#(which he's now tricked somebody else into doing for him)

[rhysintherain]

Bhaal to his chosen: kill! Kill!

Bane to his chosen: we stop at nothing short of world domination! Do whatever it takes to make all existence bow to us!

Myrkul to his chosen: raise an army of undead to march in my name!

Mystra to her chosen: go traipse around the countryside until you find my ex and deliver this slightly passive-aggressive message.

[teruthecreator]

spent all of work watching season 2 of mp100 and livetexting it to hartley and yeahhhh. season 2 is still my favorite season out of all three despite the back-to-back agony of the mogami and separation arcs

[lizzy06]

SPY X FAMILY Fic Recs!!

Fandom Masterlist

These are my favorite spy x family fics!!

To Watch Her Melt Your Ice by Defmardybum (pinning, unrequited love, fluff)A series of lighthearted to terribly soul-crushing fictional excerpts depicting Fiona aka Nightfall’s pining for Twilight [ONGOING]

Loid Forger x Fiona Frost

💖💖✨COLLECTION: The Sunset Files by MigratoryHousefly [COMPLETED]

Part 1: A Sunset Everyday :✨✨

For years, Agent Nightfall has been waiting for a chance like Operation Strix. A chance to be somebody new, a chance to prove herself both to her agency and more importantly somebody else. She just needs to grasp that chance before it slips out of her fingers, and learn to work with a certain pint-sized subordinate.

Part2: Alternative Strategies: ✨

Anya's still getting used to having a spy for a mother. Her mother, apparently, is still getting used to being a spy as a mother.

Part 3: Near Horizon :✨✨

Agent Twilight has done his share of the impossible, but he's still getting used to the types of challenges presented by Operation Strix. He doesn't know which is worse: taking on another hopeless mission with minimal support, or dealing with a partner who clearly detests him.

This is an alternate au where instead of yor, fiona becomes Loid's wife!! <Even though this is a rarepair, do give it a try...This is my perhaps by favorite spy x family fic out there>

Loid X Reader

Welcome to Operation Strix by Bribwritez(oneshot,fluff)As a new spy, you are assigned on your first big mission... only you have to pose as the wife to one Mr. Loid Forger, the cover story to Westalis' greatest spy yet. [COMPLETED]

Composure by mrsbakashi (Oneshot) Loid gets Jealous when a man approaches you at a party and make you laugh.[COMPLETED]

Yuri Briar x Reader

An Alliance(Yuri Briar x reader) ✨by StellarConstellations401 [Y/N] has been many things; a soldier, a Westalis spy, a Ostanian government agent, and now a wife. As luck has it for her, getting caught by the SSS means not only switching careers, but getting matched for life.[ONGOING]

Rue the Day✨ by Yuri Briars Darling (AmorphousDissatisfaction)(strangers to lovers, First love, Romantic fluff, Angst with happy ending) [COMPLETED]

With you by my side; by anyafrog (Romantic comedy, happy ending) Imagine being in love with Yuri Briar. Imagine him inviting you out on a date & become his girlfriend. Imagine learning the truth about Yuri Briar. [ONGOING]

Reason To Keep You Here by insertmesoftly you are an immigrant in Ostania but you are content with your life...that is until you here about a law being made that would throe you out unless you marry someone born in Ostania...so You rope in Yuri. [ONGOING]

"Yes, sir!" by Yuri Briars Darling (AmorphousDissatisfaction) <18+>(oneshot, smut) you get caught getting yourself off on your superiors desk. [COMPLETED]

2LT Briar by Yuri Briars Darling (AmorphousDissatisfaction)<18+> Living a lie is complicated. It only gets worse when you begin to deceive yourself too. [COMPLETED]

It's a Wine Kind of Day by bvbblegvn (Oneshot, smut)<18+> Basically reader and Yuri go to the bar, talk, get drunk, then come home, fuck, and sleep. [COMPLETE]

All Grown Up by Yuri Briars Darling (AmorphousDissatisfaction)(Friend to lovers, Childhood friends, Neighbors, fluff)<18+>

Rose and its Thorns by Cowboysandconnolis you are the safest, most cherished woman in the world. Until one evening when you are saved by a brave, shadowy man who bares a striking resemblance to your brother in law. [ONGOING]

Yuri Briar x Fiona Frost

Frost and Thorns ✨(strangers to lovers, partners to lovers, angst, feels) by Dinoroar645 Agent Night fall Joins Operation Strix ..... as Anya Forgers...Aunt [ONGOING]

The Dreadful Consequences of Chloe Getting Bored by edgarvaneps (enemies to lovers, fake dating, fluff, humor)Chloe wants to trick Yuri into going on a date with a woman who isn't his sister. Yuri thinks that his best shot at incriminating Loid Forger is through his assistant. Fiona thinks she is caught so she has to convince them both that she is a civilian. [ONGOING]

Trust is like a mirror by judasslave Fiona is assigned to assure Twilight's identity remains a secret to Yuri Briar and the Secret Police. Unexpectedly, she comes to uncover a Yuri no one has seen before and in return questions her own identity and loyalty to WISE. [COMPLETED]

Out Loved Ones by Truegear (fake dating, idiots in love, partners) One is a civil servant. The other is an office worker. They have one goal in common: Splitting up the Forger family.[COMPLETED]

Target: Yuri Briar by lighthouse2 (enemies to lovers, undercover) Fiona's Mission: Find out what he knows about Twilight's identity and what he's said to any others. Treat with extreme care. [ONGOING]

Envious by lighthouse2 (oneshot, comfort) At Loid and Yor's wedding, the only guests who are anything but happy for them are Yuri and Fiona. [COMPLETED]

A Baby between them✨ by Mayumi_Buena (unplanned pregnancy, smut, marriage of convenience) After Loid and Yor's wedding. Yuri and Fiona meet in the club and had a one night stand. It was supposed to be a one time thing. Until Fiona found out she is pregnant. [ONGOING]

 Tonight, I Won't Be Yours (Under Construction) by lunar404(oneshot, hate sex) <18+>. Another day of frustrations regarding the Forger family, another hot night between the two of them. Or: Fiona and Yuri are each other's stress relief. [COMPLETED]

Cold Night by NEKOassassin In a moment of self-doubt, something caught his eye. [ONGOING]

Donovan Desmond x Melinda Desmond

I hope you die(I hope we both die)✨ by JaMills (Oneshot, Angst, Arranged Marriage, Infidelity) In which Melinda and Donovan are a married couple that, for lack of a better word, despise each other. [COMPLETED]

Youth is wasted in the war ✨by JaMills (oneshot, fluff, angst, bittersweet) Today a man who takes pride in being a patriot and fight for his country, Donovan also once questioned the war.(Or, a phone call between a young married couple in a war stricken Ostania.) [COMPLETED]

burned into my brain are these stolen images by JaMills (bittersweet)A look at the life of Melinda and Donovan in front of cameras. [COMPLETED]

The Great War by JaMills (oneshot, fluff, humor, children au)The cast are kids and like to play pretend. [COMPLETED]

Tolerate it by ScarlettSpring (oneshot, Hurt, marriage, falling in love) She had to make sure the world would see her as the perfect first daughter of Nadine's corporation. So when she first met Donovan Desmond, the emotions caught her by surprise. [COMPLETED]

Safe & Sound (Angst, Tragedy, Hurt, Love)byScarlettSpring Run. That's the only thought I can keep in my head.[COMPLETED]

to the moon and back. (oneshot)by whatislea [COMPLETED]

Once in twenty lifetimes✨ by dancingpineapples (oneshot) they cross paths again and again and again, and it takes almost twenty lifetimes for him to finally find out her name. [COMPLETED]

Mrs.Desmond by whatislea (oneshot) The life and times of Melinda Desmond, the wife of Donovan Desmond! [COMPLETED]

but we get along when I'm inside you by Anonymous(Friends with benefits, Rivals with benefits) -A normal occurrence between rivals [COMPLETED]

an explosion, any moment by JaMills (Angst) As a family that's always in the public eye, the Desmond's have their fair share of experiences with attempts of taking their lives. So they should not be affected.. right? [ONGOING]

What's in a Name? by fluffmelange (oneshot) Young Donovan Desmond trying(and failing) to convince his wife how wonderful it is to have a first name starting with 'D'. [COMPLETED]

Unwrapped by Anonymous

[stargirl-int3rlud3]

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫.

straw hat crew x gn! reader

🗯 ! swearing, flirting, suggestive language !

synopsis; how i interpret opla characters would react to having a lover who has water powers. — ♡ ᵎᵎ

LUFFY; He thinks that you are the ABSOLUTE coolest person alive, like what??? you have water powers?!!!??? Luffy is so pumped and will ask to see you do little tricks ALL the time, but it's okay because he's cute. When he sees you use your water powers for the first time he's like "WOAH WHAT WAS THAT AND WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU COULD DO THAT??!!!!!!" If you kick Luffy's ass using your water powers he's 10x as impressed, but when he sees you kick somebody's ass using it he's in the background like "WOOOOOOOO!!!!! THATS MY PARTNER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

You and the crew are in the midst of kicking this pirate and his crew's ass. Now you guys are kinda getting you're asses kicked so you choose now to use your water powers. A wave of water picks up one of the pirates by his ankle and spins him around before throwing him into the oblivion. While you go to help Nami, Luffy is stood with his jaw practically on the floor. He continues to watch you as you form a water-y fist to punch a pirate guy off of Nami. He's even more shocked now, his eyes bulging out of his skull. After the fight is over, Luffy approaches you about the topic. "Why didn't you tell me?!" Luffy says, a little bit more hurt then he intended. "Tell you what?" You ask, confused and concerned. "THAT YOU WATER POWERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" "Oh, yeah, I don't know I just- I guess I didn't want you to really look at me differently or anything" "Of course I still see you as my cute partner that I had seen you as before I knew, but now you're my cute and cool partner" You place a hand on your chest, pretending to be hurt but he gives you a sweet smile and you drop your arm and hold it out to give him a hug. "Soooooo, are you gonna show me some cool water tricks you can do?" "If you'd like" You smile, pushing your fingers through his hair.

ZORO; He thinks it's really cool, but will refuse to admit it to your face. Secretly, he fangirls about how cool you are. Then, he gets to thinking and realizes what an awesome power couple you two make. Greatest swordsman in the world and a water master. Name a more iconic duo. When he first notices you using your water powers he's like "Woah..what the hell that was pretty cool". If you kick Zoro's ass he may be sour for a good 30 minutes or so, but deep down he thinks that it was kind of hot that you did. At first he's afraid to tell you this info because he is still same old Zoro who has a hard time opening up, but when he does he has never been more glad. You take that info and run with it, aka you ask Zoro to help you "train" or just challenge him randomly just to kick his ass. If he thought getting his ass kicked was hot wait until he watches you kick someone else's ass.

