#I LASTED 41 SECONDS BEFORE NEEDING TO PAUSE

[1x20]

SO WHO WAS GONNA TELL ME DEAN'S FIRST WORD IN THE SHOW IS "DADDY" HUH.

[samgirl98]

Mending a Family 41/?

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Jason woke up with a snarl on his lips. Someone was looking for them.

It felt the same when Talia and her assassins invaded their haunt. Instead, this time, he knew it wasn’t on his property but somewhere in the village. Thank the Ancients for Raven’s cloaking spell.

Had Bruce lied? Was he here looking for Jason? Had there been a tracker he hadn’t seen? Jason swore and got up, his glowing eyes illuminating the room. How could he have been so stupid? Of course, Bruce wouldn’t leave well enough alone. As he put on his shirt, he paused for a moment. What if it wasn’t Bruce? What if it was an enemy ready to attack, to kill, him and his family?

The door opened, showing Jazz and Danny.

“I’ll take care of it,” Jason said as he put on a pair of jeans. Nobody was going to mess with his family.

“You can’t go alone, dad. What if it’s a powerful enemy? You’ll need backup,” Danny said, his eyes also glowing. Actually, Jazz’s teal eyes also had an eerie glow to them, too.

“I need to know you and your sisters are safe. I can’t work the way I have to if I know you guys are in danger, too. Please, Danny-lad, I know it’s hard, but I have to know you’re not in danger. Any of you.”

Jason went to the safe and took out the knife Talia had given Danny and held it toward his son, a feeling of disgust hitting him as Jason offered it, “Here, in case you need it.”

As much as Jason hated seeing his son’s small hands cradling the knife, it was better for him to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. Jason gave Jazz a gun and some ammunition. Next was a burner phone with just one other number saved on it.

“If I’m not back by morning, take the kids and run. I’ll call you with my burner phone.”

Jason phased his hand through the wall and took out a suitcase full of cash and fake documents for Jazz, Danny, Ellie, and himself.

“This should last you a while. Please stay safe.”

“You too, big brother,” Jazz whispered before kissing his cheek. “I expect you to be back here before sunrise, or you’ll get the scolding of a lifetime, understood?”

Jason nodded and turned intangible while phasing through the roof.

He expanded his senses and flew north. Whoever was here, whether it was Bruce or an enemy, they were going to get an angry Jason ready to kick their ass.

____

Tim scowled in irritation.

He had Jason’s address, the GPS was up and running, and he had a map open. Yet, he still could not find where Jason was living. How was that even possible?

Tim groaned in frustration as he passed the same sign with a jumping whale on it for the sixth time.

Tim only took his eyes off the road to look at the GPS for a second. Then he looked up and braked in surprise. He stopped an inch or two away from hitting Jason, who was suddenly in front of him. Jason was glaring at him. Tim met him with a glare of his own; he refused to back down. Jason’s glare deepened.

Jason went to the side and tried to open the passenger door. It was locked, but Tim knew that wouldn’t deter Jason. Jason crossed his arms over his chest and stared at Tim, almost as if he thought that would make Tim unlock the door. Somehow, he had Alfred’s look when he was disappointed. How was that fair?

Tim didn’t give him the satisfaction and brought the window down a little instead.

“What are you doing here, Replacement?”

“I could ask you the same thing, Jason.”

Jason dropped his disappointed look and ran his hand through his hair. Tim couldn’t even make out black roots. He wondered idly how often Jason redyed his hair.

“I should’ve known. I should’ve known better than to trust anything Bruce said. Of course, he sent one of his birds to hunt me down.”

“Bruce didn’t send me,” Tim said.

“Sure,” Jason retorted back, “I definitely believe that. It’s just a coincidence that when I get a recording of him saying he’ll leave me alone and make sure none of his birds or bats come looking for me, that’s when one of them finds me.”

Tim scowled, “Bruce didn’t send me. He doesn’t even know I’m here. He sent a memo earlier in the day not to look for you anymore, but I was already in Canada. What do you mean he sent you a message?”

Was that the reason he told them to stop looking for Jason? Was it because Bruce had found him and told no one? How else would he be able to send Jason a message?

Jason glared at Tim one more time before taking out a phone.

“Hey, yeah, it’s me. There’s no danger. At least, no physical danger.”

Wow, rude.

“It’s one of my nosey brothers.” Tim was surprised Jason had called him his brother. Sure, they were both technically brothers, but they had never acted like ones. Tim suddenly remembered Titan’s Towers and shuddered a little.

Jason stopped talking and listened to what the other person was saying.

“You sure,” he asked, “What does Danny think of this?”

Tim straightened at the mention of Jason’s son. Jason zeroed in on Tim’s sudden attention. Tim jutted up his chin, daring Jason to say something.

Jason sighed, “Fine, we’ll be there soon. Be prepared, though; Timmy is a tough one.”

Tim glared at the nickname, “It’s Tim, asshole.”

Jason didn’t threaten him like he thought he would. Instead, he went to the driver’s side and rapped his knuckles on the door.

“Move, Timbit. I have to drive. You’ll never find the place because it’s enchanted from prying eyes.”

“Since when do you know magic?”

“I don’t. Raven does.”

Tim unlocked the door and hurried over to the passenger’s seat.

“Raven knows where you’re at? How did that happen?”

No wonder Tim had been going in circles. It would’ve been impossible to find if Raven had enchanted the place.

“None of your business, Replacement,” Jason muttered.

Jason made a U-turn and drove for five minutes before turning into a little road. How had Tim missed it? They drove through a dirt road leading deeper into the forest for a few minutes. Tim started panicking.

What if Jason had pretended to talk to someone to bring Tim’s guard down? What if he killed him and buried his body in the middle of the Canadian wilderness? No one knew where Tim was, so he wouldn’t be considered missing for a few days.

Just as Tim was about to jump out of the car, a little brick house appeared.

It was quaint.

There was a porch with two rocking chairs and a table between them. The windows had little pots with blooming flowers, and the window panes were painted lavender. A little playground was on the side. All the lights were on, including the porch light.

It looked so…domestic.

“Will I get to meet your son,” Tim asked suddenly. At Jason’s murderous glare, Tim wished he had stayed silent.

“Of course, you know about Danny, you nosy little bastard. Did you tell Bruce about him?”

“No. I told Dick, but he told me not to tell Bruce until we found out more. Barbara suspects.”

Jason’s expression softened at the mention of Barbara.

“How is she?”

“She’s good. She didn’t want me looking for you. She said it would be better to leave you alone.”

“And, of course, you didn’t listen.”

Jason got out of the car and walked up to the house, leaving Tim behind.

“Well, are you coming or not?”

Tim took a deep breath. Finding Jason was half the battle. Now, he just had to convince him to come back to Gotham.

I'm sorry for all the mistakes. I was writing this at night and didn't proofread it. Next, Tim meets Jason's found family

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[katewritesthings]

Love Me Like I Can // Chapter 2

Chapter 2 // How to Touch a Girl

•warnings: Cursing. Cheating. Sexual Situations. Drinking. Drug use. MINORS DO NOT INTERACT.

The first time Diana woke up the morning after her birthday was actual torture, she was sure. The need to empty her bladder caused her to wake far earlier than she would have liked, early morning light barely making it through the blackout curtains that decorated her bedroom. The redhead carefully disentangled herself from the limbs of her sister and friend and climbed out of bed, grabbing her phone from beside her on the bed. Making her way to the ensuite bathroom, Diana immediately regretted unlocking her device for two reasons. First the dull ache in her head made itself known the second the light hit her eyes in contrast to the dark bathroom. 6:21 AM . Second, was a series of text messages from a number not saved to her phone that she decided could wait before she absolutely exploded. After washing her hands and splashing cold water on her face, Diana braced herself and opened the text thread.

