#'i want you to trust and like me. not for nefarious purposes. just feels nice :)'

[eff-plays]

Ok so I have been trying to pinpoint why Hira goes for Astarion in the beginning and I think it's a combination of smaller reasons, instead of one big reason.

First one being that they're inherently curious, a bit of a nosy bastard, and as I mentioned before, a hot vampire elf who brags about his sexual prowess is either gonna be great or terrible, which is great in a different way. Bards are gonna bard, and bragging about sleeping with a pretty vampire elf is a fun tale at the very least. (Also, in their experience, high elves are among the worst races in bed, so this will be extra funny if the trend continues.)

Second, they're midly attracted to him, probably because of the belligerent sexual tension, which they assume is mostly one-sided. Out of all the people who proposition them at the party, he's the most appealing. Lae'zel seems fun but very intense and might break their spine, Gale is too nice to ruin, and Shadowheart just isn't their type.

Third, I think they don't realize how fucked up he is at this point, because he hasn't actually told anyone, obviously. They're just like "oh just another bad boy with a big mouth and a bigger ego, I've handled those before, nbd" so they don't expect to step into premium bullshit. It'll just be a one night thing and then they can move on.

Fourth has something to do with their backstory, in which they were betrayed by someone they thought was the love of their life, pretty much out of nowhere. So going for a guy who's an outright stated untrustworthy freak is like, cool, I know what I'm getting into, don't have to trust him with anything, especially not my heart.

As for why they go for him long-term? I don't think it's a conscious decision, actually. I think the romance interactions with him post-sex but pre-Araj can be read as somewhat platonic, or at least not overtly romantic. As I stated before, they don't have sex that second time in my headcanon, so Hira continues to sort of gently flirt with him but keeps things cool and doesn't do anything overtly romantic or sexual. But somewhere after the mirror scene and before the hug, Hiraeth realizes that Astarion is just a scared animal, hissing and scratching in self-defense, and sort of treats him like that?

They don't believe in perfect victims, and think he's fully within his right to be a huge bitch about everything, and that he's actually surprisingly functional for what he's been through. They can't even imagine 200 years of torture, so this guy being as, frankly, normal as he is, is a good sign that there's plenty to salvage in there. In his shoes, they'd probably be on a killing spree. So they think, ok, I'll just give him room to figure himself out, give him a nice cozy nook to feel safe in, and keep him fed (with my blood). Not fix him, but give him space to fix himself. If he does, that's great! They don't even consider that they might be together at any point.

He does give them plenty of glimpses that he's not just a little garbage man through and through, even if they enjoy him being a little bit garbage sometimes, so they find that they have a lot of gentle thoughts of him, particularly when after he's been vulnerable with them or struggled to find the words to accept their kindness, despite clealry wanting to. He tries to hide that he has any genuine emotions, but because they can tell he's lying, they know there's something to hide, and they want to see what it is.

So they keep treating him like an equal and a valued member of the team, hearing out his stupid ideas and considering his cringe opinions. Not because they agree, but because he deserves to be heard, even if he doesn't deserve obedience.

So when they give him that nice hug and he immediately takes their hand and says he likes whatever this is, they're genuinely taken aback like, what? Already? I mean sure, yes, let's try it out, but are you sure? I'm not really offering you anything extraordinary except my continued care and support, which I will give anyway.

(Good ending) Astarion acknowledges Tav's patience with and care for him in the final romance cutscene in the game, and I think that works as a motivatior for him, as well. I don't think Astarion always likes or agrees with Hiraeth's penchant for kindness or their silly little oath, but in the end, he understands, at least logically, that if they weren't this kind to others, they would also not be this kind to him. So them being a soft-hearted little idiot is a prerequisite for them being his soft-hearted little idiot, which means fine, he'll tolerate it, even if he'll grumble about it, even if their kindness is a waste sometimes. Like maybe he sometimes gets really jealous when they turn their bright sun of a smile on anyone but him, but he'll be fine as long as it's only for him at the end of the day. Ya know?

Haha anyway. I'm insane 💅💅💅

[missveryvery]

FengQing dynamics, book vs fan interpretation, General Thoughts about Clown Generals:

Mostly me trying to stare at canon and figure out what these dumbasses think about each other and what their actual relationship is, what's actually written instead of my hopes and dreams for clown love.

we all keep writing/drawing Mu Qing being the mean one and Feng Xin as the nice one but....Feng Xin is the one that relentlessly says horrible things to him, usually unprovoked.

Feng Xin's insults:

That he hates him, that he never wants to see him again, that he's lying, that whenever he sees him doing something it absolutely must be for personal/nefarious reasons, that he's happy when xl does crimes, he's untrustworthy, that he's always scheming, that he thinks he's better than he is, that he wouldn't be where he is without Xie Lian.

Mu Qing's insults are:

that Feng Xin is just as "disloyal" as him for leaving. Basically, his usual argument is "you are just as bad as me." This is his big thing, arguably his only thing.

He maybe thinks the bathhouse is Feng Xin's fault, like he took them somewhere perverted on purpose

His statues? whack.

Says Feng Xin made a big deal about nothing about Xie Lian stealing.

I'm wracking my brain here because a lot of them aren't personal insults so much as making fun of him for something rather than saying he's a bad person. Like he tells Xie Lian about the Ju Yang thing. That's not something Feng Xin did wrong, it's something embarrassing that happened to Feng Xin.

Here's one:

Actually, rereading this, I wonder if he meant Xie Lian...? Since that's the person who they felt like couldn't tell who was a ghost. And Feng Xin has always been able to discern ghostness so far so that seems weirdly specific. Which is nuts because I think we all feel like Mu Qing should insult his intelligence all the time (Feng Xin isn't as dumb as I wish he was, though so...)

I'm extremely guilty of all of this, to be clear. And I don't know why. Sometimes I carefully have Feng Xin realize he was awful and be apologetic, sometimes deal with it.

But probably most of the time, offhandedly, I'm like "Ah yes mq wouldn't catch him in a trust fall", which is something I just saw on my dash. when it's demonstrably, literally untrue, right?

They would both catch each other without hesitation. They literally do! Even when it's at a great risk to themselves!

I think the difference is what they think will happen:

Mu Qing, idk I could go either way. He might know that Feng Xin will catch him because Feng Xin is Like That. Or he might think it's a big question mark.

By Tong'lu he says something to the effect that he's running from them because they'll just kill him if they get ahold of him. But by then things have been escalating. Feng Xin hit him during the avalanche thing off screen and Mu Qing was surprised by it and asked why he'd hit him. We saw Feng Xin punch him before (after ghost city arc), but Mu Qing wasn't confused as to why that time. In other words, normally he might completely trust him but the events of the book threw everything out the window.

But I can't say for sure what Mu Qing would think would happen.

Weirdly, Feng Xin's response is the more complicated one.

Feng Xin does NOT think Mu Qing will or has serious doubts. Except...that's just what he'll verbalize. Literally what happens in the book, he gives no visible indication that he even remotely believes Mu Qing's explanations at Tong'lu.

It's only after Mu Qing suddenly disappears that the narrator tells us that he wasn't as convinced of Mu Qing 's guilt as he acted. He was just pissed and being an asshole. Mu Qing's disappearance is what actually shakes Feng Xin's belief in Mu Qing.

They have another argument earlier about JL:

-Feng Xin assumes the worst

-Mu Qing explains

-Feng Xin backs down for the moment (and goes to have a nervous breakdown)

-but when he sees him again he starts attacking him (avalanche scene), and this fight is bad enough that they've actually pulled weapons on each other

-This fight/argument continues until Hua Cheng shows up and they have bigger things to worry about

Then we have this:

Feng Xin's pattern might be:

Get mad, assume the worst, say things he doesn't mean, eventually calms down about it/acts like it's fine.

There are a couple times where he's argued into shutting up. It's just that he will bring that thing out, that he has been acting like he calmed down about and accepted, when he's mad.

I think he actually does at least subconsciously believe an Mu Qing Explanation PowerPoint. Why? Because that's what his overall behavior reflects. Or, even if, let's say he doesn't believe anything Mu Qing says ever, thinks he's the fucking worst: he still goes on little adventures with him and hangs out with him.

He doesn't suffer people he dislikes very much, does he? He doesn't even want Xie Lian to hang out with Hua Cheng! He's very "don't associate with those kinds of people." Actually, basically everything you "know" about Feng Xin, is not quite accurate by the end of the book, just like it is with Mu Qing.

Anyway, he still happily puts Xie Lian in a dress with Mu Qing. That's basically the definition of a sworn brother.

But at the end of the day, even though I think this is all very shitty behavior on Feng Xin's part and jail for Feng Xin, jail for Feng Xin for One Thousand Years, their relationship is something Mu Qing likes. He cares what he thinks about him. He doesn't want Feng Xin to think badly of him. Despite Feng Xin being the least generous person with benefit of the doubt, he still defends himself with him and the only other person he does that with is Xie Lian. Everyone else he's accepted he can't do anything about.

Like they must be having good times together that they both find worthwhile or they wouldn't be together. He must find things about him that he values.

Best guess is: he admires Feng Xin's selflessness and devotion to "what's right", the same way he thinks Xie Lian is cool. He wants to be around these two people. These are also the aspects he fucking hates the most and says are stupid and pointless and will get you killed. He hates this behavior, he rants about it, he is horrified by it, and yet he is someone who does it over and over and over again. And it always comes back to bite him in the ass.

As for what Feng Xin likes about Mu Qing...I don't know. Like I can't even guess. He likes the Queen a lot who is gentle and kind hearted and he likes the bravery and toughness of JL. He idolizes Xie Lian. But at no point does he assert Mu Qing is anything but the opposite of those people. Even when he has evidence to the contrary he forgets it or dismisses it. So I really have no idea what a canon reason is for him to like Mu Qing.

Maybe he thinks "I'll go with him because it seems fun or interesting" and "I have to protect him" and doesn't consciously attribute any part of that to Mu Qing.

It's possible he doesn't actually like him, as much as I hate to admit it, this would be mind-numbingly realistic for a guy that doesn't like thinking deeply about things. I think a lot of people don't think too deeply about friendship, because most of the time it's about familiarity and proximity and availability. We both like this activity, you're the person I know, we do it together. I'm sure you've met people, even married couples, that when it comes down to it don't actually like each other, they're just together out of familiarity and habit.

I do wonder what it would have been like if Mu Qing had died, that's kind of the usual outcome for a character like this, I feel like I rarely see in an adult book where a character like this has a suicide mission and then is ok or not, idk, very fucked up by it at least.

I do think they're friends, canonically, but I think their relationship is very unlike what we're used to seeing. But I also think mirrors closely a lot of relationships you see in real life, especially with dudes who hang out but don't figure out a Very Important Subject Ever.

Mostly this was just me making notes to myself and then I thought I'd share.

[emptymasks]

why does my tav look suspiciously like d from vampire hunter d? um... well i um well i. you see. it's called being incredibly picky and sensitive about character creation and not being able to make a tav in game that is a comfortable representation of yourself, and d's out there being peak gender goals and already looking like me so you just use him as your own self-insert and whoops now you ship them haha. i've commandeered d for my own nefarious purposes and no one can stop me.

also yes i chose to make d a little shorter than astarion. i can't actually find a canonical height for him in the books, he's just described as looking like a young man, so for my own headcannon (and because i'm not very tall) he's like 5'8.

i have thoughts about them under the cut

no but d's closed off emotionally but does experience emotions. and he's used to no one being accepting of half-vampires. astarion mistakes him for an elf at first, only realising he's not when he tries to bite him. getting worried and then calming down once he learns d isn't a full vampire. astarion continuing to flirt with him catches him off guard, he's not unused to people finding him beautiful but he isn't used to people being this interested, especially after learning he's a dhapmir. the feeling of not being accepted amongst vampires nor humans/elves is something they share. being on board with killing cazador, perhaps was already on a mission to kill him anyway. d is incredibly touch-starved. sometimes he doesn't want to be touched, needs quiet time, tries to show astarion it's okay to not want to be touched.

he turns down astarions suggestions of bedding him for the longest time as it is not something he indulges in… but perhaps… just this once�� the few times people have tried to seduce him they've been vampires, so this, this is different, he feels as though he can trust astarion with this, with himself, and if the worst comes he knows he's stronger than astarion and can fend him off. but the more time passes, the more of himself he lets astarion see, the more they let each other see of themselves, d starts to share slivers of his past, he wants astarion to know he understands, and it… it's nice to have someone who doesn't judge him, not for what he is, but also not for what he's done. and the falling happens. and he's terrified. but so is astarion. and astarion is right that this… this feels nice. and he doesn't want to be selfish and let himself be with someone, have it interfere with his drive but he wants. and he fears that astarion will fear him, he has to confess what happens if he were to feed on a person, he urges that take hold of him, the vampire that rages inside of him. but astarion thinks, and says d can't let this full vampire that lurks control him.

and when they find cazador he convinces astarion not to ascend, that someone has to break the hold these vampires have, someone has to end the cycle of abuse and power. he could have killed cazador himself, but this is astarion's moment, and he's almost testing him, seeing if astarion is different from every vampire he's met. different from almost every vampire he's met. he thinks of meier, of his ability to find and feel love. and astarion resists, and he cries, and he kills cazador. and if he's willing, when he's more recovered, once the worms are out of their minds, they'll both become braver, both become able to voice things that they feel. and perhaps astarion will say he's proven himself a worthy ally, has he not? perhaps, since it's hard for d to give up hunting, well… perhaps they could hunt together.

[melishade]

Here we go again! Number 20?

This ask game

Rollercoaster once again baby! War Timeline! Eren finally getting confronted about his behavior among the humans. For more context: Part 7: Eren’s relationship with the Autobots

Eren was just trying to be nice. To protect his new friends. At least, he thought that they were friends.

Look, this who situation regarding giant, metal, titans from another world still baffled him. It made him uncomfortable to think about. They say they don't eat humans, but how could he trust their word on that. Jack, Miko, and Rafael seemed to trust them so much, but...he just...couldn't! He had tried protecting them if they got too close to the Autobots. He did pick up Rafael and took him away when talking to Bumblebee, leaving the pre-teen confused and Bumblebee frantic. Another time, he had shoved Jack into the castle when he saw he and Arcee having a rather heated discussion. And now...

Eren was in titan form, holding an annoyed looking Miko with cupped hands while the other Autobots looked rather tense. They didn't draw their weapons, but they looked ready to. He wasn't trying to be a bad guy. He was just trying to protect his friends. They didn't see it that way, and neither did Miko. The teen merely lied down in his grasp, resting her cheek on her lifted hand, tapping her finger against it.

"You're lucky you can turn into a Kaiju or else I'd sock you right in the nose," Miko proclaimed.

Eren couldn't help it. His human face and his titan face was flushed red with embarrassment. It really didn't seem like he was helping at all.

"Alright, put Miko down and get out of that titan form! We need to talk with you!" Ratchet ordered Eren, "This has gone on long enough!"

Eren saw Bulkhead walking up to him and slowly handed Miko over to the Wrecker. The teen simply slinked her way over to Bulkhead's servos before he set her down on the ground. Eren then kneeled down on the ground before pulling himself out of the nape of the neck. He climbed down his decaying titan form, and when the Autobots saw that he was merely a human once again, they relaxed just a little.

"We all understand that titans are seen as the enemy, and that we could have nefarious purposes, but there is no reason for you to drag our humans allies away constantly!" Ratchet scolded, "They are our mediators!"

Eren rubbed his upper arm, the markings on his face still present.

"If you wanted to spy on us that badly, you can just watch us from afar like your Captain does!" Ratchet pointed upwards, and Eren looked behind him to see Levi staring at them all through the castle window. His eyes narrow as he took a sip of his tea. Eren then heard Bumblebee saying something to Arcee, but he could never understand it, but the two wheeler seemed to nod in agreement and mutter something about being 'like Optimus'.

"Eren, we've told you that the Autobots are fine," Jack reasoned, "We've even shown you pictures. They've saved our planet. You don't have to be afraid of them."

"...sorry," Eren muttered, "Old habits...they die hard I guess. I just don't want to see you, Miko, and Raf get hurt. You guys are one of the few who's been nice to me. And...I've already lost a lot of people already..."

Eren stared down at the ground as he remembered his cadet friends getting eaten alive in Trost. "Training wasn't enough to stop my friends from getting devoured."

His vision got blurry when he remembered the Colossal Titan peering over Shinganshina. "I lost my home to them."

Eren remembered his helplessness when he tried to pull the rubble off of his mother. "Mom..."

The Autobots were stunned when Eren started crying. Eren started wiping his tears in frustration, trying and failing to regain his composure. The Autobots looked at each other, feeling guilty over pressuring this kid. Optimus' expression of neutrality slipped into one of remorse. Eren...he was just a child, a child with an inordinate amount of responsibility no one else should even bare. He would never with the power of the Primes onto anyone else, and he would never wish a power like this onto him.

The Autobots were confused when the Prime elected to step forward and kneel down, trying his best to look him in the eye. "Eren."

Eren jumped at the bombastic voice, but...it sounded quite gentle. The titan shifter looked up to see the Prime staring down at him...with empathy.

"You are allowed to feel this way," Optimus declared, "You are young, and at such a young age you have experienced much lost. Now you are being forced to handle a responsibility that no one knows about and fears. It is not something that you deserve."

Eren couldn't help but blink in surprise.

"The Autobots and I do vow that we will do everything we can to help you regain your home and free your world from the tyranny of the titans," Optimus swore to him.

Eren looked over to the other Autobots to see their reactions to Optimus' vow. Bulkhead and Arcee seemed confident they would succeed, while Bumblebee looked like he was smiling through his eyes. Ratchet seemed a little reluctant, but nodded regardless. Eren then yelped when Jack, Miko, and Rafael hugged him so tightly. He didn't expect this. He didn't expect to be comforted like this, but...it was nice. Eren did his best to hug them all back, feeling a weight lifted from his shoulders. This was actually really nice.

(Look this list is super long but keep asking from it, that will be nice for me!)

[magnumdays]

Magnum PI 5.12 - Three Bridges review

Little bit late this week because I had trouble finding the ep and well this new mid-week airing time, it's at a pretty inconvenient time of the week for me.

Anyways...

The promo for this episode was misleading as (when is it not) but in this case it was a really good misleading. We did get funny sting-ray case but that was just a side plot for laughs.

And for me it worked so well because it gave us more Miggy scenes and man, do I love how they're doing Magnum and Higgins as a couple now. It's established, comfortable but still sweet with that hint of sexy they always had and IDK, why can't we just have 10 seasons more of this?

The Case

Seems like a semi-straightforward "trusted the wrong person and got my money stolen" case. But this being Magnum PI, there is of course a huge trafficking ring behind it and the bad guy is actually a good guy and everyone (except for the Triad) gets a happy ending. (Brushing over the trauma of trafficking and being used as a human sheild at and also sort of betrayal of trust and stealing lots of money from people, and all that jazz. Because goodness will win out and happiness reign supreme -that's just how we roll in Magnum PI land.)

I liked it, even if finding the hotel (which granted took the combined power of Kumu and Higgy) and then just getting walked straight into the heart of the Evil Overlords organization was a bit convenient. Like if I was a boss bad-guy I would have just told my underlings to walk potential spies and cops and other interested parties off the property. And then just moved my operation.

Just saying, a bit sloppy for a 97-million-dollar operation...

The end bit with findning Haun (Han?) after he'd been sold off again, maybe that should have ended sadder or more dramatic. Like Haun could at least have gotten shot in the arm or something... just a little suggestion.

Or Higgy should have gotten shot because she was just walking straight into the path of this guy's bullets...

The Miggy

What took you so long?

I was about to ask you the same thing.

They are so adorable and just maybe the ultimate modern battle couple of all time.

Seriously was there one Miggy moment when the banter was not on point?

"Get where it's going and intercept it!"

Side note: does someone on this show have like a drowning kink? I feel like waterboarding is the to-go torture method of choice for all bad guys. I mean Nuzo was water-boarded before he died, Higgy was, then she almost drowned and now we got TM getting all drown-y.

And love the look Magnum gives the guy when the bad guy is all "This ain't gonna work - go get his friend". Like from mildly smug (above) because hey, Mr. Navy Seal "I can hold my breath for five minutes" isn't worried about anything to 'not amused' in like a second.

(I mean of course Higgy being all kick-ass going to get her Hubby, also lovely.)

TC - Sometimes you just need your mom

So TC pushing everyone away after last week when he seemed to be opening up and doing a bit better with Shammy and Kumu felt like a step back, but also very real. Because rehab and progress is not linear nor does it "make sense" for most people in a logical way.

Mommy-TC showing up and both showing him that she not leaving because she loves him and wants to be there for him and talking to him about weakness and stubbornness, was the right play. Because when life sucks sometimes you just need your mom right?

It's also a nice call back to last "season" which they've been so good at during season 5. Like with Higgy and the Mandarin and just little references to stuff (still waiting on the tattoo though...)

Rick and Love

So I guess Piper was only in the picture to push Rick and Suzy together then? Maybe? I kind of hope she sticks around and has some other nefarious purpose. But if she's not in the next episode or 14, I guess she was just there to get the Suzy/Rick ship to sail.

Which, I mean, we did all want that and it is sooo very cute and I'd want to see happy-family feels! Let Suzy or Rick have a birthday and we can end with a surprise party or something this season (and bring a real baby this time).

