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#we've been mocked our entire lives and you want to turn around and do the same thing
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Jamie Does Rodeo - A Crackfic
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Summary: An argument with Beth and an unexpected helping hand from Jimmy leads Jamie Dutton to some very questionable decisions.
Warning: Drinking, violence (no gore though), abuse and lots of profanity. Because Beth lol.
Chapter 1: A Not-So-Empty Threat
Clink!
Ice cubes ratted and whiskey sloshed as Beth Dutton's glass hit the table. Lord knows how many shots she'd had by now.
The woman was thoroughly pissed off. She was pretty sure the ranch was completely screwed, since her brother made a terrible mistake...
...he'd misplaced the deed to the ranch.
"The fuck do you want?" Beth demanded, shooting him a death glare as he stepped into the living room.
"Just letting you know," Jamie Dutton shot back passive-aggressively, smirking as he adjusted his suit and tie. "I was able to find the deed to the ranch, so your attempts at insulting me all week have been pointless."
"Oh, it's never pointless," She warned him, her tone lowering into a hiss. "You lost the deed to the fucking ranch...Everything we've been fighting for."
Jamie was unfazed. "I did not lose it, I borrowed it to back up our case against the developers trying to build an airport over our land, left it in my office drawer, forgot I put it there, and found it."
He pulled out the deed and shook it a few times, as if taunting her with it.
"Thank you for the very, uh, productive conversation." He then said sarcastically, and walked out the door.
Jamie had more important matters to attend to--namely, finding John, and letting him know the deed had been found. Since John wasn't at the lodge, the lawyer decided to check the Bunkhouse instead; maybe John had gone there, to speak with the cowboys.
However, just as he was walking toward the Bunkhouse entrance, Beth caught up to him, grabbing his shoulder and whipping him around to face her. Jamie jumped.
"You think you're gonna get away with this, don't you?" Beth breathed, threateningly locking eyes with him.
Jamie swallowed.
"Beth-" He hesitated, voice trembling. "I found it."
"Yeah?" She quietly mocked him. "You think that's gonna make it all better? You think daddy's just gonna forgive you, because you found it, you piece of shit? You lost it. The family's entire legacy was in your hands and you fucking lost it."
"B-Beth-"
Before Jamie could respond, his sister pressed her palm against his mouth, gagging it shut.
"I want you to listen to me, Jamie," She half-whispered as Jamie's eyes widened with terror, a sadistic smile crawling across her face. She motioned toward a clear patch of land where the cattle grazed. "Tonight, after dinner...you're gonna meet me in the field back there...and I'm gonna beat the crap out of you."
Jamie tried to back away, but Beth yanked the sleeve of his suit, forcing him in place. He could tell she was serious.
"I'm gonna beat the crap out of you...until you're lying on the floor...with every fucking bone in your body broken."
He couldn't answer. All he could do was stare back at her, heart pounding and hands trembling.
"Ya got that?" She hummed.
Jamie remained silent.
"JAMIE."
Frantically, he nodded.
After dinner.
The field.
Got it.
An agonizing few seconds later, Beth released him, sending him tumbling backwards. One more murderous stare into his soul, and she took off toward the lodge, finally leaving him alone.
"God damn it..." the lawyer hissed under his breath after a moment of hyperventilating. "AAAGHH!" In a fit of rage, he punched the nearest fence, the sting of gnarled wood cracking against his fist.
Shoving his face into his cupped hands, he began letting out an agonized groan, until suddenly, he heard someone speaking right behind him.
"Wow." The voice said, lost for words. "I've never seen anything like that. She's terrifying. Like, actually terrifying."
Jamie turned around, and there, watching from beside the Bunkhouse entrance, was Jimmy.
The lawyer shuffled his feet, a deer-in-the-headlights look on his face. "How, uh, how long have you been there?" He stammered.
"Oh, yeah, I saw everything," Jimmy smiled, seeming almost impressed by Beth's fury. "I came out here to train for the rodeo tonight, but..." he chuckled, speechless. "Guess I came at a bad time".
Instead of responding, Jamie sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, a migraine headache overcoming him.
Jimmy's cheerful grin dropped. All jokes aside, he understood Jamie's plight; he knew what it was like to be threatened. He'd never have started doing rodeo to begin with, if his former criminal partners hadn't threatened his family.
The young cowboy approached Jamie and put a hand on the his shoulder. Behind him, the chestnut horse he was planning to practice rodeo with kicked up dust, racing across the nearby riding ring. "What are you gonna do?" He asked the lawyer.
Jamie shook his head over and over again like a caged animal. "I-I don't know. I DON'T KNOW, I DON'T FUCKING KNOW!" He shouted through gritted teeth.
Jimmy was silent for a moment, gears turning in his head. He stared off into space for a few more seconds before reaching a conclusion.
"What if you come with me tonight?" Jimmy offered.
"What?"
"What if you come with me tonight?" He repeated, motioning toward the angry horse in the pen. "To the rodeo. I mean...think about it. Why do you have to be at the ranch tonight? You don't have to stick around and let Beth kick your ass." Jimmy gave Jamie's shoulder a friendly pat. "You can just come along with me and Lloyd. You can help me get ready before I enter the ring, you know? Just brush the horse, take care of the saddle, all that stuff. It'll be like an excuse to leave."
Huh.
The rodeo...
Jamie hadn't thought of that.
It all made sense...
He could ignore Beth. He could blow her off. Get away from Yellowstone entirely...
Yeah...yeah!
Fuck this!
Why not go to the rodeo?
Hadn't he done enough for this family? Hadn't he taken enough abuse from Beth?
Jamie Dutton decided it was time to do something for his own sake, and he knew what he had to do.
"Shouldn't be too difficult. It's not like I'm actually PARTICIPATING in the rodeo," he thought to himself.
Little did he know, he thought wrong.
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piglet26 · 1 day
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A Year In the Mess and the Millennial Cross Rory Bears. WINTER
Let's address the elephant in the room while I have you front and center. Rory in A Year in The Life was a commentary on millennials. Amy Sherman-Palladino, the creator, confirmed this was the inspiration for Rory's turn in AYITL. Rory was saddled with all the complaints the previous generations have of millennials such as millennials are spoiled, entitled, privileged blah blah blah. Hey now, now that we have not one but two generations under us I do understand the desire to complain (and be terrified). Gen Z and Gen Alpha general aesthetic is to be Billie Eilish lite as in angry, depressed, violent, or, antisocial. They have the lowest attention span recorded in human history and Taylor Swift is their greatest philosopher. Jesus take the wheel
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The problem? None of this was in Rory Gilmore 1.0-character DNA. Matter of fact who the hell was Rory in the revival?! What the hell happened to her? We don't know. The Palladino's don't even bother expanding on it, but who does?! When it comes to Millennials we're to be mocked not understood. Most millennials came of age where there was a horrible job, house market and were in an economic recession. Our lives were being taken over by technology and social media. Rory picked a profession that was still mostly print at the time of her college graduation.... this is an entirely digital market now and one readers now pay for if they want something of substance. How lucrative is a real authentic journalism career? Not just think pieces or a seat on CNN or Fox News roundtable?
This is why A Year in the Life was a Mess
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Believe me, I wanted to love it. This is my childhood we're talking about here. I loved Stars Hallow. Love my Gilmores. Yet, when I finally tuned I did so when just a hint of dread.....gradually all my fears were realized. Thus after 6.2 hours concluded somehow, we got somewhere, nowhere, found out little, nothing at all, were satisfied and just plain frustrated. So, let's break this mess down by episode. While mainly I will cover how the revival failed Rory - I will mention other frustrations because I can.
Winter
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Why is Rory only in town for a day?! She's gotta leave for London soon. What has she been doing?! Ok, she's written a piece in the New Yorker, but how does that work?! Are you on staff? Do you submit freelance pieces and they choose them? She's a good writer, she's always been a good writer, and she's shown she is capable of running a paper - why is she struggling?! They doubled down on the millennial annoyance by having Rory abandoned Brooklyn as it was going condo and Lena Dunham. Subtle.
Super-Proud Luke is and always will be cute and Rory is so his kid. He's now a subscriber to The New Yorker which he reads every week just to support Rory. Also, he's attached her article to his menus so everyone can read it. Which she treats as cringe instead of sweet and supportive, but I'll let it go. Luke, Lorelai and Rory really are found family and super adorable.
Yes, the bit about everyone forgetting Paul is funny but THIS ISN'T RORY?! Paul seems genuinely sweet and thoughtful not just to Rory but her whole family so why are we doing this? Again, this is someone's depiction of a millennial. I guess we're really shitty to great guys. Rory had never been previously depicted as self-centered jerk just slightly oblivious as well all are.
It's a thrill to see all the old characters make a cameo.
The loss of Ed Herrmann was a gut punch to his cast. You can tell. It's also serves as a gut punch to the audience. We will miss you old chap. Rory following Emily around at the repast is the first hint of old Rory we've seen on this show yet.
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It also serves as another wasted opportunity. No one except Emily seems to be genuinely affected by Richard's passing. The Gilmores are a small family, but a tight one. The patriarch passing surely would've affected all three gilmore girls deeply. It would've been better had we found Rory on a cooperate writing staff in London (employed by Logan) that she quit to spend more time at home to support her mother and grandmother. It would've been nice had Richard's passing compelled her into finding meaning beyond professional success. It would've been nice if they showed her pursuing something related to Richard from a journalistic perspective. They could've showed her on the road chasing a story to run into Jess or Dean or hell any of the countless characters. SOMETHING. Instead, we got spiraling millennial which is continuing to just seem misguided.
Berta and her roving family is trash and I didn't need them.
Emily starts in on Rory current state of homelessness which bring me to my next point of contention..... How is Rory broke?! She's had Trixie/Gran, her grandparents, Logan, Luke and her father?! I don't care that she's privileged unlike a lot of the privileged but not as privilege youtubers who enjoy spitefully and bitterly complaining. Despite what these grips say no, Rory's success has never come easily to her. The reality she was studying and investing her teenage years in academic pursuits while Rory's haters were partying or watching TV. Rory's always been resourceful and yet can't find a way to make a steady income in addition to writing. What's going on?
April/ Knock-off Rory is annoying, and it doesn't escape me that Luke prefers Rory. I'm glad hehehe. I mean he has a kid biologically and yet he considers going to Rory's graduation as going to his kids graduation. Side note: I know the creators would like to pretend that season 7 never happened but what are we doing here?! LnL have seriously never talked about having kids in the last 9 freakin' years?! Well at least we know why..... miscommunication and we needed a way to write medical Paris Geller into the story. Surrogacy is actually perfect for a medical student that doesn't actually like sick people.
Paris Geller ah I love this cold-hearted little psycho.
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Okay Rory is writing a book with a queer drunk brit who steals food from other people, this is who she wrote her New Yorker piece on. This is the depiction of the feminist on the show.
I love Logan and I Love Rogan, but WHAT ARE WE DOING?! Why are they both having affairs with people they don't care about. Rory cheated once? twice?......okay Rory is a cheater, but why?
Paris and Doyle but of course they did! Can't have a happy couple in Stars Hallow or anywhere near it for long. I can see them having problems though because they've always had problems and sexually resolved them. Plus, in Paris's ideal functioning world she's married to Rory and Doyle.
WHY DOES RORY GILMORE HAVE ALL OF HER SHIT ACROSS FIVE HOMES?! How much stuff does she have? Honestly. Rory was always organized. At this point we've just got a personality transplant.
Once again, this is the main problem with the revival. None of this is behavior or characteristics we've associated with Rory. It's insert millennial here from a jaded baby boomer.
This is exhausting....................................... and I'm gonna have to take this in shifts. Next up spring.
Side note: Christmas here would be amazing and so charming.
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skylerskyhigh · 1 year
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Working on chapter 7 of "Your Dream"
I'll work on this on and off due to life. But here's a small snippet of what I have! Also, can anyone guess what song I have planned?
"Careful now," Leon said in faux softness, grinning at the Kraang with a look worthy of a villain. "We don't want you to spoil the fun."
Subprime sputtered for a moment before he glared. "You got lucky! I've studied you! I have seen what you can do and it is pathetic! Even with the power you obtained, you are mere untrained fools! The threats in this world are child's play!  You will be easy to eradicate! Once I find this world's Kraang and the armor, we will work together and end your pitiful lives!"
"Kraang?" Donnie repeated in surprise.
"Dark armor?" Raph echoed with wide eyes.
Subprime smirked, delighted by their shock. "Yes. Once I finish you off, I will use the blue one to open the portal and get this world's Kraang and Shredder by our side. You children will not be able to stop the might of Kraang-!"
They burst into uproarious laughter again. 
"Are you- Are you serious?!" April wheezed, wrapping her arm around her stomach. "You're not serious right?"
"Is Raph hearing things? Raph thinks he's hearing things!" Raph laughed with a hand to his head. 
"The Shredder? The Kraang?!" Mikey broke down laughing again, slapping his leg.
"I can't breathe!" Donnie wheezed, nearly falling to the floor with how much he was laughing.
"You must be joking," CJ said with an incredulous grin, his eye twitching as he stares at the alien in disbelief. "Is- is this a time travel thing again? Did you accidentally make a time portal instead of a universe-hopping one?"
Cass huffed, checking her nails with a frown. "As much as it is an insult to my former master- as if he would ever join the likes of you- you are too late." 
"What?" Subprime gaped at them.
"Hahaha! Aw buddy, did you stop after season one?" Leon asked in a mocking tone like he was talking to a child. "Did your connection cut off? Or did you watch a few episodes and decided you knew everything about us?"
"What?" Subprime glared at him, confused and offended.
Leon leans forward and flashed him a grin. "Hey friend, that thing about us being 'untrained fools'? That was two years ago."
Subprime's face falls. 
"Going on three," Donnie added, holding his hand up to display three fingers.
"The Shredder?" Leon splayed his hands like a magician showcasing a new trick. "Gone."
"The Kraang?" Leonidas waves his hand like he's revealing a card trick. "Poof."
"We've stopped every threat that came our way," Raph grins, standing taller with pride as he grips his tonfas tighter.
"Big or small," April tilts her head with a smirk, her green bat bursting into flames. 
"And we won every time baby!" Mikey twirls the chain of his kusari-fundo. 
"The only pathetic thing here is you," Donnie chuckles, resting his bo staff against the back of his neck.
"I almost feel bad for what we're about to do," Leon hums. He reached behind him and pulls out his two odachi swords. "Buuut not bad enough. See, we got newcomers to show off to and you've been a real thorn by their side. Invading their home. Attacking them countlessly. Refusing to die like a cockroach."
They look over to the newcomers who straighten at the sudden attention. 
Leon grins and winked. "And they've given us the go-ahead to kick your butt."
He turns back to the enraged-looking Kraang. "Third, you're a Kraang. And to be honest-"
His eyes flashed bright blue and his face briefly twists into a furious snarl. "We've had enough Kraang for an entire lifetime."
The air grows electrified with building energy. His family all share the same sentiment.
Subprime stares in growing nervousness.
"So let's give them all a show while we treat you like the dog toy you are," Leonidas clapped his hands. "Donnie, give our alternates the best seats please."
"On it!"
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oddsnendsfanfics · 3 years
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Sparkle
Genre: Fan Fiction (Sand Castle)
Pairing: N/A
Warnings: It’s so fluffy!
Rating: G
Length: Drabble
Disclaimer: a strict work of fiction, I own nothing except the original characters and the plot line. In no way am I affiliated to any of it.  
A/N: thank you @rmtndew​ for the edit of Sy in glasses :D More Sy and Wispy? Why yes! 
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Henry Cavill Master List
“Uncle Sy,” Annie giggled at her uncle, as he pulled a face. “Sit still.” Her voice going firmer.
Beside her, Willow had her hand on her hips shaking her head at their uncle. “Uncle Sy, we need you to stay very still.”
“Fine, fine.” He gave in sitting statue straight, still as could be.
“Close your eyes, please.” Annie instructed.
Doing as he was asked, Sy closed his eyes and leaning against the couch to support his back. Cross legged on the floor, a mound of pillows under him, he fought the smirk that kept threatening to creep onto his face. The two little girls painting the floral scented mud, clay, paint? Whatever the cool, thick stuff was onto his face. Around his beard, across his cheeks and forehead. Sy felt the soft brush that Aimee had handed them against his skin.
“You know Sy,” Aimee's voice greeted him, yet his eyes remained closed, “this stuff is actually pretty good. It might even help brighten that complexion of yours. Tired and sunburned was so last year.”
Snorting, Sy shook his head, both nieces scolding him for moving while they tried to apply the mask. Directing him to pucker his lips, Willow stood in front of him, a glob of lip moisturizer on her brush, she slapped it on spreading it thickly against his red chapped lips. The girls were taking good care of their Uncle Sy.
At least they wanted to do it at home this time. Sy was unsure of the product quality, but the service was far better and cheaper than when he'd taken them to an actual spa. Now that had been a sight, the look on the woman's face when the giant, bearded man in boots strode into the salon with the two little girls in tow. Despite the initial shock, Sy had to hand it to them, those ladies were magical.
He'd left feeling like his hands, feet, and face had been kissed by angels and butterflies. Hell, he'd even let Willow and Annie pick out a polish for his toes. Sitting in the chair chatting with the woman painting his toes, while his nieces had watched from their own pedicure chairs, Sy learned that men coming in to dote on their daughters and nieces wasn't really all that uncommon. He, however, was one of the first to ask for Pompeii Purple toes. The shade had really brought out his eyes.
In his sister's living room, Sy chuckled when Willow announced that he absolutely needed to trim that scraggly beard of his. In their life time, neither of his nieces had ever bore witness to their uncle without his beard. He liked it too much to part with it. Besides, the women loved it. Clearing his throat, Sy opened his eyes, a mocking frown on his face.
“Don't you dare touch my beard, understood bub?” He smirked. Willow nodded and Annie, standing just out of sight giggled. “There will be no cutting of my beard, until I say so.”
“Oh come on, Sy.” Aimee teased from the kitchen. “You could use a trim,” she winked at Annie.
“I would prefer to do it myself, thank you sister dearest.” He winked at Willow, a near impossible task with the clay beginning to set on his face.
“What if we just make it pretty?” Annie piped up, shuffling into the room with a hairbrush and bows in her hands. “Can we?”
“Please, Uncle Sy.” Willow pulled out the puppy dog eyes. Bouncing on her tip toes with excitement.
Playfully grumbling, Sy waited a minute or two. Letting the little girls get antsy before agreeing. Under some conditions. Nothing but a comb and some pink sparkly bows went into his beard. If they so much as tugged the wrong way, Sy was combing it himself. His beard was his pride and joy, right after his Wispy. He'd worked hard over the years to grow this bad boy.
“Gently,” He reminded them, lifting his chin for Willow to gingerly take the comb through his thick beard.
Climbing onto the couch behind him, Annie sat with her legs crossed gently rubbing a hair brush through his growing curls. A full out pamper day wasn't entirely bad. Enjoying his “spa treatment”, Sy winced when he heard Aimee giggling like a child on too much sugar. He knew his sister well enough to know that this was not going to be good.
“Aim, what in the hel-ck are you doing?” Sy asked glancing at his sister. Her phone poised as she giggled and shrugged.
“I thought ma might like to see. Maybe fire one off to the boys. You still in touch with the Major? Show him what retirement does for ya?”
“You wouldn't dare,”
“Send one to the Major? No. But I would send it to ma and everyone else we know. Come on Sy, you're adorable. You should let me share this on that mommy blog, it would be a hit.” She laughed. “Former Army Captain attacked by Girl Scouts.”
Sy replied with a grunt. More than one single mother, and a few not so single, on that damn blog Aimee was part of had themselves hot and bothered for the youngest Syverson. Every time Aimee mentioned her brother, at least one woman would ask if he was seeing somebody or how he liked children, who weren't his. Sy liked children fine, but he had no interest in taking on any to parent.
“Leave Uncle Sy alone,” Willow pouted, as she put the last bow into his beard. “Don't be mean, mommy.”
“I wasn't being mean, baby girl. Uncle Sy and I were teasing. Now, why don't you finish up those bows and help him wash his face. You can't leave the mask on too long, remember.”
“Oops,”
“It's okay bub,” Sy pulled away from the hair styling by Annie. “You ladies clean up a bit out here and I will go clean my face off.”
Striding down the hall, Sy could feel the clay on his face hardening and drying. If nothing else his pores would be flawless for a few days. Chuckling as he went, he could hear Annie and Willow in the living room. No doubt discussing their next plan for their uncle's beauty treatment. If he had to, there was a lovely yellow nail polish that he'd been eyeing in the box of tricks. It may not be the right season for yellow, but it would surely make the hair on his big toes really pop.