+1(617)-555-1425 9:36 PM    you look sooo good in your IG pics 11:15 PM ugh i wish i was with you rn 12:20 AM cmon di. dont be a btich text me back 1:37 AM Ungrateful bitch.  2:39 AM   i see. youre out there fuckin with someone new. Thats  wh you wont text me back. He’ll just get bored of you like I did.  2:41 AM How long before he starts fucking yor sister 

Disappointed that the Boston area code and the content of messages meant the sender was clear, Diana quickly locked her phone and dropped it on the counter. She couldn’t deal with Connor right now. Leaving her phone in the bathroom, Diana crawled back into bed, thankful that she insisted on a “sleepover” last night and wasn’t alone to spiral.

The second time Diana woke up was slightly better than the first. She was alone in bed and her headache eased to a dull thumping, a glass of water on her bedside table. Emptying the glass in one go, Diana searched for her phone. A string of curses rang through her head when she remembered the reason that it was not beside her. After a dramatic sigh, she forced herself out of bed and into the bathroom. She turned on the light, looked in the mirror for the first time that day, and groaned out loud. Light reddish-purple bruises littering her neck and collarbone were visible under the sports bra she was wearing.

Annoyed with herself, Diana picked up her phone and checked the time: 12:12 PM. When she unlocked the device the messages from Connor were still open on the screen. While the reason for his vitriol was now apparent, clues painted on her skin, it didn’t make it justified. ‘It wasn’t like I had sex with Joe,’ she thought, �� And even if I had, I’m single and can fuck who I want. 

Diana blocked the number but kept the text thread to show Biz later and moved on to check her other notifications, some birthday wishes from people who couldn't make it last night and a missed call from Cathy at 9:30. Diana decided could give her manager a call back later and was replying to all of the messages and comments as she walked into the kitchen of the apartment she shared with her sister.

Biz, who was standing at the stove cooking bacon and French toast, spoke as Diana walked in eyes glued to her phone. “Gooood Morning beautiful, Happy actual birthday,” the younger woman sang in a joking manner. “Taylor left, she had to catch a flight for the awards tonight.” She paused a minute before excitedly saying, “There was a delivery for you this morning.”

Diana looked up at her last statement, confused even more at the smirk on the brunette’s face. “What delivery?”

Biz didn't respond except for pointing her spatula towards the living room, signaling Diana to investigate. Rolling her eyes, Diana did as she was told, walking farther down the hall to figure out what her sister was talking about.

She was not expecting multiple bouquets of roses placed in every nook and cranny they would fit to be decorating the living room. “What the fuck,” she muttered to herself, making her way toward the largest bouquet on the coffee table in the center of the room, silently counting the number of arrangements. Nine. 

‘What a strange number,’ she thought as she picked up the card attached to the large bundle of roses, looking out of place on the coffee table next to her TV remote.

Tried to get your number Cathy with no luck. Now who’s curving who? 513-555-6947 JB

Warmth filled Diana’s body as she reread the card for the third time, trying to make sense of it. Pulling up Cathy’s contact information on her phone and pressing call, she turned to see Bizz in the doorway smiling like the Cheshire Cat. 

“Soooo… who are those from?” Her tone gave her away, she already read the card.

“Fuck off,” Diana mouthed just as Cathy answered her phone, turning back to the flowers. “Cathy Allred,” the older woman answered cheerfully. “Hey, Cath, this is Di. I was just giving you a call back and wondering if you knew why there were 10 gigantic floral arrangements in my living room?” Diana greeted, attempting to keep her annoyance at her sister out of her voice.

Cathy’s throaty laugh came through the speaker and Di could imagine her expression was the same one that Biz was wearing. “Oh, honey. That handsome football player from last night was leaving messages at the buttcrack of dawn trying to weasel your number out of me. When I told him that I couldn’t clear that without your direct consent, he asked if he could send flowers to our office and have them forwarded to you if security approved the message. We just didn’t expect 9 separate bouquets.”

Diana was in shock. She couldn’t remember the last time she had received flowers unrelated to work.

“Well, uh, thank you, Cathy. That’s all I wanted. I’ll talk to you Wednesday,” Diana ended the phone call, still staring blankly at the literal dozens of roses sitting in her house. “Soooooo,” Biz’s voice came out in her signature sing-songy tone.  “Are ya gonna text him?” 

Diana bit her lip. “Well, I guess I should, right?”

She could feel her anxiety creeping up in the back of her mind, almost like frost crystallizing on glass in the winter. The first voices of self-doubt were beginning to scream you’re not good enough for him and he’s only going to break your heart when a hand on Diana’s shoulder refocused her.

“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do, Di,” Biz’s comforting words filled her ears. “He’s a really hot guy who is into you, so I’d say go for it. Texting him doesn’t mean you’re getting married next month, babe. But you were humping his leg like a dog in heat last night, so it probably would be proper etiquette to at least acknowledge his existence.” As was exiting the room laughing at her own joke as she said the last part. Diana rolled her eyes and thought about her sister’s advice. Joe really was an attractive man and all signs were pointing to him being attracted to her. Their physical chemistry last night had been off the charts and even though they didn’t discuss anything super deep, she was engrossed in the conversation, always wanting to hear what Joe had to say next. She was going to do it, she was going to text him.

She added his number to her phone and began debating how to start the conversation. After drafting and redrafting the generic ‘Hi! It’s Diana” messages for nearly two minutes, she finally settled on one that would let Joe know who she was.

Joe (Quarterback) 12:32 PM    you left before saying bye last night, i’d say you’re still curving me.

Phone in hand, Diana made her way toward the smell of brunch. Before she could even make it to the breakfast nook her phone buzzed in her hands signifying she had received a text.

Tee wasn’t feeling great, I had to dash. Let me make it up to you. I’m in NYC until Monday night.

Butterflies filled Diana’s stomach as her eyes scanned the messages she had just received. Joe didn’t leave the party because he was embarrassed by their hookup like her anxiety had been trying to convince her. He had a legitimate reason and he wanted to see her again to make up for it. Before she could let her nerves stop her, she fired off a reply to Joe

i’ll hold you to it. 😜 i’m free all day tomorrow.

 Diana didn’t even get a chance to lock her phone before a new message appeared on her screen.

Not anymore. Lunch?

She wasn’t sure if it was nerves or hunger making her stomach turn the way it was, so she decided to load up her plate before responding. 

After eating a decent amount of brunch and taking a well-needed shower, Diana was lounging in her bed, Parks and Recreation on in the background, staring at Joe’s texts. So many conflicting thoughts were running through her head about what her response should be. As much as she wanted to see Joe again, she couldn’t shake the feeling of fear. Sure Joe seemed nice, but Connor seemed nice enough at first. She knew her ex had just sent the hateful texts to get under skin, but he knew which blows hit the hardest.

“Biiiiiiz! Come in here!” she shouted from her spot on the bed, in a frustrated squeal.

“What’s the matter?” The brunette questioned, popping her head through the door. “I think I agreed to hang out with Joe tomorrow and I’m scared,” Diana whined, dragging out the vowels in the word ‘scared’.

A snort came from Biz as she made her way fully into the room. “He’s a man, Di, not a monster. Why are you scared?”

Diana knew this was the moment that she should share that Connor had texted her this morning, but for some reason, she couldn’t get the words out of her mouth. Instead, what came out was a pitiful gasp for air that made Biz by surprise.

“Just, what if I’m supposed to be more healed than I am,” Diana breathed, tears in her eyes. “Like, what if Joe turns out to be as good as he seems? Doesn’t he deserve more than this heartbroken version of me? I’m barely myself again, Biz.”

“I think you should at least hang out with him and see where it goes. Worst comes to worst, you guys know you’re physically into each other,” Biz teased. Diana rolled her eyes, “What if he’s expecting to fuck and I’m not ready?” Biz shot her sister a look. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do, Di. But let’s be real, you need to get dicked down. How long has it been?” Diana rolled her eyes again, not wanting to acknowledge she was currently on the longest dry spell she’d ever had. Things in the bedroom aspect of her relationship with Connor never really met her standards, always dissatisfied. The past six months of their relationship had consisted of barely any intimacy, Connor claiming he wasn’t attracted to Diana at the moment. Turns out, he was just getting his needs met by her best friend. “You’re right,” Diana gave in, texting Joe back.