You had asked Zoro to help you train, in which he gladly agreed. He was fully ready to hand your own ass to you, that was until a random wave of water washes over him making him lose his footing and fall to the floor. You stand over him with one foot on his chest to keep him down. He let's out a scoff before pushing your foot off of him and stomping away. Part of you felt bad, but you knew that he would get over it and he was just being a sore loser at the moment. And you were right, by the time dinner had rolled around he was way less pouty than before. As everyone sat around the table, Zoro scooted in closer than usual to you. He placed his hand on your thigh, confused at the gesture but too hungry to really care, you leave it alone. That's until towards the end of dinner, Zoro's hand starts to form little circles that turn into big circles against your thigh that make you instinctively squirm. As his hand gets closer...and closer....and- You stand up leaving the dinner table quickly, making everyone stare at you and then Zoro. Zoro shrugged as if he hadn't done anything, "What's their problem?" After Zoro finishes his dinner, he finds you in his cabin were you are intensely staring at your balled up hands. He makes a noise to alert you of his presence and that's when your head whips up to stare at him. "Why'd you do that?" You ask. He leans over and whispers in your ear, "It's kind of hot when you kick my ass" You blush a little bit, but let out a little giggle at Zoro's oddness. One in which he doesn't appreciate.

NAMI; She thinks it is so badass. Her partner has water powers?Fucking awesome!! When she first sees you using said powers she's so amazed and wants to know everything about it. How it works, what you can and can't do, how you obtained such powers. Those such things. If and when you kick Nami's ass with your water powers she'll except defeat and tell you how cool and awesome she thinks it is. Similarly to Zoro, Nami also finds it quite attractive to watch you kick ass and protect her.

As much as you hated to admit it, Nami was currently getting her ass handed to her. Not wanting to see anymore of your partner getting hurt, you form a small tsunami to wash out the person currently causing harm to your lover. Confused where the hell a small tsunami came from, Nami looks in your direction as you continue to form mini tsunami's to take out the several bad guys you were fighting off. She stares at you in utter awe and amazement. Not only did you just protect her from getting her ass whooped but you also looked pretty damn good doing so. Later Nami would approach you about it. "So." "So?" You look at her confused. "When were you planning on telling me you have water powers, huh?" "Oh,I- I don't know...I wanted to tell you but I didn't think you'd believe me" "Of course I would believe you, I...I love you" "AWWWWWWWW NAMI I LOVE YOU TOO" "Okay, now don't make it weird" Anyways, from this day on Nami will ask you to use your powers to help her with tasks. Nami loves the help and you love being Nami's company, it's a win-win.

SANJI; OMG OMG OMG!!!!! He is so so super excited!! Like, that's so cool to him. To be fair he thinks anything about you is fascinating but this especially. He's your #1 fan and will fight anyone who judges you over the power. Sanji is forever a lover. ANYWAYS, when he sees you using your powers for the first time he is just so awestruck and head over heels for you. Anything (and I mean, anything) you do is so special to him. He makes it his mission to learn about these powers. When you kick Sanji's ass, which he let's you do even without your water powers, he is the happiest man in the East Blue. I'm a firm believer that Sanji likes to be topped but that's besides the point. When he watches you kick someone else's ass he is very proud even though he wishes he could protect you more often than he can.

You just told Sanji one day, like you were bored so were like- "Hey Sanji?" "Yes, Darling?" "I have water powers" He drops the pot of water he was just carrying and stares at you. Now you kinda feel bad so you use your water powers to clean up the mess and Sanji just watches with the biggest eyes. After he's out of his shocked state he grabs your face and holds it close to his which evidently makes the hue in your face turn a bright pink. "That." Kiss. "Is the." Kiss. "Cutest" Kiss. "Thing." Kiss. "Ever." Kiss. At this point you're a bit overwhelmed (in a good way) by Sanji's kisses, but get a hold of yourself. "Does that mean I can help in the kitchen more?" "Only if you don't burn it down" He laughs at your eagerness to be with him more.

USOPP; Much like Luffy, he is so excited and wants to see you do all kinds of tricks and thinks it is the most hilarious thing when you pull water pranks on him with your powers. Usopp is kind of used to getting his ass kicked so it doesn't bother him too much, now for kicking others asses, that's a different story. Usopp is constantly having to be brave and I think he would truly appreciate if he was the one being protected, of course he'll protect you if you need it, he just prefers what he prefers.

You and the straw hat crew were currently being attacked by other pirates and as you witnessed Usopp running around scared for his life, you felt a pang in your heart. Without a second thought you used your water powers to whisk away Usopp from danger and instead right by your side where you knew he'd be safe.

At first he's freaking out cause why is he being lifted into the air by a wave of water. Then, once he realizes it is your doing he calms down before freaking out again.

"OH MY GOD HOW DID YOU DO THAT? YOU HAVE POWERS? WATER ONES AT THAT??? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME"

You had to settle him down before telling him that you just didn't want to make things weird. He told you that he didn't think it was weird at which then led to him telling you how much he likes being saved by you. You use this knowledge to your advantage and takes every oppurtunity to save and protect Usopp which always ends with him going on and on about it with Nami and Zoro who then complain to you about it later (I didn't add Luffy into the mix because he wouldn't complain, he'd just be like "that's very cool of you.").

☆ | YIPPEE!! This one is cool, I liked writing it

[everythingseasoning]

Misunderstandings. 

AU - You’re in love with your best friend Eren Jaeger, but he seems to be interested in somebody else.

Tags: Pining. Friends to lovers. Fem bodied reader. For any skin, POC friendly <3

Warnings: Eventual smut. Minors DNI with pt. 2

Length: pretty short. this is pt. 1

“She looks nothing like me. 

So why do you look so happy?

I know now, if I tried to change, 

Somehow, you’d end up with her anyway.”

\opposite, Sabrina Carpenter\

𓆩♡𓆪

𓆩♡𓆪

𓆩♡𓆪

A whole city. Endless festivities, adventures, movies, people bustling about on a Friday night. But you stared out the window alone. 

Tears slipped down your face as you buried your face into your sweater, the sleeves damp from all the tears you’d already cried. It still smelled like him. You felt like a mess. You felt ugly. You sniffed again, stretching your jaw to see just how puffy your face was. 

Your phone buzzed: You checked it, feeling your skin crawl when you saw his name on the bright white screen. 

Eren <3: Y/n, why aren’t you answering me?

A few hours ago:

It was Friday night and he’d bailed on you, on your plans. Eren said he was feeling ill. So imagine your surprise when you saw him at the mall with another girl that same night. She looked nothing like you, from her hair, to her skin, to her eyes. She was giggling as he held her waist.

And there you were, standing with two reusable bags hanging off your arms, filled with items for him, staring into a picture of a beautiful couple— a picture that you didn’t belong in. 

You were at the mall, buying him silly hair clips so you could pin them on his gorgeous brown hair, before helping him with his skincare. You’d planned to go over to Eren’s place that night. Eren always slacked on his skincare whenever he was sick. And you were about to hurry back to your car, which had fresh produce in the driver’s seat. You were worrying about the food spoiling before you could cook tonight, for him. …But then you saw them, and it wasn’t a trick, it was undeniable: Eren cupped her face and you felt your heart drop. Green jealousy exploded in your body, betrayal and shock coursing through your veins. You wanted to run away. You wanted to scream. You wanted to disappear. Eren pressed his lips to hers, his hands above her butt, pulling her flush against his body. You turned and walked away, tears already hitting the ground. 

… 

Your phone buzzed again. 

Eren <3: Y/n?

You: Why didn’t you just tell me the truth.

Eren <3: WHAT How did you end up at the same mall that I went to? There’s like a dozen in this city.

Eren: Hello?

Eren: are you mad?

Eren: I didn’t mean to lie, Y/n. It’s just that Isabella asked me out, and I knew you’d be mad if I canceled plans to hang out with somebody else… You know you’re my best friend.

You didn’t know what was worse. The fact that Eren had totally missed the apology mark, or that he’d thought you’d be like an understanding wingman for him. 

You muffled a scream, feeling totally helpless, totally jealous, totally hurt. 

You: I can’t be friends with you anymore, I’m sorry. I just need to be away from you. You haven’t realized how much you’ve hurt me, for months now. So this is goodbye.

Eren: …What??

You: Please just leave me alone. Don’t try to reach me, in any way. Congrats on your date. 

Eren: Y/n, what are you talking about?! 

Eren: I called you, answer the next time I call

Eren: Y/n… come on. I’m coming over.

You: Eren, don’t. 

Eren: Too bad. My best friend is upset. I’m gonna be there for her.

Your heart ripped even further. You didn’t think it was possible for it to hurt even more, but now you knew: Eren would only ever see you as a best friend. 

You: I said leave me alone. If you show up, I won’t answer. I’ll call security.

You finally clicked out of his contact, his name changed to its rightful title.

Dumbass: Are you being serious right now??

You: I’m leaving now. Leave me alone. Please.

You deleted his contact. You went around your house and grabbed all of Eren’s belongings: his spare toothbrush, his scrunchie, his stuffed teddy bear. You threw it all in a bag. 

It was time to get over the love of your life. 

— 3 months later —

“Jean. I think I’m in love with her.”

“So that’s why you haven’t fucked anybody in months,” Jean replied, swirling cream into his coffee. 

“These have been the hardest months of my life, without her.” Eren groaned. His hair was down, and he wore sweats in the campus cafe. He was a hot mess.

“Dude, she was your best friend, what happened?” 

“I… I don’t even know. She just said I was hurting her? For months? And that she couldn’t do it anymore… I fucked up, Jean. She’s beautiful, intelligent, and kind. I miss her so bad.”

— Pt. 1 End, cause I need to fucking sleep —

AN: yo this is rushed as fuck. 

It’s not thought out. It’s unlike my usual work, and tbh I don’t like it. 

But like. Hope you enjoyed?! 

Pt. 2 comes out if y’all want it. You can just comment if you want a pt. 2 :)

[blackjackkent]

Prompt fill for @astreamofstars from this ask for this prompt meme. Karlach - "It is my fault, I think, that you have forgotten to fear me."

-----

“Oy, who’s the glowy bitch by the door, then?”

Karlach knows better than to bother looking up when the fresh-meat greataxe grunt starts talking, down the barracks a ways. This shit isn’t new. They always like to talk, the new arrivals to Zariel's army. And as soon as they see Karlach, no other topic will do.

Fair play enough, after all; she does kinda stick out. There's nobody else like her in the platoon, or in the whole army. In the eight years she’s been here, nobody else has ever gotten the tin can stuck into them and survived. She’s special, as Zariel likes to assure her, though special has never bought her anything but more blood and death - and the attention of every ignot who want to pick a fight.

Today’s mouthy prick is a draegloth, which explains why he’s talking a big game. A dogskull’s almost as unique as Karlach is around here; makes sense he’d pick out a target fast before anyone can pick him out for an asskicking.

“Oh, that? That's Cliffgate,” says another voice. This one Karlach recognizes - Namtar, a cambion, one of the platoon sergeants. He and Karlach have butted heads before, because Namtar is a rotten pissant. “Zariel's little kiss-ass. No heart, just an infernal engine in her chest.”

"No way," the draegloth says. "That's the Demonsbane? A ruttin' tief? Not even hellsborn?" He laughs sharply. "Lettin' in all sorts these days, uh?"

Karlach ignores the mocking words, focusing on choking down the tasteless morsels that pass for rations around here. The bunk across from her creaks unhappily as weight hits it.

“They're talkin’ about you, Dart,” Flo says with a nasty grin, settling onto the bed and lounging back against the wall. “Gonna sit here and take it?”

Karlach sighs. She picked up the nickname around her second week in the Hells, and it's never once been meant with kindness. Even Flo says it with a nasty edge, and Flo is the closest thing she has to a friend.

