#Blackberry Logan

[penelope-pitstop]

[hauntingmiser]

In honor of pride month I give you some more images on my camera roll cuz yes vvvvvvvvvvvvv

Anyways bye

[logiclistening]

hello happy 4/13 have a totally completely unrelated doodle of logan that has nothing to do with the day in question (dishonest)

[blueookashi]

SHAKING U GENTLY HIII HELLO HII - Your ocs (protags and maybe some side ocs) in a nerfgun war, who is winning and also who is out first given the laws of the game? - Does Max have bio parents that are present in the story?? if you're allowed to talk about that bc i've always been curious and i'm not sure if i've asked before - Blackberry random fact go!! what is her deal she seems hella interesting if you're allowed to say - i'm guessing Bullet is a shoe hater but also i need confirmation. does he ever step on those evil little burrs out in the grass. 2nd to this i dont think i've ever seen him in something that isnt shorts is he one of those guys thats like yeah shorts and crocs combo in the middle of winter - This isn't a question i just need to say that Amy is rlly pretty, girl has fantastic eyeliner - i need to know Grey's taste in music/fav songs if they exist,,, plea,,,, - Can Blue bap things with her ears and also how strong r her ears like is it similar to when dogs smack u with their tails on accident and ur like wofgh wtf this could break my bones or is she just rlly fluffy pspsps

HIII!!! :D!!!

1- HMMMM, that is tricky, cause like Blue would either win or be first out depending on her energy and if she wants to do it KJD;SGJKA otherwise, I think Grey and Bullet may be first out- Grey is a bit too nice and Bullet is clumsy DAKJG then it would prob be Max and the rest of the Boys, Max is too cocky, Logan is also a bit clumsy and a lil too safe, and Tyler, Tyler is just participating he'll be dramatic as hell once he's shot LKAJS;FGAJ who would probably win in that case has to be Amy, she's the most chaotic and energetic one here (she would 100% climb trees or hide on/behind rocks and ambush people) but thats only if Blue doesn't have the energy, if she does, everyones doomed DASJG

2- Max does indeed have bio parents! As of right now, I currently have no plans for them to show up? That could change however, but he was abandoned by them and thats why he lived on the streets for a bit. Thats also why Max steals a lot and stashes things in random places cause thats what he had to do live. Sometimes tho, being a child, he would steal stuff that caught his eye too; got him caught eventually. But yeayea, his parents abandoned him! So idk if they'd come back, I'd have to ponder on that

3- I'll give you two facts! Her and Lavender are step-sisters! Lavender's dad and Blackberry's mom got together, Blackberry wasn't too fond of Lavender at first? Cause she didn't want a new dad, meanwhile on Lavender's side everything was awkward cause I have it planned rn that Lavender's mom died during childbirth, so Lavender never really knew her mom or had a mom, so having one then was just super awkward! But yeayea Plum is their half-sister! :D Another lil fact more about her deal, is that, she's one of the ones that would tell the Bitch things about Blue, she didn't know what that Bitch was doing so it wasn't entirely intentional? But it still was harmful and not from a great place, so she made Blue's situation worse regardless

4- Oh he's definitely stepped on a couple of burrs before KASDGJ he does the biggest YOWCH and jumps up from them for sure ASDGKJL I think the most Bullet would ever wear is sandals, but he wouldn't wear SHOE shoes for sure, he's used to being barefoot, he might actually wear crocs tho those definitely got his vibes LKAJSDG; but yea he does not like burrs OH YEA YEA the longest pair of pants he has doesn't even reach his ankles I don't think he likes wearing long pants, he'll have to do it in winter though cause he doesn't handle the cold that well, so he'll tolerate it then but the moment, the MOMENT, it gets warmer it is back to shorts LKAJSDG

5- She says thank you <3

I don't think she gets complimented often, at least not from people she likes LKAJS;DGLK

6- OHHH THAT IS DIFFICULT, I don't even know what genre of music I like ADKJG;SJ HMMMMM I mean! In The Fallen, you gotta have that phonograph to listen to music, and those are pricy, its either that or going to places like inns or people at festivals, you get the picture so hmmm Grey DID grow up with the piano, and the kind of music she'd hear would be stuff like this

and sorry to put a WHOLE ost video here but its the only one where I can find these specific tracks but from 3:41:50 to 4:05:30 is more examples

YES ITS AMNESIA OK?? KILL ME. /j LKJ;DGA but this is the kind of stuff Grey heard all the time growing up, just that melancholy piano, so I think Grey would be genuinely comforted if she heard it again, so I guess this kind of stuff!! and I'm pretty sure with that first vid people can guess who's playing this kind of stuff around/to Grey KJA;DGS but sorry I cannot talk about mom As for like modern au? hmmm god I'm not good at knowing genres tbh this is really hard DLKAJSG, definitely not something super loud like metal or hard rock, not pop either, not country.... Folklore??? Would it be Folklore??? I'd imagine she'd listen to First Aid Kit and maybe Monsters and Men?? Ooh this is hard LKJ;DASGLK but I think thats her vibe LKJDASGLK I think she'd like Dirty Paws! or Meet me in the Woods!

7- I think they are very soft and fluffy! However, with enough velocity I'd imagine they might hurt but not BONE breaking hurt just an owie that lasts for like 5 seconds KJSDLAGJ;K but I imagine her ears being more soft rather than being weapons KDLJAG

[gaypeoplemusic]

after 10 years in the tesco mobile trenches ive finally changed my phone contract

[babey-fruit-bat]

Warmer Places

Logan x Fem!Reader

Content: Logan comes to your rescue after a day spent on the lake doesn’t go as you hoped ⛸️❄️

Author’s notes: Author can’t write dialogue, I’m from the south- this is SOOO self indulgent so apologies for northern inaccuracies - I know nothing about skating or ice on lakes hee hee

TW: reader gets hurt, Logan feels sad and GUILTY, fluff with light angst- obvious inaccuracy- This is my fanfic and I say logan won’t fall through the ice with his adamantium bones because I said so.

—————————————————————————

Tranquil, homey, picturesque. All could be said of the last eight months you’d spent with Logan in his home in Cold Lake. Moving so far away to Canada had been a big adjustment for you. Logan did his best to make it bearable. With a lit fire under the mantle every night and trips up town to Spanky’s, the local bar, warming yourselves with blackberry brandy and whiskey- the long cold winter had faded away into a blissful spring welcome.

Your newest favorite pass time, besides snuggling up with Logan watching whatever movie played on his dated box TV, was to travel to your backyard and lace up your new skates. Well, that and Pepper- his painfully cute St Bernard he’d had for a few years. She’d warmed up to you quickly with temptations of Milk Bone and bacon from your breakfast plate. This morning she trailed after you as you gathered your skates from the mudroom.

You remember your first time on the ice didn’t go as expected. Your favorite pass time back home was similar, roller skating had been one of your favorites with the gravel road beneath your feet it carried you everywhere. The sun, hot weather, and wind in your hair as you flew down the boardwalk by the beach. It felt worlds away as logan led you further out onto the ice. The black skates created patterns as he skated backwards effortlessly. Your wobbly legs liken to a fawn shifted, trying to balance on the thick sheet of ice.

“C’mere baby, you can do it” he pleaded with you, he’d been nothing but patient and encouraging while teaching you time after time how to balance and move.

“I can’t Logan, I’m gonna fall..” you’d slipped serval times already, him catching you effortlessly every time.

“I won’t let you fall angel, you gotta trust me”. True to his word you slipped again, caught in his solid arms and warm embrace.

He’d set a few non negotiable rules when starting your new hobby. He had to keep you safe- especially if he was away from the house.

One- Never skate alone at home

Two- Never keep Pepper inside while you’re out.

Three- Never skate too far out in the lake- unless he’s with you. Stay in the little bay by the cabin.

Simple enough, and those rules kept you safe. As you improved he lightened up slightly on the first one believing you’d learned enough to not have him there every second. Though it was only with your convincing, and managing to skate around the lake by yourself, that he believed you. As long as Pepper stayed right there, snoozing by a fire.

The last two were absolute, pepper was trained to fetch help or fetch him if ever needed, who understood her commands in a heartbeat- loyal to her little family to the core.

This morning Logan had woken up early as usual. He threw on one less layer, claiming it would heat up come mid day despite the chill outside. You’d woken up along side him, packing the lunch and sending him out the door with a breakfast, coffee, and a kiss.