1:26 PM deal, burrow. tomorrow at noon. Italian or Mexican? Shit. Just got word that public restaurants are a no-go. its okay. we can do pizza and sweets at my place

A new fear ran through Diana’s head as soon as she heard the “swoosh” sound from her head. “What if-” Diana was cut off by her sister throwing a pillow at her face. “Shut up,” Biz said in a more serious tone than before. “I get that you’re nervous, but stop coming up with these what-ifs. Smoke about it and attempt to channel your thoughts into something productive.” With that, Biz left the room.

Diana knew her sister was right. Not only did she tend to handle her anxiety better if she was channeling it into something productive, but she was behind on writing. Cathy had told her that the songwriters she was meeting with on Wednesday were expecting the start of at least six new songs and at this point, Diana only had four songs, three of which were fragments.

Lighting a preroll from her bedside table, Diana reached for her notebook, anxiety still at full force. As she hit the joint, she began to scribble down the thoughts that were looping in her head in an attempt to get them to stop.

I know that I’m better than this heartbroken version of me What if he can't compete with the things that I'm scared of that keep love from me? I get so attached and when it ends and the comedown hits I just end up hating me The energy that it takes to be somebody’s somebody just ain’t in me.

After she had stubbed out her joint, the voice of Diana’s anxiety had dulled to a whisper and her mood had lifted considerably. When Diana looked up from her notebook and checked her phone she saw two new messages from Joe.

Awesome. Can’t wait to see you.

What are you up to?

Smiling to herself, her fingers glided across the screen to type out that she was writing, hoping it could turn into a song and returning the question. Joe must have had his phone in hand because within record time her phone was signaling a new message.

Just left lunch with the guys, can I call you?

The butterflies from earlier had returned with a vengeance accompanied by a warm flush taking over her body. Within seconds of replying with an affirmative text, her phone was ringing in her hand indicating she was receiving a FaceTime call from Joe. “Hello,” she greeted hesitantly, internally cringing at her appearance in the camera. Her long hair was still wet from the shower and braided into Dutch braids down the side of her head and she had placed two star pimple patches on her forehead and chin, not expecting to see anyone but Biz. “Hey! You look great,” Joe responded, white smile beaming at Diana. He appeared to be sitting against a hotel headboard, dressed in a black Bengals hoodie. 

“No one likes a liar, Joe,” Diana smiled. “Wasn’t expecting a video call.”

“I just needed to make sure you were who you said you were,” Joe countered, smile turning into a playful grin. “Can’t be making plans to hang out with some rando, you know.” Diana rolled her eyes and placed her notebook on her bedside table, the action drawing Joe’s attention. “I’m sure girls are tripping over their own feet to eat lunch with you,” Diana let out a small laugh. “Unfortunately for you, I am myself and you have agreed to hang out with me. Now, if you’ll agree after this time, that’s a question for another day.” “Oh, yeah. What makes you say that?” Joe quirked an eyebrow, a grin still covering his beautiful mouth.

“Well, first of all, we’re getting pineapple on our pizza. Second of all, I planned on finishing my puzzle tomorrow, so you’re now getting roped into that.”

Laughter filled the speakers before Joe’s voice said, “Well, first things first, pineapple on pizza is the right decision… But a puzzle, really? What are you, 73?”

Diana was pleasantly surprised at the ease of carrying on a conversation with Joe. She had assumed that alcohol had lubricated their last interaction, but the way the conversation flowed for the next hour proved that wrong. Joe teasing her for doing puzzles led them to talk about their other hobbies which led to them talking about what started them on their careers.

“Yeah, so I’m hoping to be back by preseason, but there’s no guarantee. I just feel like I’m letting the team and the fans down, y’know,” Joe finished explaining his injury, something Diana had known the bare minimum about before this conversation. Rubbing the back of his neck, he looked to the side. “Sorry to overwhelm you.”

“No, please don’t ever apologize for sharing your emotions, Joe. You can’t hold everything in because you’re afraid of being judged.” Diana’s heart tugged for a moment, imagining how Joe must feel after the season he had last year. She wanted to make sure he knew that she was someone he could share with even if this went nowhere.

“Okay,” Joe nodded, but still changing the subject, “So, what about you? Any new music I get to look forward to?”

Diana rolled her eyes but smiled. Connor was never interested in her career, implying that the music his band made was better and more meaningful. It felt nice to have someone who wasn’t her sister inquire about the progress she was making on her new album. “Actually, I have a few writing sessions over the next few weeks with my label and some producers and start recording some new stuff in March. We’re planning on turning the EP into an extended into a standard album” “Oh, yeah? Do you have a lot of material?” Joe asked, seeming genuinely interested in the answer. ���Uh, actually, I didn’t. I’ve been writing a lot recently, though, so hopefully..” Diana trailed off, hoping the heat on her cheeks didn’t show up on Joe’s end of the video call. It was embarrassing enough to admit to herself that she had been more inspired since Joe appeared in her life than she had been in six years, but she’d die if he figured it out.

After a few more minutes of talking, one of Joe’s teammates knocked on his door causing Joe to get off the phone. They had been on the phone for an hour, but Diana was sure she could have talked to him for three more. Diana spent the rest of her night watching the Grammys on her couch. Diana’s team still thought it was best if she stayed home this year as Connor’s band was up for nomination and they wanted to avoid as many headlines about the two as they could. They insisted that Diana stream from home and interact with fans while the awards were happening, which worked out okay in her book. She had fun posting on her Instagram stories rooting for the artist she was friends or a fan of, secretly rejoicing when Bedford Scrolls lost the award they were up for. The fact that she was able to hang out with Joe because she stayed home was definitely, absolutely, not the main reason.

—-----------------------------

If there is one thing that will never change about Diana Hayes, it’s that she’s not a morning person. Or a “before 1 PM” person, really. So when her alarm went off at 10 this morning, she wanted to press snooze with everything in her being. That was until she actually looked at her phone and noticed the text notifications on her home screen. She had the normal business updates in her team group chat, but that wasn’t the one that caught Diana’s attention.

Joe (Quarterback) 7:01 AM Is there a specific dress code today?

A smile crossed Diana’s lips, relieved that he wasn’t canceling on her. Tapping a reply out on her phone, she got out of bed and headed towards her bathroom. 

10:02 AM whatever you’re comfortable in. i plan on restarting game of thrones today.

Diana busied herself by turning on her shower and adjusting the water temperature before her phone buzzed on the counter.

Sweats it is. 

Good choice on shows. Don’t know if you’ve heard, but I’m King In The North 😉

Diana responded with an eye roll emoji before telling Joe she would see him at noon and entering the shower. She took her time in the shower, excitement bubbling in her stomach at the uncertainty of what the afternoon held. It had been ages since she had been on a first date, if this even was one, she wasn’t sure what protocol was anymore.

An hour and twenty minutes, one pair of shaved legs, and a fight with a hair dryer later Diana was freaking out. Joe would be here in less than an hour and she was regretting everything. He’s going to make fun of me, Diana thought to herself, he’s going to come over, think I’m weird, and then make fun of me to his friends. Adjusting her position on the couch, Diana brought her hands up to pick at her lips, an anxious habit she’d had since a child. 

Before her fingers could even make contact with her mouth, Biz’s hand swatted it away, an amused look on her face.

“You told me to stop you from picking!” Biz held up her arms in defense, “I just wanted to remind you to tag the bakery the croissants are from on Insta before I leave.”

Biz was driving back to Philadelphia with Eli for the day, giving Diana and Joe the apartment alone for the day. After Biz made her way out of the door, Diana busied herself taking pictures for her social media posts, starting the first episode of Game of Thrones, and snacking on the sweets that had been delivered while she was in the shower. Before she knew it her phone was ringing, Joe’s name flashing across the screen. 

“Hey,” Diana greeted, standing to pace in the living room. 

“Hey,” Joe responded, “I’m about to get in the elevator, I just wanted to let you know I’m almost there.”