In the bathroom, he grabbed a wash cloth and turned the taps. Allowing the water to reach a nice, warm temperature he began scrubbing the dried clay away from his face. The bows in his hair and beard were a sight to behold. Admiring the handy work, Sy stood for a few seconds looking at the man in the mirror. The one grizzled, gruff, hard as nails and fearless Captain was reduced to a soft and gentle giant.
He loved spending the time with the kids, allowing them to have their fun, before Uncle Sy packed up and drove back across town. It was no wonder people were forever asking him when he'd have his own. Ah well, it was better this way. Sy enjoyed the company of the kids, but all the time and he would be even more grizzled and cranky than he was when he was stationed over in the desert.
Being home had it's perks, like getting to be with his family whenever he wanted. Having sleepovers with the kids, whenever Willow decided that he was lonely in his house. Or how she was forever trying to set him up with any woman they came across, while he had her out. That one was less and less cute, especially as she had somehow been targeting only married women lately.
The last thing Sy wanted was to get his ass kicked by some woman's husband or wife, for hitting on their wife because some kid said she was pretty. Shaking his head, he finished checking himself in the mirror to make sure he had all of the clay off.
Cleaned up and refreshed Sy joined the girls in the living room.
“Ladies, what's next?”
“Lunch!” “Make up!”
Laughing at their very different ideas, he nodded to Annie. “I agree lunch is the much better idea, make up can be after.”
“But mommy said we could go out for lunch. You can't go out unless you have a proper face on.” Willow pouted. Annie sighed. Her cousin had a point.
“Girls,” Aimee spoke, she was about to do everything in her mom power, to get Sy out of this one. As amused as it would be, seeing her brother go to lunch in a full face of make up.
“No, no she's right.” Sy nodded in agreement. “Aim, why not let Annie do your make up and Wispy can do mine. Then we'll all be ready for lunch, hel-ck, I'll even pay. Treat all of my girls.”
“Yeah!” The cheers went up from the girls.
Aimee, rolling her eyes and making a mental note to kill her brother later on. She would never forgive him, nor forget. Some day, she would get him back.  This is when she should suggest wearing their best dresses – Sy included. Instead, she'd pay him back when he least expected. Maybe the next time, she'd insist they go for lunch wearing some over the top princess costumes.
Sy chuckled, what did they have to lose? At 11 years old, Annie was more than capable at putting together some make up. Willow was eccentric with her colour palate, but Sy wasn't worried much about that.
“Mommy, please. Please, we can all do our make up and go for lunch.”
“I hate you,” Aimee whispered passing her laughing brother, sitting down on the floor. “Okay, girls, let's get to it. Then we can make Uncle Sy take us for the best lunch, we've ever had.”
“Drive thru at Burger King isn't that fancy,” laughing, Sy nudged his sister with his elbow.
“Oh, but Sy if we have our best faces on, we need something better than cheap burgers in a bag. I was hoping maybe we could go to Janet's.”
It was Sy's turn to roll his eyes and stifle a groan. Of course Aimee would insist they go inside to eat. Saturday was the busiest day of the week for the small diner. Whatever, Sy was man enough to take it. With more confidence than anyone had ever seen, he would walk into that diner, head high, and his beard bows sparkling. The things he did to keep these children happy.
If it meant buying a hundred ponies, wearing full make up, and walking across a floor of legos – Sy would do it all to see these kids smile.
“I love Janet's!” Willow squealed dancing on her tiptoes, nearly poking her uncle in the eye with the eye shadow brush she was using. The hot pink creme shadow she had chosen for him was really going to pop with his dark beard. “Uncle Sy, please. Please can we go? You said that you would take me there the next time we went for lunch, you said that I could have a big sundae and...”
“Sy?” A sideways glance at her baby brother, Aimee puckered her lips for Annie to apply some lipstick. Offering the kids ice cream as a meal wasn't a crime, but it would explain why they sometimes came home bouncing around like mad hornets in an old coke can.
“Wispy, you're not supposed to tell your ma that I let you at ice cream as a meal.”
“Sorry, but can I?”
“Maybe for dessert, you can Annie can shade a giant sundae.” Aimee reasoned.
“Fine, but the next time we go....” Staring at her uncle, Willow pouted.
“Whatever you want, bubs.” Smirking at his sister, Sy conveniently pointed to the blush in the bag, asking Willow if she thought the orangeish colour would work for him.  “Whatever you want.”
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martelldoran · 3 years
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unsolicited tfatws opinions because i have them vol. 1
warning: here be spoilers
starting on the positive because there were things i did like in the episode
things i liked
sam wilson: *exists*
me:
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sam's storyline was definitely the strongest of the two in this ep and i liked pretty much everything he did.
the opening aerial fight! was! so! cool! seeing batroc again was a nice nod to tws too and an interesting parallel to steve's lumerian star fight. i loved seeing his quick tactical thing, seeing how he fights, and the way he utilises the wings even in close quarters.
sam speaks arabic!
sam fixes redwing! (validation of a hc of mine that he's good with robotics. maybe that's a widely held fandom one as well? idk)
i instantly found torres to be really endearing and i'm looking forward to seeing more of him throughout the series. the relationship between him and sam has a lot of potential.
the manipulation of the government and general set up for sam's storyline felt strong. good basis for a story and pertinent to the current political landscape.
sam's speech as he handed over the shield was well written and gave me the same kind of vibes as the 'the price of freedom is high' speech. they could be quite nicely paralleled side by side.
sam's family! look, i'm a sucker for domestic moments for our faves so the entire sequence where we got this insight into sam's past, his relationship with his sister, and where he's come from was brilliant. i like sarah a lot and seeing her frustration with her brother for trying to come in and fix things when he's been gone for so long felt really realistic. i felt for her a lot. because you can tell there's so much there bubbling under the surface, a mix of love and resentment and frustration that was palpable as they talked about what to do with their parents' house/boat/business. so, give me all of the sarah wilson moments pls n thnx.
seeing the consequences of the snap (hi, i am refusing to call it the fucking blip. marvel, my god, get better names for shit.) idk how in depth they're really going to go into it all but at least they attempted something here with the scenes at the bank.
bucky's nightmare sequence as the winter soldier. it was such a brilliant reminder about how terrifying tws actually is. he's silent and ominous and THAT MUSIC. his presence is legitimately unsettling from the moment you see him. (but he runs around like a bull in a china shop which does make me 🤔 when i remember he's supposed to be a g h o s t s t o r y. idk. not exactly stealth and shadow work. but that doesn't look cool on screen so 🤷🏻‍♀️)
and on that note, vindication of my 'they sleep on the floor after coming back' headcanon. literally had raymond holt screaming in my head the second i saw bucky wake up on his living room floor. does my heart break for him? yes. was i smug about being right? also yes.
leah seems cool. could she actually be telepathic??? since she hit every single one of bucky's boats while they played battleships? i would like to see it. 😂 there's def more to her character than meets the eye since she's slated to be in all six episodes.
bucky having one (1) old man friend even if the reason behind it was heartbreaking.
so, yeah. these things i genuinely liked.
things i didn't like
the therapy scene. i genuinely hated it. there's a different between a no nonsense therapist and someone being deliberately antagonistic and that definitely erred on the side of the latter imo. she tells him to 'get over it' and mocks him for not reaching out and meeting people. media in general doesn't do a good job of depicting therapy so this is just yet another poor offering into the canon. i'm tired. i want healthy depictions of therapy already. it's supposed to be a supportive environment ffs.
plus she kept calling him james 🤮 genuinely wouldn't be surprised if she turns out to be a bad guy plant. which i think is a cliche at this point? 🤔
bucky's new look. which i know we've seen before now but i've not offered my unsolicited opinion on it. it's just sebastian stan in an ugly leather jacket. it's generic male lead#346. it's broification. someone said they made him look like brock rumlow and now i can't unsee it. 😭 rip to bucky with the good hair. i'd have loved to see him with some curls tbh. or a wave that kind of calls back to his pre-war days. anyway. i digress. character design is 0/10.
would have been nice to see him cut his hair as a marker of him starting a new chapter and coming into his own personhood.
rhodey's disability was just? glossed over? no visible assistive tech at all?
the date. just the fact it was there at all. it was heavy handed and not subtle and we know why they put that in there within the first 10 minutes of bucky's screen time. that's all i'm going to say about it. if you follow me, you know where i stand. we don't need poorly written romance. get it in the bin.
there was no acknowledgement of bucky's relationship with steve. if there was a memorial to be had then bucky should have been there. maybe these will come later but i'm not holding my breath.
is steve dead? i assumed that the party line was that young steve died in the battle and no-one knew about old steve . but did they actually kill steve off-screen? what a kick in the teeth if that's the case. let me just cut open a wound for them to pour the salt straight into, shall i?
things i'm mostly neutral on
john walker. he looks like a cop and his wink at the camera gave me the creeps but i'm interested to see how that pans out. i hope sam beats 50 shades of star spangled shit out of him.
the flag smashers. premise of a world without borders is interesting and a believable concept given what's happened in universe. there's a lot of scope there i think. that said, the name is dumb.
right. i think that covers everything for now. my expectations going in were really low, i won't lie. before the premiere i tried to stay away from the trailers and tv spots and the hype in general so i was pleasantly surprised at how much i enjoyed certain aspects of the show.
in conclusion, some good, some bad, some ugly and i will be cherry picking my favourite nuggets for fic at a later point. also, i'm still a skrull!Steve truther. real steve is chilling with some wakandan goats 😌💖✨
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ticklygiggles · 4 years
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And they were roomates | Haikyuu Captains
Sawamura Daichi, Kuroo Tetsurou, Bokuto Kotarou, Oikawa Tooru & Ushijima Wakatoshi
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A/N: I didn’t know exactly which captains you wanted, but I did the basics because I love them *ugly crying* They're all grown ups living together, but this is probably a bit canon divergent, huhu. Thank you very much for the prompt, @cupcakedog2023​ I hope you enjoy this!
Polyrelationship if you squint, but not really. I want to thank my dear friend @ragewerthers​ because we've been talking about Daichi (and Iwa) lately so I felt very inspired to (destroy) write about him. I enjoy writing hc’s with you, my sweet friend *sobs* And I love Daichi.
Summary: Daichi has the best luck, (ahem, strategy), but it’s all gone when his roommates team up against him.
Words: 3,862 (hoho)
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Three loud groans and a soft displeased huff filled the entire apartment when Daichi threw his last card.
"You must be kidding me," Kuroo sighed, also throwing his (many) cards into the pile in the middle of the table and bringing his hands up to rub his face vigorously. Daichi was wearing a wide grin. "How many times already? Ten?"
"Eleven," Ushijima said and Daichi could only puff his chest proudly… it had been twelve times, but who counts? He does. "Look how proud he is."
"Are we going to have another round?" Bokuto asked, his smile bright, having way more fun than Kuroo, Oikawa and Ushijima all together.
"Hell yeah," Oikawa said, already gathering the cards in his hands and shuffling them with the experience of a croupier.  How he had that talent, no one knew, but it definitely made everyone look at his hands in awe. Even Daichi, who could only think about his twelve victories.
"I refuse to admit that Sawamura is the only one who can win this game!" He cried, throwing the cards to each one of them. "Even if Ushiwaka wins, I'll be happy." He pointed at Ushijima, who was sitting right beside him. 
Ushijima simply rolled his eyes and Daichi laughed softly as he took the new cards, spreading them between his hands. 
He didn't feel bad about winning. He had always been extremely good at board games and he was pretty sure that all of these former captains knew about it. At the end of their game nights, (usually on Fridays because they all had a day off on Saturday, thank god), Daichi would have mercilessly crushed each one off them - that's why they didn't gamble, the last time they did, Oikawa had to borrow money from all of them until his next payday. 
No one wanted to live up to that humiliation and it was the only time Daichi actually felt bad, so gambling was forbidden, but even with or without it, Daichi was invencible in every single game: Kuroo winning every now and then, Ushijima probably won one or two times before, as well as Oikawa, and Bokuto… well, Bokuto didn't care at all who won or lost, he enjoyed spending time with his roommates the most and his big smile was enough for everyone to keep playing until they gave up to beat Daichi. 
"Don't!" Oikawa yelled dramatically. It was his turn to throw a card and Daichi couldn't help but laugh. They had played for five minutes. Five minutes and Daichi had already screamed that word out, making the rest of the men cringe. "It's impossible!"
Uno! 
"Just throw it, Tooru!"
Kuroo had drawn almost all of the cards, he even had some on the table, Ushijima had three, Bokuro had around five of six and Oikawa, (Daichi really, really wanted to laugh), he only had two - Daichi didn't know what cards they were, but all of them knew he was going to win regardless, after all, he only had one card between his fingers. 
Oikawa sighed in resignation, throwing his card: a yellow two.
Daichi threw his own: a Draw Four Wild. 
"Ah, I was hoping for someone else to win," Kuroo sighed, almost pouting and crossing his arms above his chest. 
Daichi only smirked, seeing how Oikawa dramatically fell against Ushijima, a hand resting against his forehead as he faked fainting. "I am a disgrace," Oikawa said, sobbing quietly as Ushijima patted his shoulder. 
"I'm sorry I won," Daichi mumbled, gathering the cards again. 
"Don't say you're sorry if you are not!" Kuroo said with narrowed eyes and reaching up to pinch Daichi's nose. 
Daichi squeaked. "It's all about strategy!" He claimed, rubbing at his nose. "And knowing what cards to throw at the right time!"
"Yeah, yeah," Oikawa mocked from where he was still laying against Ushijima. "Do you want to show off your strategy skills, captain? Maybe you should give us all some tutoring?"
Daichi laughed. "If that is what you want…"
Oikawa gasped and he opened his mouth to say something else, but Bokuto's gentle voice interrupted him. "Maybe we should get some tutoring," he said and this time Kuroo was the one to open his mouth to speak out against that idea, but Bokuto continued talking. "After all, Karasuno did kick all of our asses back then, didn't they?" Bokuto said quite nonchalantly, a sudden silence filled the room and Daichi felt his heart dropping a little.
That was okay, right? That happened in highschool, right? All of them were working men already so it was in the past... Right? 
"Uh...," Daichi started but was cut off by a hum coming from Oikawa. 
"Kou-chan is right," he said, a dangerous smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth. Daichi blushed. "Karasuno did kick our asses back then, huh?"
Bokuto, perhaps not catching on what was happening, (perhaps actually knowing what was happening), nodded enthusiastically, his arm wrapping around Kuroo's shoulders, because he always felt the need to touch someone.  
"Ho?" Daichi's eyes quickly turned to look at Kuroo, who was also smirking, his sleepy eyes a bit dark and a perfect eyebrow raised up. "So we really are living with our biggest rival, eh?" 
Daichi gulped nervously, eyeing the four men around him. "Now, now," he said, trying to sound calm. "That was in highschool, guys. It's not like we're still playing for our teams, right?"
Right?
"Listen to this captain trying to calm down the team," Oikawa said and Daichi positively blushed to the tip of his ears. "Don't think that you can just brush it off, Sawamura. We hold a grudge."
Bokuto laughed at that, but Oikawa punched him in the arm, a playful smile on his lips, nothing compared to that savage smirk he sent back to Daichi. 
Daichi sensed danger, so his eyes slowly moved to look at Ushijima, expecting him to help him out of this situation, but he flinched when he found his serious brown eyes staring back at him. 
"Since Daichi is Karasuno's former captain," Ushijima started, his voice emotionless, but his eyes piercing holes through Daichi's face. "He should take responsibility and be punished on his teammates' behalf."
Daichi widened his eyes, his mouth dropping open. "Wa-Wakatoshi..."
Kuroo, Bokuto and Oikawa laughed and, as if Ushijima's words were the only thing they needed to do something about their former enemy, Kuroo launched at Daichi, not giving him the chance to try and escape. 
"No! Wait, aah!" Daichi squeaked when he was suddenly picked up and thrown over Kuroo's shoulder as if he was not more than a sack of rice. "T-Tetsu! You guys, hold- hold on!" Daichi protested, but Kuroo ultimately ignored him as the rest of them quickly followed behind him (and Daichi), to the living room. 
"Toshi already said that you should be punished, Dai-chan," Oikawa said with that lethal smirk. "So we are not backing up now."
Daichi sent another glance to Ushijima and he could only whine softly when he saw him nodding his head solemnly, Bokuto now wrapping his arm around his shoulders. He let out another squeak when Kuroo suddenly threw him against the sofa, they hovered over him for a few seconds before Oikawa and Kuroo were both pinning his arms up above his head. 
"W-Wait... I'm- I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean... to win?" Daichi tried to explain himself, his back arching up as he pulled at his arms. 
"What should we do?" Oikawa asked, ignoring Daichi's pleas. 
"Shall we punch him?" Kuroo said and Daichi gasped, widening his eyes.
"What?! Do you guys really hate me that much?!" Oikawa and Kuroo snickered and Daichi looked over Ushijima just one more time, but he only blushed furiously when he found the man looking at him intently. 
He was screwed. 
"So not punching?" Kuroo asked playfully.
"Not punching," Bokuto suddenly popped in. "This!" He said before diving in, his hands latching onto Daichi's sides, squeezing them up and down. 
Daichi flinched when Bokuto grabbed him, his body tensing, actually fearing to be beaten up, but he was extremely surprised when, instead of pain, he felt those sparks waking up his nerve endings.
"Aaah! Wahahahait!" Daichi started to giggle right away; to be attacked by something so low as tickling, the humiliation! "Puhuhuhunch me!"
The rest laughed, even Ushijima let out soft chuckles as Daichi giggled and began to squirm, pulling at his arms. 
"What?! That's so stupid, I love it!" Oikawa chirped as he got a better hold of Daichi's wrists, making him squeak when he pushed his arm a little higher, Kuroo following suit, causing Daichi to let out nervous giggles. 
"B-Bohohoho!" Daichi squeaked out, trying to twist his hips so he could turn on his side, but to his surprise, Bokuto planted himself on top of his thighs. "N-Nohoho! I'm sorry! I'm sohohorry!" 
Daichi was usually okay with tickle fights. He had had some with these four men before, but never the four of them at once! He was not sure he'd survive this, after all, he was aware that at least one of them knew about his most ticklish spot and, knowing them, they'd make sure to weak him up before finally going straight for that spot. 
Daichi shuddered as he tried to bite his lower lip to stop those giggles bubbling out, but he squeaked when Bokuto started to squeeze his waist and the giggles that had gathered in his throat came flowing loud and clear and the blush on his face spread toward his ears.
"Ah, so I remembered correctly!" Bokuto said excitedly. "Daichi has a ticklish waist!"
Oikawa hummed. "I didn't know he was ticklish there… nice!" He said, talking as if Daichi wasn't there giggling like a schoolgirl.
He knew he was in trouble - Oikawa, Kuroo and Bokuto were already fired up, but Ushijima was still there (embarrassingly staring at him), without doing anything, so Daichi managed to put the best puppy eyes he could and looked at him.
"W-Wahahahakatoshi!" He giggled, flinching when Bokuto found the right spot on his waist. "H-Hehehehelp!" No, more specific. "H-Help m-mehehehe, please!"
He should had known better, after all, Ushijima was the one who suggested the punishment in the first place, regardless, Daichi was still surprised when Ushijima mumbled with his low, deep voice::
"Try his stomach."
Daichi widened his eyes and he immediately sucked on his belly, as if that action would help him at all - of course it didn't: he let out a whimpery plea, but Bokuto easily raised his shirt up to his ribs and his fingers dug into the flesh of his stomach. 
"GAHAHaha! Wahahait! Wait!" He squeaked, the giggles morphing into loud laughs as Bokuto mercilessly vibrated his fingertips right in the center of his tummy. "Uhuhuhushihihihi!" Daichi didn't notice, but Ushijima's ears turned a little red. "Trahahahahitor!" 
"Ho?" Kuroo purred. "So Sawamura has a ticklish tummy?" 
"Try scribbling your fingers on the sides," Ushijima explained, his fingers wiggling slightly to show Bokuto how to do it. 
"Nohoho!"
"Why don't you do it, Wakatoshi?" Bokuto asked with a big smile, stopping momentarily to invite Ushijima to join, Daichi shook his head like a mad man.
"Oh! That's a splendid idea!" Oikawa beamed and Daichi fought against all instinct to look up at him, he didn't want to see Oikawa's big grin. "While Toshi wrecks Daichi's belly, Bo can move to his ribs!"
Daichi squeaked. "Pl-Plehehease! D-Don't be such s-sohohore losers!" 
