#BUT GLORIA DOESN’T HAVE A LAST NAME SO BEAR WITH ME | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

maria-akira · 4 years ago

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how you meet the ahs boys + their reaction while you're having a class - PART 1

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hey yall im back again 🧍🏻‍♀️ is this what you call a headcanon?? idk BAHAHSHHA. anyways i've had this idea in my mind for a while and i wanted to share it to yall, so i hope you guys like it 😌

these also have a little back story on how you guys meet !!

also, special mention to @tatestripedsweater for helping me give ideas with jimmy's part !! thank you so much mwah 🥺❤

warnings: none! just pure fluff <3

please excuse any errors !

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~♡ TATE LANGDON:

before the pandemic, you and your family have moved into the murder house.

the house gave your family a very odd vibe, but nonetheless all of you had to bear with it because it was sold for a cheap price.

but when the pandemic arrived the country, you were stuck at home 24/7. thus, classes were online.

you met tate because of your father. tate was one of his patients and the both of you grew close.

"Y/N, what are you doing?"

tate would randomly barge in your room while having a class and you would jump out of shock.

"Jesus, Tate. Stop scaring me like that!"

tate would giggle and lay on your bed, observing the lesson that the teacher rambled about.

while you're writing notes, he would stand up and take a chair from some part of your room and sit beside you.

knowing that tate is clingy, you would warn him not to bug you and behave while you listened in class.

of course, he doesn't listen and he would place his head on your shoulder and eventually would cuddle you.

"Taaate, please let me focus."

luckily, you always keep your camera off.

"Mmm, no. I enjoy bugging you."

~♡ KIT WALKER:

one time, you were driving to school on your own and you were almost running out of gas.

luckily, you saw a gas station nearby and decided to get a fill before heading to school. and there, you met kit.

when you first laid your eyes on kit, you thought that he was the prettiest man ever. you couldn't let this chance slip, thus, you exchanged numbers with him.

you talked all day and night, the both of you were so inlove with each other and you finally decided to introduce him to your parents.

your parents loved him and you were so, so happy.

but when the pandemic came, it affected your relationship with kit.

since all schools and unis were closed down, everything went online.

when kit stayed over, he couldn't spend a lot of time with you because you had to attend classes early in the morning, till afternoon.

"Can you stay in bed with me for a little bit, darling?"

unfortunately, you woke up late that day and you missed 10 minutes of your first class. and just like that, you were stuck to your desk until afternoon.

"Kit baby, I'm sorry. I'm late for my first class. Maybe later, okay?"

as much as kit hated this whole online class thing, he would always find a way to cheer you up.

thus, he would cook you breakfast and bring it over to your room.

"C'mere, I'll feed you while you listen and write down notes."

~♡ KYLE SPENCER (PRE DEATH AND POST DEATH) :

PRE DEATH:

madison, your friend, had bugged you all week to go with her to this college frat party near your house.

you weren't the party type. you loved staying at home, watching netflix or reading some sort of fan fiction on wattpad.

but you hated being single. so, this was your chance to actually get a boyfriend.

when you arrived at the party, you immediately hated it. everything was so loud and everyone was drinking, it was definitely a new sight for you.

you were sitting on a couch that was in the balcony, with a red cup that was filled with punch. you loved being away from the commotion.

this is where you met kyle, it was love at first sight. the both of you had so much in common and you thought that he was the man of your dreams.

you exchanged snapchats and from there, you were partners-in-crime.

you and kyle had stopped going to parties ever since the pandemic arrived, which means you got to see each other less.

since the both of you were students, both of your classes went online.

one time, kyle had no classes for a day and he decided to surprise you.

that day, you were having an online presentation. both your camera and microphone were on.

"Rene Descartes was the Father of Modern Philosophy—"

as you were presenting the slide show, you were cut off by kyle's presence infront of your desk.

"I brought you food, baby!"

you would shush him and suddenly turn off your mic.

"I'm so sorry, Miss. My boyfriend arrived and I—"

kyle would go beside you and kiss you on your cheek, your classmates and teacher cooing over it.

"Miss, you better give my girlfriend a good grade."

POST DEATH:

*pretend that he survived the bus accident and had a coma, because we arent involving witchcraft here*

kyle and his fraternity were on a bus that was going to some college event at school.

on the way there, you guys snapped each other and his friends would talk to you as well.

unfortunately, they got in an accident and the bus was flipped over.

a few students, including kyle, survived the accident.

when you heard this news, you cried your heart out and you didnt talk to anyone in your family.

you and your family visited the hospital and you rushed to kyle's room, it broke your heart to see tubes in him, with machines that beeped like there was no tomorrow.

when the doctor said that kyle was in a coma, your heart sank in the deepest part of your body.

this made you stay 24/7 with him until he was discharged.

when he was discharged from the hospital, he was not his usual self. the bubbly, energetic kyle was gone. instead, he was so confused with everything.

kyle's mom made him stay with you until he got his memory back, and you were more than glad to help.

but this took a toll on your studies because your classes were online due to a pandemic.

everyday in class, you would let kyle sit beside you and let him observe what you were doing.

"We're in Science class, Kyle. You were really good in Science, you helped me alot with my homeworks."

most of the time, you would help kyle develop his speech and his writing. but it was difficult for you.

"S-Sci... S-Sci-en.. ce?"

"Yes, Kyle! Good job, now one more time."

~♡ JIMMY DARLING:

ever since you were a kid, you loved going to carnivals, your parents would always bring you there every weekend.

there were carnivals almost everywhere, and your family brought you to all of them.

to you, each carnival was unique. the clowns and magicians in each carnival had different tricks up their sleeve.

but as you grew up, these carnivals slowly went out of business. except for one, which was elsa's cabinet of curiosities.

you decided to visit it one day just for a trip down memory lane, you never really had expectations for this place.

when you arrived there, there were a few people that were seated.

the show started and it instantly made you smile, they reminded you of your younger days. oh how you wished to be a child again.

you watched through a few acts, and the last act was a man named jimmy darling

when he came on stage, you locked eyes with him. there was something about him that really struck you.

after the performance ended, jimmy ran over to you and got your number. from there, you always talked and you would visit him regularly.

the regular visits stopped when the pandemic struck the country, forcing entertainment establishments, schools and unis to close down.

for the mean time, all your classes went online. you told jimmy that he could stay with you until things went back to normal.

on an early tuesday morning, you were in english class. jimmy was with your parents preparing breakfast, and you were falling asleep while your teacher discussed about the odyssey.

unlike tate, jimmy would always knock on your door. as his mom always taught, never enter anyone's room without knocking.

jimmy would giggle at your sleeping sight, your head lowered and your hair messed up.

"Hey, sweetheart, wake up! You're in class."

jimmy's timing was perfect. as he woke you up, you were called by the teacher.

"Miss Y/N, Do you think Odysseus was loyal to his wife?"

obviously, you panicked. but jimmy was there to save you. since jimmy was fond of reading, he finished the book and he whispered the answer to you before you could turn on your mic.

"No, Ma'am. Odysseus had an affair with Calypso and Circe."

once you got your teacher's approval, you turned off your microphone and let out a sigh of relief.

"You're lucky that I'm here to help you."

jimmy would joke and you would jump up to him, tackling him into a hug.

"I'm always lucky to have you, baby."

~♡ DANDY MOTT

at a young age, you were exposed to different types of fabrics. denim, silk, corduroy, neoprene. they name it, you've probably seen it.

your mother worked as a fashion designer. she managed to open a shop in the city and it was a great success for you and your family.

your mother has styled famous models. because of this, the shop was promoted and broadcasted all over the country. one day when you came from school, you saw a long line outside the shop.

that day, the staff count was low. there were only 5 employees instead of 10. you didn't exactly know why, so you decided to help.

after what felt like several hours, the long line finally dissolved into 2 customers, which was a mother and her son. they looked through the shop and the mother instantly loved everything.

her son, on the other hand, was trying on this lilac tux that your mother made.

you assisted her son and when you locked eyes, the both of you smiled. you entertained him throughout his shopping spree and the both of you never broke eye contact.

this was how you met dandy. he made the first move by getting your number, and of course you gave it back.

from there, the both of you talked day and night, even when you were in school.

since dandy's mother, gloria, loved your mother's shop so much, she would invite you and your mother regularly to her mansion.

gloria and your mother got along very well, and it was like gloria was your second mother.

so when your mother went to paris for a fashion show, she let you stay in gloria's mansion until she came back.

but to your dismay, your mother was not able to come back due to a pandemic that was all over the world. flights, establishments, and schools closed down.

of course you were sad, but you didn't worry so much because gloria treated you like her real daughter.

classes were online and you were forced to attend them everyday in the shared room you had with dandy.

since you had to get ready for class early in the morning, you would quietly get out of bed because dandy was sometimes a light sleeper.

it was around 8am and you were in math class. in your school, cameras were required to be turned on at all times. you thought this was a shit rule, but you had no choice to comply.

you were drawing some circles with a compass for an example that was being discussed by your teacher, when all of a sudden dandy was beside you.

"Dandy, sweetie, what are you doing up so early? Go back to sleep.."

dandy would pout at the lack of attention that you were giving him. since he loved holding your hand, you let him hold your other hand that you didn't use for writing.

"You're doing Math instead of cuddling with me!"

—♡—

i'm actually super proud of this omg !! i hope yall enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it 🥺❤

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katherinadeluca · 3 years ago

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*★,°*:.☆:*.°★* 。*★,°*:.☆:*.°★* 。*★,°*:.☆:*.°★* 。

TW: Adult Dialogue, Sexual References, Mature Themes

*★,°*:.☆:*.°★* 。*★,°*:.☆:*.°★* 。*★,°*:.☆:*.°★* 。

It had been weeks since term began. The student had fall into their yearly academic habits and Hogwarts had grown less presumptuous and fell into it's habitual sustenance of event. Professor Malfoy's class had become accustomed to their teacher's less than welcoming antics and proceeded with it. Draco wouldn't dare admit it but he half appreciated the students quality of accommodation.

"I had no idea, itty bitty Drakie could be that fucking scary."

"Mhm," Gloria hums.

A light-hearted silence ensues. The open window introduces a brisk gale that cools the room. The three bask in the comfort of the stillness; one reading, another fiddling with his hair when all at once, Cassie abruptly bursts out in a flurry of uproarsome giggles. Snorting obnoxiously at something. The other two look up, curious as to whether the girl had lost her bearing on sanity at last.

"What?" They enquire.

"She- she shagged our Professor," Cassie points at the brunette, the sentence comes out in gasps between noisy chortles.

"Haha," Gloria says dryly.

"Oh please! Professor! Oh Sir! OHHH!" Cassie says in a nagging high-pitched voice, shrieking with hysteria. At this Aiden breaks, dissolving into tumultuous laughs. Clutching his stomach for dear life as he joins in on Cassie's mission to humiliate the youngest Lightwood.

"Professor! Please! Oh professor Malfoy! Let me have your children!" He moans dramatically, throwing his back in exaggerated pleasure. Gloria's face sets in a disappointed frown at her friend's childish antics.

She fashions a daunting glare for what feels like several eternities when they finally calm down, panting and gasping for air after what felt like the best laugh they've ever had.

"I'm glad you find this funny." The head girl says in a scathing manner

"Because it is, darling"

"Your humor is fucking broken."

"Says the person that thought a child falling off a bench and face-first in snow was the comical thing in the world."

"How many times must I say this? I didn't laugh."

"You did," Cassiopeia says matter-of-factly

"Very loudly so, until you cried tears of insanity," Aiden agrees. "Your face was bright red."

"It was the middle of Novemeber, I was cold," the girl defends avidly

"Gloria, you fucking cackled."

"In the most sympathetic way possible!"

A sprinkling of seconds or so pass as the three exchanges looks of acknowledgement, wordlessly leaving the conversation to conclude with an undertone of post-chaotic placidity.

"Well, my love, this was fun but I will now be going to my divination class that doesn't have the two of you in it because you're apparently too busy for Divination, because who doesn't like Divination right? With all the eyesore décor, moist tea leaves, tea cups that are practically falling apart and the gypsy-hobo professor who kept telling Gloria she had the grim-"

"You're rambling again." The girls interrupted him, causing him to stop, look at them and simply... leave.

"What in Salazar's name possessed me to associate with this oddity?"

"He engages in unwitty railleries, has the best stock of weed in the entire school and we love him and his bird's nest of hair even though he has a ranting problem." She answered, looking up from whatever it was that she was doing with her nails.

"Right, Now, get up or we'll be late for Potion and I have no intentions, whatsoever of securing myself a detention with Filch for tardiness."

Tardiness my ass, Draco just has authority issues.

*★,°*:.☆:*.°★* 。*★,°*:.☆:*.°★* 。*★,°*:.☆:*.°★* 。

Potions was frustrating to say the least, Professor Malfoy pointed every singularity of a non-existent flaw in everything they did. He might as well be claiming that the intervals between each breath was wrong. Gloria thought that he may be an absolute genius but he was still an arse.

A very nice arse

The Slytherin skillfully sliced a fisting of Aconite, keenly focused on procuring smaller fragments of the ingredient for her Wolfsbane potion. Ascertaining that she doesn't gather the peccant leaves of the flower, her gloved hands carefully cup the cerulean blossoms and gently drop them into the bubbling brew, stirring the potion in clockwise ministration for a few seconds till it's at its desired state. She looks at the mixture, content. Gloria sets down the ladle and ungloves her hands.

Waiting for the mixture to produce spirals of its characteristic blue steam, she allows her gaze to wonder to the professor. He has taken to his desk at the very front of the class, busying himself with the correcting the potions from the week prior. His slender digits enclose a pretty eagle-feather quill. A pair of delicate wire-rimmed spectacles rest on the bridge of his sharp nose captivating grey oculi intently skim the words upon the parchment. His flaxen hair gelled neatly, save for a singular strand hanging stubbornly against his forehead. Pillowy pink lips trapped between the pristine dentition of pearly whites.

He looks fucking ethereal.

Gloria practically drools as her line of sight sets off to include the picture of his calloused hands. Pale- almost chatoyant- skin stretched beautifully onto the careful arrangement of bones that formed his skilled carpus. A solitary silver signet ring sat on his right hand, timidly enclosing his ring finger in an elegant embrace. A myriad of veins encompassed the expanse of his entire wrist and forearm, extending across the surface like the tributaries of a deluging river. The very image taunted in her an uncontrollable urge to trace each divot with her fingers till she'd memorized every inch of it. With each miniscule flex of his hand she'd see the veins shift and dance in the varying exposure of light. A hand travels right below his mouth, resting at his chin.

I want to bite him.

The hiss of a sharp sizzle jolts her out of her less-than-appropriate epiphany. The Wolfsbane aggressively boiling over and onto the cast iron cauldron stand above the burner. She quickly extinguishes the burner to stop her potions from travelling any higher on the temperature-time graph. Her face burns hotter then the brew as her partner casts a concerned look towards her.

A rightful idiot you are, Gloria.

At last when the bell carillons, Gloria is pleased to be over with her classes at last, wanting nothing more then to lock herself in her dorm to and relieve herself of the embarrassing amount of tension that had equated as a product of her immodest daydreaming traversing the duration of Professor Malfoy's class. Although, her long-awaited consolation was soon deemed short lived for the second she was a mere foot from the exit, the professor's voice resonates in the empty classroom.

"Miss Lightwood, a word." He calls, ridding his desk of the organized mess of parchment and text with flick of his wand. His arms holding him up as he rests against the wooden ensemble of furniture, crossing his feet afront him.

She cursed under her breath swiveled, her feet carrying her to the desk he was leaning against, putting a self-effacing eight or so inches between their forms.

"Is there anything I can help you with, sir." She asked, trying her best not to reveal the irritability in her voice.

"Yes, actually there is, tell me Gloria. Would you find it appropriate to perhaps take the position of my teacher's assistant?" Draco asks, lifting off the table to rid himself of his tie, rolling it neatly around his extended digits, situating it neatly beside his quill.

"It would make perfect sense, wouldn't it? You're head girl, retain what I teach, submit work duly, pay attention... most of the time. It's perfectly fitting," he justifies his reason for asking Gloria with great ease and backs it with incredibly convincing, confident claims as he undoes the cuffs of his shirt, habitually rolls the sleeves up his arms. Gloria's breath catches.

Fucking wanker, he's doing this on purpose. Persevere, Gloria! Keep it in your pants for one fucking moment.

"Um- Yes- I suppose it would require a little more time but, yes."

"Spectacular, I will see you in my office prior to dinner." He said, placing his palm face down on the small of her back, leading her out of the classroom.

*★,°*:.☆:*.°★* 。*★,°*:.☆:*.°★* 。*★,°*:.☆:*.°★* 。

Gloria was dreading it. She was already so sure that her evening was going to be lengthy and difficult. For the longest time, he had been the cause for her nervousness. His presence entranced and taunted her in ways not one other patron had triumphed in doing. He excited her. In more ways than one.

Her mind wandered to that evening in her fifth year when she sat at the foot of her towering windows, admiring him as he played Quidditch with Ajax in the gardens of the Lightwood Manor. She loved watching him engage in what he flourished in and not to mention he looked godly doing it. Fuck was he a sight for sore eyes.

Pulling herself from the tantalizing memory, she finds that she was so delved in thought, she nearly walked into the door of his office.

A shame.

She stood, rooted in her spot just staring at the heavy mahogany door before slowly reaching out to open it and slipping into his office.

"Take a seat Miss Lightwood, I'll have you sort through the homework in a moment." Professor Malfoy says handing her a reasonable pile of parchment, each with a student's name scribbled upon it in neat hand-writing.

"Yes professor." Gloria mumbles, seating herself at his table, staring at the light, coffee-colored hue of paper.

Merlin help me.

*★,°*:.☆:*.°★* 。*★,°*:.☆:*.°★* 。*★,°*:.☆:*.°★* 。

There is more where that came from...

-Mischief Managed/*

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mandakatt · 4 years ago

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DMC Fic - Feeling of Familiarity - Dante Sparda & Nero Sparda

A/N: Here's the piece I did for the @jackpot-dantezine and since bundles are being shipped, I get the chance to share this one with you!

Characters: Dante Sparda, Nero Sparda, Trish, Credo, Vergil (Mention) Word Count: 2474 Warnings: Blood and Injury, Canon Compliant (I guess that's a warning? XD) Summary: Dante had come to Fortuna to 'check' into the collectors he'd heard about, and while he's taking care of that problem, he finds himself face to face with a young man that makes him think of Vergil.

Why though?

Why does this young cocky kid get his blood to sing with the feeling of familiarity?

And why does he want to protect him so badly?

“‘See you there’, she said. ‘This will be fun,’ she said...”

Dante grumbled softly to himself as he perched himself over one of the many stained glass windows of the opera house to look down at the congregation below, and he couldn’t help but huff out a little laugh.

"The Order of the Sword huh? Well...so much for hoping you were just a bunch of collectors.”

With a sigh he crouched himself down to listen for a moment, and he couldn’t help but cringe as he wiggled a finger into his ear. The Vicar, or whatever this demon wanted to call himself, was rambling on about a Savior, and it was totally getting on his nerves.

“Geeze, this guy can talk…”

He can feel the call of the Yamato nearby but it’s very distant and dulled, almost as if it was buried underground. It reminded him of how one felt when waking up from an all night bender, and he sort of huffed at the irony of the thought, considering the way the shop looked when he left.

With a sigh he stood up, and rolled his shoulders. “Well, no time like the present…” with a smirk he decided that a grand entrance; like always, is the way he should get things started.

Crashing into the opera house like a damned vigilante, he manages to shut up the Vicar himself with one very well-placed and up-close shot to the head. With that out of the way, Dante stands slowly, feeling his blood singing again as he turns his head to look around at what could be calling to him only to go wide-eyed as his gaze falls on a young man with stark white hair and the first thing that comes to mind is the word family.

But before he can figure out who or what he’s really looking at, he gets swarmed with demons, and with humans scrambling around and screaming to flee that makes this a bit more difficult. Immediately he considers how best to keep these things distracted long enough for the humans to escape, but then that familiar scent of fear fills his nostrils. His head snaps down to look at the woman at his feet, to tell her to not be afraid but the next thing he knows he’s got a pair of boots in his face. It takes all of his self control to not burst out laughing as he rights himself and draws his guns, giving off a soft huff he smirks as he stares this kid down, only to feel like he’s looking at a much younger version of his brother.

Well now...

It isn’t long before he finds himself clashing swords and once again he’s hit by a sudden rush of familiarity, as if there’s something about this cocky, loud, hot-tempered kid that makes his blood sing with the memory of Vergil, and he finds himself pushing this kid to the brink just to truly see what he’s capable of.

Suddenly the overwhelming need to protect this kid slaps him in the face.

He wants to help him redirect that anger into something more powerful. Guide him and teach him things that he was positive he didn’t know he could do already. Things that no one ever taught him when he was his age, and alone.

Yet those rambling thoughts are what distracts him enough that he’s suddenly taking several punches to the face. The devil in him grows angry at the situation and he feels the want to shift, and actually partly does so.

Alright Kid, you’ve made your point. Seems—

Suddenly, he’s weightless, and right after the wind gets knocked out of him, the Rebellion rips through his chest and he slams against the statue of Sparda. He stares down at it in disbelief for a moment before he lets his arms droop down to his sides with a soft sigh.

—Heh. Well that’s a case of some serious deja vu. And with my own sword no less!

Okay. So he might have just underestimated this kid just a little bit.

With a grunt he pushes himself free of the statue and lands on his feet to slowly pull the Rebellion free from his chest. He finds himself sort of encouraging this kid, explaining that he’s sure that he and this kid are the same, yet different from the demons that litter the floor around them, and when the kid turns to look he leaves the same way he got into the opera house, giving the kid a cheeky salute on his way out.

When he meets the kid again he can feel the anger radiating off him in waves, see it in the way this kid’s arm glows with power, and he knows that the Yamato is feeding from that anger. In the short time he’s followed this kid around, he’s never seen him be this sloppy, and it irritates him at how easily he knocks this kid off balance by preventing him from pulling his arm away.

They clash swords and Dante doesn’t feel the same adrenaline rush as when they met, he knows there’s too much anger running through this kid’s head.

“You cooled off yet kid?” he pants softly as he looms over him. “What’s the matter? Why the glare?”

“You look as if you’ve just been playing me from the beginning.”

And Dante swears that hurts almost as much as when this kid pinned him to the stature in the opera house. He immediately backs off, resting the Rebellion on his shoulder as he tells him about the Yamato.

How it needs to stay in the family.

And when this kid desperately says that he needs it...

Well shit, you’re not making this easy on me are ya Kid?

“Then keep it,” Dante tells him with a smirk. “Now that you’re calm and cool you can get goin’...”

The kid stands there for a moment before moving past him, but before he gets too far he calls out to him.

“Hey! What’s your name?”

“Nero…You’re Dante right?”

With a light nod of his head he knows this kid—Nero—doesn’t see he watches him stalk off before he’s met by Trish, and he can’t help but tease her on how she’s dressed.

“Are you sure you wanna let him go?”

“Yeah...I figure he can bear the burden.”

His father could handle that blade without a problem.

“Well, if the kid screws up, then I’ll just have to kick his ass.”

Though the next time they cross paths his heart leaps up into his throat when he hears Nero’s desperate anguished cry for Credo. It’s a familiar sound as he knows he made a similar sound when he lost Vergil, and he finds himself catching Credo out of the air as gently as he’s able.

The Vicar rambles on about how ‘Gloria’ didn’t anticipate a descendant of Sparda’s blood, and his own sings with anger, and now he’s going to distract the Vicar just enough to give Nero a fighting chance.

“Hey Kid! You giving up so soon?”

“My options...are limited…”

Dante scoffs. “So melodramatic.” C’mon, don’t give up Kid... “Besides, if you die without giving my sword back, I’m gonna be pissed!” You’re not beaten yet!

He finds himself taking several steps forward with the want to save him only to blink as Nero gives him the bird and tells him to come and get it. Blinking in disbelief, he stares at the Savior where Nero was, before a smirk pulls at his lips.

“Heh, what a punk…” and a moment later the statue rises into the sky and he finds himself huffing out a laugh at the size of the Savior. “Check it out, it’s got wings!”