Overall + I'm on a break next week

I enjoyed this episode so much, possibly a bit more than last week's ep even, and I'm a bit annoyed with myself it took me like 4 days until I could watch it. I guess, part of why I postponing watching is because each week means one episode closer to the last one. Urg, why did they end our show!!! It's such a freaking shame because it absolutely feels like they've found their groove with the Miggy relationship and just the whole vibe of 5a and so far 5b!

Next week I'll be traveling so I might not be able to get access to the episode at all before I return home, which sucks because it's my favorite plot-device: my faves going undercover.

But yeah, 13+14 might end up being a double episode for me (+ double review!) in two weeks but we shall see!

[perelka-l]

Do you have any HCs for how Archer interacts with the other execs?

I am of deep belief that those four really get along with each other and are quite a nice quartet, supportive of each other, surprisingly so for four of mobsters. Or maybe not so surprisingly?

Well, first thing is that all of them are united by their trust and adoration towards Giovanni, but there is plenty of yet unexplored ground in terms of what they think about each other.

In Pokemas, Ariana is the only one that mentions Archer and she claims to "allow" Archer to take the number two spot. So yeah, she's envious as heck, which tbh no wonder. Interestingly though I don't think before Pokemas it was ever said if they are equals but I liked the thought that they had the same level in organisation. Well. It kinda of broke a bit my perception of them as as much as I like her being envious, I want to think there a certain level of understanding between her and Archer, sharing same (or at least similar) job and difficulties.

As much as Ariana would want to surpass him, I don't think she would do anything malicious to Archer. It could be that she genuinely likes him (I see this one mostly platonically, even if they cough shared the Boss) or finds value in his leadership and would consider it damaging to TR if she were to get rid of him through more nefarious means... Or she can't resort to such means. After all, I don't think Boss would approve.

Now, as I look through lines, I also noticed that she does call Archer "interim boss" in HGSS, which would indeed hint at him being chosen/taking over and her allowing that. Respect? Yeah, I think that's also here. Now that I ponder on that, maybe they are Rivals? That actually would make a lot of sense.

Proton is a bit harder for me to consider. I once saw a nice hc that it could be Archer that recruited him and he is more eager to follow him in the first place, but at the same time if you read more into his dialogue snippets, he is very dedicated to Giovanni, to the point of proclaiming (in Pokemas) that he would follow Giovanni anyway, TR or no TR.

So, well. Considering that Proton is very eager to be perceived as cruel and untouchable, I would say his sense of loyalty mostly stems from TR providing him space to do whatever he wants and feeling useful for that. Tbh I kind of ignore Pokemas in this regard, because I don't really see him as a follower? I mean, yeah, he could respect Giovanni for what he is and represents, but it just matches better to him if he follows those that allow him to use what he can do to have a purpose aside from senseless violence. And I think he and Archer could make quite a nice combo, as Archer, first or second, could provide him that purpose.

But... OK, OOC Perelka moment coming up but I genuinely struggle to see them as a ship. As in, I can see why and how people would ship that, but personally that never activated my neurons much (feel free to prove me wrong :P) and I would angle towards more platonic stuff. Understanding of limits they would go for to achieve goals always being a neat start. Does it make sense? I am not sure.

Petrel is... kind of tricky. He is in TR but at the same time he isn't like. Entirely Evil. Or is he? He seems to lack Archer's coldness, Ariana's glee or Proton's dedication for evil, and yet. I think it's easy though to go for him as a joker and kind of a guy that would break the atmosphere, if that makes sense, a more sociable person--but I think it would clash a bit with Archer's professionalism. Archer would appreciate the amicality but he'd keep at least an elbow distance, partially for said professionalism and partially because Petrel is tricky and I have no doubts that he is very much a trickster. Will make you feel better in his presence, would make you trust him, would deceive you and manipulate you and you'd have no idea. That's kind of scary when you think about it.

That being said, he could use those social skills for good and be the glue sticking the whole group together. He seems like a guy that would don drag anyway, tbh he gives me heavy cisn't vibes. But that's a side note.

On a final note, they are coworkers, but I would assume closer ones than usual. There isn't much more than four of them that would understand what they go through during their job, so there is no-one else to share it with but the other three. I once saw a fantastic comic that showed four going drinking after job, salary man style. It was amazing, and I think that's how they roll.

[byierficrecs]

are u an adult? if so, why don't u state it anywhere and are u a trusted adult?

first of all, please stop spamming my ask box >:( people have lives e.e sometimes i just don't feel like answering stuff, too :S

anyway, yes i am an adult (21). i've mentioned it before and can add it somewhere if people deem it necessary. i, for one, don't think it's that important since a) i don't interact with or produce content that's not appropriate for minors, and b) since i don't often hold private or even public conversations with any minors.

no reason, i just don't talk to a lot of people. the people i do interact with happen to all be adults.

(now onto the rambly part,,,)

in regards to whether or not i am to be trusted, i beg you to please stop using that term and be wary of anyone who frequently self-describes as such. i am safe in the sense that i will never expose anyone to explicit content (mainly because i myself don't seek it out), and i am safe in the sense that i will never talk to minors (or adults) with nefarious purposes because i'm a decent person and i know this.

i am safe, much like most of the people in this fandom (at least i hope), and i would actually be suspicious of anyone who goes out of their way to try to convince you that they are "trusted adults". someone that is nice doesn't need to state that they are nice for everyone to know that they are. likewise, you should try to determine by yourself if you trust someone based on their behaviour and actions, as opposed to blindly trusting that they are being truthful when you ask them these questions.

i promise you, most decent people won't ever refer to themselves as a "trusted adult" because the only people who benefit from knowing this are kids and we (or at least, i) are not in any particular need to advertise ourselves as someone who minors can or should talk to. that's a little creepy in my opinion and a mild red flag.

if you are a minor and talk to me, know that i will be as polite and cheery as i am with anyone. i won't be a weirdo, will reply if you have any questions, and i will be yelling about byler, my graphics or my stories with you if that's what you want. but i won't be talking about anything private with you, and neither should you disclose any sensitive information with me. if you think that makes me someone you can trust, great! now take that with a grain of salt and be wary anyway because you ultimately don't know me. i encourage you to apply this to anyone you meet online until you can actually tell if you feel safe.

rant over. please stop sending the same ask over and over >:(

[skaruresonic]

This is the reason I have a strict "do not contact IDW staff" policy. It used to be "do not contact IDW staff unless they initiate contact first," but after Mauro implied he'd been combing through a mutual's likes to look at an ask I sent another mutual, I got skeeved out and was like "Nope, nope, get out of my kitchen."

It might seem paranoid, but I kind of got all sorts of red flags from that conversation even though we both strove to remain civil. I wish I had saved screenshots, as it occurred on a previous blog. Honestly, though, the whole thing freaked me out so much that I just try not to think about it if possible.

For those unfamiliar: Mauro PM'ed me out of the blue one day after I got into a rather admittedly nasty argument with another user about his Surge sketches, for the purpose of clearing up "misconceptions" about why he drew them that way.

Actually, I think he PM'ed me on two separate occasions, but like I said, I don't like thinking about it much because dwelling on it will wig me out.

He implied... a number of things. That he lurks on critics' blogs and perhaps even seeks them out because the unfiltered criticism "helps him improve." When I said he could just ask us for criticism upfront and that we won't rip his head off (in politer terms, ofc), his reply basically amounted to "but you'll mince your words and that isn't as helpful to me, so I'll just keep doing what I'm doing."

He also implied people tend to give him blind praise, which he doesn't find helpful. Already I was kind of feeling weird and off-kilter about this exchange, but what really waved a red flag was when he said he saw an ask I sent a mutual through another mutual's likes and tried to reassure me I wasn't "doing anything wrong." He even acknowledged that he'd freak out too if something like this happened to him.

While I get that he probably didn't have nefarious intentions and we tried to be as nice and civil to each other as possible, being PM'ed by a staff member so abruptly made me want to seek advice on how to proceed, so I asked @woodchipp what I should do before replying to Mauro. There were no notes on that post except a single like by an unrelated mutual. To clarify, I did not reblog that ask. That means Mauro A.) probably already knows who I'm mutuals with, B.) probably (?) checks our blogs with some degree of frequency, C.) recently went looking for posts mentioning him, D.) went scouring through their likes, because he already knows who I'm mutuals with, and found that ask. Either that or it's a huge coincidence. However, I find "coincidence" to stretch believability a little thin as an explanation.

That's not just "oh, I so happened to stumble across your post." That's keeping tabs on people. And I for one don't like it.

People are all like "words hurt," but it's like, okay, who is showing them these words in the first place? Does my privacy as a fan matter to you at all? Does it matter to you that your blind praise is stunting their growth as artists to the point where they feel the need to trawl blogs for criticism they kinda shouldn't be looking at in the first place, thus making the situation weird for everyone involved?

I don't contact them not because I'm a coward, as people love to imply. I don't block people because I'm pussying out. I'm doing it to draw a boundary. Somebody has to do it, because quite frankly, given IDW staff's penchant for unprofessionalism and overstepping boundaries between creators and fans multiple times, I don't exactly trust them to uphold their end of the fannish social contract.

No, we don't get to continue this conversation if you're going to willfully ignore my points and paint me as a harasser. No, I'm not talking to them because A.) I don't owe them a conversation in the first place, curb the entitlement, and B.) because I don't know if they're keeping tabs on my blog. They may or may not, but why stick my neck out on the chopping block on the naive hope that they're not? Why give them possible grounds to make even more harassment rain down on my head? I don't trust people who try to tell me one thing while their actions imply something else.

Well that's not insecure at all lol

This skeeves me out so much. Am I on a watch list?

If fucking. IDW simps are stalk following me so they can screenshot the mean shit I say and show it to their senpai in hopes of getting paid attention to for a single moment. That makes me so uncomfortable lol x3 I assume it's that and I hope to God they're not following me personally.

If I wanted IDW staff to see my posts about their bullshit I'd @ them because I'm not a pussy. I don't, because I don't want them to see the things I say in my posts, because I am incredibly mean and I don't want to hurt anybodies feelings by forcing them to see the mean things I say lol.

[professorspork]

If you're accepting non-superhell prompts, I'd love to see a conversation between Nora and Emerald! I've been REALLY loving these microfics, I've subscribed to you on Ao3, I'll read whatever else you write

[Gahhh that’s so nice you’re so nice!! thanks for being patient on this one, finding my Nora took some doing]

It’s occurring to Emerald that she’s never had a close female friend before.

You say that like you’ve ever had any friends before, the voice in her head that sounds suspiciously like Mercury needles her, but she brushes it aside. Like—okay, yeah, she’ll concede the point when it comes to Cinder. In hindsight, whatever they’d had going on between them may have been... super intense... but it probably had never been friendship, in the usual definition. But she and Mercury were friends, no matter what the judgy little shitstain version of him who lives in her head has to say about it. They’d always gotten along. Told each other stuff. It’s not like there’s more to it than that, right?

It had always been like that. Been—instinctive somehow, with guys. Before Cinder, on the street, it was always the men who’d been easiest to manipulate; who would empty their pockets for a smile and a sob story. And then she and Merc had been two sides of the same coin for so long, and then... well, Hazel’d liked her enough to die for her, apparently. (Which—that’s a door that she keeps closed, thanks. She shuts it firmly again, now.) Oscar seems fond of her, in a sweet, uncomplicated sort of way that she really doesn’t know what to do with, seeing as he shares headspace with like a trillion year old man and the idea that anything to do with that kid could be “uncomplicated” is batshit. Ren vouched for her once, and then again, and now he keeps doing it, like it’s habit, like she should just be used to the fact that people are going to have her back, to ask her if she’s eaten, to turn to her with a raised eyebrow in conversation like her opinion would be constructive.

Anyway.

Now that she’s noticed the pattern, it seems like the kind of thing she should probably… work on, or whatever. And Nora seems like an obvious place for Emerald to start. They’ve been thrown in together a lot, lately, Emerald and Oscar expected to fill in the gaps of what’s left of the old JNPR by default. Not that they’ve ever really had a conversation about it—Emerald can’t think of the last time Nora said two words to her that weren’t combat warnings like “more Grimm coming” or “on your left,” but. That’s probably just because things have been tense. She remembers Nora being friendly, on the whole of it. Off-puttingly friendly, even, back at Beacon.

How hard could it be?

The answer, it turns out, is absurdly hard. Nora’s barely ever in the temporary barracks they’re all living out of, instead always checking on the refugees, going on supply runs over esoteric requests, volunteering for extra patrols. Emerald used to find that kind of dogged do-goodery gag-inducing, but now that she’s been the helping hand herself a few times, she’s starting to see the appeal. The way people look at you when you’ve been of service, it’s—nice. Really nice. But Nora works utterly thankless jobs, the kind most people don’t even notice, let alone appreciate. And when they have their insufferably long leadership meetings and they’re talking about distribution of resources or whatever, Nora’s a fierce debater—jumping in to advocate for the people from Mantle sometimes even before May can. As far as Emerald can tell, she does this stuff just because... she believes in it. Because it’s the right thing to do, and someone has to.

She can’t imagine what it would feel like, to have the attention of someone like that turned on her. She’s craved it from the wrong people for so long, but now that she has her pick of options... she’s letting herself actually want the right kind, for once. She thinks.

Which is all to say that largely through no fault of her own, Emerald unexpectedly finds herself sitting with a profound, fervent desire for Nora Valkyrie to think she’s cool.

She hates that.

-

Fighting with Nora is easy.

(—er. Alongside. Fighting alongside Nora is easy. Emerald’s done fighting with these people. Very done.)

It’s weird, because Emerald’s finding working with a full team to be a real adjustment. When battles get big enough to merit it, she’s used to keeping to the sidelines to use her Semblance for nefarious purposes, or, in a jam, used to having Mercury’s six—literally, because all the forward momentum from his feet-first style always left his back wide open. Figuring out where to put herself so that Oscar can use her shoulder as a fulcrum as he dodges, or trying to aim for the Grimm Ren isn’t already shooting (ugh)—it’s taking work.

But somehow, it’s not work for Nora. Nora seems to anticipate with perfect ease how Emerald will move or what she’ll be doing; Nora bobs and weaves around their ragtag little band with her war hammer like it’s breathing.

It doesn’t bother Emerald until it does, and she means to bring it up casually but there’s never a good time. So it just… stews, and stews, until she can’t keep it bottled up anymore.

Which means that instead of the earnest question she intends it to be, it comes out like this:

“Okay, seriously? It’s creepy how you do that.”

It’s just the two of them, plus the handful of dweeby Atlesian tech-types they’re escorting back from their foray installing some fancy hydro-filtration modules on the outskirts of the camp. And it’s not like Emerald had felt outmatched by the half-dozen Ravagers that had decided they looked like lunch—she can shoot Ravagers in her sleep, at this point—but still. The way Nora had moved around her, it was like they’d been fighting side by side for years.

Nora just cocks her head to the side. “Do what?” she asks, like she hadn’t just basically read Emerald’s mind in front of the water nerds.

Emerald does a complicated gesture with her hands, wrist over wrist, and then flicking two fingers—trying to evoke the way Nora had flipped over Emerald’s back and then kicked off, just trusting Emerald would reel her back in with a chain in midair before a Grimm could fly away with her sorry ass. “That.”

“Oh!” Nora laughs and rubs at the back of her neck, looking sheepish. “It’s nothing. I guess it’s just not a big deal for me? Like—I was there when Ren built StormFlower. The cables are newish, but we practiced so much back in Atlas… I dunno. It’s just reflex, when your weapons are so similar. Fighting with you, it’s almost like fighting with him. I don’t even have to think about it.”

Nora swallows, then, and makes a face Emerald can’t interpret—disappointed, maybe, or ashamed. Which: good. She probably should be, taking things for granted like that.

“Well—just—” Emerald’s not even sure what she wants to say. Ask, next time? Don’t? “You shouldn’t make assumptions. I’m not your boyfriend, okay?”

The venom she puts behind the word is directed more at herself than Nora—frustrated, again, that she’s put herself in the position of wanting so desperately to be liked.

Pathetic.

Nora just nods, looking glum.

“Yeah,” she murmurs, cheeks pulling in a bitter smile. “You’d think I’d be able to keep that one straight, huh?”

She says it with such pointed irony that for a second Emerald wonders if she’d gotten it wrong somehow, but like—Nora and Ren are a thing, right? That’s—everyone knows that.

“Hey, what—?”

“Let’s just go,” Nora says, and Emerald automatically falls into line behind her.

They make the rest of the walk back in silence.

-

Sometimes at night, when she can’t sleep, Emerald likes to climb up to the roof of the barracks and look out over the refugee camp.

It’s—peaceful, is all. A good reminder of where she is; how far she’s come. The night sky in Vacuo has more stars than she’s ever seen, and being able to watch over all these people who have somehow become her responsibility… well.

A part of her will always be standing on the rooftop at Beacon, looking down on pure chaos as a queasy, frightened sensation twists in her gut and its noxious voice whispers you did this, you did this, you did this. What did you think was going to happen, you stupid little girl? You don’t get to feel sorry for it now.

But she does.

Weird how the only thing that’s helped is actually doing something about it.

She hears a scuffling noise over her shoulder, and she’s got Thief’s Respite drawn and ready before she can even really register what she’s heard. She relaxes when she sees it’s Nora at the other end of the barrels, unarmed and hands raised—a funny little smile on her face, like yeah, fair enough, I should have known better than to try and sneak up.

“Just me,” she says, unnecessarily.

Emerald holsters her guns. “Can I help you?” she asks, and—what is it about her voice, that makes sentences that would be nice if any other human said them come out straight-up hostile?

Nora shrugs, hands dropping to her sides. “I was hoping we could talk; I figured you’d come up here if I waited long enough.”

Well, see—what kind of lesson is she supposed to take from that? She’s been hoping for Nora to talk to her for weeks, and acting like a bitch is the thing that gets her what she wants? Good guys are supposed to know better.

And there’s the way she said it, too. Like everyone knows Emerald comes up here to brood; like it’s a big open secret. The knowledge sits uncomfortably in her stomach, makes her feel watched. Even now, even here, she can’t get a moment alone. Not really.

“What, so you’re spying on me now?”

Nora’s eyes narrow. “I have a pretty bad track record when it comes to losing people. Makes a girl want to put in a little hustle when it comes to keeping tabs on her friends.”

And Emerald would snark at that, or maybe apologize, or something, only—

Nora thinks they’re friends?

“Well, take a seat, I guess,” she mumbles, scooching to the side as though she needs to make room on the massive, empty roof.

Nora walks over and joins Emerald on the asphalt, letting her legs dangle over the edge. Seemingly unsure of where to start, she stares at her hands. Emerald stares too, but her eyes can’t help but wander—tracing the way scars, silvery in the moonlight, spiderweb up Nora’s bare wrists and forearms to fetter her shoulders, clavicle, neck. Like cracks in a pane of glass, right before it shatters.

(Only that’s not it at all, is it? It’s not a sign of weakness, but a warning of strength. I care this much, her scars announce to the word. You wanna try me?

Hazel’s arms always looked like that.)

Emerald doesn’t want to be the one to break the silence, sure that whatever she’d say would be incredibly stupid.

Luckily, Nora has no such qualms, and opens with: “I really admire you, you know?”

Emerald stares, jaw slack, certain she’s heard wrong. ��I—what?” She’d say something defensive, like yeah right or you don’t have to make fun of me, only Nora’s eyes are so wide and so guileless they don’t leave any room for argument.

“I mean it,” Nora adds. “I know we don’t know all that much about each other, but… here’s what I do know: I can’t remember a time I saw you without Mercury right behind. Just like me’n Ren. And the way you fought for Cinder…” Nora smiles a sad, private little smile. “You don’t fight like that unless it’s personal; unless someone means something to you. Just like me’n Ren. And now you’re here. All on your own. And you didn’t have to be. That’s—don’t you think that’s crazy brave? I sure do.”

Of course she fucking doesn’t. Crazy brave would have been walking away the first, tenth, hundredth time she had a flash of panic about what she was doing. Or, better yet, doing something about it. Crazy brave is taking thirty thousand volts to get to your friends; it’s flooding your veins with pure crystalline power and saying Go, I’m doing what Gretchen would have done, it’s—

She closes that door.

“It’s not like I really had a choice,” she sighs, dodging the question.

“Oh, you know that’s not true,” Nora scoffs dismissively, tilting sideways to nudge Emerald with her shoulder.

And Emerald jolts, because—look, it’s not like no one touches her. They have to manhandle each other all the time in battle, and… and Oscar gives her high fives sometimes, which makes her embarrassingly pleased. But what Nora’s offering now, that kind of buddy-buddy casual contact…

… it’s been a while, is all.

“So, why did you want to talk to me?” Emerald asks, overwhelmed and suddenly desperate to find a way to get this conversation over with. She feels like she’s sprinted five miles; like she’s had the crap kicked out of her and she has to go somewhere to lick her wounds. Too much, too fast.

Nora laughs—a chuffing, cynical noise that doesn’t sound at all like her. “Looking for pointers? See, I’m trying this thing where I do things on my own, but I just—I suck at it. Like today; you saw. Even when I’m not with Ren, all I do is… is act exactly the same way I do when I’m with Ren. Like I literally don’t know how to exist without him, whether he’s actually there or not. And I know that’s not fair to anyone; I didn’t mean to treat you like—” She shakes her head, biting her lip. “You’re not just some stand-in. It’s not you at all. I’m just—broken, or something. One trick pony.”

“No, hey—”

“But you figured it out,” she barrels on, which is good, because Emerald doesn’t actually have a clue what she would have said there. “You don’t have anyone and somehow you’re just, like—good to go!” Nora says it cheerily, like it’s a compliment, but has the grace to balk a little when she hears how it sounds. “…sorry. That’s—sorry.”