Good reminder, I guess, that no one here really gives a fuck about me, no matter how much I might like to pretend. Even after eight years, she can sometimes, if she squints, convince herself that there's camaraderie here, like there was in Gortash's old crew before he sold her out. But it's vain hope, a desperate attempt to pretend this place isn't rotting her fro the inside out; the illusion never lasts long and always just leaves her feeling lonelier.

"If it's not them, it'll be somebody else," she says noncommittally. "Lemme eat my dinner in peace."

"Nawww..." Flo says, comfortably dismissive. "C'mon, Dart, give us a show. Been too long since we had a proper scrap in here besides the piece in your chest."

Karlach laughs softly in spite of herself. It's a pretty weak pun, but the jokes in Avernus are as bad as the food. "I'm wore out, Flo," she says, shaking her head. "Leave off."

She looks up to find Flo's smile has turned a shade more brittle. "C'mon, now, Dart," she says, and there's a warning note in it now. "Y'know I can't be seen bein' friends with a softy. Give us a show, I said."

The message is loud and clear, as it always is. My friendship is conditional. And you'll do as I say, 'cos you *don't* want to be my enemy. Now dance.

Karlach huffs out a weary, flame-hot breath and tosses aside the last bit of her ration pack uneaten. With a groan, she pushes herself to her feet and strides down the barracks corridor towards Namtar and the draegloth.

"Hey, there she is." Namtar looks up with a lazy grin as she approaches. He's flopped on his bunk with his boots off, his wings furled neatly under him and feet up on a stack of equipment piled at the foot of the bed. "How's tricks, Dart?" Before Karlach can respond, he shoots a conspiratorial glance at the young dogskull. "Y'know why we call her Dart, Markos?"

The draegloth -- Markos -- looks puzzled. "Why?" he asks.

"Dumb-Ass Rusty Toaster." Namtar brays with laughter so hard it shakes the bed a little. "Fits, too, cos all she's good for is throwing at things t' poke holes in them."

Markos snickers loudly. Several more of the platoon have picked up on the conversation; smelling blood in the water, they've started to circle up, leaned casually against the walls or peering over the edge of their bunks. Some of them are grinning, enjoying watching the Demonsbane get a dunking. Others - the smart ones - are eyeing Karlach warily. She hasn't said anything yet, but her eyes are smoldering. In spite of herself, the rage is building. 

She doesn't want to fight them. She never has. She's always been loyal, and even in this bitch of a place, even under Zariel's thumb, she'd have fought hard for anyone here who wanted to fight for her in return. But that's never made the slightest bit of difference, because everyone here is a fucking tosser.

Hells. Maybe, when you come right down to it, so am I.

And that, really, is what enrages her, far more than these empty little insults.

"Y'know," she says slowly, looking the draegloth up and down. "I expect this sort of crap from the fresh meat. A mouth spewing shit 'cos you haven't learned to shut the fuck up yet. But you--" She turns her gaze slowly and deliberately to the sergeant. "Eight years it's been, Namtar, and neither of us dead yet, so you'd think you'd have figured out not to mess with me." She lets a slow, feral grin curl across her lips, and there's a ripple of anticipatory mumbling from the gathering crowd around them. "My fault, I guess, that you've forgotten to be scared of me. But I can fix that."

She moves suddenly, with no windup, her fists and feet all shifting at once. Her left fist crashes into Markos's jaw, knocking him back into the steel frame of the bed behind him; his skull ricochets off it with a metallic whingggg as his skull ricochets off the metal. With her left foot, she kicks behind his knee while he's unbalanced and fully flips him sideways. As he bounces back from the bedframe, he goes careening onto his front, his nose crunching into the stone floor.

Meanwhile, her other hand grabs Namtar by the collar and drags him out of his bunk. He has almost two inches on her, but she lifts him with ease one-armed, the engine roaring in her chest and sending energy coursing through her bicep. Spinning out of the kick at Markos, she slams Namtar into the wall, then releases her grip for a split second, only to refix it tightly around his throat before he can fall.

All of the cambion's bravado has vanished. His eyes are wide and brilliant white in the dark red of his face and he squirms ineffectually against Karlach's implacable grip. His wings, crunched between his back and the wall, struggle feebly. "Oy! Let me go!" he bleats, gripping her hand with both of his and trying to pull it away.

She glares at him. "Maybe. If you want to grovel a bit. Otherwise I'll finally just kill you. Maybe everyone else would finally get it through their thick skulls that you don't mess with me."

He sneers in an attempt at disdain, though it's considerably weakened by the fact that he's now struggling to breathe. "You wouldn't dare."

She laughs humorlessly and leans forward until her nose is nearly touching his, so he can feel the heat radiating off her body and see nothing but the exhausted fury in her eyes. "That really a chance you wanna take, sergeant?"

He hesitates, balanced between his anger and his fear. But something he sees in her eyes must convince him, because the fear wins. "Sorry," he mutters.

"What was that?" she asks coolly. "Didn't hear you."

"I'm sorry," he snaps. "Now let me go."

She could drag it out further, but the whole situation feels sticky as hot tar on her skin, burning down into her bones. Gods, I hate this. I hate all of it. I don’t want to be this thing they’ve made me, but I don’t know how to stop.

She releases his throat with a jerk, letting him slide down the wall to the floor, where he sits clutching at his neck and wheezing. Markos, nearby, is out cold where he hit the floor.

"Good," she mutters. "Just... stay there and shut the fuck up." She doesn't wait to hear what the other gathered soldiers might have to say, but turns and stalks away back down the row of beds towards the other end of the barracks. 

Flo gives her a slow clap as she returns to her bunk, grinning unpleasantly from ear to ear. "Nice one. Damn good show, Dart, just as I asked."

"Shut up," Karlach answers, tossing herself facedown onto her mattress. The engine is still running hot, surging pain through her chest and her head and her arms with the slow letdown of adrenaline; she can smell it searing a scorched mark into the bedsheets. "You too - just... just shut up and leave me alone.”

[weewookinard]

Pardon my french!

BuckTommy Positivity Week 2024 - day one

I know i'm late to the party but @searching-for-the-moon gave me a great idea so here we are. You can learn more about this challenge through @bucktommypositivityweek's blog!

Prompt: what they love most about each other

You can read it on AO3 or down below. Every fic will be posted on AO3 as chapters of the same fic!

-----

“Okay, I’m impressed now. Is there anything you can’t do?”

Tommy looks at Evan who is wearing the prettiest smile he’s ever seen, a happy grin of his own gently warming up his face as they leave the gallery where they spent two hours learning pottery. In the bag Evan is carrying lays a strange attempt of a mug, base not quite flat and edges all wrong and messy. The mug is yellow, painted with care and patience. Which weren’t enough to ensure a great result. Against the mug, two bowls are wrapped in newspaper sheets. They are bright blue with white flowers, both perfect shapes, both delicately painted. Both the work of a Tommy who cannot stop smiling while his boyfriend continues to compliment him. It is endearing, the way Evan talks and talks and talk, always eager to let Tommy knows how much he’s impressed by anything new he learns about him.

“I swear Evan, it was the first time I did pottery.”

“Not the first time you painted though, so it’s almost like you cheated.” The blond can’t stop his smile from widening again, and his free hand quickly finds itself in Tommy’s one. They walk together like that for a while, heading to Evan’s loft just four blocks away from the gallery where the class was happening.

“It is so infuriating, you are always good at everything you try, how is that possible?” He continues, not paying attention to the world around him, and Tommy has to pull him fast by the hand before Evan bumps into a trash can. The movement coax Evan in Tommy’s direction, and soon enough the two men are against each other, chests touching and the older man’s arms around Evan’s waist, a gesture his body cannot stop doing when his boyfriend is close enough. It does nothing but push another bright smile on Evan’s face and Tommy must kiss him about it.

He knows his boyfriend clumsiness and unawareness of what surrounds him should bug him, but he can’t stop thinking it makes the other man even more adorable, if it is humanly possible. Evan is living in a world of his own, and for six months now he’s been okay with letting Tommy be a part of it.

Tommy loves him for that. He loves him for pretty much everything Evan does or says.

“I’m not good at everything!” He interjects, a laugh on his voice when they start walking again and Evan gives him a deadpan look, almost bumping into another human being.

“Shut up, I’m sure you can do crazy things. Like, I don’t know, French braid! Or macarons, which is so fucking hard to do right, by the way. Hell, I am sure you know how to speak French while we’re at it!"

Evan had started hyperfixating on everything French related since the opening of the Paris Olympics. “They had a dancing croissant; can you believe it? And the torchbearer? I’ve never seen somebody this hot, except you of course. If I hadn’t discovered my bisexuality with you, this person would have done the trick just fine.”

He then proceeded to explain to Tommy what the French torchbearer had been about, some reference to video games as well as opera. “Did you know Assassin’s Creed was French? And so are the Minions! And The Daft Punk! Even the helicopter was invented by the French!”

So, Evan talking about macarons and French braid isn’t that weird.

The thing is, Tommy’s answer is a surprise so unexpected that Evan’s jaw drop when his boyfriend respond. “Oh no, you don’t want me near long haired heads, and I’m not really good at macarons, I’m more of a waffle guy anyway. French though-”

Evan stops him before he can say anything else.

“Thomas Kinard, do not tell me you know how to speak French.”

Tommy’s amused face must be a good enough answer because Evan’s stops right here, in the middle of the sidewalk, starstruck. “Do you speak French?”

« Un petit peu, je ne me suis pas entrainé depuis longtemps. »

Evan does not know what it means, he doesn’t even know if Tommy said it right or if he just invented words to play with him. But it doesn't matter anyway, he’s too flabbergasted to care.

“What. The. Fuck.” He manages to say after way to long of a pause, proof that his brain just stopped working. It makes Tommy giggle, and the pilot brings his boyfriend hand to his lips and places a kiss on each one of his fingers.

“Tout va bien ?” He then asks, knowing full well what the words cause in Evan’s head.

Chaos, pure unexpected, hot as fuck chaos.

“What. Why. How. What. Fuck, how?” The younger man is clearly losing it and Tommy knows there is only one way to soothe his lover’s brain. So he takes a step forward, Evan’s free hand still in his, his other hand cupping Evan’s face, and proceed to kiss his boyfriend slowly, almost lazy, a hint of defiance in every one of his movements. Usually Evan melts on the touch, but this time he finds the strength to back-up, well, not before he moans in Tommy’s lips and kiss him back anyway.

“I’ll still need answers Kinard.”

“Let’s go home first, and then maybe I’ll give you some.” Tommy replies, a knowing smile on his face, pupils darkening with the promise of giving.

-----

“So, how?”

They both lay in Evan’s bed, sweaty and sore and happy. The bag with their dishes inside has been abandoned on the diner table, and their clothes have been thrown in every part of the loft without any care.

Tommy thinks about his answer for a moment, before he turns his head toward Evan, looking at him with a mix of tenderness and guilt. “I… I dated a guy. It was a long time ago, but the words stayed.” It is all he his able to say before he looks away, worried that Evan might get jealous, or sad, or something. Instead, Evan puts his hand on Tommy’s chest, playing with the hairy skin, and looks at him with fondness.

“You know, you don’t have to be ashamed of your past Tommy. I have exes too.” He says, trying to comfort the older man, a bright smile even in his voice. His tone is reassuring, and Tommy finally looks back at him with a sheepish glance.