The groan and cough behind him causes him to turn to look at Credo, and he knows sadly that there is no coming back from a wound like that, but first, he’s hoping to get some answers.

“Hey. Where’s that thing going? It’s not complete yet is it?” he crouches down near him.

“It is in his heart to save the world from chaos...He will begin by driving it out.”

I see this is another familiar song and dance…

“Now he has what he needs. Yamato.”

Dante sighs as he looks from Trish back to Credo as he tells him what they want to use the sword for. How the Vicar wants to use the Yamato to open the Hell Gate, the real Hell Gate that lies dormant beneath the city, and Dante finds himself looking up at Trish.

“I think you...the son of the Dark Knight Sparda...are the only one that can stop the Savior now…Dante...”

Sighing a little through his nose as Trish starts to tease him about his reputation, he looks up at the Savior with his hands on his hips and huffs.

“Looks that way…” and he turns to look as Credo struggles to get to his feet, pain and loss all over his face and Dante’s heart goes out to the guy. He understands that he never wanted his sibling involved in any of this. He understands what it feels like to lose your family.

“Please… honor one last request…” Credo pants softly, groanings between words. “Save them. Kyrie and…Nero…” he moves to step forward as if he means to chase them when his body gives out.

Dante gently reaches out to place his hand on his chest to stop him, only to sigh and slowly sink down to his knee as Credo’s body dissipates. Instead of it being an energy that he’s used to, that colorless sort of dark matter, this glows warm and floats up into the sky. He feels a sudden sense of loss, and a twist of anger in his gut as he stares at his hand.

“I’ll do it…” he growls as he takes a deep breath and his tone changes as he gets to his feet. “I wouldn’t want to deny anyone their dying request.”

“I’ll sweep the city and evacuate the people.”

“Hey! Is this your way of ditching and dumping this mess on—”

“You wanna switch?”

When Trish rounds on him he stands there, his mouth agape at the look she gives him and he lifts his hands in submission. He knows that she really can tell how angry he is at this whole thing. Because no one else, family or not, should have to go through what he and his brother had.

“It’s cool!” Dante finally relents as he turns to leave. “Let’s stick to the plan.”

He goes after Devil Arms, and hell gates, and when he uses the Yamato to split a hell gate in two he knows it won’t be long before the Savior is focused on him.

“You get it back?”

Dante lifts the Yamato up, showing Trish the blade.

“That’s one sword....” he sighs and sounds almost weary.

“And one to go.”

With the Savior now looming closer he scowls, he knows that Nero is still in there somewhere, he can feel him, but he can’t tell exactly where the kid is and despite wanting to use the Yamato to destroy it he knows if he does, he’ll lose Nero in the process.

He can’t lose him too.

He can’t.

He has Trish go after the others, asking her to make sure they are safe as he starts off after the Savior, and he loses himself in the fight. It isn’t long before he sinks the Yamato deep into its chest, then calls for Nero.

“Time to wake up Kid! You’re missing out on all the fun!” and when he can’t feel him for a brief moment, his heart stops.

“Nero!”

Ah! There you are. Shit. Don’t scare a guy like that.

“Do what you gotta do kid, cause I’m about to send this guy on a one way trip to Hell!”

A fight with something so large is more annoying than anything, and he can feel Nero growing stronger with each swing of the Rebellion, almost as if he is empowering each step that Kid is making. He finds himself smirking a moment later when he realizes that the fight is over as he watches Nero land on his feet, with Kyrie in his arms.

“Took your time.”

“What, you looking for an apology?”

With a smirk he turns to face him and gestures with a flourish. “Well, how long am I going to have to wait for it?”

Only to scowl when the Savior moves again.

Dante turns to finish it off when Nero prevents him from doing so by passing him the sword of Sparda. With a smirk he stands there, keeping a simple vigil over Kyrie as his blood sings again with familiarity as Nero’s devil side awakens further and he watches with amusement as this kid crushes the Savior’s skull.

“I guess I should thank you…”

When Nero walks up to him again with the Yamato in hand he feels the want to protect ebb a little as he turns to face him.

“But that would be out of character,” Dante smirks. “Maybe you should just throw an insult my way instead.”

“Yeah, that sounds better, but still, I owe ya.”

Dante finds himself wanting to tell him about his Father, his family, of how damned proud of him they all would be, but the words die in his throat, and with a bit of a smile, he tries to act nonchalant.

“Ah, don’t sweat it, I had my reasons for helping.” with a gentle pat on Nero’s shoulder he starts to leave. “Take care of yourself.”

“Wait, you forgot this.”

He pauses and turns to face him with a slight smile. “Keep it.”

“What? I thought this meant a lot to you..?”

“Well, that’s the only type of gift worth giving.” Dante’s voice grows soft and fond. “I want to entrust it to you, so I am.”

Your father would want you to have it.

Before he gets too emotional he becomes aloof and takes a step back from him with a grin.“What you do from here, is your call.” He turns to leave.

There’s still demons on the loose in Fortuna; he can’t just leave them to run amok after all.

“Hey Dante? Will we meet again…?”

With a gentle wave over his shoulder as he heads back toward the city to catch up with Trish, he knows that he won’t be letting Nero out of his sight for too long. Not just because he knows he has a thing or three to teach this kid about hunting devils, but because you stick with family, no matter what.

“Don’t worry, Kid,” he mumbles under his breath. “Your Uncle Dante will watch out for ya...”

#Meraki #Dante Sparda #DMC Dante #Nero Sparda #DMC Nero #TW Blood #TW Injury #Dante Zine #DMC Fanzine #Jackpot a Dante Fanzine #Uncle Dante

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misskikuwrites · 4 years ago

Text

Piece by Piece (1/2)

Bederia Week 2021: Day 3 - First Kiss

Bede/Gloria (dressedinpinkshipping)

Tags: Fluff, angst, alcohol spiking, underage drinking, leon/sonia ship reference, swearing

Words: 8,806

@bede-x-gloria

Gloria stared out the Sky Taxi window and into the night. The city of Wyndon was a glistening sea of lights below them, alive and vibrant as though unbothered by the late hour. As they flew closer to the Rose of the Rondelands, the elegant five-star hotel where the Gala was taking place in its grand ballroom, the nerves in Gloria's stomach began to tighten. She wove her fingers together on her lap to stop herself from wringing the delicate chiffon skirt of her violet dress.

Violet. Gloria clenched her jaw and swallowed the lump in her throat. Even now, her heart ached when she thought about him- about Bede. A week had passed since she'd ran out on him, since she'd realised how she felt towards him. It had been a week filled with tears. A week spent fighting the pain, the guilt, the fear. A week where she struggled to put the pieces of her heart back together. Fragile like broken glass, the wound was still raw. It hadn't been long enough

She felt unbalanced. About to crumble at any given moment, ready to fracture. The impending Gala was more daunting to her than ever before, knowing that Bede would be there. There was no avoiding it. She'd sent him a short text, apologising her abrupt departure with the weak excuse that something had come up. Something she needed to attend to.

That much wasn't a lie, but she refused to read his reply. It hurt too much. She'd cried enough for a lifetime over the past few days, overcome by fear, and couldn't bear to find out how he'd judge her for it. Gloria let out a shaky sigh. She blinked hastily as tears pricked in her eyes, tilting her head back to stop them forming. She couldn't risk crying now, not after spending an hour - and a lot of money - getting her make-up done by a professional.

Hop shifted closer to her on the plush seat. "Hey, don't worry. Everything'll be fine," he said, giving her arm a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

Even with Hop next to her, fear had taken hold inside her. Like a creeping vine, it wound around her heart, making its home in her chest, in her lungs, with a thousand thorns that pierced her flesh whenever she breathed.

"He's going to be there," Gloria said quietly. She didn't need to say his name. She couldn't, not without giving in to her tears.

"I know," Hop said, "but that doesn't mean anything's going to happen."

She pressed her lips firmly together. He was right, but trepidation seeped through her veins with every beat of her heart, filling her with fear. Drowning out Hop's voice of reason.

"I don't want to see him." Her lips trembled. Chest tightened. Gloria wanted to curl up as small as she could, to hide away, to vanish completely.

She didn't want to do this.

"There'll be tons of other people there, you probably won't even notice him!" Hop pointed out. "You'll be too busy dancing or talking with all the sponsors and famous people fighting for your attention. I doubt you'll have any time to worry about Be- about him at all."

He quickly cut himself off from saying Bede's name, but Gloria's heart thumped painfully in her chest, hard enough to make her wince. It wouldn't be difficult for her to avoid Bede- as Hop had said, there'd be dozens and dozens of people clambering to speak with her all night. The issue was her heart, the longing, the ache inside her that drew her towards Bede. It corrupted her, this feeling she despised.

This love.

Gloria wrapped her arms around herself and sank further into the chair. "What if he knows?" she asked, her voice as quiet as a breath, faint and insecure. Full of fear.

"C'mon, Glo. There's no way he'd know," Hop said. He gave her arm a gentle rub, trying to comfort her.

Gloria let her vision blur, eyes falling closed. The lights out the window, tiny speckles like stars below, bloomed into ribbons of light. The glass was cold against her skin. Cold and hard, echoing how numb she felt.

"You know I'm not good at pretending," she said slowly. "I can't… hide my feelings well."

Gloria had never been good at that, hadn't seen the point in pretending to feel something she didn't. She couldn't fake it. She was an open book for anyone to read, and it had never been an issue.

Until now.

Gloria felt vulnerable. Paper thin, as though everyone could see right through her. As though her heart was out in the open.

"You won't have to fake anything," Hop said. "Just be yourself. He can't read your mind, remember? He's your friend. If he does come up to you, act like nothing's changed, because nothing has changed." He nudged her with his elbow gently. "You said you've felt like this towards him for a while, right? If he didn't notice then, he won't notice now."

Gloria grimaced with a flash of pain. "I don't want to feel like this." Her voice caught. "I don't- I don't want to be in love."

Tears threatened to fall. She sucked in a breath and blinked rapidly to force them away again. She wasn't about to let the efforts of her make-up artist go to waste just because she couldn't stop herself from crying.

"Hey, love's not all that bad," Hop said. "You never know, maybe he feels the same about you-"

"That doesn't matter!" It came out in a beat of panic. Her heart clenched tight in distress, forcing a sob out of her throat. "It doesn't matter," she said again, softer this time. "Love only leads to pain. I don't… I don't want to go through that again."

Hop touched her arm. "Gloria…"

"Sorry." She shook her head. "I'm being stupid again. I know you think it's ridiculous that I'm terrified of love."

"No, I…" He looked away. "I don't think it's ridiculous. Neither does your mum. Those of us who know what happened… we understand."

"But you still think I'm wrong."

Hop stifled a grimace, his expression twitching with regret. "I think… it's a shame that you won't give this a chance, that's all."

A chance. That was a risk she couldn't take. Gloria tried to shove her feelings away, to force them deep, deep into the back of her mind in the hope that she was strong enough to stop them from resurfacing. If she could get through tonight without crumbling to dust, then perhaps she could control this and keep those feelings at bay. It was a test, one she'd been practicing a week for. The Sky Taxi landed out the front of the Rose of the Rondelands hotel, and Gloria sat up straight. She took a deep breath and perfected her mask.

When the Sky Taxi door pulled open, she was no longer just Gloria, a simple girl from Postwick. She was Gloria, the Champion of Galar. She swept out of the carriage and into the blinding lights of camera flashes. Cries of her name filled the air, increasing in volume when she waved politely to the journalists with a smile. She felt like someone else. Someone more confident, more classy, someone who fit in the world of the elite and famous. The delicate make-up and stunning dress gave her a veil to hide behind. Her hair was styled into an elegant updo, fashioned with a French braid that trailed above her right ear. Even her usually plain fringe was styled to fit, and she had soft wispy curls left to frame her face. It wasn't Gloria they saw, not really. They saw the Champion.

Behind her title, she could hide in plain sight.

Hop stepped up beside her, looking smart in his dapper, slim fitting navy suit, and he met her smile with one of his own, one that soothed away the final cracks in Gloria's mask. He offered her his arm, and she took it with practiced grace. The week they'd spent rehearsing paid off as they strode arm-in-arm with confidence through the doors.

Gloria breathed the faintest sigh of relief as the doors closed behind them, shutting out the buzz of noise and lights from outside. Hop's eyes twinkled with unspoken pride as they were led through to the grand ballroom. It was as exquisite as last year, and Gloria found herself dazed for a moment. Chandeliers glistened like diamonds over the marble floor, the ceiling towered above them, held up by pillars carved with intricate designs. Interspaced between the pillars were glass windows and doors that fed out into the balcony, the night a wedge of darkness outside.

Gloria forced herself to keep moving as heads turned towards her and Hop as their entrance was announced. Already, the ballroom was filled with people, most of whom she didn't recognise. People mingled in groups by tables overflowing with tiers of cakes, arrangements of fruit, and varying morsels of food the size of which would've better suited a Skwovet. Waiters expertly swept through the crowds, carrying crystal glasses bubbling with what Gloria assumed was something alcoholic. She tightened her grip on Hop's arm and nervously glanced from face to face, from group to group. Instinctively, unintentionally, seeking him out.

"Look, there's Lee and Sonia," Hop said, tapping Gloria's arm.

"Where?" She forcefully dragged her gaze to where Hop was pointing as he led her over to them.

Sonia brightened when she saw them approach, looking absolutely stunning in an off-the-shoulder teal dress. A slit in her skirt ran halfway up her high, showing off her long, slim legs. She wore heels that matched the colour of her dress, the height of which made Gloria blink in shock for a moment. In her heels, Sonia stood as tall as Leon.

"Oh, don't you two look so precious!" Sonia said, gesturing with the glass in her hand. "Reminds me of the first Gala Leon invited me to."

She leant closer to Leon, their arms comfortably intertwined. He smiled at her, his eyes soft with remembrance, and Gloria suddenly felt as though she'd missed something.

"That was years ago," Leon chuckled softly.

"You didn't tell me you'd be here, Lee," Hop said, lifting an eyebrow. "I didn't think they let ex-Champions attend."

"I'm here as the proprietor of the Battle Tower," Leon said. "Turns out that makes me important enough for an invite. And here I'd thought I'd had enough of these for a lifetime."

Gloria managed a smile as her attention drifted away from their group. She looked past Sonia, to where a band was playing by the dancefloor. Couples spun and twirled in time to the music, manoeuvring around each other in a perfectly choreographed synchrony. Gloria's heart thumped as she glanced between the dancers. None of them had his height or his build. None had platinum blond hair or curls like his, none had his elegance or poise. She swallowed thickly and looked away. Would Bede soon be dancing like that with a gorgeous woman in his arms?

That thought soured her mood more than it already was, filling her throat with nausea. She pulled away from Hop's arm and gave him a tight smile when he looked at her.

"I'm going to grab a drink," Gloria said.

She ducked around Hop towards a passing waiter. One of them had to have something non-alcoholic, and if they didn't, then surely they could bring her something that was. She made for the waiter as quickly as her heels would allow while also retaining her sense of refinement. In her haste, she almost collided with someone.

"Oh, sorry!" Gloria apologised, swallowing her yelp as she stopped herself a split second away from walking straight into the young man in front of her. He jolted just as she did, his bright blue eyes widening with recognition.

"You must be Gloria," he said, "the Champion, right?"

She straightened and gave him a smile. "That's me," she said with a sheepish laugh.

Gloria distracted herself from her nerves by fingering the bracelet around her wrist. She touched each tiny star, the crystals sparkling pink in the light, and her mind drifted to the moment Bede had given it to her, to when he'd gently clasped it around her wrist and her skin had tingled at his very touch. She felt her cheeks warm.

Not now! Gloria stamped that memory out. Don't think about that now!

"What luck, running into the Champion of Gala before I've even had my first drink," the blond-haired stranger said, smiling gently at her. He held up the glass in his hand, the clear liquid spotted with tiny bubbles. "Here, why don't you have mine? You seemed to be after that waiter before you almost barreled me over."

Gloria flushed darker. "Oh, um, I can't drink. Alcohol, I mean. I'm not eighteen yet."

"No need to worry, then. It's non-alcoholic sparkling wine," he said, offering it to her again. "I don't drink either, although I could if I wanted to. I'd rather not dull my senses, you see."

She accepted his glass, peering into it for a moment. As the stranger had said, there was no evidence around the rim that he'd tried it, and so she gave it a tentative sip. It tasted much like it smelled, though sweeter than expected.

"Thank you," Gloria said, appreciative that she didn't have to continue chasing a waiter. "I don't think I caught your name?"

The stranger smiled. "That would be because I hadn't given it to you, yet. I'm Elliott Murdoch. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Gloria."

She smiled back despite how strange it was to have people she'd never met know so much about her. She doubted that she'd ever get used to it.

"It's nice to meet you too," Gloria said. She filled his name into the back of her mind before pausing. "Hold on- Murdoch? As in, like Richard Murdoch?"

Elliott gave a short laugh. "That would be my father, yes."

Gloria's heart plopped into her stomach and churned with her nerves. She knew who Richard Murdoch was, almost everyone in Galar did- he owned most of the newspapers, the magazines, that circulated. He was one of the richest men in Galar, and could possibly be the richest now with Rose out of commission.

And she'd almost run into his son.

Elliott must've seen her pale, for he touched her shoulder gently. "Don't worry, I've got little to do with my father's empire at the moment. I find that associating myself with him tends to limit the amount of people comfortable around me," he said. "I'm sure you must experience something similar, being the Champion."

Gloria found her nerves loosening slightly. "I think so," she said. "People see me as the Champion, rather than as myself. It can get a bit exhausting, sometimes…" she trailed off, and slowly drank from her glass. She'd begun looking over his shoulder, her attention shifting between the people behind him. Searching the crowds.

Where is he?

"I know what you mean," Elliott said, and Gloria snapped attention back to him.

Arceus, what am I doing? She scolded herself. Pay attention to who you're talking to!

She nodded stiffly, trying to listen to Elliott as her mind threatened to drift away again. Every flicker of movement in the corner of her eyes, the people moving about, the couples dancing, itched at the back of her mind. He would be here somewhere. With his date- perhaps with the one he'd spoken about to her, the one he liked.

Gloria's stomach twisted into knots. She lifted her glass to her lips and downed the rest to force away the nausea rising up her throat. Even now, Bede managed to invade her thoughts. Just knowing he was here, somewhere, sent something crackling and fluttering away in her chest, and filled her with a longing to find him. A longing that came with fear.

Elliott tapped Gloria's shoulder, giving her a sheepish smile. "I believe your date is staring me down," he said, and gestured behind her.

Gloria glanced over her shoulder, and caught Hop's gaze. He raised an eyebrow at her, his brow furrowed with the slightest hint of concern. A question in his eyes.

"I should get back to him," Gloria said. She gave Elliott an apologetic smile to which he chuckled.

"Yes, well, we wouldn't want your boyfriend to get the wrong idea."

Gloria stiffened. All the muscles in her body went rigid. Tight. "He's not my boyfriend," she said. Nausea returned with a vengeance, and her heart began to thump heavily in her chest, each beat hollow with dread. "Hop's just a friend."

"Ah, my apologies, then," Elliott said with a sweet smile. "I'd heard you were dating the young professor's assistant, but really, of all people, I should know to take what I read in magazines with a heap of salt."

Gloria forced a smile. The polite breath of laughter she tried to give died on her lips. "Those magazines have… never been right."

"Well, since I've received information directly from the source, I'll be sure to tell our writers to stop publishing nonsense rumours about you two," Elliott said.

"I'd really appreciate that, thank you." His assurance lifted a weight from the pit of her stomach. "It was nice meeting you, Elliott," Gloria said, giving him a grateful nod.

"As it was meeting you." Elliott flashed a charming smile, and said with a wink, "I'll have to ask you for a dance later, if your date doesn't mind me monopolizing a bit more of your time."

She shot a glance over her shoulder. Hop turned away unsubtly, but she caught Leon's eyes. His expression was unreadable, almost stern, but when their eyes met, it vanished beneath his smile. The look on Leon's face had lasted but a moment, and it still managed to disconcert her as she headed back to them. His attention remained on Elliott for a while longer.

"Who was that?" Hop asked, eyeing Gloria's empty glass. "You didn't get me one?"

"Sorry." She shrugged. "Elliott offered it to me, and he only had one."

"Elliott Murdoch," Leon said. His smile had faded, leaving his gaze distant.

"Wait, that was Elliott Murdoch?!" Sonia gasped. "As in, heir to the Murdoch empire? Son of Richard Murdoch, the wealthiest man in Galar? That Elliott Murdoch?!"

Gloria shrunk, her grip tightening around her glass. With Hop, Sonia and Leon staring at her, it was like she was being interrogated, forced under a spotlight.

"I think so…?" Gloria said meekly. "Is he that well known?"

"Of course he is!" Sonia gaped at her. "Don't tell me you didn't know who he was?"

"He has a certain… reputation," Leon said slowly, pausing as though he was mulling over his words.

"What did he say?" Sonia asked. Her eyes sparkled with interest. "What did you talk about? Anything interesting? He offered you a drink- did he ask you to dance?"

"Um, we just introduced ourselves," Gloria said. "We didn't talk for that long."

Sonia sighed, deflating. "Aw, too bad. These functions get boring and tedious real quick without anything interesting to talk about." She took a long sip of her wine, and hooked her arm around Leon's, leaning against him slightly. He smiled at her warmly. "And the only thing interesting around here are the people, most of which I'd never see in person if not for Leon."

"So you've become a gossip," Hop huffed. "Never thought you had it in you, Sonia."

"That's Professor Sonia to you!" She rested her head against Leon's shoulder, peering at Hop with one eye open. "You might not be wearing your lab coat, but you're still my assistant! Don't make me fire you for insubordination!" Her lips, shiny with a coat of crimson lipstick, pursed into a pout.

Hop recoiled in shock, while Leon chuckled.

"Don't mind her," Leon said, his affection clear in his voice, "she gets a bit testy when she's had wine."

Gloria looked away. Their casual display of affection, the tenderness in Leon's eyes, made her chest tighten. She swallowed as a vice constricted around her throat. The conversation before her became a blur of noise, her concentration fading, and her gaze drifted past Sonia to the people standing on the opposition side of the room.

Her heart stopped. She recognised him instantly across the grand ballroom, from the way he stood tall with confidence, the way he held his head high.

Bede. He was breathtakingly beautiful- even from a distance, the sight of him whisked the air from her lungs in a silent gasp. He wore a tailcoat coloured a deep lavender, his usually unruly hair parted to the side and smoothed down as much as his curls would allow, his fringe kicking up in parts that sat beside his right ear. Gloria couldn't breathe for a moment. She forgot where she was, who she was, what she was doing. Her feet moved beneath her, drawing her a single step towards him.

She froze, heart lodged in her throat. There was an arm linked around his. Desperately, Gloria glanced at the woman on Bede's arm. She braced herself. Every fibre of her body tensed, instinctively wincing, waiting for the pain.

It never came. The woman on his arm balanced herself with a dark, ornately carved wooden cane. Her floor-length dress matched the dark lavender of Bede's tailcoat, Ms Opal's outfit topped with a gorgeous, lavender headpiece.

He'd come with Ms Opal. Gloria stared at them, her heart plopping into her stomach in shame. Bede always attended events with Ms Opal, she'd accompanied him the before, it made sense that this year would be the same. Gloria had gotten herself worked up over nothing. Over less than nothing, and she cursed herself for being so stupid. Her feelings towards him addled her mind. She saw things, worried about things, that weren't there. It turned her into a lovesick fool. An idiot.

Gloria huffed and forced down the feelings welling up in her chest. The yearning, the longing, that she felt towards Bede tugged on her heart despite the creeping fear that always remained one step behind. A lump settled in her throat again. Heat washed over her eyes. She blinked it away and quashed everything else. Her fear would protect her. She wore it as a shield, wrapped it around her heart like a cloak, and refused to budge. She wouldn't give in. The distance between them kept her safe- a wedge, a dark rift, she refused to cross. Gloria would stay here, on the other side of the ballroom, and let the night pass without incident. Without pain. This way, she didn't have to pretend. She didn't have to lie. To herself, to Bede, to her heart.

If that meant all she could do was watch him in silence, then she would. To keep herself safe, she would.