Emerald shrugs, drawing her knees to her chest and resting her chin there. She feels like an idiot; building it up for weeks like spending time with Nora would solve all her problems when, surprise surprise, Nora’s just as fucked up as she is.

“Hate to disappoint you, but I don’t have any hot tips,” she mutters into the crooks of her elbows. “I don’t have a clue what I’m doing. Like—you want to know the really sad part? I was just following your lead.”

“My…?” Nora can’t even finish repeating it, which: Emerald can’t blame her. It’s so dumb. “Huh?”

“Come on. You know.”

“I don’t,” Nora says, voice thick with exhaustion. Like she’s sick of herself. “Ask anyone—I’m not the brains of the operation.”

Hearing Nora talk about herself that way makes Emerald’s chest feel tight; like her ribs have locked in place so her lungs can’t expand. She doesn’t know how to explain it; not without sounding like a starry-eyed fangirl or a moron with a crush and that’s not what this—it’s only that—

She chooses to start a different way.

“You wanna know why I switched sides? Like, really why?”

Nora softens, and reaches out to touch the back of Emerald’s left hand, where it dangles over her knee. “Sure,” she says, but Emerald barely hears it; it’s taking all of her concentration not to clench her fist or pull away in response.

“I overheard Oscar—or, Ozpin, I guess, I don’t know—talking to Hazel about Salem, about her goals. And… listen. No one joins under Salem because they’re trying to kill the world, okay? I mean, no one but Tyrian, anyway. We were all just trying to… find ways to get by. And when Cinder found me, she—” Emerald swallows, hard. This cuts too deep, too close. It’s not something she can just say. “I wasn’t trying to be some big villain, or something. I was just—looking out for the people who were looking out for me. And why wouldn’t I? No one else ever seemed to think I was worth it.”

“Of course you are,” Nora cuts in, quiet but vehement. “Everyone is.”

“See, the worst part is that you mean that when you say it,” Emerald grumbles, scrubbing at her face until smears of color kaleidoscope behind her closed eyes. “I figured people like you didn’t exist, and then Cinder and Merc were glad to prove me right, and—I let them. You know? And maybe if I’d just held out a little longer…”

“You’re not the only one here who’s ashamed of her past. Harriet tried to blow up Mantle, like, a month ago.”

“That’s not—forget that. I’m talking about you. Nora.” It’s the first time she’s ever said her name like that—addressing her, in conversation. It feels… astonishingly intimate, for so small a thing. Emerald powers past it. “Every day, I see you do something ridiculous, like double back on a patrol because you forgot you promised some kid a candy bar, or something, and that—matters. To me. It’s so stupid, but it’s not, because… argh! I want—it’s—” She tries to get her mouth to form the words, that’s the kind of person I want to be, but they stop in her throat.

Still, Nora seems to get the message. Her eyes seem suspiciously shiny for a moment—but when she blinks, it’s gone. “I… thank you.”

“Don’t mention it,” Emerald grumbles. Saying it like she means it: seriously. Don’t mention it.

“I understand what you mean, though. For years, the only person who looked out for me was Ren. And if he’d said…” Nora trails off, then, cocking her head to the side as she works through something. “Huh.”

“What?”

“Nothing, just. I remembered something. I was about to say that if Ren told me the only way for us to get by was a life of crime, or something, I would’ve taken his word for it, but—the opposite happened. We decided to enroll at Beacon. And that wasn’t his idea; it was mine. I always wanted to be a Huntress. To… to be the one strong enough to help people, instead of always needing the help. He wasn’t sure if we would make it, but I was. We were together, right? How could we lose?” She chuckles, a little, shaking her head at herself. “Get a load of that. He followed me.”

They smile at each other, then. Like they’ve figured out something profound. Maybe Nora has; Emerald hopes so.

“I’m glad you’re here, Emerald,” Nora says, and—there it is again. The frisson of electricity that comes with being referred to by name.

Of course, then Emerald ruins it by blurting out:

“Of course you are, all your other friends are dead.”

Which—“Fuck!” she sputters, because she didn’t mean to say that. What is wrong with her? “Sorry! Sorry.”

Nora only grins at her, feral and incisive. “Yeah, well. Yours are evil, so. Pick your poison. At least I’m proud of mine.”

Touché.

“Still glad I’m here?” Emerald jeers, because her first instinct is still to press on the bruise to see how much it hurts.

Nora laughs, and gets to her feet. “Believe it or not, yes. If putting your foot in your mouth was all it took to get booted from Hero Club, I’d have been kicked out a long time ago.” She reaches down to offer Emerald a hand; Emerald takes it, letting Nora pull her to standing. “Now go and get some rest, huh? None of us can ever sleep when you’re up here thinking so loud.”

“That an order?”

“Advice. Friends give it, from time to time.”

And—yeah. Maybe they do. 

[words-writ-in-starlight]

on one hand I get that Andy is Bitter and Jaded™ but on the other hand Nile is already pretty scared about the whole situation and I don't know anyone who would take finding out that they are a new immortal by dying well so I'm like "andy pls be nice she is just a wee one" also nicky and joe have completely stolen my heart and I'm only 40 mins into the movie help

okay I was the earlier anon (if tumblr didn't eat my ask) and I finished the movie and I understand more and hope I didn't sound like I was unnecessarily bashing on andy for being "mean" to nile if that makes sense

Oh, not to worry, I didn’t take it that way at all!  Honestly it’s one of the things I love most about The Old Guard (what am talking about, everything is what I love most about this movie): it’s an action movie, a superhero movie, that does the jaded tired mentor trope without making that person intolerably unkind.  Andy is really bitter!  She is really jaded!  And she has every right to be!  She’s fought the good fight for thousands upon thousands of years, and she has never once been in a position to see real payoff.  Without any evidence that she’s been making a difference, she’s still marched into battle and stood up for what she thinks is right, even though the mortals she’s been protecting have done horrible things--to each other, to her people, to her.  Of course she’s so goddamn tired that she’s finally, finally, reaching the end of her rope.

But...

The Guard loves Andy!  The scene of her meeting Joe and Nicky at the beginning, where she cups Nicky’s head in her hand and Joe spins her around while she thumps him on the back???  The affectionately wry way Booker keeps assuring Nile “that’s not the signal,” in the tone of someone who’s been watching Andy wreck shop for two centuries and kinda loves her for it???  I mean, goddamn, Nile and Andy are at odds for half the movie, but even so, Nile throws herself in front of bullets and off buildings without hesitation, for a woman who embodies the total destruction of her life!  Nile brings Andy’s labrys to the lab, because Andy might be mortal and she might’ve been shot but Nile refuses to give up on her until she sees proof positive that Andy doesn’t need that axe anymore.

And I think it’s because Andy is still so affectionate, that it works for me.  I’m honestly sick to the teeth of the jaded tired mentor trope, because it so consistently just presents as--Naive Young Character Is Berated And Insulted For A Whole Movie And Bears It Stoically And Eventually The Mentor Sees The Light, or more commonly the alternative ending of Naive Young Character Is Broken And Jaded And Understands That Mentor Was Right All Along.

And this isn’t like that.  Andy is sharp with Nile at first, hard on her, but like--goddamn, I really understand why.  First of all, “well, you can’t die and neither can I and if you go back and admit that to your superior officers, they will make you a lab rat forever, so how about instead we go to France” is...a hard sell.  I get why she went for Show over Tell, with that being the situation on the table.  I mean, damn, I bet she stabbed Booker, too.  But second of all, Andy is just off the worst case scenario.  Her family was tricked into exposing themselves, on purpose, to someone who wants that information for purposes yet unknown but certainly nefarious.  She doesn’t have time to bring Nile in gradually.  She could’ve been nicer!  But she couldn’t have been slower.

And then--once Andy is back on steadier ground, in a safehouse with people she trusts, she’s not--softer.  But she’s not cruel.  She doesn’t berate Nile for wanting to speak to her family, she doesn’t call her stupid and naive for not knowing how to handle this.  When Nile says she won’t go with them to get Joe and Nicky, that she doesn’t want to kill people, that she wants to spend time with the people she loves, Andy lets her go.  It’s not a test, it’s not some reverse psychology bullshit, it’s just--

Andy sees that Nile is young and scared and hopelessly out of her depth, and she decides I don’t want to break this girl, I don’t want to hurt her, I don’t think this is a good idea but I want her to live her life with as much joy as possible.

Andy is bitter and jaded and tired and old, so fucking old, but she’s not unkind.  She shows love freely, she feels everything down to her bones, she looks at Nile (she’s only a baby, she says, heartsick over the picture Joe draws) and she doesn’t make Nile prove herself, just instantly and unflinchingly extends her family to include this new lost orphan of mortality.  

I think the thing that makes me love Andy in all her world-weariness is that, even after all her thousands of years of exhaustion, she is the kind of person who, against her better judgement, puts her secret, her family, her immortal freedom at risk, because she wants to save some kids.

[englass]

Hello ❤ hope you have a nice day 💖 can i request #14 from the dark prompts please?

Heya hun!!! Honestly, the day has been hot, but we push on. I hope your day has been good!! 💖 Hope you don't mind, but I went for a Fantasy AU for this one; I was super struggling with the prompt and the only thing I could think of was, "oooh, John as a mage..." so we kinda get that. The whole thing is more set up then anything else, but I didn't want to delete anything...

14. “You’re too sweet, darling. What type of monster would I be without you?”

- - -

There had been tales, whispers amongst the women and men of people going missing; of them being snatched off darkened paths and empty roads. Some reckoned it was a beast, spoke of a monster that was stealing people away to fuel their wicked appetite. Others thought it to be bandits, or other unscrupulous groups looking to profit off of the lives of inconspicuous civilians. But there were a handful, the few like yourself, that felt the shift in the air; that could feel the remnants of something foul and forbidden coiled around the scenes.

It had worried you greatly, the thought of such dark magic set loose in the town you had made a home of. Often you found yourself lost in your own mounting anxieties as the reports grew more and more frequent, and rumours gradianted into a much dreaded possibility. Even though you were no stranger to the darker arts, proficient as you are in the art of Summoning, you had never delved too far into its catalogue. In fact, Summoning was about all you ever touched and even then, amongst some other magically inclined individuals, it was considered somewhat of a lesser art; not as destructive and therefore not as notable as others.

However, just because you never strayed into more questionable arts doesn’t mean you know not of them. You’re aware that there are some dark arts that are a bit more accepted amongst the magically inclined than others, used for educational purposes and approved of as a means to protect oneself. Really dark arts are just offensive abilities, so no matter what there is always an element of wariness when it comes to the potential of such arts. As long as you utilise them in an acceptable manner there will be no questioning, no inquiries into your character.

For those not accepted though it is typically because they cross some form of moral or ethical line, taking an individual down a path that alters them irremediably. Stains the core of their aura with the makings of something dreadful, corrupts them until they lose all that makes them as they are.

Admittedly, if not studied correctly or the thirst for knowledge becomes too consuming, then any art can destroy a person; can set them down that very smart path. And sometimes a person can destroy the values of the art and stretch it into something it is not designed to be. There are many stories of Healers’ playing Maker, of a Conjurers’ calling going terribly wrong, of Astrologians’ going insane from their divinations. Once you were almost entranced by your own Summon; a rookie mistake, terribly embarrassing to recall.

Magic in general is a dangerous art and care will always need to be taken. But there are some arts where that danger is part of the art, and those are forbidden. They will always cross the line, and they will never fail to destroy a person; and that person will never fail to destroy others.

That’s what scared you so much about the recent happenings of the town. To think that such a person was lurching about the place, taking people off the street for who knows what nefarious reasons, terrified you. The idea that you could be next, that the stability of your own aura could be at risk because of this rogue caster sickened you. It tore you apart.

And John saw that.

It was a relatively small town, filled with all types of people coming in and out from across the region and the different towns within it. For a long time though the only people you knew that did magic was a spirited Pyromancer called Sharky and some eccentric Apothecary who lived on the outskirts called Larry (you were convinced the man tested his own potions on himself). The first you met when you had summoned a Kelpie to help you put out a fire he had accidentally caused a bit too close to your home, while the latter you had met by chance while looking for ingredients.

That had changed once the Seed brothers had moved in close to the town. They were surprisingly open about their magical inclinations and while the town wasn’t outrightly hostile they were openly suspicious of the three. You had even been a little suspicious of the three, not understanding their reasons for being so forward to a none magically inclined town; it could be dangerous to do so. Ultimately though they suffered little consequence of their reveal, other than strange looks and quiet gossip made of them. You had been envious of that freedom, to be forthright about what you were, but thought better of it. To reveal such a truth after so long would spell disaster for you.

Not even a full lunar cycle had passed before Joseph, the middle brother of the three, had made a point to come seek you out, introducing himself and his brothers to you. It had been a wholly uncomfortable encounter, especially the instance where he had suddenly questioned what arts you had studied. Desperately you had tried to deny it but thankfully the oldest brother, Jacob, had merely sighed and apologised on Joseph’s behalf. As an ex-Paladin turned Enchanter he had fully understood your need for secrecy and had been your saving grace during the whole thing. From then on the brothers become quick acquaintances to you, whether you wanted them to be or not.

Joseph was… okay. He made for interesting conversation no doubt and oftentimes his words gave you pause to think on things, but he could be a touch preachy at times, especially about his beliefs and divinations. Jacob on the other hand had become a confidante of sorts. You didn’t often talk, but when you did the conversation held well enough and his advice was always sound. He was also honest about his thoughts and opinions on a matter, and while you didn’t like being called out when you messed up you did respect his outlook. Your relationship with the youngest brother, John, however was a special one.

It had taken him a few days after the initial introduction to strike up a conversation with you, and for the most part he had purely asked you about yourself. But somewhere between admitting how long you’ve lived here and him nervously revealing himself to be a Conjurer, you had developed a fast trust of the man. It was unexplainable, completely foolish of you, but there was just something about him that you thought was pleasant; a believability to him. He was the first you deliberately told about your darker studies and thankfully, being of similar arts, he had taken it exceedingly well. You had even bonded over the differences and similarities between your chosen studies. He had become a dear friend, and only became dearer as the years went by.

So John noticing when your worries began to eat at you didn’t surprise you. He knew you extraordinarily well, sometimes it was even a little spooky how well he knew you, but it was also an odd comfort. He knew just what to say to put you at ease, to assure you that you would be safe and even going so far as promising that he himself would protect you from such a fate as those missing. You still had doubts, but his care was touching.

If only you had learned the truth sooner.

“My friend, please,” you cry, wrists shackled uncomfortably above you, the metal cutting into your skin, “I beg of thee, stop this! Such practises are a blight to the soul, you will doom yourself if you continue. I know not what it is you wish to accomplish, but please spare them this torture! Spare yourself! Surely there has to be another way, John; surely!”

John merely chuckles quietly, slowly shaking his head as he does so. “Oh, you’re too sweet, darling. Even now, as you are, you still think of me and my well being before yourself. Not to imply you have anything to fear, of course; you know I would never hurt you. I merely mean it as an observation. It is a charming trait, that sweetness of yours. It’s part of why I fell for you so.” He turns to you then, up to his elbows covered in blood. The person before him is still alive, but barely, their breaths shallow and their skin a deathly pallor. To think he was a Hemomancer this whole time…

“But why waste words on their behalf when they would never deign to do the same for you? You had to hide yourself, deny what you truly are just to be accepted by these lowly worms for years. Tell me, where is the fairness in that? In what world should we sequest ourselves away from those weaker than us, those deemed less worthy by the Maker themselves?”

Crossing the space in a few long strides he stops before you, bloody hands cupping your cheeks gently even as you try to turn away from him, bringing you back to stare helplessly into his sparkling eyes, “Don’t you see, sweet one? You are beautiful, in every part, as you are. We were blessed by the Maker, but they will never see that, blinded as they are. They will never appreciate our arts, our gifts, or even us as people, no matter what we may do or sacrifice for them. If I need to subject myself to risk to show them their place, to create a world that you need not hide in any longer, then I’ll do so gladly and without hesitation.”

Shaking your head softly, face still captured within his hands, a tear slips unbidden down your cheek. “But it will consume you. You’ll become a monster.”

“Maybe,” he admits, tone oddly calm as he carefully brushes beneath your eye with his thumb, smearing blood through the track of your tear, “but I wonder, what type of monster would I be without you, do you think?”

Perhaps it is vain of you, but something tells you that he would be another beast entirely without you chained to him as you now are…

[sympathy-for-thedamned]

What do you see in Steelbeak?

"I would scrutinize you for questioning my personal choices in life, but given all I've said about Steelbeak, I can see why that would require an explanation."

"It's not as if those criticisms still don't stand, because they absolutely do. Ill make that clear - first and foremost."

"We understand each other, as business partners, and in a setting more personal. Being in the business we are, there are certain ways that one must conduct themselves, the fundamentals of hiding your emotions and being cold and cut-throat. Situations you're put in that change you in ways that few people can understand. It's nice to have someone to relate to on more business oriented matters, but that's not all."

"Because of being put in the position I was, it was hard to trust anyone to get the job done, much less with any kind of personal information. More than anyone, I know how fickle bonds are...

"But, with him, things are different. We understand each other on a level I never thought I would have with someone. He's seen me at my weakest, and never even thought it casting me out or putting a knife in my back like so many have prior."

"In fact, he once called me a hero for bailing him out of jail and giving him a sense of purpose and direction. It was...nice. Maybe it's because he told me that when I was at my lowest, but in that moment of vulnerability, it made me see that there was still something left. Despite all I've done, I still made a difference to someone. While it wasn't the difference I had originally strived for, I meant something to someone... and it touched me. "I had always believed that I needed to push people away. In this profession, if I didn't I'd be usurped easily or even killed. I was cold because I had to be, because everyone I'd ever known turned their backs on me. All I ever needed in life was self-reliance and people who'd help me get to the top."

"Playing a strategist numbers game was my best asset. However, somewhere along way, absolute power corrupted me absolutely, and I threw away my goals and even my humanity.

"Some people have to fall and look up from the height they fell from to see their mistakes in their full glory...and in hindsight, to see what their life had been up to that point. Steelbeak, in many ways, helped me to see from a perspective I couldn't have before.

"When we met again, I thought he'd just as soon kill me. Everyone else wanted my head, and I more than enough blood on my hands... He took me in, as pitiful as I was and showed me compassion, when I hardly deserved it.

But, it wasn't just that."

"He reminded me of what I missed out on this entire time. I thought he'd snap my neck in my sleep the first week of staying with him, but he didn't. A part of me hated his pity... but, it wasn't pity at all. It was kindness. All my life, I simply recoiled at such a thing, thought it to be some ploy that people use when they want something or evade punishment... deep down, I didn't deserve it, but had gave it to me anyway. For the first time in decades, I learned to put my trust in him. He's shown me that life isn't all about crunching numbers and being nefarious. "

"Dare I say it? We actually have fun together. I feel as though I can be myself around him. I can open up to him, and he understands me. We can sit around with a few drinks and reminisce on days of old, or talk about most anything. He makes me feel young again, and that's quite the feat. On a more superficial note, who wouldn't want an attractive man at their side?"

[delimeful]

sheer atrocity (4)

warnings: captivity, mild arguing

-

After a brief break to eat and drink, Virgil was on the move. Again.

Considering dusk was quickly approaching and they’d been traveling or intimidating abusive dads for pretty much the entire day, Roman felt the pace they were setting was a little unreasonable.

He wasn’t the one walking it, sure, but he couldn’t help but wonder. Was this guy always so antsy, or was this a special occasion?

And while he was asking himself questions that he wouldn’t get any answers to, how long was the cast duration of this enchantment?

(More specifically, how much longer was he going to be small enough for beetles to look like dogs?

How much longer before Virgil decided what to do with him for real?)

He hadn’t seen the giant stop to recast, which meant that he’d been burning through a continuous enchantment for hours on end. Signs pointed to his magic reserves being massive. Chilling.  

Roman thumped a foot against the side of the jar that rested against Virgil’s side. “Are we wandering around the woods during twilight for any particular reason, or are you just lost and too embarrassed to admit it? Too used to seeing the trees from a loftier position, perhaps?”

Virgil glanced down at him, as though just recalling he was there. Offended, Roman made a mental note to make more of his internal diatribes to external diatribes. The only thing worse than being a prisoner with an uncertain future was being an ignored prisoner with an uncertain future.

“Go back to being quiet, I forgot you were annoying for a second.”

“Absolutely not,” Roman huffed, kicking his feet against the glass repeatedly for emphasis. “The moment we see another human I’m going to scream at the top of my lungs.”

“Oh, because that worked so well for you before,” Virgil said, rolling his eyes.

Roman shifted positions, trying to ease a cramp in his leg. “Haven’t you heard? Third time’s the charm, and personally, I have no shortage of charm.”

There was a short pause, and then Virgil ground to a stop, taking a deep breath.

Instantly, Roman stiffened, eyes locked on the face above him. He’d forgotten himself, making jabs as though they weren’t enemies, as though he hadn’t been trapped, threatened, and used by this monster. It was too easy to pretend, when Virgil did things that were almost decent.

Sure enough, Virgil grabbed the top of the jar and lifted it from his pocket to be eye level. Roman shoved his arms out to keep himself stable, avoiding looking at the long drop below him.

“As useful as your bullheadedness was before, I don’t actually want you to scare the daylights out of the person I’m looking for this time.”

“Yes, well, I don’t want to be the size of a newborn chick, so it looks like we’re both dealing with  struggles in life,” Roman snapped back, because he’d never known when to keep his mouth shut.