It was too late when Daichi realized what he just said; Ushijima was already kneeling close to the sofa and his hands were poised against the sides of Daichi's belly, his fingers scribbling against the warm and tight skin. 
Daichi's reaction was priceless and everyone laughed about it: he arched his back and let out a slightly girly shriek before bubbly laughter bloomed out of his mouth. His heels digging into the sofa's surface.
"Ahahaha! Wakatohohoshi, wait! N-Nahahaha!" 
To Daichi's horror, little hiccups started to filter through his laughter and the cooing from above him only made him want to sink deeper into the mattress, but he arched up again when Ushijima started to vibrate his fingers against the muscles at the sides of his tummy, stealing more hiccups from Daichi. 
"Oh goodness," Oikawa whispered. "Try his ribs! His ribs!" Oikawa urged Bokuto who, thankfully, had stopped to just look over at Daichi with a bright smile of his own. "It's a very nice spot."
"Nohohoho!"
"Up here?" Bokuto teased, his fingers crawling like little spider's legs toward Daichi's ribs. 
"P-Plehehehease!" Daichi shook his head and scrunched up his nose at the little pokes, his tummy sucking in when Bokuto grazed his lower ribs, but it seemed like Bokuto didn't notice as he suddenly made two claws with his hands and started to vibrate them against his bones and in the spaces in-between.
Daichi let out a shriek before cackles poured out of his mouth, he was positively kicking his feet now, or at least trying to with Bokuto sitting on his thighs. His ribs were horribly ticklish, he only needed a poke there to feel his whole rib cage tingling.
Bokuto was now squeezing Daichi's ribs, making him jump and squeak, but he was not hitting those special spots that never failed to almost throw Daichi into hysterical laughter, but Oikawa knew and Daichi knew it was only a matter of time before he instructed Bokuto again. 
"Nice, Bo, but try right at the lower ribs." There he was.
"No! Nohohoho, Kou! Plehehehease!"
"Oh?" Kuroo and Ushijima mumbled curiously and Daichi could only beg between cackles. 
"Here?"
"Yes, those ribs are really sensitive. Just use your thumbs- yeah, like that."
"AHAHAHA!" Daichi wished that he couldn't feel the tickling against his tummy, too, but that, added to the new electrifying sensation of having his lower ribs massaged with gentle deep circles, he felt like he wanted to crawl out of his skin. 
His squirming got wilder and Bokuto, Kuroo and Oikawa laughed as they pinned him a little harder without hurting him - Ushijima just chuckled, his fingers moving with experience, (didn't they have a tickle fight like once?!); his thumbs digging into the soft flesh under Daichi's belly button, forcing a snort out, or perhaps it was the way Bokuto was vibrating his fingers against those horribly ticklish ribs. 
He didn't know, he just knew it tickled, but it was not over yet. He felt it in his belly, his insides doing little flips just at the thought of that certain spot being tickled and Kuroo hadn't done anything yet. 
"That's not all! That's not all!" Oikawa said excitedly over Daichi's loud laughter 
"Look at this!" He quickly pinned Daichi's arm with his knees, Daichi was so overwhelmed by sensations that he didn't even put up a fight when he felt a little bit of freedom on his arm. 
"No! D-dohohon't l-lehehet hihihim- AH! Ahahahaha, Tooru! T-To-ahahaha!" 
Bokuto let out a whistle at such reaction, but Daichi couldn't care less at the moment: Tooru was rubbing deep circles into his highest ribs and Daichi just couldn't stand the maddening sensation - the skin, the muscles, even the bones felt extremely tender and weak against the ticklish attention. 
Not only that, having Tooru's hands so close to his actual most ticklish spot had him in frantic hysterical cackles; his body slowly growing weak, his hips wiggling slightly and his torso trying to turn away, but it was not possible, not with all of that laughter pouring non stop out of his mouth.
"Hehe, I told you guys it was a nice spot!" 
"Stahahahap!"
"I'm not sure," Oikawa said, looking down at Daichi's laughing face, he was red by now, a thin layer of sweat covering his forehead and tears falling from the sides of his face. "Do you feel any bad?" 
"I d-d-ahahaha! I do!" He squeaked out in a hurry before another cackle could cut his words. 
"Are you learning your lesson?" Kuroo asked next, but Daichi didn't have the head to learn any lesson, he was laughing hysterically, snorts burning his nose and hiccups bubbling out of his throat. If there was a lesson to learn, he was not learning it at all, but he nodded, not wanting to cause any more havoc to himself. 
Kuroo chuckled. "Poor Daichi, too ticklish for his own good. Maybe you can have it in mind next time you decide to be a little shit, huh?" 
Daichi shook his head. "I'm sohohohaharry!"
"I think you are lying," Kuroo purred and Daichi feared for his life. "That's why I should teach the rest, where's your weakest spot, hm?"
Daichi shrieked, his tired body regaining some force. "NAHAHAHAT thahahat!"
"Heee?" Bokuto and Oikawa said, Ushijima only looked up at Kuroo with a raised eyebrow. "So Daichi is not the most ticklish on his ribs?"
"AHAGAHAHAD, plehehehease Tehehehetsu, dohohon't!" 
"Of course not," Kuroo said, pinning Daichi's arm with his legs, as well. "Daichi's weakest spot is right here," he said, suddenly digging one finger right in the middle of Daichi's clothed armpits. 
Daichi went so wild with such gentle touch, he almost threw Bokuto off, but Ushijima held him by the shoulder, stabilizing him so Bokuto could properly sit on Daichi's thighs again. Oikawa was laughing at him. 
"Uh-uh," Bokuto said, his fingers back to Daichi's lower ribs. "This is going to be good."
"Brace yourself, Dai. Here I go!"
"No! Nononono- NAHAHAHA!" Oikawa gasped when Daichi suddenly threw his head back, howling with laughter. 
Kuroo wasted no time, he sneaked his hands under Daichi's sleeves, touching the smooth skin with his fingertips before digging, wiggling and vibrating against the exposed armpits, into the hollows and right in the center where Kuroo knew Daichi was the most sensitive. 
Meanwhile, Daichi was going crazy. He was howling desperately, all of his weak spots being tickled at once was something he hadn't experience before and his mind was going blank, he could only focus in the sensations and how it tickled so fucking much. 
The vibrations against his armpits, the massages against his highest and lower ribs and he was almost sure that he felt a shy raspberry being pressed against the side of his tummy before fingertips were clawing at his muscles. Oh goodness, Ushijima was actually blowing raspberries against his stomach! 
Daichi thought he was going to die. 
"STAHAHA-" it was the only thing Daichi could manage out before his laughter turned silent, his body shaking heavily with each laugh. 
"Daichi, does it tickle too much?" Oikawa asked, not slowing down at all. Daichi nodded weakly, jumping when Kuroo found a particular sensitive spot. 
"Do you want us to stop?" Kuroo mumbled and Daichi nodded again, throwing his head back with a salient cackle when he definitely felt and heard another raspberry, this time right against his navel. 
"Poor Dai," Bokuto sang. "Too ticklish for his own good." Daichi nodded one more time, not caring anymore about saving some face to these mean boys.
"Okay, that's enough," Ushijima said, lifting his hands away from Daichi's pink stomach. The other three followed him, bright smiles on their lips as they watched Daichi still laughing until he regained his voice and was giggling tiredly, his body trembling slightly. 
"I'll bring some water," Kuroo said, lifting himself from Daichi's arm, Daichi was too weak, so he just kept his arm up above his head. 
"Are you okay, Dai?" Bokuto asked, perhaps a little worried as he placed Daichi's shirt back in place, not without making him flinch and bark out a nervous laugh when he moved his hands too quickly. 
Oikawa chuckled. "Calm down, we have finished. Do you feel okay?" Daichi took a few breaths before nodding softly, a little smile curling his lips.
"I'm g-gohohood," he said, his voice hoarse after laughing so much. "N-Nohoho more," he pleaded with bright eyes and a funny smile. 
"Yes, no more." Oikawa nodded, pulling Daichi's arm out from under his knees and gently helping him to lower both of them. Daichi let out a giggle when Ushijima grabbed both his hands and helped him sit up, Bokuto placing him against the backrest of the sofa.
He felt boneless and a bit heated up, but he didn't mind when Bokuto sat too close to him at his right, Oikawa collapsing right beside Bokuto. Ushijima sat by his left, also a bit too close and Daichi didn't notice when he had gotten that magazine, but he thanked him shyly when Ushijima started to fan him with it. 
When Kuroo came back with the glass of water, Daichi took it gratefully and drank it in one sip, Oikawa was nice enough to take the glass out of his hands and place it on the little table in front of them. 
Daichi let his head fall back. Damn, he was tired and he still felt some phantom tickles all over his torso, making him twitch softly and smile lightly. That was intense, but, even so, he couldn't really say he totally hated it.
He sent discreet glances at the men resting by his sides and his heart fluttered a little when he noticed their little pleased smiles. They seemed happy - ah, could it be because they actually got their revenge on him? 
Daichi felt his cheeks heating up. They didn't really hate him for that, right? They've been living together for a while now and everything was going perfectly fine, so it wasn't like that… was it? 
He softly cleared his throat and flushed even more when the four of them turned their head to look at him, Oikawa and Kuroo moving forward a little. 
"Are- are you guys really upset at me?" He tried to look at each of their faces as he sunk a little deeper into the backrest. 
Ushijima, Oikawa, Bokuto and Kuroo exchanged a look and Daichi let out a shriek when he felt fingers suddenly digging into his ribs, tickling him again.
"Gahahaha! N-Nohoho!" He was surprised to find out that Bokuto and Ushijima were the ones doing it. 
"Dai-chan is so silly!" Oikawa laughed softly. 
"Of course we are not upset at you, Daichi!" Bokuto chirped, going for Daichi's waist again. 
"We just wanted to tease you! We don't actually hold a grudge against you, silly Daichi!" Kuroo laughed too, reaching up to ruffle Daichi's hair. 
"Mn," Ushijima mumbled, also moving down to tickle the other side of Daichi's waist. 
"Plehehehease! S-Stahahap! You sahahahaid no mohohore!"
"You should be punished for actually thinking we were upset at you," Kuroo threatened and Daichi squeaked, shaking his head a little. 
He would never admit that he felt his heart flutter at that, his face turning bright red as he felt a wave of relief rushing through him. 
"O-Okahahay! I'm sohohorry!"
"Shall we hold him down?" Oikawa asked, already getting up. 
"No!" Daichi shrieked, wrapping his arms around his torso and trying to push those hands away. "Not nahahahaw!"
"Hoo?" Kuroo hummed. "So later?"
Daichi was stuck with four tickle maniacs and they already had found their victim. If he was happy about it, he kept it deep within his heart. 
202 notes · View notes
toonformers · 3 years
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Design number two, Optimus and Sentinel Prime, complete with height reference chart!
I redesigned Optimus but lets say for lore purposes, the technology for compressing Cybetronians to look humanoid has been developed even more and basically perfected.
But I wanna talk about Senti here, cuz there's some stuff to unravel here lol! So you may or may not remember (for those who don't know) when Naturae's life was destroyed, Sentinel scavenged the planet for survivors. No luck, he only came back with a seed and a note for Optimus from his lover, Shira, saying to take care of it and love it as Oppy loved her.
Sentinel wasn't very...keen to the idea of Optimus having an organic lover. However, he would help him go out with Shira and not be seen. He was willing to keep a secret, with the mentality of "This won't last long." And that mentality stuck with him, even after the news of Shira's death. Ultra Magnus' new law for all Autobots...
[Inside Fortress Maximus]
*Optimus is staring at the seed from Shira, and the note. He'd just compressed his body for the organic appearance and put on a vest with pants*
Sentinel: *slams door open* Optimus!
Optimus, surprised: Sentinel. I see you got the news.
Sentinel, angered: Yeah, I got the news. What have you done to your body? Why is everyone else supposed to do it?
Optimus: Ultra Magnus thought it would be a good way to appease the grief of others over the loss of Naturae and its people.
Sentinel, angered: Don't lie to me. I know you did this to mourn your little romance. What I don't understand is why you're making the entire planet do it!
Optimus: It's not my decision what Ultra Magnus passes as a law and you know it.
Sentinel, angered: But you very clearly influenced him. Don't deny it!
Optimus, annoyed: Fine, I won't. Happy?
Sentinel, angered: You still haven't answered why you want everyone to do this.
Optimus: ...The Naturians...they saw the world differently compared to us. Down to creation. They don't see machines or technology. They don't see sparks of energy or metal. They see life. What life is. What it can be. How it all connected. I want our culture to have that.
Sentinel, annoyed: Optimus, we are machines. We don't have reproduction or flesh or a fragile nature. We're beings who are forged. Built to last eons without a scratch. What differences us from any other machines is our sparks. That's what connects us. That's what makes us Cybertronians. The ability to have an AI so complex it's basically a soul. I for one and happy with that.
Optimus: Well, I'm not. I don't like this idea of "we're machines so we're better than everyone". Because we're not better. We have so much to learn. You especially.
Sentinel: *takes the seed away from Optimus*
Optimus: WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!
Sentinel: This is the problem. You spent way too much time around those organics. I should've separated you two as soon as I suspected your little fling.
Optimus, furious: It's not a fling, Sentinel! She was the one! Shira was the one I wanted to spend my life with! I loved her!
Sentinel, angered: You're judgment has been blinded! You didn't love her!
Optimus, furious: Oh, what do you know about love?! How could you know how it feels to have finally found the being you're going to spend the rest of you're life with, only for them to DIE and you living with the guilt FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE?! HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY KNOW HOW THAT FEELS?!
Sentinel: *stares in shock and slowly gives the seed back*
Optimus: Thank you. Now please leav...Sentinel?
Sentinel, whispering: *approaches Optimus* How that feels? You mean how it feels to fall in love in the Autobot Academy? How you planned to confess your feelings after completing a mission that you were sure you were gonna succeed. Primus, with your baby brother and friend by your side, it's a guaranteed success. Then...she dies. Because the organics who lived in the planet you visited were hostile and numerous. You blame your brother for not letting you go back for her but deep down, you know. And you have to live with the fact it's all my.... *voice cracks* fault.
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Optimus: Sentinel?
*Sentinel walks away silently*
[Hours later, with Ultra Magnus]
Optimus: ...and I haven't seen him after that. I thought maybe he'd gone to see you.
UM: No, I haven't seen him. It's strange. Sentinel is not usually the emotional type. I wonder where he could have gone.
Guard: *bursts through the door* Commander! An emergency! In the medbay! It's Sentinel Prime!
[At the medbay]
UM: Perceptor. What happened?
Perceptor: Sentinel Prime had locked himself in the room and repeatedly used the appearance compressor. I estimate he went in 6 times before collapsing and loosing consciousness.
UM: Primus.
Optimus, worried: Why would he do that?? Where is he?
Perceptor: He's undergoing some repairs. Unfortunately there have been some complications. Normally the compressor can be used once, twice for aesthetic purposes. More than that can damage the exoskeleton. Sentinel having gone in 6 times has caused himself severe internal injuries. Among them...his T-cog.
UM, worried: What's wrong with it?
Perceptor: It's been crushed to a scrap. And as you know, T-cogs are irreplaceable, due to its technology being mostly unknown to science. We've not yet mastered how to build replacement cogs. Unfortunately...Sentinel Prime's transformation ability...has been terminated permanently.
Optimus, shocked: No. Magnus!
UM, sad: Sentinel...
Perceptor: It seems he wanted to fully commit to the organic lifestyle. He didn't explain why. He only said "He needs this."
Optimus: I need to see him.
UM: Take us to him.
Perceptor: Very well.
[Sentinel's med room]
*Ultra Magnus and Optimus enter to see a thin Sentinel, trying on clothing. He turns and stares at his brothers*
Optimus: Sentinel! *hugs Sentinel, Ultra Magnus joins*
Sentinel: Heh. Didn't think you'd want to see me.
UM: Are you joking, you malfunction? What have you done?? Do you realize what this has done to you??
Sentinel: I know.
Optimus: Sentinel, why did you do this? You could've gone offline! Now your T-cog is gone! You'll never transform again! Why?? Why do this?
Sentinel: ...remember what I said earlier? About...the thing with...
Optimus: Yeah?
Sentinel: After that happened, I continued my studies like normally. And it's one of my biggest regrets, because I didn't take the time to mourn Elita One. I never fully recovered from the pain. Now you're going through the same thing I did. And instead of helping you during this time, I was mocking you. I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry. And...to help you get through this, I decided to follow Ultra Magnus' rule. While taking it to a much...further extent.
Optimus, surprise: Sentinel....
Sentinel: Let's make this clear. I....dislike organics. A lot. But if you think this is what Cybertron needs to progress and what you need to feel better, I'll do it.
Optimus: Senti...come here, you idiot! *hugs* Thank you. You look great.
Sentinel: I know. *smirks*
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ladyfawkes · 3 years
Text
Desiderium by Trekkiehood and LadyFawkes Current word count: 15102 Current Chapter 8 & 9: The Useful Idiots; Eugene's Lament Rated: T for graphic descriptions of violence, wartime, torture, things of a POW nature. ATTENTION/ACHTUNG/ATTENCION: THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!! [Nor a repost.] DESI HAS BEEN GIVEN ITS FOOOOURTH UPDATE IN LESS THAN A WEEK. WHOOPWHOOPWHOOP! Chapter 8 (but not 9) also the first chapter in which I've flown entirely solo thus far. Doth my eyes deceive me, or does our hero make a reappearance??? Hold onto your butts, buttercups. You finally get to learn what Regis is all about. Eeeeep!!! This one's intense!! You also get to learn exactly what Eugene wrote to his dearest Rapunzel in the hour or so prior to his capture.
Overall Story Summary: Desiderium: an ardent desire or longing; especially: a feeling of loss or grief for something lost. Eugene and Rapunzel's lives are turned upside down when a war breaks out between Corona and Equis. As Captain of the Guard, Eugene is forced to leave his wife and daughter to fight on the front lines, where a tragic berserker attack leaves Rapunzel a widow.....or so she's been led to believe. Now prisoner to a sadistic megalomaniac, our severely injured Eugene must fight harder than he's ever fought before in order to escape dire circumstances and drag his way back to his family. With battles raging, the enemy advancing, too many fallen troops, dwindling supplies under siege, and especially absent their most trusted strategic leader, the only chance Rapunzel, Corona, and Eugene have is if the kingdom can still somehow pull off the seemingly insurmountable task of winning this forsaken war. Has dusk finally arrived for the kingdom of the sun, or will she rise victorious once more? Chapter 8 Summary: Eugene finds "help" in the most unexpected of places. (Chapter 9 summary & chapter posted beneath Chapter 8.)
Javeen’s men had concussed the enemy captain in outrage and tightly bound his wrists and ankles with ropes for transport. Naturally, nobody amongst them had consciously thought to put pressure on the enemy’s` wounds. On the contrary, most of them had gone out of their way to avoid such a thing…. Their reputation had always been annihilation of all opposition and a literal scorched earth policy. It didn’t leave much room, if any, for compassion or medical training; most of the time, it left even less room for common sense. Before dawn that day, Commander Javeen’s underling had initially volunteered to perform the honor of actually transporting the soon-to-be-captured prisoner, the captain in red. However, by this point, Avila was less than thrilled; Uhlan Avila didn’t want the loathsome enemy captain to leak his blood and other bodily fluids all over his opulent saddle. He’d spent good money on it, after all. This was an unforeseen complication for which the uhlan had definitely not volunteered. However, now….he was stuck with it. Avila sprinted over to a fallen enemy horse nearby, loosened the saddle, and reclaimed the saddle blanket, padding, and two leather straps. Taking the woolen pad and folding it over a few times, he rolled the enemy captain up inside of it with the blanket around the outside, and cinched up everything with the reclaimed leather straps. Uhlan Avila was pleased with himself for being so clever. It was that one action of vanity alone which preserved Eugene’s life to this point; as otherwise short-sighted as these bloodthirsty barbarians were, transporting the wounded -- even their own -- was not something for which they spared much thought or effort. And so Uhlan Avila threw the prepared prisoner over the withers of his horse and ultimately brought the prisoner, retching and puking, all the way back to Javeen’s encampment outside Equisian city walls. Thus the Equisian army had done the enemy commander a secondary favor by attacking before breakfast; one cannot puke out what one has not eaten. And thus we've reached our third unintended positive consequence that the uhlan mistakenly provided the enemy: Avila had rendered him virtually unconscious. It was a profoundly merciful thing, remaining staunchly unable to recall waking memory of being hauled away so inhumanely, bound and profusely bleeding, with no way to brace or prepare oneself for the relentless jarring and jouncing motions on the arduously long journey ahead. The same afternoon Queen Rapunzel of Corona received her husband’s final impassioned missive, the currently defenseless abductee Captain Eugene S. Fitzherbert, Prince Consort of Her Majesty Queen Rapunzel, was presented to His Imperial Majesty King Regis the First and Terrible of Equis. Regis preferred just the one name, as ambitious as he was, wanting to further distinguish himself from anyone else yet in the history books. Fully expectant that his captive should be brought to him on a silver platter, King Regis was royally put-out when he was instead Summoned to Javeen’s encampment due to a quote unquote “slight problem”. However, he was determined nothing would spoil his mood for that day. That day had all gone off without a hitch, apparently, every carefully laid plan thus far. As well it should, Regis congratulated himself internally. Nothing would be better than his moment of being able to gloat in the face of this unworthy thieving interloper who had taken up such a plumb station within the neighboring kingdom. Regis had heard all about Fitzherbert from his cousin before his death. What idiots Corona’s former royal couple must have been, getting duped by the likes of such a wonton common thief. King Regis vowed he would die before he let such an accursed scourge back into his palace. King Trevor had regaled Regis endlessly about his woes with Corona, King Frederic, and ultimately, the insufferable thief Fitzherbert. And Regis….well, Regis was like Trevor multiplied one-thousand-fold. While they were close to the same age, Regis had had a lifetime filled with
having the throne denied him.