You'll be okay, Gloria told herself. Soothing the ache in her heart. If you stay away from him, you'll be okay. It's for the best.

She sighed, and let herself glance at Bede one final time. Their eyes met. Through the mingling guests filling the space between them, he looked straight at her.

And took a step forward.

Gloria grabbed Hop's arm and yanked him towards the dancefloor. "We're dancing," she said- ordered. No room for argument in her tone.

Hop stumbled, almost tripping on his feet as she pulled him away from Sonia and Leon. Away from Bede. "What? Now?"

"Now." Gloria slammed her glass down on a table as they passed it, not slowing her pace in the slightest. Her heart thumped rapidly in her ears, silencing Hop's grumbles of protest, and she forced herself onwards, fueled by panic, by her nerves, by the fear spreading through her lungs.

Bede had stepped towards her.

Gloria pulled Hop amidst the dancers, not waiting for the current song to end, and turned towards him. She grabbed his hand, his shoulder, and they fell into step with the music. At this distance, she couldn't hide from Hop the shadows, the fear, behind her eyes.

"What happened?" Hop asked quietly.

He instantly settled into their dance, realising this wasn't just one of Gloria's impulsive whims. Their week of practice paid off as they turned in sync.

"I saw him." It came out as a whisper, as quiet as a gasp. "And he-"

Gloria clamped her eyes shut for a second, for a step of their dance, and she sucked in a breath. Tears blinked away.

"He saw me," she said. Knowing that somewhere across the ballroom, Bede was behind her.

"Your eyes met?" Hop stepped right, and she followed.

Gloria nodded. She tightened her grip on Hop's shoulder as the world threatened to crumble beneath her feet. Unbalanced no longer described how she felt- she wasn't stumbling, she was falling.

"It was bound to happen, Glo," Hop said gently. He didn't patronise her, he understood the roots of her fear, the grip it had on her, and remained realistic. "He's your friend, it makes sense that he'd be looking for you. It's normal to want to hang with people you know at events like this."

Gloria let his words wash over her as they slowed to a stop when the song ended. Some of the couples around them departed, new ones taking their places, and the music began again.

"I don't want to talk to him," Gloria said. Her heart squeezed tight. "Not yet. Not tonight."

Hop gave her a rueful smile. "You can't avoid him forever, you know."

"I can try." She looked away, keeping in step with him as they followed the music.

"Is that what you want?"

Hop's words echoed the pain in her heart. The longing. The desire to risk it all.

"It doesn't matter what I want," she said finally. "This is what I need."

"If you say so…" Hop sounded unsure, but Gloria remained resolute.

She needed to avoid Bede. They danced for a while, until Hop's steps became sloppy and out of time, and Gloria decided to let him rest. They stepped off the dancefloor, and she immediately stepped into her role as the Champion, seeking out sponsors, esteemed guests, and patrons. People she recognised and strangers alike, anyone she could waste away time with. She danced with a few young men, most of whom were heirs to their parent's companies or estates, until her feet began to ache. When she parted from the last one, her throat was dry and hoarse from talking. Her head spun from dancing too long. The endless names she needed to remember blurred together in her mind, leaving her nauseous again. She gave the tables of slowly diminishing food a wide berth, seeking out a waiter she could commandeer for a drink.

Someone stepped in front of her. Gloria stopped herself from sagging in frustration, her gaze following the waiter she'd been a split second from reaching.

"Sorry, if you don't mind, I was-"

A glass full of sparkling liquid appeared before her eyes.

"After one of these?" Elliott asked, holding out a drink to her. He held a partially empty glass in his other hand.

She smiled in relief at him. "Yes, thank you." Gloria accepted the glass and sipped at it slowly, letting the bubbly liquid ease the ache in her throat. "How come you always seem to have just what I need?" she asked, breathing a laugh.

"I'll admit, the first time was a coincidence, but I was looking for an excuse to talk to you again," Elliott said.

Gloria tipped her glass to her lips, drinking as she thought. "You were?"

"It's not every day one gets a chance to talk with the Champion of Galar," he said, smiling softly.

His comment made her feel slightly giddy, as though the bubbles in her drink had filled her lungs. "It's not every day I get to speak with the son of the richest man in Galar," Gloria replied. "I feel like you one up me here."

She found herself relaxing further as he laughed. There was something about him, something comforting, and she ignored her sore feet when he asked her to dance. She felt like she was floating. Walking on clouds. She danced with Elliott, a smile on her face the entire time, and came out of it giddy and breathless.

"Okay, I think that's enough dancing for one night," Gloria said as they stepped off the dancefloor, gently fanning her face with her hand. Her cheeks were flushed with warmth. "Who knew dancing could be such a workout?"

"I'm impressed," Elliott said, turning his back to her for a moment to grab a pair of drinks off the tray of a passing waiter. "You turned down all offers to dance last year, so I thought perhaps you didn't know how. It seems I was mistaken- you dance like an expert."

He turned back to her, handing her a glass that she eagerly accepted.

"Thank you," Gloria said, sipping her drink to keep herself from telling him she didn't know how to dance until a week ago. "Do those doors open?" She nodded towards the glass balcony doors.

"Why don't we find out?" Elliott smiled at her, and she followed him over to the doors. With a simple push, the towering glass door opened, and Gloria skipped out into the cool night air.

"That's so much better," she sighed happily. Her body buzzed and tingled with warmth, and she welcomed the embrace of the cold air around her. She stepped over to the edge of the balcony, staring out at the lights of Wyndon. The Ferris wheel turned as a dark form on the horizon.

"I'll join you in a moment," Elliott said, "I'm just going to grab one of those cakes before they all disappear."

Gloria hummed her response, closing her eyes as a gentle breeze swept over her. She felt so light. So free, so uncaring. Everything she'd worried about had fallen off her shoulders, drifting away into the night with the wind. Footsteps sounded behind her, and Gloria turned with a smile.

"Back so soon? I thought-" She stopped. It wasn't Elliott behind her. Her mouth dropped open with a wordless gasp, and she reached for him without thinking. Time slowed around her as her fingers touched the soft fabric of his tailcoat.

"Bede?" His name fell from her lips in awe. He stared down at her, violet eyes full of longing, and his expression was so soft, so tender, that she felt lightheaded beneath his gaze. The tips of her fingers remained against his chest.

"Gloria…" the sound of her name sent a tingle down her spine. "You look so-" Bede's eyes shifted from hers. "Nice," he said, clearing his throat. "You look nice."

Floating. Gloria was floating. Why had she avoided him? She couldn't remember. Whatever the reason was, it no longer mattered. He was here.

"You look nicer," she said, pouting. "How is it that you're so much prettier than me? It's unfair!"

Bede blinked at her, and she snorted a laugh.

"Y'know what? It doesn't matter," Gloria said.

Bede's expression softened. He searched her eyes for a moment, once again captivating her with his gaze.

"I see you found time to continue practicing how to dance," he said. A hint of pride showed in his smile. "You had me worried- I wasn't sure that you'd be able to keep up your practice since you were so busy."

Busy? Had she been busy? She couldn't remember. Gloria found herself leaning towards him. Drawn towards him. Her palm flattened against his chest as she stepped closer. Something bloomed in her chest. Something warm, something powerful, and her heart felt full. The words were on her tongue before she could think.

"Bede, I think…" She felt fuzzy, giddy. And light. She felt so, so light. "I think I-"

"Where did you get that?"

"What?" Gloria stared at him for a second. He was frowning at the glass in her hand. Bede reached for it, and she tugged it away from him. "Hey, get your own!"

"Gloria, that's alcohol," Bede said with a huff. He looked at her incredulously, and she snorted.

"No, it's not," she laughed. "It's non-alcoholic sparkling wine. Arceus, Bede. I'm not an idiot!"

"Where did you get it?" Bede asked again. His expression turned serious.

She waved his concerns off with her hand. "The waiters are carrying them around. Elliott grabbed one for me."

"Elliott." The look on his face, grim with alarm flashing behind his eyes, sent a rush of cold clarity through her when he asked, "and who was it that told you it was non-alcoholic?"

Gloria's heart thumped slowly in her chest. "Elliott did…"

No.

She stared at the glass in her hand, a few centimetres of the bubbly liquid remaining. The third drink she'd accepted from Elliott.

This isn't…

"But I…" Gloria shook her head. She couldn't think straight. Her mind was a blur, her thoughts fuzzy and clouded.

Oh.

Oh no.

Her heart plummeted into her stomach as everything fell into place. The way she'd been feeling, how comfortable she left around Elliott when she'd never met him before, how easily she mingled with sponsors and patrons without a worry. The strange confidence, the peace, that had overcome her. And now, the thick fog that had overcome her mind, the weightlessness she felt, carried an new meaning. One that made her feel ill.

Bede gently took the glass from her and turfed the remaining wine into the planter beside them.

"How many have you had?" he asked.

Gloria reached for the balcony's railing, her fingers trembling around it as she tried to steady herself. The drinks Elliott gave her, one by one, flashed in her mind. She tasted the wine on her tongue. She'd been so stupid, so naive, to trust him, to accept those drinks. Disquiet settled heavy on her shoulders.

"That was my third…" Gloria answered. Her mind clouded with disbelief.

Was this really happening…?

"Have you eaten anything?"

She squeezed her eyes shut. Clenched her jaw to stop her voice from trembling. "No," she replied in a whisper. In shame.

Bede's touch on her arm almost brought her to tears.

"I don't… I don't understand…" Her voice caught. Fear loomed over her heart, crushed her chest, her soul. It didn't make sense. Nothing made sense. "Why would he…?"

Footsteps made Gloria glance towards the balcony doors, Bede turning to face Elliott as he paused in the wedge of light streaming from the ballroom. He held a glass of wine in either hand.

"You gave her alcohol," Bede said firmly. He straightened, standing tall between Gloria and Elliott, and yet she still felt small. Vulnerable.

Afraid.

Elliott shrugged. "The jig is up, is it? Shame. We hadn't even gotten to the good part yet."

Gloria stared at the floor, eyes wide and unseeing. She felt sick.

"And what were you hoping would happen?" Bede asked.

"Does it matter?" Elliott breathed a laugh, remaining unperturbed. "Someone has to try and liven up these dull events. I thought that perhaps a drunk, underage Champion would do the trick."

Again, he shrugged. Everything he said, his calm voice, his laughter, fell over Gloria in a daze. It didn't feel real. Like she was somewhere else, watching this unfold. Witnessing a dream- a nightmare. One she couldn't escape from. Fear crushed her heart, paralysed her breathing, turned her blood into ice. Cold. She felt cold.

"You-!" Bede's hands balled into fists. "How dare you-"

She reached for him the second he moved, gripping the tails of his coat before he'd taken a single step.

"Don't-" A tear slipped from her eyes. "Don't go…"

The fury on Bede's face shattered as she began to cry. The fear she'd been holding back engulfed her all at once, buckling her knees and tearing a sob from her throat. Bede whirled on his feet, holding her arms gently before she could collapse. Gloria fell against him. Into him. Breaking into pieces once again.

Elliott snorted. "I suppose this will do," he said, voice flat with boredom. "At least it'll be amusing to see how she gets out of this." He shrugged and stalked back inside.

Gloria squeezed her eyes shut tight. She grit her teeth, grinding out her pain, her fear, her indignation. Outrage burned up her throat. She wanted to scream, to cry and wail. She wanted to tear after Elliott and shove his pretty little face into the tiles, to send her Pokemon after him and make him regret the day he chose to mess with the Champion of Galar.

But she didn't. Gloria pulled her face off Bede's shoulder and took a shuddery breath. She wiped at her tears with the backs of her hands before Bede produced a white handkerchief, lined with intricate lace details, and held it out to her. She blinked at it, at him, and somehow, it made her laugh.

"What are you doing with this?" she asked, her voice strained, yet soft with amusement. She accepted the handkerchief and dabbed away her tears as delicately as she could. Her makeup smeared across it.

"Ms Opal insisted I carry one with me 'just in case,'" Bede said. His mouth twitched with the faintest smile, though it faded all too quickly.

"I'm beginning to think that Ms Opal can see the future," she laughed quietly before her lips began to wobble again with the threat of tears, and she grimaced. "Arceus, my makeup is ruined. I spent so much money on it, too…" Gloria sighed, lowering her hands in frustration. "Look at me- some guy I met tonight got me drunk and I'm worrying about my makeup!"

"Here, let me help." Bede took the handkerchief off her and gently dabbed it across her cheeks. "I wouldn't say it's ruined…"

Gloria huffed. "I must look like a Pangoro by now." She sniffled and closed her eyes, turning her cheek towards Bede as he patted away at the remains of her makeup.

"You look beautiful."

Her eyes snapped open. Bede's hand stilled by her cheek, the tips of his fingers brushing her skin. He looked right into her eyes. There was something in his gaze that stirred the very depths of her heart, and her lips parted with a silent, broken gasp. His eyes flicked down to follow the movement.

Bede looked away, clearing his throat. "A-Anyway, I wouldn't worry about your makeup," he said quickly. His voice hitched and he stammered, the sound of which sent a spear of heat through Gloria's body. "We should be able to it clean up enough that-"

Bede jolted when her fingers cupped his cheek, eyes widening in shock, and the handkerchief fell from his hand. He was beautiful. Stunned into silence, Bede's violet eyes searched hers, and her heart stirred again. Her heart, her soul, reached for him. She swept her thumb across his cheek. Her mind was fuzzy. Clouded. She wondered what she was doing, leaning towards him like this. Drawn to him like never before. Nothing else in the world mattered- not her fear, not her pain, not the Gala taking place in the hotel just metres away.

Nothing else mattered to her than Bede.

His mouth opened with words he couldn't voice. Concern, then wonder, filled his eyes as he slowly rested a hand over hers on his cheek.

He's beautiful, she thought again.

Bede stole his hand away, his eyes flicking from hers. "Gloria, what are you-?" He fumbled over his words, a blush blazing across his cheeks that made her heart swell. "You- you're drunk."

"Mm…" She didn't care. It was Bede.

This was what she wanted. Her hand trailed across his cheek and into his hair, her fingers weaving through those platinum blond strands.

Bede startled at her touch. "I think we should-"

Silence. And warmth. A soft warmth that spread from her lips, through her body, her chest, her heart. It felt right.

This was it.

This was what she'd wanted all along.

Bede couldn't breathe. His mind screeched to a halt when Gloria pressed her lips against his. She stole the words from his mouth, silencing him mid-sentence, and kissed him.

And he let her. The delightful sensation of her lips gliding across his addled his brain, his senses. Bede had wanted to kiss her for so long, he'd fought the desire within him to do so for months, that he couldn't stop himself from reciprocating instinctively. A gasp died in his throat. Without thinking, he followed the movement of her lips in a nervous dance that left him dizzy. It was slow and tender, and her lips were soft, so soft and warm, carrying the slightest hint of something sweet-

The wine.

"Holy shit biscuits!"

A gasp from the balcony doors jolted Bede back to reality, and he snapped away from Gloria, slamming the back of his hand against his mouth, and turned towards Hop.

"This- This isn't what it looks like!" Bede protested, his voice cracking, body blazing with heat. He burned from head to toe, his cheeks searing hotly with a dark blush he knew was obvious for all to see. He jumped as Gloria's head dropped to his shoulder. His lips still tingled from their kiss.

"Sure, mate." Hop held up his hands, taking a slow and stiff step backwards. "Whatever you say. I'll just… leave you two alone now…"

"Wait!" Bede glanced down at Gloria, realising how limp and boneless she felt against him. Her eyes were squeezed shut. "I need your help."

Hop frowned, then saw what Bede had- Gloria's pained expression, her grip tight on Bede's tailcoat. He rushed over, his eyes widening.

"What happened? Did you kiss her so hard she fainted?"

"N-No!" Bede snapped, heat shooting down his spine at the memory of what had just happened.

Gloria had kissed him.

"She's drunk," he explained to both Hop and himself. Reminding himself that Gloria hadn't been thinking clearly.

"What?! How?" Hop gaped.

A low groan came from Gloria. "I don't… feel right…"

Bede's heart squeezed tight in his chest. He gently rubbed her back, wishing he could do more. Now wasn't the time to get caught up in the fact that she'd kissed him, not when she was suffering like this. Not when someone had done this to her.

"Elliott Murdoch," he said through clenched teeth. "Know the name?"

Hop nodded. "That's the guy who gave Gloria a drink earlier-" he stopped and blanched. "No… Was that…?"

"It was." Bede nodded grimly. "Elliott has been giving her alcohol under the pretense that it was non-alcoholic sparkling wine."

"That douchebag!" Hop huffed, sending a searing glare towards the doors leading to the Gala. "What's his problem?!"

"A lack of entertainment, apparently." Bede swallowed the putrid taste of bile that crawled up his throat.

Gloria's grip on Bede tightened. She pulled off him enough so that she was no longer sinking into him, and groaned deep in her throat.

"I feel sick…"

"I don't doubt that," Bede said softly. He let her stand on her own, but kept close enough to her that he could catch her if she fell. Her gaze was unfocused, brown eyes glassy and distant. "You've had three glasses of wine on an empty stomach."

"Not to mention that you're not exactly the tallest person around," Hop pointed out.

Gloria made a disgruntled sound in her throat, leveling a pained glare at him. "Fuck off, Hop," she huffed.

Bede blinked at her, and she frowned.

"What?" Gloria asked, before realising what she'd said. "Oh, shit. Wait- I mean- fuck." She closed her eyes and huffed as Hop stifled a laugh. "Shut up, Hop! You're not helping!"

She grumbled, and held onto Bede's arm for a moment as her expression grew pained.

"Yeah, I… really don't feel well," Gloria said weakly.

"Shit, Glo. You don't look well," Hop said, gently rubbing her back in circles as her eyes squeezed shut.

Bede couldn't begin to imagine how she was feeling, from the effects of the alcohol and the knowledge that this had been done to her deliberately. Her small frame seemed even tinier than usual as she clung to him. He dropped his hand from her shoulder, trailing his fingers down her arm to take hers, and stopped as he brushed a familiar bracelet. The one he'd given her on White Day. A silver bracelet adjourned with diamond stars that glistened a soft pink in the light. She'd worn it. His gift. It made his heart ache for her, more determined than ever to do what he could to help her. He couldn't ease her suffering, he couldn't take that from her, but there was something else he could do.

He could get her to safety.

"We need to get her home," Bede said. His mind worked ahead of him, already churning through their options.

"She's drunk, can barely stand on her own, and if you haven't noticed, the ballroom is full of people!" Hop raised an incredulous eyebrow at Bede. "How on earth do you expect us to get her home without anyone seeing her like this?"

"That was part of Elliott's scheme," Bede sighed. "However, we're not completely out of options just yet. Marnie came with her brother, Piers, correct?"

Hop nodded. "Yeah, I spoke with them earlier."

"Good." That could work. "From what I've heard, Piers is an expert at drawing a crowd. Do you believe he'd be willing to cause a distraction for us? Marnie and I can alert the staff to our predicament, and you should be able to leave through the back of the hotel, out through the staff entrance. It wouldn't be the first time that incidents similar to this have occured, and staff at the Rose of the Rondelands are trained to be discreet. We shouldn't need to worry about one of them leaking this to the press."

"Piers will definitely be on board once he hears what happened to Glo," Hop agreed. "Although you might have to restrain Marnie from going after Elliott herself. Even I don't want to walk away knowing he's still in there, getting away with this scot-free."

"Oh, I have a thought for how to deal with him," Bede said. He looked towards the ballroom, spying Marnie in a crimson dress next to Piers in a matching suit. He eased Gloria off him gently so that she could lean on Hop instead. "Wait until everyone's attention is on Piers. The staff should prepare a way out for you- head for it as quick as you can."

Bede gave Gloria's arm a final, gentle squeeze. Her eyes were shut, her head resting against Hop's shoulder, and she gave no indication that she'd felt his touch at all. Shallow breaths sounded between her parted lips. He turned towards the ballroom, steeling himself.

"Wait, before you go-" Hop began, looking sheepishly away. "You've, uh, got some lipstick on your mouth."

Bede stiffened with a shot of heat. He furiously wiped at his mouth, his hand coming away with a slash of pink that matched the colour of Gloria's lipstick. He cleared his throat roughly. The blush on his cheeks sizzled in the cold air, and his body filled with warmth. The memory of her kissing him returned with force. He felt a ghost of her touch, a whisper of her lips, against his.

"Thank you," Bede said awkwardly. He fixed gaze on the ballroom beyond the glass in front of him as his nerves crackled alight at the reminder that Gloria had kissed him. The smudge of lipstick on the back of his hand.

In that moment, he hadn't noticed the glaze over her eyes. Bede knew very well that she had to be drunk, he'd told her himself, but when she'd reached for him, he hadn't been able to react in time. He'd been too speechless, too shocked, to stop her.

And she'd kissed him. Gloria, the one who denied herself love, who feared and despised the very thought of it, who swore she'd only kiss someone she was in a relationship with, had kissed him. He looked back at her now, standing only with the support of Hop, and his heart clenched with regret.

He should have stopped her. How could he be happy about this when she'd kissed him under the influence of alcohol? Bede sighed and forced those thoughts away. He'd apologize to her later. When they could sit down and talk about this, when she was home safe and recovered, he'd ask for her forgiveness in letting his feelings get the better of him. It wasn't just that Gloria had kissed him- he had let her. He swallowed his guilt and met Hop's eyes. Hop nodded.

"Alright. Let's hope this works," Bede said and made for the ballroom, leaving Hop and Gloria, his feelings of regret, behind.

It was like Hop had said- the instant Bede told Piers what had happened, he'd agreed to his part in the plan without another word. Marnie had glared something fierce, her dark eyes growing cold and sharp, and it was only the gentle hand Piers placed on her shoulder, the infinitesimal shake of his head, that stopped her from tearing after Elliott. Begrudgingly, Marnie played her part, waving over a waiter as Piers made for the band. Whispers spread through the crowd, heads turning, guests shuffling closer to the dancefloor and the band to get a better look. Bede swept his gaze around the room, and soon enough, everyone's attention was on Piers and the band as he began an impromptu live performance. The staff Marnie had spoken to waited by the staff entrance, and once all backs were turned to the balcony, Hop came through with Gloria staggering on his arm. Her bare feet were silent on the floor, Hop carrying her heels in his right hand, his left arm around her back. Marnie rushed over to help them usher Gloria out, and Bede turned from them. With the band playing, he needn't worry about his conversion being overheard.

As Hop and Marnie disappeared with Gloria through the staff entrance, Bede stepped up to Ms Opal. He offered her his arm, and she took it, meeting the intention in his gaze with a smile.

"What is it, dear?" Ms Opal asked. "What has that rascal Elliott done to poor Gloria?"

Bede's eyebrows lifted. He recalled Gloria's comment that Ms Opal was psychic, and wondered if she knew how astute that observation was.

"I'll get to that in a moment," Bede said, and Ms Opal nodded in understanding. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you're well acquainted with his father, Richard Murdoch? If so, then there's a favour I'd like to ask of you."

Ms Opal smiled. Her eyes, keen as ever, sharpened with an intensity that made Bede stiffen slightly. "Ask away, my dear. I'll assist you in any way if it will help Gloria."

A weight eased off Bede's chest, and he nodded. Masked by the sound of the band, he told Ms Opal everything; from what Elliott did to Gloria, to his plan for retribution that would fall upon the scum who had dared harm the Champion. All the while, Ms Opal maintained her smile.

A smile that reminded Bede that she had once been the most powerful trainer in Galar.

"That can be done," Ms Opal said after Bede laid out his plan. "Since Elliott wished for entertainment so badly, I suppose we have no choice but to give it to him."

The venom in her voice sent a cold shiver through Bede.

"Thank you," he said, grateful.

Ms Opal patted his arm. "No need to thank me. You've done your part in getting Gloria out of here safely. That's commendable in itself. Leave the rest to me."

Bede nodded to her, before sending a glance to the door Gloria had left through. The night wasn't over yet. Not for Gloria. He doubted she was experiencing the worst of it yet, and wished he could have left with her, wished he could be the one at her side.

He wished he could have done more. Perhaps, if he had gathered the courage to speak with her earlier, this wouldn't have happened in the first place, and Gloria needn't have suffered. Bede brushed that thought aside. There was no point in dwelling in the past. His regret and guilt had no place here, not anymore, not tonight.