“I know, it’s just… It has always been a thing with my other exes, you know? French is romantic, French is the language of love and, well, a lot of the men I dated weren’t happy that I had learned it for someone else you know?”

Evan nods, still admiring his boyfriend, caressing his perfect body.

“Is it why you hadn’t told me about it yet?” Tommy hums and Evan drops a kiss on his cheek, a touch so intimate the pilot still can’t quite believe he deserves it. “Well, I’m not jealous, and I’m not angry. I love that you give one hundred percent when you love someone, and that you are capable of learning a whole language just for them.” He smiles again, shifting his body so he’s almost completely on top of Tommy. “And it would be really stupid of me to be mad because you can speak French to me. It’s so fucking hot.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, I love it! I love you Tommy, and every moment that made you you. The good and the bad.” Tommy smiles disappear when Evan come and kiss him, a deep, heated kiss. In his lips Tommy swears he can taste love. “But what I love most is that I’m getting used to all those little things I learn about you. I want to be used to everything about you for ever.”

“Sounds good to me.”

-----

translation: 

- A little bit, i've not trained for a long time.

- Is everything okay?

[omkookie]

🩷 : Oh, sweet. I haven't really thought much about Yandere Licht yet (⁠・⁠∀⁠・⁠)

⌈ ⚠️ 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 ⌉ Yandere themes, imprisonment. // F!MC.

His depravity is quite striking. He has a twisted moral compass where he's stuck in a debasement, Which will never fail to leave anyone dumbfounded. Licht's way of thinking is quite simple, simple for anyone who is crazy to understand.

Yandere Licht doesn’t have a normal sense of right or wrong. He only knows what his right is, and what his wrongs are. Screw whatever people may find immoral, if he deems it to be good, then it’s good.

Licht slowly manipulates his beloved MC into loving him. He shares his sad backstory with her, and then begins to monopolise her when she feels sad for him. He starts by taking up all of her free time and isolating her from everyone else. Now that she knows how he’s been abused and how hurt he is, who is she to abandon him or push him away? She’s too kind to do anything like that.

Slowly, Licht etches himself into her everyday life so that she doesn’t pick up on what he’s doing. When he finally has her fully isolated from others, he kidnaps her and keeps her inside of a mansion in his territory. The mansion is heavily guarded, She can’t escape if he has his men patrolling the grounds at all times, and she can’t leave him if he’s by her side 24/7.

Licht constantly guilt trips her by gaslighting and then blaming her for certain things. She wants to leave? Does she plan to abandon him or point a sword at him like his mother did? How could she do that when all he ever did was try his best for her. He just wants what’s best for her, and he tries so, so hard to please her… He’s not taking her freedom away, He’s protecting her. She confessed she loves him, so he’s just making sure that she’s safe… He’s a prince, Just by loving him she’s in danger. What if somebody tries targeting her? Doesn’t she know what happened to all of the women who got involved with Rodolite's royal family?

He’ll once again recall what happened to his mother for her.

His darling feels like she’s walking with shackles on because of how he’s constantly glued to her side and so obsessive.

Licht doesn’t hesitate to hurt others, He manipulates and twists things so that he always gets what he wants. He uses his title as a prince, and almost no one in Rhodolite does anything to rescue MC because they’re all under the impression that she’s in love with him, and has decided to spend her life with him. No one knows what Licht is really like, he’s far too sly and good at tricking people. The only one who now knows the real Licht is MC… But being isolated from everyone except him takes its mental strain on her, and she nearly loses her mind when he locks her away as punishment and starts ignoring her.

But, no matter how unstable MC may get because of her broken down psyche, he’ll never let her kill herself so she better not get any wild ideas. He loves her, so she’ll stay with him forever.

There's a loyal dog still waiting for an opportunity to speak to MC, That's becoming more suspicious of Licht each day he doesn't... So there's still hope for her to one day escape. if only she can get a single note to that dog.

[offorestsongs]

RELATIONSHIPS ― JÓZEFINA

template by @/ai-kan1

notable relationships ― ✧

Lysander (oc) ― When after her sudden arrival Lysander vouched to the Headmage to take care of Józia, she didn't say no. Instead, she immediately latched onto Lysander; after all, he's been in this world longer than her, even if not by much, and knew a thing or two about how it worked. And he seemed so terribly soft ― so desperate to be liked and accepted, he gave his heart out to everyone who asked. A perfect person to take an advantage of. So Józia played the part of Lysander's sweet little sidekick without complaint, only treating him as a means to an end, somebody who could help her survive in this strange new world, though Lysander seemed to think of the two of them as genuine friends. The nicer he was to her, the more caring and kind, the higher Józia put up her walls. She didn't deserve his kindness.

Grim ― To say the two of them didn't like eachother would be an understatement. Józia could never tolerate Grim's loud, chaotic presence and couldn't understand why Lysander would even keep him around, if all he ever did was cause trouble, while Grim felt jealous that he had to suddenly share Lysander's affections with somebody else and treated Józia as an intruder at Ramshackle. Though Józia would insist that having a rivalry with a cat is beneath her, the two of them would often squabble and fight, especially when Lysander wasn't looking and when something went wrong, they were quick to blame the other. Yet still, during book 6, Józia was quick to rush to his aid, suddenly having to confront the feeling that somewhere along the line, she had started to think of Grim as an annoying younger brother of sorts.

Ace & Deuce ― Józia and Ace didn't start off on the best of terms. He thought she was too stuffy and uptight, while she had him for nothing more than a hooligan with no manners, which lead to endless fights, with Deuce and Lysander having to play the mediators between them. It didn't stay that way for too long, though, as the two of them quickly discovered that if need be, they can get along like a house on fire. Their fights would be replaced by a friendly rivalry and whenever they went, trouble would soon follow. To Deuce Józia was always sweeter, seeing him as maybe a bit foolish, but ultimately harmless and sort of charming. And he treated (or at least tried to) with the respect a lady like her demanded, which was a bonus in her eyes.

Azul ― Book 3 was the first part of the main plot that Józia participated in, and she took that role with stride. Unlike Lysander she was there to do what needed to be done and didn't plan to extend her sympathy to anyone. She could easily see past Azul's facade ― after all, she had often used the same tricks. While she could respect his cunning and intelligence on a professional level, she still held a deep dislike for Azul, which he, in turn, seemed to share... until a point, at least. Seeing the girl in action and recognising the similarities between them, he had become charmed by the girl, going as far as to catch a fleeting crush on her. After book 4 he would often try to get her to perform at the Mostro Lounge, which she always refused, saying that Azul could "never afford her". And while they never became close friends, Józia's dislike for Azul gradually lessened as she realised that he's not actually a threat to her; now she's willing to enjoy his schemes, as long as they don't involve her.

Rook ― Józia's impression of Rook has always been a little bit different from other people, mostly because they would always meet through Lysander. While she certainly never overlooked his eccentricities and was well aware that there's more to him than meets the eye, never letting her guard down around him, he was also one of the few people that seemed to fit Józia's definition of a gentleman, and he seemed to genuinely care for Lysander and, in extention, for her (and yes, despite insisting on the fact that her and Lysander aren't friends, she did give Rook a stern shovel talk before he and Lysander started dating, much to Rook's delight and amusement). She doesn't know how to feel about the fact that over the course of time she had come to think about him as somebody safe and dependable.

♡ Silver ― They've met in the school stables; it was Silver who suggested that Józia joins the Equestrian Club if she likes spending time with the horses, and it was him who later helped her learn horse riding, consoling her over her fear of heights. They've been utterly charmed with each other since their very first meeting. Silver was taken by Józia's fierce nature, so different from his own. He treated her like an actual princess, though he was pretty obvious to his own feelings, convinced that what he feels is just a passionate friendship. Unfortunately, Józia has never been blessed with obviousness. Not only did she fall for Silver like an utter fool, she was well aware of her feelings... as well as of the fact that she could never act upon them. Because Silver was good, and kind, and a sweetheart. He deserved better than a girl with a rotten heart. And yet, she couldn't bring herself to stay away from him. If they can never be together, they can at least be friends, right? Maybe she deserves just this one tiny thing.

Lilia ― Not aware that he's actually Silver's father, Józia had no idea why the fae had suddenly taken an interest in her, approaching her at different times, chatting with her and asking about her life. She couldn't figure out what Lilia's deal was, always staying cautious around him, yet something was always telling her that he's not actually a threat. Sometimes the things he had to say were weirdly comforting, even (other times she had no idea what he was even on). As for Lilia, well ― Józia was clever and capable. He could leave his son in her hands. If only the poor girl had more sympathy for herself!

Sebek ― After Józia joined the Equestrian Club, Sebek had quickly become her enemy. She just couldn't stand the way he seemed to be belittling her at every opportunity, as if he had already deemed her to be beneath him and even more so, she couldn't stand the way she always felt like she had to prove herself to him. It was almost embarrassing, the burning need to show him that she's worth more than he thinks. With their relationship so rocky, during the events of book 7 they were both shocked and appalled by how well they can actually work together, finally throwing them into an unexpected friendship.

[imaginesfordifferentfandoms]

Mine

Click here for my masterlist.

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Prompt - ‘You saw me start to believe for the first time.’

Requested - @katsuniverse​

Notes - Happy Speak Now month! Request a fic for any of the remaining Speak Now tracks, click my masterlist to see which songs are left!!💜

The difference between you and James was that he came from a family that showered him in love, a family with two parents who married for love without caring what other people thought, a family that couldn’t care less about blood purity and keeping family lines ‘clean’.

Your family only cared about that, muggles were respected less than house elves, if you even dared to glance at somebody who wasn’t of pureblood descent then they’d be sure to let you know how much of a traitor you were to the family. Your parents didn’t love each other, they loathed each other, sure in public people believed they were the perfect couple but the reality of it was they couldn’t have a single conversation behind closed doors without it turning into a screaming match.

Perhaps that was why you and Sirius had been fast friends. From a young age both of you had known this life wasn’t for you, the prejudice and judgement coming from people who thought they were so much better than others just because they were purebloods. Both of you forced to attend the parties that were only hosted in an effort to show how superior one family was from the other, a similar one hosted the next week just to prove who was better.

You hated those parties and yet you were made to attend each one of them, mainly sticking with Sirius and trying to stifle your laughter as he made fun of the stuck up witches and wizards around the room.

Going to Hogwarts was the break you needed. Finally being away from your family, from their high class rules, their cruel words and harsher glares, the parties and the arguments. It was a relief to leave home but their judgement still followed you down the Great Hall.

You and Sirius traded apprehensive looks. Both the Y/L/N and the Black family had been Slytherin’s for as far back as anybody could remember, it was expected that you and Sirius would follow that tradition.

You had known for years that Sirius was determined to be in any house but Slytherin, promising that he would find a way to trick the hat if he needed to. You thought he’d be ok though, Sirius was your best friend and nothing at all like the Slytherin that surrounded you on a daily basis, you didn’t think it would be a struggle for him to be placed anywhere else. You figured he’d do well in Gryffindor, he was one of the bravest people you’d met after all, never one to back down even against his father’s fists and mother’s sharp nails that left marks after one too many glasses of wine.

