I made dinner thinking all your friends were coming?”

“They didn’t show,” Will sighed. Ms. Byers made a face. “Well...that’s weird. I guess I’ll leave you two alone now,” she smiled, closing the door behind her. “I’m really sorry nobody else came,” you said, looking at Will apologetically. He shrugged. “It wasn’t too bad, I mean,” he blushed, and you started to smile, having an inkling that whatever he was thinking or was trying to say was somewhat lovey-dovey. “I mean,” he looked up, making eye contact with you. “It was fun to be with just you. I really, really like you, y/n,” he said softly. “Yeah?” you laughed lightly, “Well that’s funny, cause I happen to love you…” You watched him nervously, but with anticipation.

His face turned a deep red. “Um-” he stammered, voice lowering to a whisper, “thanks. I love you too.”

You couldn’t stop the small giggle that escaped from your lips. Only Will Byers would respond to someone saying ‘i love you’ with ‘thanks.’

He blushed some more, then cleared his throat, “Want to finish the game?”

“Yes!” You said, then laughing, surprised at your own enthusiasm.

Will only grinned as he reached for the dice bag.

Word Count: 814

#will is gay but #will byers #will byers x reader #will byers is gay #idk man #cute i guess #but #will byers is not straight #whatever #its fine #right?

[teshamerkel]

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Seekers of Soul [Chapter 7] (14 Pages)

<< First | < Previous | Next >

Nia shows up just in time, and when she makes an offer Tobias can’t refuse he must decide whether it’s worth putting his trust in the riolu. -

“Tobias!” Nia sounds relieved, but doesn’t look away from the feral Pokemon surrounding them. “Thank God. Are you okay?”

“Just fantastic,” he grumbles, wishing he had enough energy to give her a sarcastic thumbs-up.

Nia opens her mouth to respond, then tenses up and turns towards the aipom trying to edge closer to the two of them. For the first time he notices that she’s brandishing a large…branch? She’s holding it out in front of her, like a Farfetch’d with its leek. The feral Pokémon look as puzzled as Tobias feels, eyeing the riolu and her makeshift weapon cautiously.

“W-Will either of these help?” Nia asks, throwing her paw behind her. Two berries bounce across the grass near Tobias’ face, one of them a pecha and the other one—yes!

Tobias hurries to scoop the oran berry into his mouth, swallowing it nearly whole and feeling his body start to rejuvenate. His aches and bruises fade, his energy returns, and he pushes himself up from the ground, rising onto unsteady feet with his claws flexed and ready to fight.

Nia glances at him with round eyes. “The berries helped that much?”

“’Course,” Tobias growls, feeling a grin edge onto his face. He hates to admit it, but just having another Pokémon at his side makes him feel more confident. “You ready to fight?”

“N-Not at all, but…” Nia shifts her defensive stance, turning her body and holding the branch up at the ready. “I guess w-we don’t have much of a choice, right?”

The starly starts off the fight, lunging forward with another quick attack. Before Tobias can react, Nia yelps, swinging the branch forward to whack the flying type. The starly shoots over the ferals and into the dungeon wall with a pitiful chirp, falling limply to the ground. Tobias gapes and looks at Nia.

The riolu is staring at her paws with just as much shock. “Guess all that Little League paid off.”

The electrike and the aipom charge next, and Nia leaps away from the electric type with a scared yip. Tobias takes the aipom head-on, dodging its claws and spinning to slam his tail into its body. It staggers back with a pained sound, but Tobias doesn’t let up. He follows it with one metal claw, two, and finishes it off by blasting it with a plume of embers.

The aipom goes down, unconscious, only for the electrike to crash into his gut, knocking the breath out of him. He stays on his feet, but skids to a stop against the wall of bark and foliage. He pushes off it and out of the way of the electrike’s next strike, grinning as it crashes face-first into the wall.

“T-Tobias!” Nia cries.

The charmander turns to find the riolu kicking halfheartedly at the wurmple and simultaneously fighting the snivy in a game of tug-of-war for her branch. Tobias hurries over to blow a cloud of embers at the snivy, and it releases the branch with a cry of pain.

“Elec!”

Tobias whirls and stumbles out of the way of the electrike’s spark attack just in time, but it manages to catch Nia, knocking her into the wall.

“Hey!” Tobias snarls.

The electrike snarls back, and Tobias tackles it. The two of them roll, Tobias managing to pin the green Pokémon down. He takes a deep breath, reaching deep into his fire reserves, and then shoots an ember attack at the electrike’s face. It yelps and falls limp.

Tobias struggles to his feet, breathing hard. He turns just in time to see Nia swing her branch with her entire body, batting the wurmple into the air. It lands with a quiet thump, rolling across the dirt, and doesn’t get back up.

Then the snivy lunges at Nia, vines ripping the branch out of the riolu’s paws, and she stumbles forward. The snivy takes its opportunity to headbutt Nia directly in the face. The riolu cries out in pain, crumpling into a ball and clutching at her nose.

Tobias takes the opportunity, rushing forward to strike with two metal-coated claws and catch the snivy in the back. The grass type stumbles, then falls forward with a quiet, “Snive!” It’s out cold.

Tobias takes a moment to glance at the five Pokémon lying around them, unconscious. The only sounds are the blood roaring in his ears and the gasping, panting breaths of the two of them. They…they really did it. It’s over. They survived. He’s not sure whether he’s feeling triumphant or just relieved.

Nia’s quiet whimper catches his attention, and he kneels at her side, his medic training kicking in. “Hey, sit up. C’mon.”

The riolu slowly obeys, covering her muzzle with shaking hands. Tears are bubbling in her eyes, and a tiny hiccup jolts her frame.

“Lemme see,” Tobias murmurs, prying at her paws. When she doesn’t listen, he rolls his eyes. “I literally have medic training--I know what I’m doing. Come on.”

The riolu hesitantly drops her paws, and Tobias winces. Blood runs down from her nose, dripping off her chin and coating the front of her muzzle. He gently takes her face in his hands, turning her head to take a look at her snout from the side.

“Probably just bruised,” he reassures her, leaning back. “Getting smashed in the face like that’ll definitely cause some bleeding.”

Nia nods, looking around nervously at the unconscious ferals. “A-Are they..?”

“Knocked out,” Tobias confirms, a note of pride in his voice. They took down five other Pokémon! Sure, he needed Nia’s help to do it, but—

“Wait. Why’re you even here?” Tobias asks, narrowing his eyes at the riolu. “How did you know where I was going?”

Nia shrinks into herself. “W-Well, I saw you looking at the job board and I know you’re having trouble forming a Seeker team, s-so I thought you might try something like this.”

“And you followed me because you didn’t think I could handle it on my own,” he growls.

“I-I just wanted to make sure you’d be okay,” Nia protests, frowning. “You wouldn’t have been if hadn’t shown up!”

“Because of a fluke! I stepped on a trap—that’s all! I would’ve been fine on my own!”

Nia’s frown deepens, and for a moment Tobias thinks she’s going to argue. But all she does is push off the grass, picking up her branch on the way. She wipes at her eyes as she looks from hallway to hallway. “Right now w-we have to focus on getting out of here, right?”

Tobias huffs out a breath of smoke, grabbing the item that started this whole situation—a simple attack scarf. “I’m looking for a teddiursa that got stuck in here. They should be on this floor somewhere.”

“A…teddiursa?”

“Fuzzy orange Pokemon with a yellow moon on its forehead. ‘Bout our size, stands on two legs.”

“G-Got it.” Nia nods and looks at him expectantly.

Tobias steps past her and stalks down the hallway, hearing her trail behind him. He’s not happy about her following him into the dungeon because she thought he couldn’t handle it on his own, but it’d be stupid to separate now.

The two of them continue through the dungeon, and Tobias is secretly relieved to find the floor empty of ferals after the brutal fight they just went through. When they enter one of the last rooms on the floor and see a small teddiursa curled up in the corner, crying, Tobias lets out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Nia hurries to the Pokémon’s side, concern etched into every line of her body. Unfortunately, the teddiursa lifts their head to see a Pokémon with a blood-covered muzzle, and immediately starts to wail with renewed panic.

Tobias rolls his eyes. “Stop crying. We’re here to rescue you.”

Nia shoots him a disapproving look for his callous tone, but the teddiursa quiets.

“W-Wait. Really?” They ask, giving Nia a cautious glance.

The riolu offers a meek smile, ears pinned back bashfully. “Y-Yeah. Sorry for the, uh, rough appearance. Got into a bit of trouble on the way here.”

The teddiursa hops to their feet, looking elated even with tear-stained fur. “That’s okay! Thank you so much for coming to rescue me!”

“No problem!” Nia says, her cheery tone a ridiculous contrast to the blood smeared across her face.

Tobias snorts. “Well, come on then. You can walk, right? We still have to get out of here.”

Teddiursa brings their paws up to their mouth, looking confused. “But don’t you have badges that zap you out of dungeons?”

“Ours broke,” Tobias lies, already turning and heading down the next hallway. “So we’re doing this the old-fashioned way.”

Nia looks like she wants to protest the lie, but teddiursa buys it easily enough, nodding and following his lead. The little normal type is mostly quiet as they walk, too busy jumping at every little sound to chat. Luckily, their group finds the stairs in the next room, leading them to the final sixth floor. They’re searching for the last staircase out of the dungeon when a lone caterpie jumps out to attack them. Tobias has no fire left, but between his claws and a panicked swing of Nia’s branch, the battle is quickly won. They move on, and Teddiursa pipes up.

“Riolu? Do you mind me asking why you fight with a branch?”

It takes a moment too long for Nia to realize that the teddiursa is talking to her. “O-Oh! Well, uh…” Her eyes flick over to Tobias for help, but he just shrugs. He’s as curious as Teddiursa is.

Nia is spared from having to answer as the last staircase comes into sight. “Look! There it is!”

The three of them hurry to the stairs, Teddiursa taking them first and vanishing at the top. Tobias and Nia follow. As soon as the warping is finished, Tobias can immediately tell that they’re out of the mystery dungeon. He feels like he can breathe again, and the plant life around them only moves with the breeze, stationary and calm.

“Finally!” Nia groans, collapsing into the grass. “W-We’re out, right?”

“Yeah,” Tobias sighs, relieved and resisting the urge to curl up among the ferns to sleep for a year.

“C-Can we head back to the guild now?” Teddiursa asks. “I want to see my friend.”

Tobias nods, carefully skirting around the edge of the mystery dungeon and heading towards the towering tree that is the guild. He hears Nia and the teddiursa follow him. It seems like it takes forever to make their way through the woods (he notices Nia jumping at small sounds more than once), and by time they make it to one of the tunnels and walk all the way back to the message boards, Tobias feels asleep on his feet. To his surprise, they almost immediately bump into a roselia who is pacing near the D-rank board with tears in her eyes.

“Blimah!” Teddiursa cries, running forward.

The roselia turns and sobs, scooping the teddiursa into a hug. “Jordan! I was so scared they’d never find you!”

“Aw, don’t be silly! Of course they did!” The teddiursa says, burying their face in the flower Pokémon’s petals. Tobias is a bit impressed by the normal type’s strong front, considering how upset they’d been when he and Nia had found them in the dungeon. When the two Pokémon release each other, Nia looks like she’s about to cry too, smiling a wobbly smile.

“W-Well, I don’t know why the guild didn’t notify me, but I’m just happy you’re back.” The roselia turns to Tobias and Nia, smiling gratefully. “Thank you so much. Here’s your reward.”

Nia blinks, looking surprised at the mention of a reward, but Tobias steps forward, accepting the offered sack with a nod of thanks.

The teddiursa smiles at them one last time as the roselia turns to go. “Thank you again! I don’t think I ever asked. What’s your team name?”

Oh no. Tobias blanks, exchanging a panicked glance with Nia. When the riolu opens her mouth, he knows they’re in trouble.

“Team Wombat! Y-Yup, that’s us.”

Tobias feels like slamming his head into the job board.

Teddiursa looks puzzled, but offers a polite smile and says, “Interesting name! Well, I’ll see you around!”

The two Pokémon leave, and Tobias sends Nia a dry look. “You’re dead to me.”

Nia’s ears pin back, clearly flustered. “I panicked, okay! Do you even know what wombats are?”

Tobias snorts. “No, but they sound dumb.”

Nia looks down at her paws, mumbling. “The Wombats was my Little League team, okay? First thing I thought of.”

After saying that, the riolu’s head snaps up, eyes wide.

Tobias stares back at her. “What?”

“I remembered my Little League team name so I thought maybe my memory came back,” Nia whimpers, entire body drooping. “Of everything, that’s what I remembered?”

The charmander ignores Nia’s despair, suddenly realizing how out in the open they are, clearly roughed up from their excursion. He snatches the roselia’s request letter off the board and grabs Nia’s wrist, leading her back into one of the tunnels. This route’s hardly ever used since its exit has been closed up by storms over and over, so hopefully no one else shows up while they’re in here. Nia doesn’t fight against Tobias’ lead, and when they’re far enough into the tunnels, he plops down on the ground, leaning against a large, smooth crystal.

“There. Hopefully no one’ll see us here.”

Nia tilts her head at him, looking concerned. “S-So I’m guessing if someone found out we went into a mystery dungeon on purpose without being Seekers…”

“We’d be in huge trouble,” Tobias says, nodding and dumping out the sack they received from the roselia. Huh. Two oran berries and a heal seed. Nice. He rolls one of the berries towards Nia. “Eat this.”

The riolu grabs the berry, holding it up to her face to see it better in the dim lighting.

“It’s an oran berry, not poison,” he drawls. “Like the one you gave me earlier.”

Nia’s mouth drops into an “O” of realization, and then she eats the berry in two big bites, shivering as it takes effect. She holds up her arm, watching in amazement as the cuts and scrapes there stitch themselves back together. Not completely, of course, but mostly. They’re at least at the scabbing stage.

“That’s incredible,” she breathes.

“They’re definitely handy to have around,” he agrees, eating his own oran berry and feeling it take effect. He pockets the heal seed in his scarf and frowns down at the attack scarf. He already has his own scarf, and there’s no way he’s getting rid of it.

“Do you want this?” Tobias asks, lifting the item.

“A…scarf?”

“An attack scarf,” he clarifies. “If you wear it, it boosts your strength. It’d be helpful for you, since most of your moves are physical.”

“O-Oh. Um. Sure. Thank you.” Nia takes the light orange scarf and holds it up to rest awkwardly on the fluffy collar of fur around her neck.

Tobias raises a brow. “You don’t have to wear it around your neck. You can wear it anywhere you want, as long as it’s touching your body.”

Nia nods thoughtfully, folding the material up before setting it aside. Then, the two of them look at each other in the gentle blue light of the crystals. Tobias isn’t sure what she’s thinking, but he definitely has some questions for her.

“Why’d you follow me into a mystery dungeon instead of telling Maggie where I was going?” He asks.

The riolu’s brow furrows, but she holds his gaze. “I…I didn’t know for sure if you were going somewhere to take on a mission, but I didn’t want to get you in trouble. By time I realized you were, um…going into the mystery dungeon, I-I was afraid it would be too late for me to run back for help.”

Tobias feels something in his gut twist uncomfortably. If she had done that, he might be dead. Not that he’d ever admit that.

“You were afraid of getting me in trouble?” He asks, suspicious. “Why?”

Nia’s gaze slides away to look at the luminescent stones and leaves. She shrugs. “You seem like you’re already going through enough. I didn’t want to make it worse.”

“You didn’t tell Maggie about me ditching you, either.”

Nia’s mouth curls into a surprisingly mischievous smile. “What, you think I’m a snitch? You made it pretty clear you didn’t want to be around me. I found my way.”

Tobias can’t decide whether he believes her or not, but puts that aside for the moment. “Next question,” he says, leaning back against the crystal. “What’s with the branch?”

Nia blinks. She’d left the stick out in the forest on their way back, but now he almost wonders if she wants it back, with the way her paws twitch in her lap.

“I-It’s, um…easier for me to use that than my own body,” she says, slowly, as if she’s working it out for herself, too. “To fight, at least. I’m not used to fighting, and humans…well, I don’t think I ever really got into fights as a human, but a lot of humans use w-weapons to fight, instead of their own bodies. The branch just felt like a baseball bat. More comfortable for me.”

Tobias hums, not quite understanding but getting that it’s apparently a human instinct. Weird.

The charmander opens his mouth again, but Nia cuts him off with a raised finger. “U-Um. Could I ask a question?”

Tobias feels irritated about being cut off, but grumbles, “Fine.”

“D-Do you believe that I used to be human?”

Of everything Tobias expected her to ask, that was not it. He frowns at her. “Why does it matter?”

“Because it’s a really important part of who I am and if you don’t believe that, th-then…” she trails off, looking frustrated that she can’t quite find the right words.

“I…kind of believe that you believe you were human,” Tobias says, carefully. Nia meets his conflicted expression with her own. “After spending a few days around you, and seeing how you fight, you definitely don’t seem like a normal Pokémon. But I don’t know how a normal human acts, either.”

Nia doesn’t look satisfied with that answer, but she doesn’t say anything else. They’re both quiet for a few moments, lost in their own thoughts, when Nia asks in a quiet voice, “Do you hate me?”

Tobias’ head whips up. “What? No.” He frowns at her doubtful expression. “I… didn’t give you much of a chance, but that’s just sorta…how I am. Pokemon don’t get along with me, so I’ve just stopped trying to get along with them.”

“That seems like a lonely mindset to have,” Nia murmurs.

Tobias scowls and looks away. “I didn’t ask for your opinion.”

They both fall silent.