Virgil narrowed his eyes. “I could just muffle your jar, you know. I’m magic; I can do that.”

He could? Roman was sort of surprised he hadn’t done so already.

“But,” he continued with a sigh, “I think this one will probably be easier with your help. I’m not great at putting people at ease.”

“I hadn’t noticed,” Roman snorted, and then jerked as the rest of the sentence sunk in. “Wait, hang on. ‘Put people at ease’? There is no way I’m helping you with any nefarious plots!”

“It’s not nefarious!” Virgil shifted his weight, glancing around impatiently. “And it’s time sensitive. Either help me or don’t, I don’t care.”

It couldn’t be that simple, but Roman wasn’t about to pass up a chance to see something other than the interior of a pocket. “Fine, but if I see you doing something evil, I’m not going to stand idly by!” And then, petulantly. “Also, I want out of the jar.”

“As long as you actually use your brain instead of your biases to judge me,” Virgil snarked back, but obligingly pried off the lid and tipped the jar on its side. Rather than pull or tip Roman out, he held his hand to the lip of the opening and waited.

It was almost more nerve wracking to climb into a giant hand willingly, but Roman managed it. The jar was whisked away, and Roman lifted to neck level. He stared blankly.

“Going to get off anytime soon?” Virgil asked, a hint of irritation in his voice.  

“What am I getting on? Your collar bones?” Roman replied incredulously. “Wouldn’t a shoulder be better?”

The hand under him shifted slightly, angling him towards the folds of the cloak where it met the hood. “The fabric has better grip here. You’ll fall off my shoulder if we’re attacked.”

Attacked by who? “Paranoid much?” Roman dallied for a moment longer, but the idea of falling really was an unappealing one, so he climbed up and managed to find a seat amongst the bunched up cloth.

As soon as he was settled, Virgil set off again, and Roman clung tightly, staring out at this strange new perspective of the forest. Weird, but definitely better than the jar.

They moved along in relative silence, Virgil surprisingly light on his feet for a giant. The sun had just begun to sink below the horizon when he finally jerked to a halt.

Roman opened his mouth to complain at the sudden stop, but Virgil’s head was tilted, as though carefully listening. After a moment, he turned to a nearby patch of shrubbery.

“Hey,” he called, voice lacking it’s usual edge. “I can hear you over there.”

There was a long pause, and Roman blinked as the shrubbery began to tremble slightly. There was actually someone in there?

“Easy,” Virgil said, lowering himself into a squat. “I’m not going to hurt you. I can help you find the way out of these woods, if you’d like.”  

After a moment, a small hand pushed part of the bush aside, peering out cautiously at them. Roman’s heart twisted at the kid’s face, smudged with dirt and tear streaks. They couldn’t have been more than eight.

Virgil shifted, and Roman felt a chill go through him, remembering who, or rather what he was with. He couldn’t let the giant lure the kid into whatever scheme he was planning.

“There you go,” Virgil coaxed, offering a hand to help the kid stand up. “It must have been scary, stuck out in the woods alone. You did good to stay in one spot.”

Roman bit down on the automatic urge to call out a warning, listening to the way Virgil carefully encouraged the kid to stand up and brush the twigs from their hair. This was important. He had to consider the situation from all angles before making a move.

If Virgil really wanted to abduct a random kid in the woods, he didn’t need to convince them of anything. He’d dealt with a trained slayer as though he was a minor annoyance, a kid wasn’t exactly a challenge. So why was he going to all this trouble?

Roman thought about the soft edges of Virgil’s expression when he gave Patton his coat back. Maybe… it wasn’t a ruse?

“I’m Virgil,” the giant in question said, shaking Roman from his thoughts. “And this is Roman. We’re travelling together.”

Roman startled, not expecting to be introduced. “Uh, salutations!”

The kid stared with wide eyes. “You’re so small!” they blurted, before covering their mouth hurriedly.

Virgil cut in before Roman could correct him. “He’s a pixie. Likes to cause problems on purpose.”

Roman huffed “I do not! Don’t let him fool you, I am a delight.”

The kid giggled, and Virgil’s shoulders relaxed slightly. Roman wished he could see his expression.

From there it was second nature to keep up a stream of chatter with the kid about everything from their favorite food (honey on bread) to their stance on frogs (cute but you shouldn’t kiss them). It grew darker and darker as they walked, and after the kid had almost tripped over stray roots thrice in rapid succession, Virgil had crouched and lifted them onto his back with ease.

Before long, the kid was snoring lightly, face smushed against his hood, and there was a surprisingly comfortable silence in the air between them.

Virgil broke it first. “Thanks for not freaking out. I didn't know you had it in you.”

Roman crossed his arms, ignoring how close he’d come to freaking out. “This doesn’t mean I trust you or anything. We’re still enemies, you’re just. Not as bad as you could’ve been.”

“Yipee,” Virgil deadpanned, shrugging his shoulder under Roman slightly to jostle him. Roman jabbed his elbow in the general direction of Virgil’s neck in retaliation. “Very gracious of you.”

“I certainly won’t be as gracious the next time you pass me off as a pixie,” Roman muttered, prompting a low, half-air laugh from Virgil. He realized belatedly that he’d assumed there would be a next time, and hadn’t been corrected. He wasn’t sure if that was reassuring or not.

What was it about this giant that made Roman feel at ease to speak his mind, even in such a precarious position?

Virgil slowed as they came up on the town again, crouching to gently nudge the kid awake and set  them on their own two feet again. “You’re home, kiddo.”

“Don’t go traipsing around in the forest again, y’hear?” Roman added sternly. “Not everything in those woods are as nice as us.”

The kid nodded solemnly, and then grumbled sleepily as Virgil ruffled their hair and pushed them towards the paved path into town.

Once the kid reached the town's edge, they turned around to peek over their shoulder. The two of them were already well out of sight, waiting until the kid had been safely whisked into the arms of their parents before departing.

Roman waited with bated breath, but despite their deal being over, Virgil seemed to have no intent of removing him from his newfound perch. He sunk deeper into the fabric as they continued to trek on.

For now, he could let himself enjoy this tentative peace.

[pokeexehasstoppedworking]

Love Doesn’t Do Encores Ch12 Battle Gym Leader Kabu

You had been so, so confused at first when Gloria all of a sudden announced she wanted to use your sobble against Kabu. And to be honest you weren't really too keen on the idea either. Your little cute roll-y poll-y sobble who'd cling to you when scared?? Fighting against the second strongest gym leader in all of Galar??......Yeah. You really, REALLY weren't feeling up for the idea, and had asked her why for goodness sakes!? Her answer was simple.

"The tears ability! Sobble's tears will be my winning strategy against Kabu. I already gotta plan in mind but I can't do it without your pokemon's help since I ain't got a sobble 'o my own! Please Y/n! I'm beggin' ya!"

Well.....You really didn't want to just hand over your sobble even if you trusted Gloria by now, but you also didn't want to make her lose the gym challenge either. After all completing the game was your only shot at making it back home so far. If Gloria couldn't beat Kabu and was snuffed out of the challenge by him then what would you do? So...You agreed. Your sleep didn't come easy to you that night but somehow you managed to fall in a deep dreamless sleep. The next morning literally having to make Gloria push you off the bed in order to wake you up as she shook you. Not on purpose of course, as she had just been trying to get you to wake up but the moment your groggy body fell to the floor with a thud she began apologizing purfusely.

"Y/N!!" Your body rattled more than a maraca as you suddenly began pulling out of the darkness blinking rapidly at the blurry vision of everything shaking before you like an earthquake. "WAKE UP ALREADY!! WE'RE GONNA BE LATE!!"

"WHAT- AH!!" Your world tumbled as you fell from the comfy bed and was met with the hardness of the wooden floor by Gloria's feet. "OW!!"....You groaned as the blanket slowly fluttered down to messily cover you.

Gloria's hands shot to her mouth, making a hissing sound as she watched you experienced pain. "Y/N!! Oh my Arceus! I'm so so sorry!," she quickly apologised.

"...Good morning to you too, Gloria," you mumbled before kicking the sheet off you and pushing yourself off the floor, your hair a mess, and yawning. "What time is it?"

"Um..Seven in the morning I think?" You turned to her tiredly and noticed she was already wearing her white challenger uniform and all ready to go.

"Did you get the others up?," you asked stiffling a yawn as you stood.

"Um..." She chuckled nervously as you stretched your back and rose a brow at her as she held up a hand. "Uh..About that...They're gone." Her face frowned more as you paused...and blinked at her.

"...What do you mean 'They're gone'?"

"They weren't there when I knocked on the door, so I guess they left early! I'm sorry I didn't know!"

"Oh for the love of-..." You sighed and waved her off. "Nevermind." Quickly reaching over, you bent down and pulled the blanket off the floor, throwing it back neatly over the bed before going for your bag. "Are you all ready?" She nodded. "Good. We'll find them later. For right now let's just worry about getting to the stadium and seeing what's up! Ok?"

She had quickly agreed to that and you wasted no time throwing yourself together, tossing your bag over your shoulders, and grabbing your sobble's pokeball. From what she told you last night, you thought it'd be best to put the little critter into it's pokeball and give it to her before her battle to avoid any complications should your sobble start acting up. Which lead to now. The two of you were already in the elevator on your way down to the lobby. Anxious tention in the air so thick you could cut it with a knife as you lightly gripped the pokeball in your hand slightly harder. After a moment or two of silence Gloria went digging through her bag and pulled out something that looked pretty much like the goggles you'd see a diver wear before entering the water.

"Did you eat anything?," you asked glancing at her as she slipped the straps over her head making you give a confused look. "...And what are those for?

She silently shook her head slightly as her head was bent down and you watched in silence as she silently tightened the black straps tightly around her head. When Gloria finally managed to look up at you, the goggles were tightly clamped around her eyes and she shook her head no. "No. I was too busy tryin' too get ready. 'sides I feel pretty queezy. I don' know if food's a good idea right now." She blinked obviously noticing the look you were giving her goggles. "What are you- Oh these?" You nodded and she smiled. "Well last time he cried ya'll didn't stand a chance. But I figured if I covered my eyes real good I won't get affected by whatever's in those sobble's tears that makes ya cry rivers!"

You stared....."That's bloody genius!! Why didn't I think of that!?"

She chuckled. "To be honest it really ain't my idea anyways. I remember Hop telling me the idea back when I got my toxel. I remembered it when I thought of usin' your sobble and stopped by that clothes shoppe in town. They were sellin' swim wear n' stuff since it's summer and picked up these lil babies. Like I said. He's a genius."

Ah! That must've been why it took her a while to get back to the hotel. She really was preparing for her gym battle. As the elevator went you had reluctantly handed over your sobble's pokeball to her and she gently took it. Giving it a look before deeply inhaling and slowly exhaling, most likely psyching herself up before relaxing her posture and slowly slipping the pokeball into her pocket. You watched as she did so with worry and a little bit of guilt eating away at your stomach. You weren't sure if this was really the right thing to do after all, especially without telling your pokemon. This was surely going to be quite the shock for it, and you weren't too sure what the outcome could be. A ding interrupted any of your thoughts as the both of you looked back towards the doors as they opened, and you were lightly surprised to see the girl there. The same girl you had been worriedly thinking over last night. Marnie!

She was standing there in the lobby kneeled down handing her hamster like pokemon some kind of fruit to eat, which it took eagerly, but upon seeing you two blinked and slowly stood to her feet. "Mornin' Gloria. ..Oh. And you too Miss."

"Uh hi!," Gloria greeted a little unsure since she must've looked a bit strange in the swimming goggles. "Are you headin' off to battle Kabu too?"

She shook her head no. "No. We were 'bout to shove off on the next leg of our journey now. That friend of yours already went off to challenge the next gym, tho."

"He did?," you asked and Marnie politely nodded towards you. "...How early did those two wake up?"

"I couldn't say for sure, but by how happy they were it seemed like they had a plan."

"Oh! Well we have a pretty great stragety too!" Gloria smiled proudly. You were glad at least her nerves were seeming to be getting better.

Marnie only nodded. You looked at her for a moment and it didn't seem as if she had any nefarious schemes or malicious intent behind that polite exterior of hers. But still last night's questions swirled in the back of your mind as you narrowed your eyes in thought, raising your brows as she calmly reached into her leather jacket pocket and pulled out a small reddish card before handing it out to Gloria.

The brunette blinked at it for a moment before raising a brow in question. "What's this?"

"Kabu's League Card," she replied calmly, "It's supposed to help against him, but I ended up with a few copies, so I'll give you one." A look of surprise passed on both your faces as you two exchanged looks before looking back to Marnie. "Don't look so chuffed. It's no big deal. 'N I already got two others already."

Gloria stared for a second longer before smiling and taking the card from her. "Wow. Thanks!"

Marnie nodded in reply. "Oh. Here." She reached back into her pocket and pulled out a second card before holding it out towards her. "Take this too. A little somethin' for our battle yesterday. As a thanks for helpin' me out."

"What's this?"

"My own league card. Your friend gave me one of his so I figured you could have one too."

"Whoa! Thanks!" Gloria gladly accepted the other card with a smile. "That's real nice 'o ya!"

Marnie gave the smallest of smiles. "I bet you'll have no trouble beatin' that ''man of fire'' Kabu chap, right? Why don'cha get over to Motostoke stadium and get that gym badge already?"

...Gloria jumped. "OH!! RIGHT!! We need to get to the stadium!" She stuffed the cards into her pocket as fast as she could as Marnie peered up towards you and you blinked at her. ...You opened your mouth to ask her about the Team Yell involvement that's been going on. Not expecting really any answers outta her, but before you could say anything something tightly gripped around your arm and you yelped as Gloria yanked your forward in a run. Almost making you hit the floor for the second time that morning. "THANKS MARNIE!! GOOD LUCK ON YOUR NEXT STEP!!"

Marnie waved a hand back at your retreating forms. "Good luck out there!"

Gloria yanked you along, nearly tripping down the steps and over your own two feet as she raced ahead putting one arm out to shove the door open in her mad dash to the stadium ahead. Thank goodness the Budew Drop Inn was literally right next to the stadium. You didn't think you could last too long with Gloria's way of yanking you forward in a frenzy without falling over for too long. Cheers and loud noises were clear as day as soon as the two of you stepped out the doors and started running over towards the stadium. How early did these people wake up around here!? Thank goodness at least you two didn't have to worry about bumping or tripping over other people. It was a short distance, but with the adrenaline pumping and worry in your systems it felt as if you two ran a marathon by the time Gloria moved the two of you towards the double doors she had gone through previously during the Entrance Ceremony. Her sudden stomp making you stumble and catch your self clumsily on your knees and free hand as she still gripped your arm tightly, thankfully not smacking into the ground, as she skidded to a stop. Low and behold guess who was already waiting for you two? Victor gave the two of you a raised brow before sighing and reaching up to rub at his temple, as Hop chuckled and crossed his arms at the sight of you two girls.

"Slow moving aren't you, Glory?", Hop teased.

"O-Oh...S-S-Shove...o-off!," she forced out back at him between deep breaths. Letting lose your other arm. You hissed in sourness as you pulled it towards you, reaching up to rub where Gloria had gripped it.

"Where had you two been?," Victor asked frowning, "We spent half an hour knocking on your door before we left."

"I've already gone and earned my fire badge," Hop said in agreement, "The man of fire Kau is just what you'd expect. Nearly got burnt in my battle with him."

"LITERALLY," Victor added, "I'm surprised his pokemon weren't turned to ash when he barely made the second round. .....Was a very lucky close call that made him win."

"Even with my strongest team it was definitely tough- and - go .....but I still won in the end!"

"Just barely. He lost the first round, won the second, and third ended with a tie. Since no one won or lost the third round it counted as a win towards Hop as well and he managed to walk away with a two out of three win victory."

"SERIOUSLY!? How early did ya'll get up!?"

"Nevermind all of that!" Hop interrupted everyone waving a hand. "You need to get a shift on, Gloria. I bet you could beat the man of fire toooo....." He blinked. Staring right at her face seeming to FINALLY notice the swimming goggles on her face. "...Hey. Whatcha wearing those swimming things for? Afraid you'll get fire blasted at ya?"

She blinked as Victor was nice enough to walk over and help pull you up to your feet, pointing to her face. "Y'mean these? It's sobble protection."

he gave her a confused look. "Sobble protection? But Kabu doesn't have a sobble on his team."

"Not for Kabu's pokemon." She gestured to you as you thanked Victor. "I'm borrowing hers. I remembered what you said about using goggles to maybe help block the effects or their tears, so I'm tryin' it out."

Hop gained a look of surprise. Not sure if it was from what Gloria said or the fact she was using Sobble. "You...remembered t-that." He asked shyly. Yep. Def from what Gloria said.

She nodded. "Yeah. Why wouldn't I? By the way, how was the challenge?"

"Huh?" He blinked before turning an embarrased pink. "Oh uh r-right. *ahem* It went well. I mean you have to catch t-three pokemon but it's no big de-"

"WHAT!?" He blinked at her shout and watched silently as she quickly patted her pockets. "We have to catch pokemon!? B-But I didn't bring any empty pokeballs!!"

"Gloria, calm down-"

"Calm down!! CALM DOWN!?," she snapped towards her twin shouting with a look of panic, "I don't have any pokeballs on me except the ones that already have pokemon in them! How am I supposed to battle the gym LEADER if I can't make it past the gym CHALLENGE, Vic!?"

"You can borrow some of mine!," he shouted back at her.

Gloria shut up and stared at him blankly for a moment. "......Come again?"

Her brother groaned giving an eye roll before slipping the large (suitcase-) pack off himself. Silently you all watched as he brought it up and opened it before shoving his hand quickly inside for a second before pulling out a trio of pokeballs. Shoving them all at Gloria who barely managed to catch them all fumbling as she did. "Here!" He insisted already starting to close his bag. "Don't worry 'bout paying me back. You can keep 'em. But for crying out loud, Glory!! Become more prepared!"

Her brown eyes glanced between the poke balls and her brother. Looking to be at a loss for words. "I-....Uh....T-Thanks??"

"Don't thank me yet! You still have to get in there and beat him. So get to it, Glor! I know you can pass this challenge like you do every other- AH!!"

"THANK YOOOUUU!!! You're the best brother EVER!!"

Victor groaned as she hugged him before squirming his way free like a worm. "Yeah, yeah. Nevermind that now, you have a battle to win! Remember?"

"YEAH RIGHT!!......Um."

"What now?"

"You might want to stay out here instead of going inside, I uhhhh...Don't know how this might turn out."

"That might be a good idea," you commented. "Especially if those tears are gonna get BIG from Dynamaxing....But would you be able to do it without us there?"

"Yeah!...Wait." She glanced back to Hop with a slightly worried expression, "You'll still watch me from the live footage, r-right?"

Hop nodded without hesitation. "Of course we will!,'' he smiled whipping out his phone, "You don't even have to ask us. As your best rival and friend it's my sworn duty to support you in your journey even if it's from behind the scenes! We'll be here cheering you on all the way!"

"But first she actually has to go inside and do the challenge before Kabu decided you're not coming at all."

"R-Right! Yeah." With a turn of her head Gloria faced the doors before her before with another inhale and exhale, her face steeled and she started forward. "Wish me luck!"

"You don't need it!" "Go get 'em, Glory!" "Good luck!" The three of you shouted at her as the doors opened and she slowly walked her way in.

The worry feeling in your gut increased as you realized you wouldn't be watching your sobble battling within the stadium, but it might be better you all weren't affected by the giant tears if Gloria really was going to be dynamaxing the sobble. Hop pointed over towards a bench nearby where the three of you could sit and watch and you agreed, following the boys over as the cheers from the stadium was ever present. Guess the crowd must've gotten wind of another challenger on their way in to challenge Kabu. Hop had turned his rotom phone on and went to what he said was the Gym League's official website where you could find everything from past Gym leader's biographies, to their pokemon, to even content the Gym Leaders themselves posted. You could even find live footage if they currently battled anyone to watch if you couldn't be at the stadium. How convenient! It didn't take Hop too long to pull up a video turning his phone sideways to full screen as you and Victor huddle around to watch. What was shown on screen was the inside of the stadium, the many people in the stands, and an empty field. Gloria must've still been just starting the challenge presented to her. To which Victor commented it might take a bit to catch all three pokemon. So all the three of you could do was wait it out for the moment, which you did. You sat there for the longest time just staring at the phone screen mind wondering off into space as the boys chatted among themselves next to you glancing at the phone every so often. Would this really work out ok? You were starting to feel like maybe you shouldn't have let Gloria borrow sobble but you also really wanted to get home so if this really was the way she could win you were doing the right thing.....Right?

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!!" You jumped at the loud man's voice that shouted out in what sounded like two different directions. And it kinda was, the announcer's voice was loud enough to be heard outside the stadium and came from the live feed being recorded live from Hop's phone as well. "The battle between Gym Challenger Gloria and Gym Leader Kabu shall now commence!!" The three of you quickly snapped to attention at the phone Hop held as the camera recording the live feed zoomed it just close enough where you could watch the battle at it's fullest, but also too far away to see their faces sadly. You hoped Gloria wasn't feeling too anxious. The crowd roared again in cheers as at last both the figures of Gloria and Kabu jogged their way towards the very center of the big field before stopping. Here we go. "Battlers please take your place on opposite field and face one another!!" It looked like they exchanged a few words before turning and walking a decent amount away from one another. " SET!" They faced one another. "Pokemon at the ready!! BATTLE BEGIN!!"