His gargantuan height of 6’11” made Regis tower over most everyone around him. Though he was tall, he was also toned and muscular rather than massive; though he could yell louder than most, he also had a silver tongue. His cruelty, selfishness, and vanity knew no bounds -- nor did his taste for ostentation. Unlike Trevor, who had a very pointy pinched look, Regis was exceptionally attractive, broad-chested, and “strong as a bear”, with his close-cropped full beard and once-dark-hair turned a respectable salt-&-pepper. Yet beautiful as he was, every horrible family trait that Trevor had ever possessed -- and then some -- were magnified to abysmal new depths within Regis….which is why lately, he’d been experimenting around with giving himself titles of repute. “King Regis the Great”....no, too generic. “King Regis the Horrible,”...no. Again, too….pedestrian. “King Regis the Terrible”...? Slight improvement but still not good enough. King Regis brushed an invisible piece of lint off his shimmering blue ermine cape, readjusted his most opulent jeweled crown and sauntered through the massive tent flap that had been pulled aside in anticipation of his arrival. He strutted toward the back of the tent, where he saw his 2nd and 3rd in command, Commander Javeen and Commander Thaddeus. Thaddeus backed away at a steady pace upon seeing him, after the commander bowed, saluted, and announced his king’s arrival. Regis picked up on an undercurrent of agitation between his leading men. As he approached Javeen and a heap of old rags on the ground, he learned precisely why. It was not a pile of rags before him. Now abruptly seeing his Big Moment evaporate in front of his eyes, Regis rushed up to see who was this mystery prisoner. Surely this could not be Fitzherbert….?? He’d expected him to be a bit sick and groggy from a pre-planned hellride over horse’s withers but not….. And Regis roughly clutched at the hair of the prone individual and yanked backward on the head so he could see the hidden features. And though this prisoner’s face was filthy, it was just as Regis feared: he was indeed looking at the face that launched a thousand Wanted posters, his avowed newest enemy, thieving “Prince” Fitzherbert. The enemy prisoner showed no outward reaction to him nor anything else whatsoever. He lay still, eye closed and expressionless, his body completely inert. With fury clouding his vision, Regis tore at the saddle blanket wrapped around his prey. The blanket had all but adhered to those once-leaking wounds through Eugene’s torso. By this time, Cmdr. Thaddeus had backed away to a safe distance outside the tent. “What is the MEANING OF THIS!?!?” roared Regis, unclutching his once-intended target’s hair and crossing the tent to Javeen in less than half a second. “GRIEVOUSLY DAMAGING MY CHOSEN PREY BEFORE I CAN EVEN SEE HIM?!?! “My-My Liege,” stuttered Javeen, “I thought you’d be pleased to see him in such dire straits!” At this, even Regis was taken aback. Briefly. “To reiterate….you ‘thought I’d be PLEASED’,” Regis made mocking air-quotes, “to see the very victim I’d been planning personally to accost now for months, suddenly in a position where nothing I can do can possibly torture or make him hurt enough, the way he should be!?!” At this, Regis twitched his wrist and an impossibly sharp filigreed 12-inch-length steel stylus slipped silently out of a concealed pouch in his sleeve. Now, the king was deceptively, eerily calm, ever-so-slowly advancing on Javeen, who was inching away. “Did it ever occur to you,” Regis rapidly whip-sliced in an upward diagonal with the stylus, his impossibly-lengthy arm snaking out from him, “that I might need to play with him first?” And then he whipped the whisper-quiet blade rapidly on an opposing downward diagonal, completing an X pattern across the chest of Javeen’s tunic. His second’s eyes bugged out and he continued to back away from Regis, stumbling, clutching at and trying to press his tunic against the new fresh wounds underneath to staunch the flow. Gritting his teeth and trying desperately
not to cry out, Javeen well knew how screaming and crying to Regis would only encourage him further. “This dirty thief has information I require, you fool,” Regis whispered, with deadly calm, as he threw the stylus at the dirt and it pierced Javeen through his foot. His hapless second screamed in spite of himself and fell backward, his foot still pinned to the earth through his boot. “I pay you to kill, maim, and follow my orders to the letter,” Regis stood over him prior to leaving, “not to do my thinking for me.” After giving his original intended victim Fitzherbert one last longing glance, Mad King Regis knelt down and plucked his stylus out of the shocked man’s pinned foot as slowly and agonizingly as possible, making Javeen yell mightily again as crimson gushed out the new holes in either side of his boot.
Regis then wiped his stylus clean on Javeen’s trouser leg, and said loudly, “Cmdr. Thaddeus, Summon the surgeon or apothecary, whatever he calls himself. Tell him he has a new charge. JUST THE ONE,” he growled menacingly at Javeen, his implications crystal clear although he still addressed Cmdr Thaddeus. And to think, less than five minutes ago, Regis had been having such a fine day. ---------------------TTS------------------------- Chapter 9 Summary: Varian has a visceral reaction after eavesdropping on Timothy's devastating report with Rapunzel. After several key delays, the queen goes down to the stables to speak with Maximus....and receives a letter. ============ Varian gradually pulled away from the door where he’d just been eavesdropping on Timothy and the Queen. His head was shaking side to side involuntarily and his eyes had frozen wide open. Clawed hands raked through his hair until Varian was frantically grasping his fringe in shock and disbelief. Everything had gone numb as he continued backing away. His throat constricted for a time and he struggled to breathe.
“Varian?” Ash approached carefully and lightly touched his arm; he flinched violently at her touch. “Varian, are you okay?”
No. No, he wasn’t. This was impossible. Eugene couldn’t be dead. He just could not!
“I-I have to go!” Varian choked out. And he simply ran. He wasn’t even sure exactly where he was going. He couldn’t go to his dad, as Quirin was one of the few Coronian citizens to have actually seen bonafide combat. Thus his services would be required with Corona’s dwindling army now more than ever….. He couldn't go to Rapunzel, she had enough problems to worry about, and he couldn’t go to Eugene because he was- no. He wasn't. He could not be! Maybe he was only missing, not dead.
Xavier. Xavier would know what to do. Varian needed to find Xavier.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~TTS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Hey Max,” Rapunzel smiled a weak watery smile as she gently stroked the horse’s face. “Heard you had quite the run.”
She offered him an apple that he accepted from her hand….but he carefully set it aside and refused to eat it.
“Yeah, I know the feeling, my friend.” Pascal chirruped in agreement and nuzzled a little against Max’s face from the vantage point of Rapunzel’s shoulder.
It still hadn’t completely sunk in…..Eugene’s possibly being gone forever. By the time she had gone down to speak with Max about an hour after first speaking to poor Timothy, about a half dozen of their other soldiers had also beaten a hasty retreat back to Corona proper, as Old Corona was even less safe than ever, due to the out-of-control fire. Sometimes not all of these men arrived in one piece, either. Rapunzel subsequently learned the enemy had started an oversized funeral pyre…..but why?? They also independently corroborated Timothy’s claims of Eugene’s being run-through. And even worse, some said that Eugene’s stricken body had been thrown…..on the top of that funeral pyre. She’d heard the chilling reports corroborated more than once, from soldiers who had little to no idea what their fellow troops had also seen. She had had those tunnel nightmares for ages. And yet...hardly anything felt real. She felt detached from everything. Once the tiny and woefully wounded and bedraggled troop contingent had arrived, however, news had spread throughout the palace grounds faster than the fire that spawned it: Eugene is dead. The Prince is dead. Captain Fitzherbert died in battle.
Maximus let out a soft nickering. Rapunzel allowed a few tears to finally fall for real. It was a stark reality, seeing Max without Eugene. Seeing the blood on the saddle. Seeing the thick bandages on Maximus as he was carefully laid on his side, being cared for in the stable. Seeing everything, everything that she had once thought of as strong and capable and larger-than-life, and practically invincible….all in such precarious states. She just…..couldn’t…..
“I don’t know what I would’ve done had we lost you too, Max,” whispered Rapunzel. This was the only way, she decided, she could hold things together. With Max and Pascal, she could fall apart if needed, without anyone questioning her state of mind or suggesting she should step down from her duties. She just….couldn’t bring herself to give up on him just yet. Rapunzel instinctively knew that she was still the best chance Eugene had for being found. And that chance would diminish severely if she replaced herself with someone else in the highest command position.
Max nuzzled her hand before biting at his saddlebag and pulling out a folded letter with "Wifey" scrawled in hurried font on the back.
She accepted it with shaking hands. It still bore his scent and the official Captain’s watermark. Eugene’s. She could barely contain her trembling as she unfolded the pages.
My Dearest Sunshine and Darling Wifey,
The writing on the parchment here appeared peppered with large drops of clear liquid. Most of the ink was smeared, including the date in the top right corner, as if it were all written in a furious hurry. It’s doubtless the reason why Eugene never had time to seal the letter either.
If you’ve been given this letter, then I can assume I’ve entered a battle from which I will likely not return. Know that I did everything in my power to win for us. I’ve done everything in my power to return to you. I never wanted to leave you or Kleisonne. It was never my choice to stay away….but I’m sorry nonetheless. Not only do I have sworn duty to protect the kingdom and her heirs…..it’s most of all because I want you and our daughter to be as safe as humanly possible. You’ve been the best companion, wife, mother to our child, lover, and life-rescuer this flawed man could have ever hoped for. I’ve been more happy these past 5 years with you than the prior 23 years of my life combined. I’ve never wished more than now that an afterlife truly exists. Because whether in living life or afterlife, I would give absolutely everything I have just to spend even a tiny bit more of my time with you and Kleisonne, even if all I got to give you was a proper goodbye. I love you more than mere words could ever convey.
Also know how much I cherish you and how fortunate I am to have been given a second chance to get things right in my life. That never could’ve happened without you.
I’ll never stop loving you, Sunshine. Death couldn’t stop that before. Perhaps….the odds might smile on me yet again.
In my absence, I need you to be certain and watch that nanny. Please. My paternal instincts are just extra strong right now, I suppose but certainly you of all people can understand why I'm....careful. And in case I can’t return, please make sure Kleisonne knows I love her and that I never wanted to leave her. I didn’t abandon her by choice. Someone stole our time out from under us. Every moment we three are apart, I’m certain desiderium shall overwhelm me. Please….tell my dad how much I appreciate, love, and care for him. I completely understand his delay. I can’t imagine how difficult it would’ve been to pull together a virtual army and make his way back here in about 7 weeks. Two or three days shouldn’t have made much of a difference but in this case….? I fear Edmund will never forgive himself--but I will. Corona will still need him and the Brotherhood though, even if I’m gone. Tell Fred and Arianna thank you for everything…..they were my family at a time when I still had nobody else.
You were my new dream yesterday, you’re my new dream today, and you’ll always be the best dream I could ever seek, Rapunzel. I’ll remain forever your devoted husband.
All my love and more, Eugene
Rapunzel was openly sobbing now. Rivers of pent-up tears flowed as the Queen’s small body was wracked with uncontrolled weeping. She surrendered to the worst pain and emotional loss of her entire life. It just wasn’t right. It’s not fair for me to have saved him once, only for the enemy soldiers to get him just a few short years later.
Maximus whinnied low in his throat and nuzzled in, letting Rapunzel know it was safe for her to come closer, despite his bandages. It was clear the despondent horse didn’t care how much he hurt physically, which….comparably, still wasn’t all that much. The adrenaline still hadn’t worn off from his mad dash earlier, apparently. And it was the least he could do to give his queen a safe space to cry. She clung tightly to his neck, letting her tears soak into his mane. Maximus well knew how difficult it was for her to express herself when she felt vulnerable.
Events and every single independent corroboration thus far all pointed towards Commodore Fitzherbert having been killed. Virtually nobody had seen him alive since before the inferno effectively ended the battle. Several people had even witnessed his being run-through, and a couple of his men had even seen his body on a lighted funeral pyre. Rapunzel was wracked again with more sobs at these thoughts.
How could Eugene have possibly survived? Common sense told her he hadn’t. Yet everything else told her he was still out there, somewhere, needing urgently to be found. Everyone lucky enough to have retreated from the battle said they were certain he had not survived. Though it had been around 4-5 hours since the end of the battle, Rapunzel couldn’t give up just yet.
Most chillingly of all, the idea had finally begun sinking in….mostly due to morale being plunged to abysmal levels.
The whole kingdom had felt noticeably dimmer once everyone began to believe Eugene Fitzherbert was dead.
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shaggi · 3 years
Text
if i could stop time, i would
info ; eren x reader ; soulmates ; 1.8k
content warning ; end of the world concept, mentions of not really wanting to live lol, gentle angst
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Day one. 72 hours until the world ends.
The world is going to shit. I know it is because I can hear the panicked buzz of mothers holding their children close and reassuring them as the news practically burned "we're all going to die" into our heads.
My fingers twitched as they held the dark blue fabric of my jeans. I'm terrified ㅡ as is the rest of the people watching the news ㅡ and it most definitely doesnt help when they plaster a large timer onto the screen counting down our days and hours left on our beloved blue planet.
"We never thought this day would come.. Ladies and gentlemen, we've reached the end of the chapter." The words echoed into the back of my mind. 'The end of the chapter'? I havent even really lived my life? I'm only seventeen.. I barely made it to graduation. I suck in a deep breath, filling my lungs fully before releasing the built up pressure.
Theres a burning sensation on my waterline, tears threatening to roll down my cheeks. My hands begin to shake when I think back to all the sleepless nights I spent not enjoying life. I took life for granted ㅡ and now it's going to end in three days. In seventy-two hours, it's all going to go away. That's not enough time to say all the things I didnt have a chance to say.
Wasted opportunities.
Wasted chances that I now no longer have control over.
My legs suddenly feel like spaghetti and walking seems like a foriegn topic to me. I just need to sit down, take a breather.
Who am I kidding. The storm inside me is raging on tonight and my hands have a handful of messy locks.
I catch glimpse of inked red calligraphy spelling out the name 'Eren' that is marked onto the inside of my forearm in small writing just an inch below my wrist. My heart swells with sadness.
The sense of realization settles in, practically telling me to 'let this sink in for a little'. I'm not ever going to get the chance to meet my soulmate. I'll never get the satisfaction of weaving their fingers with mine, to lay on the couch on cold winter nights with blankets drooped over our shoulders. Never get the chance to tell them I love them over and over again, to brush their hair behind their ears, grab them by the smooth skin of theirs and feel the fireworks of pressing my lips against their own.
I wont feel the sweet electricity course through me like people explained would happen when they touched their soulmate for the first time. I've spent seventeen years searching for this perfect person in the happiness of this little town. The universe promised a perfect person, they never promised me to meet them though.
The younger generations were lucky, for they werent born with marks. They werent tied to someone, so they dont have anything to lose other than the fact that they're too young to leave this world.
A crowd begins to pull outside, staring at the sky with both a mix of admiration and fear. The blue sky has begun to turn itself into a peach color. My town's happy vibe has now turned uneasy, scared, unsure.
That day, I walk home slowly when the sky begins to darken, taking the scenery of the autumn leaves disarray upon the concrete sidewalk. If the world is ending in three days, I'm going to make the most of it. Soak it up like a sponge. Do what I should've been doing these past seventeen years and love life for once ㅡ despite all the wrong. Despite the fact that I'll never graduate, and never meet my soulmate. I force myself to disregard the nagging thoughts that tug at my conscious.
I dont think about the fact that I'll never get a chance to buy my first apartment.
I dont think about how I wont be able to wake up every morning to make my significant other breakfast.
And I most certainly dont think about how I'll never be able to take my lovers hand at the alter and say with great pride, "I do."
Day 2. 48 hours until the world ends.
Today, I woke up early. Early enough that the sun still hasn't peaked over the clouds. They say that if you wake up early enough the day takes longer to end.
The aching pain in my chest never seems to cease. I laugh a little bitterly at the calander on the wall, I feel like its mocking me now. A part of me wants to rip the thing to shreds and scream until my throat is raw ㅡ but I said I'd make the best of these last days. So, I push these bitter thoughts from my mind and start up a warm shower.
Seventeen years of not wanting to be alive, and now I only have two days to live until the entire world completely goes to shit. Ironic, isn’t it? Why now am I so angry? The water is warm trickling down my bare body, as my shower thoughts continue treading forward to how I could make life better in less than forty-eight hours.
I walk down a different road today, deciding that routine wasnt necessary when the world is going to end in forty-eight hours. The countdown continues on nearby TVs, the bright white luminous against the dark morning sky.
It makes me feel anxious.
Destruction clouds my mind, but I bite my lip and hold my ground. This situation will not drive me crazy.
The town is a lot quieter than I expected, then again it's only 6 in the morning.
The day carries on just as any other day, the air seems heavier though. It's the night time that brings chaos.
You see, I've been walking around town all day blowing that last little bits of money I have on little things that have no purpose. The sky is the same sunset peach as it was yesterday, only barely hinting at a blue color.
There's a faint noise a few blocks from where I am standing, and at first I chose the ignore it. The yelling got louder and louder until I felt my feet pull like magnets to what was going on.
Chocolate hair, smooth tan skin shining under the soft orange of the sky, handfuls of someones shirt as this mystery man pinned some junky against the rough brick wall. His eyes held a killer glow, practically fuming from the ears. I was going to mind my own business, but then I saw the other strike at the brunette ㅡ and I dont know why, but I stepped in.
A surprise attack, a blow right to the face, maybe a minor bruise on my cheek from when the other decided to attack back ㅡ but soon he left. I turn my gaze back to the brunette who still sits on the floor, palms pressed into the concrete.
"I didnt need your help," he hissed, dusting his hands against the black fabric of his jeans.
"Oh you're welcome for saving your ass, wasnt a problem at all." My hand lifts to my face, pressing onto the bruise and wincing before squatting next to this stranger. "Is it bad? Let me see," The moment my hand makes contact with the others chin I feel the rush of electricity course through me.
Overwhelming is an understatement. Sweet emotions flooded through my mind but I can feel the pounding of fear in my veins, and bittersweet it was. When I retract my hand, I see that he's mirrored the exact expression I have; eyes blown wide, fear in the darks of his pupils.
"Eren..?" trying to keep my voice from cracking seems hard, and it comes out more like a whisper. This situation leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. Where the hell has he been for seventeen years? Why is he just now showing up?
Eren immediately sprung to his feet, taking a few steps back with no words to say. I snatched at his left arm, pushing the sweaters sleeve up and over his forearm to see my name inked in blue against his paper skin. "So.. you're my soulmate?" I promise I didnt mean to make it sound disappointed ㅡ but in a way, I guess you could say I was.
So many questions raced through my mind; but the biggest question of all was why? Why now of all times we could've met? Why must I be gifted with the worst luck.
Eren isnt a bad person though, and in the few hours we've spent together I can tell you this; His favorite color is red, he lives with his mother and a girl that his family took in when they were very little - who he loves dearly, he can play guitar very well, he looks absolutely adorable with his hair tied up, and that's only the stuff he's told me within the first hour.
Words cannot express how much I wished we could have more time together, but the bright TV clocks continue to remind me that our time is running out.