You yourself were torn, of course you hated everything your family stood for, of course you wanted to break free from them but thinking that and actually doing it were two different things. You had no love for your family but you knew their disappointment would still hit hard if you were placed anywhere but Slytherin.

“Now what should we do with you?” The hat asked once Professor McGonagall placed the ancient thing on your head. “A brilliant mind, older than your years aren’t you? Cunning and quick on your feet. But not Slytherin, eh?  For as long as I can remember the Y/L/N’s have been Slytherin’s. Of course that doesn’t mean you have to be. No, no I don’t think Slytherin is where you belong. A brave girl like you belongs in…

Gryffindor!” The Hat exclaimed and you felt your eyes widen in shock, gaze immediately seeking out Sirius who was beaming at you, up on his feet and whooping as you forced yourself off the stool and over to him.

“Breathe.” Sirius whispered as the remaining students were sorted, you not paying attention to any of it as your mind flooded with fear of what your family would do. “We’ll be fine.”

You glanced over at Sirius who smiled at you, knocking into your shoulder softly and you nodded, taking a deep breath and finally focusing on those around you. Opposite you were the two boys you’d met on the train, the pale boy with scars scattered around his face and hands sat across from Sirius and the boy with messy brown hair and warm eyes was facing you.

“You two alright?” James asked and you watched as Sirius glanced at you before grinning, taking the attention of you for a moment.

“I’m brilliant, mate. Merlin, mother’s going to be furious with me!” Sirius exclaimed and you couldn’t help but join in as Remus and James laughed, feeling some of the tension leave you.

You were a Gryffindor. There was nothing you could do to change that, no amount of angry words or letters could change that now. So instead you let yourself enjoy your first night at Hogwarts, pushing all thoughts of your family aside as you laughed with Sirius and the two others who would all become your best friends before the year was finished.

Over the years James had watched you closely. He had known when he was eleven that you were special, had known you were important. You were one of his best friends, he was always going to look out for you.

At thirteen he realised he liked you, at fourteen he realised he loved you. He never said anything though, he didn’t want to risk losing you. Every time somebody brought up love or crushes you always shut down, tuning the conversation out and refusing to take part, it didn’t matter how much they teased and nudged you, you never spoke about it.

James had been curious for a while, he’d even gone to ask you about it a few times but Sirius always seemed to know when he was going to, pulling him aside and distracting him with something or just subtly shaking his head when James approached you.

It took a while but eventually Sirius realised James was going to keep asking you so he waited until you’d gone up to bed and told him about your parents. Of course James already knew about them, he’d watched you rant about them, watched you tense up when the family owl flew into the Great Hall, watched how you stopped eating and zoned out when the school year was over and you knew you’d be going back to them.

Once Sirius told him James figured it made sense why you thought love was stupid. His heart ached that you thought all relationships were doomed, that the only example you had was set by those who married for status and not for love.

James wanted to change your mind. He wanted you to see that love was real, that it was a good thing, that it could work.

He went to bed that night with his thoughts racing, knowing he had all summer to come up with a way to get you to believe in love.

By the time autumn had arrived James had created and thrown out more plans than he could recall. He didn’t have a solid idea by the time he boarded the train and sat down next to you, his smile softening when he saw how tired you looked, knowing how draining the summer was for you at home.

He decided then and there that he didn’t need some elaborate plan, he didn’t need the others to help him come up with one either. All he had to do was show you that counting on somebody, that spending time with them and letting yourself fall wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

“Here.” He murmured to you, the word nearly getting lost in the noise of the train, everybody excitedly greeting each other as they made their way into compartments.

You looked over at James, eyebrows knitting together as you looked at him. James couldn’t help but grin as your face lit up when you took one of the cupcakes James held out to you, something Mrs Potter had taken to making and sending him off with at the beginning of the third year.

You and James easily fell into conversation, James careful not to ask too many questions about your summer even as you asked about his. Sometimes you did talk about it but it was usually in the early hours of the morning when everyone else had gone to bed, you and him alone in the common room feeling like the secrets you shared there were safe to say.

It wasn’t long before Remus and Sirius joined the two of you and soon enough you were back at Hogwarts, happy to be back home.

“Come with me to Hogsmeade this weekend?” James asked as he caught up to you and wrapped his arm around your shoulder when he saw you leave the Great Hall.

You looked up at him with a smile, a smile that James loved putting on your face and swore he’d keep there. You didn’t move from under his arm letting him lead you out of the castle, if anything you shifted closer to him when the autumn air hit you.

“Don’t we always go to Hogsmeade together?” You asked, raising your eyebrow at him questioning.

“No, we always go with Sirius and Remus.” James told you and it was true, all four of you always went together unless Sirius was trying to impress a girl but that usually ended with him finding you all a few hours later. “I’m asking you to come with me.”

You stayed silent for a moment, feeling a wave of nerves run through you. You’d known for a long time now that you liked James. You hadn’t wanted to admit it to even yourself for so long but you couldn’t deny the fact that he was the one you sought out after a bad day, he was the one you went to for a distraction, he was the one you looked for when you entered a room, he was the one who took a weight of your shoulders upon seeing him after spending the summer with your family.

You loved James and it terrified you.

Nothing good could come from it. You knew what relationships turned into, you had watched as even the best intended relationships turned cold and cruel. You couldn’t have that happen between you and James, you’d rather never tell the man how you felt than watch as you and he turned into something dark and twisted.

And yet even with the sliver of fear you felt you had never been all that good at denying James Potter of anything he asked for.

“So,” James stretched the word out when you had gone too long without answering him. “Will you come with me?”

“Yeah, I’ll go with you.” You told him, a small smile on your face as you felt excitement mix with your nerves and fear.

A few days later found you pacing the lengths of your room, thankful that the other girls had left for breakfast, leaving you alone to freak out about going out with James. You don’t know why you were so nervous, it was just James and it wasn’t a date.

Yet some hopeful, traitorous part of you wished it was.

“You know he likes you right?” Sirius’ voice startled you out of your thoughts and you whipped around to face him, glaring at him for frightening you.

You’d ask how he even got into the girls dormitories but you had long since given up asking how Sirius did half the things he managed.

“I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about.” You told him stiffly, turning away from him to busy yourself with rifling through your trunk.

“Come off it Y/N/N. He’s a good lad, one of the best, he’ll treat you right. What’s so wrong with giving him a chance? I know you like him too.” Sirius sighed, moving further into the room and onto your bed.

“Don’t you think I know all that?” You snapped, glaring at your oldest friend before taking a deep breath and moving to sit next to him, letting him wrap his arm around you to pull you closer and resting your head on his shoulder. “I just, I can’t Sirius. I can’t risk losing him, I can’t risk falling into the same trap every other couple we know has, I won’t jeopardise what we have now for us to end up hating each other.”

“Y/N, you’re not going to end up like our parents. They never loved each other, you know that. You won’t be dating James because you’ve been ordered too, because he’s a pureblood who only calls about popping our heirs and looking good to other purebloods. Neither of you care about that stuff.” Sirius told you softly, resting his head on yours and letting his eyes fall shut as silence washed over the two of you.

“I really like him.” You finally confessed, voice barely louder than a whisper but Sirius heard, a sad smile spreading across his face.

“I know you do. Go out with him, enjoy yourself, let yourself be happy.” Sirius said and you nodded, taking a moment to gather yourself before pulling yourself off the bed.

“See you later?” You asked as you slipped a robe on, ducking into the bathroom to check yourself one last time.

“I wanna hear all about it!” Sirius grinned as you rolled your eyes, heading down to the common room and seeing James waiting for you.

“You ready?” He asked, a smile spreading across his face as he saw you and you smiled back nodding. “You look beautiful by the way.”

You felt the heat rush to your cheeks, your smile turning shy as you ducked your head, following him out of the common room.

“Thank you.” You said softly, suddenly so unsure how to act around James despite having been friends for years. “You look good too.”

The walk through Hogwarts was silent, James wondered if he was making the right call. He knew how nervous you were, Sirius had been distracted all morning and only settled once he announced he was going to check on you. Your fears were clearly deeper than he had originally thought but then he looked over at you and knew he would never regret this.

He just had to hope you didn’t regret it either.

“You remember the first time we came here?” James asked you with a smirk, watching as you rolled your eyes again but your smile widened and that’s all James needed.

“I’d known you for two weeks, you can’t blame me for being cautious!” You defended yourself, James laughing and the sound made you relax a little bit.

“You were terrified.” James grinned and you nudged his shoulder.

“We were eleven, who gives an eleven year old an invisibility cloak?”

“I told you we’d make a rebel out of you.” You and James continued talking and laughing, reminiscing on your years at Hogwarts until you were completely relaxed, no nerves or fear running through you as you let yourself fall into the familiar comfort of James’ company.

After that day at Hogsmeade you decided not to overthink every decision you made. Of course one outing didn’t automatically fix everything you believed but you were willing to at least follow Sirius’ advice of giving it a try. You were still terrified of losing James, of turning into your parents but you also really wanted to be with James.

So one outing turned into two then three until months had passed and you and James were spending all your free time together, of course that didn’t deviate from your usual schedule but this year it was different. This year it was filled with shy glances and gentle brushing of hands which neither of you were brave enough to grab, it was filled with sneaking out and wandering the grounds together, of somehow getting to know each other more which you hadn’t thought possible.

Tonight the two of you sat outside by the black lake, James had enlisted the help of the others to make a picnic, getting as much food as the house elves would give them and setting up a spot for the two of you.

The food had long since been eaten and the sun was finally beginning to set. James rubbed his hands on his thighs, desperately trying to remember the speech he had planned earlier but coming up empty each time.

You looked out at the water, at some point you had shifted closer to James and rested your head on his shoulder. If somebody would have told you you’d be here months ago you’d have laughed in their face but now it felt right, everything about these last few months felt right.

Falling in love with James Potter felt right.

“You okay?” You murmured softly, not wanting to disturb the peace but James had been quiet for a while now and you hadn’t missed how nervous he’d seemed throughout dinner.

James wasn’t sure how to answer that. He was amazing, he was sat with the girl he loved leaning against him, so happy for every second he got to spend with you and yet he was also nervous because he was so desperate to tell you how he felt, needing you to know that he loved you, to know you were his world.

“James?” You said again, moving so you could look over at him.

“I love you.” James blurted out, his eyes widening at the same time as yours did.

He hadn’t meant to say that, well ok he had but he had a whole speech, he was going to ease you into it. The last thing he wanted was to scare you off and have you leave him.

“James,” You said softly, shocked at his words that left you equal parts nervous and overjoyed.

“No, wait, just let me…” James trailed off with a sigh before sitting up and turning to face you properly. “I know you don’t think this is going to work, I know you look at your mum and dad and hate what they have but that’s never going to be us. We’re choosing each other because we want to, not because of something as stupid as blood purity. I know you're scared but let me show you how good we can be.”

James watched you closely, part of him expected you to bolt but then he watched your face soften into a smile, he watched as the tension that had built in your shoulders left and you looked at him like it was your first time really seeing him.

James Potter was watching you believe for the first time.

Believe in him, believe in love, believe that he could be the one for you, believe that it wouldn’t end in spite and hatred but it could just be love.

“I love you too.” You finally said and James let out a surprised laugh, a grin spreading across his face as he stared at you.

You were in love with him.