“Well, better now than never!” You said to no one in particular. You’d looked forward to your morning skate sesh since yesterday- being too busy with chores left you no time to stretch your legs before the weekends storm was set to move in.

You bounded up to your room to suit up for the cold weather outside- Logan may be used to the cold, but even with the sun coming out more you still needed to bundle up to take on the brisk Albertan weather.

Pepper barked as you opened the backdoor trailing off to her favorite spot by the fire pit. You sat on the small bench Logan built for you and him and laced up your skates. They were a soft white with sheer black bows on the back, a contrast to the sturdy black skates he wore.

You picked up yours about two months within moving there, an insistent welcome gift from Logan after you’d expressed how nervous you’d be even thinking about setting foot on the ice. He was determined to show you one of his favorite pass times and how much fun you could have just like back home.

You sat up after lacing your skates and pushed off gliding in a soft loop around the edge of the lake. You skated further out to practice your spins, you’d gotten good at them in the last few weeks and decided to keep practicing.

About an hour later you sat on the bench sipping your water. The sun had come out heating the day just like Logan said. He was always right when it came to weather. You pulled out your phone switching from your music to TikTok scrolling through the For You page deciding to search new skating tricks before landing on one you just had to try next.

A gorgeous figure skater demonstrating a beginner level jump. Yeah, you could do that- you thought to yourself. Setting up your phone you skated out a little and skated the beginning positions. You stopped, watching her jump, then skated back to your starting point to try it a few times.

After a few attempts you were ready to try a small jump- you began again and lifted yourself slightly- nearly slipping- but you landed! You actually landed.

“Pepper, Did you see? I did it!” You laughed as she ‘boofed’ in response un-phased by your triumph. You skated further out wanting more room to try a slightly bigger jump, surely it couldn’t be that different than roller skating? You’d jumped plenty of times, even once over a garbage can at the skate park.

You kept the video playing as you followed her instructions- you lifted yourself higher this time. A stomach dropping crack sounded as your skate nearly twisted off after the toe pick stood solid in the ice. You’d landed too hard and the force sent you tumbling down cracking the ice below further.

“Ahh, oh..Oh shit Mngh-ph!” A sharp pain cascaded up to your knee, tears welling in your eyes immediately. You shifted to sit up trying not to move your leg too much. You started crying as you unlaced your skate slowly pulling it off along with your socks. The sight was already awful- the chilled air not helping in any way. Your ankle now swelling before your eyes a bright angry red and painful to the touch.

“Pepper!” You hollered for her, “Fetch phone!”

She hopped up darting forward snagging it in her mouth and plopped it in your hand. She scanned the area knowing something was wrong and sat against your back for you to lean on.

Unlocking your phone you paused before calling Logan. Would he be upset with you? It was probably not the smartest idea to try this today, and if you called he wouldn’t hesitate to leave work. You quickly brushed those thoughts aside as your ankle throbbed worse than before. You needed him here.

The phone rang as you tried to collect your breathing.

“Hey Darl-“

“Logan, I’m sorry, I’m really sorry!” You panted into the phone

“Slow down Darlin, sorry for what?” He snickered over the line.

“I’m out on the lake with Pepper, I- ItriedtodoanewtrickandIfellandnowmyanklesbroken-“

“Hey hey slow down Angel, what are you saying? You’re still on the ice now?”

“I tried to do a new trick and I fell and now I think my ankles broken..”

“Angel, oh no you can’t be serious?”

“Yeah” you sniffled “It hurts Logan, I can’t get up it hurts so bad I’m sorry”

“I’m on my way now, just stay put with Pep, and I’ll take you to the hospital” You heard the door of his truck slam shut and the phone call end.

He pulled into the drive way 15 minutes later- which you’ll have to scold him about because his commute is 30 minutes on a good day.

It mattered less now as he trucked down to the lake stepping onto the ice and carefully lifting you up as you groaned. He walked you to the truck and opened the door with one hand, you tucked away in his other arm. He shut the door and called Pepper to let her inside. She whined watching you leave out the front window.

Logan grabbed your soft blanket you kept in the truck and wrapped it around you and pulled onto the highway.

You lived about an hour from the hospital and you couldn’t get there soon enough.

He pulled a snack from the lunchbox in between you in the front seat and handed it to you- the puppy chow you’d made him as a sweet treat for his lunches.

“Here, you should eat something, take your mind off the pain for a bit, yeah?” He grunted.

“Maybe” you sat in silence watching the pines fly by out the window.

“Logan, you should slow down a bit- I’m not gonna die, I’ll be okay” you prodded softly.

He flashed you a worried look and kept driving in silence.

You reached the hospital quicker than expected and were seen just as quick- thanks to the intimidating looks Logan dished out to every nurse, admin, and doctor who kept walking by without seeing you.

Finally X-rayed, they’d concluded you had a broken ankle though not terribly so. You’d be in a cast for about 4-6 weeks and would need the occasional check up. They sent you off with a pain medicine prescription to pick up and you were home before you knew it.

Now once again resting by Logan on your couch your mind drifted back to earlier, the feelings of upsetting him and worse worrying him over something you could’ve avoided by listening to him.

“Logan?”

“Hmm?” He hummed softly.

“I’m.. I’m really sorry about today- If I had known I’d never have tried that stupid trick..”

“It’s not your fault, Angel, accidents happen and it’s part of being on the ice- you slip the wrong way and it’s blam- lights out sometimes” he trailed off wrapping his arms around you.

“Really, it’s my fault- even if you didn’t try a jump you still could’ve fallen and hurt yourself. The ice gets too slick when the sun comes out, and it’s starting to thin the ice too”

You mulled over his words in a stunned quiet.

“I should have thought of that, should’ve told you..” he sighed out.

“Logan, there’s no way either of us could’ve known” you grabbed his chin to look at him softly. “Like you said- accidents happen”

“But that’s not enough, it’s not okay- you’re hurt because of me, I miss one important detail, and it’s some kind of pain for someone else all over again” he muttered

“I’m just so sorry, this shouldn’t have happened Angel, and it’s my fault for not telling you sooner..”

“Logan, you didn’t do anything wrong even if I got hurt” you spoke- searching for his eyes

“What if it’s not just a broken ankle? What if next time it’s worse- I just cant stand the thought of losing you- ever.”

You felt destroyed and reborn with his confession. You knew Logan certainly liked you but to hear him express the way he cared for you rocked you to your core in his quiet moment of vulnerability.

You pulled him in closer capturing his lips in a passionate dance.

“Good thing you never will.”

[dukeyeatsdeodorant]

Favourite soft drinks/ soft drink flavours. GO. (in my opinion ofc)

Logan: Vanilla Pepsi. He doesn't usually consume soft drinks but this is his go to whenever he feels like having some.

Roman: Cherry cola! He enjoys the taste and tries to start arguments with Logan on the superior between Coca Cola and Pepsi but instead gets lectured on how the cola is made.

Patton: He likes Creaming Soda flavoured soft drinks

Virgil: Anything blackberry flavoured. He doesn't hold too much of a preference though.

Remus: Not neccessarily a soft drink, but Remus chugs the absolute heck out of any kind of Monster energy drink he can get his hands on. He mixes it with dangerous household substances for extra spice.

Janus: Wine in a Coca cola can. Or Dr Pepper.

[cavillscurls]

wip wednesday ~

ty for the tags @arcanefox207 & @ace-turned-confused !!! i’ve made some progress on my upcoming logan one shot, so i thought i’d share it with y’all (:

this is an excerpt from woodland, and you can find the current inspo tag for the story HERE

It’s what is to be expected, now. Part of this odd routine. A sensation of magnetism that remains to be spoken.  He holds you, feeds you blackberries from the palm of his hand when they’re in season, takes you by the waist when you idle by the edge of the creek so you may enjoy the beauty of this oasis without the fear of falling. You never question it.  You seek him out—a comfort, a haven—settle him in his distress, wordlessly take him by the hand on long hikes, trim his beard when it grows too long. He never turns you away.

npt: @kiwisbell @pedrospatch @guiltyasdave @eupheme & anyone else who wants to !!

[nekoannie-chan]

Week 6 Reblog Masterlist

}Welcome to Week 6 2024 or Week 214, as always, fics would be listed in the order I read them.

I hope you enjoy it!

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

♥ You can check my reading guidelines here.

♥ You can check my masterlist here.

♥ You can check my main reblog masterlist 2024 here.

♥ You can check my February reblog masterlist 2024 here.