“W-Would you like to form a Seeker team?” Nia eventually asks, voice somehow strong and shaky all at once. “With me?”

Tobias stares at her, shocked into silence. She’s joking, right? But the riolu just stares back at him with serious red eyes.

“Why would you want to form a Seeker team?” He asks.

“To find out more about my past. About the other humans turned into Pokémon, like me.” She looks down at her paws. “I want to return to my old life, and e-everyone says that becoming a Seeker is the quickest way to do that.”

Tobias squints at her. That at least makes some sense. But... “You want to form a team with…me.”

“Y-Yes. If you want to.”

“Why?”

Nia must hear the disbelief in his tone, because she laughs. “I’m not convinced you’re as scary as you make yourself out to be.”

Tobias scoffs, not sure if he’s irritated or amused by her sudden boldness. “Yeah, you’ve seen me half-dead in the dirt. Hard to come back from that.”

Nia gives him a tiny smile and holds out a paw. “What do you think? Want to form a Seeker team?”

Tobias pauses, staring down at the offered paw, and then looking back up at the riolu. At the “human-turned-Pokemon” who has been causing him grief since the moment she arrived. Who didn’t rat him out when he ditched her. She’s clueless and timid and chatty—annoyingly so—but she also followed him into a mystery dungeon and saved his life armed with a branch of all things.

He didn’t want to have to team up with anyone, but this might be his one chance to actually become a Seeker and hunt down the trio of outlaws. Tobias makes it a rule not to trust other Pokémon, barring the very select few who have earned it, but…he figures if anyone has at least earned themselves a chance, it’s Nia.

He reaches out and takes her hand.

#pmd #pokemon mystery dungeon #pokemon #pmd seekers of soul #riolu #tesha writes #tesha draws

[if-you-built-yourself-a-myth]

Check Ignition: Part IV

A Sobbe fake-dating Hogwarts AU that one person asked for and I dove into headfirst

Part I // Part II // Part III // Part IV

Requests are open if you have any oneshot ideas or opinions on how this should continue!

In their bedroom that night, Jens had a whole roll of parchment full of ideas. Robbe fell asleep first on the common room couch after Hufflepuff’s party, and meandered to his room at three AM to find Jens awaiting him on the windowsill. Aaron, conked out, had pulled the curtains of his four-poster shut and cast a few silencing charms for privacy.

“Muffliato,” Robbe cast under his breath, just in case. Aaron wasn’t the greatest at Charms.

“I was supposed to patrol tonight,” Robbe told Jens. “Did Jana go alone?”

Jens nodded. “She said you would’ve lost her anyway, whatever that means.”

“You’re talking again?”

“Uh, yeah, of course. Okay, here, look at this…” Jens smacked down his parchment on the little floor space they had in their bedroom. Each little segment of dormitory housed four boys with their beds in a circle around the heater in the middle. While Jens, Robbe, and Aaron didn’t have a fourth shoved in with them, the fourth bed’s curtains were also closed. Robbe assumed it was Moyo staying over after the party. Their copious belongings covered most available surfaces: books piled up next to bedspreads, clothing strewn over trunks, candy wrappers overflowing from trash bins.

“I think you have to dial it up,” Jens explained. He flattened the parchment until Robbe could kind of read his sloping cursive. The title at the top of the page was scribbled out, replaced with the words Operation Ditch-Noor. “Noor seems more persistent.”

Robbe thought back on their conversation. It made his head hurt to think. “She’s done.”

“Didn’t seem it today. How much did you drink?”

“I can read it,” said Robbe. He, in fact, could not read it. Why did Jens have to write everything in cursive?

The party itself had gone by pretty smoothly, from what he could piece together at the moment. Sander turned on music from his player, an upbeat song called Rebel Rebel, and had everyone spinning in circles on the common room carpet. Robbe didn’t remember kissing Sander at all. He remembered taking a cupful of punch from Aaron and not asking about its alcohol content. The girls left early to go console Zoë on the loss, and he’d woken up with a blanket that he didn’t have when he fell asleep.

Actually, that was a pretty solid outline considering the circumstances. Good on Robbe.

Jens gave Robbe a minute to puzzle through the spirals on the parchment. If he looked at it sideways, it might be a picture of a big black dog.

“Thoughts?” said Jens. He bumped Robbe’s shoulder with his own. Robbe looked around. When did they sit on the floor?

“Good,” he said.

“Good. It was a major oversight on your part, not having a public date in the first week. You’re going to have to compensate now.”

“What?”

Jens sighed. “Like, you have to be twice as convincing. Why am I even friends with you?”

“You’re so smart,” Robbe agreed.

“Is that Robbe?” said the fourth bed. It didn’t sound like Moyo. Moyo’s drunk voice was always deeper than his normal one, full of false bravado, while this one was much lighter. Sure enough, Sander peeked his head out from the curtains. His hair stuck up in all different directions.

Jens got up from the ground and smacked Sander’s arm as Sander tried to reach for Robbe. “You don’t have to trick us. Jeez.” He addressed Robbe again. “He’s been like this all night.”

Sander ignored him. “Come over here,” he said to Robbe. “I haven’t seen you.”

“You saw me,” Robbe said.

“Not a lot.”

“Yeah, so this is the kind of material we need.” Jens pointed at the parchment roll. “Noor’s going to leave you alone.”

“Come here, Robbe.”

Robbe sobered—while Sander didn’t exactly sound serious, there was something more in the way he said those words. What, Robbe couldn’t be sure. He was probably projecting, making the whole thing up.

Sander’s clothing was rumpled, a stain on the collar of his shirt. There were circles around his eyes as if he’d been rubbing them. His perfect hand was just begging to be held—the vision began to blur a little bit on the edges, and Robbe had to blink a few times to make the picture clear again.

This wasn’t real. He was drunk and it wasn’t real. Robbe was hallucinating or something, that’s what it was.

And he didn’t want to sleep with Sander, at least, not yet.

“I am going to be physically ill,” said Jens. “Save this.”

They left the parchment on the floor. Jens climbed into his bed, Robbe into his. Sander left the curtains open on bed four, staring over at where Robbe lay, so Robbe left his own curtains open. Gotta have that line of sight. He knew Sander was drunk as a skunk, but goodness, it felt wonderful to have his attention.

“Goodnight, love,” he called over.

Jens covered his head with a his pillow. "Kill me."

***

Sander was gone when Robbe got up the next day, and just as well, because it was one PM. Robbe’s head hurt like a motherfucker. Good news, though: he could now read the parchment Jens had tacked to the door of their dormitory. Not without pain, but without much struggle. In the bottom left-hand corner, an artsy signature marked that Sander understood the objectives. Sander Driesen. He dotted the i in his last name with a little circle instead of a plain dot.

Robbe speed-read the document to the best of his ability. And panicked. If Sander was following this, they had plans at five today.

He gathered his things and dashed to the shower, careful not to wake up anyone else who might still be sleeping. Aaron seemed to have gone out; his bed was empty. Jens wasn’t visible, and Robbe didn’t think it right to open the bedcurtains to see if he was there. The shower water was freezing cold. Robbe did a little warming spell he thought he remembered and ended up evaporating it all.

He took a very cold shower.

When that was done, he changed into a collared shirt with a sweater overtop and a pair of khaki pants. Casual date outfit, check. Fake date. Couldn’t forget that. He appraised his reflection in the mirror for too long to be considered normal.

There was plenty to do in the span between now and five o’clock—exams were three weeks away and Robbe didn’t know the main ingredients of Amortentia. But he couldn’t bring himself to open the books. It made much more sense to pace around the room.

Of course they’d go on a date. Real relationships would have dates.

And Sander—last night—it was nothing.

Robbe spent a lot of his mental energy convincing himself that things didn’t matter. He spent a little more trying to forget this revelation.

Four forty-five arrived before he could list out all the possible ways a date could go wrong.

The castle was always louder on Saturday afternoons and evenings. With the morning’s hangover remedied, students were free to gossip as they pleased. As Robbe headed down the stairs to the dungeons, where Jens’ note detailed he would meet Sander, he heard no less than four separate conversations that should have been private. Two Gryffindors were having a Wrackspurt problem in their dormitory. Several Slytherins discussed a magical cure for gonorrhea that would not alert Madame Pomfrey to their situation. Yasmina and Zoë attended extra Potions sessions together, and Robbe heard them debating the proper way to skin a human arm for use. Most of interest: Britt and another girl in the final hallway.

“Sander doesn’t know what he’s doing,” Britt lamented. “I don’t think he’s been going to the hospital wing.”

“You don’t know that,” the girl replied, resting a comforting hand on Britt’s back.

Robbe tried to shrink back on himself as he walked by.

Britt wiped her eyes on her sleeve. “And I’m the one that’s gonna be there when it goes to shit.”

Give it up, thought Robbe. He booked it the rest of the way to the Slytherin common room’s entrance.

Sander was waiting beside the door, his back against the stonework. His look today was different than Robbe had ever seen it, a leather jacket and a t-shirt paired with tight black jeans. When he raised a hand to wave at Robbe, the shirt rode up enough to expose a line of pale skin. Robbe felt overdressed in his sweater. Sander shouldn’t think he was taking this too seriously.

“Where are we headed?” Sander asked, as soon as Robbe was within asking range.

Robbe’s eyes went wide. “I thought you were planning it.”

“I've been hungover.” Sander pushed away from the wall. He slipped his hand into Robbe’s, and they headed for the staircase that led out of the dungeons. Usually, only Slytherins used it. “I'm good with whatever. For Britt, obviously. Somewhere she'll see."

The staircase spit them out into the upstairs hallway. Sander brought them outside through the front doors and down into the sprawling lawn. He stopped once his feet hit the grass, and turned to Robbe. “Dealer’s choice.”

“Did Jens give instructions?”

“Jens doesn’t dictate your dating life.”

Robbe frowned. “My fake dating life.”

He hated Sander’s pained expression. “Yeah, exactly.”

Only one way to make Sander smile again, and that was to go somewhere nice. Robbe surveyed the campus. They couldn’t go to Hogsmede today unless they snuck there, and Sander wasn’t in subtle attire. There was the forest, all of those beautiful, towering trees, but there was a fifty percent chance of death if they got too close. The Whomping Willow ruled out a good chunk of grassy lawn. He knew their only option would be to sit by the lake.

Lots of couples sat by the lake. Any fake relationship should feature a date there. It got foot traffic, it was public, it screamed to the world hey, we’re together.

Robbe didn’t bring a blanket. What if he got cold?

What if Sander got cold?

The thought alone of Sander cuddled into his side was enough to drive Robbe to action. He wondered what that said about him as a person.

“The lake,” said Robbe. “We can—um—we can be there.”

“You have something to sit on?”

“Uh…”

“Yeah, I counted on it.” Sander reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny square of fabric. With a wave of his wand, it grew into a full-sized picnic blanket in his arms. “Show me where you want to be.”

***

The early evening air, combined with the chill off the lake, had Robbe shivering in no time. He should have brought his coat out with him, but it wasn’t in the best shape, and he worried that mending spells could only keep it alive for so much longer. Best to save it for winter, when things got bad. Sander, on the other hand, had no problem removing his own jacket and sliding it around Robbe’s shoulders. He wrapped one bare arm around Robbe, sliding his hand into Robbe’s back pocket.

“This is nice,” he said.

“Cold,” said Robbe.

“I’ll tell Jens to plan the next one. He seems to like us as a couple.”

Something in Robbe’s stomach fluttered. The possibility of more intoxicated him. He caught himself before the desire became too strong; there had to be more. No convincing fake relationship was just one date.

Dusk crept in along the sky. Many of the other couples gathered their things to attend a Great Hall dinner, the likes of which Robbe had not consumed all week. He willed his stomach not to growl. Their blanket was close enough to the lake that casual waves poked at its edges.

“That’s your friend, isn’t it?” said Sander, pointing toward the castle’s open doors.

Robbe looked over. Zoë and Senne made their way across the lawn with their own picnic blanket and a lumpy knapsack. Behind them was Milan, Zoë’s best friend and Senne’s suitemate. Zoë smiled when she saw Robbe and jogged the remainder of the distance between them, dropping to the grass an inch away from Sander’s blanket.

“Look at you!” She pinched Robbe’s cheek. “Date night, I take it?”

Robbe tried not to look sheepish. “Jens said we should.”

“Mmhm,” said Zoë. She turned her attention to Sander. “Tell me the love story. I need to know.”

“Oh, it’s a great story. Settle in.” Sander adjusted his position. He scooted away from Robbe, then gently tipped backward until his head rested on Robbe’s lap. “Picture this. My ex brought her best friend on one of our dates because she was mad at me. We went to the Three Broomsticks.”

Robbe remembered the Three Broomsticks. Obviously. His cheeks heated. He began twisting sections of Sander’s hair around his fingers, if only to do something with his hands. He knew Zoë just wanted to hear what Sander could think up on the fly.

“Her best friend had a date, too. No problem. I was going to spend the time staring at the wall so I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction. Except, the date walked in, and it was Robbe here, and I just lost it. I saw him sitting there and I thought, Sander, he is the one.”

Now Robbe was really blushing. He wanted to go vaporous and phase through the ground, if he could just remember the spell…

“I thought I was being dramatic, that I needed to give it some time. But I couldn’t get him off my mind. So I broke up with Britt. She used to complain that he spent all his time up in the astronomy tower instead of patrolling. You bet your ass I went there one night to see if he’d come up. And he did.” Sander shrugged. “The rest is history.” He propped himself up and caught Robbe in a chaste kiss.

“Yeah, you can cut the bullshit.” Zoë turned to check Senne’s progress toward them. He was still a decent distance away. “Robbe told me about this.”

Sander huffed. “I said nothing that wasn’t true.” He kissed Robbe again.

“Yeah, pretty sure none of that was true. But I like the backstory. It’s really good.”

“I think I could make it as a writer,” said Sander.

Robbe assumed the conversation would end there. Zoë and Sander did not seem like the types of people who would have much to say to one another. Unfortunately, Zoë’s prying conversation gave Milan time to catch up.

“Oh!” he exclaimed, upon seeing Sander and Robbe together. He got in close to Zoë for a stage whisper. “So this is Robbe's straight guy!” Zoë shot him a look. “What? is he not straight?”

Sander did not miss a beat, even though a statement like that implied Milan knew the truth of the arrangement. “Bisexual, actually. Or pansexual—I’m still trying to figure that part out.”

“Aren’t we all,” said Milan knowingly. “Don’t fall for Robbe, then.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Sander laughed. It sounded more resigned than joking. Something inside of Robbe combusted.

Milan and Senne went off and picked a spot a respectable distance away to study for their exams. Robbe noted in passing that Milan was reading pages much deeper in the Potions textbook than he had learned. He hadn’t been to a class since he started fake-dating Sander.

Zoë flashed an apologetic smile. “I didn’t tell him you were straight. Don’t know where he got that.”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Sander.

“And I didn’t mean to tell him the relationship was fake either, he was just so excited—”

“As long as it doesn’t get to Britt or Noor, we’re fine.”

“Robbe, are you okay?”

“Yes,” Robbe lied.

There were pleasantries afterward, although Robbe didn’t catch the specifics. He had other things to process. Sander talking about how they met—it all felt so real. Robbe found himself in a booth at the Three Broomsticks again, watching Sander take slow sips from his drink. He was in his four-poster bed while Sander slept, the curtains open so they could see each other in the dark.

He stepped on the emotion. Sander said he wouldn’t dream of falling in love with him.

Zoë went off to sit with her best friend and boyfriend, leaving space for Robbe and Sander’s date to begin. Where to begin? Number one: Sander would never fall in love with him because this was all fake. In tandem with Noor’s premonition last night, Robbe suddenly felt like he’d much rather be back inside the castle. In his bed. With the curtains pulled this time.

A headache could get him out of here. An urgent need to throw up? Maybe a mysterious summons from Jens. He needed to remember the charm that let him disappear.

Number two, back to Sander. He had wrapped his arms around his head, exposing that same patch of stomach. A line of black ink that might be a word traced the line of his hipbone down.

“Robbe?” Sander waved a hand in front of Robbe’s face.

Robbe blinked. “Huh?”

“Have you been hearing me?”

“Um,” said Robbe.

“You’re pulling my hair.”

Robbe moved his hands away. His mind was a mess of different thoughts—what would he tell the boys about this? It wasn’t fucking real. And Sander’s head was in his lap right now. He should have seen this coming before… no, he had seen this coming.

“Don’t stop,” said Sander softly. “Just… lighter.”

Robbe ran his hand through Sander’s hair. Lighter. A confession dangled on the tip of his tongue and he needed to push it back down.

“Some of what you said was true,” he said. He hoped Sander could draw the connection across conversations and realize he meant what Sander had said to Zoë, not Milan.

Sander understood. “Most of it was true.”

They waited a moment, listening to the soft waves on the lake and the bustle of other couples nearby.

“Right,” said Sander. “You’ve taken me on a date. The least you can do is tell me something nice.”

“What kind of thing?”

“Do you need Jens to write your speeches too?”

Robbe shied away from the vulnerability angle this time. Sander wouldn’t have any use for the information four weeks from now when exams were over. He marveled over how soft Sander’s hair was between his fingers, despite the fact that the ends were dry and dead from the bleach. “My father was the cook of the family,” he said. Something personal, but not intimate. “He had this recipe for blood sausage that had so many spices my mother could never stomach it. We would bring it to dinner parties when we didn’t like the people. It was funny to watch them try and compliment it during the meal when they clearly hated every last bite.” This was the story’s happier conclusion. Its actual conclusion was that his father took all the recipe cards when he walked out, and Robbe didn’t know the ingredients even though his father promised he’d get them when he turned sixteen.