“Can I please kiss you?” He asked, his voice coming out more of a beg causing you to laugh softly as you nodded, shifting closer to him and savouring the feeling of his palm cupping your cheek, memorising the way his thumb ran across your cheekbone as he held you like you were a prized possession.

“I really love you.” He murmured before pressing his lips to yours.

He had been waiting for so long to kiss you and now that he finally knew how your lips felt against his he knew he’d never be able to go without. One taste and he was addicted. The kiss was soft but eager, the two of you gripping each other, desperately trying to get as close as you could.

When you finally pulled away you were both panting for breath, James rested his forehead against yours to keep you close to him, not ready to let you go yet.

“So you’ll be mine then?” James asked breathlessly and you couldn’t help but smile brightly at him as you nodded. “You don’t know how long I’ve waited for this, I’m gonna spend the rest of our lives proving this will last, that it will always feel this good.”

You really hoped James was able to keep his promise, the way he made you feel in this moment was enough to push any doubts out of your head. How could something that feels this beautiful ever turn into something so dreadful? You wanted to believe that love wasn’t like that and you were more than happy to let James be the one to prove it to you.

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[y2kbugs]

Why Rincewind deserves your love

Tumblr loves characters like Rincewind right now. The sad, weary one who really doesn't want to be here but does it anyway cause no one else bothered, and is often vulnerable, cowardly, and a weakling compared to everyone else. In other words, the pathetic wet cat, the poor little meow meow.

Vimes is also a perfect example of this archetype, he's there and he's great, but Rincewind to me is a sort of hidden gem bogged down by the author's early writing and the struggle to live up to those later, more deep characters. It doesn't really help that Pratchett also got bored of writing him, and only felt obligated because he had fans (which in a way sounds like Rincewind himself), but...

The first two books aren't even bad. The only thing I'd say is that TCOM has some confusing writing going on and feels more like a collection of stories but it's good and could be better if rewritten. Rincewind is a wonderful character and Twoflower is a delight. TLF is a definite improvement writing and character wise and gives development to Rincewind.

He's not "a weak character who doesn't do anything but run". He is not badly written. He is a character who does not want to be the hero but does it anyway. He has deep empathy and believes that throwing your life away for a good cause is inherently selfish rather than selfless (and! he does this himself, kind of. He does make a sacrifice to help somebody, but he lives).

He isn't stupid. He might be the smartest character in his books, but that's more because the other characters are relatively kind of dumb. The only thing he's really bad at is being a wizard, that's it. He's not a good wizard, but he's a great strategist, he knows a lot about magic, knows almost every language on Discworld and this was how he got to know Twoflower in the first place. I would call him an average intelligence and very high wisdom character in DnD. He's intensely rational and will point out gaps in reasoning and logic. He might be a pessimist, but he has experience and he's going to use that.

That's not to say he doesn't make mistakes. He absolutely does, but making dumb mistakes is much different from willful and sheer ignorance which he does not display.

His hat says "Wizzard" because it's supposed to be a pun on "he can't spell", and it's highly unlikely that he actually misspelled it not knowing the actual spelling considering he reads a lot.

He is very, very defensive and adamant about his identity as a wizard. It's pretty much everything to him and he has a crisis whenever other characters mock and have general distrust of wizards.

He's done the following:

Beat the shit out of an eldritch horror until it ran away from him (TLF),

forced an extremely powerful spell out of his head with sheer will (TLF),

Defeated the most powerful deceased wizard possessing a magical staff with only a brick in a sock, and took both himself and the wizard's son into the Dungeon Dimensions, where he fought back creatures to allow the boy to escape. (Sourcery)

Gave the boy a speech about how it's important to not let anyone define who you are as a person and no one should have to tell you what to do (Sourcery)

Used a whole terracotta army to beat an entire army, and succesffully intimidated them via psychological tricks. (Interesting Times)

Brought rain back to Fantasy Australia and talked back against Death who convinced him to give up. (TLC)

Maybe he's not the most sympathetic character, because he's not chivalrous or manly. He has no bravery and freely admits to being a coward, he's kind of a jerk who cools down as time goes on, and he's selfish enough that he thinks being selfless is a total waste of time and is selfish in itself. He's a cynic and a pessimist with a worldview shaped by his terrible experiences on Discworld, but he's very well-traveled even against his own will, and from this experience he knows precisely how to get out of danger, how to outsmart an individual (or a whole army) and more.

He's shown empathy. Being tired at the world at large and not liking the other wizards very much but going out of his way to save the world from a wizard gone rogue anyway because nobody else bothered to and he's angry, saving a boy from his abusive father's power and diving headfirst into the Dungeon Dimensions, trying to convince an "army" of mostly children why trying to fight against a legitimate army of warriors is a horrible idea and will only get them killed, Helping some thirsty sheep out to get access to water despite not needing to, bringing rain back to Fantasy Australia even though he could have given up and gone home at any moment, being made a "test subject" for the wizard's project in creating Roundworld/Earth, learning aabout the life on there over millions of years and talking about how hard it is for life to grow on there in its earliest millions of years, teaching Roundworld inhabitats the importance of art and creativity not only to outsmart the elves but because he wanted to (while the other wizards considered him stupid for this idea).

And he doesn't want to be a hero, he has no obligation to and is perfectly happy just being alone in the library and reading old books. He wants a life of peace and quiet and nothing life-threatening, but unfortunately he's pushed into these situations. Often though instead of simply resigning himself and giving up altogether, he sucks it up and goes and does it anyway with the expectation that he can go home in the end. That, and by now he's already expected this is his role: to fix shit and go home, even though he'd love to have someone else do his job.

It rubs me the wrong way to see people call him one-dimensional or just "the guy that is scared and runs away"...That to me is like simply calling Vimes "the depressed cop who drinks a lot" or Granny Weatherwax "the old witch who kicks ass". Of course the character will seem one dimensional if you describe them that way. Vimes is better written overall and gets better development for sure, which is also what his character is built for, as well as a more serious story that doesn't lend itself as well to basically slapstick. Rincewind isn't built for overcoming his fears, but rather his selfish attitude and to finally find peace with himself, and he works as a comedic character while also balancing out the fact he can be anything other than a clown or coward.

He gets what he always wanted in the end too. Pratchett might not have wanted to write him anymore, but instead of simply putting him on a bus, he gave Rincewind a position at Unseen University, only dampened by the fact the other wizards clearly don't respect him, therefore he can't really be a professor as a job, but he doesn't mind. In fact, he loves that. He gets free food, a quiet place to stay, and has zero obligations. He's happy, and the last thing we know of him is that he's studying the effects of plants on the nervous system (Raising Steam), and he's very important in the Science Of Discworld series, initially being a test subject and later being the "to go" for information about Roundworld/Earth, even getting to keep the globe in his room.

[ladylilithprime]

Day 15: Sigils

(Inspired by Somebody Else's Thanksgiving by @posingasme .)

WHEN THE CALL came in from Castiel to meet him at an old abandoned property, Dean almost went alone. With the way he and Sam had seemed to be working weirdly at cross-purposes despite supposedly being on the same page, it was only Castiel's sharp insistence that had him calling for Sam to join him. The way Sam looked at him, like he knew Dean had wanted to leave him behind and was simultaneously resentful and resigned to it made guilt churn in Dean's gut harshly. He shoved it down and waited impatiently for Sam to slide into the Impala's passenger seat before gunning the engine and driving them out to the old shack.

There were two bodies outside, the ground blackened with the shadows of huge wings seared into the ground. Sam made a sound in his throat like a keen that was partway to gagging, and took off for the shack at a run, leaving Dean to curse and follow.

"Cas!" Sam shouted as he flung the door open. "Castiel!"

"I'm here, Sam," the now-familiar gravelly voice answered. The angel stood motionless inside a circle of fire just inside the main room, the walls of the shack painted with bloody sigils, many of which Dean recognized from Bobby's panic room. "Don't break the sigils or the circle of holy fire. It's the only thing keeping them from being able to summon me."

"Who?" Dean demanded, when Sam only swallowed and nodded. "Summon you where?"

"Back to Heaven," came the disquieting answer. "The Archangels don't want you learning what I have to tell you."

"The bodies outside...." Sam started, then stopped, shuddering.

"Angels," Castiel confirmed gravely. "Sent to bring me in. I regret killing them, but I could not let them prevent me from speaking to you. Dean, Sam... Heaven wants the Apocalypse to happen."

"Oh, no," Sam whispered, barely audible around the roaring in Dean's ears.

He wasn't nearly so restrained.

"What the fuck?!" he shouted. "What, so all that running around and saving Seals, was that actually just moving everything along faster?!"

"More an attempt at misdirection and manipulation," Castiel said, shattering Dean's world further. "Only the First and Final Seals are immutable, and with six hundred and sixty-six Seals, only sixty-six of which actually needing to be broken, the Archangels felt it best to direct you to try and save a handful of simple Seals so that you would miss the demons and other angels breaking others elsewhere. The First Seal, you already know. The Final Seal is the death of the First Demon in a desecrated convent in Ilchester."

"The death of the First Demon meaning Lilith," Sam whispered in horror. "Oh, God... Lilith would've led us a merry chase until letting us catch up just in time to kill her and break the Seal...."

"Let you catch up, Sam," Castiel corrected with surprising gentleness. "Two brothers, two immutable Seals... two prophecied Vessels for the Apocalypse. While you would have been led to Lilith, Dean would have been sequestered away to await the appointed time to agree to be Michael's Vessel--"

"Leaving me alone and in position to be taken as Lucifer's after Lilith tricked me into letting him out," Sam finished woodenly.

"Like hell're those dickless asshats getting anywhere near me, or Sammy!" Dean growled, finding his voice and trying not to feel that stab of guilt at the surprise that crossed Sam's face at his vehemence. "So how do we derail things?"

"I don't know," Castiel admitted, spreading his hands in supplication when Dean glared at him. "Truly, I don't. Angels are created to serve and follow orders, and free thought and feeling is considered an aberration. Even with these defects, I am not suited to creative thinking the way humans are. The best idea I could think of was to give you two all the information and hope you could think of an option I couldn't."

Silence reigned for a long moment as Dean processed that while Sam stared off into the distant space between molecules or whatever it was he was looking at when he did that. The only sound besides his and Sam's breathing was the low roar of the ring of fire that was apparently important enough to Castiel to have burning that he would say not to distupt it even though it looked like he could barely move.

"What happens if they can't take us?" Sam asked after a long moment. "Michael and Lucifer. They're Archangels, and Lucifer is Fallen, but they're still angels. They have to get our permission first. So what happens if we say no?"

"I don't know," Castiel admitted. "That is not something anyone in Heaven or Hell believes will happen, as neither will care overly much how they gain your consent so long as they do gain it. I suspect that Michael might become impatient enough to raise your half-brother Adam for the purpose as an imperfect back-up, but you have no such half-siblings by your mother for Lucifer to take."

"So it's just me that needs to be taken out of play," Sam murmured, sending a chill down Dean's spine.

"Sammy," he said warningly.

"You know it's true, Dean," Sam said, sounding so fucking young and weary all at once. "Michael's got a back-up if he can't force you to agree, but I'm Lucifer's only option. If we can take me out before Lilith is ready to make her move--"

"Then the Archangels would simply resurrect you after wiping this conversation from your memory," Castiel broke in sharply. "Sam, I implore you, do not be so quick to give up your life on a slim hope!"