♥ You can check Week 5 2024 here.

♥ You can check Week 7 2024 here.

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

𝙺𝚎𝚢𝚜: 💛 ᵒʳᶤᵍᶤᶰᵃˡ ˢᵗᵒʳʸ

💜 ʰᵒʳʳᵒʳ

🖤 ᵈᵃʳᵏ

❤️ ˢᵐᵘᵗ

💚 ᶠˡᵘᶠᶠ

💙 ᵃᶰᵍˢᵗ

🧡 ᶜᵒᵐᵉᵈʸ

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

This is the list of the fics I read and recommend in Week 6 2024:

Idiots in love (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @moonvis 💚💙

Favourite food (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @buckys-wintersoldier 💚💙

I know where I belong part 8 (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @sosa2imagines 💚

Ghosts of the past (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @the-soot-sprit💙

The right size (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @bolontiku 💚

For the longest time (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @dem-obscure-imagines 💚

Will jilted (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @sarahowritesostucky 💚

Ever present shadow (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @the-soot-sprit💙

Never pegged you for a deviant (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @androidsalienswizards❤️

Jilted part 1 (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @sarahowritesostucky ❤️

Epilogue (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @the-soot-sprit💙

Are we still for (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @intrepidacious 💚

Blackberry (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @mariaxxxxx❤️

I want to go down (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @howlingscarlet❤️

Jilted part 2 (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @sarahowritesostucky ❤️

The spectre of hope (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @the-soot-sprit💙

Mission 100 (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @sebastianstanisahotmf💙

Imagine by @moonlit-imagines💙

Yandere Steve alphabet (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @yanderemcu 💚💙❤️

Wonderstruck chapter 11 (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @messedupfan💚

Trust (Bucky Barnes X Reader) by @kgficz💙

Let me in (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @happy74827💙

Dashing through the snow (Brock Rumlow X Reader) by @e-dubbc11💚

Back and forth part 4.1 (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @anika-ann 💙

Worth to wait (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @stargazingfangirl18❤️

Back in time (Logan Howlett X Reader) by @kgficz💙

Drip (Stucky X Reader) by @biteofcherry❤️

Unbreakable chapter 8 (Steve Rogers X Reader) by @crazyunsexycool 💚💙

[ho-ho-homosxual]

Sanders (A)Sides headcanons p2 because I finally got motivation

They have family game nights that are organized by Patton and Logan. The two get together once a week and plan out the game night. It usually takes place on weekends because it’s the least busy. Pattons always gets really excited about it because “We can finally play clue!” They used to only be able to play two player games (past Logan insisted it wasn’t helpful)

Janus has scales over his body (think of it like vitiligo). When snakes shed they have a thing called a blue stage (I think) and during that stage their eyes become blue and blind. That happens to Jan as well but only in one eye.

Also Janus’s sheds are treated like a period. The others help him out (ie. get him chocolate, talk to him, leave him alone when he wants them to, and have a drawer full of stress toys.)

because Remus encompasses all of Thomas’s intrusive thoughts sometimes he just randomly pops up and starts quietly singing a random ad jingle and slowly gets louder.

Roman totally has one of those fancy canopy bed things. And fairy lights that are all strung up around the room.

whenever Patton goes to lecture Thomas about something he calls him Tomathy.

Virgil used to be addicted to Monster Energy but once the others found out how it affected his sleep schedule they helped him slowly transition to sparkling water. His favorite flavor is blackberry.

Headcanons Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

[prodigal-explorer]

the sides’ signature scents:

roman -> vanilla and caramel

logan -> sea salt and pear

patton -> sunscreen and lemon

virgil -> lavender and blackberry

janus -> coffee and almond

remus -> watermelon and mint

[good-realtor-bad-realtor-dynamic]

New Sunny podcast is out and, as teased, it's about the guys' upcoming films, Fool's Paradise and Blackberry, out on 12 May!

Meg showed up at 9:00 which some people might say is late.

Shopify ad is full of Succession references, "Glendall Roy!!!!" and Logan Roy-isms: "FUCK OFF!"

There are a few new clips for the creeps.

Fool's Paradise

Hollywood satire with a focus on persona, ego and stage names, hence why the main character is accidentally named "Latte Pronto" and a passive observer reflecting the surrounding characters' projections.

Explores different sides of the industry with the big cast and spirals into chaos by the end as the ppl behind the stars are revealed

Charlie started on the script during Sunny S10 (~2014) bc he felt certain '70s and '30s style comedies weren't being made anymore.

Felt he'd never be cast in them even if they were

Directed because he didn't want to give up control of his script especially if he was going to play the passive lead without a voice

Influences: Being There (1979) starring Peter Sellers and directed by Hal Ashby; also films by Woody Allen, Albert Brooks, Robert Altman, Coen Brothers, Paul Thomas Anderson, Buster Keaton, and Charlie Chaplin

Charlie plays the MC but Ken Jeong's character is the protagonist

Movie follows their journey together looking for real relationships in Hollywood.

Reshoots focused on making Ken the heart of the movie

Charlie worried that he was pushing Ken too much, but Ken was willing to do many takes to get to a non-sarcastic heartfelt place

Jon Brion's score is very classic old-fashioned Hollywood and used a lot of old recording techniques to add to the timeless fairytale feel of the movie

Glenn loved Charlie's script from the first draft and every revision

Charlie and Rob, the Original Glenn Girlies, found Glenn and his glacting choice to do a "vaguely European" accent (like Jan?) for his Business Manager character to be the funniest part of the film

Film contains Sunny easter eggs and actors like Peter McKenzie

Blackberry

Glenn was nervous about playing a character based on a real person, especially since he only had 3.5 weeks to prepare and couldn't do as much research as he would have liked.

IRL Jim met Glenn at the Toronto premiere and seemed to approve his onscreen portrayal.

Glenn felt like he lacked film experience where characters have arcs, so it was a challenge to keep track of Jim's anxiety levels through the story while shooting out of order.

Read the script many times and talked to director Matt Johnson about every scene because he didn't have the benefit of being a writer here like he does on Sunny

Worried about being too unlikeable but committed fully to the character because of his experience with Dennis

Glenn played Jim very earnest and sincere, and not at all for laughs — that's where the comedy comes from

Rob and Charlie found Jim to be nothing like Dennis or Glenn because even though they both experience rage, Jim is competent and has a cold killer look in his eyes -> DENNIS IS NOT A COLD CALCULATING KILLER.

Matt Johnson shot with long lenses on gimbals so that the cameras were far away enough for the actors not to know if they were being filmed and what was on screen — this adds to the handheld thriller but kinda comedic aesthetic of the whole film

Charlie was excited that a director finally let Glenn go full Glenn all over this movie and wished he was in every frame

Also wished he was the one directing the movie showing off Glenn

Rob, Charlie and Meg are annoyed that people are so surprised how good Glenn is in this role (we know and agree!) and predict that he will get more roles off this performance

Glenn has a theory on why he thinks things are shifting for the Sunny cast BUT HE DOESN'T GET INTO IT BECAUSE THERE'S NO TIME LEFT NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The girlies were all too happy and nice-looking today for me not to screenshot away.

I'm so excited to watch these movies... can't find any showings for Fool's Paradise yet, but Blackberry is playing at my local cinema later this week, and I will be there!

[samders-sides]

The Hunt for Prince Roman - Chapter One

Summary: Roman has been in the Imagination for two weeks straight and Virgil has grown concerned. What starts as a welfare check on the wayward Prince turns into a full on quest to find him because things…are not adding up.

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/51469459/chapters/130071607

Note: Hi! I am back again. I have two WIPs on here but this walked into my mind and I spent the weekend writing pretty much all of it… Will be updating twice a week until it is all posted on Thursdays and Sundays. Also I'm not great at titles. If anyone has any ideas I would be happy to hear them!

Chapter One: The Begining

It had been two weeks.

Virgil shoved his hands into his pockets and hunched his shoulders, shifting his satchel strap to a more comfortable position on his shoulder and moodily glaring at the scene. There were many places that he liked to while away his spare time. Cuddled up into the smallest ball imaginable in the soft armchair in the living room with his headphones on; sitting on the benchtop while he supervised Patton baking in the kitchen (ready to jump in at any notice with a fire extinguisher, should one be needed); sinking into a warm bubble bath…

Virgil smiled at the last thought. For his birthday, one of the gifts he had received was his own bespoke brand of bubble mixture, which, when mixed with water, created large sparkly purple and black bubbles. Blackberry and lavender scents soothed his nerves, and he swore that the bath water would remain the exact right temperature, no matter how long he soaked his troubles away. Roman had really outdone himself on that one.