Not when there was still hell to pay.

#bederia week 2021 #bederia #bede #gloria #dressedinpinkshipping #btyu

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shielddrake · 5 years ago

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Psychonauts: Setup and Payoff Done Well (If Not Perfectly)

So about a year ago I posted a long lecture about how Final Fantasy XV and Kingdom Hearts 3 had major problems in the story department when it came to setup and payoff. I basically said that Final Fantasy XV had lots of scenes with payoff that were not set up very well and Kingdom Hearts 3 had some excellent moments that set up story elements but never followed through on them. And while I think some of those issues have been addressed with some of the DLC released for both games (I reserve my right to be a little salty Episodes Aranea, Luna, and Noctis were canceled) I still stand by my statement that these games have big problems with this.

During the past year, I have received a couple of comments regarding my position on this, ranging from “Can you give a good example of setup and payoff?” to “Well, if you’re so smart, why don’t you come up with a better example?” And I thought, well, what kind of game would be a good example of excellent use of setup and payoff? What game or series would I say does the job so much better than any writer has or does, video game or otherwise?

And then, the middle of a repeat playthrough I always do before a game’s sequel comes out, it came to me:

Now Psychonauts has been out since 2005, so a spoiler warning might seem a little silly here, but I think a lot of gamers have been playing it for the first time since the sequel was announced, so just in case: Major spoilers for the original Psychonauts game under the cut.

Whenever someone tries to argue whether or not video games can be considered art, one of the first games that comes to my mind is Psychonauts, and not just because of its amazing aesthetics. It has some of the best storytelling, script writing, level design, music, voice acting, and art direction I have ever seen. This game is possibly one of the best video games I have every played, despite the flaws that it does have (I’m looking at you, Meat Circus), and it is easily on my list of top ten favorite video games. Is it really any surprise that Psychonauts 2 reached its crowd-funding goal of over $3,000,000 in about a month? And yes, I admit that I am one of those backers, just to put out there any bias I know I have.

But this isn’t meant to be a review of Psychonauts.

I replayed Psychonauts a few months ago with the idea of the first game being fresh in my mind when the sequel comes out, which is supposed to be sometime this year of 2020. I was absolutely inundated with examples of effective setup and payoff as I played, so it seemed like the obvious choice to go over how this story-telling technique can be used not only well, but also to the point where it’s almost like there are far too many examples.

Honestly, I could go on and on and on about setup and payoff in Psychonauts’ story, but for our purposes here most of the focus is going to be on just three big things that are really important to the main storyline: Linda the Lungfish, bunnies and meat, and Raz’s dad.

One thing about setup and payoff is that the setup has to actually happen in a way that the audience, in this case the player, can’t miss it. There are several moments in the game that Linda is mentioned, the first time being in the opening cutscene, where Bobby teases Dogen about the monster at the bottom of the lake. You can’t miss the setup when it is thrown in your face that way.

But that’s not the only time we get references to some sort of lake monster. Before going into Basic Braining, the first official level of the game, if Raz talks to Mikhail, the adorable Russian psychic mentions a “giant, hairless bear” in the woods, asking if Raz has seen it and wanting to wrestle with it. Now, it’s not said for certain if Mikhail is talking about Linda or if he’s just referring to the telekinetic bears you meet later on, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all if it’s supposed to be the former.

The first time the player heads for the lake, Elton will run up to Raz and mention the “brain-eating fish” that supposedly lives there. Well, now we’ve got both a mention of the lake monster and the fact that it goes after brains. Hmm, sound familiar in retrospect?

Optionally, Raz can also talk to Elton about the fish being spooked by something in the lake.

Although only the first lake interaction with Elton is mandatory (whether it’s when you go to see Milla or before then), both of these moments act as reminders of the setup of the lake monster established in the opening cutscene.

And then there’s the scene in the woods between Raz and Lili on the way to Sasha Nein’s Secret Lab. Raz says that something was watching him, a shadowy being that smelled like pond scum.

I absolutely love Lili’s face in this scene, by the way.

We kind of get distracted by their interactions and Lili basically trolling Raz, but that’s part of what makes good writing. The scene is foreshadowing something without making it overly overt…not that the game is subtle every time, but the point still stands. This game does a great mix of the obvious and the subtle.

The game also has optional dialogue with Coach Oleander and Raz reporting on a UPE (Unidentified Paranormal Entity), which he suspects is aquatic in nature. And Oleander seems oddly insistent that the lake monster does not exist, that it’s just a camp fable.

Finally we get to the Brain Tumbler Experiment. Needless to say, it’s in this level that a lot of the elements come together. We come across a demon in the form of a big, shadowy figure that spits out a diving helmet. Again, does that sound familiar at all?

There is a minor mention of the lake monster in the mental vault below the spooky thorn tower (more on that near the end of this post), but other than that there’s a break in the game where the lake monster isn’t mentioned for a while. We don’t get another explicit scene about it until Raz and Lili meet Linda properly at the edge of Lake Oblongata…where Lili gets kidnapped, we go through the boss sequence under the lake, and enter Linda’s brain of Lungfishopolis. And the final payoff occurs with the Hideous Hulking Lungfish transporting us to Thorney Towers and giving Raz her real name, Linda.

Now would any of that be nearly as rewarding if we had never heard of the Hideous Hulking Lungfish of Lake Oblongata prior to her official appearance? Every single player would just have visible question marks hanging over their heads if Linda just showed up out of nowhere. Deus Ex Lungfish, anyone? But that’s not what the developers did. They spent plenty of time building up to Linda, making her reveal not only make sense but also weaving her into the story so that her reveal is more than satisfying.

There is just one thing I’ve always been curious about, a sort of chicken-and-egg scenario. Did the legend of the lake monster start because genetically-altered Linda showed up and starting attacking campers? Or did the legend already exist and Oleander used it as an excuse to write off any “sightings” of the monster? Any ideas?

Moving on from Linda, we come to the imagery of meat and bunnies.

Without knowing the full ending of the game, most players would think that it’s a bit strange I would stick meat and bunnies together in the same category. Sadly, the connection between these things is a bit on the morose side, and they are actually first introduced at the same time as well.

When I first played Psychonauts, the first time I actively thought about bunnies and meat being related somehow was during the Brain Tumbler Experiment, but that’s actually not the first time the game introduces these. Anyone else notice that Basic Braining has figments of meat cleavers, butcher knives, a pig, a duck, and a fox? I could logic that a meat cleaver and butcher knife fit with the whole army theme, but a pig, duck and fox?

Kind of odd animals would be included in all this, especially animals that are either butchered or hunted. At least that’s what I thought at first.

It is in Oleander’s mind that we first see the “meaty plant” that Lili saves from being squashed by Raz. It’s also here that we see bunnies hopping around the snowfield with the Gatling gun. This early in the game, is this important or just set dressing? I’m ashamed to admit, but I thought it was just weird set dressing when I first played, but it makes more sense as the story goes on.

Turns out it’s important all right, since the next time we see both meat and bunnies is in the Brain Tumbler Experiment. “Mr. Bun” seems like a rather random animal to have in Raz’s brain, but then again bunnies showed up in Basic Braining as well. Is there a connection somehow? Sasha tells Raz that an animal may represent a primal fear or memory.

He’s right on the latter, although a player going through the game for the first time might not know why (and I admit, on my first playthrough, I didn’t). And there’s more meat and meaty plants here. Raz doesn’t directly mention these (at least he didn’t during my most recent playthrough, to my recollection) but they are pretty obvious, to say the least.

So that’s two things connecting the Brain Tumbler Experiment and Basic Braining. Is this a normal occurrence? Maybe these things just show up in brains? Lili does mention she had been dreaming of meat plants, after all, both in Basic Braining and in the cutscene before Raz enters Milla’s mind. Maybe it’s a primal need for meat? Don’t tell the vegans I said that. The Vegan Police would be very unhappy with the final level of this game.

After the Brain Tumbler Experiment is finished, we know that the brain interference was coming from Oleander, but it’s not explained why there are meat and bunny references up until that point. There’s actually no mention of either at all in the subsequent levels until the last. Lungfishopolis, The Milkman Conspiracy, Gloria’s Theater, Waterloo World, and Black Velvetopia are devoid of all meat or bunnies, which possibly leads the player to forget about the whole thing for a while (and when I say “the player,” I really mean me).

In fact, we don’t see any sign of either until the final level of the game, Meat Circus. And, oh boy, Meat Circus.

Yeah, it should come as no surprise that I hate this level. I hated it so much that on my first playthrough of this game in 2005, I rage quit and didn’t look at Psychonauts for several days. I eventually went back to it and beat it, but let’s say I was more than a little relieved that they lowered the difficulty for it in subsequent releases.

But I digress.

We reach Meat Circus, the combined consciousness of Raz and Little Oly, and the payoff of all the meat and bunny stuff we’ve seen thus far. We have Frankenstein-esque meat bunnies, platforms made of steaks, rail grinding on bones, trapeze and trampolines of bones and skin, and of course the dark versions of both Raz’s and Oleander’s fathers, who not only are evil but also become a giant two-headed monster. When Sasha said that problems seem larger in your head than in real life, I should have known it would be taken more literally in this game.

I mean, is it really any shock that Oleander is carrying some trauma after seeing his bunny friend be decapitated by his own father? It’s never said how old Little Oly is, but considering his behavior he is clearly younger than Raz, so this happened when he was in the single digits of age. That’s really not something a little kid should see. That’s just asking for PTSD.

Anyway, back to setup and payoff, which is pretty obvious at this point. We have plenty of mentions of both bunnies and meat throughout the game, leading to the final boss that is both creepy and downright terrifying. Not only does this boss conclude Oleander’s trauma with his father being a butcher and killing his favorite bunny, but it also allows Raz to defeat his inaccurate mental image of his own father. Both of them are able to move forward from that point on. Defeating this monstrosity acts as the ultimate payoff and conclusion for both Raz and Oleander.

Speaking of Raz’s dad…

Raz’s relationship with his father at the start of the game is strained, to say the least. When Raz goes to learn Levitation from Milla, the very mention of his father showing up to take him home from the camp makes him nervous. Not the best sign here, and his other comments regarding his dad don’t make it much better.

Once Raz reaches cadet ranks ten and twenty, we get cutscenes of Raz talking with Cruller in tutorials for Pyrokinesis and Telekinesis. During Pyrokinesis, Raz first mentions that his father, Augustus, hates psychics and trained Raz in acrobatics to the point where Raz worried his dad was trying to kill him. During Telekinesis, Raz reveals his suspicions that his father is psychic as well. The memory vault we see of Raz running away from home only reinforces Raz’s perspective.

We’re led to believe that Raz’s statements are the truth, which is a logical conclusion since he’s the game’s protagonist, but the end of the game shows otherwise. At first I thought this meant Raz was simply an unreliable narrator, but that turns out to not be the whole story. While Raz is an unreliable narrator in that there are a lot of things he just doesn’t know, it’s not malicious in any way. Raz simply doesn’t know that he father really does care about him. That’s the magic of using the third-person limited point of view.

Up to this point, we’re led to believe that Augustus is a neglectful father at best, but it turns out that Augustus does love his son. He’s just apparently really bad at showing it. The very fact that he is the only one able to break into Raz’s “hard to penetrate skull” shows that there is a deeper relationship between them. And Augustus is clearly distraught that his own son sees him as a monster in his mind. Poor Augustus.

I think that a lot of the interactions between father and son in this game was cut out due to both budget and time constraints, because I feel like there is more to be said with these two than what we get in the final product. (I’m thinking we’re going to get more of that in the sequel, but that is up in the air at this time.) This doesn’t bother me too much though, since we do get effective enough setup and payoff that it doesn’t seem like it comes out of nowhere. They do finally talk to each other and express their concerns, mending their relationship…in the middle of a battle with a two-headed father monster.

Clearly these two have communication issues. The morale of this story is that it’s important to talk to one each other.

And this is certainly paid off in the end cutscene of the game. When Sasha says they want Raz to come along to rescue Truman Zanotto, Raz doesn’t just run off with them again. He turns around and gives his father puppy-dog eyes, clearly asking for permission to go this time. And Augustus not only gives it, he gives Raz his blessing and encourages him to “show them all.” Contrast this to the backstory of the game, where Augustus flat out forbids Raz from having anything to do with the Psychonauts and Raz running away in secret.

And if that’s not satisfying use of setup and payoff, I don’t know what is.

That’s not to say that all of the setup and payoff in Psychonauts is perfect. To be fair, there are times when the setup can be missed, and therefore the payoff that comes later can be confusing. The most obvious example of this is the nightmare that attacks you in The Milkman Conspiracy. When I first played the game all those years ago, my first thought was, “What in the world? What is this thing and where did it come from?”

Of course, on subsequent playthroughs, I did find the demon room in Milla’s mind, showing the same nightmares she had caged away. This is the difference between a sane mind and an insane one. Milla has all her demons under control (although notice that they have not gone away) while Boyd’s run amok because he has no way of mentally dealing with them, since his brain is a little bit busy with this, well, milkman conspiracy. The nightmares that attack in Boyd’s brain make more sense after I saw the ones in Milla’s brain. In this case, the payoff wasn’t bad since the nightmare miniboss wasn’t a bad fight, but context in the form of the setup made the payoff better.

Other times the setup can be missed? The other big one is the resolution of all the campers’ storylines. Unless the player spends time going around camp throughout the game and seeing the interactions the other campers have with each other, the little scene you have with each one once they are re-brained won’t make a lot of sense. The love triangle between J.T., Elka and Nils? J.T. and Chops having conflict about J.T. abandoning his best friend for his new girlfriend? Crystal and Clem attempting suicide to become more powerful? Chloe thinking she’s an alien? Maloof basically becoming a mob leader with Mikhail as his right-hand man? Elton and Milka’s blossoming love? …Just to name a few? Yeah, the context of all that is missed if the player doesn’t bother to talk to the other campers throughout the game, but I attribute that more to the player than the game. The developers accounted for this in the story, so it’s more the player didn’t look for the setup rather than Double Fine just not bothering to include it.

That’s just some examples of setup and payoff that I feel are probably the most important to the main storyline of Psychonauts. They are far from the only examples. Really far from it. Oh boy, could I go on about the scenarios of setup and payoff that happen in this game.

Dogen talking to the squirrels, who tell him that the short man is going to kill everyone, only for them to really be talking about Oleander?

Elton saying that Oleander’s recruiting office in Basic Braining resembles a dentist office, only to find out that one of the main antagonists, Dr. Loboto, is in fact a dentist?

Oleander having a mental vault trapped behind some mental cobwebs? Well, he has something to hide, despite him saying he doesn’t when you first play through Basic Braining. Of course, getting angry at Raz for snooping around a room with a curtain doesn’t give off the idea that Oleander has something to hide. Nope. Not suspicious at all.

Agent Crueller having all the different personalities around the camp, hinting as his unstable mental state?

The Hand of Galochio appearing in the lake as a reference to Raz’s family having a curse to die in water, and said curse just so happens to show up not only as a gameplay element but as a story element during Meat Circus?

Raz being able to read Lili’s thoughts when she doesn’t mean for him to, then for him to do it two more times near the end of the game?

How Lili’s cold stops her from sneezing out her own brain?

Sasha’s hatred of tacky lamps having to do with his past working in a tacky lamp factory? Or the shoeboxes indicating his father was a cobbler? Or the bed as the location of where his mother was horribly ill and died?

Raz needing to climb the “creepy thorn tower” in the Brain Tumbler Experiment, only to later need to climb Thorney Towers Home for the Disturbed?

The mention of the town of Shaky Claim on the giant tree stump at the camp entrance referring to the sunken town that is (somewhat) explored during the boss sequence under the lake?

Raz talking about being back in high school in Black Velvetopia despite being ten years old? Not to mention the stories the dogs tell about Lana/Lampita and Dean/Dingo?

Lastly, do I really need to mention the incredibly weird and seemingly out of place mental vault below the creepy thorn tower? A brain chicken hatches out of an egg, meets a fish in water, goes to a circus, gets placed in a teacup, and blasts people to death? Kind of a summation of Raz coming out of the egg in the Brain Tumbler Experiment, meeting Linda at Lake Oblongata, entering the Meat Circus, and getting placed in a brain tank and defeating two people? Was the mental vault a foreshadowing of the main plot of Psychonauts? I don’t know. What do you think?

*Takes a deep breath.* See what I mean when I say I could really go on and on about setup and payoff in Psychonauts? There are so many examples that it’s kind of ridiculous. It could be said that there’s too much of this kind of storytelling in the game, but I fail to see how that is a problem. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing, but when it comes to setup and payoff, Psychonauts is not it.

Credits

Screenshots courtesy of the following:

Comic Foil, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN-Y6XDe0oWyhgjcGunJqGw

Global Gaming, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pjsxNSwSSA

StoryGamer, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXZ1vDFp_dw&t=139s

ThatNotSoAznKid, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ford0MGvWIc

#psychonauts #psychonauts spoilers #setup and payoff #writing in video games

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ddixons-angel · 5 years ago

Text

Fated: Season 2

Summary: Gloria Rhee narrowly escapes Atlanta with her brother as the outbreak reaches the city. Luckily, they find a camp outside the city and together, they fend through encounters with the living and undead.

Starts a little before Season 1 and then follows the main storyline of the show.

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Glenn Sister!OC

Warnings: major TWD spoilers, language, violence (the typical TWD stuff), major character death

A/N: As promised, another chapter this week! And I’m gonna try to finish off a request today and post it up today as well, so look out for that! And now, on to Chapter 5!

Chapter 5:

Gloria was lounging around near the tents after her chat with Maggie, and shortly after she saw Glenn and Maggie sitting together on the front porch of her house, smiling as they held hands. She smiled at the scene, happy for her brother. Andrea walks by and looks over to Gloria.

“Have you seen Rick?” she calls out to her.

Gloria shakes her head, “no, I haven’t. Is something wrong?”

“We were supposed to go out into the woods together an hour ago but I can’t find him.” she replies, a frown on her face.

“Yeah ya were!” Daryl says, coming up from behind Andrea, “God, is no one takin’ this seriously?! The hell?!”

Shane quickly walks up to the group from where the vehicles are parked with a large duffle bag slung over his shoulder. Gloria gets up from her spot as she watches him handing out guns to everyone in the group.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Maggie asks, a discerning look on her face as she gets up from the porch.

“What we should have done a long time ago,” Shane says as he hands a gun to T-Dog who reluctantly takes it, “fixin’ the problem.”

Glenn walks up to him, “Hershel said no guns on his property.”

Shane looks at Glenn dead in the eyes, “he’s also the one keeping walkers in that barn. I think we all need to grow up and solve that problem ourselves.” he holds a gun out to Glenn, “now, are you going to just stand there, or are you going to protect your own?”

Glenn looks at the gun held out for him, then at Maggie who’s standing behind him, then glances to Gloria who’s making her way to them with her crutches. He sighs and takes the gun from Shane who nods approvingly once and continues on to distribute the guns. Lori, Carol, and Carl had made their way over to Shane as they saw what he was doing.

“Shane, stop this. You can’t make this decision on your own!” Lori tried to convince him.

“I have to make this decision for everyone because no one else is making a damn decision!” Shane yells back at her.

“This isn’t right.” Carol says, concern and worry in her voice.

“Oh, shit...” T-Dog voices out, catching everyone’s attention.

Everyone follows T-Dog’s line of sight and are all astonished to see Rick, Hershel, and Jimmy, a boy who worked on the farm, coming out of the woods holding walkers on poles. Shane runs over to them as the three are making their way to the barn, Daryl, Glenn, T-Dog, and Andrea following closely behind him.

“What the hell is this?!” Shane growls angrily, pointing at the walkers.

“Shane, stay out of this! We got this under control!” Rick yells back, holding the walker in place.

Hershel looks around and frowns as he grips his own pole firmly, “why do your people have guns?”

Shane scoffs at this, “you’re asking why they have guns when you’re catching walkers and putting them in that damn barn?!”

“Shane, let us handle this!” Rick yells through gritted teeth.

“No! You know what?!” Shane pulls out his handgun, “you think they’re still people? You think they can be saved?” he shoots the walker Hershel is holding three times in the chest, “can a living person take that, Hershel?! That thing took three bullets to the lungs, why’s it still coming, Hershel? Why’s it still comin’?!”

“Stop it, Shane! That’s enough!” Rick screams, desperate to get Shane to stop.

“Yeah, that is enough.” Shane shoots the walker dead in the head, letting it fall limp to the ground.

He starts to make his way to the barn, Rick seeing this he panics, knowing what his best friend is about to do. He starts yelling at Hershel to take his pole from him but Hershel is still in shock from witnessing Shane kill the walker. Lori, Carol, Carl, and Gloria had walked to the group at all the commotion, Carl crying in Lori’s arms. They watch as Shane starts to tear the locks from the barn. Glenn, T-Dog, Andrea, and Daryl line up in front of the barn, bearing their guns ready as Shane opens the doors to the barn. Shane backs up and joins the other four as they shoot at the walkers coming out of the barn. The others watch in horror as they all eventually pile up on the ground in front of the barn. A tense silence fills the air once the gunfire stops, Beth’s sobs can be heard as she cries in Patricia’s arms. A single snarl emits from the barn as the last walker steps out from it. Blood drains from Gloria’s face as she sees that it’s Sophia.

“Sophia? Sophia!” Carol cries as she runs over to the barn, only to be caught by Daryl, stopping her from going any further, dropping to the ground in a sobbing mess.

Silent tears stream down Gloria’s face as she feels her legs go limp. She drops down to the ground on her knees, sadness and guilt overcoming her. Everyone stares at Sophia in shock, not knowing what to do. Rick takes a breath and steps up, drawing his gun and regretfully shoots her in the head, killing her instantly.

---

The air around the farm is gloomy, tense, and all around depressing. Gloria had hidden herself in Glenn’s tent, wallowing in guilt and sorrow. She’s not crying, she just lets the tears fall from her eyes, drenching her face. She hears the zipper to the tent opening but she doesn’t bother looking at who it was, though she already had a good idea.

“Hey.” Glenn says softly as he sits down in the tent beside her, concern dripping from his voice.

“Hey...” she lets out a barely audible whisper.

“You wanna talk to me?” he pushes but his voice is gentle.

Gloria still doesn’t look at him, just staring at a blank space in the tent, “how’s Maggie?”

“She’s... getting there.” Glenn responds.

“Did she know?” she pauses, “did she know that Sophia was in there?”

Glenn shakes his head, “I don’t think so. According to Hershel, Otis was the one who put all those walkers in the barn.”

“Who’s Otis?” Gloria questions, the first time she’s heard the name.

“Maggie’s uncle. He’s the one who accidentally shot Carl when he was hunting a deer. You’ve never seen him because he died the night he went with Shane to get supplies for Carl’s surgery.” he explains.

“When did this happen?” she asks softly.

“The night after you and Sophia went missing in the woods.” Glenn informs her.

Fresh tears well up in Gloria’s eyes as she comes to the self-realization that if she had not fallen and knocked herself out, Sophia might not have gotten bit. A whole new level of guilt swallows her heart.

“No... no stop it, I know that look Gloria. It wasn’t your fault. Sophia’s death is not on you.” Glenn says quickly once he saw the look on her face, he knew her all too well.

It started to feel stuffy, getting hard to breathe for Gloria, she needed to get out. Without saying anything, she rushes out of the tent. She wanted to run away from everyone, from everything. Glenn had followed her out of the tent and grabbed onto her arm before she could run.

“Stop blaming yourself! It wasn’t your fault, Gloria.” Glenn raises his voice, even though he didn’t mean to; he hated it whenever she did this to herself.

“Yes it was!” she screams, new tears streaming down her face, “I was the last one to see Sophia alive, I was the one who was supposed to watch over her! If I wasn’t stupid and clumsy and careless... if I didn’t fall and knock myself out, I could have protected her! She should be alive right now if it weren’t for me!” she yells angrily, angry at herself for letting this happen.

At a loss for words, Glenn slides his hand down to hold Gloria’s, hoping it could prove as some kind of comfort.

“Daryl got hurt because of me... and Carol... oh God, Carol lost Sophia because of me... how am I ever going to face them, Glenn?!” she cries.