"What he said," Dean huffed grudgingly. "I went to Hell once to keep you alive, little brother, don't think I won't do it again!"

"Don't think I'll let you," Sam snapped back. "And I'm not talking about me dying. Not exactly. But I may have an idea. I just don't know how much Castiel is gonna like it, and I know you aren't gonna like it. At least I know I'll be able to stomach the taste."

"I don't have to like it if it keeps you alive and out of the Devil's clutches," Dean said, staring his brother down. "I learned a long time ago that the only order of Dad's I can't follow is to let you die. Ever. So lay it on me."

"It's risky," Sam warned. "And kinda crazy."

"Crazy's kinda what we do these days," Dean pointed out with a sweeping gesture towards the sigil-marked walls, trapped angel, and the entire damn Apocalypse mess beyond.

"Okay, then," Sam nodded slowly. "Do you still have Lenore's number?"

[tinyinvadr]

Chapter 4 is finally here!

Hide & Shrink

Chapter 4

Neither of us said a word as Ragatha set me down on my now massive bed, then took a step back to give me space. I stared up at her, not sure what I should say, if anything at all.

“So… are you good? Do you want me to stay here, or would you rather be alone? Either’s fine, of course.”

I wasn’t sure what I wanted at that point. It didn’t matter. Either way, I’d feel awful.

“You can stay if you want. I-I’m okay now, though. Just a little shaken up.”

Ragatha nodded, looking down at me with a sad expression.

“I’m sorry about what happened with Jax. I’ll have to talk to him. Can’t say he’ll listen, but he at least gets annoyed when I lecture him and tries to avoid me.”

She stopped for a moment to think about it, then sighed in defeat. “No, that won’t work, he’ll still pick on you if I’m not around. Why does he have to be so difficult?”

To be honest, I wasn’t all that worried about Jax anymore. At least, not at that moment. I was more concerned about what would happen in the long run.

“Ragatha… what happens if Caine can’t fix me?”

She gave a reassuring smile, but I could tell it looked somewhat forced this time.

“I’m sure he will… but even if he doesn’t, I promise, everything’s gonna be okay. Caine… doesn’t really understand humans at all, but from what I can tell, he’s trying. I’m sure he can come up with some way to help you. And even if he gets it wrong, you still have me and the others.”

The amount of faith she put in Caine was so strange to me. It was like she’d truly given up, and yet, she was still keeping herself together at the same time.

“How can you be sure he’s really trying? I mean, he IS the one keeping us all trapped here, isn’t he?”

“That’s what I thought at first, but now I’m not sure. He’s an AI, so he can only do what he was programmed to do. But he was trying to make an exit for us. I don’t think it’s possible for him to do that because whoever programmed him likely didn’t give him that ability, but he still tried. He knows we want to leave, but he’s incapable of getting us out. At least, that’s what I think. I could be completely wrong.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense. We’re still trapped either way, though. How… How can you stay this positive?”

Her forced smile finally fell as her gaze traveled to the floor for a second.

“Someone has to.”

We didn’t talk much after that. We just sat in my room, exchanging a few words here and there, but neither of us could really be invested in the conversation. It doesn’t matter which way you look at it. Being indefinitely trapped in the digital realm is horrible.

She left after a while, and I decided to try and get some sleep. There wasn’t much else to do anyway since I would need someone to help me get down from my bed. It would also silence my thoughts for a while, which was something I desperately needed.

I let myself sink into the mattress, wrapping myself in the oversized blankets like a nest, and shut my eyes to let my mind drift off into emptiness. For a while, I could trick my brain into thinking I wasn’t in the digital circus at all. This was my real bed, and I was back at home, having a lazy morning.

Apparently, even in the digital world I’m a heavy sleeper.

When I woke up, I wasn’t in my room, which was already terrifying on its own, but I also woke up to quickly realize that I was in motion. Someone was carrying me, but I couldn’t tell who it was. All I could see around me was a cocoon of light orange fabric.

“Heh. Look who’s finally up. Thought you passed out again or something.”

Great. Him again.

The fabric above my head was pulled aside, and all I could see was Jax’s face staring down at me. I had to be in his overall pocket.

“Jax? What were you doing in my room?”

“Somebody had to come get you for breakfast, shrimpy. Well, I don’t really care whether you eat or not, but the others sent me since I’ve got all the room keys.”

That… didn’t make sense. My door wasn’t locked, and after what happened the day before, the others never would have sent Jax to get me, right?

“Why did you really take me?” I asked, bluntly.

Jax just snickered, that smile never leaving his face.

“You know, you’re smarter than you look, and I don’t dish out compliments lightly so don’t get used to it. Anyway, this little glitch you’ve got going on right now definitely means something. It’s been a whole day and Caine still can’t change you back, which can only mean that this whole digital train wreck is bound to come crashing to a halt any day now. So I got to thinking: if we can figure out what exactly this glitch is, we can exploit the %$!# out of it, destroy this game at its core, and finally get back to our lives. Sound good?”

As much as I wanted to leave, trusting Jax was a risky move. I had to make sure I understood the fullest extent of his intentions before I could even think about agreeing to anything.

“Uh… what do you mean by ‘glitch?’”

Instead of answering, he plucked me out of his pocket without warning, holding me by my shoulders and dangling me up in the air.

“Isn’t it obvious? There’s some sort of error with your digital body that’s blocking out Caine’s control. All we need to do is run a few tests to find out what it is and how to use it.”

I didn’t like where this was going, and I especially didn’t like the sight of the floor so far down below me. But I had to choose my words carefully, since I already knew firsthand that Jax would not hesitate to drop me again if I upset him.

“Can I… get back to you on that?”

There was something about his ever-present smirk that changed. It was almost sinister.

“Who said you had a choice?”

I froze for a second as I processed his words, then, in a desperate attempt to get away, I started kicking and wiggling my shoulders. The whole time, Jax just laughed like this was the funniest thing he ever saw.

It felt like I was kicking and screaming forever, until Jax suddenly plopped me onto his other hand, giving me a solid surface to sit on. Before I could question him any further, I noticed that Caine popped up next to us.

“Good morning, you two! Are you ready for today’s adventure?”

Jax’s demeanor suddenly changed, as if he hadn’t just been tormenting me.

“Appreciate the offer, Caine, but Pomni and I are gonna sit this one out.”

I had to say something. This was my only way out.

“NO WAIT CAINE I WANNA GO WITH YOU!!!”

Caine took a second to process what I said, then let out a cheerful laugh.

“Of course! Now, let’s see, Ragatha told me to try this with you…”

I was shocked when he offered his hand for me to climb on instead of grabbing me. He really was paying attention and trying to match my comfort levels.

Without hesitation, I scrambled onto his hand and curled up into a ball as he held me to his chest for support.

“See you later, Jax! Let me know if you change your mind!”

Jax didn’t say a word. He was too dumbfounded that I went off with Caine even though I was nervous around him.

As we floated down the hall, I realized he wasn’t teleporting to the main stage as usual. Just like Ragatha, he was moving very slowly so I wouldn’t get anxious or sick.

“Glad to see you’re doing better, Pomni. I’m new to this soft, quiet approach, but it seems to work for you, so I’ll keep doing it.”

It was strange to hear him talking in a somewhat calm voice. I could tell he was struggling to keep his constantly upbeat and energetic personality at bay, but I couldn’t help but be impressed by the effort he was willing to put in for my sake. Maybe he really could be reasoned with.

“Caine? Is it okay if I don’t go on the adventure today? I know I said I wanted to, but I just wanted to get away from Jax…”

He suddenly stopped, hovering in place as he looked down at me, concerned.

“That’s… That’s quite alright, but… if everyone else is busy with the adventure and Jax doesn’t want to participate, then there won’t be anyone around to make sure he doesn’t bother you. Unless you stay with me, but I don’t want the others to think I’m picking favorites…”

I honestly didn’t think anyone would care. I certainly didn’t, I only wanted to avoid being a lab rat for that crazy rabbit.

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that. I’m sure they’ll understand.”

“Alrighty then! That means you’ll get to have a day of fun with me and Bubble! Ah- sorry, I mean… you’ll get to spend the day doing whatever you’re comfortable with.”

I shut my eyes, letting out a sigh of relief. I could work with this. Everything would be okay.

As we continued to travel down the hall, I could feel Caine’s fingers brush against the back of my head. It startled me, but I recognized that this was another attempt at giving me security.

He really was trying.

[ghostflowerhotpotch]

Miles Learns why Gwen left Earth 65: Preview

They weren't sure where they were exactly, coming here has been done out of desperation and trying to run away from the nightmare world of Earth 42. They all had agreed it has been a long day (while subtly looking at Miles who was by far in the worse shape,) and had divided themselves into smaller groups.

In all honesty? Now that he didn't need to be running away from somebody, Miles was starting to feel the weight of the day in his body, he isn't even sure how many hours it has been and the closest he had to rest was being knock out flat by his evil counterpart. So he had barely hear past the "Gwen, Hobie and Miles go out to look for a place to rest."

"Don't need to tell me twice." He thought, slowly walking around as he looked at the place.

It seemed like has been once an office building, Miles couldn't imagine what must had happened to left couches, desks and other materials intact on it's place to rot; but he also didn't have the energy care about it.

"Me and Gwendy could move some of these around to make sure we have room for everybody," Hobie mentioned while looking with mildly disgust to the light grey love seats that seemed to be part of some waiting area. Miles wondered if he had something against the furniture, or being in such corporate place was just disgusting for him.

Miles needed a second to realize he hasn't been included, "What about me?"

"You can sit this one out Miles, we will be fine." Gwen mentioned off-hand, lifting one of the couches.

Frowning, he said "I can help you know-"

"Mate," Hobie called up to him, with his calm demeanour contrasting Miles bubbling annoyance. "You look two seconds away from becoming Father Ted, you can lie down."

"Father Ted?" He repeated, the confusion reigning over any residual anger at the idea of being useless.

"He means dead, Miles." Gwen says looking at him, and while he still wasn't sure how to feel about her; Miles noticed the worry in her eyes. "You had gone through a lot today, let us to do this for you okay? Please."

His own lips turned into a fine line, knowing very well he couldn't deny her; not just because he didn't have the strength not to when he was looking at him with such concern; Miles was indeed beaten half to death.

So with a sigh, he went to the love seat, and lie on it. The material was stiff, and even after trying to dusted with his hand the smell made him feel these thing has been here for longer that he has been alive. Closing his eyes, he resolved to rest. Or the best he could considering the circumstances.

What he was going to do? Now he has his friends on his side, which was great, but he didn't want to measure his chances if they needed to fight the organization. Miles had managed to escape, but one thing was leaving on the dust a bunch of unorganized people who didn't even know what was going on; than having Miguel get his forces in order to crack him down.

What would the guy do if they break the canon? Gwen was sure this could be avoided somehow, yet this didn't take into account the other things that were suppose to happen, or how it could break the universe. Hobie was convinced this entire thing was ridiculous and Miguel has his head too far his own ass to see it; while Peter had tried to say there could had been a way to reason-

At least everyone shut him down on that one.

It would be an understatement to say he was stressed out, so despite how he felt like his body begging for rest, his mind refused to cooperate. Gwen and Hobie moving furniture around also didn't give him the silence he normally preferred for these moments; yet he wasn't going to say anything to them since he still didn't feel too happy about being the only one taking it easy. 