Roman. Virgil’s frown returned to his face. The reason that he was here, in the imagination, instead of literally any other place that Virgil would care to be. His skin c­rawled.

Roman had been acting strangely since…well Virgil couldn’t quite pinpoint it exactly. He had been so focused on the threat of Janus, Remus and the Others, and the stresses of a once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic that he hadn’t paid enough attention to the three knuckleheads in the light. Recent events sure had blown his failure on that point wide open.

The wedding was a big one, that had felt like an atomic bomb going off in the mindscape. In the space of a day everything had turned upside down. New friendships. New rules. New high score in Candy Crush…one big gaping hole in the fabric of his close-knit family. And maybe the hole itself wasn’t new but it sure as hell wasn’t anything like what it is now. Virgil could name a handful of days that were so significant in their lives to have had as big of a fallout as that one.

But pinning it all on just one (freaking terrible no good) day, was just one more mistake Virgil had to chalk up on his list.

Virgil shook his head and started walking. He was here for a reason.

Two weeks.

Two weeks with no Princey.

Lengthy absences weren’t necessarily unheard of, or even rare – especially when they were between major projects or Princey was working on something big. He was still functioning, Thomas still had his fanciful thoughts, reckless romantic urges, his ego, and his creative spark. They could all feel Roman’s presence in the mindscape, like he had sprinkled glitter over everything. Patton still set the dinner table for four. There was a growing pile of books outside of Princey’s bedroom door that Logan had come across and thought would be of interest to the creative side. Virgil still peeked into his room on his nightly rounds of the mindscape. Usually, the Prince would send some sort of message to them by now though.

“He’s probably just busy defeating some illogical amalgamation of fictional and non-fictional creatures and has lost track of time,” Logan had said, his voice clipped as he turned the page of his book, not even looking up at Virgil. Logan had said something further under his breath about the creative sides’ appreciation for time and schedules, but Virgil had chosen to ignore it. Instead, Virgil’s eyes had flicked to the four empty coffee mugs on the table, and the glass of red wine in the logical sides free hand, then to the clock on the wall which read 11:46 am. A feeling that Virgil could not quite place welled up within him.

“Yeah kiddo, Roman just needs some space at the moment, I’m sure there is no need to worry.” Virgil turned to look at the other side in the living room, Patton. Virgil had a retort ready to snap back about how could you claim to know anything for certain especially about Princey, but it died in his throat as he took in the newest addition to the father figure’s ensemble – a clumsily made yellow friendship bracelet. Virgil knew what feeling had been welling up inside himself that time.

Virgil blinked himself back to the present, not for the first time since the scene from earlier had occurred. One at a time. He had to sort out these buffoons one at a time before they destroyed themselves and Thomas. Something in his heart of hearts told him that Roman had to be top of his list.

He had appeared on a hill in Roman’s side of the imagination and had immediately breathed a sigh of relief. The weight in his gut lessened just a fraction.

The grass was an impossibly perfect shade of green, and the beautiful baby blue sky held no clouds. There were forests to the right and left of him, an expansive ocean behind him, and towns littering the path up to a magnificent Disney castle ahead of him. Cartoonishly cute birds and animals filled the scenes, and the ambiance could only be described as magical.

This hill had become a favourite spot of Virgil’s, on his journeys here. A large cherry blossom tree grew at the crest, with brilliant gardens radiating out around it in ever growing circles, paths weaving their way through the beds. Gardens weren’t entirely strictly his vibe, but Roman had created this one just for him. The flowers were all different shades of purple (with a few tasteful black roses dotted about here and there) and Roman had fashioned a bench underneath the cherry blossom tree, which was always in bloom. It was a peaceful place at a strategic vantage point so no one could sneak up on him while he was there. It was perfect.

Virgil had wavered here for a few moments, his eyes staring at the table in front of the bench which was set up with a Battleships board.

Roman and Virgil had tried chess, but admittedly Roman had struggled with the rules. The Game of Life had stressed Virgil out with the inevitability of death and taxes. Neither of them would ever emotionally recover from that Monopoly game…

Battleships was as much skill as luck. It had been the perfect medium to bridge the gap after Virgil had been accepted.

At least the imagination seemed to be in good nick. In ways that Virgil had yet to understand (and that Logan would kill to know), the imagination was inextricably linked to the Creative sides and their emotions. For the first time, Virgil started to doubt himself and his mission. If the imagination was this picture perfect, maybe the wayward Prince was fine. Maybe Patton was right…

And it was that thought that hardened Virgil’s resolve to continue, as he steadfastly made his way along the cobblestoned road to the first small town.

Since the wedding, and especially since the mall, Virgil had been spending a lot more time with Roman than he ever had before – including in the imagination. It wasn’t entirely his cup of tea but Roman had kept things low-key for him.

The imagination was always in flux, but there were a few constants. “Video game logic” is what Roman had dubbed it. The first golden rule – walk to a location and find a person to ask a question of. A tavern or a brightly coloured shop were your best bets to find such a person. Virgil’s gut said that he would find the Prince at the castle, but the imagination had spat him out onto that hill for a reason. Virgil had long since learned to trust Roman’s guiding hand when it came to the imagination.

And so, Virgil walked into the quaint town of Brightstar.

Roman had eagerly walked him through Brightstar before, and it was a favourite setting of Virgils’. The small French village had a beautiful fountain marking the centre of town, with cobbled streets reaching out from the fountain like a star. The houses had thatched roofs and were built with stone. It was very Beauty and the Beast.

Which is why Virgil frowned when his feet left cobblestone and hit a tar sealed road.

Brightstar was a hive of activity – which was not unusual. What was unusual was the kind of activity. People in high-vis-vests scrambled about in teams. One team hauled a massive machine down the cobbled streets, covering them in tar. Virgil wrinkled his nose at the smell. Another team were pulling up streetlamps and connecting them to electricity. The crew clapped as the first bulb flickered to life.

Virgil broke off into a run, his anxiety flickering to life. There were only a few streets in between him and the town centre and he didn’t stop until the water fountain came into view, blessedly untouched. Virgil slouched and clutched a stitch in his side, cursing Thomas for not going to the gym more often. The city centre had already been paved and electrified, but the local vendors and citizens seemed unbothered. Virgil took a seat on the fountain and dipped his hand into the cool water, forcing his breathing to come right and his heart rate to chill out.

Everything is okay.

Once again, Virgil chided himself. It was silly getting himself into a panic over nothing. Roman decided to update and change his realm almost on the daily, why was he so panicked over him deciding to update the facilities in Brightstar? Virgil tried not to feel too disappointed. It’s not like he was invested in the old school cobble streets at all…though they were far more his aesthetic than modern paving systems. Didn’t Logan once say that the old Ancient Roman roads were far better quality than anything we could construct now? Virgil looked up from his spot at the fountain and saw that another team of workers were replacing a thatched roof with tiles.

“Howdy stranger.”

Virgil just about fell backwards into the fountain, only just managing to catch himself in time. One of the workers had come over to him while he was contemplating the meaning of change. Virgil hurriedly stood up and tried not to look like he had just let out a screech that a banshee would be jealous of.

“Urgh, hi there.” Virgil grunted, shoving his hands into the safety of his pockets. The worker was clearly of elvish origin if his pointy ears were anything to go by. He had an orange hard hat on his head, green eyes, and a kind smile. He clutched a clipboard against his portly stomach and rocked back and forth on his feet.

“Sorry there friend, didn’t mean to startle you.” The man gave a reassuring smile. “The name is Bertram.”

Virgil sighed.

“No problem, er, Bertram.” Virgil cast his eyes about nervously. This was it; he was sure of it. He had found a person, now, to get the right question. “What’s going on here?”

“New orders from the big guy in charge, massive infrastructure upgrades realm wide and we have a week to do it! Management, eh? In truth, I liked the old look, but not complaining here. It makes sense to move away from combustible materials like thatched roofs. Never know when a dragon will take a special interest in our little old town eh?" Bertram laughed as if he hadn’t just made a joke about a dragon burning his home down. Virgil doubted he would ever understand the folk in the imagination.

“Management…yeah.” Virgil swallowed. He didn’t know why he was so anxious talking to a person that literally did not exist. “So, the Prince has done this? Is he around?”