“They aren’t going to blame you for-” he gets cut off with Gloria yanking her hand away from his grip.

“How can they not?!” she shouts, unable to take it anymore, she turns away and storms off, Glenn watches her helplessly.

Gloria desperately walks away, ignoring the slight limp she has from the pain in her ankle. She could barely feel that pain, too distracted by the horrid stabbing pain in her heart. She finds herself a patch of bushes on the outskirts of the farm, letting herself sit there and wallow in her tears. She doesn’t even know how long she’d been sitting when she hears footsteps approaching. The person who finds her sits down beside her and takes her hand. Gloria glances to them and sees that it’s Carol. They sit together in silence for a while.

“I heard your conversation with Glenn.” Carol speaks up first, “it wasn’t your fault, Gloria.”

Gloria looks over to Carol and sighs, “Carol, stop, please... you’re the one who’s hurting the most, I should be comforting you, not the other way around.”

“I’m not trying to comfort you, I’m just telling you the truth that you need to know.” Carol smiles sadly, “I’ve never blamed you, and I will never blame you for what happened. In fact... I’m grateful that you did so much for my little girl.”

Carol’s words throw Gloria over the edge as she’s now unable to control her emotions, she breaks down and cries, holding Carol in a tight embrace.

“You’ve always been one of the strong ones in the group, so strong.” Carol says, pulling back and wiping the tears on Gloria’s face with her thumb, “Can you do something for me, Gloria? Can you stay strong for me? Can you do that?”

Gloria smiles tearfully and nods, “of course, I’ll do that for you.”

“Let’s get you back to camp, I’m sure Glenn’s worried about you.” Carol suggests, helping Gloria up.

The two slowly make their way back to the house where they see Rick and Glenn near one of their trucks, seemingly about to head out, Maggie standing by the porch watching them prepare.

“Gloria, Carol, are you two okay?” Glenn calls out to them once he sees them.

Gloria nods, “yeah... been better, but we’re okay.”

“Where are you two going?” Carol asks.

“We’re going to find Hershel, I think he went into town, reverting back to old drinking habits because of everything that happened.” Rick replies, a frown on his face.

“Gloria,” Glenn goes up to her, “I want you to look after Beth.”

“Why, what happened to Beth?” Gloria asks, worried.

“She collapsed... I think from shock or something, her mother was in that barn too.” Glenn sighs.

Gloria looks over to Carol, remembering the older woman’s plea, then nods, “okay, I’ll look after her, but I think she’s going to need Hershel more than me. If her collapsing really is from a psychological shock, she’s going to need her family to pull her out of it.”

“Then we’ll bring Hershel back as soon as possible.” Rick calls out and nods to Glenn, signalling him to get into the car.

Glenn nods back at him, then rushes to the passenger’s seat and gets into the car. Carol walks Gloria to the house and Maggie assists her up the porch, Gloria asks Carol to help get the crutches from the tents and she heads off right away. Maggie walks Gloria into the room Beth is in, the poor girl is lying on the bed, not moving, eyes open, a look of horror on her face.

---

Next Chapter

Woo! that was an emotional one... all the angst! I swear it does get better though! Next chapter will be out on Monday so look out for that!

In regards to everything that’s happening though, I really want to say I hope everyone stays safe and healthy, please don’t panic, we will get through this!

And as always, I would really appreciate any comments left for me! I’ll be replying to any comments in a new post because this is a sideblog!

#Daryl Dixon Fanfiction #Daryl Dixon X OC #Daryl Dixon X Original Character #Daryl Dixon Imagine #TWD Fanfiction #TWD Imagine #The Walking Dead Fanfiction #The Walking Dead Imagine #Glenn Sister!OC #Glenn Sister!Original Character #Fated: Season 2 #Fated: S2: Chapter 5

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song-of-storms162 · 5 years ago

Text

The Way Home Part 1

You’re a globetrotting trainer who’s seen what the world has to offer. You never stay in one place because of your work, but you think it’s time you started looking for a place to settle down. Enter Leon, your cousin who’s also Galar’s Champion, who claims he has a perfect job in mind for you in Galar. So with one last hurdle to clear, you head to where you’ve always heard a voice calling your name, the Galar Region. But things have changed since you were last there, and one of those changes goes by the name of ‘Raihan’, Leon’s rival and one of Galar’s most beloved Gym Leaders.

There was always something nice about going to Galar. It wasn’t just the curry cuisine, the culture and the region’s battling style. It was the fact that you were born there.

Your parents had lived in Galar for a while (too short for your liking) before moving to a number of different regions for work until they decided it was time to settle down. So they left for Unova and you and your sister spent your lives in the Village of Dragons with Dragon type Pokémon. Your parents were travelers, but you had a hunch the reason they settled down back then were their two daughters, one a newborn and another who was beginning to feel the effects of all the past traveling.

Of course, there were still trips to Galar as part of your family lived there. And growing up to be your parents’ daughter, you had inherited their wandering soul, for better or worst. You had been to other regions for experience and self-discovery, all while making a name for yourself. While you became a globetrotter, your sister trained under her master to be Unova’s next Champion. Unova had a special place in your heart, as did all the places you had been to. But there was always something in Galar calling out to you.

You got off your ship at Hulbury’s port, your luggage in one hand and your Rotom phone in the other. The sight of the familiar harbor with its salty breeze along with the familiar night sky was a breath of fresh air you happily breathed in. You were about to check the messages on your phone when you heard a familiar voice call out.

“(Name)! Over here!” You picked Nessa out of the crowd from the blue streak in her hair and her waving arms. “Nessa!” You cried with a grin before quickening your footsteps to break free from the crowd of newly arrived passengers.

Nessa met up with you halfway, the passengers clearing a path when they recognized her. “It’s so good to see you again!”

Nessa’s hug was one you welcomed and returned. “Did Leon tell you I was coming?”

“Of course he did,” said Nessa as she took your luggage before you could protest. “It’s all we’ve been talking about ever since he told us you were coming.”

“Speaking of Lee, where is he?” you ask before attempting to make a grab for your bags. “Is he busy or is he lost? He was supposed to come get me.”

“He’s a bit of both right now.”

“Oh dear...”

“He’ll be fine,” said Nessa as you both made your way out of the harbour. “So how was your trip?”

“It was alright, but going from Driftveil to Hulbury without stopping is taxing,” You sigh before going on to tell Nessa about the wild Pokémon who wanted to battle the trainers on the trip. The two of you made your way down the streeets of Hulbury, you could hear the fain teill of Wingull and the distant sounds of the Hulbury’s famous market. Nessa in return told you how she was the one who came to fetch you.

“I was at the lighthouse-“

“Of course,” you quipped with a smile that caused Nessa to smack your arm.

“And I got a call from Leon saying how you’re about to arrive at Hulbury in less than 10 minutes with no one to greet you. So naturally, I rushed to the rescue.”

“Naturally,” you said. “Though I would’ve been fine. I know my way around, unlike a certain champion.”

“I do hope you’re not talking about me, Cousin.”

You and Nessa stop walking at the sight of Leon and Sonia, their Charizard and Yampee with them.

“Leon! Sonia!” You beamed before throwing your arms around them and squeezing them both making the latter let out a laugh. You felt both ease their arms around you before you let them go.

“Is this how you greeted Nessa? Can’t say Galar’s prepared for all the hugs you’ll give,” said Leon with a chuckle. “Maybe it’s a good thing we didn’t bring everyone, what a fest that would be!”

You rolled your eyes at your cousin. “Oh hush, I’m not going to go around chasing after strangers for hugs.”

“Perhaps not strangers but what about your friends?” Sonia asked and you wag a finger at her.

“My friends are an entirely different matter. For them I’d be-“

“A touch starved Bewear?” quipped Nessa.

“If you want me to be one,” you said with nonchalant look. “Though I’ve never met one before. I’d probably have to observe them in the Wild Area first if I want my hugs that lethal.”

“Well,” said Leon patting your shoulder. “You can do us all a favour and keep away from there.”

“No promises.” You grin at your cousin leading the others to laugh as you headed for the station.

###

“So tell me what’s been happening,” you said as the four of you take your seats on the train to Wedgehurst. “Feels like everytime I’m gone, something major happens.”

“Well, where do we start?”

And so began the outpour of news of the region’s most recent events. From how Leon brought home Pokémon for Hop and Gloria with an endorsement following along: how with the help of Hop and Gloria, Sonia became a professor and was currentky writing a book based on Galar’s history and how Gloria and Hop were nearing the end of their gym challenge with only three more badges left to obtain.

“Seems like Hop’s gone a long way, huh?” You mused. “Feels like it was only yesterday he called to show me his Wooloo.”

“Oh I remember,” Leon chuckled as he stared out the window. “Nearly dropped his new Rotom Phone while he was at it too.”

“Feels nice looking at you two like this,” said Nessa. “Whenever I see news of either of you, (Name) looks too serious and Leon’s too happy.”

“Is happy even the right word for it?” asked Sonia as she ran her fingers through the fur of her sleeping Yamper. “I think you both bear the weight of your responsibilities to the point where it’s your persona.”

You and Leon looked at each other, curiosity written on your faces. “Do we? Well with the Championship match coming up, Lee here might have to actually fight for his title for once.”

“Sometimes I can’t help but wonder who I’ll be facing in the match,” mused Leon. “Will it be Raihan? Will it be Hop? Or will it be Gloria?

“Raihan?” You questioned and the three pause to glance at you.

“That’s right,” Nessa said. “You’ve never met him before, have you (Name)?”

“There’s a couple of people you haven’t met, it’s not just Raihan. I don’t think you’ve met Bea and Gordie too.” Sonia placed her chin on her hand, recalling the people you haven’t had the pleasure of meeting.

“Well, she’ll be meeting them all pretty soon,” said Leon as he leaned back on his seat. “What with Mr.Rose approving of the plans to make the Rose tower part Battle Tower, I’m pretty sure everyone will be seeing much of (Name) soon!”

Leon’s grin had you smiling yourself. “It’d be nice to meet everyone and I’ll be here for a while so company’s welcome.”

“A while?” Nessa laughed. “(Name), you’re never in Galar for just a ‘while’.”

“That’s true,” agreed Sonia. “Everytime we think you’ll finally settle down, something major happens and it ends with us seeing you off for who-knows-where.”

“How’s that job of yours treating you?” Leon asked quietly. “Nothing too harsh these past few right?”

You shook your head. “Everytime I’ve encountered anything close to a problem, I solve it Lee. And it’s not that bad.”

“(Name) can handle herself, Leon,” said Sonia and you beamed at her. “We all know that.”

“And all the traveling doesn’t hurt either,” said Nessa. “One of these days, I’m gonna close my Gym for a few just to travel to some far off region.”

“I think you all need a break from work,” you chuckled. “And thank you Leon for worrying about me, though my Pokémon would be insulted that you didn’t mention their protection.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be the trainer?” Leon’s lips quirked in a smile.

“That I am, but off the battlefield we’re more than just Pokémon and trainer, Lee. We’re family.” You smiled fondly at the Poké Balls on your belt before patting one. “Lee, lend me your shoulder will you? I need something to sleep on after that boat ride.”

“Go ahead.” Leon adjusted his position so you could snooze on his shoulder and soon, you were out like a light.

Wedgehurst Station was where you parted with Sonia and Nessa, the former saying how she still had to process the new information for her book and the latter claimed she had to get back to close her gym.

So you and your cousin began your way to Postwick, the later hours of the night leaving less people wandering streets. Leon had taken one of your bags leaving you with dragging your suitcase along. You were grateful for the quiet streets for you were traveling with Leon after all, Galar’s ‘Unbeatable’ Champion. Speaking of your cousin, he had been oddly quiet since you parted with Nessa and you wondered where his usual cheeriness went.

“Leon, you’re awfully quiet,” you said, concern lining your features. The only sounds around were the sound of your baggage on the rougher road along with faint Pokémon trills. “Where’s my usual ‘Champion’ of a cousin right now?”

Leon sighed before smiling at you. “Sorry (Name), I’ve got something on my mind right now.”

“Anything I can help with?”

Leon stopped walking, the smile gone and replaced with a more serious look on his face. “Maybe.”

You paused in your steps. “Must be quite the something if it’s got you this bothered.”

“Well,” you saw Leon’s grip on your bag tighen. “It’s something to do with Mr. Rose.”

You frowned at him. “What’s he got to do with this?”

Leon couldn’t meet your eyes. “He has a task that he wants me to do.”

“What sort of task?” You asked as Leon started walking again. The two of you passed by the Pokémon Center and reached Route 1 before Leon finally continued.

“Do you know of Eternatus?” asked Leon, his tone solemn as you both headed for the shortcut through Route 1. It seemed as if other Pokémon had heard the name and went quiet at the mention of said Pokémon.

“Eternatus?” You echoed before remembering the Legendary Pokémon from the stories told at the Village of Dragons. “Yes, but what does a mythical Pokémon have to do with this?”

“Everything.”

“Wh-“

“Lee! (Name)!” The both of you look up to see Hop waiting at Postwick’s entrance with a humongous grin on his face. With him were his Inteleon and Gloria with her Rillaboom, the former and latter smiling as you and Leon drew closer.

You saw the solemnity wipe away from Leon’s face at the sight of the two. “Hop! Gloria!” He exclaimed, the grin showing no traces of his past emotion. “Why are you both waiting here?”

“I came to greet my favorite cousin!” said Hop with a grin. “And to make sure you guys got here on time.”

Gloria nodded. “If you had taken any longer, we would’ve gone to Wedgehurst!”

“Of course we got here on time,” you said with a chuckle. “I mean one of us actually has a sense of direction here!”

“Hey!” Leon pouted and this prompted you to laugh. “I didn’t come here to get knocked down a peg. I came to have a champion time with my family!”

“Speaking of family, lets go inside before mum starts wondering if you really are late,” said Hop. “C’mon! We even brought the grill out for tonight!”

“Are we eating out?” You asked as the four of you began making your way to Hop’s house.

Gloria grinned as she walked backwards to face you. “That’s right! Mum said it would be a waste to not eat under a sky like this tonight!”

At her words, you looked up and you had to admit, you wondered how you didn’t notice the interweaving dark blues and the million stars dotting the night sky. You breathed in Postwick’s fresh air with a smile. You truly missed this place.

“Hey (Name)! Hurry or me and Lee are gonna finish all the sausages!” Hop yelled from the outdoor grill they had already set up, the smell of sausages beginning to waft through the area. You hadn’t realised the three of them were already in the outdoor area of Hop’s house. Grinning, you ran to catch up. “Leave some sausages for me!”

###

“I can’t eat another bite!” Hop exclaimed as he rubbed his tummy. “Man, mum pulled out all the stops tonight!”

“I most certainly did,” said your aunt as she tugged on Hop’s cheek causing your younger cousin to protest. “You and Gloria deserve a proper meal for all that traveling you’ve done. And we have two extra special guests tonight.”

“I’ll help with the plates,” you said before getting up from your seat, Gloria also getting up to help.

“No, both of you sit down,” tutted Gloria’s mother as she quickly began clearing plates. “You’re our guests tonight and I’m sure you all are more than tired from your trip here.”

“But-“

“No buts,” she said firmly before swiping your plate and adding it to the ever growing stack in her hands. “Besides, you’ll be living here until you’ve found a place to stay. The chores don’t have to start tonight.”

Gloria’s mum and your aunt make their way into the house with the dirty plates as your uncle starts cleaning the barbecue. You listen to Hop and Gloria recount their battles and gym challenges, smiling at the way they talk with animated gestures. Your hands unconciously find your Poké Balls and you nearly jump from your seat when you feel one of them rattle into your palm. Leon, noticing your startled expression chuckled. “Are your Pokémon finally awake?”

“Seems like they are,” you said with a laugh as you took the Poké Balls off your belt and flung them into the air. “Come on out everyone!”

You had caught numerous Pokémon from all your travelling and there were times when your team would change, but for your trip to Galar you had brought six of your Pokémon while the rest stayed back in Unova.

Your Salamence, Salem, let out a cry when it came out, as did your Lapras, Kai and your Decidueye, Nox. Your Hydreigon, Byron, let out a low growl at finally being released from its Poké Ball but the ones who were quiet and stretched their bodies were your Alolan Ninetails, Jasmine and your Silvally, Amit.

Nox, Salem, Kai and Byron, who had been on your team longer than Amit and Jasmine, let out noises of happiness when spying Leon and Hop. When your aunt and Gloria’s mother came out of the house again, they came out holding bowls of Pokémon food, Poffins, Poké Puffs, PokéBlocks and berries of all sorts.

“Was wondering when you’d let the cavalry out,” your aunt winked at you. “Gloria, Hop, it’s time for your Pokémon to eat. We’ve had our feasting, it’s their turn to eat!”

You watched in contentment as you saw Jasmine and Nox gently coax Amit into eating with the larger group of Pokémon, which included many from Hop, Leon and Gloria’s team. You smiled at the sight of the Silavlly pausing midway in its food at the curious stares it got from the other Pokémon, it’s mouth open comically for a while but Hop’s Dubwool had been the one to break the ice with a happy cry.

“Interesting Pokémon you got there,” said Leon as his eyes trailed after Amit’s form. “I can’t say I’ve ever seen a Silvally so shy.”

You blink in surprise at your cousin, facing him instead of the crowd of Pokémon eating away. “I’m surprised you know what Amit is.”

“The Champion of Alola has one, added it to their team for awhile,” said Leon as his eyes cast over the group of Pokémon again.

Ah.

You remembered Alola’s current champion from a previous trip to Alola, one circling around your job. Even though they were much younger, you were still in awe at the Pokémon who seemed to trust their trainer to a whole new level. When you two finally sat down for a meal, they told you they thought your friendship with your Pokémon was something else. And somehow you left the region with a Pokémon that had been entrusted to only two people in the world then.

“This wouldn’t have anything to do with your work right?” asked Leon but you only say: “Lee, when does anything I do not have to do with my work?”

Leon opened his mouth to answer but before you knew what he would say, Hop and Gloria came bounding up to you with excited grins.

“(Name)! (Name)! You’ve gotta introduce your new Pokémon to us!” exclaimed Hop and Gloria nodded.

“Well,” you said. “I’ll consider it, if you tone it down a bit, Hop.”

“I will! I will!”

“What region is your Ninetails from?” asked Gloria as she glanced at where Amit had started playing tag with Gloria’s Cinderace and the Dreepy that usually stayed in Leon’s Dragapult. It seemed both fully evolved Pokémon had come to a silent agreement to always let Dreepy win.

“Jasmine’s from the Alola region,” you said. “Amit, my Silvally over there, is from Alola as well.”

You motion Jasmine over from where she sits inbetween some napping Pokémon and she shakes herself free before heading to you two. Gloria’s eyes are sparkling when she sits in front of you and you chuckle at the younger girl’s expression. “You can pet her you know.”

Carefully, one of Gloria’s hands skim over Jasmine’s fur, the fox Pokémon letting out a low purr at the sensation. “She’s so pretty!” squealed Gloria.

Before you could comment, you saw Leon waiting behind your Ninetails, expression amused at the younger trainer’s delight. You got up without a word and your cousin promptly brought out his Rotom Phone. The picture of 11 people was new to you.

“I recognise a few faces,” you said as you inspected the photo. “Of course I remember Milo, Nessa, Kabu, Allister, Opal, Melony and Piers. Who are the others?”

The few you don’t recognise are the rest of the gym leaders you hadn’t mentioned and Leon’s quick to give you a little intro to each person.

“This is Bea, fighting type expert.” Leon points out a stone faced girl, her mouth set in a determined line.

“Let me guess, Stow-on-Side?”

“That’s right, and this is Gordie.” The name of the man in the visor brings back a memory between you and Melony.

“Isn’t that the name of Melony’s son?”

“He is Melony’s son,” said Leon as he flips through his phone again. “But he’s a rock type expert.”

“She’s okay with it?”

Leon shrugged. “Not exactly.”

The next photo he shows you is a different one. This time there’s only two in the frame, only one of which you recognise.

“This is.... Raihan right?” You squint at the photo of Leon and the person you don’t recognise. You can tell he and Leon are close from the goofy pose and expressions they’re both doing. But there’s a sort of carefree aura emanating from the two that you can’t help but smile at.

“Yep, he’s my rival,” said Leon with a smile.

Even though they’re rivals, they both look so open with each other, You thought. Well I guess it shows how deep their friendship goes.

“You’ll be battling everyone sooner or later. But I had an idea of how to introduce you to everyone.”

“I already know most of fhe gym leaders, Lee.” Your aunt comes out with drinks for everyone and you smile at her in thanks.

“I know that, but when I say everyone, I really mean everyone! I’m talking all of Galar here!” Leon’s excited smile, maybe the first really bright one tonight, relaxes you a little.

“Well then, what’s this idea of yours?” You ask as you sipped your drink.

Leon’s eyes were brimming with excitement. “How would you like to partake in a special gym challenge?”

###

The guest room inside Hop’s house was already filled with your belongings, the bed was even decked out in your favorite comforter. You let loose a sigh as you plopped on the bed and leaned back to lie on the soft sheets. There was a turmoil of thoughts in your head and you weren’t sure where to start.

You heard a buzzing sound and saw your Rotom Phone floating around in the corner of your eye, you made no move to reach for it but raised your head to look at it. On the screen was a familiar name, one that was trying to get on call with you.

You motion for Rotom to come closer and answered the call. The familiar sound of your superior crackled through the phone.

“Hello agent, I take it your trip went well?”

“Evening to you, Sir Looker, my trip was alright.” Your eyes were on the ceiling and Rotom settled beside you so you could keep your conversation going

“I’ll get straight to the point then, have there been any difficulties since your arrival?”

You chuckled. “No, I’ve been here for less than a day. Are you asking out of concern or for Headquarters?”

“Concern, of course.” A pause. “I don’t need to ring headquarters to prepare backup for you. You’re one of our best.”

“You let my Pokémon over the border” you said with a smile. “You best believe I’ll be giving it my all in this one.”

“I’ll tell Headquarters to settle then. Have you found a place to live in yet?”

“I misjudged the size of the house.” You frowned as you sat back up and surveyed your room again. “I don’t think my cousin’s place will be large enough for my Pokémon.”

No, you remembered how the backyard was barely big enough for all those Pokémon to eat in, even if a smaller number of Pokémon were to be kept in your cousin’s house, they would not be able to get the space they required to run around.

“I can arrange to find you new lodgings.”

You nod. “That could help, if I’m going to be here awhile, I’ll need a bigger place to stay in.”

“And one that’s more connected, perhaps? Postwick is accessible but it’s definitely a location that takes a while to travel to.”

“I guess so,” you mumbled at the prospect of not being close to your aunt and uncle soon.

“I know this might sound a bit rushed agent but...”

You hear Looker trail off and chuckle because you know what he’s asking.

“You want to know how I’ll go about my mission?”

“...yes.”

“My cousin already came up with one and don’t worry, I haven’t told him the real reason why I’m here yet.”

You hear Looker sigh in relief. “Thank Arceus for that, and what’s your plan so far?”

“He wants me to battle the Gym Leaders in a formal setting, sort of like the Gym Challenge but instead it’ll be promotion for the upcoming Battle Tower.”

You can see Looker nod his head through the phone. “Of course and because it’s going to be a significant part of the Rose Tower, Chairman Rose is bound to watch and oversee.”

“Leon said it’s also going to be a way to advertise Chairman Rose’s latest plans and business ongoings which I’ll soon be a part of anyway since I’m going to be one of the Trainers for the Battle Tower. And I’ll also be meeting him to start plans for the Battle Tower.”

“I see you have the situation under control, agent.” You can see Looker nodding. “And you must always remember your mission, understood?”

“Understood.” You nod. “My mission is to find out what Mr.Rose has been doing in the Power Plant under Hammerlocke Stadium.”

#gym leader raihan #pokemon raihan x reader #pokemon raihan #raihan x reader #pokemon imagines #pokemon swsh #pokemon sword #pokemon shield

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jancmalandra · 5 years ago

Text

The Lost Count

On being yourself

Count Fuzzy rushed into the foyer of his mansion, closely followed by two Fuzzy boys Gerard's age. They all wore less formal courtly clothes that were in disarray. The two Fuzzy boys immediately went to Gerard and hugged him from both sides, tears streaming from their eyes.