In a flash of bright light, both parties sent forth their pokemon as the crowd cheered. Kabu a fox looking pokemon, Nine tales if you remembered right. And Gloria her Roselia.

"Wha- Why's she using a grass type?," Hop asked confused, "Grass-type pokemon are usually weak against fire-types. Shouldn't she know the type disadvantage? "

You were confused at first too. Why would she be using a ro-...Your eyes widened remembering something from your past encounters. "....Stun spore."

"What?," he asked turning to you.

And you them as you spoke. "I bet you more than anything she's going to use that stun spore move on that thing."

...Hop's eyes widened. "Of course! Stun spore leaves a paralysis effect on it's opponent! She could that to get an edge up on Ninetales if she's able to land the hit!..If she can that is. Ninetales has the time advantage and more speed than any other nine tales I've seen. I couldn't even get passed it."

You said nothing after that and turned back to the screen as a flame thrower type move nearly hit the roselia by a couple inches. OH Crap- The battle must've started while you weren't paying attention! So far Gloria seemed to be doing ok. With a point from her form she must've been giving an order, because that roselia in all it's agility used tackle and ran straight towards the ninetales. ..!? WHAT WAS SHE DOING!? She was gonna get that poor rose pokemon hurt! A tense and cold feeling grabbed a hold of your body as the fox pokemon opened it's large mouth, and filled with the burning  fire as it shot towards the roselia. A collective aw reaction coursed through the crowd and you three as the roselia....slid. That's right. SLID. The grass pokemon suddenly dropping back as it it slipped and fell to it's knees (Or you guess what counted as knees on it) and as if in a rock star pose, leaned all the way back as the fire passed above it literally inches from it's face. No doubt the speed from the tackle added in it's aid of sliding across the grassy field. As if time slowed down, the fire soon left the ninetales's mouth, and it turned it's head down towards the roselia sliding towards it at break-neck speeds. Lifting the roses on it's arms surrounded by burst of electricity, you could've sworn the fox thing gave a look of panic, before there was a flash of light as bright as a camera's flash as the roselia continued it's journey under the ninetales as it was enveloped face first by electricity. Now if you thought the corvinkight's loud cries when you crashed into it's nest was terrifying, it was nothing compared to the high pitched dog like wails that came from this pokemon really made your stomach flip. Through the static shock surrounding it, the ninetales gritted it's fangs and looking as if pain, forced itself to snap towards the roselia who stopped just behind it. And in one swift motion, in a white blur the pokemon turned and swiped at it. HARD. With a cry from the pokemon it went flying across the feild, tumbling head over heels, round and round in summer salts until finally with a thud the poor thing landed with half it's body crossing one of the perimeter lines.

"MATCH!!" The announcer's voice called back through and it honestly made you jumped by how it surprised you, too lost in the battle to notice. "THE GYM CHALLENGER'S POKEMON IS OUT OF BOUNDS!! GYM LEADER WINS FIRST ROUND BATTLE!!"

The crowd roared out again at Kabu's obviously win, and you weren't too surprised since he is supposed to be the second strongest gym leader. So it shouldn't be surprised that the ninetales was still able to move like that after Gloria's stun spore surprise. Tho you were a bit sad at her loss.

"Aw man! She totally got canned out there!," Hop sighed lowering the phone a little disappointed as both battlers returned their pokemon

Victor hummed. "Well, yes. Glory lost first round but it's not a total loss. Stun spore's affects increases the more the recipient of it moves, so it'd be dumb if Kabu forced his ninetales to battle again for the second round. It'd just be giving her a better chance at winning. So she still managed to wittle down them to an equal two pokemon each."

....Hop nodded. "Yeah! You're right. But it doesn't mean the other two won't be just as powerful."

"SECOND MATCH START!!" The voice returned. "POKEMON AT THE READY!! SECOND ROUND BATTLE BEGIN!!"

Two more bright lights appeared and the BIGGEST arcanine you had ever seen appeared before you! That thing was huge! Much better than the ones in game. And Gloria had sent out her raboot. A fire type against a fire type. They should be equaled out but you had a feeling the arcanine was the more powerful in terms of strength and skill. Gloria better have had a trick up her sleeve for this one. Kabu was the first one to make a move. As it quickly leaned his head forward just an inch and the raboot jumped a good yard back away in fear.

"That's arcanine's intimidate. Hope that raboot's not too scared."

The arcanine took a step forward the rabbot took another step back. Kabu pointed and in an instant it charged. Flames spewing from it's mouth the moment it opened it's maw and it fell. Well at least you thought it did by how fast it dropped, only to flip using it's back legs to kick off and a envelope itself in fire to perform Flame Wheel- Raboot. Charged! It's feet gaining fire with it's speed when you realized what was going to happen. Was Gloria attempting to use Flame Charge as a way to counter the Flame Wheel like back when she used her Scorbunny's move to deflect Hop's Wooloo's tackle? That may have worked out back then but Arcanine was much bigger and stronger than an ordinary wooloo! There's no way as strong as raboot was they could deflect that flame wheel....Except..Well...That wasn't what they did at all. As soon as that raboot jumped and made contact with that fire hoop of death, it was like a catapult suddenly went off under it's feet. Using the momentum of the moment that crafty little bunny used it's own fire as a shield for it's feet from the flames of it's enemy to leap itself into the air. The three of you watched in awe as the raboot launched itself a decent twenty or so feet in the air above the arcanine who had stopped and then looked up in confusion as it most likely didn't expect that. That's when it struck. With a surprising speed for being in mid air, the raboot shot back back down straight towards the arcanine. The dog pokemon in retaliation growled and opened it's maw WIDE to catch it within it's fangs at the same time as the raboot flipped, and landed a perfect double kick to the upper part of the pokemon's face. The. Arcanine. WAILED OUT!! The jerk it's head gave shoving the rabbit pokemon to the ground with a loud squeak as it hit the dirt but as quick as ever sprung itself back onto it's feet to face it's enemy. The much taller fire type shaking it's head and pawing at it's eyes.

"A Quick Attack and Double Kick combo!! How'd they do that so fast!?"

None of you had time to answer that before Gloria was already pointing at the arcanine and the raboot swiftly followed. The arcanine snarled it the approuching raboot's direction eyes closed and again went to use Bite, but with a quick side leap to the left, it easily delivered another double kick to the side of it's head. Making it recoil. And thus it had begun. Side! Back! Gut! Front Leg! Back Leg! Under Chin! Front Leg again! The raboot as quickly as a real rabbit in your world, was light on it's feet. Using quick attack and double kick over and over again to kick the blinded and confused arcanine in random places jumping over, under, around and sometimes latching onto it's fur to propel itself in a different direction from the jaws or swiping paws as it growled and blindly went after him. One time literally trying to slam it's whole right side onto the smaller pokemon before the rabbot quickly thrust itself forward under and away from the falling body before giving it a tackle to it's exposed middle in retaliation for the body slam. Using it's speed and smaller body to it's full advantage. The blinded pokemon's only saving grace was to suddenly use the order of flame wheel to break away from the small menace. Rolling fast away in a hoop of flames. You nearly choked on your own breath as you all watched in disbelief as the tinier much smaller raboot CHASED. Yes. CHASED after the spinning wheel of death faster than you had seen it run. The flames gathering on it's feet again. Another flame charge?? The arcanine stopped just a few yards away from him, flames still gathered within it's mouth as it turned, presumably to launch a strong flame attack at the smaller beast. And raboot with all it's speed and flaming feet. KICKED!! As fast as a jet streaking through the sky, a flaming rock was launched right at the pokemon's face. And connected. With a yelped and smoke going off from getting straightly hit by it, the arcanine went down.

"ARCANINE HAS BEEN RENDERED UNCONCIOUS!! GYM CHALLENGER WINS THE SECOND ROUND!!!"

THE. CROWD. CHEERED!! Ember....That raboot used ember to knock out that arcanine!! You didn't know whether to be impressed or surprised at what just happened but both the boys next to you exchanged a few cheers of their own and high fived. And you let out a breath you didn't know you were holding. Holy canoli that was tense!! ....But then you froze. Wait...If both first and second rounds were over..that meant only the third was left. And the third round was the dynamax specialty. And Gloria was planning on using... all the worry came rushing back in an instant.

"Oh no-"

"FINAL MATCH DETERMINES WHO WINS AND LOSES!! YOU FOLKS KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!!" Oh please don't say- "DYNAMAX ROUND SET!! GET YOUR POKEMON AT THE READY!!" You could all suddenly hear the crowd begin chanting the word 'Dynamax'. Your eyes widened as, as tiny as Gloria's figure was on the camera, you could CLEARLY make out her reaching into her pocket and pull out a pokeball, her other hand coming up to her goggles. In than instant your face paled and your blood ran cold. A heavy feeling of cold settling in as you saw that unmistakable red energy gathering around her wrist band as she held your ball. Your poor baby's ball. "FINAL BATTLE BEGIN!!"

The first to make a move was Kabu as the pokeball in his hands swelled up to the size of a watermelon and with a firey look in his eyes, swiftly turned on his heel and with one arm chucked the giant thing into the air. It sored through the sky until popped open and THE BIGGEST centipede you had ever seen came forward. The ground where you three were sitting shook from the force of the giant pokemon in the stadium in front of you landed on the ground. Sending a wave of wind and rubble from the field flying in it's wake as dark reddish-orange storm clouds darkened itself overhead, making it look even MORE horrifying than it was....OH. SWEET. MOTHER. OF MILTANK!! If that thing was scary to you than it'd be an utterly drop dead terror for your poor sobble! The pokeball in Gloria's hold swelled up to the same size as a watermelon. Using both arms to lift the thing over her head, and tossed it into the air. It soared through the air and all three of you watched like you were watching a trainwreck happening. Too scared for the results but unable to look away feeling as it popped open. And your sobble made it's entrance. The blue pokemon now several times bigger than it's usual cat like hieght. It landed in the same fashion as Kabu's centipede thing did. And instantly a look if confusion graced it's face as with a montrous chirp it started quickly looking around at itself. Although that confusion quickly dashed away as soon as it's eyes laid upon the terror in front of it. It froze. Staring unblinking with that blank stare of his as it laid eyes on the centipede pokemon.

"Oh no-

Now you weren't entirely sure what move it was called that it used, but all of a sudden this giant bug thing decided to play....But this thing moved so fast in air as Kabu leaned back and pointed up at it you nearly had a heart attack then and there. It took the form of a sideways zig zag pose and gathered a great deal of fire within it's coils. The GIANT ball of flames launched in a moment's notice as it sailed out. And hit your sobble directly with an explosion. You cried out, hands coming to clasped at your mouth at the noise the water pokemon made as it connected and tumbled over. The three of you had to grab a hold on the bench as it wobbled, Hop nearly dropping his phone in process as he did. Thank goodness he didn't because you still had your panicked eyes stuck to the screen even as it shook. .......Your now giant sobble with storm clouds gathered over it's head was just laying there for a moment....before it pushed itself onto it's bottom silently, dirt from the field falling off itself as it did. He stared blankly back at the centipede-...thing for a moment....before it's giant mouth quivered. And in a flash the giant sobble threw it's back and began to cry. The loudest cries you ever heard rung out through the sobble's mouth, it sounded like someone took the world's largest bagpipes and cranked it's volume to eleven. But that's not what concerned you. Thousands of shining droplets starting floating down everywhere. And in an instant the centipede thing violently shook it's head. A loud cry of protest coming out of it.

"Holy Arceous..."

Was all any of you could manage to say at the situation as you continued to watch your sobble cry as the centipede thing continued to shake it's head and yell out. Kabu's small form on the screen even shown him using whatever towel he kept around his shoulder to suddenly smush his face against. The centipede thing suddenly dove. A giant crater forming in the field as it attempted to bury it head away from whatever was irritating it. After a moment your sobble stopped. Giving it a look as it twitched and kept it's face in the giant crater it made for itself like an ostrich, eyes watering a bit as it did. It gave a look around again but seemed to be scanning more of the stadium than the field. Most likely looking for a way out. That didn't surprise you in the slightest. What DID surprise you next was what it did next. Your. Sobble. Scowled. In the direction of the centipede thing who still rubbed it's head in the dirt, most likely trying to settle down the burning sensation of the tears it experienced before. You blinked as it gave off a montrous sound of it's own towards the other pokemon. Did....Did your sobble..The one who who dive under your arm or hide behind your head just...growl at the other pokemon?? By the end of the war cry it gave as a shock, it pushed itself forward. Landing it's hands right onto the ground as a wave of energy expelled from it. The force making crackes in the earth around the thing's buried head before blue light seeped through the depths of the earth and a geyer of blue light shook the stadium and the three of you.

"T-T-THAT WAS A SOBBLE'S MAX STRIKE MOVE!!," Hop managed to force out between holding onto the bench as everything shook.

"IT WAS A WHAT!?," You shouted back at him trying to make out the shaking screen in his hands between holding onto the bench yourself.

The centipede things wretched it's head up from the dirt and with a loud cry began shaking it frantically like a panicked snake. That was before it was attacked again of course by your sobble. A torrent of water rushed out from it's mouth the moment it was opened and hit the thrashing fire type straight in the face as it cried out. The fire becoming so bright it turned white...except it wasn't coming from the giant pokemon. The bright light was coming from the other side of the field as your sobble cried out again- The screen shut off with a beep. A flash of 'No Signal' coming over the sudden white screen. The three of you stared at Hop's phone. No one moving. No one saying anything. As the three of you just....stared at the lost signal-

"NO!!" Hop yelped and wretched his arm back in surprise as you snatched the phone from his hands. Frantically bringing it up to your painicked face as your body drawled in quicker breaths. You shook the phone within your hands and furiously tapped the screen in rapid moment before the rotom within it wretched itself from your grip with a scowl to escape your grip. "NO NO NO!!" You snapped back to Hop. "WHAT HAPPEND?!"

"We must've lost the live feed signal," Hop replied back reaching over and grabbing the rotom from mid air and bringing it back to him.

"Can you get it back?!"

"I can try, but I don't know if-"

"GYM MATCH IS OVER!!" All three of you froze to stare in the direction of the voice coming loud and clear from the stadium. ....You slowly stood up. "CENTISKORCH IS UNABLE TO BATTLE!! GYM CHALLENGER GLORIA WINS THE MATCH!!" The crowd cheered...And you leaned forward-

"OOF!!" You were yanked back by your backpack by Hop before you could fall to the ground below and you landed with a thud back onto the bench. "....Thanks.''

Hop nodded before he put the phone quickly away and stood along with Victor. "C'mon. I don't know about you guys, but I'm gonna see what happened."

You stood up quickly with a scowl. "You bet your pokeballs I'm going to see what happened! Gloria and my sobble is in there!"

There was no questions or doubts about it as the three of you unanimously started towards the inside of the stadium doors in worry for the young trainer and your pokemon. ...Except as soon as the doors opened the trio of you were stopped by some man wearing a gym suit and sunglasses. Surprise, surprise. You and Victor weren't allowed in as unregistered gym challengers. ....ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? You wanted to yell at this guy and push past him if you bloody had to to see them! And Hop looked as if he was about ready to argue in your favor as well squaring up. The only one who seemed to be thinking clearly in the situation was Victor who had to pull the two of you back to wait outside for her. You wanted to get it!! Who cares if they threw you out kicking and screaming!? You were seeing your pokemon!! Oh the irony when Victor yelled at you two it would only put Gloria's and Hop's places in the challenge in danger if either one of you did anything dumb to threaten their places. Oh....Well when he put it like that, then it did make the two of you seem foolish. But that didn't you liked it standing right outside those giant double doors leading to the inside of the gym pacing, and tapping your foot, staring at the doors in worry, mumbling to yourselves. Poor Victor standing deadpanned in the wake of your two's worried mess with a sigh. You all nearly jumped as the door opened and the slightly dirt covered girl of the hour finally came out-

"GLORIA!!" The brunette yelped as she was all of a sudden encased in a tight hug by her worried friend. "OH GOSH!! WE WERE SO WORRIED ABOUT YOU!! I figured if anyone could do it you and raboot would be the ones....But STILL!! That match had me right at the edge of my seat! I thought for sure you would've been crushed-"

"Hop! Geez! I'm perfectly ok! See?" She pried herself away from the clinging boy to make some space between them both. "I'm as fine as a deep fried curry! And I walked away with more than just my safety!" She beamed brightly as she spoke. "I got my bloody fire badge!"

His eyes widened. "WHAT!? No way! That's incredible!"

As the four of you were a little busy focusing on Gloria and worrying, none of you noticed the blue thing walking past her legs and up to you.

"WAIT WAIT!!" Hop nearly stumbled as you dove and Gloria blinked in surprise as you grabbed her shoulders in worry. There wasn't any signs of a sobble around her so it must've meant she put him back in his pokeball!!...Or at least you hoped she did. "Where is he!?" You asked in a worried tone. "Where's my sobble, Gloria?!"

......She blinked. "Oh...Ummm. Yeah about that." She gave an almost cringe as she said the next few words. "He's uh....Not exactly a sobble anymore." The three of you stared at her....A pit dropping in your stomach strong enough to make you feel like hurling.

"WHAT!?"

"No no no! He's fine I swear!," she insisted holding her hands up to your scared face. "It's just that-"

"ACK!?" Gloria blinked as you were suddenly whipped back by something heavy latching onto your backpack. It felt like someone had dropped the weight of a toddler on your shoulders all of a sudden. The three looked on in confusion as you stumbled back in panic waving your arms wildly for balance before throwing yourself forward to right yourself and grabbed your knees in a leaned over position. "What in the actual-" You paused. Something shifted on your back and grabbed your shoudler. In an instant you whipped over your shoulder to look at the thing pulling itself up onto you. And what you were met with was a face to face encounter with a frowning blue head who gave a small thrum sound at you. ............You blinked. "What the heck!?"

"Uh...That's what I was trying to tell you about," Gloria said pointing to it.

Without breaking eye contact with the thing that was half sitting on your pack half slumped over against your shoulder, you slowly stood up and pointed at it. "What the world is this thing?" To which it gave a indignified chirp and grabbed your nose. "Hey!"

"Oh hey! It's a drizzilie!"

...You looked at Hop for answers brow raised. "It's a what?"

"A drizzilie," he repeated pointing at the thing slumped over your shoulder. "They're considered highly intelligent pokemon but also really lazy ones." Another pouty chirp was thrown in Hop's direction. " I think I read somewhere that they're good at making traps."

"This still doesn't tell me where my sobble is!"

"Y/n, drizzilie is the evolved form of a sobble!," Gloria pointed again, "Sobble evolved near the end of the match! He's literally right there on your shoulder!"

You paused...whipping back to the drizzile who only moved his eyes from where it's head laid upon your shoulder. ....THIS was your adorable tiny little sweet innocent baby sobble!? It reminded you of a moody preteen. You two continued to stare at each other a bit regarding each other silently...before you asked a question. "You want food?" It immediately lifted it's head up and gave a deeper chirp noise in approval and you laughed. " Ok...It's definitly him alright. But how come he evolved?"

"Because...it's what pokemon do?? They're always evolving and growing as they go, there's no stopping it."

"....Fair enough."

"Hey." Gloria blinked as her brother gently grabbed her shoulder with a concerned look. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"Of course I am. It'll take more than a dynamax battle to stop me."

Hop laughed. "With all the badges we've earned ourselves, I reckon we should be alright even against the fierce pokemon you find deep in the Wild Area. Let's go find out for ourselves-"

"NO!!," both you and Victor screamed at once making Hop blink...And Gloria snorted.

Surprisingly you did not want to stay there any longer in fear of what else might happen to you all, so after a bit of convincing on Victor's side to Hop who was eager to go straight to the Wild Area for the rest of the day to battle and catch wild pokemon, you five just went back to your hotel. You felt entire exhausted, and not because of the extra added weight to your load now thanks to your sobble's new and maybe not so improved form. But mentally from the exhausting experience you had been put through. It...was a day you'd have to get used to but in the end Gloria won her third badge and your sobble...uh..Drizzlie was perfectly fine even if he changed a bit. So at the end of the day it was in fact a win win situation for everyone. You had felt relief when you got back to your hotel room and slid off your bag, plopping yourself on the bed with a sigh. Your new drizzile standing there for a moment before flopping itself onto you with a small 'Oof' escaping you....Yeah. You guessed you'd have to train him out of just jumping on you anymore now that he was the size of a six year old child.

"Hey, Y/n? Are you going to sleep right now?", Gloria asked curiously.

"....I dunno. Maybe,'' you answered muffled by the pillow. "Why?"

"We're getting lunch. Want me to grab you a curry?"

"......Yeah. As long as it doesn't have any eggs or tails on it. Grab me one-" Your drizzilie patted your shoulder and you sighed. "Make that two. Something tells me he's going to be more hungry from now on." Gloria laughed again and you sighed.

The rest of the day went by rather quickly in your eyes. You all ate lunch and you ended up falling asleep way earlier than usual with your drizzilie watching the three teens curiously as they ate and ended up chatting and showing off their league card collection card collection thus far before you ended up closing your eyes. By the time you woke up again Gloria and Drizzile was already up and ready to go eating what must've been the room service breakfast, but she was also kind enough to order a small stack of waffles for your hungry self. Perfect! It wasn't long for the both of you to get packed and meet up with the boys outside the inn waiting for you two by that weird mechanical elevator.

"Hurry it up, Gloria!," Hop called over waving an arm.

"We're coming! Boy how early do you all wake up?"