“Okay. Once you get to the 14th floor, we’re on the right. See you in a minute.”

Moments later, Diana was opening the front door of her apartment, eyes scanning over Joe’s body. He was dressed in a tie-dyed blue and purple, Space Jam crewneck and a pair of gray sweats. She had never understood before when her friends had talked about men in gray sweats, but seeing Joe had shown her the light.

“Hey,” Diana finally found her voice, gesturing for him to walk in the door.

“Hey, again,” Joe joked, making his way past Diana to stand in the entryway. Closing the door, Diana met Joe’s eyes and felt her face heat up. 

“So, I have uhm, some pastries and fruit in the living room if you want to go in there. I’m like halfway through the first episode of Game of Thrones if you want to go watch.” Diana’s voice came out quicker than normal, nerves filling the space between the butterflies in her stomach.

Joe shook his head with a grin. “Alright. That sounds great to me.”

The pair made their way past the kitchen and into the living room, Diana waving her arm in the direction of the couch. “Make yourself comfortable. What do you want to drink?”

“Water sounds great, thanks,” Joe answered, walking to the corner of the couch. When she returned, Joe had sat down and was taking in the surroundings of Diana’s living space. The room was the same cream color that most high-end rentals are nowadays, sectional taking up most of the space. A coffee table in front held Diana’s laptop, a plate with croissants, cinnamon rolls, and strawberries, a glass of water, and two of the flower arrangements that Joe sent her the day before. The sectional was up against a full wall picture window, sage green blinds pulled halfway across and faced a flat screen TV that was paused on an image of Daenerys Targaryen walking into a steaming bath. 

“I know it’s plain, but we’re only staying here temporarily,” Diana said referring to the room they were in, her presence startling Joe.

“Oh. Planning on moving soon?” Joe inquired, pulling himself deeper into the couch. Diana set the glasses down on the coffee table and sat down next to Joe, leaving about a foot of space between them.

“Kind of? I wanted to stay in New York until the tour starts and then Biz and I were going to look at houses,” Diana said in response, “I don’t necessarily want to settle down in a huge city, but I can’t imagine myself going back to Philly.”

“Did you hate it there or something?” Joe seemed genuinely intrigued about Diana’s plans, which was something that surprised her. She had only really known him for 36 hours and she was ready to tell him everything.

“Only since my dad died,” Diana said, instantly followed with, “Oh my god. That was so depressing. Ignore me.” 

“You’re fine. It’s the real reason,” Joe chuckled, “I’ll quit interrogating you.”

The two talked a little more about Joe’s flight back to Cincinnati at 9 and the Grammys that happened the night before, somehow landing on their Game of Thrones opinions. 

“I won’t deny that she’s completely batshit insane, yes. But she’s one of the best characters!” Diana said, excitedly of Cersei. “That’s not what you said, you said she was your favorite character,” Joe countered, “Which, if it is true, is wild.”

Diana laughed as she brought her legs onto the couch and crossed them crisscross-applesauce. The space that had previously existed between her and Joe disappeared, her knee pressing into his thigh. Attempting to ignore the heat that was making its way up her neck, Diana leaned forward and grabbed the remote. “Just watch it from my perspective,” she said before pressing play.

The rest of the first episode and the entire second one played while Diana and Joe snacked and gave commentary on what was happening in the show. Between episodes, Diana had readjusted, grabbing a blanket from the back of the couch and draping it over herself. She wasn’t sure when it happened, but sometime around the opening credits of the third episode after she had ordered pizza, she found herself pressed into Joe’s side with his arm wrapped around her shoulder. Within fifteen minutes of that, Diana found herself straddling Joe, hands on either side of his face, lips moving in sync with his. Joe’s right hand found its way to her hair as her lips traveled to the hair on his jawline.

“I like this scruff,” Diana panted between kisses, starting at his chin and making her way back up to the sensitive spot beneath his ear. Joe’s left hand traveled to her waist, reaching under her t-shirt and making contact with her bare skin. “I’ll keep that in mind,” just loud enough for Diana to hear. Diana ground her hips into his lap, feeling him harden beneath her and his hand traveled to her breast, massaging it eagerly.

They continued kissing a moment longer until Joe grabbed hold of Diana and laid her down on the couch. His lips found her neck and he asked, “Is this okay?” as he shifted his weight to not crush the woman below him, his left hand returned to its place under her shirt. “Take this off,” Joe said, gesturing to the material. Diana complied. “Couldn’t be better,” Diana sighed as Joe nipped lightly at her collarbone, tongue following shortly after his teeth.

“I’m sure there’s always room for improvement,” his voice laced with lust and arrogance. Just as Diana was about to ask what he meant, Joe’s hand moved from her breast to the waistband of her sweatpants.

With a nod of Diana’s head, Joe’s hand dipped beneath the waistband of both her sweatpants long fingers gently brushing her clit through her panties. A soft moan left Diana’s lips as she leaned forward to connect her lips to Joe’s again. His fingers teased her, using his thumb and forefinger to play with the material separating him from her core. Lifting her hips hoping Joe would get the hint, she pressed her core firmly against his fingers.

“More,” she breathed. Joe pulled the fabric aside and his fingers were instantly met with the slick wetness of Diana’s arousal. Sliding his middle finger along her slit, he brought it up to her clit and began to rub. Pleasure clouded Diana’s thoughts, Joe’s voice asking her if he could take her pants off barely making it through haze. She lifted her hips and pulled the material down her legs as Joe sat up, tugging his shirt over his head.

Joe stared at her for a moment, taking in the sight in front of him. Laying in only her black lace panties, Diana was too busy enjoying her own view to shy away from the hunger Joe was staring at her with. Joe was clearly a man who took care of his body and it showed. She was in awe.

Before Diana could process the definition of his muscles, Joe had resumed his position next to her, covering her lips with another kiss. Then, without hesitation, he took her left nipple in her mouth. Diana moaned again, arousal red hot between her legs. It wasn’t long until Joe’s mouth began moving downward again, leaving kisses until he got to Diana’s hip bones.

“Can I?” Joe asked, staring up hungrily at Diana. Hesitant, Diana thought it over for a second. She had only received oral three times in her past relationship as her ex had found numerous reasons to avoid the act, most of them criticisms of Diana. Everything from she was unattractive to she was too picky when it came to the way he did it. Trying to shake thoughts of her ex from her head, Diana reassured herself that every signal Joe had given her had proved he wanted to do this. Finally, she nodded her head.

Wasting no time after getting her consent, Joe placed his lips around Diana’s clit and began sucking. Instinctively, her hips bucked into him, eager for more pleasure. Diana felt Joe smile into her skin, then a finger slid into her while he continued to suck and lick at her.  After some movement, Joe added another finger, pausing a moment to help her get used to the width.

Diana tried to clear her mind, looking down at the man between her legs. His fingers were moving inside of her, curling to hit a spot inside of her that she seemed rather receptive to the first time he hit it. A warm tension was pooling in the pit of her stomach as she tried to clear any insecurities from her mind. “Fuck..” Joe’s mouth drew another slow moan out of Diana’s mouth. She leaned forward, propping herself up on her elbows. “As amazing as this feels- fuck. I don’t think that I’ll be able to- holy shit!- finish this way.” Joe pulled his face away from her core, licking his lips and shaking his head. “I think you underestimate my determination,” he stated. Not breaking eye contact, he dipped his head back down and placed another kiss on her clit and added another finger to the ones busy between her folds.

Joe’s hands and mouth continued in unison to work their magic until moments later when tension in her core began to build towards a peak and her body convulsed. She brought her hand to her mouth and bit down lightly as Joe’s teeth lightly grazed her clit. He used his free hand to rest against her hip bones, trying to hold her in place so he could help bring her to climax. Releasing her clit from his mouth, began to move his fingers with more purpose, trying to match the pace that Diana was trying to set. 