"Oh Gerard!", said his brother on his left, "We were so worried about you! You didn't have to run away! We would have stood up for you! Please don't do that again! We thought we had lost you forever!"

"Peter, I was so scared when Father said he was sending me to the boarding school Mother went to!", said Gerard to him, "I thought that I had no choice! Father was going to send me away from you both, make me be....her. I won't go to that horrible school no matter what! I just couldn't face that!"

Count Fuzzy approached his children carefully, and drew Gerard into his arms, saying, "I...I'm sorry that I frightened you so badly, Gloria! I promise not to send you away! We'll work this out here! Peter and Martin told me everything. How they helped you in this delusion of yours. That you believe that....I just want you to come to your senses! You're such a beautiful girl! You're so much like your mother! You can't be serious about any of this!"

Gerard pushed his father away and turned to his brothers and all his new friends, crying tears of deep despair. "You can see how hopeless this is! This wouldn't be happening if you'd just have taken me as a servant! He'll never understand! He'll never let me be myself! Oh, I would have been better off joining those ghosts in that castle!"

"Don't say things like that!", said Moomin, putting their paws on Gerard's shoulders compassionately, "You'd break all of our hearts! You'd never be able to hug your brothers again, or your father! I know you think that he doesn't love you, but you know in your heart that isn't true! You don't really want to lose any chance to make him understand, to hear him call you by your real name from now on, do you? I want you to know that you can get there. I did. I couldn't have taken the first step without my sister and my friends by my side, however. Look around you! We're all here for you! We'll get you through this one step at a time."

Gerard looked at his two brothers, who were standing on either side of him holding his paws tightly, looking into his eyes pleadingly. Then he looked at Moomin and Tayberry, who both had determined, caring looks on their faces. Then he turned towards Boyle, Bristol, and Auguste, who had thankfully been restraining Little My the entire time. She was squirming ferociously in their tight grip and looked angry enough at Count Fuzzy to breathe fire. Gerard was able to smile a little through his tears again and turned to his father with newfound confidence and courage.

"Mother is dead!", said Gerard to his father, with a determined look on his face, "I am not her! It's not right to think of me as a girl in the first place! I'm a boy! I've known that since I was three! Dresses felt horrible on me from the very start! I hate the name you gave me! It never belonged to me! It never fit! Thankfully, Peter and Martin understood from the very start! They shared their underwear with me so that I wouldn't have to feel dresses against my skin so much, and even helped me think of the name that is actually mine; Gerard! They gave me the courage to tell Mother when I was five, a month before she died. She was sad to lose a daughter, but glad to have a son. She was going to help me face you, to get you to understand, but then.... I lost my nerve after that. I thought I could make it pretending to be your daughter until I grew up and I could escape from you. I lived every day in fear of you and in pain because I couldn't be myself. It hurt me so badly every time you called me....that name. Then you told me last week that you were sending me to that girl's boarding school! I panicked. Yesterday, I decided to steal a servant's uniform and try to find a family in Moominvalley that would take me in. I....didn't want to tell Peter and Martin. I knew that they would try to stop me, and I couldn't think of any other way out. You would never think that I could give up the life of a noble and live as a servant of ordinary villagers. You would have looked for me all over the world and never imagined that I was right under your nose. I ran away rather than face you. I ran into these people by accident, and I was instantly found out. And now, they've taken me back here. Since I've known them, they've given me the support I thought that I would never see from anyone other than Peter and Martin. I know now that I'm not alone. I'm not delusional and....and I'm not going to back down. So what are you going to do?"

Count Fuzzy looked into Gerard's eyes and knew immediately that he wouldn't win this argument. Count Fuzzy said, "I can't bear the thought that I have been hurting you so badly for your whole life. If....if you'll stay, I promise to call you Gerard from now on and help you find clothes that suit you. But....but...Oh, I just don't want to feel as desperate and worried as I have been feeling since you ran away ever again! I truly do love you! I'll do anything you ask. I....I...."

Moomin, Tayberry, Gerard, Peter, and Martin had joined hands in a line. Tayberry turned to Gerard and said, "How about we plan to have a Birthday party of sorts for you here this Saturday afternoon, to celebrate your new start in life? Moomin and I will stay here and help you get the mansion ready. Little My, would you go back to Moominhouse and tell everyone what's going on and spread invitations to the party to every child in Moominvalley?"

"I suppose so.", said Little My reluctantly, "Are you sure that you can handle things here without me?"

"Don't worry, Little My.", said Tayberry, "How about you Gerard, Peter, Martin? Do you like my idea?"

"Yes!", Peter said, "I know just what to do! We'll get things started with the servants as soon as we get Gerard settled in one of the guest rooms. What do you say, Gerard?"

"I....I....yes!", said Gerard, "Will all four of you stay with me in my new room until the party?!"

"Of course we will!", said Moomin. "What about you, Count Fuzzy?"

"I'll make sure that the servants know to obey your orders, my....sons. I promise to show up for the party. But, I.....", said Count Fuzzy.

Gerard went up to his father and hugged him slowly and gently. Count Fuzzy returned his hug, getting down on his knees so that the two of them could be face to face, saying, "Can you forgive me....Gerard? I....This is going to.... If getting you back means starting all over, I really will do my best to help you do it. I'm going to need your help very much as well. I can't imagine my life without you."

"I forgive you, Father!", said Gerard. His eyes were now filled with tears of hope and a smile spread across his face for the first time since he had returned home.

To Be Continued

#moomin #moominvalley #moomin oc #little my #moomin fanfiction #writers on tumblr

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minnochu · 6 years ago

Text

Lustrous (pt. 9)

Hybrid!Kook x Reader AU

Pt 1 | Pt 2 | Pt 3 | Pt 4 | Pt 5 | Pt 6 | Pt 7 | Pt 8 | Pt 9 | Pt 10 | Pt 11 | Pt 12 | Pt 13 | Pt 14 | Pt 15 | Pt 16 | Pt 17 | Pt 18 | Pt 19

(A/n): Hi I finished this a long time ago but kept thinking it was too rushed or wasn’t GOOD period. But I’m just gonna post it ‘cause I kept y’all waiting long enough anyways. I’ve been binging anime and getting accumulated to my second semester of uni so please bear with me oof.

“Hoy… We gotta go to school idiot..”

Jungkook flattens his mouth into a straight line as he furiously tries to rid himself of his blush. Darn the others for doing him dirty like this. It was one thing to to allow you to use his bed during your stay while he uses the couch, it was another to force him to wake you up for breakfast. Not that he expected much, but the sight of you snuggled up under his blankets and nestled among his pillows was too good to be true.

And the scent? Absolutely amazing. You’d showered before sleeping and the lulling aroma of vanilla and lavender did the trick in making him want to slide right in next to your curled up body.

“What are you? A creep? You reek of arousal,” Yoongi calls from the doorway blankly, “Wake her up already.”

“Sh-shut up!” Jungkook stammers as the elder shakes his head and leaves the boy to his own problems.

“Hey you!” Jungkook grits, but you groan a drowsy nooooooo as you smack his hand away.

Biting his lip, he makes another attempt to take you by the shoulders and lift you out of bed with sheer strength. However, you fight against him drowsily, whipping your head back in protest, “Noooooo.... Go away….”

The wolf doesn’t expect to find a small sized magic rune materializing in front of him, glowing a fluorescent purple, with characters he’d only seen in sneak peeks of Seokjin’s books. He squints at the slowly rotating runic circle, until his eyes widen at the glowing of your siphoner’s stone.

“Wait, (Y/n)—!”

A strong force presses into his gut, almost the weight of a football player tackling him, as he is sent backwards and into Seokjin, who had been entering at that moment. The two topple over as you blink and sit up from the bed.

“My, what a surprise, you’re a natural (Y/n)!” Seokjin grins, totally disregarding the wolf sprawled out beside him, “Teaching you after school might be easier than we thought!”

Word spreads quickly throughout the cabin, especially when Taehyung walks in and bursts out in boisterous laughter, hollering to the rest of the pack that their youngest was done in by a mortal who had no control of her newly found powers.

In the end Jungkook walks to school with his head down beside you. Taehyung and Jimin trail behind you both a few strides back and alert for any suspicious movement. Namjoon made it clear to protect you, but you felt rather weird about the whole ordeal.

“I know I got attacked last night… but is this really necessary?” you ask pensively, nudging Jungkook by the shoulder, “We’re just going to school..”

“Seokjin-hyung said the Blackwells are ruthless!” Jimin pipes up from behind you, quickening his pace to catch up and slinging an arm around your shoulder, “It’s only for the best (Y/n), until you can figure out how to do all that siphoning stuff, you can count on us to protect you!”

“I know I said what I did last night, but I don’t think I could stand a chance against a whole family of witches… my family apparently..” you deflate, shoulders hunching as you pout.

“But they neglected you (Y/n),” Taehyung says flatly from beside Jungkook, “Family is Yahiko, family is us. That is… if you see us that way…” He smiles meekly, a contrast from his usually playful grins, “A family should be a place or people you can go home to and feel safe and loved. Evidently, the Blackwells do none of that.”

“You’re right Taehyung,” you smile at his comforting words, crossing over Jungkook to offer the vampire a hug. Over your shoulder, the boy can clearly see Jungkook’s glowering eyes aimed at him.

“Besides, (Y/n) already took down Kookie without even being fully conscious,” Jimin teased cheekily as Jungkook separated you from Taehyung with a frown, “I’m sure you’ll be really powerful once you can control your powers! Right Kookie-ah?”

The aforementioned boy blinks as you look up at him expectantly, gulping down the lump in his throat as his heart pounds loudly in his ears that he almost doesn’t catch the way you say his name.

Oh shit. Oh shit. He panics, inwardly as Jimin snickers beside him.

“Y-yeah,” he mutters and doesn’t expect the grateful and yet meek smile you flash him, making him stop walking altogether. You seem to notice this and turn to beckon him forward as the other two grin at his predicament.

“(Y/n) what are you doing?”

You freeze, but it’s not just you who is visibly stricken by the voice, you notice the way Jungkook tenses very briefly and his once flushed expression is now hardened and staring straight behind you.

“Hyejin?” you call back, turning on your heel to greet the girl, but she brushes it off to instead take your hand and pull you behind her. You blink as she shields you from the three pack mates, her glare focused majorly on Jungkook who meets her gaze with an apathetic one.

“I thought I told you they’re dangerous (Y/n),” she says with a frown, and you can sense the hurt in her tone.

“Hyejin…” you start in a sad tone as she tightens the hold on your hand, her nails digging in your skin and making you wince, “They’ve saved me lots of times, they’ve been so nice to me and..”

“I don’t care!” She raises her voice over yours, “That’s only the surface, (Y/n), can’t you see that I don’t want to see you get hurt the way they hurt me?”

Jungkook snarls at your expression of pain, Jimin and Taehyung holding him by the shoulders to keep him from exploding. Hyejin raises her eyebrow at him, biting her lip when she notices the look he shoots your way.

“You can’t be serious…” she sneers, but you tug at her sleeve to gain her attention.

“Hyejin, I can’t deny that they are supernatural beings way stronger than us, and could pretty much crush my head in one blow, but they’ve become my friends who I can trust just like you have. They haven’t given me one reason not to. I know you won’t want to, but please accept the fact that I feel safe with them and trust them, I equally love being around both of you so I’d really love for you both to just accept it.”

Her expression softens down at you after much thought, smiling softly at your sincerity. Raising her hand, she pats you on the head. “You’re so silly (Y/n), I’m sorry I got upset… If you really trust them that much, then I’ll try to tolerate it.”

“But,” she starts with a harsher tone, glaring at the boys, “If you boys cause any trouble for her, I’ll hunt you all down.”

With that, she hooks her arm around yours and leads you both into the school with her chin held high. You blink, turning to look back at the stunned boys, but Jimin and Taehyung grin goofily and wave you goodbye, all the while mouthing that they’ll catch you later.

You wonder what relation she must’ve had to the boys and Jungkook especially to react so harshly like that. For now you push that thought to the back of your head.

Later, they meet up with you both to walk you home. And you weren’t exactly ready for Hyejin to shout your ears off when she finds out that you’re living with the pack for the meantime. You find it endearing and quite funny as she demands Jimin and Taehyung to not touch you ever and keep you safe.

“You tell me if they lay a finger on you and I’ll be right there to take their heads!” she seethes, hugging and bidding you a good night.

Although, it’s not quite as good as you later lay sweating and breathless on the grassy yard surrounding the pack’s cabin. The sun has begun to set and you’ve yet to take a break during your first session with Seokjin to hone your abilities.

“Come on, (Y/n), we’ve got lots to learn before the Blackwells make a move!” the warlock hums. You’re quite sure that he’s secretly enjoying your struggle, the sadistic little shit.

Seokjin dropped a stack of books he wanted you to read through as soon as you got home. It was only thirty minutes in and you felt overwhelmed with the amount of spells, potions, and herbs there was. For now, Seokjin took it upon himself to end your suffering and decided to teach you a simple defensive and offensive skill - after all, you were prone to getting attacked.

You shudder as Seokjin opens his palm and channels energy into one point until a glowing sphere of light forms, “Just take a deep breath and channel your magic from the stone, it may sound easy the way I say it, but I know you can do it. Let the magic channel into your body, feel it and trust it to protect you.”

Closing your eyes, you inhale deeply and rise to your feet slowly. For the past few attempts it was just too hard to focus. You were self conscious, you weren’t even sure if you could do anything. The sounds of the forest was way too amplified to let you calm your beating heart. You could hear everything, the birds chirping, the scuffle of the skittering squirrel nearby.

Shit what was the chant again? You were panicking too much. Focus. Just focus!

You had to do this! There would be no other way to protect yourself from the coven, and you couldn’t let yourself be a burden any longer to the boys. To Jungkook.

“Prepare yourself, ira Gloria!”

Your senses go haywire at the burst of energy before you.

“Mana clypeus!” You more or less shriek in fear, formulating the image of a shield in your mind. The impact comes but, you aren’t knocked off your feet and feeling like you’ve been singed like the last few attempts. Sure enough when you attempt to open your eyes, Seokjin is picking you up to spin you in circles.

“You did it (Y/n)!” the warlock grins, halting to hug you tightly.

Glancing down, you’re not expecting yourself to be covered in a transparent sheen of light that slowly dissipates.

“I did that?” You gape.

“Yup! It took a bit to get out of you, but you’ll surely be able to perform without fail! Only a few can do this, but if you master skills really well you won’t have to recite the chant, it’ll be like second nature to you!”

“Now let’s have you attack me!” He grins, waving his hand and whispering, “Mana visio electri.”

Instantly, glowing crystals form around his body to encase him in a spherical shield.

“This is another skill I’ll teach you soon enough, but for now, I want you to use the offensive skill I just used to attack you with,” he begins with a smile playing on his plump lips, “Just breathe, trust your power and channel it to your palm, let it fester and unleash it on me.”

You did as he said, breathing in and feeling the power in the stone churn as your body absorbs it greedily. Biting your lip, you hold out your hand, palm facing the sky, and urge the magic to trail from your core, down your arm, and build in your palm to condense into a sphere of magical power. As it grows, you’re surprised to find that it grows quite large and radiates a dark violet hue unlike Seokjin’s. Even the said warlock raises a curious eyebrow at this contrast.

Growing larger, you feel the wind pick up around you, hair and clothes whipping around due to the force of the sphere.

Preparing for the launch, you take a step forward and unleash the condensed magical power at Seokjin, “ira Gloria!”

The magic is too much for you to handle, thus knocking you off your feet in reaction to the force of the burst.

The elder prepares, but isn’t prepared for the amount of unrestrained energy that slams into the crystallized shield as the sphere bursts on contact with the shield. Cracking, it disintegrates under the force of the power, and he’s knocked back in surprise.

Blinking, he feels like the wind has been knocked out of him at the sight of dark electricity crackling from your hands. He’s only seen that kind of manifestation of magic before, and he’s surprised that despite being a siphoner that’s just now using their powers, you’re wielding it. Perhaps it’s due to your bloodline of dark magic from the coven, which only meant danger if you were to use that kind of magic excessively.

“You’re better than I thought,” Seokjin blinks, trying to hide the discomforting feeling in the back of his mind about your dark magic, “I was expecting your sphere to only be that of a baseball, but you certainly surpassed my expectations.”

You laugh nervously, shaking your head at his praise, “Not really, I couldn’t control how much magic I was forcing out of the stone…”

He smiles at this and waves his hand in dismissal, “We’ll work on that more then, although I’m not a siphoner I’ll try my best to help you out!”

“That’ll be all for today,” he hums, clapping his hands together in decision, “Whenever you have free time, please read through the textbooks I lent you!”

And that you do. After training with Seokjin for the next few days you’re curled up in Jungkook’s covers and indulging yourself in more spells, potions, and skills. It fascinates you, holding out a finger and whispering the small spell that’s scrawled hastily on the worn pages. In contrast to the first day of training, only little magic trickles from your stone and materialize as a glowing dark flame from your index finger.

Why does it appear dark? You wonder this as you stare at the burning flame on your finger intently. Why did your sphere earlier appear different than Seokjin’s? Was there a difference between the magic of pure warlock and the magic of a mutant siphoner?

Mutant. You held distaste for the word, now realizing the name was directed at you in those dreams.

“Don’t burn down the house,” a voice says with a hint of humor.

The flame goes out and you raise your head to see Jungkook there holding a tray filled with items probably from dinner. He offers a small nod before looking away shyly, aware of his obvious distant attitude towards you, “Seokjin knew you were probably holed up here studying, so he told me to bring you dinner...”

“Thanks… Just thought I’d study hard so you all don’t have to worry too much for me…” You reply meekly, unsure where to keep your eyes as you both avoid any eye contact… or conversation for that matter.

It’s awkward, you both inwardly groan.

Biting his lip, he sets the tray on his desk and pushes aside a few books to take a seat next to you. He peers over to the book in your hands and squints at the foreign language.

“You understand this?”

Blinking, you scramble to look between the book and the wolf boy beside you and come up with a coherent response as you nod dumbly.

“Y-yeah I uh… for some reason the letters just seem to come together and I can understand fluently..”

He nods stiffly, wondering if he should just leave you alone. As you finger at the corner of the pages, he can smell how nervous and tense you are.

“Wanna see something cool?” You blurt out, eyes wide and searching his for any indication of discomfort. You’re holding your breath, wondering if you’re coming on too strong, you only wanted to the break the ice that is keeping you both from having a normal friendship. Did he still believe he was a danger to you?

On the other hand, he wonders if maybe you know of his weakness over you, feeling his cheeks warm at your cuteness. Eventually nodding, he curses his wolf that’s grown way too tame in your presence.

et gravitate carentem, you thought, imagining the books around you levitating as the siphoner stone reacts to your body and glows brightly. One by one, the textbooks rise and float just above your and Jungkook’s heads.

“You…” he squints at you, “You didn’t recite any incantation?”

You blink back at this, not even realizing what you’d done.

“R-really?”

“She’s a siphoner Kookie, it’s in her blood,” Seokjin grins from the doorway, looking like a proud father, “I’m just as surprised as you are, you went your whole life without learning any of this kind of stuff and you’re a natural at it!”

That brings you hope that maybe you could actually be of some use to the boys. You feel confident and more inclined to study more and learn as much as you can to get better an be able to fight for yourself.

Jungkook later finds you asleep, nose buried in one of the textbooks per the usual, as he goes to retrieve sleeping clothes for the night. Biting his lip, he finds himself placing each book away on his desk and carefully moving your body to sleep correctly, tucked underneath the comforter.

As he's about to leave, his ears pick up on your heart racing and small whimpers that leave your lips. Turning, he senses your body is tensing, aura fluctuating as the whimpers elevate into almost screams of absolute terror.

“Shit, (Y/n), calm down!” He urges, as you thrash around, clawing at the bed and your throat, “(Y/n)!”

Multiple familiar runes appear surrounding you, and Jungkook quickly leaps to hold you tight in his arms as dark thorns emerge from the magic circles. Hissing as the thorns pierce and cut at his clothes and skin, the wolf holds you close in order calm and protect you from your rampant magic. He wonders if this is a skill you learned from the book, but the darkness oozing from the thorns are too great to be something that Seokjin would want you to learn.

By now, the whole house is awake, crowding around the doorway as Seokjin bursts through and takes in the situation. Your crying has settled and you awaken and clutch onto Jungkook.

“Shit…” Seokjin frowns as he begins purifying the dark thorns.

Tags: @twilight-loveer @reinyrei @mistytail @mygukandonlyficrecs @xanny91@unpocodesoledadywisky @xxqueenwxtchxx @lildemonangele@gukworld @sunnyoongles @zamirayinyue13 @hannahdearr @tiredjedi

Oof tagging problems get me so exhausted lol I try so hard to tag everyone lmaoo idk if its privacy settings or just my tumblr?? if there’s any conflicts I’ll just personally msg the user for the update if anything ahhh.

Also sorry if there were grammatical errors in this part. I kinda hurriedly went over this, I just wanted to post lol.

#ahaa....#lustrous #jungkook #jungkook x reader #jungkook scenarios #jungkook fanfic #bts fanfic #bts scenario #jungkook scenario #jungkook x you #jeongguk x reader

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samsonet · 5 years ago

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I can find my way home without you (the rightful king remix)

Leon always gives Chairman Rose what he wants.

Sometimes he has no fricking idea what that is, though.

Title from In the Heights' "Blackout."

Leon is ten when they meet for the first time.

Rose sees talent in this nobody kid from a nowhere town. Rose puts a hand on his shoulder, pats it seven times. Rose endorses him for the gym challenge.

Leon is sure that it is his own incredible talent that drew Rose’s attention, but he hears the gossip same as everyone. Rose likes playing philanthropist. Rose likes acting the fairy godfather to people in poverty. This airheaded purple-haired boy is just another in a long line of charity cases. There’s nothing special about him.

But they’re wrong, in Leon’s case. He really is that special, and he’s strong enough to prove it.

When he wins the Champion Cup, Leon waves to the chairman and takes some pride in the smile on Rose’s face.

When Leon is twelve, Rose gives him a present: a cape, dark velvet, the same color as the blouses Oleana wears. It’s trimmed with Wooloo wool, and the smell reminds him of Postwick and Hop.

Leon slings it over his scrawny shoulders and nearly stumbles under the weight. “I don’t know if I can wear this.”

But Rose only smiles. “You’ll grow into it.”

He doesn’t know what Rose is thinking.

He wears the cape to his next press event. Some reporters call it tacky, but the fandom eats it up. They call him King Leon and talk like he’s got the entire region in the palm of his hand. It’s a good feeling. Leon lets himself enjoy it.

(Later, he jokes about putting sponsor logos on the back of the cape. Then he goes and does it, because nobody can stop him.)

“Happy birthday,” Rose says. “You’re thirteen now, yes?”

Leon is not thirteen anymore, but he doesn’t know how to correct it without accidentally insulting the chairman.

Luckily for them both, Oleana knows everything. She murmurs: “He turned fourteen, sir.”

That makes Rose smile, his eyes shining. “Wonderful! Fourteen is a good number. Seven times two. It’s good luck. This will be a good year.”

Leon doesn’t understand Rose’s thing about sevens, but if it makes him feel better, that’s fine.

“Hammerlocke will be introducing their new gym leader next Tuesday. I would like you to be there to meet him. Can you find your way without me?”

“Definitely!”

(It turns out he can’t. He ends up calling Rose for help, and Oleana sends a taxi.)

By the time Leon turns sixteen, his legend as the “unbeatable champion” seems firmly written in Galar’s history.

He wins the champion cup -- again -- and Rose shakes his hand in front of the cameras.

“Where’d your challenger for this year go?” Leon asks, barely moving his lips. This is something he doesn’t want the press to overhear. (Probably should’ve waited, then, and asked later. Oh well.) “The kid you endorsed. I didn’t see her.”

“Oh, the girl?” (Surely Rose remembers her name, right?) “She went home after losing. I’d like it if you could train with her sometime, actually. She still does have a bright future, even if she won’t replace my favorite champion.”

I’m your only champion, Leon thinks.

Then, feeling a bit petty: and I won’t be so easily replaced.

“Anything for you.”

“Can you find your way to the Pokémon Center later tonight?”