You were a bit cranky. Still a bit groggy so early in the morning and having to lug around extra weight on your back as your drizzilie had insisted on jumping onto your back and took residence inside your back pack. Most of his body was inside the backpack amongst your other belongings but his head and arms were thrown over your shoulders as he refused to start walking chirping in protest when you tried to reason with him and wouldn't let you put him in the pokeball so you had to get creative with a compramise. Moving all the food you carried into the secondary pocket leaving just your clothes in the main space of your pack and leaving enough room for it to find acceptable. You wondered if the reason Drizzilie didn't want to go back into it's pokeball was in fear something like what happened yesterday would happen again, being used to getting carried by now, or if this was just because of the lazy behavior Hop mentioned before?..Or maybe a combination of the three? The boys gave a couple chuckles at the sight of your new situation but stopped when you tossed them a look and changed the subject by making the elevator go.

"So. Have you two decided where you want to go next?," you asked walking up to the exit of Motostoke that lead out to the Wild Area.

Both nodded.

"Yeah. I wanna stay here for a few more days and catch some pokemon," Hop answered.

Gloria blinked at him. "Wha- But I wanted to stop by Hammerlocke."

Hop stopped walking immediately just outside of the giant exit. Making Gloria stop and blink at the bewildered expression on her friend's face. "Hammerlocke? Why would you go there? You know Raihan doesn't battle anyone unless they have seven badges."

"Yeah. I know, but it's on the way to Stow-on-side." She explained with a smile. "Bea sounds like a good challenge for me to tackle next being the fighting type gym leader. Hammerlocke just happens to be on the way there."

"Eeehhhh. I dunno Glor. I really had my mind set on taking on some wild pokemon. With a stronger team comes a stronger trainer right?"

"I...guess so..."

"'kay. How 'bout this? If you're all that dead set on going to Hammerlocke, you can go and we'll we'll meet up with you there!"

Gloria seemed not too keen on that idea for a moment but sighed and nodded. "Alright. But how are you planning on getting there?"

Hop went to answer, but paused. Gold eyes blinking widely before leaning over to the right to look behind you all. "Huh? Hey. Is that who I think it is coming this way?"

Brown and f/c color eyes followed the path of Hop's gold ones to look behind you and the three of you paused at seeing who exactly was jogging towards you all. Coming towards you in all his firey glory was the 'Man Of Fire' Kabu himself. What was he doing here? ...Oh no! Were you all in trouble with what happened yesterday!?Was he angry from your sobble-..Er..Drizzilie's tears?! Were you all going to be billed or something!? You all couldn't pay any medical bills! None of you had enough money! The gym leader jogged right up to the four of you as you all exchanged confused or worried looks before stopping in front of you all.

"Thank goodness I managed to catch the lot of you before leaving Motostoke," he stated. It..didn't sound like he was angry.

"You're the gym leader, but you still came all the way to see us off?," Hop questioned, "...Oh! I bet you can already tell that I'm the one who'll become the next champion, yeah?"

To your surprise the older man chuckled and gave a smile. "There are many trainers who never manage to gather three or more gym battles, and they just give up on the gym challenge all together. So I make a point to see off any trainers who are able to defeat me. So allow me to send you off with a proper, sporty chant." He cleared his voice as you raised a hand to say he didn't have to- "Hustle, hustle, hustle Hop! You can do it, you can do it, Gloria!" ...Gloria gave off a few giggles and you lightly kicked her foot to get her to stop. "The Gym Leaders you will face ahead are all tough opponents. But I believe you will prevail! Believe in your pokemon and keep pushing on!"

"Thanks y'all! We're gonna keep winning!," Hop confirmed with a smile and thumbs up towards the older man, "We've got too if we want a face-off in the Champion Cup after all! C'mon, Everyone!" He spun on his heels and pointed towards the exit. "Let's head for Hammerlocke!" And ran off.

Victor groaned turning to walk after him. "Not again."

You chuckled and rolled your eyes. You wish you had that much energy. "Gloria correct?" You blinked and turned your head over to Kabu who was looking at Gloria. "That was a most unexpected battle the other day. As I already said, I'll have to learn from it. But I don't suppose you'd mind telling me how you thought of such strageties?"

She beamed. "Of course! Your league card listed your pokemon and their main abilites like everyone else! So I used that info. Your ninetales was pretty fast on it's feet, so it made sense to use a move that wouldn't let it use that speed. But arcanine are built bulkier and have more muscle than a ninetales. They may be fast on their feet too, but no where near the speed of raboot or ninetales. So speed and agility would've been the way to go. And as for your centiskorch, I didn't have a lot of pokemon that could withstand it's fire power, so I had to find a way around that. A sobble's tears seemed like the greatest force to fight it."

He hummed before nodded once again. "I see. Well then I must train my pokemon to overcome your sobble's tear attack before another trainer gets the same bright idea as you did."

"Oh it wasn't my sobble." She pointed at you and he looked at you. .....Then to the Drizzile's face lazily staring back from your shoulder. "It was hers."

"I see...Well then, Miss. I'll have to congratulate you on raising such a strong water type. I have no doubt that it'll make a mighty Inteleon one day."

You smiled as your drizzile patted your shoulder. "Thanks! I think he's a good boy too. Ain't that right?" Embarrassed your pokemon tutted and looked away making the old man chuckle.

"We'll then. I shall leave you. I must be off to start training up before the next gym challenger comes knocking at my door."

"We outta get going too. I have a feeling we're in for a long trip ahead of us." .....Hey. Now that you thought about it...Your eyes widened. Wasn't there some kind of character development or a tragic event that happened to one of the characters after the player received their third gym badge??..."Yeah. We better catch up to the other two."

You managed to pull Gloria away bidding good bye to the jogging gym leader and pulled her out of Motostoke at last. Onto the dirt path leading out of Motostoke and splitting in three directions to chose from. You spotted the two boys somewhere up ahead as the two of you approuched. Hop throwing his hands up into the air pumped.

"Hello again, Wild Area, my old friend!," he shouted to the sky, "I've come back to you even stronger than before!"

"Hop you don't need to shout." Victor adjusted his pack on his back with a roll and stretch of his shoulders. "If anything you might scare away any good potential pokemon with that racket."

....He hummed. "Well I guess you have a point about that, Vic." ..He turned his head more towards the two of you girls approuching before he smiled and twisted around fast to face the both of you. "Gloria! Hammerlocke is up that way." He pointed towards where the road split off towards the left. "Got it? Over Motostoke bridge and straight on down the road a ways. And yeah, you could certainly rush there without a single detour....But now that you and I have a few gym badges, we should be able to catch stronger pokemon! So I know what I'm doing!"

" And what's that mate?" Gloria asked in a tease.

"I'll be catching myself some amazing pokemon to fill in the next page in the tale of my legend!" You chuckled at his enthusiasm.

All of a sudden your Drizzilie turned to look behind you as footsteps approuched. "Don't waste your efforts." The rest of you followed suit to stare at the figure just now leaving Motostoke as well. And your eyes widened slightly. "It's not like either of you would ever make it through the gym challenge anyway." The one who approuched the two of you was none other than Bede. The poor gave that smug smirk he always did and placed a hand on his hip staring at the lot of you. "The Champion really must have been off his rocker to endorse likes of you."

"WHAT DID YA SAY YOU LAVENDER SOAKED EYED COTTONEE FOR BRAINS!?" "DON'T YOU INSULT MY BRO LEE LIKE THAT!!"  Gloria shouted and made a move to step forward but you grabbed onto her back pack to pull her back effectively also blocking Hop with your other arm as the two shouted with glares at him.

"Whoa there you two." You gave him a glare and he slowly looked up towards you the smug grin turning into somewhat of a frown. "I thought you left after collecting those Wishing Stars from the mines. Did you stay behind just to insult them? That's a pretty petty thing for you to be doing with your free time."

He didn't answer right away which made you raise a brow until he tutted and turned his head away. "I was going to leave after a day's rest here, but after hearing these two were going to battle Kabu I decided to stick around and watch the pitiful efforts of my enemies. I mean, Hop here can't even throw a poke ball properly."

You saw Hop flinch. Oh no..You remembered somewhat of him saying he practiced throwing the ball sometime during your first meeting with Leon. "Rubbish! More like you don't know enough to recognize greatness when you see it! My throws are the greatest and my bro is the finest champion the world has ever seen! I'm not gonna listen to you insult him!"

"How tiresome," Bede mutter again running a hand over his hair. "Fine. I'll battle you over there." He pointed a hand towards some trees. "Maybe that will help you finally understand just how weak you are."

Hop growled and your brows rose in shock at his sudden anger. You didn't think the ever chipper Hop could've gotten so mad. "You're on then. I know you challenged Gloria in Galar Mine Number Two and lost to her there." Your eyes widened more glancing between the two of them as Bede frowned more....So THAT'S what Bede meant by them causing him trouble. "And I'm her greatest rival. In other words there's no way you're beating me."

"All this prattle about Gloria and the Champion and whatnot. Do you not have anything of your own to show?"

"YOU BET YOUR SORRY PINK TUTU BUTT HE DOES COTTON FOR BRAINS!!," Gloria shouted giving  another tug against your grip on her as she leaned forward, angry glare that could put a dynamaxed pokemon to shame, hands balled into fists at her sides. Her sudden spout of anger caught Bede off guard enough to take a few steps back from the red faced girl spitting her scottish accent at him. "I'll have you know Hop's one of the smartest, most kindest people I know! He's a bloody genius who knows all kinds of pokemon skills! 'E's like a walking dictionary of smarts that's how skilled he is! He knows more than you and me put together so badger off with your sorry excuses!! I don't see you doing anything but complain about everyone else and praise the chairman like he's Arceous 'imself!" Victor grabbed onto his sister's other arm pulling her back with you at this point. "Yet ya complain 'bout us talkin' 'bout how amazin' Lee is!? When are ye gonna step up from being a walkin' billbourd for the Chairman n' his bloody secratary and show me somethin' huh!? HUH!? How 'bout you take ya own advice!?"

"GLORIA THAT'S ENOUGH!!," Victor shouted in his own scottish accent at her pushing her back by a wide eyed Hop as she continued to glare angrily at Bede who remained silent and wide eyed at her. "CALM DOWN!! Ok!?...I'm pretty sure he's gotten the point by now."

"Oh he better!"

"Hey! That's enough now!," you agreed giving her your own frown, keeping your grip on her back pack in case she tried anything. "I think you're scaring him." Gloria paused enough to give you her own stare, as you turned to look at Bede who continued to stand and stare....before he blinked, quickly whirled on his heel and sped walked away with his hands forced into his pink coat's pockets.

"I-I'll wait for you over there! Don't keep me waiting!"

Gloria huffed, jerking her body from her brother's grip as she glared at his leaving form. "Yeah? Well he started it by causin' all of us trouble n' insulting us for no reason. The bloody cottonee born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Ey Hop?".....She rose a brow when her friend didn't answer and turned to the silent boy staring wide eyed at her. "....Hop? Are you ok?"

".....I-..." He coughed reaching a hand up to rub at his neck as he looked off. "I mean uh....That was some roasting you gave h-him back there. Heh."

"Well it's true!," she insisted pointing at him, "You were the smartest kid in school! And y'know so much about science, and history, and you can calculate math in your head faster than a calculator could. You know so much about pokemon that I know you'd be a great Champion. That's why I got so angry at him."

Hop stared at her again mouth opening a little..before sputtering on his words. "I- You- R-Really?"

She crossed her arms and nodded with a huff. "'Sides, I wasn't about to let the Mareep Head get away with smack talkin' my best friend and his brother. If he's going to bring a fire then he better expect someone to roast him back!"

He stared at her a moment longer before an unmistakable red washed over his face as he quickly looked away. "R-Right! T-T-That's what friends do after all! D-Don't worry. I'll show this wally my skills in battle! S-So..." With that he quickly turned and began jogging off from the three of you. "See you later, Glory! L-Let's meet up in Hammerlocke when I'm through with him!"

Well whaddya know!? You smiled watching as Hop scampered off in a knowing way as Victor sighed before turning to his twin. "DONT DO THAT!!"

"Do what?"

"Try to fist fight another gym challenger like yer in a wrestlin' ring! Ya cook! What would've happened if that guy told ye off to the Chairman especially after you had dinner with him in Hulbury?! You'd get yourself kicked out by him or worse both yaself and Hop since you were defendin' 'is honor like in the bloody stone ages!?" You had started to notice a pattern that the accent would become more prominent in their voices when they were angry.

"Like I would've actually tried to punch to punch him! I know better then ta throw hands and risk somethin' like that now."

Victor groaned reaching his hands up to rub at his face. "I love ya but you drive me crazy!"

"I could say the same for you too."

.....Still rubbing his temples Victor turned. "I have to catch up with Hop before they start fightin' again. Make sure she stays out o' trouble."

"I can-"

"I was talkin' to Y/n!" He shouted back making Gloria pause as he walked off....And it was finally your turn to chuckle.

With a huff she placed her hands on her hips with a glare. "Well that's just a bunch of flamin' Rapidash crap if I ever heard it!"

You nodded reaching up to rub your face, finally letting go of her backpack as you did. "He has a point tho. If you and your opponents want to have a battle then that's fine, but you guys shouldn't get into fights like that." She hummed but didn't say anything else to that. "Come on. Let's get going to Hammerlocke. I'm curious about this place."

"Oh. Then if we're lucky we might meet the selfie guy himself hangin' 'round his gym!"

"Oh boy. Can't wait to see what the big bad strongest gym leader has to show."

"I think you'll like 'em. Lee said he's one of the kindest people he's met in the industry...But there is one thing I should warn ya 'bout."

"What?"

"He's a playful teaser so he'll probably try to flirt with ya when he sees ya."

"........He's going to what?"

[snowdice]

Big Bang (Sort of) Editing Story [Day 58]

I started writing this fic while editing my Big Bang story, but am going to continue doing it for other things now that Kill Dear is out. I will write and publish 100 words of the story every time I finish doing whatever task I’m doing. If you’d like to block these proceedings, please feel free to block the tag proofread stories. I will reblog this post with the parts of the story I do today. Edited chapters are linked; everything else I’ve done so far is under the cut.

My Master Post Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25 Part 26

Wow I am tired and have a headache, but also I have to get my grading in by tomorrow so... 

If I get too miserable, I may stop abruptly and get up early to finish it in the morning.

Chapter 27

After an, honestly quite aggravating, breakfast full of Virgil’s cognitive distortions about the likelihood of being poisoned, Logan was relieved to finally be able to leave the dining area. In consideration to those serving breakfast, Patton did not lead them through the door in the back of the dining room that went directly to the kitchen, and instead took them out of the room and down the hall to a different entrance. This one had a guard stationed across from it as, despite what Virgil may believe, the castle workers did consider the possibility that someone would want to sneak into the kitchen for nefarious purposes.

 Said guard, of course, saw nothing wrong with the prince and the head chef’s son entering the side door even with the bonus stranger. In fact, he may even have known Virgil could be coming through this door if Ms. Heart had mentioned him.

Though Virgil hadn’t managed to catch it, Logan knew enough about Patton’s mother that he’d surmised that she had insisted Patton bring the boy to meet her. It was bound to happen at some point anyway, Logan knew, and he wasn’t particularly worried. After all, this was Patton’s mother. Virgil himself didn’t even seem particularly concerned.

 Logan had seen him panic and, while he tugged a bit at the sweater he was wearing, the motion was not particularly fervent, so he was likely just slightly nervous.

Of course, that may be because he did not know Patton’s mother specifically wanted to meet him and just assumed that they were starting the necessary process of introducing him to castle residents with a low risk person.

When they entered the hallway, Logan could already hear the usual noises of the kitchen: the clattering of plates, the bubble of conversation, and the sound of Ms. Heart’s voice calling out instructions.

 He did see Virgil hesitate, but Logan couldn’t sus out why and Patton was already ahead of them and opening the door into the kitchen. It was fairly calm for the kitchen considering it was meal hours. Logan imagined that Patton had chosen the time between when the day guards ate breakfast before their shifts and the night guards after their shifts on purpose. There was still a bit of chaos as dishwashers attempted to catch up during the lull and a few orders were still being made, but overall the mood seemed, to Logan at least, to be light as Ms. Heart ordered her kitchen around.

 Yet, Virgil clearly did not see the situation the same way that Logan did. He froze when the kitchen door swung open and some of the workers turned to look at them. He took a step back, bumped into Logan, startled violently, realized it was Logan, and then side stepped to hide behind him. Logan looked back at him in confusion, but Virgil said nothing, proceeding to mutely peer over Logan’s shoulder.

Patton had moved over to greet his mother as she wiped her hands off on a rag. She glanced over at Virgil and Logan and Logan saw Virgil shrink back a bit.

 Logan could see Ms. Heart’s eyes soften as she tracked his movement. She turned to the woman next to her and said something before moving to remove her apron and hang it up in its designated area. Virgil’s hands clenched in the fabric of Logan’s shirt when she turned back to him.

“It’s fine, Virgil,” Logan told him, but Virgil didn’t seem to believe him. Luckily, Patton had turned back and seemed to realize something was amiss.

He stepped back over to them. “Hey, honey,” he said. A plate clattered in the kitchen and Virgil just about ripped Logan’s shirt.

 Patton frowned sympathetically. “Too loud?”

“Virgil,” Logan said. “You are digging your fingernails into my skin.” Patton shot Logan a glare. “What?”

“How about,” Patton’s mom suggested. Virgil’s fingernails dug more into Logan’s skin. “We go to my office.”

“I think that’s a good idea, Mama,” Patton said. “Come here, Virgil.” He reached over to touch one of Virgil’s hands and had to pull a bit to get him to release Logan. “It’s back that way, away from the kitchen,” he said when he managed to twine their fingers. He stepped around Logan, probably so there was still a buffer between Virgil and the kitchen and tugged him in the correct direction.

 Ms. Heart shot a glance at Logan and Logan felt irrationally like she was trying to read his thoughts. Logan smoothed his features out and turned to follow Patton and Virgil towards her office.

As head chef, Ms. Heart had a small office where she could plan menus without the hustle and bustle of the kitchen and have meeting with people who needed to discuss dietary needs and restrictions. It was very well organized, but still looked fairly messy because of the numbers of decorations she had in it. She had a tendency to keep everything that Patton made her, thus she had his childhood drawings on the wall and little projects stacked on her desk and on the shelves. A lumpy cat statue acted as a paperweight on a stack of papers on her desk and there was a vase of fake flowers (as it could not actually hold water) sat near the window.

 By the time Logan entered the room, Patton was trying to coax Virgil into sitting down on one of the two mismatched chairs, but Virgil was having none of it. He had turned to face the door and was yanking at his sweater in nervousness.

Logan noticed that Ms. Heart did not come far into the room, instead pausing near the door. She did, however close the door to give them privacy, and that seemed to distress Virgil more.

She seemed to contemplate him for a moment. “Hello,” she said, her voice softer than Logan was used to hearing. “You must be Virgil.”

 It seemed as though he were willing himself to magically shrink, but he still replied. “Yes, ma’am,” he said quietly.

“It’s nice to meet you,” she said. “I’m Patton’s mom.”

“I know, ma’am.”

“There’s no need to be formal, Virgil.”

He hesitated. “Okay,” he said somehow quieter.

Her eyebrows drew together in concern, and it seemed that she decided to result to her default way of making people more comfortable. “Would you kids like some candy?”

Logan saw Patton’s hand squeeze Virgil’s lightly. “That would be great, Mama.”

She nodded and walked forward towards her desk. Virgil turned so his back was never to her. If she noticed, she didn’t react. She just grabbed a small tin off one of her shelves and took the top off. “How about a peppermint candy?” she asked.

 She offered the tin out to them. Virgil stared at it like it was a venomous snake. Logan decided to act, stepping forward and taking three of the pieces of peppermint candy from the dish. He stepped over to Virgil and Patton and held out his hand, offering Virgil first choice out of all three.

He hesitated before glancing between Patton and his mother. He must have decided that Patton’s mom wouldn’t risk poisoning Patton and took one of the pieces. Patton took another one of them and popped it into his mouth. Logan ate the last piece.

“Thanks,” Virgil said to Ms. Heart before placing his piece in his mouth.

 Logan watched Virgil’s eyes light up a bit when the flavor registered. His posture didn’t completely relax, but he seemed at least a bit less like he was contemplating jumping through the window. His trust was almost worryingly easy to buy sometimes. All it took was a not poisoned peppermint.

Ms. Heart seemed pleased by his reaction. “I’m actually going to be making some new ones soon and I’m trying to get rid of these. Would you like to take another one for later?” she asked, holding out the tin.

He looked at it warily again, but he still stepped closer slowly and took another piece. “Thank you.”

 “Anytime,” Ms. Heart said, eyes looking over him intensely. “You look like you could do to with a few more sweets every so often.”

Virgil tilted his head in that way he did when he was particularly perplexed.

Patton giggled a bit. “She means your skinny.”

“Oh,” Virgil said. “Logan already gave me a malnutrition potion for that.”

“Did he now?” she asked, her eyes flickering to Logan. Logan winced. He was definitely in trouble for not bringing him directly to her. He was sure he’d hear all about it as soon as she caught him without Virgil in the room.

 She turned back to Virgil with a smile, and Logan imagined Virgil had no idea how dead Logan was. “Well, that’s a very good start, but if there was need for a nutrition potion, we should be careful to make sure you get enough calories and nutrients every day going forward.” She sat down at her desk. “Why don’t you and I talk for a bit about making sure you get some good food.”

He still looked cautious but was predictably enticed by the promise of food. He did not sit still, but he did put his hands on the back of one of the chairs and slightly lean on it. “Yes, ma’am,” he agreed.