“Tell me something nice.” He poked Sander.

“I don’t know if what you said constitutes nice,” said Sander. He reached up and ran a finger across Robbe’s chin. But he went on. “There’s this lady where I work over the summer that brings me David Bowie albums. She gets so excited every time she finds a new one in a garage sale somewhere, or at store, and I can’t tell her that I already own the albums already. I have five copies of Space Oddity.”

Robbe didn’t know who David Bowie was.

Another lapse into silence. Sander never seemed to mind a comfortable quiet. He guided Robbe’s head down to his for a simple kiss, but he left his eyes open, and Robbe could follow his sightline to Noor and Britt as they walked back to the castle from who-knows-where.

“Tell me something secret,” said Robbe. This much time without something on his mind could be seriously painful. “I went first last time.”

He kind of wanted Sander to refuse.

“I don’t have any secrets, Robbe.”

“You must have one.”

“Do you?”

Robbe shook his head quicker than he should have. He tried to sound as casual as possible when he said, “I’m an open book,” but he doubted it did any good.

The thing was, it was totally believable that Sander wouldn’t have any secrets. This was the boy who announced his sexuality to a friend of a friend that he didn’t even know. This was the boy who saw someone else in the astronomy tower, unloaded his relationship woes, and promptly kissed said someone else to get away from them. What did he have to hide, besides this relationship? What could someone like him possibly have to hide?

The dying day faded everything out into a stained-glass image that could take up the wall of a Hogwarts bathroom. Robbe let himself relax until his surroundings were no more than shapes and colors, pushing everything from his mind until he could barely process his hands running through Sander’s hair. The thoughts surfaced anyway. He was going to have to tell the boys about this, eventually, and maybe even Sander himself, if that was possible. Even now, his skin was electrified from contact.

So much for pushing back the sexuality crisis. It had to happen today.

“It is kind of nerve-wracking, all these people to convince,” Sander said, out of the blue. “I don’t even know who that guy is.” He pointed vaguely at Milan. “But right here, with us, this is okay. It’s just me. That’s my secret.”

That’s exactly the problem, thought Robbe. It’s just you. And I’m falling in love with you.

He said, “That’s a cop-out. Tell me something else.”

#sobbe #wtfock #sander driesen #robbe ijzermans #hogwarts au #fake dating #fic request #conflict is coming i'm so sorry #my writing #fanfiction

[callioope]

Thoughts on Critical Role Campaign 2 Episode 133 below the cut!

Post-Battle Capeleb Scene

Me to spouse as I was pressing play: “I apologize ahead of time for any squealing this episode may cause.”

Cut to Capeleb picking up Essek after the battle! All King Kong style!!! Shoving him in front of the two clerics like “Heal him!!!” ahhhh that definitely got a squeal ... incidentally just as my husband was starting a call... oops. 

Bonus: Caduceus being like “dude I wanna heal you too”

Bonus 2: everyone like “Caleb you can put him down” Caleb: nO *puts Essek on his back* i mean caleb knows better than anyone you gotta protect the squishy wizard

Bonus 3!: Jester’s comment about “He doesn’t think clearly when he’s an animal.” and Essek’s “Evidently!” lol 

Let the Cleric Rest!

Okay earlier in the episode, when Laura was insistent on “guys we need to start our long rest ASAP,” I felt that in my bones. I play a cleric in the Tomb of Annihilation campaign I’m in, and we spent 3 or 4 sessions stuck in a dungeon filled with poison gas where we took 1d6 poison damage every hour. So no long rests there. Top that off with the fact that we’ve been in the Chultan jungle even longer, and we don’t get long rests unless we can find and secure a very safe location, and the pain of being a spellcaster and not getting a long rest is REAL.

And then no one was acknowledging her at first! Yeah later Fjord and Beau were like “yeah yeah we agree” but she had to say it so many times!!! And I kept shouting at my screen “listen to Laura Bailey!!!” thinking “my dudes you can do ALL of this talking and planning while you rest pleeeeze get that rest it” because I play a cleric too and running out of a spells is a thing.

Of course, having finished the episode/in hindsight, I’m actually not sure if the even had a full 8 hours from the moment Jester finished her Commune with Artagan to the moment the Tomb Takers arrived, but still. I feel so bad for Laura right now knowing she only has ONE SPELL SLOT left and they’re going up against the Lucien and Cree. She’s clever so I’m sure she’ll think of something but that just is a really sucky feeling going into any battle knowing you don’t have a lot of slots left, let alone The Super Scary Big Battle ahead. soo. yeah. Gonna be worrying about that all week through the end of the next episode. 

Also side note but jeez poor Laura rolling two one’s on that Heroes Feast. She needs to cleanse her dice or buy new ones altogether. she has the WORST luck with rolls.

TOWER TALK & TOUR!!!!!

IT!!! FINALY!!! HAPPENED!!!! I have been longing for Essek to see the Tower since episode 124 if not longer and at last! It was wonderful. AND CALEB SHOWED HIM THE NINTH FLOOR!!! amazing. fantastic. and what a talk. what a talk. ughh yes. they didn’t really have much time in the Tower outside of the Heroes Feast and the long rest but i’m sooooo glad Caleb got the chance to give the tour and they could talk. YAY!

Pursuing Lucien & Cree

Does anyone have any ideas of what they can do here? UGHH i wanna speculate on the best strategy for them (just because I find it to be a fun thought exercise). Like digging through the collapsed tunnel might take too long? Although we have no idea how long Lucien and Cree need. Hopefully the lack of the rest of the 3 Tomb Takers slows them down somewhat but who even knows at this point. I’ve been wondering if there are any teleportation spells that might work -- but Essek’s teleport is way too high to risk in Aeor right? Wonder if there’s any spells to magically clear the rubble? I’m stumped on this one. Super excited to see what they do but in the meantime while I have to wait would love to ponder this puzzle.

Fjord & the Rangers

not super wanting to like dive into intense discourse about this but like. I did have thoughts so here goes. I don’t blame Fjord for making the decision that he did, he had to make a spilt second decision and it seemed very in character for him to choose what he did. It did seem like he was trying to stall to help his party members get more rest, and it makes sense that he’d want to do that, BUT. here’s the thing. Battles in DND only take a minute or so TOPS. There’ s no way the battle itself would slow down the TT. If you’re hoping to delay the TT, you gotta hope the rangers can do enough damage to force them to at least take a short rest if not a long one. That’d only give an hour and that’s still not enough for the long rest the M9 need. 

ALL THAT SAID!!! I think there’s a very good chance that whatever that battle did helped lower the TT’s HP enough so that the traps the M9 laid could finish off the three members it did. So I don’t think it was in vain. Worth it as a delay tactic? Ehh not really. Worth it to hurt the TT? Yes.

And while I do think that Fjord and Essek knew the chances were high they were sending the rangers to their Doom (a) I think the rangers being here in Aeor know that’s an everyday possibility to begin with, and (b) I still think there’s a chance they might have been able to survive/flee. Maybe the TT decided to push past them and fled from the skirmish themselves? Yes it’s possible everyone (including Dagen T_T) fell during that battle, but I don’t think that’s set in stone. 

Also I don’t think the TT would think it’s weird to come across the rangers, they likely already knew they were there. And another thing -- even if they were like “Hmm rangers coincidentally by the entrance we were going to use?” Look they know the M9 became unscryable AND were trying to stop them. I honestly think the TT knew to be on the lookout for TM9 no matter what. And in hindsight -- which obvs Fjord did not have but we know now -- Lucien way underestimated them bc hey, despite everything, the trap still worked. Like, very much of what the M9 was trying to do during this whole arc was keep their cards close to their chest so Lucien would underestimate them. They really did lay the groundwork for that when they were traveling with them. Yeah technically they sort of revealed some of their hand during the Gelidon fight buuut they also ran from the TT limping later that day. So. Yeah. Anyways. 

I’m rambling now and gotta go start dinner. But those are my initial thoughts!!!! Happy to engage in polite discourse. Main things I love talking about are theories for what happens next!!! and also hello, this is my first like, big post in the tag although I’ve already posted a few times in the shadowgast tag. 

#critical role #critrole c2 #critrole spoilers #shadowgast

[knittingdreams]

Fireheart - Chapter 19

I’m back with another chapter! YAY!

I know, I have no agenda to upload this whatsoever, I’m just trying to get it all up and I still have like 15 more chapters to catch up on D:

For more chapters, head to Ao3! I started updating there earlier on, so there’s way more chapters to indulge in!

For the Masterlist, click the word masterlist, no, no, not this one, the one at the start! Okay, just any Masterlist. All chapters up to this one are in there! n_n

New chapter alert & tiny one-human-tag-party: @tillyrubes10

(If you want to be added to the tag party whenever a new chapter is up, just sing along... I mean, let me know.) 

CHAPTER 19

Move On

Rowan didn’t understand why he had to be the one hiding with the girl. Fenrys had always been the one somehow in charge of the flat. As if being the oldest gave him an advantage in that sense. Not like you can be older than your twin, but Fenrys always prided himself in the fact that he was born two minutes before Connall. And Rowan didn’t have much discussion in the matter, he was three years younger than his flatmates after all. He didn’t normally mind it, he had always been mature for his age, and often thought he was even more mature than the twins combined. Even if Fenrys was 25 already, he still acted like he was 18 most of the time.

“A message for us?” His friend was saying in the lounge.

Rowan closed the door shut. He wanted to listen to the conversation, but he was also aware of the girl standing behind him, and the fact that she probably shouldn’t hear any kind of message coming from Maeve.

“You can have a seat if you want,” he told her as he pointed to the bed.

“Who’s that at the door?” The girl asked in a whisper and surprised him by actually taking a seat as he suggested. She left her duffel bag next to the bed, and sat down, crossing one leg on top of the other.

“Just someone from work.” 

“From the fights, you mean?” 

“Yes, from the fights. That’s not all we do, you know? We act as security in other venues as well.”

Why was he giving her that kind of information? He shook his head, feeling stupid for saying more than what has needed.

“But that guy at the door, he works at the fights, right?”

“So curious all of a sudden.” 

The girl bit her lip, and then shrugged theatrically.

“I’m stuck here, I thought I might as well just spark up some conversation.” She leaned against the headboard, looking bored.

“He works for our boss.” He explained against his better judgment. “Not necessarily at the fights, he’s more like… the kid that runs errands and delivers messages, the bottom of the chain if you know what I mean.” Damn, this girl was good at getting his tongue to loosen up.

“He sounds young,” she said, leaning sideways onto an elbow. She was wearing leather tights and a long-sleeved cream top with a low neckline, and Rowan got a glimpse of her flat stomach as she leaned farther back.

“He’s probably about your age,” he replied, knowing that the information was meaningless. Looking away towards the door, he peeked out again. He could still hear Fenrys talking in the lounge, so he closed the door and leaned against it. The atmosphere in the room was awkward. He had been so rude for no reason with the girl earlier and could feel how she was trying to analyze him now; which was annoying him.

“Can I ask you a question?” She shuffled back, sitting back against the headboard and resting a hand gently over her side. She looked a bit pale again, her lips faintly pink, and Rowan almost asked if she was feeling okay before deciding against it. The image of the girl sitting on his bed was unsettling him, no woman had been in that bed after… after.

“You can ask, I don’t guarantee I’ll reply.” He crossed his arms over his chest and waited for whatever was about to come his way. Anything was better than the memories trying to creep upon him.

“Have you been working at the fights for long? I know this tournament has been popular for years, or so I’ve heard.”

Easy enough question. “Just for a few years.”

“And Fenrys and Connall?”

“About the same, but that’s not my question to answer.”

“And… How old are you? If that might be a question for you to answer. I mean, you look a bit old...” She shrugged, and he almost felt like punching her for it. Old? Please, he wasn’t that much older than her! Not like he would ever punch a woman anyway.

“I’ll answer your question if you answer one first, this is not a fair game otherwise.”

She seemed to think it over, playing with the edge of her top and pouting her lips before she looked back up at him.

“Okay, I’ll give you just one answer.” She smirked at him, and he realized he had so many questions he wanted to ask. 

But no, he did not care. It didn’t matter that she was the youngest female fighter he had seen at the tournament. Or that she was the best fighter he had watched in that place. Nor did it matter that she had survived being beaten up by those thugs and was now acting as if nothing had even happened. It didn’t matter that she was pretending she wasn’t in pain when Rowan could see how she kept clutching her side and clenching her teeth whenever she moved. How she couldn’t find a comfortable position and kept shuffling around on the bed.

“What’s your name?” He asked finally, the question slipping off his lips without his mind’s consent. “I can’t get myself to call you Fireheart, it sounds stupid,” he added when he saw her scowl.

She narrowed her eyes, and her lips pursed to one side. “You ask complicated questions.”

“It’s just a name, and you know ours. You know where we live, you know so much about us already. What are you so scared of? What are you hiding?” He regretted the questions as soon as he said them. He didn’t care, it didn’t matter. He could keep calling her girl, but for some reason, not even having a name was annoying him. After all, she did know who they all were and where they lived, they were at a clear disadvantage. They had all put themselves in danger to host her at their house, the least she could do, was give them a name. After a moment that was almost too long, the girl nodded and smiled up at him. It was a little twisted smile, and it kind of suited her.

“I guess you have a point.” She paused for a moment, and Rowan thought she wasn’t going to tell him after all. “You can call me Celaena.”

Celaena… It was a weird feeling, but he thought the name didn’t suit her, like it wasn’t what he was expecting. 

“Just so you know, I always keep my word... I’m 22.”

At that moment, a knock sounded on the door and Rowan turned around fast, opening the door only an inch and moving his body to occupy the gap so whoever was at the door couldn’t see inside the room.

“Just me,” Fenrys said from the other side, smirking from ear to ear.

Rowan stepped back and opened the door fully. “What did he want?” He asked cautiously.

“Nothing too important, he was just delivering a message. Connall has gone back to work with him, and I’ll have to pull an all-nighter, so I might head to bed and sleep for a few hours.” He leaned to the side, looking at Celaena now standing by the bed. “I guess I’ll see you at the next round of fights.”

“You will. I’m not on for another two weeks though, but I guess I’ll see you then. Thanks for everything Fenrys.”

“You’re welcome, Fireheart.”

Celaena chuckled, grabbed her duffel bag, and took a step towards the door. “You can call me Celaena today, or if we ever ran into each other outside of that dungeon.”

Rowan scoffed while Fenrys’ laughed brightly at the joke. It shouldn’t be funny, that place did feel like a dungeon to him. After all, he was a prisoner of his life choices and was trapped there until his sentence was over.

Celaena walked the few steps left towards the door and squeezed past Fenrys onto the hallway. “Don’t mind me, I’ll see myself out.”

“Your keys are on the little table by the front door,” Fenrys called after her, “and your bike is in the garage down on the lower level... Maybe Rowan could show you where it is.”

“I’m sure I can find it on my own.”

Rowan stepped into the hallway as he remembered how Fenrys had explained she had passed out right after leaving the alley. “Do you even know how to get back to your place from here?”

“How hard can it be? Rifthold is pretty easy to navigate. How far are we from the gymnasium where the fights take place?”

“Ten minutes from here to the Fossa.” He replied. “That’s what we call it.”

“Easy, thanks again.”

Celaena finished walking down the hall and into the lounge, and Rowan found himself taking another step forward.

“Thinking about following her?” Fenrys asked in a hushed tone as he watched her walk away.

“What?” 

“Come on mate, I’ve known you for years, and I can tell when something’s cooking in that brain of yours. You don’t trust her. You think she might bring us trouble somehow. Are you thinking about following her to see where she goes?”

“No, I…” Was he? He was puzzled, there was something about Celaena that just didn’t make sense to him. “No, I’m not. I’m done with this. She’s gone, and we can go back to our normal lives, move on. She can keep fighting, do her thing, and we’ll do our jobs. We will go to work, make money, pay back our debts, and be out as soon as we can. We’ll follow the plan.”

Fenrys nodded, but there was a twisted smirk on his face that wouldn’t leave him. “As you say.”

“Fenrys, tell me you haven’t fallen for the girl. Please, she’s like, 8 years younger than you!”

“What? No! Don’t be stupid, she seems more like... I don’t know… A little sister,” he said dreamily. “I always wanted a little sister.”

Rowan grabbed him by the shoulders and looked him dead in the eye. “Listen to me, she is not your sister. She is not your problem to worry about, okay? We don’t need to get ourselves in deeper shit, let the girl be.” He shook Fenrys lightly, tightening his grip. “You are not her guardian, okay? You already did more than enough.”

Fenrys pushed Rowan with a palm against his chest, shaking his head as he turned around and started heading towards his bedroom. “Don’t you worry mate, everything will be alright.”

As Fenrys closed his bedroom door, Rowan ran a hand through his long hair and let out a loud sigh. He loved his mate like a brother, but sometimes he wished Fenrys would give fewer shits. His interest in Celaena was going to get them in trouble if he didn’t drop the subject. 

He couldn’t wait to be out of it all, for their debts to be paid so they could finally be out of the lifestyle they were living. 

Rowan walked towards the window in the back of his room and looked down to the street. Only a few seconds later, a black motorbike sped out of the garage, Celaena’s blond hair dancing in the wind behind her as she accelerated towards the city center. 

One less thing to worry about.

After talking with Fenrys earlier on, he was mostly convinced that Cain wasn’t going to be stupid enough to say or do anything at the fights; the matter was most likely resolved. Cain was a vengeful prick, but they didn’t think he would go after Celaena or any of them outside of the Fossa again, not if he knew what was best for him. Fenrys, Connall, and Rowan were known to be a tight team, and Cain had been around for long enough to know that if he messed with one of them, he’d be messing with all three.