“Fuck. Fuck! Joe, I think I’m going to-” Diana was cut off by her orgasm. Joe continued to pump his fingers into her as he peppered kisses on her forehead. Warmth radiated through her body, starting at her core and rippling from her head to her toes. “That’s right, baby. Just let it happen,” he encouraged as Diana let herself give in to the sensation. 

Taking a deep breath and opening her eyes, Diana was staring into Joe’s blue eyes. “Thank you. I promise you did not need to do that” Diana whispered, trying not to let her nerves get the best of her. “I didn’t have to, I wanted to,” his response helped ease her worries. “Besides, I didn’t want to not live up to what was advertised,” he joked, referencing the interview Ja’Marr had given. Just then, the doorbell rang indicating that the pizza they delivered had arrived. 

An hour later, Joe and Diana had devoured an entire pizza and had spent the entire time deep in conversation. Trying to avoid bringing up what just happened, Diana kept the topics focused on friends and growing up. She learned about Joe’s parents and his brothers and heard what it was like to grow up in a relatively small town in Ohio, while she told Joe about how she grew up in Philadelphia, her mom leaving before she turned 10, and her dad passing away a few years ago. It felt almost relieving to have someone ask questions about the things she actually cared about.

It wasn’t long before Joe’s phone started ringing from its spot on the coffee table. Joe stood up and walked out of the room to take the call. It was a quarter till six, meaning that Joe’s flight left in less than 5 hours. Diana’s head began swimming with contradicting thoughts, sad that he had to leave soon and fear of what that meant.

When Joe ended the call, he walked back into the room, looking at his phone. “Apparently, I should leave in no more than ten minutes to make it back in time to pack for our flight. I guess I should leave” Joe looked just as conflicted as Diana felt. “Will I get to see you again?”

Diana felt her heart start beating harder than it ever had. This man was a fucking dream. “Yeah, that’d be cool. I’d like that,” Diana nodded, walking Joe to the door. 

“Cool. I had a really good time today,” a smile covered Joe’s face when Diana turned a deep red. “I’m willing to repeat it anytime,” he said with a wink.

Diana shoved Joe slightly, arriving at the front door. Joe engulfed her in a hug, placing a kiss on the crown of her head. 

“But seriously, I would like to hang out again. I’ll text you, okay?” He was looking down at her now, smirk still on his face

With a nod, Diana pushed herself onto her tiptoes to kiss him goodbye. Making sure she locked the door behind him, she raced to her phone to send her sister a text.

Sending the message, Diana couldn’t help to smile to herself. She wasn’t quite sure what she wanted from this relationship with Joe, but she knew for sure she wanted more of it.

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Sorry for the delay, I just couldn't get this chapter right! Hope you all enjoy! If you've read this far, please let me know what you think, even on anon!

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Taglist: If you'd like to be added, let me know!

@therapycat21 @rd14 @wickedfun9

[snowdice]

Big Bang Editing Story [Day 124]

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

My Master Post Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25 Part 26 Part 27 Part 28 Part 29 Part 30 Part 31 Part 32 Part 33 Part 34 Part 35 Part 36 Part 37 Part 38 Part 39 Part 40 Part 41 Part 42 Part 43 Part 44 Part 45 Part 46 Part 47 Part 48 Part 49 Part 50 Part 51 Part 52 Part 53 Part 54 Part 55

I have been sick as a dog since I last worked on this story. I'm not even doing any work today lol. I just want to get this chapter finished. Will probably do a couple rounds and then cook myself dinner, so there may be a gap at some point. Mostly I'll just be, like, reading when not posting. Wish me luck.

“Good day for a picnic,” Helen commented as she handed over the basket Thomas had requested from her a few days before. He was taking Logan, Patton, and Virgil to the cliffs today and it was perfect weather for it. Spring was truly here, which meant that those of Thomas’s duties that had laid dormant over the harsh winter were about to start up again.

The world had been on pause for a bit considering no armies or agents from any kingdom could get through the snow the last few months, but the concerns of last fall were showing their heads once again.

Thomas had just gotten word a day ago that the queen of Lamir had routed out a second assassin hiding in her ranks over the winter. The assassin had been sent shortly after it was made clear that the queen wouldn’t bow down after the assassination of her mother. Luckily, the assassin sent for Queen Cecil had not managed to complete her mission during the winter months.

While there had been no similar attempt on Prijaznia soil, Thomas couldn’t help but feel it was only a matter of time now that the snow had melted. They were already working on increasing security in the coming weeks and, though it was doubtful an assassin had managed to hide in the castle all winter without revealing themselves, they’d be closely scrutinizing all of the newer staff members.

It would be a stressful time in the coming months, which is why, despite everything Thomas needed to do, he was still going to take his son and his son’s friends on a picnic today. Logan had already started taking on royal duties as of late, but he still hadn’t taken them all on quite yet. Considering this was last summer before Logan was of age, they should at least try to take advantage of it where they could. Patton was a year younger, but the sentiment held for him as well.

Then there was Virgil. Despite their best efforts, they still didn’t know enough about Virgil, but Thomas was fairly sure he’d never had a summer to enjoy until now.

“Thanks for prepping lunch for us,” Thomas said to Helen with a smile.

“No problem,” she said waving them off. “I put in some of Virgil’s favorites.”

“Great,” Thomas said. “Do you know where the kids are?”

“Patton said they were going to go pet the cats, so I’d guess they’re in the gardens.”

Thomas thanked her again and told her to have a good day before exiting the kitchen. There was a nearby door that led straight towards the part of the gardens Patton and Logan had always favored. He figured they’d either still be around there, or they would have wandered towards the stables by now knowing that they’d be taking horses to the cliffs. So, he decided to simply walk the normal path from the door to the stable, hoping to find them.

His prediction ended up being hilariously correct. They were indeed on the path Thomas had chosen. It was clear they (or at least Logan) were attempting to make it to the stable. However, as was typical, a portion of the party had been waylaid by whimsy.

Logan was standing further down the path, arms crossed and frowning as he watched his friends. Patton and Virgil were surrounded by cats. Patton was sitting down, holding two of them in his lap and watching Virgil’s legs being swarmed by the rest of them, maybe two dozen in total.

Virgil looked confused, but not unhappy about the presence of so many cats. He was leaning down to try to pet them all.

Logan met Thomas’s eyes as he approached and waved a frustrated hand at the two of them. Logan couldn’t help but smile.

“Virgil fed one of them,” Logan complained as though he wanted Thomas to somehow go into the past and prevent this crime.

Patton and Virgil looked over at Thomas, noticing him when Logan addressed him.

“You’re going to make Princess Marisol jealous,” Thomas said. Logan frowned at Thomas as he used the ‘Princess’ label for the cat.

“Princess Marisol decided not to come,” Virgil said with a shrug. He continued to pet one of the cats.

“She’s probably sleeping on my pillow,” Logan said, sounding grumpy.

Thomas just chuckled. Princess Marisol was technically Logan’s cat, at least that’s what the kids said, and she did spend much of her time in the royal rooms. However, she was very clearly actually Virgil’s cat. Virgil just spent a lot of time in the royal wing as well.

In fact, Thomas still didn’t know where Virgil was supposed to be sleeping. He and Mr. Deknis had gone so far as to tail him a couple of times, but he always ended up sleeping in Logan’s room those nights.

Knowing Virgil, he might just sleep in the walls. Though that still did not answer the question of where his parents or guardians were. They still had not figured it out. Thomas would assume he was an orphan who’d snuck onto castle grounds for safety, but Virgil had told Mr. Deknis during their first meeting that he was supposed to be in the castle, and it had not been a lie.

Then again, it had slowly become apparent that Virgil was good at dodging the multrum’s powers. It was starting to seem more likely that he’d somehow inserted a second meaning into his answer to Mr. Deknis that night than he somehow had some ghost guardian no one was able to locate working in the castle.

“She deserves the pillow more than you,” Virgil said, bringing Thomas’s thoughts back to the situation at hand. The look of audacity on Logan’s face made Thomas chuckle.

Thomas cut in before it could become a fight. “I could get Princess Marisol a pillow, so she doesn’t sleep on yours. Or we can get you a new pillow if you’d prefer, Logan.”