“Of course.”

(A Macro Cosmos employee finds him later and has to bring him there personally.)

Contrary to the internet rumor mill, Leon does have a father. Dad is out of the region frequently, but he exists. He loves Leon and Hop. He’s a good dad.

It’s Leon’s seventeenth birthday, and he invites his father to the league party.

“Chairman Rose, this is my father. Dad, this is Chairman Rose.”

The men examine each other. What they’re looking for, Leon doesn’t know. (Should he suggest a battle? That’s always a good way to get to know someone. But then, Leon is always thinking about battling, and he knows some people find it annoying—)

His father blinks first, offering his hand to shake. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for my son.”

“He’s talented. All I did was clear the way.”

When Leon turns eighteen, Rose invites him to his private rooms in the Rose Tower.

The suite is glamorous, of course.The couch in the living room is immeasurably comfortable, probably immeasurably expensive, too. There are seven lights on the ceiling, shining blue like a foggy morning. Leon examines the pictures on the walls. Eight individual shots of the gym leaders. Himself, back when he was the newly-crowned child champion. Oleana. An older woman who is probably Rose’s mother. Two of Rose’s former endorsees.

The last one, Leon has no clue about. It shows a child with fluffy white hair. She -- he? -- is smiling, but not at the camera. No, that smile is aimed at the tiny pink Pokemon in their arms.

“He’s cute, isn’t he?”

Rose appears out of nowhere. He’s still in his suit, but he’s taken off the jacket and loosened the tie.

(Suddenly, the collar of the champion uniform feels a bit tight.)

Rose stands beside him, looking at the picture. “That’s Bede. He’s my ward, now; in a few years, I will be endorsing him for the challenge. He’s talented.”

“More talented than me?”

That earns him a laugh. “You don’t have to worry about him right now. Let’s talk about you. I have plans for you, you know. Even now.”

And, damn, if that doesn’t sound like something from an adult movie.

Leon has been wondering if this would ever happen. He’s an energetic teenager, and Rose is very attractive and does seem to be fond of him. They’re close, right? Rose has met his parents. Rose has held his baby brother. Rose isn’t going to hurt him.

He can’t figure out what Rose is thinking.

Whatever the chairman asks, Leon will do. It’s the least he can do to repay the debt, and if he doesn’t think too hard, the anxiety is almost the same as excitement —

Rose reaches up, pats Leon’s shoulder seven times. “Have you ever heard of the Darkest Day?”

Everything freezes.

All of a sudden, Leon realizes three things:

First, that he’s been taller than Rose for some time now.

Second, that for all the calm, steel-specialist persona, Rose is an incredibly anxious person.

Third, that they’re not actually going to have sex.

He’s not sure whether to be relieved or disappointed.

“I think I’ve heard that story,” he says. “The Fairy King, the Hero of Many Battles, right?”

“Yes. The ancient Hero fought the monster and saved Galar. You know I have been assisting Professor Magnolia with her research, yes? Well, I have come to a surprising conclusion.”

“Oh, yeah?” All Leon knows about Magnolia’s research is that Dynamaxing makes Pokemon bigger and the crowd loves to see a Charizard the size of a building. The more academic side has always bored him. (Sorry, Sonia.)

Rose walks to the window and pushes open the curtains. It’s dark outside. Below them, Galar shines like a jewel. “Do you know how much energy it takes to power a stadium, Leon?”

Bold of him to assume Leon knows anything, really.

But Rose doesn’t wait for an answer. “One thousand, five hundred megawatts. That’s enough electricity to power ten thousand homes. Heating, cooling, all the devices and appliances. And we use it for simple entertainment.”

Entertainment that Leon has dedicated his life to. “Are you getting tired of the league?”

“What? No, of course not. But lately it’s made me think… our energy supply isn’t infinite. In a thousand years, we won’t have any more resources. The day will come that Galar will go dark, forever. It gets closer every day, every minute. I confess I lie awake at night thinking about it.”

Rose raps his knuckles against the windowpane, knock knock knock knock knock knock knock.

“But I have a plan.”

“I’m all ears,” Leon says. If talking helps the chairman feel better about a disaster that will happen long after they’re both dead, so be it. He turns back to the pictures on the wall. (Piers’ looks more glam rock than his usual punk; did Rose specifically seek out this one to fit an aesthetic?)

“I intend to resurrect the Pokémon that brought about the Darkest Day and befriend it so it will provide for Galar’s future.”

“That sounds like a good plan.”

There’s a short silence. Then Rose says, “Champion, did you hear me?”

Mentally, Leon backtracks. Wait a second. That does not sound like a good plan. “You’re going to resurrect the thing that nearly destroyed Galar?”

“Yes. That is the surprising conclusion I mentioned earlier: that the Pokémon could be a source of infinite energy. I am still figuring out how to awaken it, but when I do, I will need a champion to fight for me and capture it. Can you do that, Leon?”

Leon studies him. Notes the fearful note in his eyes, the way his shoulders are tensed, and even the way he curls and uncurls his fingers.

“Of course I can. I’m your unbeatable champion, after all.”

And that was fine.

But then —

Leon is twenty-one when Rose decides to bring about the Darkest Day.

Leon told him to wait one more day, just one. He hopes Rose tried to wait, that the timing was only because he couldn’t bear to hold back any longer.

But he never knows what Rose is thinking.

(Of course, after the match it turns out there’s a new champion. Did Rose suspect that would happen? Or was he too worried about the far future to care about the near?)

Rose calls for help, and his champion rushes to answer.

They stare at each other. It only takes a moment, but it’s a moment too long while Eternatus rages above.

“I’m glad you came to help me,” Rose says.

I didn’t come for you. I’m here for Hammerlocke. I’m here for Galar.

“I don’t want anyone to get hurt,” Leon replies.

“Can you find your way up without me?”

“Don’t mock me, Rose.”

(Going up he has no problems. Going down is another story.

Hop and Gloria are the ones who help him get back, afterwards. He doesn’t remember it, but apparently they half-supported, half-carried him into the lift. Those two. Always sharing their burdens.)

Leon will realize, later, that that’s the last time he actually saw Rose.

Gloria develops a habit of bouncing on one foot, then the other. One bounce, two bounce. One bounce, two bounce.

“Why do you hop like that?” Leon asks. “One champion to another.”

She blinks, like she’s never really thought about it. “Oh… I have to. Twice on each foot makes four. Four is good luck!”

“Good luck, huh?”

Leon touches his Dynamax band. It’s warm around his wrist.

He taps a finger against it, seven times.

#pokemon swsh fanfic #IWAFORK

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possiblyimbiassed · 6 years ago

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Carl = Charlie = Victor?

The appearance of Victor Trevor in TFP as a little pirate friend from Sherlock’s childhood, who got trapped in a well where he drowned, is intriguing to say the least; it doesn’t seem to connect with anything else we had seen in the show, except for the dog Redbeard. But Victor is not a new element for Sherlockians over the world, and I think this meta by @sagestreet gives an excellent explanation of how Victor fits into the show on a meta level. But what about the textual and subtextual levels? I imagine this has been brought up before, but something just seemed to click into place, so I’ll just throw my thoughts on it out here anyway. There are some pieces of the puzzle that stands out to me, so let’s try to put them together into something - more or less - coherent.

So, for a start: what exactly do we know about Victor Trevor from ACD canon (The Gloria Scott, GLOR)? I’ve highlighted certain facts that caught my attention in this recollection (Sidney Paget’s illustrations are all found here):

Well, basically this:

The story about Victor Trevor was Sherlock Holmes’ first case ever.

Sherlock got to know Victor when they were both at college.

They became friends (Sherlock’s only friend) because Victor’s dog bit Sherlock so he ended up in a sick bed where Victor spent a lot of time with him.

Victor came from a rich family, and Sherlock spent a summer with Victor and his father (Trevor senior; a “squire”) at their large, old-fashioned house with high chimneys.

In what is described as his ‘first case’, Sherlock deduced (parts of) and eventually learned what had happened to Victor’s father, involving a ship with convicts (Trevor senior among them), a mutiny, explosions, killings, shipwreck and Trevor senior ending up hiding under false name for the rest of his life.

Hudson, a surviving criminal from the event, showed up at the mansion, getting drunk and blackmailing Victor’s father with the threat of exposure, which would forever sully his and his family’s name.

Victor’s father's real name was James Armitage, the initials of which Sherlock discovered from his secret tattoo. He got suspicious of Sherlock, who could deduce his criminal past, which led to Sherlock leaving the place.

Victor showed Sherlock a message with a skip code that had meant imminent danger to Trevor senior. It’s a threat of exposure, the fear from which he never recovered; it gave him a stroke that lead to his death.

The skip code read, after deciphering: “The game is up. Hudson has told all. Fly for your life.”

After his father’s death, Victor ended up “heart-broken” in a tea plantation in India. Sherlock and Victor never seemed to have met again after that.

This is Sherlock, many years later, telling John about the message Victor had him decipher:

“Yet the fact remains that the reader, who was a fine, robust old man, was knocked clean down by it as if it had been the butt end of a pistol.”

“You arouse my curiosity,” said I.

Now, this does not bear the slightest similarity to what we learn about Victor in TFP, does it? But what if his story is indeed included in BBC Sherlock, but not (just) in TFP; what if the story about Victor is scattered all over the episodes in the show? And what if this scattered story about Victor is meant to give us clues about the emotional trauma in Sherlock’s past that made him shut down his feelings? Under the cut, let’s take a closer look at some elements of the episodes from this perspective, to see if this idea would make any sense:

ASiP

This is only the first episode of the show, but I think some traces of Victor might be found already here. James Phillimore, 18, who seemed to have some problems with internalised homophobia (judging by how he refused to share an umbrella with his friend in the heavy rain), was found dead near a sports centre, seemingly having committed suicide with a poison. But Sherlock’s investigation makes it clear that Phillimore is one of the victims of serial-killer cabbie Jeff Hope. Phillimore was a student at Roland Kerr’s College for Further Education, an old building with Victorian design (see my recent meta + additions for a more in-depth analysis of the significance of this college).

In canon James Phillimore figures as an unsolved problem in The Problem of Thor Bridge (THOR):

“A problem without a solution may interest the student, but can hardly fail to annoy the casual reader. Among these unfinished tales is that of Mr. James Phillimore, who, stepping back into his own house to get his umbrella, was never more seen in this world.”

(The main plot of THOR, however, is a triangle drama where one of the involved parts commits suicide but tries to arrange it so their rival is accused of murder.) Roland Kerr’s college is also where Jeff Hope takes Sherlock to talk to him and make him kill himself at the end of ASiP, and where (supposedly) John shoots Hope. The college is also represented as Sherlock’s Mind Palace in HLV, where he finds comfort and strength to survive a gunshot by mentally summoning his childhood’s dog Redbeard.

TGG

Several people have pointed out, about this last episode of S1, that Moriarty’s five “Greenwich pips” transmitted by a pink telephone (=heart metaphor) in TGG represent the five series in BBC Sherlock. Moriarty’s ‘great game’ with pips in it begins with an explosion close to 221B.

The case of Carl Powers is what comes from the first pip, but it also ties into the fifth and final pip. In the first pip we learn that the death of Carl Powers was Sherlock’s first case, an he has saved a press clip of the boy from this case:

In TFP, however, we’re told that The Musgrave Ritual was his first case. None of them is canon consistent, however, since ACD told us that Holmes first case was The Gloria Scott. According to Sherlock’s discoveries in TGG, Carl was a young swimming athlete who was poisoned by Jim Moriarty, which lead to him drowning in the pool. The official version from the police, however, was that Carl died in the water due to some sort of ‘fit’. The case of the fifth pip takes place at the swimming pool where Carl died.

Strangely enough, Sherlock makes an appointment with Jim exactly there, and this pool is also where Jim tosses the valuable memory stick that Sherlock has recovered. The Carl Powers case was never solved, though, and the Bruce Partington memory stick was never recovered. Which means, that if the fifth pip is foreshadowing S5, the Carl Powers case might come up again in S5.

THoB

This whole episode of S2 is about a guy, Henry Knight, who is haunted by a childhood trauma in which he lost his father. Sherlock seems particularly engaged in this ‘cold case’ with modern times consequences. For the first time we see him shaking with fear after having (supposedly) sighted the same monstrous ‘hound’ that has affected Henry since he was a boy.

But it turns out that “there never was any monster”; Henry’s father was killed by his own friend. (Please read @sagestreet‘s brilliant ‘Follow the dogs’ meta series for subtextual explanations of how the ‘hound’ mythology represents homophobia, and many other very interesting ideas). Another important fact that we learn in this episode, is that Sherlock considers John his only friend.

TRF

In one of Sherlock’s cases in the last episode of S2, he and John visit a boarding school, from which two children have been kidnapped. Sherlock’s sudden rant against Miss MacKenzie is a little bit weird, though, isn’t it?

Moriarty has poisoned the children by luring them to eat toxic chocolate. In this episode Sherlock and John are very much exposed and speculated about in the media. Suddenly Sherlock is accused of the kidnapping and Moriarty blackmails Sherlock by threatening John, which (supposedly) leads to Sherlock killing himself (but he actually disappears by faking his suicide).

TEH

in the first episode of S3, when Sherlock comes back from the dead, he immediately deduces that John’s fiancee ‘Mary’ has a secret tattoo and is a liar:

Later, in HLV, it turns out she has been hiding under a false name and lied about her criminal past and has many deaths on her conscience as an assassin. Sherlock also observes that ‘Mary’ can recognise a skip code; in fact there’s a skip code sent as a warning about an imminent danger to John.

Sherlock deciphers it, and the resulting message is “Save John Watson”, which leads him to where John is trapped in a bonfire.

HLV

At the end of the last episode of S3, John is threatened by the ruthless blackmailer and media magnate CAM, who flicks John’s face in front of Sherlock and threatens them both with exposure in his news paper.

I’ve written about this in The Threat of Exposure and other metas about media’s role in BBC Sherlock (X, X).

TST

In the first episode of S4, young Charlie Welsborough is found dead in his own car outside his rich (and Thatcher-loving) parents’ mansion, when his car is hit by another car and explodes.

Rather than (as is his MO in S1 and S2) investigating the crime scene to find out what really happened, Sherlock quickly concludes merely from police data that Charlie had made himself invisible by disguising as a car seat.

According to Sherlock, instead of surprising his father by coming out of the car, as he (supposedly) had planned, Charlie died instantly from some sort of ‘seizure’, and sat there dead until the car exploded a week later. (Added to this case is also the smashing of a Thatcher bust, which later in TST leads to Sherlock discovering a valuable memory stick).

What bothers me however, apart from the fact that Sherlock’s explanation is quite illogical, is the subtextual implications: a) Charlie is queer-coded,

(the rainbow is just one of the clues) and b) dying inside one’s own car like that is suspiciously similar to a common suicide method. The idea that Charlie (supposedly) died from a “seizure” ties him closely to Carl Powers - his namesake in Sherlock’s first case, who according to the police died from a “fit” in the water. And Sherlock was reminded of Carl’s case directly after an explosion in TGG. Only this time it’s Sherlock who jumps to conclusions about a ‘seizure’, rather than the police. Which makes me believe that this event represents something entirely different inside Sherlock’s Memory Palace/Mind Theatre. Something dwelling in Sherlock’s subconscious, possibly involving a young (boy)friend ‘coming out’ to a conservative, homophobic father in the Thatcher era. And a possible suicide (or at least disappearance?) by said (boy)friend. Victor Trevor travelled to India in canon, while Charlie Welsborough was traveling in Tibet before he died. (Sounds a bit similar to Sherlock traveling in Tibet/Himalaya during the canon hiatus/MHR doesn’t it?).

TFP

In this last episode of S4, theres an explosion at 221B Baker Street, caused by a ‘patience grenade’:

Sherlock and John suddenly appear on a ship as pirates:

They take over the boat and force their way onto Sherrinford Island where Eurus is imprisoned. This is also the only episode where Victor Trevor is mentioned, but he’s not a young man; he’s supposed to be a kid from Sherlock’s childhood - his best (and only) friend. Victor is very much presented as a John mirror; short blond hair, checked shirt and trapped in a well.

Sherlock and Victor were playing pirates outside Sherlock’s childhood home, the mansion Musgrave Hall, which apparently had high chimneys.

Sherlock was called ‘Yellowbeard’ and Victor ‘Redbeard’. In TFP we also see John and Sherlock hijacking a fishing boat and telling the captain that they’re pirates. In spite of both Sherlock’s dog Redbeard and Victor figuring in early snippets of Sherlock’s dreams in S4, Sister Sentiment Eurus later tells him that they never had a dog;

Sherlock was not allowed to have one, since their father was ‘allergic’. We also learn that Eurus (Sherlock’s supposedly forgotten sister) killed Victor by trapping him in a well, because she was jealous that her brother Sherlock had a friend and she was not included in their games. Nothing more is explained about Victor, however (and I feel sure this storyline isn’t over yet).

Victor never came out of the well; he drowned there, but at the end of TFP John seems to be trapped in the same well as Victor, and discovers his bones in it. In the last minute, with a raising water level, Sherlock saves John from the well by solving a puzzle and thereby finding and embracing Eurus.

Conclusion

So, I do believe that we have most of the ingredients of canon’s story about Victor Trevor and the ship The Gloria Scott scattered over the whole show: colleges and boarding schools; a dog; two best friends who were separated; a young man who might have committed suicide, a homophobic father; a mansion; a secret tattoo; a skip code with an important message; someone seemingly innocent with a criminal past; a ship with pirates (= mutinous criminals); dangerous explosions; blackmail and threats of exposure; a trip to Asia. And the back story is merged with the show’s present. What all this might mean for the next series, we can only speculate, but I do think that we have a pattern here.

Thanks to everyone who has had the patience to read all this. :) Tagging some people who might be interested: @sarahthecoat @tjlcisthenewsexy @ebaeschnbliah @fellshish @gosherlocked @loveismyrevolution @sagestreet @sherlockshadow @darlingtonsubstitution @devoursjohnlock @tendergingergirl @kateis-cakeis @csi-baker-street-babes @88thparallel @timilina @dieseldrakilis @sherlock-overflow-error @elldotsee

#victor trevor #the gloria scott #subtextual reading #Patterns in BBC Sherlock #charlie welsborough #carl powers #Sherlock's first case

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gocatboygo · 6 years ago

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1-50 for Sarsaparilla?

ohhh my god skfjskdf sarsaparilla has no development whatsoever this is gonna be a blast and a half

1) which faction did they side with (NCR, legion, yes-man, or house)?

she sided with the legion from the time she saw vulpes in nipton bc Romam Armor Look Cool, cured caesar of his tumor & everything, and then just before the battle of hoover dam, assassinated caesar and sided with yes-man. she realized about halfway through her work for caesar that siding with the legion was never going to pay off and decided to Fool Him TM and then take vegas for herself

2) preferred armor?

OOF probably like… leather armor sdkfjsdk i dont know. she wore the tribal raiding armor at the very beginning of the game. she doesnt wear the legion uniform but i imagine her w some Legion Accessories TM like a mark of caesar on her chest or something

3) melee, guns, energy weapons, or unarmed?

melee babey

4) highest skills? secondary skills? lowest skills?

her highest skills are melee, stealth, and medicine (she polishes that up real nice when she realizes caesar has cancer). secondary skills are explosives and lockpick. lowest skills would have to be barter and survival :/

5) SPECIAL stats?

im just guessing at this point bc i dont remember them skdfjkd but i would say ST:5, PE:6, EN:4, CH:4, IN:6, AG:9, LK:9

6) what are their perks?

black widow, cherchez la femme, friend of the night, cannibal, scrounger, ninja

7) favorite companions? least favorite companions?

literally no one will hang out w her bc she’s legion ksdfjsd. she takes boone as a companion at the very beginning of the game and then she has to kill him. her fave would probably be cass, or raul, who is the Only Mf who will talk to her

8) any romantic partners? how do these relationships begin and end? are they healthy?

she thinks vulpes is hot for 0.2 seconds but she also thinks that about violet, gloria van graff, and some securitrons so i wouldnt worry about it

9) gender / sexuality / ethnicity / species / etc.?

cis female / bi / asian / human ((i just realized all my couriers are cis even though im trans as hell sdkfjsdkfsdj yikes))

10) where were they born/raised? when/why did they leave?

she doesn’t remember anything from b4 the bullet but she’s from new reno. she left because it’s new reno.

11) when, why and how did they become a courier? how long did they remain a courier before benny shot them?

she needed work after she left home and delivering packages didn’t seem terrible. she did it for like 2 years max before she got shot

12) how did the bullet affect them?

took out most of her memories (including her name) and sort of scrambled her good sense. she doesn’t feel very much fear, restraint, or remorse anymore, which is why she’s been doing All This recently

13) how did they deal with benny?

seduced him, slept with him, killed him in his sleep, and took his roomba yes-man

14) what’s their reputation with the ncr / the legion?

the ncr - fucking horrible she can barely go on the strip sdjfskdsd. pile body upon body babey. / the legion - superb. sparkling. if she weren’t a woman they’d even stop insulting her

15) what do the people in freeside think of them? the followers, the kings, the garrets, the van graffs?

the followers aren’t a fan of her because of all that legion business. the kings like her because she takes care of rex. the garrets generally dislike her. the van graffs like her a lot because she let them kill cass & did all their quests

16) what’s their reputation with goodsprings / novac / primm? (i know primm reputation was cut from the game but like let’s pretend for a minute sdkfjd)

goodsprings: bad bc she sided with the powder gangers kdsfjs / novac: she did come fly with me so its lookin alright! / primm: very mixed bc she’s pro-powder ganger but she also got them a new sheriff (meyer)

17) what’s their reputation with the khans / the brotherhood / the boomers / the powder gangers?

the khans: she’s a Legion Ambassador… a shining monument of their new allies… Excellent and yet they know fuckall about her / bos: well she did blow up that whole bunker. / boomers: i dont remember / powder gangers: as i mentioned before she sided with them at goodsprings and made meyer a sheriff so they like her a lot. boxcars is happy to see her

18) what do the people on the strip think of them? the omertas, the white gloves, the chairmen, ncr military police, mr. house? do the gamblers like them?

the omertas: she did cachino’s quest so it’s pretty good / white gloves: idolized / chairmen: hey that’s the fink that killed benny / ncrmp: BAD / mr house: well considering the fact that she killed him, not excellent

19) what is their motive for taking vegas?

literally just ‘she wants to’. the whole point of this courier was that she’s a no rules run, she’s lost a lot after the bullet scrambled her brain and she’s literally just doing whatever she wants to do

20) do they have a theme song?

no :(

21) what do they look like? how tall are they? are they attractive? any piercings, tattoos, scars?

she has black hair in the “blast back” style. pretty short, like 5′4″. no piercings or tattoos (but she probably gets a legion brand at some point w like the mars symbol or something). there’s of course a bullet scar on her head, and a few around her arms and torso.

22) how old are they? do they know their birthday? if so, what’s their sign?

she’s in her early-mid twenties, very young. im not sure if she remembers her bday (probs not) but she’s a Sagittarius

23) do they speak any languages other than english?

god no. she doesnt even try to learn latin jhjhkjgfkj she pronounces all of it wrong and caesar’s like please shut up,

24) can they read, write, do math, sing? did they ever receive an education?

she went to school in new reno so she can do all that. maybe not sing.

25) what were their parents like? are they still on good terms with their parents?

i honestly havent given it much thought. her parents were probably Just Okay TM. she doesn’t remember them.

26) what’s their d&d alignment? (bolded bc i really like that one ksdjfksd)

chaotic neutral, leaning into chaotic evil.

27) how’s their karma?

not great

28) how do they feel about killing people? do they try to avoid it?

like i said, the bullet messed w her remorse a lot, so it doesn’t particularly bother her anymore.

29) do they take chems? if yes, when and which ones?

yes, sometimes! usually mentats, buffout, med-x, or psycho.

30) do they gamble? where? is their luck good?

she likes to gamble. usually at the ultra-luxe. her luck is pretty good!