“Okay,” she said. “Well, I’m going to have a few more specific questions, but let’s just start with what are your favorite foods?”

“I’ll eat anything,” Virgil replied immediately.

“He really likes chicken alfredo,” Patton contributed.

Virgil perked up at the name of the food. “I did like that,” he agreed.

“Alright,” Ms. Heart replied. That’s a start.

  Chapter 28

Thomas did not have to be told that something had gotten Helen Heart in a tizzy. He could tell just by the amount of food she had sent up on his dinner tray. She always made and pushed more food when she was stressed, and he couldn’t help but chuckle when he found both a hearty serving of roast beef and a mini chicken pot pie on his plate along with three vegetable side dishes and a side of macaroni and cheese.

He could also guess what had happened to illicit such a response. Thomas had caught up to Jeffers Deknis in his garden and they’d spoken at length about Logan and Patton’s new friend.

There was no way that after said discussion, Jeff had not mentioned Virgil (and more importantly his friendship with Patton) to Helen during their daily gossip sessions. There was also no way that Helen had heard the words “child” and “too small” in a sentence and hadn’t flipped. From there the inevitable sequence of events was clear: Patton went home, Helen talked his ear off until he agreed to bring Virgil to meet her, Helen met him and immediately committed herself to making sure he ate three square meals a day as well as multiple snacks.

Thomas had sussed all of that out before the kitchen worker bringing him his dinner had mentioned what had happened that day.

 That in mind, he decided to wait until after dinner should have been cleaned up before walking his own dinner leftovers down to the kitchens.

Thomas was unsurprised to see Jeff already in the kitchen. He was sat at a small table off to the side where kitchen workers usually took their breaks. The only person other than Jeff and Helen left in the kitchen was a dishwasher who was finishing up. Helen usually spent a couple of hours after dinner in her kitchen or her office organizing for the next day and in case anyone needed food on an off hour, and then there was a night cook who would take over so she could go back to her set of rooms.

 Helen took the tray of leftovers from Thomas herself and shooed the dishwasher out of the way. “I’ll handle the rest myself,” she told the girl. “You can leave.”

She nodded and started to take her apron off. Helen dumped the tray on the counter without care and turned back around to usher Thomas into one of the kitchen chairs. Thomas went willingly and she turned to fill the tea kettle with water and set it on the stove.

“It take it she met Virgil,” Thomas said to Jeff.

“She’s adopted Virgil,” Jeff replied, taking a bite out of a cookie.

 “And what of it?” she asked. “Someone obviously needs to feed the boy. Speaking of, you’re grounding your son by the way.”

Thomas took one of the cookies for himself. “Why am I grounding Logan?” he asked.

“He was worried enough about his health to make him a nutrition potion, but still did not bring him to me,” she harrumphed.

“I see,” Thomas replied.

“In Logan’s defense,” Jeff interrupted. “the boy seems rather timid. He may have worried about you scaring him off.”

Helen slapped him with a dishtowel.

“Actually,” Jeff continued. “From what I’ve gathered he didn’t have contact with anyone since the time I saw him a couple of weeks ago until now.”

 “Any adults,” Thomas corrected with a frown. “I’m pretty sure he, Patton, and Logan must have been around each other considering how close they already seem to be.” He paused, “Logan implied he wasn’t particularly… comfortable around adults.”

“I did get that impression, yes,” Helen said, pouring the hot water from the kettle into a tea pot and carrying it and some cups over to the table.

“He was incredibly jumpy,” Jeff confirmed. “I imagine he does not have good experiences with many people, but he seems to have grown attached to Logan and Patton. He defers to them in most things and seemed a bit protective.

 “Where did he come from?” Thomas asked.

“I’m not sure,” Jeff said. “I found him hiding in the garden shed a couple of weeks ago.”

“Did he sneak in?” Thomas asked.

“That’s what I would have thought,” Jeff replied, “but when I asked, he said he wasn’t trying to steal anything and that he was supposed to be in the castle. So, I’d assumed that meant he was the child of someone living in the caste.”

“But neither of us could find anyone who knew him,” Helen said. “Of course, we didn’t even know his name until now.” She seemed to decide the tea leaves had sat long enough because she started to pour them each a cup of tea.

Thomas took a sip. “Earl Grey,” he commented. “I guess I’m not sleeping much tonight.” It was her ‘planning tea.’

 “We need a plan,” she said, “but we’re going to have to be gentle.”

“At least with Virgil,” Jeff said.

Thomas laughed lightly, “and what do you plan to do with the other two?”

“I have my ways.”

Helen rolled her eyes. “You say that,” she said, “but you’re too soft. The two of them learned to run circles around you and your powers years ago.”

“We should talk to them though,” Thomas said. “Separately from Virgil.”

“We should,” Helen agreed. “I already spoke to Patton a bit yesterday, but I will again. We should see if we can ask around and find out why he’s in the castle. We don’t even know how long he’s lived here. Or who brought him here.” The look on her face told Thomas she wanted to have a talk with his guardians whoever and wherever they were.

 Helen took a drink of tea, it seemed to calm herself. “We need to make sure whatever has been happening to him is not happening in these walls,” she said.

Thomas had honestly… not thought about that. He’d assumed whatever made Virgil so skittish was in the past, but it was possible that it was ongoing. The thought made him sick.

“Perhaps you should try to talk to him, Thomas,” Helen suggested.

Thomas winced. “I am not sure that is a good idea...”

“Why not?”

“We don’t have the best track record… I don’t think me being around him would be a good idea.”

 “Oh, please, Thomas,” Helen said disbelievingly.

“No, you don’t understand,” Thomas said. “He seems disproportionately afraid of me. I think it’s a mix of me being king and how we met.”

“How did you meet?” Helen asked.

“I… gave him a bit of a fright,” Thomas admitted. “Logan and Patton weren’t in the room and I didn’t know who he was. He… ended up under the bed. Then… the second time I saw him he accidently ran into me. He freaked out again.” The memory still made Thomas feel gross. It also made him think there was a lot more to his backstory than the three of them understood.

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“Perhaps Jeff can try to talk to him then,” Helen said. “It sounds like he was calmest around you. I’ll push Patton towards taking him to the garden more often. I bet fresh air would do him some good anyway.”

Jeff nodded. “I will try to talk to him a bit more.”

“Great,” Helen said, but Thomas already knew the conversation wasn’t over. “Now we need to talk about strategic events to throw over the next few months that Patton and Logan to invite Virgil to. We’ll start slow, but we need to make sure he feels welcome in the castle.”

Thomas met Jeff’s eyes. Yeah, it was going to be a long night.

  Chapter 29

Virgil finished eating the breakfast Patton’s mom had sent for him. It had been going on a week since she’d made the menu for him. She sent up little cards with each meal and he was supposed to rate each thing she sent on a scale from 1-5. Logan would read it to him before he ate, and Virgil mark the little box on the card. Usually, he would put a 4 for everything (he had tried to do 5, but Logan had told him 5 was reserved for things like chicken alfredo). Three was for things that he was neutral on, 2 was for things he didn’t like but could tolerate, and 1 was for things he didn’t like. So far, the only 3 was the unseasoned porridge she’d sent one day.

 “Finished?” Logan asked.

“Yeah,” Virgil said.

“What would you like to do today?” Logan asked. “Patton is busy until after lunch, and then we thought you might like to go back to the garden again. It’s supposed to drop in temperature over the next few days, so it will be the last good day for it.”

“Sounds good,” Virgil said. “I don’t care what we do today though.”

“Well, there are a few options,” Logan said.

“What do you want to do?” Virgil asked.

Logan made an expression, and Virgil titled his head. “I’m don’t have anything in particular I want to do,” he said.

“You’re lying,” Virgil said immediately.

 “You would not be interested in the activity I wish to partake in,” Logan said.

Virgil squinted at him. “I’d be interested in laying on the ground and staring at the ceiling.”

Logan chuckled. “No, truly. The activity I would do if you were not present would involve reading.”

“You can read to me,” Virgil suggested.

“…In Sanskrit.”

Virgil frowned at him. “Isn’t that, like, some sort of dead language?”

“It is,” Logan said. “I taught myself to read it to read a specific book called the Pragilium Text. It’s an encoded book that leads to a magical location that I have been trying to decode for years.”

 “That’s fine,” Virgil said. “You can do that.”

“It would be in the library,” Logan said.

“Okay.”

“But…” Logan said. “It would in no way be interesting to you.”

Virgil shrugged. “Like I said. I’m content to lie on the floor for a few hours.”

Logan frowned. “I can’t make you do that.”

“You wouldn’t be making me,” Virgil said. “I want to go. Maybe you can find me an easy book I could try to read?”

“Are you certain?” he asked.

Virgil nodded, decisively.

“Very well, get dressed and I will show you the library.”

Virgil stood to do so and a few minutes later, Logan was leading him out of the royal wing.

 Both of the guards greeted him kindly, and Virgil hunched his shoulders in a bit, but said a soft “hi.”

The library didn’t end up being too far away. It was through the small dining hall and to the left where the staircase to the kitchen was to the right.

“This is not the main library,” Logan said. “It is just a smaller one. The royal librarian comes here only about once a week to organize. Some other castle residents might come in too, but it is usually mostly empty.” Virgil could tell just by listening for a few seconds that the place was likely empty (unless someone was lying in wait).

 “I’ll look and see if there is something simple for you in case you’d like to read. You can explore a bit if you’d like,” Logan said.

Virgil nodded and stalked off into the shelves to secure the area. There were many books, not that he could quite read any of the spines. The bookcases were mostly cramped into the space. There was the open area where they’d come in with a few comfy chairs and Virgil found a desk near one of the windows. It had stacks of books including one pretty large and old one. He looked at it curiously.

 Virgil heard Logan’s footsteps approach from down an aisle. “That’s the Pragilium text,” he said.

“It’s pretty,” Virgil said, looking at the design etched into the cover.

“Yes,” Logan agreed. He reached forward to touch it and opened it carefully. The print was small and didn’t look like the letters Logan had taught him so far. There was a small map on the side that Virgil could at least guess at the meaning of.

“You can read that?” Virgil asked.

“I can,” Logan said. “Very few people can though.”

“Wow, you’re really smart.”

“Thank you,” Logan said with a smile.

 “Now,” Logan continued. “I found you a book. I apologize as its subject matter is for younger children, but it has many pictures that can help give you context when you don’t know something. You don’t have to read it if you do not wish to, especially as we haven’t gotten very far in our lessons, but I thought you might like the challenge.

He handed him the book and Virgil took it with a smile. “I’ll try to read it,” he said.

“Well, you have free reign of the library. Feel free to continue to explore and to interrupt me if you need to.”

 Virgil nodded and took the book before deciding to finish his sweep of the library. It turned out that appearances were not deceiving, and the library truly was empty. Once he was certain about that, he looked around for a comfortable place to settle down and try to read the book Logan had handed him. He found a sturdy looking bookshelf near where Logan was reading at his desk. He scaled it quickly. It was a little bit dusty at the top, but it wasn’t a bad place. It was close to the ceiling and kept him hidden pretty well, but still gave him enough room to pop up onto his elbows. If he looked left, he could see Logan down bellow with his head in the book, but if he looked right, he could see the entrance to the library.

 He pulled the book in front of him and looked at the cover. It was covered in drawings of different colored flowers. One simple white flower was in the center and there were three words on the cover. He squinted at it and silently tried to sound it out based on what Logan had taught him so far. He could guess that the larger word was ‘flowers’ based on context. So, he was pretty sure it read How Flowers Grow.

He flipped open the book. Logan was right, there were many hand drawn beautiful pictures. He could pretty much understand what was happening just from them even if he couldn’t read all of the words.

 It was an interesting book even if he couldn’t read it and it was obviously made for small children. Judging by the pictures it seemed to be detailing how plants, or at least, flowers grew through some kid planting and caring for a flower over the course of some amount of time.

Virgil had, of course, known flowers grew from seeds, but it was interesting to see things about how the stem would pop out of the seed in the ground and things about the roots growing.

He more looked through the pictures than read it the first time but had flipped back to the front to try to read the words when he heard the library door open.

 Virgil perked up in awareness, but then settled when he recognized Patton’s footsteps. Virgil tilted his head to watch as he walk directly to Logan’s hideaway.

“Hi,” he said, gaining Logan’s attention.

“Hello, Patton,” Logan replied. He glanced at the window and must have seen that time had passed because he closed his book and shuffled his papers.

“The guards said you came here,” Patton said, glancing around. “Where’s Virgil?”

Instead of letting Logan answer that question, Virgil pulled himself forward, with the book in one hand and slid off the bookshelf to land lightly on his feet next to Patton.

Patton screamed before slapping a hand over his mouth.

 Logan had placed his hand over his heart. “Where on Earth did you come from?” he asked.

Virgil blinked at him and then pointed to the bookshelf he’d been on top of.

“How long were you up there?” Logan asked.

“Pretty much the whole time,” Virgil answered.

“I…” Logan said. “I didn’t even know.”

Virgil squinted at him. “You need to learn to look up.”

Patton giggled.

Virgil turned on him. “You need to learn to case the area.”

“Oh honey, your shirt is all covered in dust,” Patton said instead of responding to his very valid criticism. Virgil frowned. “Let’s get you changed and then go grab some lunch.”

“Lunch?” Virgil asked.

Patton chuckled and grabbed his hand. “Yes, sweetie, lunch. Then garden.”

“Fine,” Virgil said. “But you do need to learn to be more observant.

“Yes, yes, whatever you say,” Patton said.

Logan just rolled his eyes.

  Chapter 30

After lunch, Patton and Logan took Virgil out into the garden to walk around. They let Virgil lead them around wherever he wanted to in the garden. A bunch more flowers had died since the last time they’d been out here, and Patton felt sad despite having never felt very sad about that sort of thing before. But, Virgil seemed to really like the flower he’d found last time, so Patton thought he was probably sad on the boy’s behalf.

Of course, Patton thought, perking up, eventually it would be spring, and Virgil could get to not only see flowers but see all of the flowers grow. Patton couldn’t wait to see him amongst the garden then.

 Virgil took them wandering through the orchard for a while, but most of the trees had been stripped of their fruits. They ended up in the food garden after a bit, and Virgil finally seemed to decide on the direction instead of just ambling about.

A few seconds after Patton noticed Virgil seemingly decide on a destination, Patton noticed Mr. Deknis kneeling on the ground a few feet away. Had… had Virgil been looking for him? Patton wondered. That was adorable.

Mr. Deknis looked up as they approached and smiled at them.

“Hello, Mr. Deknis,” Patton said as they came closer.

 “Hello you three,” Mr. Deknis said. “Getting into trouble?”

“No,” Virgil said, shaking his head.

Mr. Deknis gave him a flash of a smile. “I know, I’m joking,” he said. “Especially since there isn’t much left in my gardens for certain princes to destroy with experiments.”

“Oh, okay,” Virgil said. He tilted his head. “What are you doing?”

“I’m getting the last of the acorn squash out,” Mr. Deknis replied. “It’s the last crop to get finished. Good thing too, it’s supposed to start snowing soon.”

Virgil looked down curiously at the dark green squash.

“Would you like to help me pick a couple?” Mr. Deknis asked.

 “Sure,” Virgil said, sounding interested. Mr. Deknis patted the ground beside him and Virgil knelt down to watch him.

“They’re not too difficult to harvest,” he said. “You just cut the fruit off the stem. You want to leave about a hand’s width of the stem left over which will help preserve moisture. The earlier harvests, I left in the field to cure in the sun for a couple weeks, but the frost’ll ruin them so we’ll take them inside the green house and let them sit in the sun for a bit there. We also want to keep the leaves. You’ll probably be eating those for dinner tonight since they have to be cooked up within about 24 hours after they’re picked. Patton’s mom makes a good side dish with them and she’ll be making some curry tomorrow, probably. Maybe some stew if there are some leftover.”

 “Put the squash in this wheelbarrow and the leaves into this pile, okay?” Virgil nodded and Mr. Deknis handed him the extra pair of gloves and shears he carried with him in case one set broke. “These might be a bit big on your, but they should work for now.”

Mr. Deknis looked up at Patton and Logan. “Would the two of you like to help?” he asked. “I can get some more equipment.”

“I can help out if you want, but you don’t need to stop and get more equipment just for me,” Patton said.

“The same for me,” Logan said.

“Well, if you’d like to help still, you can sort the leave. Give your mother a head start.”

 “Sure,” Patton said. He and Logan went to do that while Mr. Deknis and Virgil worked on cutting the squashes from the vine.

“What do you do during the winter?” Virgil asked curiously. “If this is your last crop.”

“Well, at the beginning, I mostly will be working on making sure things are stored correctly along with some of the kitchen staff. There’s some drying to do and some canning. After that’s done, I’ll spend some time organizing and planning. Then, before the spring comes, I’ll start preparing seedlings in the green house.”

“Seedlings?” he asked.

“I let seeds start to grow in the greenhouse that I replant once it gets warm enough.”

 “Why don’t you just plant them where they’re going?”

“I do for some,” he said, “but giving some a head start is good for them.”

Patton watched as Virgil continued to ask questions about gardening while working on harvesting the squash. Mr. Deknis continued to answer them in a calm, soft tone that Patton didn’t think he’d ever heard from the often gruff man before.

Patton wasn’t surprised when, after finishing getting most of the squash off of the vine, Mr. Deknis asked if Virgil wanted to help him with canning some pears in a couple of days. Virgil immediately looked over at Logan and Patton as though asking permission.

“Say yes if you want to Virgil,” Logan said.

 “Yes,” Virgil said as soon as he was given permission. Mr. Deknis smiled at him softly and started loading the last of the squash into the wheelbarrow. Patton offered to run the squash leaves to the kitchen while Logan and Virgil helped Mr. Deknis take the actual squash to the green house.

He dropped the leaves off to a kitchen worker since Mama was busy and headed back out to the garden. By the time he returned, Logan was already back from the green house and sitting by one of the more decorative trees near the castle.

“He’s exploring,” Logan said, nodding at the large patch of bushes.

 Patton chuckled. “I see.” He sat next to Logan. Every so often he’d hear the bushes rustle, but he couldn’t tell if it was actually Virgil or an animal.

“He’s adorable,” Patton commented, keeping an ear out.

Logan hummed.

“I’m glad we kept him.”

“He isn’t a pet, Patton.”

Patton rolled his eyes. “I know, but I’m still glad. I’m glad he’s making friends with Mr. Deknis. Once he knows how to read better, we should get him a book about gardening. He seems interested.”

Logan nodded. “Having a hobby would be good for him. Clearly he has a fascination with the garden.” He nodded to the blur of dark hair that could be seen through the bushes. It seemed Virgil had stopped his exploration and was now laying down in the bushes a few feet away.

 “I’m going to go see what he’s doing,” Patton said. “I’ll be right back.”

Logan nodded and Patton got to his feet. The bushes were part of a small maze that was filled with flowers during the spring and summer months but were mostly just green and brown bushes for now. Despite the fact that Patton had been able to see him only a few feet away, it took him a while to wind through the path to where he was. When he finally turned the last corner and he came into view, Patton gasped softly.

“Ghost kitty!” he said, making sure to make his voice as quiet as possible.

 Despite how soft he made his voice, two pairs of eyes shot over to him. The completely black kitten was perched on Virgil’s lap like she belonged there. Ghost Kitty hissed slightly, but Virgil reached forward to pet her head gently.

“This is Ghost Kitty?” Virgil asked. “I thought you said she was hard to pet.”

“She is,” Patton said. He lowered himself onto the ground from a few feet away from them. “How did you get her to come to you?”

Virgil glanced down at the cat and shrugged, scratching one of her ears. “She just came over to me and let me pet her.”

 “Wow,” Patton said softly. He looked at the cat. “Could I pet you sweetie?” he asked, holding out a hand in her direction. She hissed again.

Virgil frowned down at her. “It’s Patton,” he said as though he expected to understand his words and the exasperation in the tone he said them in.

He pet the cat’s head to soothe her and then reached over to grab Patton’s hand. He pulled and Patton carefully leaned a bit closer until his hand was within sniffing distance. Ghost Kitty sniffed his fingers contemplatively and then bumped her head against it. He barely restrained a squeal, knowing that probably wouldn’t be taken well.

 He carefully turned his hand over so he could stroke the top of her head. He gently scratched her ear, not daring to go for under her chin yet since she didn’t know him well. “Hi,” he said softly. After a moment, she started to purr softly. Virgil reached over and scratched under her chin and she purred louder. “Oh, you’re a good girl,” Patton breathed, letting a hand trail gently down her back once and then again. Patton settled himself carefully into a seating position continuing to pet her. After a few more moments of soft petting, she hesitantly stepped her front paws onto Patton’s thigh so she was sitting in both of their laps. Patton laughed softly. “Hi sweetie.” He glanced over at Virgil who had a wide smile on his face as he pet the cat. This. This was adorable. They continued to pet the cat for a very long time.

  Chapter 31

Logan waited for a while after Patton left to check on Virgil, but the two never resurfaced. It was odd, Patton would usually remember to come back and get Logan or at least tell them where they were. With a sigh, Logan climbed to his feet to go find them. It took him a while to weave his way through the maze of bushes to them especially because they were suspiciously quiet (Well, suspicious for Patton. Virgil was often unnervingly quiet when alone.) Luckily, he knew the bushes enough after all of these years not to get lost and managed to find the two after a few minutes.

“Ah,” he said, immediately identifying the reason for Patton disappearing.

 “Logan!” Patton said, his voice excited, but also quieter than normal. “We found a kitty!”