“It’s not about the pillow for her,” Logan argued. “It’s about her inflated sense of superiority.”

“She deserves it,” Virgil declared. Thomas could tell he was just trying to rile Logan up, and Thomas was sure Logan knew it too, but still his son reacted exactly in the way Virgil wanted him to.

“You have enabled and encouraged this behavior from the start!” Logan seethed.

“She’s a princess.”

“She is not a princess!”

Patton shook his head while squeezing the cats in his arms, completely used to this behavior. He ran a chin idly over one of the cat’s heads while watching the argument.

“We’re never going to make it to the picnic at this rate,” Thomas said to him, “and after your mother made all of this wonderful food.”

“You’re the dad,” Patton said. “Make them stop.”

And, of course, Patton did just mean that he was Logan’s dad with that statement. However, when he glanced back up at the silly argument still going on between his son and the cat covered boy, it did almost look like a fight between siblings.

Especially with the dark hair and stubborn but mischievous look in Virgil’s eyes, Thomas could almost imagine the boy being his own child.

He shook away the thoughts and glanced at the picnic basket in his hand.

“We do have a lot of food in this basket,” Thomas said, pitching his voice up so that Logan (and more importantly) Virgil would hear them clearly.

Virgil immediately turned to look at him, abandoning all interest in antagonizing Logan to look at the basket curiously.

Thomas was never sure if he should be amused or worried about how food motivated Virgil often was.

“What’s in the basket?” Virgil asked.

“I’m not sure,” Thomas said. “Patton’s mom made it. We’ll just have to see once we get to the picnic area.”

Virgil nodded in understanding and began to gently extract himself from the droves of cats. Logan rolled his eyes, but didn’t seem inclined to continue the argument he’d been dragged into. Virgil and Patton got to their feet, and they continued on their way towards the stables.

The horses Thomas had requested be prepared for their trip were already in saddles, though the stable hand who had been handling Mr. Apples seemed a bit dirtier and more exhausted than the rest.

The stable hand seemed as happy to hand Mr. Apples over to Virgil as Virgil was to have Mr. Apples handed over to him. Thomas received Bella with a smile and Logan and Patton got their own horses as well.

The cliffs were about half an hour's ride from the main castle. There was a mostly well-maintained path to them, though it was easy to get lost if one didn’t know the way. Mr. Apples knew the way perhaps better than Thomas himself and seemed annoyed by the fact that Thomas was trying to lead the way. Virgil and Thomas ended up side-by-side whenever the path allowed it to placate him.

Thomas still marveled at how willing Mr. Apples was to let Virgil ride him, especially when he tossed his head in Thomas’s direction, a horse’s equivalent of giving Thomas a stink-eye.

“Are you excited for the picnic?” Thomas asked the boy beside him.

Virgil glanced over at him and nodded.

“I am too,” Thomas said. “It’s always beautiful this time of year. I’m glad I could find the time to take you all there this year.”

“Are you very busy?” Virgil asked curiously.

“I am king,” Thomas reminded, “and now that the world isn’t snowed in anymore things will be busy.”

“With the war?” Virgil asked.

Thomas paused for a few seconds. “Yes,” he confirmed. “With the war, but you don’t need to worry about that.”

“Why shouldn’t I?” Virgil asked.

“You’re just a kid,” Thomas said.

“I’m 14,” Virgil said.

Thomas glanced at him. “Exactly,” he said, “a kid, and luckily, you’re in a place that can afford you the luxury of being one.”

“What do you mean?”

“The war has been mainly fought on Mocnejsi soil in recent years. Our boarders have held strong against invasions. Unless something goes horribly wrong suddenly, it would take a long time for the main conflict to get here. The only real threat in the castle would be assassins sent after me personally.”

“Right,” Virgil said. There was an awkward pause in conversation before he spoke again. “You’re winning the war then?” he asked.

“Something could always happen,” Thomas said, “but for the most part, yes, we have quite the advantage right now.”

“Oh,” Virgil said.

Thomas shook his head as they were coming up to a narrowing of the path. “Anyway, today is a day to not think about war. Today we’re going to have a lovely picnic and do some bird watching.”

“Right,” Virgil agreed from behind Thomas as Bella took the lead (to Mr. Apples discontent.)

When the path widened again, Thomas did his best to direct the topic to lighter subjects and soon they made it to the cliffs.

Chapter 57 (Virgil)

Virgil had never been to a picnic. At least, that’s what Patton had informed him when Virgil had described his past experiences of eating outdoors. Logan had agreed even though he’d admitted that the definition of “picnic” was only eating a pre-packaged meal outdoors which Virgil had done plenty of times.

From what Virgil could tell, the main difference was just how much stuff one brought to a picnic.

In addition to the basket full of food (that Virgil still hadn’t gotten to look in yet), the king had brought a large soft quilt that he had Logan and Virgil spread out on the ground for them all to sit on.

Patton and Logan had also packed some things themselves to bring along. Logan had brought along a book to read, and Patton had brought along a board game (thankfully not checkers but something Virgil did not recognize). Virgil hadn’t brought anything (except for the fire knife he was definitely not supposed to have and was definitely not letting the king see) because he hadn’t known he was supposed to bring things. He wouldn’t have known what to bring anyway.

The blanket was soft and a much better alternative to sitting on the ground, especially because, while there was grass at the top of The Cliffs, there were also a good number of rocks.

The king set the picnic basket in the middle of the blanket once it was spread out and then lowered himself down to sit on one side. Patton quickly followed him, already fiddling with some of his board game pieces, though he wasn’t setting it up yet. Virgil highly doubted that Logan was going to be allowed to read his book unless Patton eventually got bored of the game.

However, they would, hopefully, be allowed to make use of the basket the king had brought along.

Virgil followed the king and Patton’s lead and got to his knees on the blanket across the picnic basket from the king. He peered at the basket curiously.

He didn’t quite know what picnic food was, but Patton had told them they’d be getting ‘picnic food’ and he was very curious about what that meant.

King Thomas smiled at him. “Let’s see what Patton’s mom packed us, huh?” He reached for the basket and flipped it open as Logan sat next to Virgil. “There is a lot more food than usual in here,” the king said, sounding amused. “Let’s see.”

He began to pull out packaged food and glanced in each package to identify it before setting it out.

“We have a few types of mini sandwiches,” he said, putting them down, “and some pasta salad.” He set down the bowl.

“We also have… er something else.” He showed it to Logan.

“They’re hot cauliflower bites,” Logan said instantly upon seeing them. Virgil perked up in excitement. That was one of his favorite foods.

“Ah,” King Thomas said, but shrugged and set it down. “We also have two desserts apparently: cookies and mini apple pies. That last one’s a bit extra for a picnic.”

“They’re very good,” Virgil said happily.

“And we also have.” King Thomas paused, looking confused. “Chicken alfredo?”

“Yes!” Virgil said.

“Why do we have chicken alfredo for a picnic?”

“It’s a Virgil picnic,” Logan groaned. “She packed us a Virgil picnic.”

“Hey, at least momma sent us something too,” Patton said.

“I think I’ll stick to sandwiches for today,” King Thomas said. He looked at Patton and Logan. “Do either of you want…?”

“No,” Logan said. Patton shook his head.

The king nodded and offered the entire covered bowl of chicken alfredo to Virgil. “Here, this one’s yours,” he said.

“Really?” Virgil asked tentatively. It wasn’t exactly strange for people here to offer him food, and he’d expected and anticipated getting to eat on this venture, but the king of the country offering him an entire bowl of his favorite food was something else.

“It’s not really my idea of a picnic food and you seem excited for it,” King Thomas said with a warm smile, still holding it out.

Virgil took it reverently. Despite the time it had taken to get to the cliffs, the bottom of the container was still warm. Virgil assumed it was one of the heating spells the kitchen sometimes used.

“Thanks,” Virgil said, setting it in his lap.

“Of course, Virgil,” the king said.