"There's nothing more I'd rather do than to spend my last moments with you," Eren whispered, golden flecks in his beautiful ocean eyes. His hand was held in mine as the pained expression washed over his face. Somewhere in the conversation led us to this point of heartbreak. We both explained how we wanted nothing more than to meet earlier in life, but apparently the universe had a different plan.
The idea of parting with Eren now just seemed like a waste, and I'd much rather take my dying last breath next to the one I looked for my entire life. Falling in love is easy when you've got nothing to live for.
The walk back to my house is silent, but it's a comfortable silence, and we never seem to let go of each others hands. The house is quiet and dark when we enter.
The rest of the remaining night we have is spent cuddled under the thick blanket of mine, Eren held me close to his chest as we whisper sweet things that wont mean much in a few hours. Chaste kisses are showered over the male as I remind him of how I never stopped searching for him.
He studied my face, moving a strand of hair behind my ear before placing his palm onto my cheek and rubbing his thumb across the smoothness underneath my eye. I could feel my breath begin to shallow and my heart skip a beat. I loved the way his eyes sparkled under my dim-lit room, the way I could feel his heartbeat pulsing from how close we lay where, how steady his breathing was, and how gentle he caressed me.
Its bittersweet, and I never believed in the after life, but with him - maybe, just maybe, we will meet again in the next life.
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rpmemesbyarat · 3 years
Conversation
RP Meme Lines from "AHS: Coven" Episode 9: "Head"
You get a little older, we'll add a little hooch in there.
That will really keep us warm.
There's nothing to be nervous about.
Keep your hands steady.
Just like we practiced on the range.
I don't wanna miss.
I was the same way when I was your age. Worse, even.
I couldn't keep my breakfast down. Ruined my shirt.
We've been hunters for generations.
You stay here.
You'll get a clean shot.
Put her down!
No mercy. Never forget what they are.
We need to talk.
You and I ain't got nothing to say to each other.
Take your skinny ass and that filthy thing and get out.
You don't wanna talk to me? Fine.
I won't be long.
This better be good.
That one you can keep.
What makes you think I want it?
Why'd you keep her around?
She amused me.
You thought you could use her as a bargaining chip.
What'd she say? I can't hear.
You shut up.
I came here to talk terms.
You think it's so easy. Stroll in here and expect we gonna fix this truce?
Oh, to hell with the truce.
What I'm looking for is an alliance.
Are you insane?
I told you to shut up.
You can't trust them as far as you can spit.
Now, we need to stop this petty quarreling.
We've got bigger problems than what goes on between us.
How many dead?
This concerns you and your people as much as it does mine.
You're making a mistake.
I can live with that. Not too sure about you, though.
Can't protect your own and expect me to do it for you.
You're kidding yourself if you think that after they're done with us,they're not coming after you.
I'll fret about that when the time come.
Right after I pop the champagne.
Take this filthy thing out back and burn it.
I don't ever wanna see it again.
Sweet release. At long last.
Could people please not move things?
Let me do it. It's my mess.
I need to say something, or I'll simply explode.
I need to know for certain that you don't think I did this to you.
You were like a baby bird pushed too soon from the nest.
Will you be my mother now?
I've always loved you like a daughter.
Wrap your arms around me, dear girl.
I don't need magic to tell me what I already know.
I know you would never hurt me.
I never doubted you for a second.
I thought you were in Europe.
Nothing a few silver bullets couldn't take care of.
A lot of things have happened. Some of them out of my control.
You don't take initiative, [NAME].
You follow orders.
Your only job is to gather intelligence.
You don't get your hands dirty.
You're the man on the inside.
Don't think.
You'll just end up getting somebody killed.
I'm much more capable than you think.
An innocent desk clerk and a maid lost their lives because you were sloppy.
Your recklessness puts everything we've worked for at risk.
The hunt isn't only about the kill.
A good hunter stalks his prey with care and only strikes when the time is right.
We need you back inside that house.
Tell me you don't actually have feelings for her.
You haven't forgotten what she is?
I'm part of a sacred order.
Don't think I don't appreciate the sacrifices you've made.
I know how confusing it can be to pretend to love someone who's your enemy.
What a marvelous invention.
So before we move on to our lobster bouquetière a little melon ball palate cleanser.
Should we be looking into it?
Selling it, perhaps?
Forgiveness is and always will be the high road, the preferred road.
Would that we had such luxury.
Not to worry. It's just a bit of monkshood in your balls. Causes temporary paralysis.
It's supposed to be quite terrifying. Is it?
Are you terrified? You should be.
At any rate, I'm not going to kill you. Well, maybe after dessert.
I put a lot of effort into the key lime pie.
I do love a key lime pie, even more than an île flottante.
I was never worried you'd be hapless enough to try.
[NAME], you're a fatuous fool and a drunk!
You're weak-willed, boring, and your fashion faux pas give me nightmares.
I know you had the best of intentions but you could've asked me first.
There are secrets in the flames, and I came back with more than a few.
Why do they look so familiar? The generous donors wish to remain anonymous.
Hurl your baseless accusations. They have no power now.
You're the one that should be put to the stake.
You were the one found guilty of a capital crime.
I could have you banished.
You wouldn't dare.
I hear they're not seeing anyone right now.
Stop it! Stop it right now.
The real danger is outside these doors, not inside.
I'm tired. I need to lie down.
It's dangerous out there.
We'll see to absolutely everything.
Hug me again.
Why don't you go tell someone?
Ugh, sick people really gross me out.
We've been looking everywhere for you.
Who said you could come in here?
Get out before I call security.
You brought this darkness into my home.
When did he tell you that?
You're a liar. Or a lunatic.
I don't believe it.
You're mocking my grief.
That proves you're a fraud.
How can you know that?
She doesn't deserve your help.
You bring nibbles? I'm starving.
Time for some sensitivity training.
What fresh hell is this?
I wanna die. I'm ready.
So we're gonna have a little film festival.
No, wait a minute.
What's happening to me?
You're feeling the wrath of broken promises.
Oh, wow, that's some stinky shit.
Now, you never use this unless under extreme circumstances.
Hey, can I try the incantation this time?
Damn. That is so cool.
We make a great team.
You're such an awesome leader
I've got so much to learn from you.
I meant to change the locks.
Let go of me.
I said, let go.
You're drunk.
I needed the courage to come back.
Can you see my heart? Can you see it's bleeding? That I'm living in a hell of regret and remorse? That my life has no meaning without you?
Can we have this conversation alone, please?
I've told you how I feel.
Take your stuff and leave.
No, I'm not going anywhere.
I'm filing for divorce.
All I want is to protect you.
Your shit's in a box in the closet. Get it and then get out.
You got a dog?
You hate animals, and all other living things.
We needed some protection around here.
Why do you think I came back?
Females are more loyal and aggressive when it comes to protecting their families.
What's in there?
You have to leave now.
I'm not certain
I know how to thank you.
I'm sure this isn't enough, but in truth, nothing could ever be enough.
You've given me a gift that can never be repaid.
I confess I had dark moments.
The thought of losing my son shook me to the core.
I questioned my faith in the Almighty.
Why does he say that?
God knows all.
I can't accept that.
I wanna be a good father.
We're done. Maybe one day you'll understand.
You knew you'd get away with it.
My turn.
Now it's your turn.
Like to play another hand?
Yeah, you just keep dealing till I win my money back.
What did you do to him?
What we need is a guard dog, one who will attack on command.
You kept your eyes closed your entire life.
What is that heinous caterwauling?
If this doesn't touch your soul, you don't have one.
When will my perdition end?
I gotta go.
Sit your ass down and get yourself to work.
Go back to sleep, baby.
Go back to sleep.
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beetlegoose01 · 3 years
Text
stolen whispers: chapter 1
AN: this fic isn’t a request, it’s a story i’ve been preparing for a lil while and I’m so excited to share this with you all <3
I’ll link it on my Archive if you prefer to read it there. Also warning, there’s quite a few OCs.
Time: 2028 (Scorbus have been married for two years)
Summary: When a new generation of Death Eaters kidnap Scorpius, Albus and Rose put aside their differences to rescue him.
TW: Kidnapping/Language/minor violence
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~~~~
Two witches wearing shadowy black robes entered the tavern, finding a table near the back. They ordered their mead, waiting for their third partner impatiently. It was a crowded area, so thankfully there was a small chance they would be overheard.
"We don't want more mead." The first woman growled, tapping her long nails at the table. The bartender, a tall man with a mustache put the drinks down.
"I didn't think so." He lips curled into a grin as he morphed into a younger man with wild dusty brown hair, wearing matching robes. He was handsome, but had an eerie presence to him. Any reasonable person would have at least flinched at the transformation, though neither witch did. "Hello ladies." He grinned cheekily.
"Soren, enough playing games." The second woman said, though she was smirking.
Soren barked out a laugh. "It was funny, Mara. And you know it."
The first woman, Lilith narrowed her eyes. She pulled down her hood, revealing cascading inky black hair down her shoulders. A scar that showed no sign of mending was down her cheek. "Your skills are impressive, but useless if you don't use them for our own gain. Don't forget that." She pulled her hood back.
"Understood." He murmured, taking a seat.
"We have much to discuss," She continued, flicking her wand idly. "Our current plan in action. Our...act of revenge. It's been thirty years since The Tenebris was wrongfully killed. I am sick and tired of his name being tossed around in history like he was some monster. He was on the right side."
"Are you certain we want to call the Dark Lord that?" Mara asked suspiciously.
"Shh! You know if anyone hears us, they'll lock us up for good. For speaking our minds." Lilith said. "It's safer we call him by his code name."
Her companions nodded.
"Because of his loss, we have mudbloods in positions of power. Our siblings that fought for his cause are locked up. Or worse, dead."
Mara and Soren looked grim.
"If we had more allies, perhaps we would have had a chance." Soren noted. "We weren't even alive then but...I have a feeling if we were..."
"Just because we weren't alive then, doesn't mean we don't have opinions over the lives stolen!" Mara argued. "That damn Harry Potter."
"Correct. And Soren is right too. For once. If we had more allies, or better yet...certain allies didn't betray us. The Malfoys for instance." She took a sip of her drink.
"Are you suggesting something?" Mara asked.
"Of course I am, don't be so daft." Lilian said, deadly calm. "I want to make that family suffer for what they did. My uncle Vincent Crabbe died for their selfishness. Draco Malfoy had a chance to save him, and he refused like the coward he is. His mother Narcissa lied to Tenebris' face. They are backstabbing filth that besmirched the Sacred 28. No, it isn't just about their betrayal or avenging those we lost in the war. Think of the big picture. They have the capabilities to join our side. To...respawn a new generation of Death Eaters. But that's not all...
"The Malfoys have lots of gold." She drawled. "Surely, they'll spare a few for us in exchange for something important. Or rather...someone."
"Someone?" Soren paused. "What are you suggesting?"
"Regretfully, Astoria Malfoy has passed on." Mara didn't sound the least bit sympathetic, instead stated it blandly. "So using her as a ransom for Draco is a no go."
"Ah, but there is still someone left." Lillian said, removing a small photograph from her cloak, she slid it across the table.
A young man with platinum hair was pictured, beaming brightly in Healer Robes.
"Scorpius Malfoy."
Soren and Mara exchanged a look of satisfaction.
"Bring him to me."
~~~~~~~~~~
The best thing about mornings, at least to Albus, was waking up beside his husband. The sun's bright rays peaked through the window of their cream colored bedroom, slowly stirring them both awake. If it was up to him, he would stay in their warm bed, arms wrapped around Scorpius until noon.
Scorpius rolled over, so that they were facing each other. His eyes fluttered open, and Albus felt his heart melt at his sapphire eyes.
"Hi." He yawned. His voice was slightly croaky, no doubt from the morning.
Albus replied by nuzzling his nose, then kissed his cheek. "Hi honey."
Scorpius laughed lightly. "Let's get up then. Start the day? It's a Saturday. We have the whole weekend to spend together."
"I'd rather spend it here with you."
Bathilda mewed from the kitchen.
"But our child is hungry." Scorpius teased, stretching as he slid out of bed. Albus begrudgingly slumped after him, not eager to wake up before ten am. But his own stomach was growling too.
"Speaking of children," Albus said, starting to work on their breakfast as Scorpius poured Bathilda's food. "Iris is pregnant again. James told me through a Howler yesterday."
"Really?" Scorpius' eyes widened. "That's great news!"
"Yeah, not for my ears." He commented dryly, still traumatized by James' excited screeching in his ear. "Baby number three." He whistled. "Do you think they're trying to make an entire quidditch team? With Teddy and Vic's lot included, they're on their way."
Though he was joking, Scorpius noticed that Albus was glowing, happy for his brother and sister in law. That was one of the many reasons he loved Albus. His love for his siblings.
"Perhaps. When are they due?"
"September. Which means...that's where they scurried off to last Christmas party." Albus quipped. "To have a little fun."
"Albus!" Scorpius scolded. "Honestly, only you would make a beautiful moment gross."
"It's life, Scorp!" He chuckled. "You're a Healer, you should know these things."
"We'll have to visit. Maybe bring a gift basket to congratulate them." He mused, smiling fondly. "I can't wait to meet our new niece or nephew." There was a wistful look in his eye that Albus caught.
"You've got that look on your face." He noted, amused. He served the plates of bacon sandwiches on the table.
"What do you mean?"
"That Scorpius 'I want something but I'm not going to spell it out for you' face."
"Oh."
"Yes, oh." Albus said, forest green eyes brightening in amusement. "What's up?" He took a seat, tucking into breakfast.
"Well," Scorpius started, staring at his food. "I was thinking..." He stopped himself, hesitant to continue his train of thoughts.
"Yeah?" Albus nudged him gently.
"I want a child." He said, his voice quiet, but firm. "I love my nieces and nephews so much, but they aren't...ours. I want to start a family with you, Albus. Raise a little one of our own to be bright and wonderful and brave and..."
Albus' expression softened. "I do too. You know I do, Scorpius. It's just...difficult right now." He stared at his wedding band. "You know it's harder for us than any hetero couple." He waved his hand vaguely. "Adoption is hard, surrogacy is expensive. Maybe once we settled into our careers more, we can talk about it."
"I think we're ready to go beyond just talking about it, Al."
"We're still young. We've still got time. But...I definitely want to work it out. Somehow, we will. We always do."
Scorpius beamed, reaching to kiss Albus' knuckle. "Thank you." He sat up abruptly. "Oh, I almost forgot- it's the farmer's market today."
Albus snorted. "You're exactly like your dad, you know?"
"Yes yes yes, but we should go!" Scorpius said, levitating the plates to the sink and it automatically was clean due to the floating sponges.
"We? I've got some work to do. I'm not very fond of small talk with old people selling fruit."
"Al, it's really good fruit." Scorpius said seriously. "And it's not all old people. I've seen some of our old schoolmates there."
Albus cringed. "That's even worse."
"Don't be so dramatic. Are you still coming?"
"Mm, but I should really finish this article. Go on without me."
"If you're sure...do you want me to bring anything back?"
Albus thought for a moment. "Those strawberries Ms. Beaker sells. Please? Strawberries and cream sounds so good right now."
"Brilliant, I'm on it." Scorpius did a mock salute.
"Have fun." Al waved as Scorpius appatered, leaving the kitchen empty. Albus went straight to work on his article.
~•~
The market was lively and merry, despite the early hour. Scorpius had stopped by the strawberry stand first, in case he forgot.
Ever since they had moved two years ago, Scorpius had found himself drawn to the quaint farmer's market. Not because of the delicious, fresh food, but to socialize. He made quite a few friends with the muggles who lived around there...mostly old ladies. The early days of their marriage, Albus would join him. Before life got in the way, and work had to be done.
Not that he wasn't busy himself. He only had two days off as a Healer, sometimes less. He didn't know how they would manage childcare, but like Al had said, it was best not to dwell on the future.
"Scorpius? Is that you?"
He turned around, following the voice from behind him. "Polly ...Chapman?" He uttered blandly, praying he wasn't mistaken. He didn't have the best memory- even with old schoolmates who bullied him.
"Yep." Polly said, laughing lightly. "It's me. Been a while."
"It has." Scorpius shifted his weight. "How are things?"
"Great!" She smiled, swishing her blonde ponytail, the same air of confidence from when she was a teenager. "Yann and I are engaged."
"Oh! That's wonderful." Scorpius said, pretending to sound pleased. "Congratulations!"
"Thank you. I proposed to them last month. It was just as I had dreamed."
"How is...Yann?" Scorpius did not actually care how Yann was.
"They're good! Brilliant actually, since they passed Auror training." Polly looked genuinely proud of them, which he had to admit was adorable. "Are you and Albus still..."
"Yes, yes. We um, er- we've been married almost two years actually." He added.
"Aw, that's very sweet. You two were always very close, yeah?" Polly looked at him, and Scorpius nearly walked backwards, intimidated by her stance. She still was extremely scary, like a lioness but with a great sense of fashion. "I know...Yann, Karl and I weren't the best to you two but perhaps we could..." She trailed off. "I'd like you both to come. To the wedding. If you'd like."
That...wasn't what he was expecting. He half expected her to invite him to another Blood Ball.
"Pardon?" Scorpius asked, dumbfounded. "I mean- yeah, that sounds great! Fun! Yes. That sounds nice. I'll bring it up to Al."
Polly was glowing. "Brill! I've got to go, but we should all hang out sometime. Like old times."
Like old times? Scorpius thought. When did they ever hang out?
Nodding mutely, he walked away from Polly with a puzzled, but cheerful expression. He hadn't completely fucked up the conversation, which was always a plus. It still felt odd that Polly Chapman of all people was talking to him, let alone inviting him to her wedding. It was bizarre.
He passed the final vendor, and was surprised and amused to see a tiny girl, no more than seven standing behind it. She had a Brownie uniform on, bright rosy cheeks and pigtails included.
"Would you like a biscuit?" She squealed.
It had taken him a moment to respond, he was still thinking of Polly being kind to him "Oh erm- of course." It was impossible to say no to an adorable small child. He reached for some muggle money, handing her the pound notes. "Just the one box please."
"Okie dokie!" She said, handing him the box. She waited a moment, pouting. "Go on, try it." She urged.
"I really shouldn't I-"
"Please?" The little girl gave him the most pitiful expression. "It's for a good cause, mister. We're helping orphaned puppies find homes."
"Well, alright. For the puppies." He fumbled open the box, taking a polite bite out of the cookie. It was a classic lemon cookie with powdered sugar, one of his favorites. But the second he swallowed, he felt dizzy all of a sudden. "What..." He stumbled back. "Oh my," He gulped, the entire market swirling around him. Something wasn’t right. "is there something in..." 
He would be damned if he let this happen without some sort of fight. Throwing his basket aside, he collapsed, slipping into unconsciousness.
"We've got him."
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mo-mo-and-porkchop · 5 years
Text
Umbrella academy fiction
Chapter 1
Canon and OC; Deigo x OC, Klaus x OC platonic
*as always I do not own any part of the canon characters or show. I am merely writing my own adaptation to the storyline. Nor do I own any gifs/gif credit.
**I do own all things related to the OCs and additional story elements. And apologies, I couldn't find any "young" gifs of them, but they are all meant to be young adults to show age in this fic.
Tagging: @imcrowley , @wicked-bitch-of-the-west
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On a typical sunny day in 1989 a girl was born under extraordinary circumstances - her mother beginning the day not pregnant and ending it with a newborn girl. Reginald Hargreaves was unable to purchase their gift from God, but as fate would have she would still become linked to the obsessive billionaire through Klaus, his disappointing Number Four.
One fateful night in her bar thrust the two into each other's life and they soon became close friends, their tragic pasts a common denominator. Emily tried to aid her friend and his family in thwarting the apocalypse, but her life ultimately lost when the shit inevitably hit the fan.
This is not that story.
Our story takes place five years after the Hargreaves family jumped back in time after unsuccessfully saving the world; bringing with them all the knowledge gained from their first chance at life.
-----
"I'm telling you Diego. We can do this," Klaus said pleadingly to his brother. "She said if she had only gotten out a few years earlier, she would have had a better chance at life. We can give her that chance."
Diego stopped just outside his room. He eyed Klaus as he begged for him to agree.
"Please Diego. She is...was my friend," he corrected himself. This time travel thing was hard to get used to. "I owe it to her to at least try."
It was true that Emily had been as good a friend as someone could to Klaus back then. He'd beena raging drug addict who brought nothing but chaos. There weren't many people who could handle something like that. She'd been one of the few; even managing to get him into rehab a few times.
Not that it had mattered. Klaus had a standing bed there back then and the staff a running pool on how short his next break would last.
But it had been obvious she at least cared for him. And that was more than Diego could say for himself. Klaus was his brother and he had given two shits at the time if he lived or died.