“Where have you been?” Bertram laughed again. “We don’t have a Prince anymore.”

Virgil’s blood ran cold.

Next

[ariel-seagull-wings]

THE MATCHMAKERS (A ORORO X LOGAN FANFICTION)

(Originally posted as different chapters of my fanfic Giving it Back on AO3.)

@the-blue-fairie @themousefromfantasyland @piterelizabethdevries @amalthea9 @professorlehnsherr-almashy @thealmightyemprex @voxxgrimly @barbossas-wench

~oOoOo~

The next morning, Storm was tending to the fruits she grew and the beehives of stingless honey bees she built in the greenhouse. 

Melons and blackberry bushes were by her covered in humid mists, while she harvested amber and purple honey produced from the flowers of those fruits.

Gambit appeared, making his presence known by asking:

“ May Gambit be of help, my friend? ”

Turning her face to smile at him, she greeted:

“ You’re very kind. If you please, help me by pruning the blade apple cactus . Beware of the thorns .”

Gambit took the pruning shears and started to prune the branches, reserving them for the salad he would prepare for dinner. He pricked his fingers some times, but didn’t let this stop his work, which was made enjoyable thanks to a light conversation with his friend. A few minutes in, Gambit slip:

“A curiosity, Storm: What do you know about redwoods?”

“ I know that they are amongst the tallest and most enduring species of trees in the world. Why, do you ask? ”

“ So … Jubilee mentioned she’s having a  homeschool assignment by Beast, to learn about the environment of Redwood Forest. She said that it would be nice to make a field trip there, and since you enjoy the outdoors and botanics, you would be a great field guide to help in that assignment, if Xavier doesn’t assign you any mission, there is .”

“ It's a marvelous idea . I will talk to the Professor, and if indeed there is no mission assigned, we may pack to go. ”

“ Beast will follow as an expert in mineralogy and chemistry, and Rogue intends to join you too, she loves the outdoors. ”

“ What about you? ”

“I will stay here, to give back up for those who stay. Maybe next time. ”

~oOoOo~

Meanwhile, in the garage, the canadian fighter known as Wolverine was working on fixing his bike, when Professor Xavier flowed in his chair, bringing in different flowing bottles of beer:

“ I got Iron Horse, Molson, Moosehead, Labatts, O’Keefe and Brador. Which poison shall it be? ”

Cleaning his hands with a piece of flannel, the gruff ex soldier choosed:

“ Hand me a Molson, Chuck. ”

With his powers, the Professor handed the bottle of Molson. Wolverine opened it with the bottle opener of the switchblade he carried in his pocket, which he then threw for Charles to catch and open his bottle of O’Keefe.

Then, Charles proposed a toast.

“ To what? ”

Asked Wolverine.

“T o the crazy adventure of living in this world. ”

They toasted and drank, and the medium height, gruff man exclaimed:

“ As Doug McKenzie once said: ‘Beer is a cold friend on a hot day.’* ”

Suddenly, jumping like a canary, Jubilee appeared by the Professor’s side.

“ Professor, did you ask him yet? ”

“ Ask him? ”

“ What are you up to? ”

“ Well, maybe he can take some of us to the redwood forest. Just to get away. ”

“Oh, yes! Wolverine, we were thinking … Perhaps you'd lead a camping trip to the California redwoods. Up for it?”

Wolverine raised an eyebrow.

“ How many would go? ”

“ Jubilee and Beast are going, to do research and work in her homeschool science assignment, and Rogue will be joining to enjoy some relaxing outdoors. ”

“I’m not sure…”

 Now Jubilee joined her hands and made a begging facial expression:

“ Wolverine, pleeeease! ”

While the Professor talked:

“Just imagine yourself, Wolverine… In a natural environment like the redwoods. Untouched by man. Miles away from another human being.”

“Except the ones I already know from here, hum… If you allow me to take along some bottles of Baileys, Hampden Rum, Iron Horse, Molson, Moosehead, Labbatts, and Brador, I’m up to it.”

“ As long as you bring them back intact after drinking the content. ”

“Deal.”

~oOoOo~

Later that night, Professor Xavier and Jubilee joined Beast, Gambit and Rogue in the kitchen.

“ So, they took the bait? ”

Asked Rogue.

“ Yes! In two days, they'll be in for a surprise! ”

Jubilee cheered.

“ That’s the greatest mission you ever assigned us, Professor. ”

Remarked Gambit, while their leader completed:

“ If we can do this, Cupid is no longer an archer: his glory shall be ours, for we are the only love-gods. * ”

Beast was quick in recognizing the source of that phrase:

“ William Shakespeare. ”

The five friends took an airplane to go from New York to California, where they would take a bus to get in the National Park to which belonged Redwood Forest.

When he saw that Storm was joining the camping trip, Wolverine was surprised and nervous due to not being told she also was going, fearing that she wouldn’t like his presence.

But instead, she smiled at him, and said:

“ I’m happy you’re coming with us. Is good to have a fellow enthusiast of nature coming along. ”

At this moment, he was disarmed.

In the airplane, they ended up sitting side by side, her by the window, him by the corridor.

Behind them, Jubilee and Beast were seated, and right behind them was Rogue’s seat.

The trio talked among themselves and took enjoyment in activities like reading and listening to music, while occasionally taking glimpses to see if the two people in front of them were making any interactions.

There was a moment when Storm fell asleep, and let her head fall over Wolverine’s shoulder.

He looked over, but didn’t say anything, nor tried to get away. Just took his arm over her shoulder, and let her sleep by his.

Jubilee gave a wink with her eye to Beast and Rogue.

When the group arrived, the first thing they did was set up their tents. Rogue, Storm and Jubilee would share a tent, while Beast and Wolverine would sleep in individual tents.

They were ready right on time for rain to start, so everyone rushed inside and spent the rest of the evening and night in their tents.

“ Was that you? ”

Jubilee asked Storm with a little tease in her voice.

“ No… my rain’s aren’t so calm and slow. ”

Was the white haired weather witch’s answer.

With the sound of rain, everyone was asleep… except for Wolverine, who took a long while looking to the roof of his tent, thinking of Storm. He was wishing she would sleep by his side.

The next morning, the rain stopped, and the canadian was the first to rise, so he could warm a little gas stove to prepare some English breakfast tea he brought. His travel companions slowly woke up with the warm and comforting scent of the beverage. Rogue, rubbing her eyes, was the first to say:

“ Good morning. Wow, what smells good? ”

“ Get a cup and a spoon. Grub is served. ”

“ Wait… you cooked?! ”

Jubilee exclaimed, wondering if that was really Wolverine and not Mystique in disguise.

“ Someone had too. ”

His answer assured her it was really him.

“Now line up to get your share.”

He passed a cup and a spoon to Jubilee, Rogue, Storm and Beast. Inside each cup he put a handful of Hardtack biscuits, a share of evaporated milk from a can he opened with one of his adamantium claws, and then the English breakfast tea .

“ Mix it up and you have porridge. ”

Said Wolverine as he now filled his own cup. Rogue and Jubilee were reluctant to taste the mixture, because its appearance wasn’t the most appetizing, but when they saw Storm and Beast eat a spoon from their cups and smile, their reluctance shrinked a bit… 

They tasted it, and… liked it. The two (along with Beast) even asked if there was more when they finished their cups!

Having finished breakfast and washed their faces, they now set up to find dry branches and rocks to make fire for the following nights. Wolverine said:

“ Find some cramp balls as well. ”

“ Some … what? ”

Jubilee asked while

“A black coal ball looking  mushroom. Is good fuel for the fire.”

“That reminds me…”

Spoke Beast.

“Could you guide us to help find mushrooms? Researching the local types of fungus are amongst the things I asked for in Jubilee's homework.”

“I thought you could guide her on your own.”

“But, see… you are the most experienced tracker among us.”

Beast insisted, and Storm also spoke up in, favor of having Wolverine as their guide

“And you were the first who mentioned the utility of the mushrooms… you seem to have valuable knowledge to teach all of us.”

They were not giving him an order… they were asking him. He looked at each of his travel companion’s eyes… Storm’s eyes looked especially anxious for him to say yes.

So with a grant and a half smile he said:

“ Alright, get your baskets and water bottles ready and let’s go! ”

~oOoOo~

Their search for mushrooms proved to be surprisingly fruitful: besides finding Cramp Balls to fuel the fire, Jubile and Beast took some Bird Nests that Wolverine showed them, to be analyzed for her homework study, among with a wide variety of edible species: Cauliflowers, Maitakes, Matsutakes, Ceps, Morels, Chanterelle-Girolles and Hedgehogs.