Rowan slumped on his bed, looking up at the roof and trying to ease his mind, to convince himself that he was right. He was hoping that by the end of the tournament, he would have made enough money to pay most of his debt. Maybe one more tournament after that one, and he could finally be free of Lyria’s legacy.

#fireheart #chapter nineteen #tog fanfic #throne of glass fandom #tog fandom #fan fiction #aelin #rowan #rowaelin #fenrys #connall #lorcan salvaterre

[varian-the-unstable-alchemist]

Arrival Redo

OKAY SO

VARIANS INITAL ARRIVAL WAS STUPID

SO

THAT DIDNT HAPPEN

THIS HAPPENED INSTEAD

ANY QUESTIONS?NO?GOOD-

HERE

Im not tagging anyone okay-

just-

here

Yes I took inspiration from several fanfictions that I liked

please don't hate me

***

Varian looked down at the ground as he walked. Papers gathered in his arms, lost in thought. Rapunzel had tasked him with making the Dungeon more hospitable for prisoners, after he told her how terrible it was down there.

Being the Royal Engineer, he didn’t have the right to refuse, but he hated working on the project. He only needed to be down there for reference point, he wasn’t the one who would be carrying out the designs (thank god), but every second he was down there was like a weight pressing down on his chest. He constantly felt like he was stuck, like he wouldn’t be able to leave, and this place would be the last he would see. Not to mention the prisoners themselves. One in particular had been making the task nearly unbearable. He tried to ignore him, but the man knew exactly how to get under his skin...

He hadn’t told Rapunzel about his discomfort. It wasn’t up to him to decide which jobs he did and didn’t take on. And she’d been busy lately anyway, even though it’d been months since Zhan Tiri’s attack, they were still rebuilding. The pressure had only increased when her parents announced that they would be retiring soon, and Rapunzel would become queen.

Varian let out a breath, it’s okay, he could do this. He’d survived prison, attempted murder, all kinds of crazy magic, kidnapping, and a demon attack. He could survive this project. Besides, it wa-

Voices cut into his thoughts. Varian paused, looking to his left at a door that was slightly ajar. He weighed his options for a moment, before curiosity got the better of him. He moved to stand next to the door, leaning in to hear what the people inside were saying.

“-ust don’t know what to do, Nigel!” Varian recognized that voice as Rapunzel’s. She sounded frustrated.

“Your majesty, you already know my opinion on the matter.” Nigel’s nasally voice sounded from inside.

“I am not firing him! He’s the best person for the job and you know it! I-I just... he seems so stressed lately, and I don’t know how to help...”

“well, I’m not quite sure how to help with that, but, there is the matter of the letters.”

“We’ve already talked about the letters.”

“Princess, with all due respect, we can’t just ignore them.”

“Yes, we can! Just because a few citizens are upset that, doesn’t mean I’m going to change something that doesn’t need changing! And I want you to make sure that Varian doesn’t hear a single word about them!”

“Your highness, I-“

Varian had heard enough. He stepped into the room. “That I don’t hear a single word about what?”

Rapunzel looked up at her, eyes wide. She was unable to find words.

“The matters of the Princess are none of your concern.” Nigel said with undisguised dislike for the teen in front of him.

“They are if they involve me.” Varian said, crossing his arms.

“Varian I...” Rapunzel started “I-I can’t tell you, but trust me when I say that you’re better off not knowing.”

“Great, so now you’re keeping things from me. Rapunzel, what is this about? What are the letters?”

“I...” she looked away, biting her lip. “...Varian, please...”

“You’re still not going to tell me?! They’re about me, aren’t they?”

Rapunzel looked away, and Varian felt his face heat in anger. He clenched his fists. “Fine! Fine, you’re not going to tell me, that’s fine.”

He turned, moving to storm towards the door.

“Varian-“ Rapunzel tried

“I’ll be in my lab.” He snapped, before slamming the door behind him.

***

Varian sat at a table at his workbench, leaned back and staring at the ceiling, letting the anger wash over him. Yes, he was being unreasonable, but he was sick and tired of being treated like a child, having things be kept from him simply because whomever was in question felt like he couldn’t handle it. Having one of the only people in the world he genuinely trusted do it...

The raccoon curled up on his chest chittered next to him, pressing his furry head into Varian’s cheek in an attempt to comfort him. The fuming boy took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself, raising a gloved hand to scratch the ring-tailed bandit behind the ears. Ruddiger made a sound akin to purring in reply.

His lab was nice, to his tastes at least. It was messy, but it helped add to the personality. It’d been gifted to him along with the position of Royal Engineer.

Varian looked up at the sound of the door opening. He’d been expecting Rapunzel, and was surprised when he was met with Nigel instead. Ruddiger moved to curl around Varian’s shoulder’s protectively, narrowing his eyes at the man. The man looked around the cluttered room, distain and disgust easily visible on his face. There was a stack of paper clutched in his hand.

“What do you want?” Varian asked less than politely. He really wasn’t in the mood to bother with protocol.

Nigel moved his eyes to the teen in the chair with distaste. “You wanted to know what was in the letters, so here they are.”

He tossed the stack of papers the the ground next to Varian’s chair. Varian looked from the papers to him, puzzled.

“Wha-“

“If I’m being honest, I agree with every word they say. And, frankly I think a mutt you should follow their advice.” He turned, moving back towards the door. He paused at the doorway, looking back with his eyes narrowed and lips pulled back in a sneer. “By the way, you aren’t fooling anyone with your little drag show, young lady.”

He closed the door before Varian could spit a scathing comment. Ruddiger hissed at the closed door, tail swishing. Varian closed his eyes, trying to calm himself. This wasn’t the first time someone had purposely misgendered him. It shouldn’t effect him this much.

After a moment, he mulled over the first insult he’d used... “mutt” It left a foul taste in his mouth... dehumanizing. He guess it came from the fact that his parents had both been refugees, he wasn’t even Coronian... or, at least not in most people’s eyes. But he’d been born and raised here. To say that he was belonging to any other kingdom would feel wrong. It didn’t matter anyway. He took a deep breath and stood, walking over to the pile of paper.

Ruddiger’s ears flattened against his head, letting out an anxious trill. He pawed at Varian’s face, but Varian ignored him, looking down at the paper at the top of the stack.

“Princess Rapunzel,

As a Citizen, I have stood by all your decisions as Princess and temporary queen except for one. Your decision to pardon two of the kingdom’s most dangerous criminals is something I cannot possibly fathom. At least Cassandra has left the kingdom, but to keep the traitor Varian on staff? It’s honestly horrifying to me and several others. A dangerous criminal like him should be locked in prison or dead, kept away from yourself and your people, not gifted with a position so high in rank. I sincerely hope you take my words into account.

Wishing for the best,

A troubled citizen.”

Varian knew he should stop. He knew that nothing good could come from reading more, but he pressed on, flipping the page and reading the next.

“Varian,”

That was odd. It was addressed to him, why hadn’t he received it? Was the Princess Reading his mail?

“I don’t know what you’ve done to the royal family. Whether you’ve bewitched them or used some kind of mind game, I want you to know that you don’t have everyone fooled. If I were you, I’d turn yourself in or jump off Corona bridge before people discover your true intentions. Lord knows you deserve it after what you’ve done. We’re watching you.“

Varian pressed on. Some were signed, some weren’t (although very few had names attached), some addressed to himself, some to the Princess, a handful were even addressed to the king or queen. Some (he ones that Varian assumed were from old Corona), addressed him by his old name and called him a witch. But, despite the differing methods of explaining it, they all had the same idea; Varian was  a dangerous criminal and shouldn’t be working at the castle.

When he’d finally finished reading, he sat there, numb. He closed his eyes, swallowing. He understood now why the Princess hadn’t wanted to show him. Despite acknowledging the Princess’s reasoning behind her actions, he didn’t regret reading them. Now he knew how people perceived him, now he knew that he had to be more careful.

Shakily, the ravenette stood, raising Ruddiger from where he’d been curled around Varian’s shoulders and placing him on his work chair. The small mammal trilled in worry for his human, tail swishing behind him. Varian gave his friend a small smile. (it was fake, of course, but Varian had become very skilled at making them look convincing as of late)

“It’s okay, buddy, I’m alright. I just need a minute alone... I’m going to take a walk...”

The raccoon reluctantly curled into a ball, still looking up at his human with concern as he turned, grabbed the backpack he kept with himself at all times when going out, and walked towards the door

The castle was relatively quiet, most people who usually resides here were out enjoying the beautiful day. Light filtered through the stained glass windows built into the wall. Varian had never re-adjusted to the light level of the capital. It was nicknamed the kingdom of the sun for a reason, but after the crushing darkness of the dungeon beneath his feet, he didn’t think he’d ever be able to take the brightness for granted again.

As he stepped out into the courtyard, several guards waved at him. He nervously waved back, anxiety bubbling in his chest at the sight of the uniform they wore. Eugene had given it a name... what was it? Fear of authority? That sounded right... strangely enough, Eugene was the only person in uniform that he wasn’t scared of.

He made his way through the capital, people around him going about their business. Their reactions to him were diverse, some smiled and waved, some sent glares his way, some ignored him completely. Varian kept his eyes fixed on the ground, trying to make himself small.

Eventually, he made it outside the main city. He walked across the bridge, keeping one hand on the railing. He paused in the center, eyes lingering on where he’d stood only a few months ago, looking down at the water as his form shook, trying to force himself to move forward.

He shook himself out of the memory, he was in a better place now. Sure, he still had the occasional depressive episode or panic attack, but he had been doing great considering all that had happened to him.

He stepped off the bridge, pausing a moment to decide whether he should keep going along the path or walk through the forest. He decided that the latter would be more interesting and started walking slightly to the left.

Because of Varian’s tendency to spend hours or even days locked in his room and his fascination with technology, one could guess that he wasn’t a nature person. But, in reality, the opposite was true. Varian was quite fond of the outdoors and of nature itself. He’d always been better with animals than he was with people, and a walk through the forest had always been his second favorite way to calm himself down (the first being alchemy, but even the idea itself was tiring to him at the moment). He sighed, closing his eyes and letting the sounds and feelings of the forest wash over him.

He wasn’t upset. The people who wrote the letters were justified on their feelings. He’d attacked the kingdom, tried to kill its leaders, been sent to prison, escaped with a Saporian terrorist, and taken over the kingdom. Then, in what must have seemed like the blink of an eye to them, Rapunzel had returned, completely pardoned him for everything he’d done, and been rewarded with a position of high honor. No wonder they were suspicious of him.

No, he wasn’t upset that multiple of them had told him to kill himself, or that he should be back in the prison he now hated with every fiber of his being.

He definitely wasn’t.

As for Rapunzel, he wasn’t angry at her. He knew her. She could be scarily protective when she needed to be, and she saw it as her duty to keep Varian safe. Emotionally and physically. He had no right to be angry that she’d read his mail, kept something as big as this from him, and still hadn’t fired that good-for-nothing advisor.

Since his recovery, he’d learned to keep all negative emotions under lock and key. Especially anger, now that he knew how quickly it could spiral out of control. So he knew that that definitely wasn’t what he was feeling as he walked deeper and deeper into the thickening trees.

It was precisely thirteen seconds after the teen decided that he was under no circumstances angry at Corona, its people, or its Princess, that he found himself falling.

[aria-writes]

Viktoria frowned and crossed her arms in front of herself. “Tyler, leave the seagulls alone.”

Tyler grinned cheekily as he tried in vain to wave her off. “Mr. Boss said to bring something back from the beach for him!” Viktoria shifted her weight and glanced over her shoulder in Tegan’s general direction, but it was immediately clear to her that he wasn’t going to be any help whatsoever in this sort of situation.

“You and I both darn well know that he didn’t mean the wildlife!”

 Tyler pointed at her. “He didn’t specify. So, there is still a very slim but entirely probable–”

Viktoria threw her arms up in the air. “Dude.” “Do it for the meme,” Tegan called from under his frowny-face umbrella.

Victoria turned and looked straight at him for the first time that day, hands resting on her hips. “Where did you even find that thing?” Tegan shrugged nonchalantly. Well, as nonchalant as one can be while sweating to death, at least. “The internet.”

Viktoria sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, then directed her attention towards the mock volleyball court that Raquel, Alistair, and Axel had set up. Axel and Ellie were up against Raquel and Alistair, and it was not going very well for the former team.

On Viktoria’s opposite side, Tadashi seemed lost inside his own little world as he drew a large square in the sand with a big stick, then started writing in large block letters underneath it. “D...E...T…”

That was clearly going to take him a while, and she was already bored watching.

Tegan shot Tyler a look that Viktoria couldn’t even begin to decipher, but she could tell it meant something meaningful.

Tyler began loudly heckling Axel, mocking his (admittedly lackluster) volleyball playing style from what he probably assumed was a safe distance away.

“I hope your vocal warmups aren’t as weak as your physical warmups are, AHAHAHA– OW!” Tyler was cut off abruptly via an inflatable beach ball to the face, courtesy of a smirking Axel.

Tyler snatched it out of the air with his hands before it had a chance to fall and raised it above his head, then ran straight towards him with a battle yell.

The smirk quickly disappeared off of Axel’s face, replaced by a scream of “SHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII–” that completely drowned out Tyler’s voice as he started running down the beach, both of them being deliberate in their avoidance of Claire’s very elaborate sandcastle, of course.

Viktoria raised an eyebrow. “That’s a very impressive lung capacity right there. And here I thought ‘singing on a treadmill’ was just an exaggeration.”

Tegan ran a hand through his hair and muttered something under his breath that Viktoria couldn’t quite catch. Something about someone owing someone, perhaps? Viktoria grinned to herself at the mental image of Tegan as a mob boss.

Karolina and Neha relaxed on lounge chairs a good few yards away and pretended not to know any of them. Neha took a long sip of her iced lemonade as she sketched out ideas for a swimwear line while Karolina thumbed through a magazine, protected from the sun’s harsh rays under an umbrella, a very fashionable floppy hat, Guccy sunglasses, and three layers of 100 SPF sunscreen.

Speaking of which… “Did you at least put some sunscreen on?” Viktoria turned and asked Tegan suddenly. He fell silent, then gave her a guilty smile. “That would be a no.” Viktoria sat down beside him and pulled a brightly colored tube out of her tote bag despite Tegan’s protesting.

Axel and Tyler ran by, still screaming at the top of both their lungs as they went right on past Tadashi’s…

“DETENTION DUNGEON,” Viktoria read aloud.

The beach ball must have gotten lost somewhere along the way, as Tyler was now just flailing his arms around above his head as he chased Axel.

Viktoria blinked dumbly. “Huh. Interesting. I guess old habits die hard.” She shook her head and squeezed a generous amount of sunscreen into her palm, then moved to apply it to Tegan’s arm.

Tegan gasped as the cold cream made contact with his uncomfortably warm skin. “You uh, you really don’t have to fuss over me like this...” Viktoria grinned as she slathered it up and down the length of his arm. “Awwh, but I want to, though.” She set to work, watching Tadashi out of the corner of her eye.

Tadashi scooted over to the ‘entrance’ of his detention dungeon, then started drawing what seemed to be some very elaborate puzzles and traps.

Viktoria paused and sat back on her heels, squinting. It was difficult to tell where exactly the sunscreen ended and Tegan’s pale skin began.

“What exactly is Tyler going to do if he catches Axel, anyway?”

Tegan rolled his eyes as the corners of his mouth turned upwards. “Well, you know the four F’s? Axel’s doing one of them right now, and then two out of the three remaining ones are… take your pick.”

Viktoria groaned and smacked her forehead against the armrest of Tegan’s chair. “Tegaaan!” “Viktoriaaaa!” Tegan whined back, matching her tone.

Viktoria raised her head and grinned suddenly as a thought struck her. “Hey, do you think Tadashi would throw people in his detention dungeon for PDA?” Tegan nearly fell out of his chair as he sputtered, barely coherent. “I– What– are you– I mean, he– you mean like–” “Because Ellie and Alistair have been making googly eyes at each other all day,” she continued, seemingly oblivious.

Was that a hint of a genuinely relaxed smile on his face as Tadashi added an extra leg to his manticore? Maybe it was a trick of the light.

Tegan took a deep breath to steady himself and sank further into his seat. “You are going to be the death of me, Viktoria.” He pulled his hood up over his head and covered his face with it, the corner of his glasses getting hooked on the fabric in the process.

“You… have a T-shirt... with a hood attached to it?” Viktoria asked incredulously, eyebrows raised.

Tegan stuck his bottom lip out in an exaggerated pout and crossed his arms, the effect only enhanced by his askew glasses. “Don’t judge me.”

Viktoria smiled as she moved from his left side to his right. “Well, at least it’s on-brand.”

Tegan lifted his hood to pull it back just enough to uncover his eyes and fixed his glasses. “So, what, I’m predictable now? I gotta change things up a bit.”

Viktoria motioned towards Tyler and Axel. “You could go join them, nobody would expect that.” She involuntarily cringed as Axel’s scream went shrill and went just sharp of the high C.

“Ugh, exercise. Never mind, I’ll stick with predictable.”

Tegan rolled his eyes again and wiped the palms of his hands on his shorts. “Lovely weather we’re having,” he said sarcastically.

Viktoria slowly inclined her head. “I don’t want to pry or come across as rude, but…” She trailed off, electing to stare at the crook of his elbow instead of his face. “Why are you out here instead of inside with the sweet, blessed air conditioning if you hate it so much?” She glanced up to gauge his reaction.