"Fine," he finally agreed.
"Yes!" Klaus said quietly, but triumphantly.
With his second time around, he wanted to get it right. Make amends for his previous infractions.
Starting with this.
"But we do this my way. You got it," he said definitively, getting close enough to stop Klaus' little victory dance. He wanted to make sure his brother understood just how serious he was.
"Got it," Klaus said with a mock salute. "If I remember correctly, right around now would be the 'Halloween lockdowns' as Em liked to call it," Klaus said with a small smirk Diego's way.
His brother looked at him confused "Lockdowns? Where is she? A prison?"
Oh, that's right. He doesn't know.
It had taken Klaus awhile to pull what nuggets she had revealed of her past. He knew, without a doubt, Diego hadn't gotten shit out of her. The few times they'd met his brother was partial to being an asshole to anyone who even remotely took Klaus' side and she had been no different.
"She's at a religious boarding school," Klaus explained quickly. "A real scared straight kinda one. From what she told me though, the night before Halloween the nuns do one final sweep of the grounds, leaving the front door unlocked."
"Pfft. Morons," Diego huffed, the fact that he was speaking of godly women lost to him completely. "So it's a dash and grab. Easy."
"Yeeaa...about that," Klaus began tentatively. Diego had only just agreed to spring Emily from Hell.
"What?" Diego asked lowly. He knew he shouldn't have gotten his hope up so easily. Nothing was ever so cut and dry with Klaus.
"She's also, sort of, kinda in her own lockdown. We may need Five to help us too," he added reluctantly. "Which is fine," he quickly continued, keeping Diego from immediately changing his mind. "Ever since we got back Five has really been a team player. I'm sure if our little heist idea came from you he'd be on board. A hundred percent."
Diego couldn't take this shit with Klaus a second go 'round. He wanted to break Emily out of school? Fine. He needed Diego's help? Also, peachy fuckinf keen. But if he insisted on keeping secrets along the way then Diego would walk his happy ass on out the door and Klaus could go fuck himself.
He grabbed hold of his brother, who flinched more from shock than fear, and drug him into his room, away from listening ears. He tossed his brother onto his bed as gently as he could. Klaus watched as he pulled his desk chair over, sitting on it backward and leaning against it.
"Before I ask Five anything you are gonna spill your guts and give me all the Intel you have on Emily. Otherwise, I'm out and you're on your own."
Klaus groaned with Diego's ultimatum. "Fine," he grumbled. "I'll tell you everything. But you have to swear you'll get Five to help no matter what," he countered holding up his pinky.
"What are you, six?"
"Nothing is more binding than a pinky swear," Klaus said, wiggling his fingers enticingly.
"You never quit do you?"
"Nope," Klaus said with a satisfied grin.
"Jesus Christ." Diego sighed with a roll of his eyes, but nevertheless he linked pinkies with his brother.
"No matter what," Klaus reiterated.
"No matter what," Diego reluctantly agreed before immediately letting go of him.
"Good," Klaus said clapping his hands together and rubbing them conspiratorially. "Now. What do I know about Emily?" he asked himself, feigning an attempt to really dig deep into his thoughts. "Em, Em, Em."
"I'm losing my patience Klaus."
"Alright, fine," Klaus said with an exasperated sigh. Nothing much had changed with Diego this time around - he was still far too serious for his own good. "I know she was one of the few dad couldn't buy, obviously. I deduced that one myself," he admitted proudly.
Diego rolled his eyes and sighed. Even without drugs Klaus' mind still ran a million miles a minute. "Focus," he said keeping his brother on track.
"Right," he replied forcing himself back to their present storytelling session. "She was unbuyable. Her parents were religious and pure," he said mockingly, throwing up the the scouting sign of three fingers. "When Em didn't fit it to their perfect life, they shipped her off and forgot about her. To St. Christopher's School for the Misguided to be exact."
"You mean that old school convent on the outskirts of the city?"
"That's the one," Klaus said in agreement. "She's been there..." he checked his wrist as if a watch sat upon it. "Twelve years now," he added looking back to Diego.
"Twelve years?! What the Hell Klaus?? I thought she was just sent there."
"Yea. When she was six," Klaus said with a snort. "That was after all the exercisims failed," he added nonchalantly.
"Exorcisms!?" Diego was beginning to regret his decision to help. "Look. I don't know what kind of "school" you're taking me to, but how do we know Emily even wants to break out?" he asked in a half-hearted attempt to back out.
"Because she makes it out on her own after another three years anyway. But she always said if she'd got out just a few years earlier she'd have gone farther in life. Between you and me, I thought she turned out just fine the way she was," he added leaning in conspiratorially.
"I don't know about that. She was friends with you."
"Hey! Unfair!" Klaus said feigning offense. "Trust me," he continued, shrugging off the insult. "Once Five is on board, everything will be fine," he said reassuringly, but with little affect. "Then it really will be a dash and grab. Five will just do his little time warp thingie and..." He sucked air through his teeth and gestured for in-and-out. "We'll have Em out and free as a bird in no time," he added with a sigh and a smile.
Diego stared at him, only reacting when his wide grin faded. His mind had already been made up, but it was sti fun to see him sweat. He promptly grabbed him up and pulled toward the hallway - and all the way to Five's room.
------
"Klaus has something he wants to ask you," he said pushing past their brother when he answered the door.
"And what might that be?" he asked, confusion evident on his face as he shut the door behind them.
Once through the threshold doego released his grip on Klaus and took solace off in the corner, waiting to see how well he did with Five. Their brother would be a much tougher sell. He'd never even met Emily.
"Well," Klaus began with a nervous laugh, glancing back to Diego hoping to get some backup. His brother simply urged him on. Klaus sighed and his entire being deflated with his refusal.
"Klaus, what the hell is going on? I don't have time for another one of your ridiculous pranks," Five complained impatiently.
"I need your help rescuing a friend," he admitted freely, turning back to Five.
Five laughed freely at his request. "No," he said letting his facial expressions fall flat. "The last time I tried to help you I ended up having to warp out of police custody."
"But you did get out," Klaus cut in trying to avoid a retelling of their most recent mishap.
"And I had to be the one to explain it all to dad. Alone," he added with rising anger.
Klaus grimaced. "Yea. Sorry about that. I wish I could have been there, really, but something important came up. Real now-or-never type stuff."
"What? Like avoiding the inevitable end of the world? Because last I remember we've already fixed that problem and I can't think of anything more "now-or-never"," he threw back at him.
He knew Five was right. "I guess when you put it like that, I could have made it," he admitted almost sheepishly.
Five merely scowled at his admission.
"But this is different," he added quickly, pushing past Five when he went to kick them out of his room. Klaus shut the door and leaned on it for added security he would finish hearing him out.
"How so?"
Klaus' smile returned. His interest was piqued. "Because we...are gonna..."
Diego rolled his eyes. His sales pitch was quickly dying. "Because you're gonna have me," he stepping forward.
"Not that I don't doubt yoir abilities, but how does that any different? Other than your presence of course."
Their brother's smile widened. "Yes!" he exclaimed before Diego could answer, outstreching his arms toward him and crossing to be by his side. "Because Diego here is an extra set of eyes and ears," he added, cradling his shoulders and endearingly placing his hand on his chest.
Diego glared at Klaus. "Because I will make sure Klaus doesn't screw anything up this time," he answerd shaking himself free.
Five remained silent, considering Klaus 'mission'. He had become anxious lately to do more than just train and follow daddy's orders - even if it was what they all agreed to before their jump back. Not that he would ever admit that to Klaus, but he supposed it could be worth it of Diego was on board.
Klaus stated expectantly and his brother who eyed the two of them. "Say I help you. What is your grand plan to save...who exactly?"
Klaus smiled widely at Diego, ecstatic that things might actually go his way for once.
"Emily," Diego answered, ignoring Klaus.
"Emily?" Five asked surprised with a slight laugh. "You mean the bartender psychic?"
"Telepathic," Klaus corrected him. "But yes. Her. So will you help me? Please?"
Diego rolled his eyes at the duo. "Just say yes already. I can't take much more of this," he added exasperated, dropping down onto the chair at Five's desk.
"Alright fine," he finally agreed.
Klaus began to shower his brother with thabks. He sure hadn't been as appreciative of Diego's allegiance. He huffed to hide his offense. "Klaus!" He pointed at his wrist when he had his brother's attention.
"Oh right. So. Now that I have the best two brothers on board..."
"Klaus," Diego warned.
"Alright, alright. Stop getting your panties in a bunch."
Diego jumped up ready to strangle him.
"Hey! Calm down!" Five intervened. "Don't make me regret helping you," he scolded his brothers. "Now," he continued once the two had parted ways. "When and how are we supposed to save Emily? And from what?"
"I'm glad you asked," Klaus responded slyly before repeating the plan to Five
------
"There it is," Klaus whispered to his brothers, pointing out their entry point.
They crouched hidden among the bushes just outside the point of no return. A nun came out of the front door, followed by two others, and just as Klas said left the door open. Diego huffed quietly to himself and rolled his eyes. Klaus smiled widely.
"Okay," Five said shifting his jacket and bit and readying to jump. "Where is her room?" he asked staring at the building.
It was your typical, old-school convent turned boarding opp. The layout would be easy to figure out.
Klaus shut his eyes and mimicked going over a map with his fingers. "It should be, if memory serves me right, last one on the left, second floor," he said opening his eyes and looking toward the building too. "She always said one of the only good things she remembered about this place were the sunsets," he said quietly to himself with a sad sigh. "West side," he added.
And just like that Five was gone.
-----
He reappeared with a small pop in a girl's room. She was sound asleep, her back to where Five now stood. He crept to her bed and gently tried waking her.
"Emily," he whispered. "Emily wake up."
The girl began to stir, turning toward him. The sight of a boy by her bed had to be a dream. She rubbed her eyes and yawned, sitting up to wake up further. The realization that he was real hit her. Her eyes grew wide in terror and she screamed.
Five quickly covered her mouth. "Emily, please."
She quieted her screams realizing who he was and the fear in her eyes grew to confusion. She mumbled something into his hand.
"What?" he whispered, uncovering her mouth.
"I'm not Emily," she managed to stammer out quietly.
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mksc77 · 6 years
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For a couple of weeks, Sharon filled her days with sipping a couple of mugs of coffee on the porch and getting things done around the house in the mornings, enjoying the pool in the afternoons, and reading in the swing in the evenings once dinner was in the oven. It was a much-needed break after retiring, her honeymoon, and visiting her parents, but she tired of it fairly quickly, just as she'd known she would. On a Monday in June, she was enjoying her last day of idleness, as she planned to go to St. Joseph's the next morning to inquire about volunteer opportunities. For today, she was floating around in the pool with her book and Captain Morgan. She felt like she'd read more in the last few weeks than in her entire life, but she wasn't complaining. The weather had been mostly in the seventies and low eighties, so it hadn't been too hot. She had music playing from the porch, and she never knew if it was music that made her want a drink or alcohol that made her want good music, but her rum and pineapple juice with a splash of cranberry and sprite was melding pretty well with John Mellencamp. She hadn't made a habit of drinking during the day, but she'd allowed herself a couple of light drinks two or three afternoons a week.
The winter days, they last forever
And the weekends went by so quick
Went ridin' around this little country town
We were goin' nuts, girl, out in the sticks
One night me with my big mouth
A couple guys had to put me in my place
When I see those guys these days
We just laugh and say do you remember when
That's when a smoke was a smoke
And groovin' was groovin'
And dancin' meant everything
We were young and we were improvin'
Laughin' laughin' with our friends
Holding hands meant somethin' baby
Outside the club "Cherry Bomb"
Our hearts were really pumpin'
Say yeah yeah yeah
Say yeah yeah yeah
Seventeen has turned thirty-five
I'm surprised that we're still livin'
If we've done any wrong
I hope that we're forgiven
Got a few kids of my own
And some days I still don't know what to do
I hope that they're not laughin' too loud
When they hear me talkin'
Like this to you
Emily came out of the house, dressed in her swimsuit, and got on another float in the pool. At almost seven months, she was getting more uncomfortable, but a float in the pool usually did the trick. She and Emmett hadn't wanted to rush to get married before the baby was born, so they'd set the date for December. It didn't really matter, as far as the church was concerned, but Emily wanted them to be married before the baby was baptized. "Blair just called, and she and our other high school friends want to give me a baby shower. She told me to go ahead and start thinking about dates for a wedding shower, too."
Sharon looked over at Emily and noticed that she didn't seem too happy about it. "Your friends want to give you a couple of showers? That sounds just awful!" She said, with mock sympathy.
Emily rolled her eyes. "I just feel like I'm doing this all in the wrong order. I don't feel like I've done anything wrong, but with the wedding and the baby getting more real, I kind of wish we'd just gone ahead and planned a quick wedding before the baby came."
"Em, there was no need for you guys to do that. Unlike me, I'm sure this will be your only wedding." Sharon gave her a wry smile and sipped her drink. "You should enjoy it. You and Emmett are giving this baby a family that loves her and will take care of her, and that's all that matters. The order in which you do this isn't important."
"I know, but with the showers that are being planned and everything, it's just making me more aware of the fact that I'm having a baby before I'm married. Everyone's been great about it, and I haven't really thought much about it until now, but it just seems off or something."
Sharon was a little surprised that Emily was starting to feel the old Catholic Guilt, but she understood. "Once things pick up and you don't have time to overthink everything, I think you'll feel better about it. This in-between stage is unsettling, in general, and I know you've never liked change."
Emily nodded. "I think you're right. Thanks, Mom."
"You're welcome." Sharon placed her drink beside the pool and flipped over to lie on her stomach. Despite slathering herself with sunscreen every day, she was still getting a little bit of a tan. Any skin damage she had from the sun had probably mostly happened during the baby oil and iodine days of her teenaged years and young adulthood, anyway, when the sun's rays weren't thought to be anything but healthy. She wasn't in the pool for the purpose of tanning, but she loved to be in the water and feel the sun soaking into her skin. She'd never been much of a swimmer for exercise, but she'd been making herself swim a few laps most afternoons. Once she got herself settled into a more productive routine, she planned to take either morning or evening walks around the neighborhood, but she'd stick with floating around the pool for now.
A couple of hours later, with dinner in the oven, Sharon assumed her evening perch in the swing with her book and a glass of wine. Andy came home soon after that and joined her on the porch. "Am I just going to have to get used to being a swing widow?" He teased. Their evening dynamics had definitely changed since they moved. At the condo, Sharon sometimes sat on the balcony for a while in the evenings after watering the flowers, but she was still usually inside for most of the evenings. Now, she usually went inside just long enough to eat dinner and help clean the kitchen before going straight back to the porch.
"You can always come out here," Sharon pointed out.
"But the game will be on in there," Andy protested.
"True..." Sharon looked around. "We should put a TV out here. It would be nice to watch football out here this Fall."
"Then you'd never go inside." Andy pecked her on the lips. "How was your day?"
"It was nice, but I'm ready to get out of the house. I'm going to start at church tomorrow, but I think I'd like to pick one or two places and stick with them for a while instead of doing things here and there like the people at church do. I know they'll be able to steer me in the right direction, though." Sharon closed her book. "What about you? Is Captain Hernandez any better?"
Andy heaved a dramatic sigh. "She sent my paperwork back three times before it was finally good enough for her! And I thought you were a perfectionist."
Sharon had been a stickler about paperwork at the beginning, but she quickly learned to appreciate the talents her team had in other areas of investigations and gave up on perfect paperwork from them. "She'll learn to pick her battles, just like I did."
"Pick your battles? You sound like you're talking about toddlers!" Andy whined.
"Well, some days I felt like I was dealing with toddlers." Sharon kissed Andy and went inside to check on dinner, and Andy went inside to change clothes. Sharon peeked into the living room first, and Emily was watching TV with a jar of pickles in her lap. Sharon still wasn't used to Emily not being pencil-thin. Her face had filled out a little, and her legs were actually a little bigger than twigs. "Dinner will be ready soon...By the time this baby comes, I'm going to forget what you look like without a jar of pickles in your hand!"
"I know, right? If it's not pickles, it's watermelon. At least I'm not craving something terribly unhealthy."
Sharon nodded. "Yeah, like the strawberry ice cream that's still on my thighs thirty-five years later."
Emily rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Mom, your legs are, like, perfect."
"They're not perfect, but I'll take it.”
The rest is on ff.net
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darktwistydamaged · 3 years
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✨ Small minds can't comprehend big spirits. To be great, you have to be willing to be mocked, hated, and misunderstood.
✨ "Maybe I'm a pig. Maybe I'm an ass. Maybe I'm a vermin like everybody says but I tell the truth, it's the only thing I've got going for me."
✨ "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." - #WinstonChurchill
✨ Don't tell me i'm the prettiest u've seen.Tell me I'm a warrior, tell me I'm stronger than any blows I've taken & that I wear the scars well
✨ A badass crazy, tells the truth. Soft but strong. Knows her worth. Unapologetic & honest. The type of woman u go to war beside not against.
✨ There's fire in her. If loved correctly, she will warm your entire home. If abused she will burn it down.
✨ When someone dies of cancer, we blame the disease. Suicide is a disease, dont blame the victim for losing the fight.
✨ She's a masterpiece of chaotic beauty.
✨ She's like a tornado with pretty eyes & a heartbeat. A stubborn heart, messy mind, reckless soul.
✨ We are masters of unsaid words but slaves of those we let slip out.
✨ She has been through hell, so believe me when I say, fear her when she looks into a fire and smiles.
✨ She's fire and ice, you'll fear the cold and crave the burn.
✨ She wears strength and darkness equally well. The girl has always been half goddess, half hell.
✨ She is art. What the fuck do you expect from her other than, confusion, beauty and god damn soul?
✨ Fierce soul. Brave heart. Strong mind.
✨ Sometimes hell is the person who promised you something heavenly. The devil is good at pretending to be everything you want.
✨ Like death, she was breath taking.
✨ Stop being afraid of being crazy, instead guard yourself from being "too" sane. This is the artists way.
✨ Beauty may be dangerous, but intelligence is lethal!
✨ She is both hell fire and holy water and the flavour you taste is based on how you treat her.
✨ Chaos & beauty intertwined. Whiskey in a tea cup. Angel eyes. Acid mouth. Messy mind. Reckless soul
✨ A hopeless romantic with a twisted mind and high standards.
✨ Make a plan. Set a goal. Work toward it. But every now and then, drink it in. 'Cause this is it. It might all be gone tomorrow #GreysAnatomy
✨ I will not settle for anything less than a soul deep, electrifying connection.
✨ The lips of a sinner, a devilish kiss.
✨ She has that "set the whole fucking world on fire" look in her eyes, kind of bad ass vibe to her.
✨ An acquired taste, not for the faint hearted.
✨ Nothing is ever designed to offend. You choose to get offended.
✨ Every heart is like a phoenix. It may catch aflame and burn to ashes, but it will be reborn, stronger than before.
✨ The world isn't split into good and evil. We've all got light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. #SiriusBlack
✨ Three things that can not remain hidden, the sun, the moon, and the truth. #Buddha
✨ I love you more, the more I love you.
✨ You're down, but you're not out and whatever is going on in your life, you keep fighting. #JenniferLopezTrueLove
✨ In the same way negative experiences can bring you down, having positive people around can help lift you up. #TrueLove
✨ Every ending is also a beginning. We just don't know it at the time. @shemarmoore #CriminalMinds
✨ She's a terribly real thing, in a terribly false world & this is why she is pained so often.
✨ I don't want normal and easy and simple. I want painful, difficult, devastating, life changing, extraordinary love.
✨ She never looked nice, she looked like art & art wasn't supposed to look nice, it was supposed to make you feel something.
✨ The tragedy is not to die, but to be wasted. #HannibalLecter
✨ She got her daddy's tongue & temper. Sometimes her mouth could use a filter. God shook his head the day he built her oh, but I bet he smiled
✨ U bring out the best in me. I don’t mean better manners, or a sense of maturity or whatever else this world expects of me. I mean, u make me want to climb rooftops, run wild, act inappropriately, take risks & pursue my dreams with passion & integrity - U make me feel like living
✨ I am fire. If you want something salty & sweet with no opinion, I’m not the woman for you. I spit flames often!!
✨ You have set on me, but you are not the sun.
✨ Don't let what he wants eclipse what you need. He's very dreamy, but he's not the sun. You are.
✨ Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best. - Tim Duncan
✨ I want somebody with smart intellect and a heart from hell, kisses so deep like a bottomless well.
✨ Lust is when the mind desires what the heart admires. Love is when the mind admires what the heart desires.