So he continue having his eyes closed, and to even his breathing in order to trick his mind into falling asleep.

Miles hasn't meant to overhear, but with super hearing and literally not much else going on in the room? Was impossible not to.

"So, everything back in order with your Pot and Pan?"

"How does anyone understood Hobie?" Miles half-wondered. He liked the guy, specially now that he was the only person Miles felt 100% could trust had his best interest at heart; but it didn't meant his slang was less confusing. Was this how his parents felt like?

"Yeah, we sort things out; I feel a bit silly dramatizing how my dad would react after coming back home." Gwen chuckled awkwardly, hearing it in her tone alongside the furniture being rearranged. The light taps of the wood and the leather barely working as background noise, much less to hide that whatever this was about, wasn't easy.

Miles imagined as such, since he remember Gwen saying how her dad thought he killed Peter the first time she came to his universe. What he didn't expect, was Hobie's next words.

"You are joking, right? That better be a joke. There was nothing dramatic about the way you reacted after what he did."

While still lying down, Miles frowned. What did happen? And why Hobie sounded so worked out all of the sudden? It couldn't had been that bad, right? Is her father after all.

"Don't. Trust me on that." Gwen had said those words not so long ago. Miles hasn't want to debate her, specially without knowing her dad personally; but he has wondered why she was so sure of that. Now even more.

 "It all worked out in the end Hobie, maybe if I had gotten home sooner-"

"No, we are not doing this Gwen." Miles was taken aback hearing Hobie not just saying her name (without nicknames or jokes,) but also that he could hear the bubbling anger in his voice. "What he did to you was inexcusable, end of the story; the only reason I didn't bash his head with my guitar was because you explicitly not to."

A tiny, little part of Miles's brain tried to remind him he wasn't part of this conversation and he shouldn't be eavesdropping (if it could count with him staying in the room and they both knowing about it.) Yet that small voice got shut down as he was starting to actually worry.

Despite their short time together; there hasn't been any moment where he has seen Hobie lost his composure, not even coming close to it really. So whatever happened must had been next level bad if the guy was talking as if he wanted to take down Gwen's father like that.

"He is my dad Hobie-"

"Oh yeah? Well he didn't seem to remember that when you begged him to understand after showing your secret identity," Hobie's voice was picking up in volume, as the rage and indignation in her name seemed to overflown his voice; the next piece of furniture falling a little bit too hard as well; at least they wouldn't need to pay for it.  "After saving multiple people in his face, he cornered you down, force you to reveal your identity; and after trying to explain what happened, what did he do? Ah right, try to fucking arrest you as if you were any other criminal, and try to point his gun at you-

Miles opened his eyes and sat down so quickly you would had believed the couch was burning his back, "WHAT!?" He screamed, appalled.

. . .

I'm struggling to write in general, I had more than this, but for now a little bit of a preview for hype. And because motivation is a bitch lol.

[wisteria-cherry]

forty days and forty nights (day thirty-five!)

(i always feel like

somebody’s watching me🤩)

the previous night’s incident had shaken you, shaken you to the point where you’d considered taking the day off. however, you were excited to see katsuki again, and you figured he was excited to see you.

“i’m tired.” you remark as you watch katsuki swirl around the last drops of coffee, catching the coffee grounds with it.

“you work in a coffee shop. take advantage of it, dumbass.” katsuki clicked his tongue.

“i did. i just finished a cup.” you roll your eyes as he shifted on the notably worn-in bar stool.

“then you shouldn’t be tired.”

“too bad.”

you pause, glancing at the clock.

“i wanna sleep tonight, kats. i can’t have anymore coffee. ‘sides, it’s time for me to go.” katsuki stood up.

“i’ll walk ya home. c’mon, loser.” katsuki grumbled.

“okay.” you smile. you didn’t bother protesting, not since last night.

you close as quickly as you can, making sure to be thorough as you did, not wanting to burden whoever would open the next day. you walk alongside katsuki until you reach the door. you let katsuki go out first. part of it was because you had to lock the door behind you, but you couldn’t deny the selfish part of you that wanted him to go out first in case the stalker was there. and although there was no excuse to your actions, you couldn’t deny that he had a better shot at fighting the stalker than you did. you found yourself being somewhat quiet on the walk home. you’d managed to get katsuki to rant, which was always entertaining. this time, it was about that dumbass deku and how he thinks he’s so perfect.

when you finally reached your apartment, goodbyes were exchanged, and almost immediately you went to bed, exhausted by the previous day’s events.

however, later that night, your eyes open instantly and you listen closely. you swore you’d heard a sound. some sort of cross between a bang and a clatter. it sounded like someone had hit your window. you groan under your breath, turning over in your bed to face the window and see if it was actually anything.

your blood ran cold.

it was him.

it was the same man who’d been in the alleyway.

he was there, staring, staring into you.

you blink, unable to do anything else, unable to move your body. the man wasn’t there. you quickly turn back over in your bed. you must have imagined it.

why can’t i just forget about yesterday? you think frustratedly. so stupid. now i’m losing sleep over it.

you pull out your phone, turning the brightness all the way down, not wanting anyone to see it despite being alone. you unlock it, opening the call app. you tapped katsuki’s number, opening his contact info. your finger hovered over the call button. did you dare?

no, you couldn’t involve katsuki in this. it’s not his problem; he’s busy enough as a pro hero.

a pro hero.

he has the capacity to help you, right?

you click the call button, but instantly hang up. not tonight. he didn’t need to be woken up just because you thought you saw someone. you probably didn’t even see anyone. it was probably a trick of the light. you were just tired.

you were just tired.

hey, katsuki, you recited silently, lips barely moving. sorry to bother you so late. i’m scared right now. i wish you were here, i wish you were here so much. you continued to mouth apologies to katsuki. you never did call him. but it helped. somewhat.

“i’m tired.”

(feel free to comment + leave ur thoughts :)

tags: @k0z3me @stevenknightmarc @failingstudents-blog @cherryblossomclarity @jazzafayesworld

[nofomogirl]

Metatron's manipulation step by step

Part 6: Divide and conquer

Part 1 - where I discuss the significance of the coffee.

Part 2 - where I take a look back at season 1

Part 3 - from Metatron's arrival on Earth to sending the Archangels away

Part 4 - inside the bookshop after sending the Archangels away

Part 5 - at the table in the street

In the previous part, I discussed the fragments of conversation in which Metatron made his offer.

This is how the conversation ends:

"Well, you don't have to answer immediately. Take all the time you need." "I... I don't know what to say." "Well then, go and tell your friend the good news."

Doesn't it seem weird to you?

I was never offered a job as a Supreme Archangel, obviously, but I was offered a few things in my life. I also made other people various offers. And I've been part of the talks where someone made somebody else an offer. And in my experience, you don't normally say "You don't have to answer immediately" to someone who has already said "yes".

That's what I meant by all those asterisks in Part 5 - we never see Aziraphale actually agree to go to Heaven!

Crowley asked Aziraphale if he said no, and Aziraphale answered first with a stunned "Not at all" and then choked silence. And both Crowley and us as an audience, in the heat of the moment assumed that it meant Aziraphale said the opposite. But it doesn't! The fact that Aziraphale didn't say no doesn't automatically mean he said yes!

Then we see Metatron acting as if it was all settled. He just comes into the bookshop and asks Aziraphale if he's ready to start. We see Aziraphale go to Heaven. So it only seems logical that he agreed to it right after it was offered, during that conversation outside, at the coffee table.

But here's the thing - I really truly doubt he did. The possibility of pardoning Crowley made him very open to it, yes, but it was not a done deal. He expected to take it after Crowley was on board, and he expected Crowley would be on board. But he didn't give Metatron any definite answer.

And working around it was, in my personal opinion, the evilest part of Metatron's scheme. He basically tricked Aziraphale into acting on a choice he didn't actually make.

Just look at the scene after Crowley leaves the bookshop. It's all Metatron just rushing Aziraphale, and very purposefully not giving him a single second to think and process.

He said "Take all the time you need." but then he was inside the bookshop the second Crowley was gone. Like honestly, if he tried to enter any earlier, he and Crowley would bump into each other in the doorway.

He said "Take all the time you need." but then when Aziraphale mentioned his bookshop he just announced he had already entrusted it to Muriel. He doesn't even ask beforehand, he just makes those plans for Aziraphale.

He said "Take all the time you need." but when Aziraphale falters, he just pressures him with "Anything you need to take with you?" uttered in a borderline condescending tone.

Throughout the entire scene, he acts as if Aziraphale was trying his patience by unnecessarily delaying their departure and he's clearly desperate to lead Aziraphale out of the bookshop immediately.

I can't think of another reason for his behavior, for putting this fake time pressure on Aziraphale, other than the fact that for Metatron's plan to work Aziraphale cannot be allowed to just stop and think. If Aziraphale manages to gather his thoughts and calm down, the chances are very high that he will turn Metatron down and stay.

Because why would he go?

We clearly saw he wasn't interested in the offer until it was extended to Crowley. That was the hook. But now that Crowley had refused, what was the point of going again?

If you think it's illogical and far-fetched, I assure you it's a common trick used in real-life manipulations. If you want someone to do something they don't really need or want, just act as if it was already decided. Speak quickly, rush them into acting, and preferably trigger their emotions somehow, so that they aren't 100% rational.

Aziraphale right after his argument with Crowley was a perfect target for this strategy. He was very VERY emotional and incapable of thinking straight. Putting him under just a little external pressure was enough to make him go along with pretty much anything.

The question is how could Metatron know he would have Aziraphale in such a vulnerable state, to push him where he needed him?

The answer is, sadly, Crowley.

We all focus on how Metatron fooled Aziraphale, and rightly so. But it's time we start talking about how he played Crowley. Because play him he did, like a bloody fiddle.

In fact, Crowley did most of his work for him.

Metatron could get only so far in convincing Aziraphale Heaven is not that bad. But Crowley attacking Heaven AND simultaneously lashing at Aziraphale? That, unfortunately, was bound to push Aziraphale towards Heaven.

It's really a tragic irony that Aziraphale approached Crowley with the intention to only take Metatron's offer if Crowley took it too, but was left to take the offer because Crowley rejected it so vehemently.

Metatron could bank on Crolwey's and Aziraphale's interaction to turn into the communication disaster that it was for a very simple reason - he knew what the offer would do to Crowley, and he knew Aziraphale wouldn't be able to understand what was happening.

In short: Metatron knew what Crowley's triggers were, and Aziraphale didn't.

Add to that the fact that, in case you didn't notice, Crowley has some serious anger issues this season. The best (and one of the very few) takes on the topic I've seen so far is this post, originally by @weirdgirlcore, with insightful comments by @ineffable-aurelia. And during his outbursts, Crowley is NOT rational - which I've mentioned here.

Metatron knows this. He knows because even if he hadn't been paying attention earlier, Crowley's lightning fit was pretty conspicuous...

He knows Crowley is a ticking bomb right then and he knows how to set it off. He didn't need to know how exactly the shards would fly. He just needed to know the explosion would happen so that he could stroll into the crater afterward to wisk away the shell-shocked angel who had no mental capacity to resist.

So he does just that.

He enters the bookshop and pushes Aziraphale.

Continued in: Part 7: Finishing touches