Tegan’s mouth twisted to the side as he avoided looking straight at her.

“...An hour of pure torment is paradise if I’m spending it with you.”

Viktoria inhaled sharply. “Tegan, I…”

Oh no, She thought to herself, not emotions and feelings! Not here! Not now!

She racked her brain for a fast and simple way to deflect. “If Axel ever decides to rebrand as darker and edgier, you could totally be his songwriter.”

“Like, what,” Tegan gestured grandly into the air with his arm, “The night sky is dark/just like my soul/and like the full moon/it swallows me whole?” Viktoria squeezed Tegan’s shoulder. “Pure poetry.” Tegan ran a hand through his hair, laughing in disbelief. “I don’t even know what it means!” Viktoria shrugged and shifted her weight. “That’s what makes it so perfect, though. Even if it has no meaning, people will eventually find one, anyway.” Tegan nodded slowly. “Wow. That got deep.”

Just then, Axel and Tyler came running by for the second time and collapsed on the sand, panting heavily.

“I’m,,, never,,, doing,,, that,,, again,,,” Axel gasped, arms wrapped around his middle.

“Me,,, neither,,,” Tyler agreed, nodding weakly as he stared straight up at the crystal blue sky.

“Okay, that dragged on for way too long.” Tegan stretched his arms above his head and let out a satisfied groan as his joints cracked loudly.

Tadashi’s head snapped to attention. “WHO BROUGHT FIREWORKS?!”

“Ooh, Tadpole’s gonna throw you in his detentsand,” Viktoria teased, resting one arm across the back of his chair.

Tegan pointed with his pale, ridiculously slender index finger. “Out. Get out.”

“I just—“ Viktoria started.

Tegan shook his head vigorously. “Nope nope nope, that was too horrible.” His glasses fell off. He retrieved and replaced them as nonchalantly as he could, which was difficult since he dropped them back onto the sand twice during the process.

Viktoria wandered over to the volleyball court, palms turned upwards. “Looks like I’m booted, so–” “Oh, good.” Ellie grabbed her arm. “We need another player to balance the teams, since–” she gestured vigorously at Axel and Tyler, who looked like a couple of stranded fish.

Viktoria grimaced and shied away. “Oh no, I’m terrible at all sports.” Ellie placed her hands on her hips. “Do you run away from the ball when it comes toward you?” Viktoria shuffled her feet, reluctant to answer. “...Yes, except for in dodgeball, because that’s an easy out.”

Ellie groaned and threw her head back. “Well, at least you’re capable of running, so there’s a start.”

Viktoria pursed her lips and cocked her head, crossing her arms behind herself.

“That depends on your definition of running. Because ‘moving as fast as you can, which is still not a lot’, is just about all I can muster.”

Ellie gave her a deep frown. Viktoria didn’t even know that mouths and eyebrows could turn like that before.

Viktoria gave a backward glance at Tegan, who seemed to be doing a decent enough job of entertaining himself on his phone. Little did she know, he was most definitely taking photos of her. Tasteful ones, of course.

“Okay, fine, I’m in. What do we need to do?” Viktoria began stretching, then started pulling her hair into a low ponytail.

Ellie offered her a spare hair tie and clapped her on the back. “Win, of course!” Viktoria’s jaw dropped open, almost cartoonishly. “Against Raquel and Alistair?” She shook her head, eyes wide. “I’m just gonna hold you back, hon. This has ‘bad idea’ written all over it.” 

Alistair looked in their direction and shrugged nonchalantly. “I’m open to switching if you want.” “Tired of winning?” Raquel teased, spinning the ball on the tip of her finger. Viktoria watched enviously.

“Nah, but it sounds like you are.” Alistair chugged a bottle of water, then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “I am very in over my head I’m not competitive at all this isn’t going to end well for me–” Viktoria very much resembled a deer that wandered onto the highway and was now caught in a rapidly approaching car’s headlights.

Claire rose to her feet and carefully stepped over her completed sandcastle and matching sea dragon, dusting the sand off herself.

“I can join in too, if you want? To take the pressure off of it being two vs. two.” She gave her a tentative smile. Viktoria made a noise of appreciation and threw her arm around her shoulders. “You’re the best, Claire.”

Claire pulled her thick hair over her shoulders and smiled down at her feet. “Now we can suck together. Yay?” Viktoria stared at her in shock, then doubled over laughing. “I can’t believe you just said that! You’re not wrong, though!”

Raquel stuck two fingers in her mouth and whistled, one fist in the air. “ALRIGHT, PANSIES! HALFTIME’S OVER! LET’S GOOOO!”

“Y’all are going down!” Ellie bounded over to the other side of the net, game face on.

Alistair placed his hands on his knees and planted his heels in the sand. “In history, maybe!” He hollered back, then to his teammates, “Don’t let them intimidate you, they’re all talk.”

The fire in Raquel’s eyes and the way Ellie pounded her fist into her opposite palm said otherwise.

Claire and Viktoria shared a tight-lipped, ‘we are doomed’ glance.

Claire reached over and weakly touched her fingertips to Viktoria’s. “That’s our team high-five,” she whispered.

“Dream tea–” Viktoria started to whisper back, but was rudely interrupted by Alistair’s shout of “BALL!”

Viktoria flailed her arms outwards. “Ack!”

Claire shielded her face as it headed in her direction. “Eep!” Raquel threw her arm out to the side, palm flat. “OUT!” She called, gleefully.

Viktoria scrunched up her shoulders and reached over to tap fingertips. “Yay, Claire! You got it over!”

Claire returned the gesture, eyes shining. “Dream team!”

#Sweet elite #sweet elite game #sweetelite #sweetelite fanfic #sweetelitegame fanfic #sweetelite fanfiction #sweet elite fanfiction #sweet elite fanfic #se fanfic #se fanfiction #viktoria lin #viktoria #tegan x viktoria #tegan X scholar #Tegan Novák #se tegan #tyler williams #my scholar #se tyler #neha #karolina #se raquel #se ellie #se claire #my writing yee #se alistair #se tadashi #se axel #se main 10

[bean-n-shroob]

The Origami King Review/Opinion

(I sorta hate that it has the word The in it cause when I did impressions or this review, it sounds strangely official)

I’m gonna review but if people don’t want spoilers here’s some Pros and Cons that I felt

Pros:

+ Music is fantastic! I love how the battle theme changes with every area/sub-area you go to.

+ Writing is good, it gets you invested in enough to sorta care. Humor is top notch as expected!

+ Olivia is a sweetheart! I love her so much and how she’s so marveled by everything.

+ Boss Battles are fun to figure and deal with.

+ Finding Toads is actually kinda fun, I enjoy figuring out where they’re hidden

+ Badge system is intriguing if not a bit clunkly put together (sorry, this is suppose to be Pros)

Cons:

- Regular Battles get old quick if puzzles aren’t really your thing and its a bit too easy to just not depend on the coins, thus making them pointless.

- Story sorta flops, it starts strong but then just sorta fizzles and all we got left is... fun experiences (I know this sounds like a Con, but while the experiences are fun, it is disappointing the story sorta flops hard)

- Character Design is very meh. The most well written character can’t save it from its extremely generic design

- But also Olly is not... that well written... so...

- Partners and Vellumentals are kinda under utilized to a disappointing degree (baby steps, baby steps ugh)

Anywho, that’s all my feelings (that I can remember and feel I can say without spoilers)

6.5/10 (I’ll explain the scoring under the cut)

Spoilers Under Cut

Hello and welcome to the Spoiler Bits of this Review/Opinion

Buckle in, this is a long one

Now y’all may be a bit curious as to why, with so much big things (music/writing/bosses/Olivia) being good and so little being bad, why a 6.5/10?

Well, I felt a 7 was too generous and would make people think “Oh, its good!” but a 6 is like “Eh... its mediocre” and a 6.5 is more like a “Its Good, But” and I feel that But is important! I know how this may sound, but TOK could’ve been WAY better and Chapter 2 was an example of how good this game could’ve been!

You know how people always bring up Huey, or the “Morton Leston” joke, or the “I would do things that would raise this game’s rating” line as examples as why Color Splash is actually really good and we’re all in denial?

I feel Chapter 2 will be that for TOK and its all because of Bobby! I like Bobby, I like Bobby a lot! I wish he stuck around! I loved how he and Olivia interacted together and how they formed a bond!

But

I sorta hated how overall useless he was to the action and adventuring. He’s the most useless partner that somehow leaves a deep impression on the player!

He leaves such a deep impression that I don’t think anyone noticed how badly written Professor Toad was! He was such a let down as a follow up to Bobby! And worst of all, he was like way more useful than Bobby! He can dig holes, he can wipe out a whole role of enemies, he has a function outside of battle and story.

Seeing how useful Professor Toad was, sorta put into perspective Bobby and his eventual sacrifice to save Olivia (I told ya this was spoilers). He just dies, in a shockingly emotional moment, giving a speech about how Bomb-Ombs live relatively short lives and are always trying to make the most of it.

Wow... I really wish Chapter 6 didn’t have a segment where you were half hazardly shooting bomb-ombs out of a cannon, cause otherwise, this could’ve been way more impactful!

But it also made it seem like "we can't make Bobby too useful, he's gonna die. So just keep him extremely simple and useless in every other aspect of the adventure, besides story."

I don’t get how TOK started out so strong! The intro and Chapter 1 introduced us to the basic loop how what we’d have to do and how stuff will play out and Chapter 2 took that and showed us how far we could go with this loop and how involved the world will be with this loop!

Only for Chapter 3 to just give up on everything and give us 1 expansive dessert to explore, a very one note partner who doesn’t leave a lasting impression, a boring quest of solving an ancient riddle and a very annoying boss dungeon segment that went on longer than it should’ve! And above all else, a very half-assed excuse for why he won’t be joining your journey! Especially since Chapter 4 doesn’t have a partner!

Chapter 4 feels like an overly-long intermission of Mario n Olivia’s adventure to Chapter 5. Legit the purple streamer of 4 could’ve been the green streamer of 5 and it would only flow just a little bit less smoothly. Chapter 4 has this weird send off to the Vellumentals, with the boss dungeon being a mixture of the last 4 Vellumental chambers you’ve explored. Which feels out of place especially since there’s like 2 more chapters of stuff happening afterwards! And like a thunder elemental like boss fight in 5 but I guess they just couldn’t be bothered to create a Thunder Vellumental fight to tack onto the story and just gave it to this Origami Sumo Bro! Okay!

And then the Bowser Castle segment is right when they decide to get creative with enemy encounters, but only 2 enemy encounters (you can fight these two multiple time if you’re neither a chicken nor annoyed with the battle ring system) but then just stop right after cause Scissor makes cut out soldiers was the only excuse why that happened.

Again... I like TOK, I do. If I didn't, I'd rate it a 4 or 5 outta 10. I'll talk about the good, I will, but lemme just rant about 1 thing first! Its actually 2 rants but its gonna be about 1 topic I'm rather passionate about.

Character Design

I hate how generic the Legion of Stationery are! Once again, Chapter 2 wins by giving Rubber Band a very unique design, but everyone else is so generic looking! Remember how I said the personalities couldn't save them from their generic design? The Legion have such fun personalities, its so tacky and fun! But I cannot get over how it contrasts with the fact I'm staring at an object hoping in place or wiggling or jiggling as they talk! It kinda sucks, honestly!

I wish these guys had more creativity behind them, and truth be told it wouldn't have bothered me had Rubber Band not been an outlier! Why them and not everyone else! Its baffling!

But above all else, the worst offender, is the Origami Craftsman! The dude who folded Olly! Is a TOAD! That's it! A toad in an apron! WHY

And I get it, there's story reason behind it! Olly wants all Toads gone cause they all look alike and thus everyone reminds him of the Craftsman who wrote (a very touching message) on him!

And that SUCKS!

(uh oh, i forgot about Olly and his terrible terrible motive to be evil)

Speaking of Olly! Remember when I said he wasn't well written? Well besides being an evil prick who enjoys messing with the heroes (i dont mind that, evil just to be evil is fine), it sorta randomly just comes up that he hates Toads near the end! It just comes up!

And I THINK it was suppose to be hinted at by the fact all the Toads gets attacked and folded by Paper Macho and Folded Soldiers. But my problem with this is:

1. Would they have been daring as making Folded Toads as enemies? Thus the lack of Folded Toad enemies should've hinted at this

2. The enemies were origami version of Mario enemies! So enemies still being enemies but folded would've just strengthen the fact we'd be fighting bowser minions again, making the previous Toad hint moot.

3. Toads have always been in peril in previous PM games so the fact they're in peril again wouldn't have been a point of interest!

I GUESS the fact Folded Peach specifically asks whether Toads should be silenced could've hinted at this, but people just took it as "hah lol Toads annoying" and not "oh, this villain has a thing against toads~". Its just, who else would the villain have pointed out? There's only Toads here! Maybe if there was a bigger variety of npcs and we saw other npcs either becomes folded soldiers or be spared from the folded attack, we could've wondered "hey, why are only the toads getting stuck in places?"

But we don't!

Anyways, huff! Lemme count all the good, spoilery things in the game (that's not in Chapter 2) to end on a good note

I love how Olivia is so sweet, no one could bring themselves to be mean to her (except Olly), even Kamek has a hard time being mean cause she's so bubbly and caring (except for that weird bit in the forest where Kamek had to be all rivalry about it but I digress)

Bowser backtalking Olly was very funny, I loved it a lot!

The fact Olivia asks Olly to come to his senses before Mario smashed his face with the Olivia hammer (i need to specify this cause otherwise it'll look like Mario interrupted this scene with a hammer smash but no, Olivia fully knew her hammer weight was gonna fall on Olly's face and just gave some last words of pleas before not even letting him respond) I loved that.

I liked how sweet Olivia was to Luigi despite how much he kept screwing up (i forgot to rant about that but tl;dr, he's a bit of a buffoon and its a bit annoying) i thought it was very touching how Olivia kept rooting for him regardless.

The Tape talking like a Gangster was actually really funny, I liked that a lot.

Bowser's pep talk to Olivia was very funny, it was basically "dont be sad, look at me, my muscles are massive and I can punch through walls!"

As jarring as they were, I actually liked a lot of the singing and dancing that occurred through the game.

Olly having his own color scheme for his Vellumental forms was super cool!

The ending was really touching. Olivia wished for all of Olly's creations to be undone, and because you find out in Chapter 4 that she's also a creation of Olly, she is undone too. And they don't spell that out! You just find out she's not around and connect the dots. I think that was very well done.

And these are some of several reasons I liked TOK and why I couldn't rate it lower than 6. It has a lot of things that just doesn't live up to Chapter 2 and its disappointing to realize halfway through that the game peaked in Chapter 2. Its so weird, they showed us how good it can be and then never lives up to the expectationd set by Chapter 2. I wish it did

Thats why I rate it a 6.5/10

#The Origami King Spoilers #The Origami King #review #opinion #mod speaks

[fanarthasmyheart]

Here’s a bit from a one-shot I just posted on AO3, about Draco being forced to face his Boggart (link’s in the source)

At eight o’clock on Thursday evening, Draco left the Slytherin Dungeons for the History of Magic classroom, where he would have to reveal his biggest secret and worst fear to some shady Professor he only just met.

The room was dark and empty when he arrived; Lupin was late, as usual. Draco lit the lamps with his wand and waited.

Five minutes later, Professor Lupin turned up, carrying a large packing case, which he heaved onto Professor Binn’s desk.

‘Another Boggart,’ he said, stripping off his cloak. ‘I’ve been combing the castle ever since Tuesday, and very luckily, I found this one lurking inside Mr Filch’s filing cabinet.

‘Whoop-dee-doo,’ muttered Draco miserably.

Lupin looked sharply at him. ‘You’ll be fine,’ he repeated. ‘You’ve seen your friends do it; I have no doubt you can do it too, and I’m here to back you up.’

Draco scowled and bit his tongue. He had at least six insults ready and that was only from the top of his head, he was sure he could think of more.

Lupin rolled up his sleeves. ‘Did you prepare?’

Draco grabbed his wand so tightly it hurt. He wanted to shake his head and run, but of course he prepared. He couldn’t face this situation unprepared. The problem was, he didn’t really know what to expect.

He had so many fears.

He nodded.

‘Remember,’ said Lupin as he grabbed the lid of the packing case. ‘Whatever comes out: it’s not real. Think of something funny and say Riddikulus! Ready?’

‘Born ready.’

‘One – Two – Three – ’

He pulled the lid off.

Slowly, a messy head with black hair and glasses popped up from the box and began to climb out. His green eyes locked on Draco’s and watched him with pity.

Draco grabbed his wand, but Potter’s face made his voice get stuck in his throat. He had both his feet on the floor now.

‘You like me?’ Potter said – then he snorted.

Bumping into a table, Draco backed away. ‘Ri-rid…’ he mumbled, his wand pointed at the figure – who was not real.

This Harry was taller than the real one, Draco noted. He looked down on Draco with mock compassion, shaking his head. ‘That is so weird.’ He frowned, suddenly looking awkward. ‘I love Cho, you know that, right?’

Draco nodded. ‘Yeah. Of course. I didn’t – I don’t – ’

‘It’s not real!’ someone shouted. ‘Make it funny!’

Funny?

A puzzling frown appeared on Harry’s face. ‘Seriously though, when did I ever give the impression I even remotely like you? Tell me, when?’

Draco was fidgeting with his wand now. ‘Well… No, there was… I mean…’

Harry let out a short, derisive laugh. ‘It did give us all a good laugh, Malfoy. We feel kinda bad for you…’

Draco was pushed to the side. A big white orb appeared in the classroom, and Lupin shouted, ‘Riddikulus!’