✨ “The world has already been too tough on her, the least she needs is tough love. Be tough when you need to be, but always be soft with her. She has thorns, but she is a flower.”
✨ She slept with wolves without fear, for the wolves knew, a lion was among them.
✨ She that dare not grasp the thorn, should never crave the rose.
✨ Hate me today, hate me tomorrow, hate me for all the things I couldn't do for you. Hate me in ways, ways hard to swallow, hate me so you can finally see whats good for you.
✨ You’re so screwed up that you make me, make sense.
✨ "If you love someone, you tell them. Even if you’re scared that it’s not the right thing. Even if you’re scared that it’ll cause problems." #GreysAnatomy
✨ "Too often, the thing you want the most is the one thing you can't have. Desire leaves us heartbroken." #GreysAnatomy
✨ A queen will always turn pain into power.
✨ "The only voice that matters is the 1 in your head. The one telling you what you probably already knew. The one that’s almost always right.”
✨ Do not hide your face. The moon is covered in craters yet still commands our attention, even in the midst of all those glittering stars. What I mean to say is, you are magnificent, for all your imperfections, simply as you are. - Beau Taplin
✨ Damaged people are dangerous because they know they can survive.
✨ The only way you can be mistreated, is by allowing yourself to be mistreated. #TrueLove Jlo
✨ Deception and perfection are wonderful traits, one will breed love and the other hate.
✨ I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow & the soul.
✨ "Each person we let ourselves care about is just one more loss somewhere down the line.." - Meredith Grey
✨ Why do we always want the ones who don't see us, instead of the ones who do?! #YoureNotYou
✨ Every time I break, I come back stronger than before 💎🔹
✨ Loving someone is just delayed pain, eventually you’re going to lose them, one way or the other. #InsidiousChapter3
✨ “She’s tough. She tries to hide it. She’s difficult. But if you make an effort, she’s worth it. She’s worth the effort.” - #McDreamy #GreysAnatomy
✨ I am not the girl the guy gets at the end of a movie. I am not a fantasy. If you want me, earn me!! #OliviaPope #Scandal
✨ It’s gonna hurt me to hate you, but loving you is worse. #CardiB 
✨ Don’t focus on what if, focus on what is. - #IrreplaceableYou
✨ “When your heart breaks, you’ve got to fight like hell to make sure you're still alive. Because you are. That pain you feel? That's life. The confusion and fear? That's there to remind you, that somewhere out there is something better, and that something is worth fighting for.”
✨ I survive because the fire inside me burns brighter than the fire around me.
✨ She feels powerfully.
✨Deeper than you’ll ever understand with a heart of endless vision for the unconditional for every aspect of the flawed soul. She’s complicated. She feels everything and nothing; the good and the bad all at once. All the time!!
✨ "And when at last you find someone to whom you feel you can pour out your soul, you stop in shock at the words you utter - they are so rusty, so ugly, so meaningless and feeble from being kept in the small cramped dark inside you so long." — Sylvia Plath
✨ If you can still find the beauty within the darkest days, sometimes, that alone is an accomplishment. When you feel like you’re drowning, like you can’t even deal anymore, stop for a moment, recollect, take a breath. Then you begin again.
✨ You like because and you love despite.
(You like someone because of all of their qualities & you love someone despite some of their qualities)
✨ A strong woman is one who feels deeply and loves fiercely. Her tears flow as abundantly as her laughter. A strong woman is both soft and powerful, she is both practical and spiritual. A strong woman in her essence is a gift to the world.
✨ All things that live, die. This is why you must find joy in the living, while the time is yours, and not fear the end. To deny this is to deny life. To fear this... is to fear life. But to embrace this... Can you embrace this?
You are stronger than you think. - #IKillGiants
✨ Being normal isn’t necessarily a virtue, it denotes a lack of courage.
✨ Like the moon, she had a side of her so dark that even stars couldn’t shine on it. She had a side of her so cold that even the sun couldn’t burn on it.
✨ Broken girls blossom into warriors
✨ A rose can never be a sunflower. A sunflower can never be a rose. All flowers are beautiful in their own way, and that’s like women too. - Miranda Kerr
✨ Inside everyone there exists a dark side. Most people rise above it but some are consumed by it until there is nothing left but pure evil
✨ Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light. - #HarryPotter #PrisonerOfAzkaban
✨ Don't you ever let a soul in the world tell you that you can't be exactly who you are - #LadyGaga
✨ You either get bitter or you get better. It's that simple. You either take what has been dealt to you and allow it to make you a better person or you allow you to tear you down. The choice does not belong to fate, it belongs to you.
✨ She’s a strong cup of black coffee in a world that’s drunk on cheap wine and shallow love.
✨ “Every day you wake up and have a second chance, to do whatever you want, to be whoever you want. The only thing stopping you, is you” - #SecondAct @JLo
✨ It starts with the eyes, she's got to have those kind of eyes that can see through the bullshit to the good in someone, 20% angel, 80% devil - #DominicToretto #FastAndFurious
✨ Ignoring your instincts is like blinding your soul. #TrustYourGut
✨ Let me be clear, my love is unconditional but your presence in my life is not. The moment that you prove that your value of me does not measure up to my sense of self worth — i’ll have no problem unconditionally loving the memory of you.
✨ Intimacy is beyond kisses, cuddles & sex. It’s is crying at night about your past to someone who listens & comforts you. It’s getting a headache, taking a nap & waking up to your partner rubbing your back. Intimacy isn’t all to do with sex, it’s the small things that count
✨ The people you can joke around and have fun with that don’t fit in a box, take no shit, kick ass when needed... the fiercely badass, kindhearted, deep down sweethearts and that are kind of assholes but not full assholes. Yeah, those are my kind of people.
✨ Everything is temporary; Emotions, thoughts, people & scenery. Do not become attached, just flow with it.
✨ It's okay to put your heart on your sleeve. Okay to have that softer side - the softer side in the sense of being able to listen, to deal with fear, to not always be so dominant. 😋 @shemarmoore
✨ Just a reminder: You’re whole without someone else. You are not a fraction. You’re a complete masterpiece all by yourself; you do not need anyone else to validate your existence.
✨ To the women of the world. You’re sexual. You’re soulful. You’re emotional. You’re spiritual. You’re magic. You’re both of the light and the dark. You’re human. Don’t deny any aspect of who you are. A healthy soul is a whole soul.
✨ Be the villain you were born to be. Stop waiting for someone to come along and corrupt you. Succumb to the darkness yourself.
✨ Being dark and twisty is not a flaw, it's a strength.
✨ We're all in the same game, just different levels, dealing with the same hell, just different devils.
✨ She is the kind of dark you only see in a cemetery in October on a haunted Halloween night .
✨ #Chemistry - an attraction that can’t be quantified or explained
✨ All you can count on is now, this moment, because in a blink, everything can change - #Dexter 
✨ The smallest thing can change your life. In the blink of an eye something happens by chance, when you least expect it. - #TheLuckyOne
✨ Sometimes, finding the light means you must pass through the deepest darkness - #TheLuckyOne
✨ Sometimes things hit u all at once. You’re up one day, then down the next. Life is one big wave. All we can do is flow, adapt & transform.
✨ There are three types of people, those at the top, those at the bottom & those who fall. - #ThePlatform
✨ There are things that will happen that will make you feel powerless, that will make you feel insignificant but that’s it, they’re just feelings and sometimes you have to stop feeling & start doing. #Underwater
✨ Yeah I’m somebody’s DUFF, guess what? So are you, so is everybody. There’s always going to be somebody prettier, more talented or richer than you. That should affect how you see yourself. - #TheDuff
✨ Made wiser with heartache. Made stronger by pain.
✨You don’t have to climb a mountain to stand on top of the world.
✨Even the ugliest of places can be beautiful as long as you take the time to look.
✨It’s okay to get lost, as long as you find your way back.
✨ There is beauty in the most unexpected of places
✨There are bright places even in dark times, and if there isn’t, you can be that bright place, with infinite capacities
✨ Physical attraction is beautiful, but it’s the mental attraction that leaves you wanting, needing, craving.
✨ Jealousy - A sign of insecurity, a sign of weakness, a sign of obsession
✨ Like roses we blossom and die.
✨ I have absolutely no need to be liked or understood.
✨ I'd rather be scary than cute. Cute isn't always memorable, but nobody forgets scary
✨ Greatness, lies not in being strong but in the right using of strength. He or she is the greatest whose strength carries up the most hearts, by the attraction of his own. - #Wonder
✨ This darkness of mine cries out for light and all you did was lurk in the shadows. - 🖤
✨ Your demons, your darknesses are part of your masterpiece, your beautiful dark art
✨ What hurts you, blesses you. Darkness is your candle.
✨ “We owe it to the people that we lost, to live the lives that they can’t “ - Meredith Grey 💔
✨ You only get mad because you care. Anger is often an expression only shown towards people and things you care about the most.
✨ To live, is to suffer and to survive, you’ve got to find meaning in the suffering.
✨ She is the wolf they could not ensnare, the voice they could not silence and the fierce wild spirit they could not destroy.
✨ I’m not tearing down my walls for anyone again, you want to know what’s inside? #Climb.
✨ You're a flower. Don't compare yourself to weeds just because they grow faster. 🌷Slow growers have the most resilient roots. 🌱🌻
✨ To find me; you must first unbury me.
✨ Bury me in a dark forest, smelling of the earth, alone with the creatures forevermore.
✨ She’s part lady, she’s part wild, and she’s all fucking storm.
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La Pomme ~ Chapter 11
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Pairing: Sam x OC (eventual Dean x OC and Dean x Castiel. And I mean eventual.)
Series summary: George is a casual French-Mistake-universe Supernatural fan living in no-COVID 2020, who's life is upended when she's suddenly launched between realities, two years into the boys' past (S13E22). What begins as an insane, immersive fan experience turns into more when Jack goes missing and George offers up her AU information to help track him down. Soon it's discovered that she and Sam may actually have history. But that's impossible, right?
Word Count: 4,800
Warnings: {smut, fluff, angst, show level violence, swearing, mentions of suicide} ***Detailed warnings will be tagged for specific chapters.
A/N: Following the events of my prequel Paradise and second story From My Eyes Off. Reading those first gives context but isn’t necessary to start this one.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Cab company says one of their drivers picked up a random fare in front of Target two hours ago and took them to Carson City!" Sam shouted to Dean and Cas as he jogged back anxiously from inside the gas station. "I got the address."
"We sure it's George?" Dean asked, screwing the gas cap back on and shutting the flap
"Well, she said she was from there," He answered matter of factly. "If she ran, home is the most likely place she'd go, right?" Dean gave him a skeptical look and Sam shrugged as they both climbed back into the Impala, "And it's our only lead, so let's go!"
Knowing Sam was right about their very short list of options, the engine roared to life and Dean began driving in the direction of Carson City. 30 minutes later, Dean pulled up along the front of a tall, sprawling beige building.
"We think this is where she went? A community college?" Dean asked, looking skeptically at Sam. He didn't respond, looking at the building curiously. It was definitely strange but Sam felt confident. Or at least, he tried to because if he didn't he would spiral into panic.
Dean had graciously allowed George an extra 30 minutes in Target-because you know how women are about clothes-while stewing hangrily, before he'd gotten impatient and stormed into the shopping center with the other two men in tow. They'd swept the store and the parking lot twice with no sign of her, then started to get worried. After questioning nearly everyone in Target, they'd driven around Reno for an hour looking for any sign of her with no luck-and no food. Finally Dean suggested contacting cab companies in the area to inquire about recent fares and Sam thought it was genius. This had to be right.
"This is the address the cab company gave me," Sam explained, looking around at the-clearly closed-buildings. Dean kept slowly driving past the main building and turned left into the school, looking for signs of life.
As they came back to the main building at the end of their circle and hadn't found any, he finally asked, "OK, so now what?"
Sam thought about it for a minute, trying to logically figure out their next move. Maybe the buildings were open when she'd gotten here earlier? But what was she looking for here and where did she go next? He scoured his memory of their conversations trying to identify any clues.
Just as Sam was about to give up, Castiel pointed to something on their right side, "What about over there?"
Off in the distance, behind the football field and next to the student parking garage was a more modern, silver building with all it's lights still on. The brothers exchanged a look before Dean drove over.
"A library?" He asked as they pulled up.
"A library! That's it!" Sam exclaimed excitedly. Dean parked the car and Sam quickly reached into the glove box and grabbed out three fake IDs that looked closest to security badges.
The three of them got out, Sam passing out the badges, and as they walked up to the entrance Dean asked, "What? How is this 'it?' Why would she go to a library?"
"For the internet?"
"The internet?" Dean was confused. "You think she ran away from us to look at porn?" They reached the glass doors and Castiel opened the left side for them to pile in.
Sam rolled his eyes and said quietly once they were inside, "How many times do I have to tell you there's more to the internet than porn?" Not waiting for an answer, Sam walked over to the large, round information desk conveniently located in the middle of the entryway.
Sat behind the counter was a woman who looked older than your typical college student, but younger than him; he guessed 30ish. She wore a white ripped up band shirt under a black button down and lots of gold jewelry on her wrists and fingers. She had multiple facial piercings-nearly everywhere you could have them-and her hair was styled in short, red wine-colored dreads that fell to her chin. When she looked up at him, he noticed her strikingly beautiful skin was a random pattern of rich terra-cotta brown and stark pale pink. Sam realized she must have vitiligo.
"Hi, I'm Officer Grohl from campus security," he flashed the badge too quickly for her to actually see and continued confidently, "Officer's Cobain and Novoselic," he pointed at Cas and Dean, coming up behind him. "What's your name?"
"Stacey." She removed her earbuds and stood up nervously.
"Nice to meet you Stacey. Can you tell me how long you've been working tonight?"
"Started my shift about three hours ago," she responded curiously.
"Great, then maybe you can help. We're looking for a woman; caucasian, tall, long blonde hair, blue eyes, friendly, rambles a lot. Sound familiar?" They could instantly tell she knew something. Her well practiced, customer service friendly expression was replaced with shock and guilt as soon as Sam finished his description.
Clearing her throat, Stacey responded, "Uh… why? Is she in trouble?"
"Well, we don't know," Dean began, feigning concern. "She's a student that's been reported missing by her boyfriend. Have you seen her?"
"Sorry, did you say boyfriend?!" Stacey's attitude shifted quickly, placing an indignant hand on her hip. It was clear that she was annoyed by that information, though it wasn't clear why.
Dean glanced at Sam curiously before confirming, "Yea, I did. Why?"
Stacey didn't answer right away, clenching her jaw and huffing. Finally she rolled her eyes and smirked in anger, "She came in about two hours ago with some sob story about losing her ID. Said she had a paper due the next morning; seemed stressed about it."
"So, you let her in?" Sam guessed and Stacey nodded guiltily. "When was this?"
"She got here about midnight, just after my shift started."
"Can you tell us what she was doing while she was here?"
"Erm… Mostly, she was on the computer. I assume working on her paper?"
"Really? Can you show us where?" Sam inquired.
"Sure," Stacey said with some frustration, leading the group to a computer station about 50 feet away. "Right here."
"Do you know what she was using the computer for?" Sam asked, wiggling the mouse and getting a login screen.
"I didn't ask and she didn't say."
"Is there any way to find out?"
"Not without a warrant," She sighed with a bit of attitude. Obviously she felt they had overstayed their welcome. The three of them shared a surprised look, unsure how to respond.
Sam turned on his sad puppy dog charm and cleared his throat, "Listen, Stacey, her boyfriend is really concerned. When she left, she left with nothing; no ID, no money, no keys, no phone. She's out there by herself in the middle of the night with nothing and could be in danger. We just want to get her home safe."
Stacey hesitated for a moment, then rolled her eyes in frustration, "Look, I don't know what she was doing while she was here but before she left I gave her directions to the closest Brown Cub Diner, over on Carson street. I assume that's where she was headed next? Left about 30 minutes ago."
Dean looked like he was going to blow a gasket at that information but Sam was elated, "Great! Thank you for your help."
The three of them turned to leave and she followed them back to the front desk.
Sam and Castiel shared an eye roll as Dean held the door open and muttered furiously, "After all this, she's going to the diner for my pancakes?!"
Sam paused in the doorway and turned back to when Stacey called, "Officer Grohl!" Dean looked back as well and Stacey lobbed, "I don't need any more confused straight girl drama. If you find her, tell her to lose my number!"
"Wha?" Dean was very confused.
Sam was too but they didn't have time for it, so he called back, "Sure thing!" before grabbing his brother and pulling him out the door, "C'mon."
They made it to the diner but were unfortunately no closer to finding her. According to the waitress inside, a woman matching her description came in almost an hour prior, bought nearly two bags worth of to-go food, and left. The best they had was a direction. Dean pulled the car back onto the main street through town in said direction while Sam searched carefully out the window for any sign of her. He was very worried. If anything happened to her… he didn't want to think about it.
"Well this is great. Just great, Sammy." Dean was furious, and Sam seemed like the easiest one to take it out on, considering he hadn't let Dean get any food at the diner. Maybe Dean was also a little worried that they wouldn't find George but that was no one's business but his. "What do we do now that we've lost your confused-straight-girl friend, huh? Cas can't sense her because she's not human apparently, so how are we going to find her?"
Sam's neck snapped back and he glared at Cas, "You told him about that?"
"I didn't say she wasn't human. I said maybe not entirely human," Castiel said softly. The more time he spent with her the more he liked her and, though he was still suspicious of her, the suspicion made him feel guilty. But he'd already spilled the beans earlier to Dean when Sam was inside the gas station.
"Why didn't you tell me about it?"
"Uh-about what? George being… 'fuzzy'?" Sam mocked defensively. "What's there to say? We don't know if that means anything. Even Cas isn't sure what to think. She's from an alternate dimension for Christ's sake, it stands to reason she'd be a little fuzzy!"
Dean and Cas were quiet in response to Sam's outburst. They could tell he was a bit on edge.
Even so, Dean muttered, "Listen, I get it. It's not a lot to go on, and if you ask me, the only thing she's a real threat to is your abstinence." Sam clenched his jaw and glared, nostrils flaring as Dean smirked proudly. "But, that's something we should both get the opportunity to decide together. I get that the two of you have history," Sam turned his head and looked out the window guiltily, "and you've got all the feelings now, but she didn't step into the Sam Winchester show. We're brothers and we're in this together. When you start hiding things from me, shit blows up and the next thing you know you've jump-started another apocalypse, alright? Both our lives get affected by this stuff; you just gotta keep me in the loop."
Sam stayed silent but unclenched slowly in his seat. He knew Dean was right, it was irresponsible, dangerous, and unfair to keep things from each other; he wanted to agree to those terms but he wasn't sure if he could. Would it mean having to tell Dean about the dream? No, right? For his own sanity, he'd decided that the woman in the dream couldn't be George, so they weren't related… but his feelings were obviously the reason for Sam's recent missteps, so how was he supposed to explain himself without mentioning it? He was very conflicted.
As he continued scanning the area Sam felt a pull in the pit of his stomach and he leaned forward in his seat. Spotting a sign for the Motel 6, he sat forward like his whole body was being wrenched toward it.
He pointed, "Dean, there."
"What about it?" Castiel asked curiously, as they both looked toward the motel.
"She's-" Sam began confidently and then stopped. How could he say this without seeming crazy? "Maybe she's there?" He tried to sound casual while stopped at the red light just before the motel, "It's possible right?" Dean and Cas shared a look and then Dean stared at him suspiciously. He explained quickly, "Where else is she gonna go with all that food? We can at least just go ask," Sam offered, defensively.
"Fine." Dean grumbled in exhaustion and pulled into the parking lot once the light turned green.
After having gone inside to ask the clerk if they'd seen a woman matching George's description, Dean was walking back to the car and seemed relieved, but still pissed. "Jerry Garcia behind the desk says little miss runaway checked in about 30 minutes ago. Room 24." Dean pointed to a room on the second floor of the motel as he got close enough to Sam and Cas to relay the information.
"Are they sure it's her?" Sam asked anxiously. He wasn't sure if he was happy or freaked out. He definitely wanted to find her, of course, but this strange feeling of knowing where she was was very unnerving.
"Based on my description, which included the phrase 'confusingly endearing blabbermouth,' he seemed pretty sure," Dean shrugged. "Which begs the question-"
"How did you know she'd be here?" Cas asked while he and Dean gave him matching accusatory stares, waiting patiently for his explanation.