The bowl was enough for four people to have a little bit, but for one person it was a lot. Still, Virgil was offered a little of every other food in the picnic basket (and he ate a good number of the hot cauliflower bites).

“Where do you put all of that?” the king asked when Virgil finished polishing off the chicken alfredo bowl.

Everyone else seemed to have finished eating long before Virgil, though Patton still had a small plate of grapes, and he occasionally popped one in his mouth. King Thomas was currently setting up the board game they’d brought on the blanket between all of them.

Virgil shrugged in answer to his question. “It’s good,” he said, “and I don’t want to waste any of it.”

“You know we can just take the leftovers back to the castle and eat them later,” King Thomas said. “You don’t have to eat it all now.”

Virgil just shrugged again, watching as the king set out a group of 8 figures on the board.

“Here, which character do you want to be?” the king asked Virgil, gesturing at the group of figures. Virgil had not noticed the figures were different at first glance. They were all copper colored and about the size of his thumb, but they had slightly different shapes. He squinted at them each carefully, finding they all looked like people, but with different clothing. Some worse pants and some skirts, a few had hats, and one was even carrying a book.

After a few moments, he pointed at one that looked like it had vines wrapped around its arms and was wearing a floppy hat that almost covered its eyes.

“That’s the druid,” King Thomas told him with a grin. “Good choice, and luckily not one that anyone usually fights over.” He glanced at Logan who didn’t react to his father’s gaze. He just plucked the figure clutching the book off the board for himself.

Patton and the king picked pieces for themselves. Patton picked one with an apron that kind of reminded Virgil of his mom and the king picked one that was in a suit of armor before putting the other 4 figures away.

Unlike checkers, this game wasn’t just for two people, and so no one had to sit watching people play while bored out of their mind.

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They played a practice round so Virgil could figure out how the game worked, though honestly it wasn’t that complicated, so it wasn’t really necessary.

The theme of the game was all about stealing. They were supposed to steal special tokens from other players as well as characters in the game and the first person with 20 tokens won.

The other three players argued that stealing was not the point and not the main mechanism of the game, but considering Virgil was consistently winning the entire time, he would argue they were just playing it wrong. He managed to collect 20 tokens before anyone else. In second place at this time was Logan with 9 tokens.

Logan insisted on continuing to play the game to determine 2nd and 3rd place, so Virgil ended up watching them play for a bit. Virgil didn’t mind sitting and watching other people play this game, mostly because he still had the joy of victory running in his veins.

Thomas was definitely going to lose, he noted. He kept wasting his money feeding the nonplayer characters who lived on his lands. Virgil didn’t mention this faulty strategy to him in case Virgil ever played him again.

When Logan took too long thinking about his next move, Virgil took in their surroundings.

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He’d been a bit too distracted by the prospect of food and then trying to understand (and then win) the game to truly take in The Cliffs. They were settled a good distance away from the cliffside but Virgil could still see how quickly the edge dropped off. He couldn’t see the large river he was told was at its base from where he was sitting, but he did see a few of the promised wild birds (including doves) flying around. The king had promised they’d bird watch for a bit, and Virgil figured that would happen after the game was over.

A cool spring breeze brushed across Virgil’s face, and he put his hand in his hoodie pockets to warm them. Instead, his fingers hit something icy cold.

For a moment, he didn’t remember what it was. The crescent shape of it was familiar when he put his hand over it, but he had never felt it cold before.

It was the protection charm: the first charm Virgil had ever made with Logan so many months ago. It was meant to ward off small threats as well as warn you about larger threats by changing temperature…

It had always been warm.

“What?” Patton asked, having noticed Virgil suddenly tense. Virgil, despite how he drilled into his friend’s heads to stay alert had gone soft. He’d let himself be distracted by a full belly and warm blankets and fun games.

He didn’t answer Patton. He filtered the other boy’s worried face out as well as Logan’s face as he glanced at him and the king’s still focused on the game for now. He filtered out the picnic blanket and smell of food still lingering in the air and the vine covered figure set in the middle of the board on the winner’s space. He filtered out the sound of the breeze and the breath of his companions and the distant chirping of birds.

And he heard a whoosh.

Chapter 58 (Patton)

If Patton hadn’t already been looking, he probably wouldn’t have had any idea what happened.

Everything had been fine. Virgil had been sitting cross legged, idly watching the conclusion of the game they’d been playing when his posture had suddenly changed. Patton had looked over at him only to see an expression on his face he didn’t recognize, but it didn’t seem good.

“What?” Patton had asked, but the question didn’t seem to register to Virgil.

Logan had glanced up confused and also noticed Virgil’s face. He’d just opened his mouth to also ask what was going on when chaos descended.

Virgil was suddenly moving, crashing into King Thomas who hadn’t even looked up to see something was wrong at that point. Patton realized after the fact that Virgil had swiped up the board of the game they’d been playing as he jumped over it, the pieces previously stacked on it scattering all over the blanket. There were three thumps as some things hit the thick board, imbedding themselves into the surface.

When Virgil discarded the board in favor of the picnic basket, Patton saw there were small darts in it oozing a dark black liquid. The parts of the board they touched were dissolving, the grass under the new holes beginning to wilt rapidly.

Logan seemed to notice the oozing liquid the same moment Patton did and was quicker to realize what it was. He grabbed Patton’s arm and yanked him away from the board so hard he almost dislocated Patton’s shoulder, not that Patton was too worried about that. He scrambled away from it when he realized what it must be himself.

He could hear the sound of glassware smashing above them. Logan and Patton had rolled off the blanket in their quest to get away from the smoldering, melting board and apparently Virgil had pulled the picnic blanket fully over the king at some point.

Virgil himself was now gone from where he’d been the last time Patton had looked and it took him a moment to figure out where the boy had gone. The person who had been shooting poisoned darts at them had been drawn out of the wooded area they’d been hiding in by Virgil’s attacks.

They were cloaked in dark green from head to toe, explaining why they’d been difficult to spot when they were in the woods. Whoever they were, they were significantly larger than Virgil, possibly an actual adult or almost adult assassin, but they were also clearly a long distant fighter. They had not been expecting resistance let alone resistance in the form of a so quick he was almost a blur fellow assassin.

They had a bow strapped to their back, but they hadn’t had a chance to get it. Instead, they were trying to fight Virgil off with an arrow they’d managed to draw from their quiver. Virgil, meanwhile was lunging at them with a broken piece of plate in one hand and the picnic basket in the other.

Virgil dodged out of the way of the arrow striking towards his arm, though Patton didn’t think it was because he was afraid of getting scratched by an arrow, but because it may also be poisoned tipped.

Virgil was distracted by dodging for long enough that the older assassin managed to hit him in the face with the arm not holding the arrow.

He went down, but he took the older assassin with him, sweeping their legs out from under them. Patton hadn’t noticed (his mind working too slow for how fast they were moving) but they were on a slight incline. They went rolling in a tangle of arms and legs towards the edge of the cliff and skidded to a stop only a few feet away.

Virgil ended up on top, his piece of broken plate in his hands. He moved to slash it across the other assassin’s throat and managed to draw blood, but the assassin’s fist came out to shove at Virgil’s chest at just the right moment, causing the strike to veer off course and slice across the assassin’s cheek instead.

Virgil jerked to the side to avoid a second strike to the chest and went back for another slash. The other assassin rolled to the side as he did and the plate only managed to nick their ear. The point of the motion hadn’t been to dodge, however. They were lunging for the arrow they’d dropped a few feet away while they’d rolled. They grabbed it with their right hand and in the same motion stabbed back behind them towards Virgil.

Virgil rolled to avoid the hit, already slashing up with his plate as the assassin turned back towards him.

87295

He didn’t hit them this time but his swipe managed to stop them from stabbing him when they tried again. They shoved themselves back to avoid Virgil’s swing, putting a bit of distance between them. Both of them managed to make it to their feet during the momentary reprieve, but both also stayed crouched, eyeing each other.