Draco was shaking. With a bang, the lid of the box was closed. Potter was gone.  

#margot writes #drarry #one-shot #boggart #this has probably been done but i was indulging myself while being literally hospitalized from one moment to the next #life's insane like that

[luimagines]

Waking Up Next to Him

Masterlist

Set platonically and within the adventure. It’s long so it goes under the cut!

Time

The bright sunlight winked just beyond your eyelids at an blinding angle. Your back was against warm though and was surprisingly comfortable despite the growing ache in your neck. There’s a weight over your shoulder, pinning you in place but doesn’t dig in. A thrown blanket is covering your body and the secret weight, even if half of it has ended up on the forest floor. You’re too tired to think of what the weight can be. All you know is that it’s comfortable and you don’t feel like moving. A heartbeat passes and the solid form on which you lay shifts. 

A groan.

More shifting.

Heat flushes your face slightly as you resign to get up, trying to play the whole cool, once you realize what, or rather who you passed out against.

“Mornin’ Time.”

Your pillow takes a minute to assess the situation.

It’s early, none of the others are up yet. Too tired from the journey the day prior, but the resident chef wakes up the earliest to cook breakfast on time. He’s asleep now but won’t be for long. You thank the stars and your luck that you woke up before him. No pictures for him to take this time.

Time grins, seemingly unbothered by the events and sighs good naturedly. “Good morning.”

Twilight

It was a cold night. They told you it would be. Both your traveling companions and the breeze as you settled with the day’s end.

But you couldn’t have guessed how cold it turned out to be.

Sleep didn’t come easy. Discomfort and shivers kept you awake. Your blankets were warm but not warm enough. At some point, in the middle of the night, you gain the warmth your tired brain was waiting for before drifting off to sleep. 

When you wake, you can’t breath.

Hairs tickle your mouth and nose and there’s a large and heavy being on top of you. At first you think it’s Wind because the shape is much to large to be four but smaller than some of your other companions.

Further analysis and you realize that it’s not hair but fur, that’s threating to enter your lungs and the color of the material seems awfully familiar.

“...Wolfie, I love you but you’re killing me. Get off.” You weakly push the beast away, not coherent enough to move your limbs and piece together how to be a functioning human yet.

The creatures blinks up at you, having just woken up as well and notices your open eyes. A yawn and crushed ribbed where he stepped to get off later and your freedom has been duel earned.

You take a breath of relief and grin, only now noticing the cold with the rising sun to be a little more barrable than the previous night.

“Thanks buddy, you’re a walking heater. I probably would have been a popsicle if it hadn’t been for you.” He nods in acknowledgment and swiftly turns away before you can reach behind his ears to thank him properly.

You look up and see Wild and Time already awake, not talking. Warrior looks to just have woken like you today. Not unusual but welcoming nonetheless. Wind and Sky probably won’t wake up for another hour or two and Hyrule and Four always wake up a little after them. No one knows for sure when Legend will get up because its never consistent and Twilight seems to be missing as well.

The ranch hand emerges from the tree line seconds after you realize he was gone to begin with. He smiles at you and waves in greeting.

You wave back and try to dust the wolf hairs off of your clothes.

You missed Twilight’s subtle smirk.

Warrior

It was a hard fight and not a safe place to stay put but the dungeon left you with little option. Separated from the group and low on provisions and healing items, you and Warrior realize that your both running low on fumes. Taking refuge in a secluded corner, hopefully far away from any potential monsters and threats, you rest.

Waking up is hell.

Sleeping back to back was probably not the best idea but neither of you wanted to risk an ambush. Shifts were supposed to be taken but given that you both fell asleep says something about your energy levels and the previous fights.

Your neck hurts, your legs are sore, your butt and hips are not thanking you for the treatment and everything ache will familiar but expected battle wounds. None major but each one takes its toll.

“You up?” Warrior stands up as if he wasn’t bleeding from the shoulder yesterday and he also didn’t sleep sitting for who knows how many hours.

“I am clearly sitting Captain.” You mutter. “I am not up. I refuse to be up.”

“You know as well as I do that we have to get to the others. What if they need help?”

“I’d argue we need the help. Everything hurts. We have no fairies and there’s more dungeon ahead of us with obviously more enemies and traps and puzzles...” The puzzles... were the worst. “Just five more minutes....Please?”

Warrior says your name in a way a tired mother tries to get her stubborn child to listen to reason. His face twists at the idea and when he attempts to look over his shoulder to check your surroundings, it instead contorts in a pained grimace.

So his shoulder pain was still there after all.

“Fine. Five minutes.”

Sky

As expected, Sky goes down for the count within the first few minutes of the mandated lunch break. Unfortunately after a rumble or two and strange smoke coming from the distance that decidedly wasn’t there when you first arrived, the group decided to investigate.

Legend goes to shake Sky’s shoulder in an attempt to wake him but it’s all in vain.

Sticks are drawn after a long and loud argument about what to do and yours in the shortest.

Everyone else goes to check out the commotion and you are stuck with babysitting duty. It’s not bad all things considered- he’s asleep- no actual babysitting happening. But part of you can help but grumble about missing the action so you sit non too gently next to him and decidedly not pout.

Your stomach is full and the sun light begins to feel heavy and warm and nice.

Your eyes close before you can fight it.

Some time later, you’re shaken awake. Adrenaline fills your system instantly but upon seeing the laughing face of Sky himself, you remember yourself and only marginally resist the urge punch him.

“Feel better?” You ask instead.

“I could ask you the same thing.” He chuckles and points to his chin.

You wipe across the area and your hands comes back wet, cold and covered in drool. 

“You saw nothing.”

“Oh sure, but Wind did.”

Great.

Now it’s on his pictobox. That’s blackmail material in his favor, you suppose and refuse to acknowledge it further.

Wild

When you wake up, it’s still dark. Not even close to sunrise.

The fire burns bright and warm throughout the area but it’s not the fire that’s keeping you warm.

You also find out you can’t move.

You crane your head slightly to find long hair draped over your shoulder and a familiar scarred ear belonging to the resident champion.

He wrapped around you completely, hugging you tightly and pining you down with a leg to boot. 

You attempt to shimmy out but his grip tightens instead.

You sighed and watch as Twilight comes into view. He crouches closer and squats on Wild’s side, whispering to you. “Do you need help getting out? I can wake him to take over Hyrule’s shift for the night.”

You take a minute to rethink about your position. It’s not painful. The opposite actually. It feel nice. You’ve seen Wild cling to who ever he can get his hands on when he sleeps so you’re not surprise. 

You don’t need to pee or leave anytime soon anyway.

“No, I think I’m good actually.” You reply, whispering as well. “Let him sleep, it’s been a day for everyone.”

Twilight nods and leaves, but not without looking back once or twice in case you changed your mind.

You shimmy back in place and allow yourself to be held by your friend. 

Sleep comes easier this time.

Hyrule

Gentle fingers card through your hair. Warmth, magic and the unusual feeling of safety plague your mind. Confusion hits you but the alarm that typically follows never comes.

“Oh thank goodness, you’re awake.” A voice fills your ears. It’s muffled and must have been quiet to begin with because you can’t make out who said it yet. 

Organizing your thoughts feels like traveling through knee high mud.

Your eyes blink open and the light comes through.

The Traveler is leaning over you, thankfully blocking out most of the sun from immediately assaulting you. 

“Hyrule?”

“You had us worried for a minute.” He visually sags with relief, a tired smile on his face and leans back. “You took quite a hit.”

Your head feels swollen but as Hyrule continues to push your hair back it dissipates as time passes. Your thoughts clear and with his help, you sit up.

A hand places itself by your temple. It takes a half second before you realize it’s yours.

It comes back covered in dried blood.

Sky runs over after tending to Four with what looks like a bloodied wet cloth. He sits down slowly and begins to clean your head in a familiar fashion.

“Thank you. Both of you.” You tired voice comes through and a worn out smile follows soon after.

“Anytime.”

Wind

It’s nice day. 

According to some people.

Dark clouds cover the sky, the sun nowhere to be seen. It pours cats and dogs and the only cover for miles is a lone cave where your group currently takes up residence. Everyone’s wet and your clothes feel heavy and cold. No one is happy. 

Wild, Twilight and Legend dive deeper, intending to check out if any monsters reside in the cave.

Hyrule insisted on traveling with them but Warrior’s concussion and Time’s bleeding leg call for further attention and Legend claims to have more magic restorative potions than healing potions.

He stays behind.

Four and Sky take over the food while he’s distracted, trying to make a half decent meal before he intervenes.

Wind is groaning, sore and bored but otherwise unharmed.

You don’t make any comments at your own pain, biting your tongue and taking a deep breath. As you lean against the stone wall, Wind stomps up next to you and sits down with purpose.

“I could’ve gone with them.” He slams his fist into his cheek with his elbow on his knee.

“But you didn’t. It’s not so bad.” You said.

“They didn’t want me to go.”

“You’ll live.”

“I’m just as good as them you know.”

“I know and you make a better pillow.” You says, throwing yourself sideways with your head landing on his lap. He squawks indignantly and attempts to push you off but you hold on. “Sorry, you make the best pillow.”

“NOOOO!”

“YEEEESSS!”

“Nooooo.” Wind keeps his hands on your back but you’ve misjudged your exhaustion. You’re out in seconds.

A moment passes.

“Hey, hey, hey.... wake up. You have to eat.” A small hand shakes your shoulder.

“Hm?” You blinked tiredly. There’s a bowl if front of your face and you don’t hesitate to grab it. “Thanks.”

“You’re heavy.” A voice calls from behind. The owner lets you take the bowl and begins to gently push you off into a sitting position. “I can’t believe you did that.”

“It was supposed to be a joke but thanks for letting me sleep.” You admit and smile at the pirate. 

“You trapped me.” He pokes your side, trying to look annoyed but falling flat. There’s a joke in there somewhere. You’re missing something.

The others have come back while you were out of it, all either have hidden smiles or failing to hide their shaking shoulders and snickers.

Curious and a little self conscious you looks into the provided meal, your reflection greeting you as always.

A lightbulb goes off over your head.

“DID YOU DRAW ON MY FACE?!”

Four

There’s a force dragging you down but there’s two arms under you.

It’s very concerning for a moment but then....the size of them catches up to you.

Your head snaps up and comes face to face with a very surprised Four.

“Hello.”

“...Hi.”

“Lovely weather we’re having, don’t you think?””

“You’re leading with that?” Four snorts and continues walking, unbothered by your weight in his arms.

“How...?” You trail off trying to find the right words to explain what happening to you. You don’t feel any pain and nothing feels injured....but the lack of memories is a little concerning.

“How am I holding you?” Four smirks as he guesses incorrectly. “I’m stronger than I look.”

“I was going to ask how did I fall unconscious. I don’t remember anything. I’m more surprised by that than the fact that you’re holding me despite being half my size.” You blinked and try to keeping searching through your memory.

Nothing comes up.

“Wizrobe.” Four answers causally with a shrug. “It caused some chaos, fought another wizrobe and you got caught in the cross fire between the two of them before we could intervene. Their attacks canceled each other out well enough that you weren’t actually injured but uhh..... Well I suppose you’ll figure it out sooner or later.”

“Four.” You glare in warning.

“Maybe don’t look at your reflection for a while. Legend, Twilight and Hyrule all agree that it’ll fade with time but...”

“What are you talking about? What happened to me?” You sit up a little in his grip, Your arm reach over his shoulders and something wrong catches your eyes.

Your skin is green.

Your shocked silence stills your entire body. Four winces once he follows your eye line and stops to place you on your own feet.

“It could be worse?”

You stare a little while longer and look back to Four with hopeful eyes. “Think you can knock me out again?

He’s not amused.

Legend

You blissfully wake up for the first time in a week. 

It’s been an easy week in terms of travel and attacks so the boys take it upon themselves to cause trouble and it hasn’t been merciful to your sleep schedule.

They are the very incarnation of that thing your hometown friend used to say. How did it go again? If there’s no trouble then I’ll create it? Something along those lines.

But this is different and you don’t plan on wasting it.

You close your eyes and attempt to go back to sleep while you can but hushed voices reached your ears, keeping you awake before you can tune them out.

“Should we wake them?”

“You know how Legend is. He can be as bad as Sky and he had a rough night to boot.”

“But he’s right on top of them and they promised to show me how to fight in hand to hand combat.”

“You have all day for that and they didn’t say it was going to be today.”

“But I‘m excited! I want to start as soon as possible.”

“Will you idiots keep it down?” A voice by your shoulder speaks up. It lacks the usual snark it posses but the intention for venom is there. “Some people took double shifts last night. Shut up.”

You breath a small sigh of relief as the voices abruptly cut off and don’t return for a long minute.

The body next to you stills.

Three heartbeats pass and the unnoticed weight gets off of you.

You pretend to be asleep still, not wanting him to push you away so early in your relationship. He’s just started to get used to you.

You’re determined to be his friend before everything ends.

He’s determined to avoid that.

It’s been a battle of wills.

An unstoppable force meets an unmovable object.

But this could tip the scales in his favor if you fail to play it off correctly.

“No one say anything.” Legend hisses. “Not. One. Word.”

You make the mistake of stretching. 

“You’re up! You’re up! You’re up!” Wind practically pounces on you, knocking his name sake out of your lungs and demolishing any chances for a peaceful morning. “We can start now!”

“Can I eat first at least?” You groan out, not bothering to fight him off.

“Wind. Off.” Time calls out and the boy follows the command without question. He quickly kneels by your side though, practically vibrating on the spot.

You sit up and look around.

Looks like you were the last one up.

“Morning everybody.” You smile. You glance at Legend who unluckily has the tips of his ears tinted red. His arms are crossed and he’s avoiding looking at you, even greeting you as the rest of the group return your call.

You smirk. “Good morning Legend. Did you sleep well?”

He huffs and turns away completely, taking a few steps to leave.

You get to your feet, shadowed by Wind and head to take your share of the food from Wild.

A beat passes without any words exchanged and you tilted your head innocently at the Veteran. You refuse to let it be awkward between you so you pretend you know nothing.

The blush travels down his ears to his face and neck. “I did. Thanks for asking.”

#linked universe #linkeduniverse #linked universe x reader #this one is a long one #but they're all going to be like this #when I started this I thought I would be biased #and it would easy to tell who were my favoites #but I was pleasantly surprised. by the end

[bluejaytaco]

More DND with Jay

(Because Jay has a problem)

After the “Death” of Ticket Master, his sword popped out a new god; Task Master. He’s basically a really whiny Mr. Poopybutthole and is super jazzed to be promoted into this position. Apparently, it’s the position he wanted.

Because of the situation we were in, he marked us all with a bracelet so he could keep track of all of us. With the exception of Koejin, who was able to move in time to keep the bracelet off her. When Koejin refused to put it on, Hennessy was able to convince him that Koejin would be a loyal follower. Task Master kinda shrugged it off and just stated he would be able to see through her eyes when she lied anyway.

Task Master then opened up two portals back to the mortal world; one from where we left off and the second to where we were heading. Where we were heading was being demolished by a giant worm (General Purple) and Mrs. Red.

But there was still unfinished business in the tunnels. Wreybar’s entire family was down there and so was Art’s sister. We ended up splitting the party.

Hennessy, who went into the tunnels with us, wasn’t happy when he found out (he headed through first)

Hennessy: (angry sputtering)

Art: Hennessy, it’s okay. Just... stay calm. We’ll see them when we get out of here.

Art’s hand: (Forms a mouth and speaks in Ticket Master’s voice) Yes, Hennessy, stay calm.

Art: (Stares at his hand) The fuck?! How?! What?!?!

Ticket Master: Well, I needed a way to communicate with you. So, I accessed your hand as it... what’s that?

Art: What’s what?

Ticket Master: That! On your wrist! Take it off!

Art: (Tries to take off the bracelet only to have it stay right where it was) yeah, no can do, bud.

Ticket Master: No, you have to remove it! Hennessy! Do something! Use magic! Get rid of it!

Hennessy: uhhh...(studies the bracelet for a moment) um...(pulls out a cloth and ties it around Art’s hand, gagging Ticket Master)

Ticket Master: Mmmphh!

Art: (fake innocent look at the hand) Is that better?

Hennessy: I just... don’t have the energy to deal with him right now....

-

(Later, further in the dungeon)

DM: So you guys come to a door that’s slightly ajar.

Me: Okay, I peak my head in all stealthy-like. (Pretty high Stealth roll)

DM: Alright, Art. So you look in and see a large, dim room with a chest in the center. Sitting on top is a goblin who hasn’t noticed you yet. On the far side is a glass room with another opening only big enough for Wreybar.

Me: Is the room bright enough for Hennessy to see?

DM: Yeah, no need for darkvision.

Art: (Relays this info to the rest of the group.)

Everyone: (Walks in and alerts the goblin to their presence.)

Goblin: (Starts shouting at them. Only Hennessy understands him)

Hennessy starts talking to the goblin and finds out his name is Robert Lin. He’s sitting on the chest because something in it tried to bite his hand off. Hector was the reason for him being stuck there. (Hector’s been trying to lead us into situations that would kill us for a while now.)

Art: Hey, wouldn’t it be funny if there was a little mimic inside the chest?

Alabaster: Seems rather redundant.

Art: Just saying it be funny.

Wreybar goes into the room and finds a book of monsters. Hennessy looks inside it and finds some pages are worn, along side a bookmark that says “this is what is in the chest.” We come down to three different creatures. Blue slime, tiny blue dragons, and water.

Chest: (speaking draconic)

Everyone: Yep, dragons. Definitely dragons...