When nightfall came, a campfire surrounded by rocks was lit with dry branches and the Cramp Balls. Amidst its embers were roasting some sweet potatoes covered in aluminum paper, while above the embers and branches was a pan roasting a bread that Storm carefully watched, helping the top to be fully cooked by burning some branches above it.

Rogue took the sweet potatoes out of the embers with a stick, joining them in a plate to be uncovered of the aluminum paper and be cooled down a bit, and then Storm finished cooking the bread and turned it over to another plate, then cutted it in triangular slices, revealing that it was filled with the edible mushrooms they caught along with some fried onions.

Rogue called Beast, Jubilee and Wolverine, and soon everyone was reunited to eat around the campfire, passing the plates so each would get their share.

“That pizza tastes amazing!”

Said Jubilee, complimenting the bread filled with the mushrooms that Storm cooked in the pan.

“This is Madfouna.”

Explained the white haired windrider.

“You can use any stuffing of your liking to make it. Traditionally, in the North of Africa, we use lamb or chicken.”

Putting a hand over her chin, Jubilee answered:

“Now I wonder what it would taste like if we fill it with cheese …”

“What I think could really be perfect with this Madfouna …”

Beast interjected.

"… is a glass of wine.”

“We don’t have wine, but I brought in some Baileys, Hampden Rum and four labels of Canadian beer, if you wish.”

Offered Wolverine.

“I’ll accept the Baileys and Hampden Rum.”

Storm willfully raised her hand, while Beast followed with a:

“Make it two.”

“I’m in for a Labatt’s.”

Interjected Rogue.

“Do you have any root beer?”

Asked Jubilee.

Wolverine asked if Dr Brown’s Cream Soda was okay, and she assured him it was. He went to his tent and returned bringing in bottles and cups for himself, Storm, Beast and Rogue, and a can of Jubilee’s Dr Brown. The teenager proposed a toast:

“To our friendship, and this amazing trip together. May many others come!”

The group cheered, and drank their beverages. When the sweet potatoes and bread were finished, then Rogue suggested:

“Now that we ate, and are drinking, what about a good ol game of truth or dare?”

“Isn’t that a thing kids do in pajama parties? We’re too old for that.”

The rough Canadian warrior complained.

“It can be played anywhere, at any age, and since we’re friends who have nothing to hide, I see no problem with it.”

“I’m in!” Their youngest companion cheered. Beast and Storm also agreed to play, so Wolverine joined in as a defeated vote.

Rogue began.

“Storm, truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

“So … how many languages do you speak?”

“Kiswahili, Al-'arabiyya, English, Française, Elliniká, Italiano and Español.”

She spoke in Kiswahili, Arabic, English, French, Greek, Italian and Spanish, respectively.

Then, she turned to Jubilee.

“Jubilee, truth or dare?”

“Dare.”

“Hmmm … I dare you to say the full Monday's Child nursery rhyme… from back to front.”

“Alright, let’s see:

Gay and good, blithe and bonny is.

Day Sabbath on born is that child the but.

Living a for hard works child Saturday's.

Giving and loving is child Friday's.

Woe of full is child Wednesday's.

Grace of full is child Tuesday's.

Face of fair is child Monday's.”

Everyone cheered, both for her good memory of the full nursery rhyme, as well as her capacity to recite it from back to front. Next, it was her turn to ask Beast.

“Beast, truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

“Have you ever got a grade lower than A?”

“Yes, I took Arts and Other languages as electives in my High School days, got a C+ in my Photography homework and B+ in Russian, French and German.”

“Boy, even when falling in grades you are a Little Goody Two Shoes.”

Spoked a frustrated Jubilee.

“For you not to think so low of me, I assure you that I took every chance to write swear words in the bathroom walls.”

“Alright, got my respect.”

“And now is my turn ... Wolverine: Truth or dare?”

The Canadian shrugged:

“Dare.”

“I dare you to tell us a story.”

“What kind of story?”

“One that makes us laugh.”

“Right, I’ll try.”

Swallowing some extra content from his bottle of Iron Horse, Wolverine took a deep breath, and started to tell:

“At the time of which my story speaks people were camping just as we are here. In the winter time they used birch bark wigwams. All the animals could then talk together. Two young maidens slept right out under the stars. One of them asked the other: "With what star would you like to sleep, the white one or the red one?" The other maid answered, "I'd like to sleep with the red star." "Oh, that's all right," said the first one, "I would like to sleep with the white star. He's the younger; the red is the older." Then the two maidens fell asleep. When they awoke, they found themselves in another world, the star world. There were four of them there, the two maidens and the two stars who had become men. The white star was very, very old and was gray-headed, while the younger star was red-headed. He was the red star. The two women stayed a long time in this star world, and the one who had chosen the white star was very sorry, for he was so old. There was an old woman up in this world who sat over a hole in the sky, and, whenever she moved, she showed them the hole and said, "That's where you came from."

They looked down through and saw their people playing down below, and then the girls grew very sorry and very homesick. One evening, near sunset, the old woman moved a little way from the hole. The younger woman heard the noise of the mitewin down below. When it was almost daylight, the old woman sat over the hole again and the noise of mitewin stopped; it was her spirit that made the noise.

She was the guardian of the mitewin. One morning the old woman told the young women, "If you want to go down where you came from, we will let you down, but get to work and gather roots to make a string-made rope, twisted. The two of you make coils of rope as high as your heads when you are sitting. Two coils will be enough." The two women worked for days until they had accomplished this. They made plenty of rope and tied it to a big basket. They then got into the basket and the people of the star world lowered them down. They descended right into an Eagle's nest, but the people above thought the two women were on the ground and stopped lowering them. They were obliged to stay in the nest, because they could do nothing to help themselves. Said one, "We'll have to stay here until someone comes to get us." Bear passed by. The two women cried out, "Bear, come and get us.

You are going to get married sometime. Now is your chance!" Bear thought, "They are not very good-looking women." He pretended to climb up and then said, "I can't climb up any further." And he went away, for the two women didn't suit him. Next came Lynx. The two women cried out again, "Lynx, come up and get us. You will go after women some day!" Lynx answered, "I can't, for I have no claws," and he went away.

Then an ugly-looking man, Carcajou, passed and the women spoke to him. "Hey, Carcajou, come and get us."

Carcajou started to climb up, for he thought it a very fortunate thing to have these women and was very glad. When he reached them, they placed their hair ribbons in the nest. Then Carcajou agreed to take one woman at a time, so he took the first one down and went back for the next. Then Carcajou went away with his two wives and enjoyed himself greatly, as he was ugly and nobody else would have him. They went far into the woods, and then they sat down and began to talk. "Oh!" cried one of the women, "I forgot my hair ribbon."

Then Carcajou said, "I will run back for it."

And he started off to get the hair ribbons.

Then the girls hid and told the trees, whenever Carcajou should come back and whistle for them, to answer him by whistling.

Carcajou soon returned and began to whistle for his wives, and the trees all around him whistled in answer.

Carcajou, realizing that he had been tricked, gave up the search and departed very angry.”

When Wolverine finished the story, he became silent, looking at each one of his companions' reactions.

They weren’t laughing: Beast, Jubilee and Rogue were serious, with their eyes low.

And Storm … had tears falling from her eyes.

“Well … I lost the dare. My story didn’t make you laugh. So … good night.”

And he walked back to his tent. Everyone also decided to go to sleep, and worked in putting out the fire.

Storm stayed a bit longer, looking at the stars in the sky.

~oOoOo~

Wolverine drank some more beer inside his tent, when he heard a voice:

“I never thought you were ugly.”

He looked around, and saw a shadow projecting through the fabrics of his tent.

“May I get in … Logan?”

He decided to open the zipper of his tent, and allowed Storm to come in.

“I never said it was me.”

He spoke.

“Carcajou is another name for Wolverine.”

She answered, smiling.

“You pity me?”

He asked, looking to his right side.

“I pity you for the suffering you have passed … and love you for who you are now.”

When he heard this answer, he turned his face to look at her’s.

“Loner, you have found a family. Wild savage, you have found dignity. Cynic, you have found faith. To me, your eyes shine like the sad white star’s.”

“It's because I’m 163 years old.”

“I know.”