"I don't know-I mean, I didn't! I didn't know. I just…" Sam searched for something plausible but came up empty, "lucky guess?" Dean gave him a 'wtf' look, obviously wanting more of an explanation for how Sam was able to find the world's smallest needle in the world's largest haystack. Sam became exasperated; he wasn't able to fully explain it to himself, let alone to anyone else. "I don't know! I guess I just figured with her cab and pie expenses, she's probably low on cash. This is the cheapest motel in the area, so it just stands to reason that she'd have come here, alright?!"
"OK, man, don't blow a gasket. We found her, let's just go get her, so we can get the hell out of here." Dean had lost all patience at this point. They'd wasted the last three hours driving left, right, and center of Nevada to track her down, not knowing whether they'd find her alive or not. All he wanted to do now was to strangle-er, wrangle her back into the car and go get Jack. He'd had enough of Nevada and her shenanigans, and he'd be lying if he said he didn't also want some of that food she'd ordered!
The three of them headed toward room 24. They approached the door and were just about to knock when it opened lazily. George was standing on the other side, seemingly unscathed. She didn't seem at all surprised to see the three men outside her room; as if she'd opened the door in response to their arrival. Her eyes were bloodshot like she'd been crying and she was "dressed" in only one towel wrapped around her body and one twisted atop her head.
"Come on in," she sniffled flatly, turning away from them. In her towel dress, Sam couldn't help but notice that the bright ink he'd seen glimpses of on her calf not only stretched down onto her foot but also up her thigh, disappearing under the towel; it looked like the same colors he'd seen on her waist earlier as well. He still couldn't make out what it was supposed to be but his curiosity definitely piqued.
After they'd exchanged a few confused looks, it took the stunned men a good 15 seconds to snap out of it. With a shrug Dean stomped into the room, Sam following closely behind, and Castiel shutting the door behind them. She walked over to a chair across the small room and flopped down dejectedly.
Once inside, they stood in awkward silence, not a clue how to respond to the sight in front of them. Dean especially had been ready to rip her a new one for the stunt she'd pulled. He hesitated now, seeing her so sad and pathetic; the fact that she didn't have any clothes on made it challenging, too. But this anger had been building for three hours and even a sad, naked woman wasn't going to be saved from his hangry wrath.
"What the hell did you think you were doing?" Dean began ranting at her and pacing around the tiny room. "Do you know how dangerous it was to run like that? We've been driving around for hours, worried out of our minds that you'd been hurt or worse, with no way to find you-and I never got my damn pie!" He gave her his best angry dad face, pausing for her to provide an explanation.
At the mention of food, she got up and walked to the nightstand by the bed, which had a large brown bag filled to the brim with takeout boxes set on top. She pulled out the two stacks of boxes and set them back down on the nightstand, tossing the bag aside. She grabbed the top box and checked to make sure it was the right one before walking over and handing it to Dean.
"Here you go. A slice of strawberry rhubarb pie and a double stack of sweet cream pancakes." She went back to her chair and sat down again, slumping forward and laying her head face down on the wooden table next to her. "I didn't know what kind of pie you'd like, so I got one slice of each, they're in the other boxes on the nightstand. Help yourself." Came her muffled voice as she spoke into the table.
The three of them looked over at all the takeout boxes and then at each other in shock. Dean nearly shed a happy tear. He hesitated for a moment, worried that it might seem insensitive to start eating, but she did say to help himself. Eventually he grabbed a plastic fork from the discarded bag and plopped down on the bed to dig in, ignoring Sam and Castiel's judgmental looks.
"How did you know we were coming?" Castiel finally asked, gobsmacked.
"Dunno, just did." George shrugged. Castiel gave Sam a concerned look, Dean was too busy eating-if you could call it that, it was more like inhaling-to notice.
"George, can you tell us what happened?" Sam began in a gentle voice. "Why did you leave? Where were you going?"
She lifted her head and looked at him, a devastated, frightened look on her face, "Home." He frowned unconsciously and she winced, "I'm sorry, I don't really know what I was thinking. I just thought I saw--I just--ugh, just being so close to home I realized how insane the last few weeks of my life have been and I panicked!" She shouted defensively. Then she sighed and shrugged, "I simply panicked and ran. Trying to get to the only safe place I could think: home."
She paused for a moment and the three men shared understanding, yet uncomfortable looks. Welling up a bit she croaked, "But it doesn't exist. My home doesn't exist. My family doesn't exist. I don't exist!" At that she burst into tears again and hung her head, the towel atop falling away clumsily. Her long wet hair fell forward and draped down over her knees. The three guys froze, half a pancake hanging out of Dean's mouth, looking at each other like "wtf do we do?"
Sam wanted to comfort her. Truthfully, the second she opened the door he'd wanted to grab her and not let go; 'relieved' didn't even begin to cover it. But this whole situation was so very complicated. He was undeniably drawn to her--unnervingly, so--but felt deeply ashamed of his history and had convinced himself that she was just being polite and friendly as a fan of the show. Therefore, he was trying to be respectful and maintain appropriate distance.
When he caught his brother's eye again, Dean motioned for him to go to her as if to say "you're up dude!" Sam scrunched his nose at him before hesitantly moving to her side and carefully pulling her into an awkward side hug against his knees. To his surprise, she stood up suddenly and hugged him tight. Instinctively, he wrapped both arms around her, too, and closed his eyes briefly, relishing the feeling of her in his arms again. It was strangely familiar and comforting, as though she was made to fit perfectly there.
When his eyes opened again, he ignored the smirking look of approval on Dean's face , and asked her quietly, "What do you mean, you don't exist?"
Pulling herself together after a moment, George pulled back and clumsily tried to wipe her snot from Sam's jacket. Dean made a yuck face, shoveling another bite of half pie half pancake into his mouth. Sam was too busy trying to ignore the sudden cold, empty feeling and the strange ache in his chest from the loss of her to notice the snot.
Way to maintain an appropriate distance, dude.
"According to historical records, my grandparents were killed in a house fire shortly after my Aunt Lorna-who was the oldest of my mother's siblings-was born." She reached over to grab a couple pieces of printed paper which were sitting on the opposite side of the table and handed them to Sam. "Copy of the newspaper article about the fire from 1963," she explained. While he scanned the pages quickly, she grabbed a hand towel from the vanity, wetting it at the sink and then rubbing it over her face as if to wash away the sadness. With a sigh she continued, "Second page, half way down: Franklin and Bernadette Byrne. My grandparents. Dead. 5 years before my mom was born."
"That would mean-" Cas began to state the obvious but was cut off by George.
"My mother was never born in this stupid reality! And if she was never born, then I was never born and I shouldn't exist-I don't exist! Here! Wherever here is?" She began pacing in the small room as she spoke out loud, "A television show? But that makes no sense because you all are terrible actors. A dream? That was certainly my first theory, considering it's obviously not the first time I've had sex dreams about fictional characters, not even the first one I've had about The Winchesters-or you, Cas; and I promise it was always Misha-" Sam and Dean exchanged "yikes" looks; she was rambling. Suddenly she stopped and took a deep breath before continuing, "But-but something about this experience seems far more real and distinctly un-dream like. But it also doesn't feel like my real life because ever since I've been here I've felt weirdly… comfortable? The pain is gone and I can actually listen to my instincts which feel heightened somehow; I trust them now more than ever! Which feels like it means I'm supposed to be here, like I'm where I'm meant to be." Sam tried not to look too happy about that statement, as she gave a pain expression before saying, "But how can that be if I don't exist?" She paused only briefly and then turned on her heel and started again, "Or, does it make sense that I don't exist here already because if I did, there'd be two of me in one universe and I suppose that could cause some kind of paradox? Maybe-"
"OK, time out!" Dean stood up and put his half finished food down. He turned to look at her for a split-second before turning back around and picking the food up again. He spoke to her between bites, "it's been a long day and we're all too tired to get into paradoxes right now. Why don't we go see if we can get adjoining rooms and try to get some shut eye. Give ourselves a little time to rest, recharge, and then we can talk things through in the morning? How does that sound?" Dean's mood had improved exponentially now that he'd had some food in him and his offer was tempting to everyone. George felt like a spinning top that would never slow down and figured maybe sleep wouldn't be so bad, so she just shrugged concedingly.
"Sam and I will go talk to the front desk about the rooms." Castiel wanted to talk to Sam alone.
"And I'll stay here and supervise the pie while you take a nice hot bath to relax, OK?" Dean took the last bite of the food in his first takeout box and tossed it into the trash before nudging George in the direction of the bathroom. She gave a loud sigh in faux-test but went and started the bath anyway. She'd already showered but he had a point; a hot bath would probably help her relax enough to sleep. Cas and Sam headed out the door while Dean grabbed a second take out box and they heard an excited "Cherry! Score!" as the door shut behind them.
"Sam, I'm concerned," Cas stated as they were walking to the lobby building.
"You don't think they're going to have adjoining rooms available?"
"Not about the hotel, about George," Castiel clarified. "I'm concerned about how she says she's feeling."
"Cas, it's totally natural for humans to feel sad. She was ripped out of her world and plopped into what she thinks is a TV show and then she finds out she doesn't exist? I mean, it'd be overwhelming for anyone. When Dean and I got stuck in her reality, it was-"
"I'm not concerned about her emotional state, Sam," Castiel stopped Sam from walking and made him turn to look at him. "I'm concerned about her saying she feels like she's meant to be here? Like her 'instincts are heightened'?" Castiel questioned, checking to see if Sam had heard that too.
"So, what's wrong with that? Maybe we've just been making her feel so at home that she's having a nice time." Sam felt defensive; he'd been nothing but selfishly happy that she seemed to feel so comfortable here. Hoping beyond hope that maybe he might be part of the reason why. Questioning that was a can of worms he wanted to keep tightly closed.
Cas gave him a look, "It's more than that. You saw all that food in there, how she opened the door as we approached." Castiel shook his head, a suspicious look on his face. "I think this goes beyond good hospitality…" he trailed off though, as he really wasn't sure what this was. Every time he was around her, he felt a niggling sense of dread that he couldn't shake and the more she displayed this strange, coincidental clairvoyance, the more the dread grew. Yet she was an inarguably pleasant human, who had been nothing but kind and friendly to him. If only he could sense her, he'd feel a lot better.
"What? You think it's something bad? Something to be concerned about?" Sam didn't see what all the fuss was about. Sure, she'd had food waiting for them-Dean's always hungry and she maybe felt like she needed a peace offering? And she opened a door five seconds before they knocked-maybe their footsteps were rattling the wall of the rickety old motel, who knows? Sam didn't see the relevance either way.
"I don't know," Cas admitted finally.
"OK, then let's just get some shut-eye for now and like Dean said, we can talk about all of this, including your concerns, in the morning, yea?" Cas conceded begrudgingly since he knew humans tended to function better after having slept.
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ladyfawkes · 3 years
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Desiderium by Trekkiehood and LadyFawkes Current word count: 13423 Current Chapter 8: The Useful Idiots Rated: T for graphic descriptions of violence, wartime, torture, things of a POW nature. ATTENTION/ACHTUNG/ATTENCION: THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!! [Nor a repost.] DESI HAS BEEN GIVEN ITS 3RD UPDATE IN LESS THAN A WEEK. WHOOPWHOOPWHOOP! It's also the first chapter in which I've flown entirely solo thus far. Doth my eyes deceive me, or does our hero make a reappearance??? Hold onto your butts, buttercups. You finally get to learn what Regis is all about. Eeeeep!!! This one's intense!!
Overall Story Summary: Desiderium: an ardent desire or longing; especially: a feeling of loss or grief for something lost.
Eugene and Rapunzel's lives are turned upside down when a war breaks out between Corona and Equis. As Captain of the Guard, Eugene is forced to leave his wife and daughter to fight on the front lines, where a tragic berserker attack leaves Rapunzel a widow.....or so she's been led to believe.
Now prisoner to a sadistic megalomaniac, our severely injured Eugene must fight harder than he's ever fought before in order to escape dire circumstances and drag his way back to his family.
With battles raging, the enemy advancing, too many fallen troops, dwindling supplies under siege, and especially absent their most trusted strategic leader, the only chance Rapunzel, Corona, and Eugene have is if the kingdom can still somehow pull off the seemingly insurmountable task of winning this forsaken war. Has dusk finally arrived for the kingdom of the sun, or will she rise victorious once more? Chapter Summary: Eugene finds "help" in the most unexpected of places. Javeen’s men had concussed the enemy captain in outrage and then tightly bound his wrists and ankles with ropes for transport. Naturally, nobody amongst them had consciously thought to put pressure on the enemy's wounds. On the contrary, most of them had gone out of their way to avoid such a thing…. Their reputation had always been annihilation of all opposition and a literal scorched earth policy. It didn’t leave much room, if any, for compassion or medical training; most of the time, it left even less room for common sense. Before dawn that day, Commander Javeen’s underling had initially volunteered to perform the honor of actually transporting the soon-to-be-captured prisoner, the captain in red. However, by this point, Avila was less than thrilled; Uhlan Avila didn’t want the loathsome enemy captain to leak his blood and other bodily fluids all over his opulent saddle. He’d spent good money on it, after all. This was an unforeseen complication for which the uhlan had definitely not volunteered. Now….he was stuck with it, however. Avila sprinted over to a fallen enemy horse nearby, loosened the saddle, and reclaimed the saddle blanket, padding, and two leather straps. Taking the woolen pad and folding it over a few times, he twisted up the enemy captain inside of it with the blanket around the outside, and then cinched up everything with the reclaimed leather straps. Uhlan Avila was pleased with himself for being so clever. It was that one action of vanity alone which preserved Eugene’s life past this point; as otherwise short-sighted as these bloodthirsty barbarians were, transporting the wounded -- even their own -- was not something for which they spared much thought or effort. And so Uhlan Avila threw the prepared prisoner over the withers of his horse and ultimately brought the prisoner, retching and puking, all the way back to Javeen’s encampment outside Equisian city walls. Thus the Equisian army had done the enemy commander a secondary favor by attacking before breakfast; one cannot puke out what one has not eaten. And thus we've reached our third unintended positive consequence that the uhlan mistakenly provided the enemy: Avila had rendered him virtually unconscious. It was a copiously merciful thing, remaining staunchly unable to recall waking memory of being hauled away so inhumanely, bound and profusely bleeding, with no way to brace or prepare oneself for the relentless jarring and jouncing motions on the arduously long journey ahead. The same afternoon Queen Rapunzel of Corona received her husband’s final impassioned missive, the currently defenseless abductee Captain Eugene S. Fitzherbert, Prince Consort of Her Majesty Queen Rapunzel, was presented to His Imperial Majesty King Regis the First and Terrible of Equis. Regis preferred just the one name of his, as ambitious as he was, wanting to further distinguish himself from anyone else yet in the history books. Fully expectant that his captive should be brought to him on a silver platter, King Regis was royally put-out when he was instead Summoned to Javeen’s encampment due to a quote unquote “slight problem”. However, he was determined nothing would spoil his mood for that day. That day had all gone off without a hitch, apparently, every carefully laid plan thus far. As well it should, Regis congratulated himself internally. Nothing would be better than his moment of being able to gloat in the face of this unworthy thieving interloper who had taken up such a plumb station within the neighboring kingdom. Regis
had heard all about Fitzherbert from his
cousin before his death. What idiots Corona’s former royal couple must have been, getting duped by the likes of such a wonton common thief. King Regis vowed he would die before he let such an accursed scourge back into his palace. King Trevor had regaled Regis endlessly about his woes with Corona, King Frederic, and ultimately, the insufferable thief Fitzherbert. And Regis….well, Regis was like Trevor multiplied one-thousand-fold. While they were close to the same age, Regis had had a lifetime filled with having the throne denied him. His gargantuan height of 6’11” made Regis tower over most everyone around him. Though he was tall, he was also toned and muscular rather than massive; though he could yell louder than most, he also had a silver tongue. His cruelty, selfishness, and vanity knew no bounds -- nor did his taste for ostentation. Unlike Trevor, who had a very pointy pinched look, he was exceptionally attractive, broad-chested, masculine, and “strong as a bear”, with his close-cropped beard and once-dark-hair turned a respectable salt-&-pepper. Yet beautiful as he was, every horrible family trait that Trevor had ever possessed -- and then some -- were magnified to abysmal new depths within Regis….which is why lately, he’d been experimenting around with giving himself titles of repute. “King Regis the Great”....no, too generic. “King Regis the Horrible,”...no. Again, too….pedestrian. “King Regis the Terrible”...? Slight improvement but still not good enough. King Regis brushed an invisible piece of lint off his shimmering blue ermine cape, readjusted his most opulent jeweled crown and sauntered through the massive tent flap that had been pulled aside in anticipation of his arrival. He strutted toward the back of the tent, where he saw his 2nd and 3rd in command, Commander Javeen and Commander Thaddeus. Thaddeus backed away at a steady pace upon seeing him, after bowing, saluting, and announcing his king's arrival. Regis picked up on an undercurrent of agitation between his leading men. As he approached Javeen and a heap of rags on the ground, he learned precisely why. It was not a mound of rags before him. Now abruptly seeing his Big Moment evaporate in front of his eyes, Regis rushed up to what was clearly a passed-out prisoner. Surely this could not be Fitzherbert….?? He’d expected him to be a bit sick and groggy via a pre-planned ride from Hades over horse’s withers but not….. And Regis roughly clutched at the hair of the prone individual and yanked backward on the head. And though this prisoner’s features were filthy, it was just as Regis feared: he was indeed looking at the face that had launched a thousand Wanted posters, his avowed newest enemy, Eugene Fitzherbert, Prince of Thieves. The enemy prisoner showed no outward reaction to him nor anything else whatsoever. He lay perfectly still, eyes closed and expressionless, his body completely inert. With fury clouding his vision, Regis tore at the saddle blanket wrapped around his prey. The blanket had all but adhered to those once-leaking wounds through Eugene’s torso. By this time, Cmdr. Thaddeus had backed away to a safe distance outside the tent. “What is the MEANING OF THIS!?!?” roared Regis, unclutching his once-intended target’s hair and crossing the tent to Javeen in less than half a second. “GRIEVOUSLY DAMAGING MY CHOSEN PREY BEFORE I CAN EVEN SEE HIM?!?! “My-My Liege,” stuttered Javeen, “I thought you’d be pleased to see him in such dire straits!” At this, even Regis was taken aback. Briefly. “To reiterate….you ‘thought I’d be PLEASED’," Regis made mocking air-quotes, “to see the very victim I’d been planning personally to accost now for months, suddenly in a position where nothing I can do can possibly torture or make him hurt enough, the way he should be!?!” At this, Regis twitched his wrist and an impossibly sharp filigreed 12-inch-length steel stylus slipped silently out of a concealed pouch in his sleeve. Now, the king was deceptively, eerily calm, ever-so-slowly advancing on Javeen, who was inching away. “Did it ever occur to you,”
Regis rapidly whip-sliced in an upward diagonal with the stylus, his impossibly-lengthy arm snaking out and away him, “that I might need to play with him first?” And then he whipped the whisper-quiet blade rapidly on an opposing downward diagonal, completing an X pattern across the chest of Javeen’s tunic. His second’s eyes bugged out and he continued to back away from Regis, stumbling and stuttering, "N-no-no, Si-sire." Javeen clutched at and tried pressing his tunic against the new fresh wounds underneath them to staunch the flow of blood. Gritting his teeth and trying desperately not to cry out, Javeen well knew how screaming and crying to Regis would only encourage him further.  "This dirty thief has information I require, you fool,” Regis said low in his throat, with deadly calm, as he threw the stylus at the dirt and it pierced Javeen through his foot. His hapless second screamed in spite of himself and fell backward, his foot still pinned to the earth through his boot. “I pay you to kill, maim, and follow my orders to the letter,” Regis stood over him prior to leaving, “not to do my thinking for me.” "Un....underst-stood, Si-sire," whispered Javeen. As abject terror gripped him, Javeen still knew he'd gotten off easy. He was still alive and allowed to keep all limbs and sensory organs. After giving his original intended victim Fitzherbert one last longing glance, Mad King Regis knelt down and plucked his stylus out of the shocked man’s pinned foot as slowly and agonizingly as possible, making Javeen yell mightily again as crimson gushed out the new holes in either side of his boot. "You'd best hope he lives," Regis threatened pleasantly, nonchalantly inspecting the bloodied point of his stylus. Regis then wiped his stylus clean on Javeen’s trouser leg, and said loudly, “Cmdr. Thaddeus, Summon the surgeon or apothecary, whatever he calls himself. Tell him he has a new charge. JUST THE ONE,” he growled menacingly at Javeen, his implications crystal clear although he still addressed Cmdr Thaddeus. And to think, less than five minutes ago, Regis had been having such a fine day.
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