Hector: We could just leave him here and keep going. You know, there’s a really cool statue in the other room with glowing red eyes. We should check it out. Any takers?

Everyone: (Silently glaring at him)

Hector: Guess not.

Hennessy: Maybe you should tell us about why you left our friend here on a chest and we might consider listening to you.

Hector: I don’t need to tell you anything. You don’t have that skeleton with you anymore. (Note: Skelly went with the other team.)

Art, fed up and pissed off now: Alright, look. You have managed to piss off everyone here in one way or another. Now, what you’re going to do is shut your mouth until we speak to you and answer all of our questions, or I’m going to make you wish it was Skelly here!

Hector: (Begins to do a mocking impression of Art)

Art: (Rolls extremely high on intimidation)

DM:  Art, as you’re shouting at Hector, the air around you begins to heat up and crackle. You begin to glow a little and, as Hector looks up at you, he is struck by fear. The black eyed glare, the horns, the heat, it’s all a perfect terrifying picture. He’s so scared, in fact, that he passes out from fear.

Art:....shit. (smacks him a few times in attempt to wake him up. he doesn’t move.) uhhh, whoops.... hm...

(Art then proceeds to move Hector to safe places and make sure he doesn’t die. After that, he agrees to the idea of their new goblin buddy dragging him around with a rope. No one else cares about whether Hector lives or dies. Art’s motives and mind confuse even me sometimes...)

-

(Next room has an old mining type rail with a curtain leading into a long, dark, void-like hallway. The void is described to be something very Ticket Master-y.)

Art: (takes the wrapping off his hand.)

Ticket Master: Bleh! Ugh! Hennessy! What is that, your dirty laundry?! Ugh... Hello...

Art: Hey, uh, just a quick question. Do you know anything about this room?

Ticket Master:..... I’ll need to have a better look. Put your hand out.

Art: (does that)

Ticket Master: ....Okay, now bring me back.

Art: (does that too.)

Ticket Master: Art, do you see any eyes here?! I have no idea what fucking room you’re talking about!

(DM: Ticket Master isn’t at all his cool self. You can hear the frustration in his tone which is completely new to you.

Me: Yeah. Honestly it’s kinda nice.)

Art, sighing: Okay. It’s a room with a mining rail. Ring any bells? Figured you’d know considering you were down here before us.

Ticket Master: Oh you figured as much? Well, I still have no idea....

Art: Ah, okay. It was worth a shot. So on goes the gag again.

Ticket Master: No, wait! (Art reapplies the cloth) Mrrrph!

- 

(We go down the rails and see that it’s a presentation talking about the generals, all of it hosted by Mrs. Red. It fast forwards at certain points, but then stops towards the end to play about Purple.)

Red: And then we have my good friend, Purple. He can turn into literally anything and use its abilities to his full advantage. He’s unstoppable. So, my suggestion to you? Jump into the void. There, you can be brought back to your lives with no memories of this. Simple, easy, quick.

Hennessy: Clearly, this is some pre-recorded message.

Art: Has to be.

Red: Oh, Hennessy, is it so clear? And it ‘has to be,’ Art?

Alabaster: How is this possible? We saw you on the back of the giant worm in Althori!

Hennessy: After being stabbed by Eltbalm.

DM: Hennessy, (After rolling Arcana) you remember reading about this type of magic. It’s a projection of a person’s mind. So, that really is Red in front of you.

Red: Yes, thank you for that. Speaking of which, could you tell me how that’s possible?

Art: We could.

Red:.... (impatiently waiting for an explanation Art won’t deliver. ((Art is soooo dead when she gets her hands on him.)))

Alabaster: ....It was a gift.... for you...

Hennessy: Either way, we must move on, for now. Time to continue on our quest to stop you. (climbs out of the car.)

Art: See you soon, Red. (follows after Hennessy and Alabaster)

Red: One more thing. Tell that tentacle monstrosity you call Ticket Master that I’m coming for him. And I’ll take great pleasure in killing him.

Art: Yeah... good luck with that one... 

(Everyone heads out of the room.)

-

(We all head into a new room with a new puzzle having to do with statues of Mrs. Red. But then, a large projection plays on the wall and shows Koejin looking at us in confusion. On her end, it’s a random floating rock. A homebrew move Alabaster has is Pelor Message. It works like Message but with no distance limit. However, he can only message poeple who are either followers of Pelor or supporters of the belief. Koejin’s a supporter.)

Alabaster: Hello, Koejin! We seem to be able to see you!

Koejin: Wait. Are you guys in the floating rock?! (pokes it)

Art: Hey, do me a favor and yell at her for poking strange magical objects. (for context: Koejin has stopped Art from poking at magical items about three times already. She’s literally kept him alive in most cases.)

Alabaster: Art would like to chasitise you for touching unknown magical artifacts.

Koejin: Psh, it’s fiiiiiine. But, Alabaster! Look who we ran into! (Koejin pulls an elf over into view and points at him. It’s Alabaster’s brother.)

Alabaster: (overjoyed rambling)

Art, leaning over to Hennessy: Not to be racist but.... doesn’t that guy look an awful lot like Alabaster? (Koejin’s player: That’s what I said!!)

Ticket Master: Mrph frph! 

Art: (taking off the cloth again) Yeah, what’s up?

Ticket Master: Ugh, that thing’s disgusting!

Art:...Did you just want to be able to speak?

Ticket Master: Is that such a crime?

Alabaster:... Oh, yes... A new development; Ticket Master is also still around. Art’s hand has formed a mouth.

Koejin: Ugh.... really?

(It was around here that our side ran out of time and we transitioned into what was going on with the giant worm destroying the town. Also had to end early because my connection kept fucking up....)

#adventures of art the bard #dnd #tiefling #dnd bard #dnd wizard #dnd cleric #dnd barbarian #dnd homebrew #Koejin also almost died in this session but Art isn't supposed to know that #I was able to stay for the other session but it was a shit connection #shut up jay

[drjackandmissjo]

firewhisky on ice, sunset and vine

you’ve ruined my life by not being mine

Chapter 6— previous chapter — next chapter

Harry Potter fics Masterlist

They were once again in their original compartment, the one they shared all the way back during their first ever ride on the Express.

In the past few years, under Pansy’s suggestion, they had moved to more populated carriages, not remaining locked in their little booth, to have the opportunity to mingle with other students, yet after the incident between Draco and Saint Potter, they had decided a more secluded area was in order.

And there they were, Draco and Theo and Pansy and him, just as old time. Crabble and Goyle were in the nearby compartment, as if they were guard dogs waiting to be fetched, which wasn’t a far approximation of both their use and bestial nature, considering how they behaved. The rest of their housemates were scattered all over the Express, but in that little moment of time and space they were alone, far away from prying eyes and from tall Gryffindor idiots.

He had managed to avoid seeing him, back at the station, but Blaise had failed miserably at keeping him out of his mind during the holidays: his mother had bombarded him with thousand different questions about the ‘mysterious boy’ that had snagged his heart and hadn’t stopped meddling during their entire stay at his grandparents’; each one of his aunts and uncles and distant cousins kept on asking about his relationship status, twisting their noses whenever he replied, disapproving of the lack of a ‘nice pureblood girl in his life’, to which he simply had to politely smile to prevent himself from doing something irrational and idiotic; he had found himself asking his grandmother suggestions on how to tend plants, with the sole purpose of using them to then impress the useless plant-head.

At King’s Cross, he had sprinted as soon as he saw his friends, ignoring everyone else and focusing on Pansy, who was in the midst of telling Theo about her newest achievement, in the form of a freshly out of Beauxbatons boy who was doing an internship at the Ministry.

He didn’t know why, but he dreaded his next encounter with Longbottom. He had brought a plant from his grandmother’s garden and was planning on giving it to him during their next study session together, alone and in the privacy of the empty classroom they used, and he had already rehearsed several times in his mind the speech he was going to give to the Gryffindor, to excuse his foolishly romantic behaviour and masquerade his uncharacteristic affection and attachment. Yet he feared immensely an unscripted encounter, conscious that his brain didn’t work at his maximum potential around the tall idiot.

It had been quite an effort, the one he constantly had to make to concentrate in Transfiguration class whenever he decided to tap his fingers over the desk or whenever he bit his thumb when he focused on something he didn’t understand. During their private sessions, it was even worse: Longbottom would usually loosen his tie, roll up his sleeves and put a pencil behind his ear whenever it was his turn to explain something, and Blaise’s brain immediately went blank and dead for several moments, his only thought being incomprehensible blabber about biceps and forearms.

Overall, Blaise Zabini was whipped, not entirely in a bad way, but couldn’t be seen acting smitten. Especially not over a boy. Clearly not over a Gryffindor.

He focused his attention once more to his small group of friends: Theo was reading a trashy wizarding romance novel about a witch and a half-blood that, based on the plot, sounded too much like a wizarding version of Wuthering Heights, yet Theo entranced and captivated by the story, unaware of the Muggle origin of it, based on the time of release; Draco was poetically staring off the window into the vast [ic1] and immeasurable space that could be seen from the window, lost in his problems, mostly Death Eater related; Pansy was filing her nails, mindlessly nodding her head to a song that was playing in her head and remained stuck there for the foreseeable future.

“I gotta tell you something” he blurted out, without really thinking about the course of action he wanted to follow. He knew, deep down, that they would accept him no matter what, but the little anxious voice in the back of his head still whispered frightened.

They all turned to him, each with a puzzled look, stopping whatever they were doing to give him the attention he deserved.

It was an unofficial rule, never once discussed yet always respected, between the four of them to constantly listen to each other’s rambles and problems. It had been done when Theo’s father pressured him into learning Divination, when Pansy’s first time happened in a dark corner of the Slytherin dungeons with a sixth year boy while she was still in her third, and, of course, when Draco came back from the Summer vacations with a new tattoo and a burden on his shoulders. While he never truly admitted what he’d have to do for the Dark Lord, the other three still leant their ears to the blonde’s panicked whispers.

And they were all returning the favour now.

“No turning back, brace yourself and do it” his mind told him. He was a Pure-blooded Slytherin, on top of his classes and better than any of them, and if they had a problem with him being himself they could’ve shoved their heads up their arses even further than they already were.

“I don’t know if you’ve ever wondered or not, about why I don’t keep girls around for more than a public appearance or just for a couple of weeks” he began, hoping for once to be able to fulfil his speech as he had imagined it in his head.

As it could’ve been predicted, he was immediately interrupted by the monotonous voice of Theo, who simply went back to his book while saying: “Not our place if you wanna shag one different chick each week.” Then as if in an afterthought, he raised his head once again, staring into the distance with clouded eyes, and whispered: “They sure as hell about to fall over you, the wee girls chasing your attention as Nifflers with gold.” He had been reading one too many trashy romance novels for Blaise’s likings and now imagined love stories and escapades everywhere. Just before leaving for the holidays he had admitted of ‘having a feeling with his seer powers’ that Thomas and the Fire Kid were snogging on a daily basis, which left Blaise speechless while the others laughed.

“Are you trying to say that Blaise’s a heartthrob?” asked Draco, almost offended at the idea that he was less desirable than his friend. Pansy then intervened in the situation, leaning in before conspiratorially claiming: “Girls in the bathrooms talk, you know? Many do when they think no one’s there to listen, but Millicent heard that Romilda Vane, that hideous bitch, might be trying to sneak some Amortensia into either Saint Potter’s or Blaise’s cup!” That was an interesting news indeed, that side-tracked the conversation and also derailed Blaise from his train of thought; “Rule number seven: a possible poisoning should always be avoided, unless it was planned.” “Might be a miracle if she even knew how to brew tea, let alone perform correctly all the steps to properly do the potion” commented Draco, tilting back on his seat and folding his arms while sporting an insufferable smirk on his lips. “How’d you know? You never pay attention to classes anymore!” asked an affronted Theo, who was constantly complaining about the lack of response from the blonde prefect, but rarely mentioned it whenever Draco was near: Blaise had a feeling he partially knew what their friend had to do, since his parents were once again on the previous path, but he also never confirmed nor commented the situation.

“So does Pansy!” yelled outragedly the blonde, trying futilely to defend himself, despite the true words that just had been spoken. In the past few months, his attention span had drastically declined and now even teachers had started to realize it, which meant fewer House Points than intended. Which gave Blaise constant headaches[ic2] . The she-devil then turned to his friend, a dissatisfied expression on her face: “That’s different, I never paid attention to anything other than Charms, cause everything else’s boring and useless to me, you on the other hand…”. That was a trite topic that could go on and on for weeks. Blaise had his out, his one chance to have them forget he even started the discussion, which would last the remaining train ride for certain.

Yet he didn’t want to go back in hiding his true nature with them and, since he desperately wanted thing to move and work with Longbottom, if he turned out to be a fellow as well, he might’ve used Pansy’s help to woo finally the Gryffindor and Theo and Draco’s discretion if thing really got going.

It most definitely was a ‘Now or never’ type of situation.

“I’m into boys” he admitted quietly, partially drowned by the sounds of his friend’s argument, yet they all perfectly heard him.

The following silence was morbid and sickening, with Blaise looking out of the window with his wand in position to cast a protecting charm over himself. “Rule number five: better safe than sorry.”

Tentatively, as if handling a porcelain doll, Pansy moved forward, placing softly a hand on his and whispering: “Are you certain?”

“Sweet Salazar, Pansy, of course he’s certain, what kind of fudged up question is that?!” Theo exploded, throwing his hands in the air and watching the girl as if she had grown two extra heads, and now looked like the dog their current Professor of Care had during their first year.

Blaise had always been curious about how they had managed to fit such a large creature inside the third floor corridor, but still had no explanation. His most quoted guess would be a shrinking spell firstly and then a second enlarging one, probably performed by either Dumbledore or Flitwick, for sure. Hagrid, although he was a great and passionate professor, didn’t strike as the master of form changing and fitting charms, although he could clearly impress and surprise.

His overturning trail of thoughts was once again shifted back into the conversation at hand, instead of being let to free float in a very Pindaric [ic3] style, by the curious voice of Draco Malfoy: “Why you’re not cursing?” he asked, tone dripping disbelief, that now Blaise shared as well. Pansy was also looking at their fellow housemate as if she intended to solve the mystery before her, clearly having forgotten what spun their conversation in the first place.

Theo, on his own, merely shrugged, “Gave it up until the Spring break in a bet with my cousin, she’s from Durmstrang and won’t drink alcohol, the loser gets kicked of the Easter feast and doesn’t get the food.” The explanation was short and concise, typically in Nott style: “If it can’t be said in one sentence only, it’s not worth it” was his life motto, which was an interesting perspective in life, yet became complicated when asked to write a three feet parchment long essay, while the Slytherin in question could only master a very poetic “The Wound-Cleaning Potion is a potion used to clean cuts and other open wounds.” Needless to say, many nights were spent begging Theodore Nott to just write four more sentences cause Professor Snape wanted more than a simple “It’s used by healers.”

They all managed to convince him to be marginally less crisp only after reading out loud the works of Crabble or Goyle, which sounded too much like his own for his liking, which lead to the domino effect of a two and a half feet piece.

“Weird shit you pulled, you started it?” asked Pansy, incredibly suspicious and folding her legs under her body, a cat ready to pounce. “Grandma’s work, she casted a spell on us to check it and if we remove it we lose” he admitted, sounding excited and vengeful at the same time. While his grandmother had probably meant it as a meaning to have a peaceful evening, she did not keep in count the sheer ambition her grandchild had. Knowing Theo, this little challenge would keep on going until the last day, or until he won. He was too headstrong not to finish it with first place, whichever prize might be coming, it was the pure conscience of being first that would keep him warm during cold nights. “So, you rash-holes gotta keep your fudging mouths clean around me or I’ll lose my shirt” he then added, pointing his finger at all the three remaining people and throwing his best glance their way.

“That fucking sucks ass, Theo. So fucking sorry” exclaimed Pansy, fretting hurt and exaggeration, mocking him with every breath she took. “You’re a bench, Parkinson, and you should definitely caramelize yourself!” “Theo! You kiss your grandma with that mouth?” intervened Draco, placing a hand over his heart and pulling an incredulous face, scandalized and amused.

Once again, for the billionth time, the topic had switched and Blaise could feel his newly headache spread. He had a half thought of leaving the compartment to jump over the train and simply lay there, but decided to try one more time to get on top of the issue: “GUYS! Can we please focus here for once? I just told you I’m gay and I’m slightly uncomfortable not knowing whether you’ll hex me or I’ll have to kill you first” he said, staring at each of his friends dead and emotionless in the eyes.

“You would never kill us, Blaise” commented a very relaxed Draco, comfortable in his position. He was so dead wrong, or plain dead, depending on which came first. “Try me bitch. I had to study bloody herbs on my own cause of you so I’m already murderous.” He seemed visibly shocked by that, “Oh, yeah, sorry mate, how’s it going?” he asked, probably genuinely curious. “Pretty well actually, turns out it’s actually fun and…. Hey, back to the main side, what’s it gonna be, stronzetti?” Blaise all but yelled, losing his patience. It was an actual miracle that he had managed to keep up with them for that long: screw Potter, he should be assigned holiness, or at least a martyrdom, for his years spent in suffering.

“Well, that’s easy: I personally don’t care and as long as nobody” Theo began, pointedly looking at all his friends in the eye and not just at Blaise, “trickles nobody on my bed I’m chill with whatever.” Blaise took a breath of relief, his shoulders sagging a little as he felt all his tension leave his body. “One down, two more to go.”