She came closer, extended her arm and opened her hand, showing that she wanted to touch his left chest, to feel his heartbeat. He took her hand, and put it where she desired, letting her feel how stronger his heart beat.

“Since when … Do you feel this way?”

He asked.

“Since our mission in the Nuclear Submarine, to watch Omega Red.”

“Do you also sometimes feel like there is … A memory of us being together in another time and place?”

“Every night. When I go to sleep. And I always hoped that you shared the same memory.”

“I was too afraid … that something could separate us again.”

“And now are you still afraid?”

“If tomorrow, we wake up, and you are still by my side, then I shall know that this is real. That is not a dream.”

“Hug me, my love, and you shall see this is not a dream.”

And so, he wrapped her in his arms, and her foreheads and noses touched.

That was one the many nights that they would be together, till the end of their days.

Jubilee had woken up, following Storm leaving the tent they shared with Rogue, and listened to every word spoken between the white haired windrider and the rough Canadian warrior, and when she saw their shadows were laying down together, it was the sign for her to return to her tent.

[lovelylogans]

the parent trap

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: all of my change spend on you

Remus has a particularly fun run-in. Well. Fun for him.

⁂

Remus laughs along to the chorus of chuckles that erupted after some joke that Grandfather’s made that he doesn’t entirely understand.

Something about Prince Charles? Some kind of current event? Whatever, Remus is glad to laugh at the monarchy regardless. 

Uncle Logan reenters the room, a bottle of wine in hand. Remus squints at the bottle and tries his very best to quash the excitement that Papa surely would have had at the sight of such an excellent vintage.

A 1981! Oh, Remus needs to see the label—if that’s an Alsace or a Sauternes vineyard, that’s bound to be a stunning merlot, truly…

“May I have a sip?” Remus blurts out.

The adults all exchange looks with many a raised eyebrow; Grandfather and Uncle Logan look to Dad.

“Well, all right,” Dad says, amused, proferring the glass. “I don’t think you’re going to like it…”

Well, that’s where he’s definitely wrong. Remus takes it, holding it by the stem, and he swills the glass under his nose, taking a healthy sniff.

“Ooh, blackberry, redcurrant…” He takes a sip, smacking his lips in appreciation. “What a bouquet! A bit robust for my tastes, but then I’m partial to the softer California grape. An excellent vintage from the year, the rains really—”

And then Remus remembers Roman knows jack squat about wine and shuts himself up.

Dad and Grandfather exchange an incredulous look, laughing together.

“Did the summer camp have a wine tasting?” Grandfather chortles.

“Oh, Dad, really,” Dad says. “I bet you’re quoting some movie, aren’t you, Roman, they aren’t going to be giving eleven-year-olds wine.”

“Uh, yeah,” Remus says shiftily. “A movie, something like that…”

“Speaking of movies—here, right next to the showings—”

“Oh, Father, you and your papers,” Dad sighs, but he leans in to examine the piece regardless.

“Look at that—they’re reporting that the Concorde can fly you anywhere in half the time…!”

Remus tunes out of this conversation just in time for Uncle Logan to seem to remember something.

“Ah, Roman—this was waiting,” Logan says, handing over a piece of paper. 

“A fax? For me?” Remus says.

“From your friend Augustus.”

Remus tries not to panic too obviously as he unfolds the paper.

It’s a sketch of Sammy, barking out a cartoon speech bubble that says 911!!!! as he sprints toward an archway.

An archway with a man with a hand to his chest, the other down on one knee.

Remus falls out of his chair.

“Roman!” All of the adults exclaim in alarm.

“I’m fine!” Remus says, popping back up again. “Um—I guess movies don’t prepare you for wine, I’m feeling a bit light-headed… Dad, would you mind if I stepped out? Got some fresh air?”

“Are you all right?” Dad says. “Would you like me to go with you?”

“No, no, I’ll be all right, just a little woozy, it’s all totally fine—excuse me!”

He sees Dad, Uncle Logan, and Grandfather all exchange a look before he absolutely books it.

⁂

Remus runs as fast as he humanly can, down the street, to the park, and—

“Oi, James!”

Remus almost ignores it entirely and keeps running until he remembers that he’s James.

He slows to a stop, turning to examine the shouter in question: a boy his age, if a bit shorter, sauntering forward with his hands in his pockets and smirking a mile wide.

Remus thinks something very unkind about the stereotypes about British teeth coming from somewhere, but does not say it.

Yet.

“Oi, James, I’m talking to you,” the boy snaps, and the clues click in Remus’s head. Awful teeth—terrible British prep outfit—sneering facial expression... the clues all lead to one thing.

This must be the dreaded Richard Davies.

Oh, yes. It’s obvious the longer Remus looks at him. He’s dressed in a little coat and tie, as if he’s still wearing some sort of uniform; he looks generally unpleasant, even if one were to imagine him pulling any other face than that pathetic way he’s curling his lip. Add in the general air of malaise he’s bringing to cloud over the entirety of the park, empty of people for Davies to swagger past and knock over, there’s no doubting it.

“Come on, crybaby, what are you gonna do?” Davies sneers. “Cry?!”

The proper, British, Roman-esque response would probably be a sharp comment and to walk away. Stiff lip and all that nonsense.

However, Remus is an American and also an asshole. 

And also, this jerk is picking on his twin brother.

So he hauls back, forming a fist just like Virgil taught him, and punches Davies in the nose.

Davies goes down like a sack of potatoes, sprawling across the pavement like someone shoving a little kid off the playground. 

“You hit me!” Davies wails in shock, clutching his bleeding nose with both hands.

“Damn right!”

Davies does not seem to compute this. It’s like Brits don’t know that classic American adage of talk shit get hit. 

“I’m gonna tell!” He sputters.

“Tell!” Remus cackles. “Tell who? It’s an empty park, jackass! Are you gonna go run home crying to your mummy, you coward?!”

He kicks him in the ribs for good measure. Not as painful as he’d like it to be if he’d been wearing proper boots, but he imagines a pointed loafer can’t feel great either from the way Davies curls up, writhing on the ground like the awful little worm that he is.

Remus grabs him by the collar, hauling him upright and shaking him hard.

“You listen to me, Dick Davies,” Remus snarls in his face. “Shit’s gonna go different from now on. If you ever fix your mouth to me like that ever again, you’ll wish for the days I just gave you a bloody nose. You’ll think back on this day with fondness and longing for this compared to what I’ll do to you if you keep talking like that. Get the picture?”

“You—you just wait till school starts again! You’ll regret this!” Davies cries out, and Remus just rolls his eyes.

“You can try to claw whatever status back that you had, but I saw you almost piss yourself when I tapped you,” Remus says. “I’m not worried about school at all, 'cause I’ll bounce you up and down the fucking court like Spalding.”

Remus does a little fake-out lunge toward him, and Davies cringes back with a squeal.

“That’s your cue to run crying home before I start round two, Dickhead Davies,” Remus says helpfully, and Davies at last grasps some semblance of common sense and sprints away.

Remus watches this with a deep sense of satisfaction.

Wait. What was he doing out here again?

Right! The fax!

Remus resumes his sprint for the nearest payphone, flexing out his punching hand as he goes.

⁂

He hastily feeds in as many of the funny-shaped coins into the phonebox it requires and dials with his non-punching hand, as the punching one is starting to ache a bit.

“Hi,” he says, barrelling over the voice of the operator, “I’d like to make a collect call to America, please—”

Remus waits impatiently through the whole process as he has to direct the operator to the phone number of one Parker Knoll in Napa, California, until at last—

“Hello?!” Remus says, then, remembering himself, “Uh, an Augustus Plotka for Remus Parker—”

“Remus?” A voice repeats through the phone.

Virgil! Remus has to clap a hand over his mouth from exclaiming it.

And then, Virgil continues, “Augustus Plotka, huh? That’s the codename you two picked? Remus, I know that’s you, and I know it’s Roman here.”

Remus considers playing dumb for a split second, but—

“Virgil!” Remus cries out, jumping up and down. “Oh my God Virgil it’s you it’s my favorite not-Dad I miss you so much it’s Virgil it’s Virgil—!”

“Remus, slow down,” Virgil says on the edge of a laugh. “Hey there, holy terror, I’ve missed you.”

“I miss you too!” Remus shouts down the phone line. “Did he clue you in? Oh, I’m so happy he clued you in, ‘cause he sent me a fax and it had a distress call in there, what the hell’s going on?!” Then, “Oh my God, I can say hell! They’re way more strict about cussing here, Virgil, I’ve been—”

“Your brother’s a bit busy at the minute,” Virgil says, gently cutting him off, “but I can definitely tell you what’s going on here.”