“I can see that,” Logan responded, taking a step closer. The cat hissed at him in response. The hissing was so intense and wild that he’d suspect the thing was feral if it wasn’t happily on Virgil’s lap having had it’s head in Patton’s lap before Logan had approached.

“No,” Virgil told the animal as though it could understand words. “That’s Logan. Be nice.”

The cat still glared at him and swished it’s tail back and forth threateningly. Virgil pet the top of it’s head and it broke eye contact with Logan to purr.

 Patton seemed delighted by the purring, reaching to stroke under the thing’s chin carefully. “We should give her a name!” Patton said.

Virgil frowned. “I thought her name was Ghost Kitty.”

“That is ‘Ghost Kitty’?” Logan asked skeptically. From what Patton had said about that cat, it was terrified of people and no one could ever get near it, even him. Now it was in Virgil’s lap?

“But that was a temporary name,” Patton said, “for before we officially met her. Now we have to give her a real name.”

“Do not give it a name,” Logan said. “You will get attached.”

 “How do you name a cat?” Virgil asked.

“Do not name it,” Logan said.

“You give them names based on their personalities, how they look, or even just because it’s a cute name,” Patton explained. “Like, remember Mittens? I named her Mittens because she has white fur and black paws!”

Virgil looked at the cat. “She’s completely black,” he said.

Patton hummed. “So, we could give her a name based on that like Midnight or Shadow.”

“Those are fine,” Virgil said.

“No, no,” Patton said. “I’m just giving you examples. You get to name her yourself.”

“This is a bad idea,” Logan said.

 “Just throw out some names,” Patton said. “Anything you can think of.”

“Uh,” Virgil said. “Knife.”

“…Just Knife?” Patton asked.

“Nightmare.” Virgil seemed to think about it. “No, that’s mean.”

“How about things you like?” Patton suggested.

“Alfredo?”

Oh no, Logan thought, he was worse than Patton at cat naming.

“Good start,” Patton said. “Logan, do you have any suggestions.”

“Cat,” Logan said.

“Real suggestions,” Patton scolded.

Logan sighed and thought for a moment. “Aphrodite.”

“Catphrodite!”

Logan glared at him. “Helena.”

“Helenpaw.”

“Claudia.”

“Clawdia.”

“Persephone.”

Patton smiled at him, cheerfully.

“…Damnit!”

Patton turned to Virgil again. “Like that! They don’t even have to be serious. Like, uh, you could name her Madam Fluffywuffykins the Great!”

“Do not name her that,” Logan said, scrunching up his nose.

 Logan sat on the ground, the cat eyeing him, but no longer hissing. Logan gently guided them towards more sensible names despite Patton trying his hardest to drag them into stupidity.

Virgil still didn’t quite get it. He mostly tried to name it after foodstuff, and often not even appropriate foodstuff such as “Corn” and “Acorn Squash” and “Sandwich” and occasionally would drop in semi violent ones such as “Razor,” “Nightshade” and “Void.” Patton suggested names like “Fluffers,” “Bobette” and “Darling” as well as some that were puns. Logan tried to direct them towards more sensible ones like “Salem” and even went so low as to suggest the contrary “Snowball.”

 It quickly seemed to become less about actually naming the cat and more of a game. Patton had taught Virgil about playing with cats and had even gotten out a ball of yarn he cared around for his crafts. Both Virgil and the cat seemed to find endless entertainment with that. Logan hoped Patton had another ball of yarn that color because, he was never going to get that ball back.

The barrage of names fizzled out into naming things around them like “Leaf” and “Bush” until they stopped suggesting names altogether. Patton and Logan sat back and watched Virgil play with the cat.

 Logan watched as they stopped playing suddenly and Virgil and the cat squinted at each other. “Marisol,” Virgil said, pulling the name out of nowhere. “That’s her name.” He said it with a certainty that was surprising considering how he’d treated the naming process with confusion and caution earlier. If Logan did not know better, his tone of voice would indicate that the cat, or Marisol he guessed, had gotten bored of them coming up with stupid names and decided to tell him her actual name herself.

The cat made a sound and batted at Virgil’s face without claws to grab back his attention.

 He turned back to it and bopped its face with a finger in kind. It attacked his finger, but in a clearly playful matter as it still did not extend it’s claws and its teeth did not draw blood.

“That’s a great name, Virgil,” Patton said.

“Much more pleasant than any that Patton suggested all afternoon,” Logan said. He received an elbow to the side for his quip.

“A pretty name for a pretty kitty,” Patton said, scooting over to where Virgil was sat and attempting to pet Marisol’s head. Marisol, however, was too keyed up and batted at the hand.

 “I love you too!” Patton said.

Logan rolled his eyes, but he had long since resigned himself to watching the two of them play with and coo over the cat for the rest of the day.

Eventually, though, it started to get darker. Even after Logan pointed this out, it still took over an hour for them to relent and leave the bush maze to go to the door. The problem was of course, that the cat had managed to grow very attached to Virgil in the last few hours and she followed them all the way to the door with manipulatively heart breaking mews.

 “You’ve got to stay out here,” Virgil said, when they got to the castle door. He pet her ear softly and she shoved her head into his hand. “I’m sorry. I don’t have anywhere to put you.” He sounded horribly sad about that fact and Logan felt himself shift uncomfortably. “I basically live in a closet and Logan doesn’t like cats in his room anyway.”

Logan immediately felt unreasonably guilty, probably more so because Logan did not think Virgil was trying to make him feel guilty. “…Bring the dammed thing inside.”

Virgil blinked up at him. “What?”

“It will get cold soon anyway,” Logan said.

He frowned at Logan from where he was crouched. “But you don’t like fur in your room…”

“I will have to find a potion that works,” he said with a sigh, “and we’ll have to say it’s mine to the guards and Father since it will be staying in my room, but it is yours in every other way. That means you are going to feed it, clean it, and clean up after it.”

Virgil nodded immediately and swooped Marisol up in his arms. The cat went without complaint. “Thank you!” he said. “I love her.”

“I know you do,” Logan said, already regretting it already. Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to even consider recanting the offer considering how happy Virgil seemed to be. They had a cat now, he guessed.

  Chapter 32

“What are you doing?” Helen asked a few minutes after her son walked into the kitchen and started looking around as though he were trying to find something. It was a few hours into the afternoon, and she and a few workers were already prepping for dinner.

“Uh,” Patton said. “Have you seen Virgil?”

“No,” Helen said. “Why.”

“Er… Logan and I sorta, lost him,” Patton said. He was wringing his hands anxiously. Helen put down the knife in her hand.

“What do you mean you lost him?” she asked.

“Well, see, we were trying to teach him how to play hide and seek, um, but then we didn’t think to tell him that he eventually had to come out if we didn’t find him, and now we haven’t seen him since breakfast.”

 “He didn’t know what tag is?” she asked. That was just one more thing to add to the list of why Helen worried about Virgil and where he came from. Every morsel of information she’d managed to wring from Patton despite his evasions made her lists of concerns grow larger, even little things like him not knowing about simple childhood games. Actually, thinking of concerning things having to do with Virgil. “Wait, so he hasn’t eaten lunch.”

“Um, we don’t know that,” Patton’s mouth said while his eyes said ‘no.’

“He needs to be on a consistent diet, especially when he’s still taking the malnutrition potion,” she scolded.

 “I know, Mama, I know,” Patton said. “I’m trying to find him. I’d kinda hoped he’d gotten hungry and snuck down here. He probably wouldn’t want to risk being caught stealing food though.”

Helen grimaced. Yet another concerning thing.

“Wait! I have an idea, I’ll be right back.” Patton turned and ran out of the room. Helen frowned at the space he’d been and finished chopping the carrot on the cutting board in front of her. If it had been any other person in the castle missing, Helen wouldn’t have worried, but she had literally never seen Virgil without Patton and/or Logan by his side. Even when he’d gone to help Jeff can some fruit, Logan had reportedly hung around to read a book.

 Considering that Logan had never exactly been clingy even with Patton, she imagined that either Virgil asked, or Logan thought he should stay with him for his comfort. So, she was surprised that he was apparently hidden away somewhere in the castle where neither of the other kids could find him.

Still thinking about this, she walked over to the entrance to the cellar below the kitchen where they stored most of the vegetables, planning to grab some more carrots. She was confused for a moment when she heard movement from deeper in the pantry. She reached over and touched the panel near the door that controlled the magic lights.

 The newly illuminated figure startled as the lights came on, whipping around to stare at her with wide eyes.

“Virgil?” she asked.

“Sorry,” he said immediately, taking a step back.

“It’s fine,” she said immediately, “but what are you doing here?”

He considered her for a long moment, but apparently, she passed some sort of mental test, because he relaxed, at least as much as he’d ever relaxed in her presence. “Where are we?” he asked.

Her brow knit together. “The cellar under the kitchen,” she said, “You don’t know that?”

He shook his head.

“The only entrance is from the kitchen.” Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t seen him go through the kitchen at any point.

 “No, it’s not,” Virgil said. “There’s a tunnel.”

“A-a tunnel?” she asked. Actually, taking a closer look at him, he seemed a bit grimy. He had dust all over his front and dirt on his nose. She thought he might even have a couple of cobwebs in his hair.

“Yep,” he said.

“Where’s the tunnel?” she asked.

“It’s right over here,” he said. He took a couple of steps and pointed to the ground. There was an open square hole there that clearly had been made a long time ago but which she had never noticed in all of her time working here.

 “How did you find this?” she asked.

“We were playing hide and seek,” Virgil explained. “Logan said I could hide anywhere inside the castle. I hid on top of a dresser upstairs in some unused sitting room. There was a hole in the wall above it, so I climbed into it. Then, I crawled a little bit and it let out into a hidden passage in the walls. I wandered around in it until I found another hole in one of the walls. I thought it was a way out, so I squeezed into it, but it took me to a different hallway where I found an old room. There was a different hole in that room that had probably been covered by something because it was in the floor but whatever it was had rotted away. I crawled though it into a tunnel and came out here.”

 She couldn’t help but laugh a bit at his explanation. “Well, it sounds like you went on an adventure,” she said, “but Patton and Logan have been trying to find you. You missed lunch.”

He tilted his head at her. “I know. I was supposed to hide.”

“Yes,” she explained, “but you are supposed to come out at some point if they can’t find you for things like food.”

“Oh,” he said.

“They probably should have explained,” she said. “For now, why don’t we get you something to eat? You must be hungry.”

Virgil frowned. “But I missed lunch.”

“You can still eat even though it’s not in normal hours,” she said. “You could even if you had made it to lunch.”

 “Really?” he asked, he looked tragically confused by this offer.

“Of course, sweetie,” she said. “In fact, I insist you get something good to eat right now. How about I made you a grilled ham and cheese sandwich? Maybe some cookies too!”

Virgil titled his head. “You are Patton’s mother,” he stated.

Helen laughed softly. “He gets its all from me,” she said. “We should probably go find him and tell him you’re okay. He was worried.”

“I didn’t mean to worry him,” Virgil said with a frown.

“I know,” Helen said. “It’s okay. He’ll probably laugh when he figures out where you’ve been, and Logan will interrogate you all about the secret passageways.” He seemed happy about the prospect of seeing his friends. “Come on, let’s go upstairs for a bit,” she said.

  Chapter 33

Patton’s mom had already made Virgil sit down at the small table in the corner of the kitchen and had handed him a sandwich by the time Patton barreled into the kitchen, Logan coming after him at a more sedate pace.

“Virgil!” he said, sounding surprised and relieved.

“Patton,” Patton’s mom scolded. “No cats in the kitchen.” Patton had brought Marisol in with him and had let her go as soon as he’d seen Virgil. She immediately plodded over to him and hoped onto the table to sniff at his face in greeting.

“But she’s the princess!” Patton argued.

“No,” Logan said.

 “Yes, she is!” Patton said.

“The stupid cat is not a princess.”

“Don’t be mean to your little sister, Logan.”

“I regret every life decision that has led me to this point.”

While Logan and Patton were distracted squabbling and Patton’s mom was distracted watching them squabble, Virgil tore off a bit of the ham in his sandwich and offered it to Marisol. Marisol gracefully took it from his grip and ate it.

“So, this is Logan’s new cat I’ve been hearing about?” Patton’s mom asked.

“Indeed,” Logan said, his lips thinned. He and Marisol were mostly amicable when alone with just them and Virgil, but Patton had a habit of cooing over the kitten and needling Logan into being irritated.

 “Mmm, yeah,” Patton’s mom said. She glanced over at Virgil right as Marisol basically slammed her face into his chin in a bid to get pets. “Your cat.” She shook her head. “But Princess Kitten or not, I do not want fur in dinner,” she said.

“Sorry,” Patton said, honestly not sounding sorry at all. Virgil was always a bit surprised when the insolent shrug garnered nothing more that a scowl that did not reach Patton’s mom’s eyes. “I thought she could help me find Virgil, but you already found him.” He turned to Virgil. “Where have you been all day?”

 “Found a tunnel,” Virgil said. He had to use one hand to hold Marisol back from his sandwich as he took another bite, but then gave her a bite of cheese.

“You found what?” Logan asked.

“There’s a tunnel under the cellar,” Virgil said. “It goes to an old closed up room and also to a set of secret passageways.” It was a bit of a security risk honestly, though clearly no one had used it in years by how dirty it was. He did plan to go back into it and make sure the sprawling tunnels didn’t go to anywhere more dangerous like the royal wing.

 “A closed-up room?” Logan said. He could see a bit of curiosity already building in his eyes.

“Yeah,” Virgil said. “Where the door used to be seemed like it had been bricked over.”

“Really? Can you show me.”

“Sure,” Virgil answered.

“Ah, perhaps we should be a bit more cautious about climbing through random tunnels we don’t know the stability of,” Patton’s mom said.

Logan’s frown edged on a pout.

“Talk to your father,” she said. “I’m sure he can get someone who understands these things so you can safely investigate.”

“It was safe enough for Virgil,” Logan pointed out.

 “No, Logan.”

He sighed but seemed to concede. That was another strange thing about living here. By all rights Logan didn’t have to obey anyone except the king, but he often listened to those around him, not just the adults but Patton as well. It was interesting though it sometimes made the hierarchy hard to figure out. Virgil did sometimes stress out about the hypothetical situation where he got conflicting orders from two people, and he wouldn’t know which one to obey. So far it hadn’t been a problem luckily. They always seemed to work it out amongst themselves in some give and take social interaction that was a bit too complex for him to understand.

[seyaryminamoto]

I think it's kinda funny how for the most part Season 1 Iroh is very much a villain, but in Seasons 2 and 3 the writers try to make it look like Iroh is a kindly old man who can do no wrong. In the Season 1 episode "The Spirit World" Iroh gets captured by Earth Benders for what he did in Bing Sing Se. Iroh struggles to give a sincere apology to them for what he did in Ba Sing Se so I don't believe that Iroh was always on Aang's side from the start of the show.

... Wait a whole second now, my anon: did he try to apologize? O_o I don’t remember him saying anything that sounded like an apology xD

Yep, just went over the transcript and he didn’t say anything that suggested he wanted to apologize to the Earth Kingdom soldiers for what he did in Ba Sing Se. Which, in the end, just lends more credence to your claim that Iroh in Season 1 wasn’t the kindly old man the later seasons characterize him as.

This really just takes me back to my old analysis post on Iroh’s character being split in three parts. Book 1, in my opinion, doesn’t try to feature Iroh as a villain per se, but as comic relief with occasional glimpses at depth, but not quite the sort of depth you can 100% ascertain means he’s on the Avatar’s side or on the Fire Nation’s side. There are a few instances where it feels like Iroh is actually getting in Zuko’s way and hindering him in his quest to find the Avatar... but then once you reach Book 1′s finale, Iroh is outright telling Zuko he’ll help him nab the Avatar before Zhao can. Someone can obviously argue that he’s saying it for the sake of it, that he doesn’t really intend to help Zuko that way, that this is how he’s kept Zuko reassured that he’s his ally rather than trying to sabotage him... but it’s also possible he’s not bullshitting Zuko about helping him catch Aang before Zhao does.

The thing is, Iroh getting in Zuko’s way is mainly done for comedic effect. His every instance of sabotaging Zuko’s quest is turned into jokes, such as a whole episode of him trying to find his White Lotus tile and derailing Zuko’s journey completely for something that irrelevant... especially when the punchline of such a detour is that the tile was in Iroh’s sleeve all along. It’s very difficult to interpret these scenes as “villainous” Iroh because he has absolutely nothing to gain from getting in Zuko’s way if he’s not supporting the Avatar in secret. There are some moments, though I can’t fully remember them atm, where Iroh seems to be doing things to help Aang get away Zuko, so it puts forward the very commonly accepted theory that Iroh was actually on the good guys’ side all along!

Now, though, Iroh’s character did go through different stages across development, that can’t go ignored:

“Iroh was originally intended to be just a strict teacher to Zuko with a gruff personality; however, his character eventually changed to become his uncle and with a softer side as seen in the series.”

There’s a veeeery strong possibility that he only becomes what he does in Books 2 and 3 because that’s when they finally settled on a certain direction for his character, and that the strange ambiguity in his character throughout Book 1 is actually a consequence of them not being fully sure of how they wanted Iroh’s character to develop and turn out in the show’s endagme. I absolutely see a strong change in Iroh’s writing between Books 1 and 2, so it’s entirely possible he wasn’t always treated, in the writing room, as secretly conspiring to help the Avatar... but it’s hard to judge Iroh’s character properly during Book 1 because of how the narrative constantly oscillates between featuring him as full-blown comic relief and veeeery occasionally wise. I don’t really think they wrote him as a villain, outright and deliberately, but they did write him so vaguely that it’s entirely possible to take Iroh from Book 1 (perhaps up until he defies Zhao) and interpret him as a not-too-effective villain with a sense of humor, rather than a secret hero waiting to turn his back on his nation.

All this being said, the show was 100% determined to sweep Iroh’s very likely war crimes under a rug, and that episode from Book 1, forgettable as it may be for a lot of people, is a veeeeery important one in terms of offering us a glimpse not only at Iroh’s past, but at how the show virtually presents the Earth Kingdom soldiers as in the wrong for capturing Iroh. I’ll never get tired of bringing up a very strong and ironic parallel in that episode with The Chase...

Outnumbered by the enemy...

Feigns surrender...

Mercilessly attacks the enemy when they lower their guard...

All be it to stage an escape, to varying degrees of success.

I honestly don’t think there’s any morally acceptable reason to consider Iroh had any sort of excuse to fight back, injure or escape from those soldiers, especially if he regrets the harm he’s brought the Earth Kingdom. While, yes, someone might argue Iroh’s intentions towards the Earth Kingdom are no longer nefarious, his crimes are still very much real to the people who not only fought against him but suffered the actual consequences of his siege directly. 

At this point, you can 100% argue that what Iroh did is objectively worse than anything Azula had been shown doing, personally, up until the Chase. Was she 100% a supporter of her father’s regime and war crimes? Yes, she was! But she wasn’t directly responsible for actual war crimes yet, let alone war crimes on par with a six hundred day siege. At this point, Team Avatar + Zuko & Iroh just want Azula to leave them be, apparently: it isn’t a matter of capturing her to take her to justice. That’s what the soldiers did want with Iroh, and he not only escaped but by the last fight in that episode, him and Zuko definitely must have hurt several of the soldiers escorting Iroh to Ba Sing Se, not just the one Iroh burns in the scene I used for the parallel there. But somehow, Azula doing what she does is a sign of pure, absolute evil. When Iroh does this? Everyone just shrugs it off, turns the other way, pretends he’s entitled to fight back because he’s funny or because he supposedly learned better (not that we know for sure, as first-time viewers, that he learned better at all, at this point in time).

Book 1 Iroh is a lot sketchier than most people want to accept. The fact that we’ve got a literal play-by-play situation with Azula where Azula is 100% framed as morally appalling, down to Iroh calling her insane in the next episode as a consequence of her actions... when he did the exact same thing she did, merely one season ago? Again, there’s no way Iroh is more justified than Azula in what he did back in Book 1. He basically gets away because he knows Earth Kingdom justice won’t forgive him, and that’s that. How is that somehow morally acceptable? :’)

Aaaat any rate. I don’t really think Iroh was intentionally written as a villain, but I do think there’s some huge gaps in the logic of his behavior and writing throughout Book 1, not to mention some serious carelessness in the writing department if they actually intended to feature an Iroh who’s repenting for the wrong he did in his youth. That’s not the man we saw in this episode, absolutely not. It’s not even the man we see in Book 2, we’re actually meant to infer Iroh regrets his past and his mistakes because his entire journey of confronting his wrongdoings happened offscreen and we’re merely meant to take at face-value that it happened. Like I said earlier, it’s not impossible to read Iroh, up until the Siege of the North Part 1, as a morally dubious man who just so happens to make frequent jokes whenever he wants to. We see him giving Zhao moralizing speeches on honor when he (Iroh) broke the rules of an Agni Kai by stopping the fight before either Zuko or Zhao had been burned (how very honorable :’D), only to see him honorably injuring enemy soldiers with a very justified grudge on him in a later episode!

Basically, you have to pretend some things didn’t happen at all to trust Iroh was indeed a nice guy since day 1 of ATLA, supporting Aang from the shadows while enduring Zuko’s hysteric fits. I’m pretty sure, like I said earlier, that they only really unraveled what direction they wanted for Iroh’s character when Book 2 came along, and that’s why Iroh was not written with that same purpose in mind back in Book 1... which is why it’s relatively easy to interpret him as you have, anon.