“When you say trickles you actually mean fucking or a general shagging?” asked Draco, tilting his head forward with an unreadable expression he always used when playing with his friends. Not many saw this side of the blonde, the joyous and rascal version, reserved to his closest circle only. He had the best one liners, for certain, and used sarcasm and humour at every possible occasion.

More than once, Blaine had to hex him whenever he started punning, cause once it had begun, he never stopped willingly.

Theo leant forward as well, eye to eye with the blonde with a murderous look on his face: “Malfoy, you keep your hands off my property or I’ll chop them off clean, but as a general rule don’t get on my bed or I’ll burn our dormitory down.”

Pyromania was a serious issue of Theo’s, which was the main reason why he was on speaking terms with the Fire Kid from Gryffindor, which as a downside meant endless teasing from the rest of his house. Despite it all, their unlikely friendship was solid and dangerous, with one accidentally sending things on fire and the other purposefully letting it all burn. “I’d do it if I was you, mate. Who knows who did whom before you took the room” Pansy intervened, reclining back into her seat and picking up her nail filer once again, starting back to where she got interrupted. “THANK YOU FOR THE IMAGERY PARKINSON!” Theo yelled, bolting up on his feet and thundering over the compartment. Raising a hand to pass through his hair, he gave out a huffed breath and opened the door to the corridor, “Imma go and claw my eyes out excuse me” he proclaimed, before hastily exiting and loudly closing the door with a sound that reverberated the entire train, probably.

The remaining trio burst out laughing immediately, Pansy and Draco falling onto each other as Blaise wiped tears off of his eyes. “Merlin, He’s so sensitive!” he commented once his chuckles had quieted down and as his breathing returned evenly. He then closed his eyes, savouring the moment as an eventual calm before a tumultuous storm: “What about you two?” he asked, returning to seriousness.

Pansy looked at him softly, before shrugging and returning back to her task, “I’ve had my suspicions but kept quiet cause.” Then, in an afterthought, she pointed her filer at Blaise’s chest and conspiratorially added: “Hope you know we’re gonna talk about it in private, just the two of us, also just cause I may have already someone to set you up with.”

Blaise chuckled at that, already conscious that the action might be immensely futile but touched by the feeling nevertheless. “Draco?” he asked boldly, turning fully toward the friend that had been keeping silent about the matter. Despite Blaise’s suspicions, it was not his place to say anything about the other boy, but an acceptance would’ve been gladly welcomed still.

“I’ve have too much on my own plate to deal with this as well but” he began, messing up his non-gelled hair as if to pull the words out of his brain directly, “I’m cool, mate. As Theo said, don’t fuck anyone on my bed” he finished with a wicked smile and a wink. What was the wink for, Blaise had no idea, but he warmed up at the sentiment nonetheless. “Not gonna be a problem, trust me” he admitted smirking: even if things were smooth with a certain boy, he still would be extremely hesitant of bringing anyone of the same species further than the common room, and even then he couldn’t exactly bring a Gryffindor there! “Why not? Are you ashamed of us or something?” asked Draco, offended and wounded at the idea, at which Blaise could only reply with a huffed out laugh and a shake of his head, “That’s one way of putting it.”

Draco turned expectantly at Pansy, who just looked him sternly in the eyes before deadpanning: “Your room smells like flowers and douche deodorant, no one with an ounce of self-respect will ever bring a date to shag there” she claimed, with great reasons, before returning to her nails. Crabble and Goyle had an unhealthy lack of familiarity with personal hygiene, which meant that the remaining occupants of the dormitory had to constantly keep the windows open or, during the winter, spray the room with whatever substance strong enough to hide the odour of musk. “Speak for yourself, Millicent’s cat’s always stinks worse than death itself!” outragedly cried Malfoy, desperately trying to defend his wounded honour for some reason unknown to Blaise, who simply stood back and enjoyed the scene. “Which is why he’s not allowed in the room, we keep him on the doormat, asshole” venomously rebutted Pansy, raising her filer in the air and vehemently threatening the blonde.

“Isn’t that poor creature already been through enough?” “Quiet Zabini, he chewed on my favourite pair of shoes and they were expensive” she replied immediately through gritted teeth, without lowering her makeshift weapon nor detaching her eyes from her prey. “We all come from powerful and rich Pure-blood families and are talented wizards, couldn’t you just use reparo?” snorted Draco, slowly and unperceptively leaning backwards and far away from the witch. Pansy simply drew closer, fury in her eyes, “First of all, that’s not the point. Second, they were bloody Louboutin and even with the spell they still had something missing and I’m still salty about it” she said, punctuating each word with a blow with her bludgeon, which caused the blonde to wince in pain.

The scene was comedic and truly heart-warming, but it was interrupted by Theo’s head, which poked from the newly opened door: “We’re there, guys, move your sugar plum behinds” he said entering, shifting the pair of bickering idiots to take out his coat.

Blaise felt better than he had in weeks as he fixed his tie on the window reflection. Holidays had been great, the quick chat with his friends freeing and fantastic and he was finally ready to set his plan in motion.

With his heart infinitely lighter, he grabbed his suitcase and exited the train, secretly hoping to be able to peak a certain Gryffindor before the meal in the Great Hall.

GLOSSARY:

“Stronzetti” means “Little pieces of shit/Little Assholes”

#bleville #neville longbottom #neville x blaise #blaise zabini #blaise is a dumb bottom around neville #my favourite half italian wizard #harry potter #harry potter and the halfblood prince #hp #hphbp #fanfiction #ff #ao3 #ao3 link #hogwarts #sixth year #hogwarts' express #train #Slytherin quartet #theo nott #theodore nott #draco malfoy #pansy parkinson #crabbe and goyle

[heartfeltheart]

Alchemy: Magic Vs. Science

Chapters: 6/25 Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist/Harry Potter Rating: T Relationships: Edward/Winry, Lan Fan/Ling, and May/Alphonse. Primary Characters: Edward Elric, Severus Snape Additional Tags: Crossover, Teacher!Edward, BrOtp Edward/Severus. Sassy beyond measure. Series: Part 1 of 9. Summary: Magic and Science, are they the same or are they completely different? It just takes one person to point out all up and downs. Along with breaking the stereotypes that come up with being a wizard, alchemist and most of all being human. Thank you, @amynchan! D/C: I do not own Harry Potter or Fullmetal Alchemist. Discord: La Red(Mesh Mash of… stuff.): https://discord.gg/KYjmVAb Alchemy Series: https://discord.gg/DejEYNJ

“English and Edward’s accented voice.” “Amestrian or another foreign language.” “Written notes.” ‘Thoughts.’ First Name: Informal Last Name: Formal (Or used to annoy others)

Edward stood in front of a tall wooden door that leads into his classroom on the first floor, from what Severus had told him, a shortcut to his own room that was on the same floor. Severus had pointed out this was the Alchemist classroom before the Potion's Master walked off with his students towards the dungeons with a promise of coming by later.

'This is actually happening.' Edward thought as he opened the door, said door creaked eerily as it slid open. The blonde grimaced at that, he made a mental note to fix that later. The classroom was pretty standard for a...magical...classroom. There were twenty-four student desks and chairs, one teacher's desk with a single chalkboard hung behind it. From where Edward stood, he was still standing by the entrance of the classroom, there was a single large clear window on the opposite wall. It allowed the moonlight to aluminate the classroom and gave it an eerie feeling. The candlelit lamps were not exactly helping either...

Leaving his suitcase and Xerxes's cage by the door, Edward wondered around the classroom deep in thought. He wondered if this was the type of classroom he would be in if he had continued on with his schooling. Continuing on going to a school instead of joining the Military, making friends, and mostly doing things kids his age. Instead of apprenticing under Teacher, doing the biggest mistake of his life, joining the military to fix said mistake and now...Edward is now teaching the very thing that changed his life for better and for worse.

Edward shrugged off his coat and tossed it on his desk, with a grin he began to rearrange the room. This went on for an hour or so before Severus and Filius walked into the classroom. The Blonde professor had rearranged the desks to circle around the classroom. Ensuring that they were not to close or far from the next desk and facing the chalkboard up front. Mentioning that, they saw Edward snoozing away in on the giant cushioned chair behind the teacher's desk.

"Do you actually believe that he will be able to access his room without a wand?" Severus whispered to Filius, the latter of which walked past Edward's desk and towards the left side of the chalkboard. Filius stood in front of the blank brick wall arm raised.

"I had it enchanted to recognize his signature," Filius said running his hand over the wall. "The other entrance is on the second floor, by his request, set to fit a puzzle."

Filius chuckled at the thought of it. "His mind is true of a Ravenclaw."

"He is more like a Slytherin," Severus remarked challengingly.

The respective Heads stared at each other challengingly, mentally debating what House Edward would have been in. If the blonde grew up as a wizard, he already showed characteristics of being a Slytherin or a Ravenclaw.

"You could feel the tenzion..."

Filius and Severus's heads snapped over to see Edward staring at them tiredly. "Vat?"

"How long were you awake?" Severus asked him with an eyebrow raised.

Edward sat up stretching his shoulders to work out the kinks. "Long enough. Is my room ready, I rather not sleep in dis chair all night?"

"If you would, Edward." Filius motioned for Edward to stand by him.

Edward brows furrowed in wonder, trying to figure out what was in store for him. He stood up and stood next to the Charms Master. He stared at the brick wall wondering if this would be similar to how he and Severus entered that magical alleyway. "Vat now?"

"I need you to knock on the wall..."

With a skeptical look, Edward raised his right hand and knocked on the brick wall. The moment his hand touched the wall he felt an impulse making his eyes widen in shock. The energy felt so similar to when he used to be able to transmute things but know...all it resulted is the bricks moving away. Once the bricks moved away it revealed a stone spiraled staircase. "Voa..."

"This is one of two ways of entering your room," Filius explained, motioning towards the spiral staircase. "For you to enter or leave through this way only requires your touch. We will deal with the other entries in the morning. Is that acceptable?"

Edward nodded in agreement at the notion. Morning sounds so much better and his mind will be able to process everything that had occurred to him since walking into the platform 9¾. Walking through brick walls...floating candles...a weird horse-like creature...creepy castle that wants him out...

"Vich floor does my room rezide in?" Edward asked taking a step toward the staircase.

"The third floor," Severus responded as he and Filius watched Edward ascend the staircase. "We will see you in the morning...to ensure you do not get lost..."

Edward stuck out his tongue out at Severus in the same moment the brick wall sprang back into place. It left the blonde in the dark. "Stupid magic..."

Like a switch, torches lit up to shine Edwards path towards his path. Edward glanced back at the brick wall and then up toward the illuminated staircase. With a shrug, the Alchemy Professor wandered up the staircase as the feeling of sleep overtook everything else.

Edward didn't even pay attention to his surroundings and layout to everything around him. The moment he saw a queen sized four poster bed covered with red and black blankets, he ignored everything else and allowed himself to momentarily drop his guard to sleep.

-.-

"Heavy sleeper isn't he?"

"...Help. Me. Wake. Him. Up..."

"Really heavy sleeper."

Edward groaned as someone attempted to wake him for what seemed like forever. He groaned swatted at whatever or whoever attempted to wake him up. That only caused the annoyance to continue on with such persistence. Then...he felt his left leg being tugged, and that was a huge no-no. Years of training and wanting to ensure that part of him is kept secret, Edward eyes flew open and leaped off the bed to grab hold of the person that was pulling his leg. It took Edward several seconds to realize he grabbed hold of Severus and was about to punch him with his right arm. Severus' eyes were wide and he was finding it hard to breathe as Edward was applying all his weight onto his neck. Once the blonde realized what he was doing he quickly jumped away with a gruffly stated sorry.

Severus rubbed his neck as he stood up, glaring at Edward wondering if he should curse him or not. "We have been trying to wake you up for the past hour, Mr. Elric."

"I told you we should have just allowed him to sleep it out." Filius chuckled weakly, the tension in the air grew unpleasantly for everyone around.

"Vat time is it?" Edward yawned, he got off the bed and headed toward his suitcase. "Vere's the damn pathroom...?"

"It's over there." Filius pointed over towards one of the many doors in the room.

"Makes yourzelffes at home vile I get ready." Edward said a simple thanks as he headed towards the bathroom with his suitcase. He opened the door and entered it, leaving the door partially open just a crack. "Vhy are you here again?"

"It's morning, breakfast is going to start in an hour." Severus said after he righted himself up again and kept rubbing his neck thinking about what just happened to him.

"We need to coordinate the second entrance of this room on the third floor." Filius piped up, he saw steam escape from the bathroom.

"Ah..." Edward responded back, his voice was muffled from the running water.

Severus glanced around the room and spotted an armchair. He spared no time in taking a seat on the chair as he continued to rub his neck. "You might of as well take a seat, this is going to take a while."

Filius hesitantly glanced around and took a seat on a wooden chair. He sat rather uncomfortably as time went by. He glanced over at Severus to see the Potion Master actually seemed to relax, something the tiny professor had never seen before. Just how much has the Alchemy Professor changed Potion Professor?

-.-

Edward stared at the primary entrance to his room on the third floor, dressed in a matching black vest, trousers and leather shoes. A white button shirt with the top two buttons left unbuttoned and the sleeves cuffed at his wrist. He, Severus and Filius all are staring at a brick wall hidden away in a dimly lit corridor decorated with embroidered curtains covering all the windows. "Vat now?"

"Tell us how you prefer to access your room and we will attempt to make it happen. Since you are against the talking painting." Severus stated staring at the wall wondering just what Edward has in mind.

"Hm..." Edward continued to stare at the wondering just how he could go about it. Talking paintings, remembering a password that could easily be heard and anyone could allow inside without his knowing. He has to do something he could easily comprehend but no one else in this school. The golden blonde lips slowly twitched into a grin the more he thought about it. "How about dis..."

Filius and Severus watch as Edward pull out a piece of chalk from his breast pocket and began to write on the brick wall. It first started with a well-drawn circle, then within the circle are carefully drawn geometric shapes, words written in Latin and symbols that seemed family. Severus had seen this array from the books and notes that Edward had shown him. However, what is being written on the wall right now has him puzzled. It looked like that the words are placed in the wrong places.

"What is this?" Filius asked, looking up at Severus for some answers.

"In order for alchemy to be done, a Transmutation Circle is needed?" Severus glanced over at Edward for some sort of confirmation. Edward only looked at him from the corner of his eye and gave the Potion's Professor a nod of confirmation. "Inside the circle is specifics alchemical runes, each rune corresponds to a different form of energy. This will allow energy that is focused in the circle to be released to the alchemist desire."

"Dere..." Edward said finishing the Transmutation Circle. He took a step back to admire his work, he looked back toward the professors and pointed at the circle. "I need you to.... vateffer you do...by rearranging everything vithin the circle."

"Ah...No wonder it seemed off." Severus said fully taking in the full array of the Transmutation Circle. "Hm...How does it suppose to look like?"

"It supposed to look like this."

-.-

Edward, Filius, and Severus walked through the giant doors that lead into the Great Hall. The Golden Blonde told the other two of his adventures back his home country. Severus had heard some of the stories but his eyes would widen or raise an eyebrow at Edward's stories. Filius took in everyone that Edward is telling him. What was being told to him made him truly wonder how this country could go under the radar for so long.

"Hawkeye has the bastard right under her thumb..." Edward laughed, remembering every time Riza would discipline Roy...with her guns. "Ah...Good ti-"

"Mr. Elric!"

Edward stopped mid sentence to look over to see the Weasley Twins running towards him. Both of them carrying their alchemy books and said books had multiple bookmarks stuffed into them.

"Fred? George? Everything okay?" Edward asked the moment both boys stood in front of him with questioning looks.

"We need your help." Fred started to say.

"What are the laws Equivalent Exchange..." George continued to say.

"When it comes to alchemy?"

"The books have multiple definitions..."

"Similar wording, though..."

"Yeah but different views."

Then both boys said in unison. "What is it to you?"

Edward took in the question; he mentally went through just how to answer it. He scratched his chin deep in thought. He did not take note how whispers filled the entire hall. All eyes were on them as they waited for his response.

"Equifflant Exchange is zebarated into two parts The Law of Natural Proffitence and The Law of Conzerffazion of Mass. Figure out vat doze laws is den we will talk again. Good?" Edward said, his voice strained as he attempted to not speak with too much of an accent. He wanted to be as clear as he could for this explanation. "Vat are your thoughts on Equifflant Exchange."

Fred and George looked at each other, wondering just how to go about that.

"I think that's in chapter Five in book..."

"I saw it in chapter Eight in that other book..."

The twins ran back towards the Gryffindor Table in search of their answers for the questions they were asked.

Edward looked back at Filius and Severus to see them giving him looks of amusement.

"What were you saying about being a horrible teacher?" Severus asked.

"Shut up!"

Tag List Below:

Permanent Tag List: @runestarchild​​​ @princesskitomi​​​ @fanfictionpromptsblog​​​ @souleateralicestein​​​​ @vixen-uchiha​​​​ @okami-knight​​​​ @legendaryneckjudgestudent​​​​ @weird-homosapien​​​​ @justafanwarrior​​​​ @vivilakitty​​​​ @ravennightingaleandavatempus​​​​ @if-you-give-a-chat-a-cookie​​​​ @moonwatcher04​​​​ @darkshadowguardian​​​ @two-faced-biatch​​​ @kris-pines04​​​​ @mewwitch​​​​ @edwardhatori​​​​ @kuroko26​​​​ @tall-and-angry​​​​   @bloody-no-kissu​​​​ @crazylittlemunchkin​​​​ @tbehartoo​​​​ @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry​​​​ @melicmusicmagic​​​​

#Alchemy Series #Magic vs Science #Crossover #FMA #HP #HP/FMA #AU #Chapter 6