“Tell tell tell!” Remus says. “Tell me everything! Roman barely knows how to gossip, I think I have to teach him how to break through all that British propriety, but I know Pa’s got a boyfriend now, what’s that all about?!”

There’s a shuffling and the sound of a shut door, which means Virgil’s almost certainly barricaded himself in the pantry.

“His name’s Maddox, and—”

“And you hate him?!” Remus blurts out. “Roman got that far.”

“That’s a bit of a strong,” Virgil begins, then wavers on the whole proper parental advice thing and whispers, “okay, fine, yes, I hate him, I gave Roman carte blanche to be full nuts before I realized he wasn’t you because I thought you’d break them up, which I know is awful of me to put on you—”

“No, are you kidding?! That would be so fun!”

“Yeah, I thought you might say something like that,” Virgil says.

And then he hesitates.

He hesitates a lot. Enough that Remus has to feed another coin into the machine.

“Virgil?” Remus prompts. “Virgil, what’s happened?”

“Remus,” Virgil says, his voice very gentle. “Your Pa’s getting married.”

Remus laughs. Because there’s just—there’s no way that that’s what Virgil just said. There’s no way!

“What do you mean?” He says. “Getting married. What do you mean?!”

“Black ties, white suits, right in the vineyard,” Virgil says grimly. “Maddox wants them to tie the knot in three weeks.”

“Three weeks?!” Remus yelps. “Aren’t weddings supposed to take forever to plan?!”

“Yeah, well. Maddox is eager to jump the gun.”

Remus growls. 

“So I’d imagine that’s part of the distress call Roman sent,” Virgil continues.

“Of course it is,” Remus says, “this puts a major wrench in the whole getting—”

Remus stops himself. Probably too late.

“Hm,” Virgil says, then, taking mercy on him, “Yeah, I bet a wedding would probably put a wrench in you guys getting your time in with your other fathers, wouldn’t it.”

Remus sighs in relief. Either Virgil knows that part of the plan is getting their parents back together, or he just decided to not look into it too much.

Wait, this is Virgil speaking; of course he knows. Virgil overthinks about everything.

“I can’t believe it,” Remus says. “Pa, getting married. Has he absolutely lost his mind?”

“It feels like it, some days,” Virgil says grimly. “It’s like Maddox has put some kind of spell on him.”

“Or a curse, more like.”

Virgil huffs out a laugh. “Or a curse. Patton’s so close to snapping out of it sometimes, so close, you should have seen the look on his face today when—oh, you are not gonna believe this—”

“What?” Remus says, clutching the phone tightly with both hands.

“Maddox,” Virgil says snidely, “has decided that the house is simply too big, and in order to call me to and fro to fulfill his every whim, I am now being called over via bell.”

Remus’s jaw drops. “You’re kidding.”

“I’m not,” Virgil says. 

“God, a bell,” Remus says. “Like you’re an animal that needs to be trained.”

“Yeah, like I’m Pavlov’s dog or something, except instead of getting ready for food, I’ll be associating that damn bell with Debbie Jellinsky’s evil twin.”

“Hey, don’t talk down on us evil twins,” Remus says mildly, “I need good representation in media too.”

Virgil laughs, which was the goal.

“So he’s treating you like some kind of servant?”

“I do technically work for your Pa, kid.”

“Yeah, okay, whatever,” Remus says, “but you’re part of the family, too. And even if you did just have a working relationship and nothing else with my Pa, that’s no reason to treat service workers like crap! Seriously, a bell! And Pa didn’t break up with him right then and there?!”

“He looked real embarrassed, I’ll tell you that much,” Virgil says. “Went all red in the face. We’ll Have Words about it later.”

Ohh, We’ll Have Words. That’s Pa-and-Virgil code for let’s not disagree in front of Remus, not that they argue a lot anyway.

“So there’s some hope for him seeing that Maddox, like. Sucks.”

“Yeah, I’d say that for sure.”

“Hm,” Remus murmurs. “Very interesting…”

“I thought you’d think that.”

They’re quiet for a little longer, trying to listen to the other one breathe cross-continentally.

Then, “I just can’t believe he wants to get married that quickly.”

“Oh, Remus,” Virgil sighs.

“I mean—married,” Remus repeats. “You’d think he’d learn after the first whirlwind wedding that that’s maybe not the best move for him.”

“Remus Parker!”

“What? It’s true!”

Remus listens, a warm glow in his chest, as Virgil splutters, trying to walk the line of a response between you’re absolutely correct and you can’t SAY things like that.

“Look—I don’t have any money left, I’m on a payphone,” Remus says, digging through his pockets. “Will you tell Roman that I’ll fax him with a plan? Or I’ll call him later tonight?”

“Yeah, kid, ‘course.”

“And don’t let Pa near the fax machine.”

“Obviously.”

“Good,” Remus says, “good” and they both wait.

Virgil takes a deep breath. “I really miss you, punk,” which is ridden over by a progressive series of beeps. Time’s up.

“Ireallymissyoutoo okay BYE,” Remus hollers over the beeping and hangs up the phone before they can get cut off.

Remus starts to charge out of the phonebox—

Only to run smack into someone waiting for the phone, holding up a newspaper.

“Oh—’scuse me,” Remus says, and then he gets a look at the waiting man’s face.

Grandfather stares down at him with an arched eyebrow. Remus’s stomach plummets down to his feet.

“Uh-oh,” Remus whispers.

“Yes, quite an uh-oh indeed,” Grandfather says mildly, folding up his newspaper into a neat rectangle and sticking it into an inside pocket of his coat. “One does not raise Janus James without knowing how to catch onto an excuse. Light-headed from one sip of wine, phah! What do you say you and I take a little stroll about the park, eh, young man?”

“Okay,” Remus says gloomily, accepting his fate. Grandfather places a hand on his shoulder, turning to walk them down the path.

“What’s this all about, then?

“It’s a pretty long story…” Remus says cautiously.

“Well, it’s a very big park, and we’ve got plenty of time, you know,” Grandfather says. 

“Um,” Remus says. “First of all, you should know. I’m Remus. Not Roman.”

“Goodness!” Grandfather says, in what to Remus is an underreaction but to the British must seem very dramatic indeed. “You have been acting very odd, dear boy…”

“Well,” Remus says. “There ya go. That’s why.”

“Very odd things. Very odd indeed,” Grandfather continues. “Not knowing to cut down Ribena, for starters. And your room’s quite the mess.”

“Roman complained about that a lot at camp.”

“Ah! That’s where the swap’s taken place. And, speaking of odd things…”

Remus braces himself.

“On my way after you, I passed by that dreadful Davies boy that’s been giving Roman such trouble in school, and it seems like he’s gotten his what-for… that bloody nose had nothing to do with you, then?”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Remus says as innocently as possible.

“Good lad,” Grandfather says, and slips him a twenty-pound note.

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[marvelmusing]

Fun thought experiment, what scents do you associate with each of the boys (Billy, Aleksander, et Logan). I have a vague idea for each but I want other opinions first

I will admit I put a bit too much thought into this and ended up scrolling through the contents of an entire website of fragrance bottles just to find the right scents. I tried to get a fruit, flower, food and material for each of the boys.

Billy // apple, pear, almond, sweet honey, vanilla, cotton, fresh linen

For Billy I went for something quite simple and clean (apple and vanilla) but with an underlying sweetness (honey and almond). I don’t think he would enjoy having a heavy scent and is particularly focused on hygiene so he mostly smells like the soaps he uses. Cotton and linen is based on the clothes he wears.

Aleksander // blackberry, cherry, rose, pine trees, dark chocolate, leather

I wanted Aleksander to have a subtle sharpness to him (the berries) and a sort of refined outdoorsy vibe (pine trees and roses). There’s still a hint of sweetness (the berries and dark chocolate) but they’re more of an after-tone. The leather scent is from the tunic he wears in season one of the show.

Logan // orange, coconut, bergamot, jasmine, sandalwood, ginger, dark amber, denim

Logan gives me tropical and citrus vibes. I also feel like he sometimes smells of sun lotion. There’s a bit of warmth to him (sandalwood and ginger) and a cologne of some sort (bergamot and dark amber). He’s the most casual out of the three of them (which is why there’s an underlying hint of denim).