31) where do they usually sleep? do they have more than one home location? do they live with any other people?

she usually stays in the lucky 38, in her hotel room in novac, or in the tent Big C TM hooked her up with at the fort. if it comes to it she’ll sleep in the ncrcf. no one else really lives in her 38 save for the securitrons

32) what are their favorite weapons? where did they get these weapons?

her caesar’s fall collection legion-brand machete babeyyyy, one n only! she’ll also use a pistol (a light shining in darkness most of the time since u know she sides w joshua graham) or a police baton if that’s appropriate

33) do they flirt a lot? is it well-received?

yes she does and no it isnt! she licked vulpes. just. right on his visibly ugly face. one time she tried to climb yes-man

34) do they goof around a lot? do other people find it funny or do they just entertain themselves?

once again yes she does and no they do not! she’s doin it all for her, baby. chaotic neutral here we go

35) what do their companions think of them? are they close? have they done any companion quests?

the companions,, obviously dont think very well of her most of the time bc she’s legion. cass thinks she’s a Real Wild Card and respects her for that at first. raul doesn’t like her very much but he’ll still travel with her from time to time just to see what she Does TM.

36) why did you create them?

i wanted to do a no rules run! like i thought it would be cool to just. do the craziest things i could think of in fnv and do it all with one courier. and thus sarsaparilla was born

37) do they draw, paint, play any instruments?

hell no

38) how do they deal with injuries? do they use stimpaks, healing powder, med-x? does a companion help them? can they bear a lot of pain, or do they need to attend to injuries immediately? when they do have to see a doctor, do they have a preferred doctor, or do they just see anyone?

she uses all 3 depending on how bad the wound is. for minor wounds she uses healing powder because she has an abundance of it from the legion, but since she has fairly low endurance she often just has to use stimpaks & med-x. she’s not very tolerant to pain all of the time? but if she has a lot of adrenaline (which she comes by very easily) she can all but ignore it entirely. she doesnt have a preferred doctor

39) have they ever been irradiated? how did they deal with it? did it have lasting effects?

probably a few times but she just threw up and then took a bunch of rad-away and ended up fine. she’s never been damaged by radiation permanently

40) in conversation, are they kind? gentle? sarcastic? rude? do they speak warmly and openly with people, or are they more guarded? do they talk a lot?

she’s somewhat talkative, she mostly says whatever pops into her head whenever it comes to mind so her talking is just. a big mess of Thoughts She Had. she likes making a lot of jokes that are mostly for her

41) do they like long journeys through the mojave, or do they prefer to travel more quickly? do they prefer using roads or travelling through the deep desert?

she likes to travel quickly. no time to waste! she’s almost always using the roads

42) name a random fact about your courier.

she thinks it’s really funny to blow vulpes’s cover whenever she sees him undercover on the strip & she almost gets killed every single time. oh holy shit it’s vulpes! vulpes inculta! spelled v-u-l-p– oh my god its the ncr mp quick vulpes take your dick out in this gift shop

43) do they watch movie holotapes? what are their favorites? least favorites?

yes but shes literally only seen blazing saddles, gladiator, and we bought a zoo

44) what do they do with the lucky 38? do they like being there? do they leave their companions there? if they’re a yes-man courier, do they open it back up as a casino?

she doesn’t leave companions there too often, like i said. she likes it pretty well bc of the robots and the hot water? but i think that she really prefers staying in hotels except for special occasions. she doesnt open it back up bc yes-man kills her sldkfjds great transition

45) what do they do after hoover dam?

yes-man says fuck work and just absolutely murders her. hes like ok enough of this and finds a new human to do what he needs done skdfjksd

46) how do they die? how is their death received, by the mojave and by their companions?

yes-man fucking KILLS her ass! the mojave takes a great big breath of relief knowing they wont have to watch her shenanigans anymore skdjfds

47) what are their vices? are they an alcoholic, a thief, a hoarder?

oh boy literally all of them. she definitely steals a lot but thats literally just. a part of her “do whatever you want” complex that Is TM her greatest vice

48) can they cook, and if so, what do they cook? what are their favorite & least favorite foods?

she absolutely cannot. she likes pizza from the tops dskfjkds

49) did they kill caesar? vulpes inculta? what about prominent ncr figures, like kimball and colonel hsu?

yes she did kill caesar! her securitrons killed vulpes at hoover dam and she was power-tripping so hard she didn’t realize they’d already gotten to him. she probably didnt think about him again before she died. she didnt assassinate kimball herself but she definitely assisted in making the assassination go smoothly, and im sure her robots got to hsu sometime before she had yes-man throw oliver off the dam skdjfskd

50) what’s their happiest memory?

not to be fake deep but all this shit she does obviously causes more adrenaline than happiness. you could say that it’s when yes-man threw oliver off the dam, because that was her most exhilarating moment, or you could say that it was when she woke up in goodsprings, because it was the last time she was calm and being taken care of.

—

thank u so much if u read all this and thank you for sending me this ask. it took a long time but its a good exercise like i said skdfjsdf. send me more if these if yall have the heart, maybe not a whole 1-50 but like ! & please reblog my fnv courier questions post because i do think its nice, bye

#courier 6 #sarsaparilla #fnv #long post

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deathwalksamongarchive · 7 years ago

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o.verwatch inspired starters

❛ feels like i’m falling apart. ❜ ❛ ---- except for the part where you became a homicidal maniac. ❜ ❛ first you listen, then i kill. ❜ ❛ ha, i’ve come back from worse. ❜ ❛ i knew there was a reason i kept you around! and it wasn’t the sparkling conversation. ❜ ❛ brings a tear to my eye. ❜ ❛ well, i had to come back. i was worried you'd get bored not being able to stick your nose in my business. ❜ ❛ life is pain. so is death. ❜ ❛ it takes a woman to know it. ❜ ❛ never see the world for what it appears to be. dare to see it for what it could be. ❜ ❛ come at the king, best not miss. ❜ ❛ i sometimes wonder if all that armor slows your brain down. ❜ ❛ never liked going to the doctor. ❜ ❛ least number of kills buys post-mission drinks. ❜ ❛ need someone to tuck you in? ❜ ❛ those who fall will be forgotten. those who rise up... their names will be remembered. ❜ ❛ someone has to be ready when all your careful planning doesn't pan out. ❜ ❛ still trying to play hero? ❜ ❛ someone has to do something! we have to do something! ❜ ❛ the true enemy of humanity is disorder. ❜ ❛ i shouldn’t overstay my welcome; i’m probably still on the watchlist here. ❜ ❛ i don’t even think children are afraid of you. ❜ ❛ you kids today with this techno music. you should listen to the classics, like hasselhoff. ❜ ❛ try not to get yourself killed out there. ❜ ❛ you’re looking quite well. this life must agree with you. ❜ ❛ this will only hurt for a minute. ❜ ❛ conflict and war is the crucible through which we evolve. ❜ ❛ you believe that? i don’t even know what to tell you. ❜ ❛ you are trapped in your own mind. ❜ ❛ knock me down, and i’ll keep getting back up. ❜ ❛ hm, pretty place. be a shame to kill someone here. ❜ ❛ i had a poster of you on my wall when i was younger. ❜ ❛ you having trouble keeping up? ❜ ❛ just tell me one thing: where’d you learn to shoot like that? ❜ ❛ things may change, but you never do. ❜ ❛ you sure take to this bad guy thing easily, don't ya? ❜ ❛ you really should take better care of yourself. ❜ ❛ now this is my kind of city! everyone’s free to live as they choose. ❜ ❛ i am the angel of death. ❜ ❛ never leave a teammate behind. ❜ ❛ you look like a guy who needs someone blown up. ❜ ❛ one of these day’s someone’s gonna put an end to you. ❜ ❛ nice to see you doing your job for once. ❜ ❛ are you trying to impress me? ❜ ❛ don’t think i’d forget about you. ❜ ❛ what are you going to do when the fighting’s over? ❜ ❛ i’ll see you in hell. ❜ ❛ you haven’t aged a day. what’s your secret? ❜ ❛ it’s a good thing i have you to watch my back. ❜ ❛ i’m not a young man anymore. ❜ ❛ that’s ‘sir’ to you. ❜ ❛ ____ in the flesh, woo! can i get your autograph? ❜ ❛ awwwwww, you’re trying so hard. ❜ ❛ you should consider joining us. i think we’d see eye to eye. ❜ ❛ now where’s my hero’s welcome? ❜ ❛ just setting foot here sets my soul at ease. ❜ ❛ true strength is hard work and dedication — not augmentation! ❜ ❛ you need to slow down; think about your actions. ❜ ❛ i make this look good... real good. ❜ ❛ those who think they are all-knowing, know nothing of what they do not. ❜ ❛ revenge is not justice. ❜ ❛ i know the doubts that plague you. ❜ ❛ peculiar choice of headwear... ❜ ❛ pain is an excellent teacher. ❜ ❛ i want to hug you like big, fuzzy siberian bear. ❜ ❛ i’m sure there’s a reasonable scientific explanation for this. ❜ ❛ sometimes i’m not sure why i even bother. ❜ ❛ i hope you learned your lesson. ❜ ❛ sorry, sorry. i’m sorry. sorry. ❜ ❛ you know, smoking’s bad for your health. ❜ ❛ the suffering of my people rests heavily on your shoulders. ❜ ❛ lose the battle, win the war. ❜ ❛ get down; give me twenty! ❜ ❛ they used to believe that witches lived in these woods. ❜ ❛ i’m not a miracle worker. well... not always. ❜ ❛ you always did have a high opinion of yourself. ❜ ❛ a warrior’s greatest weapon... is patience. ❜ ❛ ouch! are you okay? ❜ ❛ are you sure life isn’t a game? ❜ ❛ look at the snow! we should make snow angels! ❜ ❛ you might not want to tell your friends about that. ❜ ❛ i heard there’s a nice reward for bring you in. ❜ ❛ i lost many good soldiers here. ❜ ❛ a moment to enjoy some peace and quiet. probably just a moment. ❜ ❛ must violence always be the solution? ❜ ❛ i am a different man now. i am whole. ❜ ❛ you’re just a no-good bully. how can you look at yourself in the mirror? ❜ ❛ and they said i was the mad one. ❜ ❛ don’t like shooting a lady. but for you, i’ll make an exception. ❜ ❛ i thought you were dead... why didn’t you tell me? ❜ ❛ this is no place for children. ❜ ❛ i wouldn’t drink the coffee; always tasted like boiled dirt. ❜ ❛ the destruction here... it reminds me of home. ❜ ❛ remind me to stay out of your bad side. ❜ ❛ i didn’t start this war; but i’m damn well gonna finish it. ❜ ❛ i still love you. ❜ ❛ i’m a man on a mission; stay out of my way. ❜ ❛ you hear me baby? just hold together! ❜ ❛ this is much better than a cabana on the beach. ❜ ❛ i get the feeling you’re not taking me seriously... ❜ ❛ you were not meant for greatness. ❜ ❛ you know, i still owe you for saving my life. ❜ ❛ what are you looking at? ❜ ❛ got your aim from your mum, i see. ❜ ❛ you ain’t seen me angry. ❜ ❛ actions have consequences. ❜ ❛ you sure know how to play boy scout. ❜ ❛ i’m not your father. ❜ ❛ bones heal, pain is temporary; scars look good. ❜ ❛ i’m the one that does their job. i’m thinking you’re the other one. ❜ ❛ where’s your holiday spirit? ❜ ❛ i can do this with my eyes closed. ❜ ❛ god save the king. ❜ ❛ destroy the enemy, take no prisoners. ❜ ❛ it’s hard to say who ___ would be more disappointed by. ❜ ❛ save the medals. i’ve had my fill. ❜ ❛ my enemies fall like cherry blossoms. ❜ ❛ i have some chocolates for you... not swiss. ❜ ❛ lot of memories of this place. they weren’t all bad. ❜ ❛ i didn’t teach you all my tricks. ❜ ❛ now this place? ugh. makes me an atheist. ❜ ❛ let’s say we forget all about this and go to the beach instead. ❜ ❛ treasure? sure, i don’t know what you’re talking about! ❜ ❛ this was my home. no longer... ❜ ❛ you are mistaken. i am beyond redemption. ❜ ❛ mock death at your own peril. ❜ ❛ i always liked working with you. no awkward small talk. ❜ ❛ old soldiers never die... and they don’t fade away. ❜ ❛ looked in a mirror lately? ❜ ❛ we could have built an empire together. ❜ ❛ big mouth, big target. ❜ ❛ if you sit by the river long enough, the bodies of your enemies will pass by. ❜ ❛ can’t stop, won’t stop. ❜ ❛ you said you would arm wrestle me. nervous? ❜ ❛ the heart of a man still beats inside me. ❜ ❛ our paths cross for now. as for the future... we shall see. ❜ ❛ you were once a legend, but what are you now? just a shell of a woman. ❜ ❛ i’m not in it for the glory. ❜ ❛ like mother, like daughter. ❜ ❛ now those are some fireworks. ❜ ❛ you chose your side. ❜ ❛ guess we’ll do this the old fashioned way. ❜ ❛ would have been better to let this all go... ❜ ❛ i don’t tolerate defeat. ❜ ❛ from here it looks so orderly and peaceful... ❜ ❛ if it lives, i can kill it. ❜ ❛ make a lot threats and someone's going to shut you up. ❜ ❛ you look like you’ve seen a ghost. ❜ ❛ won’t be a problem if you just disappeared forever. ❜ ❛ ‘sic transit gloria’. ❜ ❛ i will fight to my last breath. ❜ ❛ i don’t feel. that’s the point, isn’t it? ❜ ❛ over my dead body. ❜ ❛ and here i thought we had a plan... ❜ ❛ it’s not too late to change your course. ❜ ❛ last one there’s a rotten egg! ❜ ❛ last i checked, i didn’t ask for your opinion. ❜ ❛ why are you so angry? ❜ ❛ what’s wrong? don’t you recognize me? ❜ ❛ such beauty is wasted upon the soul of a killer. ❜ ❛ you can be my wingman, anytime! ❜ ❛ let us rid ourselves of these unwanted guests. ❜ ❛ i’m too young to die. ❜ ❛ alright. gameface: on. ❜ ❛ i tried being reasonable. didn’t take to it. ❜ ❛ the world could always use more heroes. ❜ ❛ this is not my kind of weather! have an extra jacket? ❜ ❛ ever get that feeling of de ja vu? ❜ ❛ i’m not bad. not good. but i sure as hell ain’t ugly. ❜ ❛ it is beautiful here... i could never appreciate it before. ❜ ❛ freedom is an illusion that does more harm than good. ❜ ❛ this is gonna make you feel better. ❜ ❛ let’s get this party started! ❜ ❛ is it hot in here? or is it just me? ❜ ❛ uh-oh, sniper, keep moving. ❜ ❛ when the music hits, you feel no pain. ❜ ❛ stupidity isn’t a right. ❜ ❛ oh man, i hope you didn’t work too hard on that. ❜ ❛ i think i’ve made improvements. to your face. ❜

#❛ ▌ ☠ · ┊ › DON'T FEAR THE REAPER / ᵐᵉᵐᵉˢ.#long post for ts / /#i had to #i'm gonna do some things & then i'll be here for the rest of tonight !!! <3

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cookiedoughmeagain · 7 years ago

Text

Annual writing self evaluation - 2017

I was tagged by @grey-haven :)

*All answers should be about works published in 2017

1. List of works published this (last) year

In order of published date, most recent first:

A Hand in His Hair : Haven, Nuke, Rated E Haven Crew Prompts : Haven, Various, Rated G Were you ever going to tell me? : Haven, Nuke, G I Just Wanna Feel … : Haven, Nuke, E Real Distraction : Haven, Nuke, E Out of Space and Time : Haven, Daudrey, E It's Not a Date : Sometimes I write stuff that's not Haven! This is Peluso/Finn from Conviction. Rated T

Wanna make this more interesting? : Haven, Nuke, E After the Troubles : Haven, Various, G Take Care : Haven, Threegulls, G Coffee Break : Haven, Nuke, E Here Be Dragons : Haven, Nuke, G Duke and his boat cat : Haven, Threegulls, G Spun Around : Haven, Nuke, M Nuke and ThreeGulls Sketches : Haven, Threegulls, Nuke and others, T Around the World in 80 Arrest Warrants … : Haven, Nuke, G I Will Always Find You : Haven, Nuke, T I Wasn't In Any Club Last Night : Haven, Nuke, M Five different moments in the life of Duke and Nate, and one that happens without them. : Haven, Nuke, M Vacation : Haven, Nuke, M Proposal (with @grey-haven) : Haven, Nuke, G What Do You Desire? : Haven/Lucifer crossover, M Life Lessons : Haven, Nuke and Gloria, G Wedding Rights : Haven, Nuke, G High School : Haven, Nuke, T 1983 : Haven, Nuke, G Nefarious Creature : Haven, Nuke, E Have a little Faith : Haven/Buffy Crossover, Nuke / Faith, M Fear and Processing : Haven, Nuke, T Snippets From A Life That Might Have Been : Haven, Threegulls, T Mistletoe : Haven, Nuke, BalfourBryant, T Waking Up : Haven, Naudrey to Threegulls, E Long Distance : Haven, Threegulls, E Up Past Lookout Point : Haven, Threegulls, M A minute can last forever : Haven, Threegulls, E Addicted to the feel of her skin : Haven, Mara/Nathan, E Hey Kiddo, : Haven, Duke and Gloria, G If the Wind Changes : Haven, Threegulls, G i lik the fandum : Various fandoms, mostly Haven Game Night : Haven, Threegulls, E Moment by Moment : Haven, Naudrey to Threegulls, E Confidence is a Preference : Haven, Naudrey to Threegulls, E All Alone In The Night : Haven, Daudrey (sort of), M Every cloud has a silver lining : Haven, Threegulls, T Afternoon Luxury : Haven, Threegulls, T The Power of a Touch : Haven, finale fix-it, G You Think You Ever Would? : Haven, Naudrey becomes Threegulls, T

So, that's 91.5% of last years fics are pure Haven, 86% of those are Threegulls or Nuke and 46% of those are E or M rated smut. No real need to ask what inspires me to write, huh?

2. What work are you most proud of and why?

Probably Nefarious Creature because it started off as two different things and took some time to combine into one. Also I love where the title comes from. And the mix of smut and heartache.

But I also love I Just Wanna Feel …, the Fake Phone Number ‘verse (e.g. I Wasn’t in any Club Last Night) and the Nate Hansen AU series - Just because they are fun:)

3. What work are you least proud of and why?

I can't really pick any of those as something that I don't like. One that I find frustrating is Around the World in 80 Arrest Warrants, because I love the concept and I want to write more for it, but that is proving to be difficult.

4. A favourite excerpt of your writing

One of many possible options, this is from I Just Wanna Feel …

“Fuck off Duke,” Nathan said tiredly and turned to leave.

“Wait, Nathan don't let me scare you off. Stay and have a drink, you'll settle in.” Duke reached out as he spoke, grabbing Nathan’s arm to stop him from going, in a largely automatic gesture given that he knew Nathan wouldn't be able to feel it.

Except Nathan did feel it, Duke saw his surprise and his eyes flick automatically to Duke’s hand with a slightly stunned expression. Duke moved a little closer, partly blocking Nathan’s exit route against the crowd of people behind them. “It's happening again, isn't it?” Duke asked, intrigued. “Your Trouble’s fading.”

“I am not interested in talking about it with you,” replied Nathan.

“OK,” Duke said in acknowledgement. He didn't step away though. He moved a little closer instead and placed the palm of his hand on Nathan's forearm, fingers curling around to the soft skin inside. “Then you won't be interested in telling me why I shouldn't be doing this,” he said as his thumb traced a small circle on the inside of Nathan's arm.

“Duke,” Nathan said, careful and low; half warning him to stop, half pleading with him to carry on.

Duke moved his hand up towards Nathan's elbow, fingers stroking along the inside of Nathan's forearm, following the veins and feeling Nathan's skin shiver in response. He watched Nathan for a reaction, noting that he did not seem very interested in moving his arm away.

“Why deny yourself this?” Duke asked. “You know that I can separate sex from … well, anything else. It doesn't have to get complicated. It doesn't have to mean anything.”

Nathan's eyes flickered closed for a moment against the softly wandering tips of Duke’s fingers and his thumb which had now reached the inside of Nathan's elbow. “What would you get out of it?” Nathan asked after a moment.

Duke almost laughed, thinking A gorgeous man about ready to beg for my touch . Instead he just said, “You're so responsive. I think we could have some fun,” and he stepped a little closer as he pushed his fingers further up Nathan's arm, reaching under the edge of his t-shirt.

“I don't think…” Nathan began, hesitantly.

“You think too much, is the problem,” Duke suggested, adding, “Tell me to stop and I will. Move away and I'll let you go.”

Nathan did not doubt the truth of that. Duke might be a criminal, he might be many things, but Nathan had never seen any indication of him trying to force himself on anyone. He wouldn't need to for one thing, Nathan thought; he'd never seen him short of options for partners. Which kind of backed up the ‘it needn't mean anything’ concept, from Duke’s perspective anyway. Meaningless sex was something Nathan himself had less experience with; it was a concept he had not previously been interested in.

Duke’s fingers pushed further along Nathan's arm, reaching closer up to his body, and he tightened his grip a little as he pulled their bodies closer together.

Nathan thought about pushing Duke away, as he had before in the station. There would be something very satisfying about saying ‘No’ to the cockyass bastard. But, he did not want an end to the sensation of a hand on his skin. He did not want an end to that at all, and so he thought that maybe it was time he explored this ‘meaningless sex’ concept.

Nathan cleared his throat and shifted his weight forward a little, “Don't stop,” he said.

5. Share or describe a favourite comment you received

I've not really had any negative comments, so I love pretty much all of them. I love the comments from friends who I can be fairly sure will find something to like in what I post, and I love the comments that come out of the blue; those from a username I've never seen before, or from someone who has clicked on kudos many times but it's this one fic that prompts them to write a comment :)

6. A time when writing was really, really, hard

To be honest, my main struggle so far * is simply finding the time to do it. Or when I somehow come up with the most smutty plot idea when I'm at work and can't do anything about it. Or getting half way through one thing and then thinking of something else and not knowing which to work on first. Or my enthusiasm for something I've *just* written threatening to overtake me so that I post it without some much-needed editing.

* I say “so far" though, because I've only been doing this for a couple of years or so and it is entirely possible that at some point I will run out of ideas and spend my time staring at a blinking cursor instead.

7. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you

The smut. All of the smut, in the sense that I never would have expected to write any.

And Addicted to the Feel of her Skin, because I never thought I would write something that dark.

8. How did you grow as a writer last year?

Honestly, I don't know. I don't know if I did, but I kept writing so I probably learnt some lessons along the way.

9. How do you hope to grow as a writer this year?

As long as I keep writing I'll be happy, but maybe I should think about branching out into some different fandoms. Or at least some other characters ;)

10. Who was your greatest positive influence last year?

I have to agree with @grey-haven about the positive loveliness of the Haven fandom ... @beyondtriumvirate @yumearashi @serendipityxxi @fiore-della-valle @balfoursyard @queenbookwench @spankedbyspike , and @grey-haven too of course!

And Fragilelittleteacup on AO3 whose wonderful ‘Liquid Courage’ fic inspired my A Hand in his Hair. And @grey-haven for inspiring Spun Around.

And every lovely person whose name I don't know who commented or clicked kudos on my stuff :)

11. Anything from your real life turn up in your writing last year?

Not directly. Themes do, all the time. Or at least, they turn up in the place I'm writing from, whether they're still there in the finished fic to the same extent I'm not so sure. Themes like trust and control, and whether you can ever really know what another person is thinking. Themes like how scary it is to fall in love with someone and how difficult it can be to take that risk.

12. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers?

New wisdom? No. But some of the classics bear repeating:

Write whatever you feel, then go back and edit.

Finish something, then wait a few days and read it over again before you post it

Post it, and then go do something else (preferably away from the screen). Don't sit there clicking refresh to look for a reaction; it will drive you mad.

Keep a notebook by the bed for the inevitable middle-of-the-night ideas. And in your bag (or find a phone app that works for you).

13. Any new projects you’re excited to start this year?

um … more smut?

14. Tag any other writers whose answers you’d like to read

This is the part where my mind goes blank:/ It's always interesting to hear about people's writing, so; anyone already tagged and anyone else reading this who wants to do it or wonders how many fics they published last year (it might be more than you think!)

#2017 fic #my fic

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