They both lunged towards each other at the same time. The assassin went for a stab to Virgil’s neck with the arrow, but Virgil was already ducking down. This time, he wasn’t going for a kill shot. He grabbed the assassin’s wrist and at the same time drove his piece of plate into the assassin’s arm, slicing down from the elbow to wrist. The assassin spoke for the first time, cursing in a language Patton didn’t recognize as they were forced to drop their arrow.

Virgil took a moment to kick the arrow away from the assassin and it ended up falling off the cliff.

However, this pause gave the assassin enough time to regroup. Despite their arm bleeding profusely, they still decided to use it to backhand Virgil across the face viciously, leaving a long line of their own blood across his face.

Virgil lunged back forward, but the assassin was able to get a leg between them, kicking Virgil squarely in the chest and sending him flying back a few feet parallel to the cliff’s edge.

The assassin went to grab their bow and another arrow from the quiver still strapped to their shoulder.

Virgil, however, apparently went for another weapon too and he was much faster with a knife than any archer. A knife appeared in his hand, having been strapped to his ankle and was embedded into the assassin’s chest before they could even full remove an arrow from their quiver.

The assassin promptly burst into flames, fire catching their clothes (and from the smell of it their skin) ablaze. Panicked and dying, they stumbled two steps to the side. They stepped directly off the cliff.

There was a second of silence. They heard the sound of the body hitting the ground far below and then the flap of wings and screeching as birds below fled from the startling sound (and possible soon to be forest fire).

…

“Uh, Virgil?” King Thomas said. He had managed to get the blanket off his head at some point. When, Patton didn’t know, but seeing any of it was probably enough.

Oopsie.

Chapter 59 (Logan)

Logan and Patton had been useless during the fight, but that may have been for the best. Considering the skill differential when it came to fighting (and that differential had never been as clear as it was in this moment), that was probably for the best. They likely would have just gotten in the way.

The moment Logan’s father spoke, however, they both jumped into action.

They both knew their jobs in a situation like this. Patton pushed himself up to his feet ungracefully and all but sprinted over towards Virgil. Logan, on the other hand stood to face his father, putting himself very purposefully between the man who had no idea what was going on yet and the boy who was two seconds away from remembering what was going on.

“I can explain,” Logan said.

His father was still sitting on the ground. “You can explain,” he said slowly, “how Virgil just threw an assassin off a cliff.”

Logan thought pointing out that Virgil hadn’t thrown anyone off a cliff and instead had set them on fire with a magical knife causing them to walk off a cliff, would not be useful in this moment. He glanced back briefly towards where Virgil and Patton were standing and then turned back to his father. “Yes.”

“And what would that explanation be?”

Before even starting to speak, Logan found himself making large dramatic ‘explaining hand gestures’ that he’d thought he’d long since trained himself out of. When he was younger and in trouble, he always used to give himself away as guilty by being overly expressive with his hands (and arms).

“So,” Logan said. He was still not able to stop the hand motions. “Virgil was an assassin. He came here to kill you last fall, but he accidently went to the wrong room in the royal wing. Patton and I were having a slumber party and caught him in the act. Then we reformed him and now he doesn’t kill people anymore.” He paused and glanced back, remembering the body that had just toppled off the cliff. “Er, uh, he doesn’t kill people who haven’t shot poisoned darts at people recently anymore?”

“What?”

“Look,” Logan said. “You’re going to have to tell him you’re not going to execute him soon. Patton can only keep him from bolting for so long.”

[lovelyladyabsinthewrites]

From the Ashes Pt.49

Pairing(s): Pairing(s): Rhaegar Targaryen x Lannister!Reader, one-sided!Jaime Lannister x Lannister!Reader, Jaime Lannister x Cersei Lannister

Warnings: slow burn fic, changing povs, Westeros POV

Words: 3034

Part 1 Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  Part 5  Part 6  Part 7  Part 8  Part 9  Part 10  Part 11  Part 12   Part 13  Part 14  Part 15  Part 16  Part 17  Part 18  Part 19  Part 20 Part 21 

Part 22 Part 23  Part 24  Part 25  Part 26 Part 27  Part 28  Part 29  Part 30  Part 31  Part 32  Part 33  Part 34  Part 35  Part 36  Part 37  Part 38  Part 39  Part 40 Part 41 Part 42 Part 43 Part 44

Part 45 Part 46 Part 47 Part 48

Even in her dreams, Alizah saw fire. Three figures depicted by flames lurk around a corner with hoods pulled up and over their face. She saw the twisted lines of their mouths though.

They watch.

Watch as the docked ship is capsized by the black tentacles of some unseen beast.

One of the trio smiles while gripping a pendant around their neck. The lips of the other two move in an incantation yet Alizah couldn’t hear a thing.

The three figures turn with a swish of their heavy, gray cloaks and they leave the scene of the shipwreck. From where they came or where they were going to, Alizah didn’t know.

Slowly, one lifts its head to Alizah as if it could see her. But that would be impossible. . . Wouldn’t it? It keeps staring at her from under its hood, unmoving and causing a prickle to spike in Alizah’s neck.

The odd smile that stretched its horrid lips made Alizah's stomach curdle. The creatures that stood before her were known she had seen before. They were wholly beings of the Shadowlands.

It's companions raise their heads up in her direction as well. Wearing identical smiles.

Honestly, the figures did strike fear in her even if they came to her not in their true colors but those of fire and heat. Scared as she was, Alizah tried to stretch out the vision, make it last longer but the flames flicker violently until they’re snuffed out and Alizah is left in complete darkness.

Alizah’s feet hit the floor the very second she awoke. She stumbled in a drunk-like stupor that was really due to her abrupt movement. Trying her best not to panic as the vision she had just seen replayed in her brain.

A letter. Yes, Alizah needed someone to write this down immediately to send to the Temple. She’d have to alert Prince Rhaegar at once. Somehow Alizah knew what harbor that was and who that ship belonged to for it’s sails bore the Burning Heart of R’hllor.

In a specific pattern, Alizah knocks loudly on the wall. In a few short moments there’s a reply from the other side and the adjoining door to the other suite swings open. Haakon and Kafele enter silently , awaiting for Alizah’s command.

“Trouble has reached nuha kosh.” She quietly announces to the two escorts. “Forces in the Shadowlands are preventing her from leaving. Why, I do not know yet. Something terrible sunk her ship. They are stranded in Asshai. Latilth is still too young to carry all of them back to Volantis, not to forget the extra passengers that the darkin pose.”

Kafele released a shuddering breath while Haakon’s jaw merely tenses. “The temple needs to know immediately.”

“Agreed. But if these assailants saw R’hllor’s sigil on the ship’s sails, then they know to look out for more. Whose to say they won’t attack more temple ships if we send them?” Alizah paced in front of them. Her personal brazier that she used to scry immediately lit up with flames with a flick of her wrist.

Pausing, Haakon runs his tongue over his bottom lip. “What are you proposing, my lady?”

If (y/n) was possibly in danger, they would need to act quickly. Another letter to Volantis could take weeks if not months. And since Rhaegar’s army was not ready to attack King’s Landing yet- “Prince Rhaegar wants to see his wife. We will send him to her and he will prove himself loyal and worthy.”

“The others in his regime might disapprove. Their numbers were more than halved in the last battle.” Kafele prompts a good point but Alizah already made up her mind. She would not risk the safety of (y/n). Her dark eyes, in that eerie way that put off many, meet Kafele’s. What she saw instead of the physical man was an orange burst of life that burned in the center of him.

“And then there’s the Mad King. If he makes a move-“

“R’hllor has waited centuries for our champion’s birth. If the unfortunate happens and (y/n) dies, we will all be doomed. We act quick.”

“Yes, Lady Alizah.” They say in unison.

Haakon remained behind to draft a letter to be sent ahead to the Red Temple while Alizah and Kafele travel the dark corridors to the guarded wing that belonged to the Dragon Prince. They wanted to prevent their entry, distrusting these foreigners that acted so privileged.

When Storm’s End found out about Lady Lyanna Baratheon’s pregnancy, even more soldiers were strung about the castle. Especially near the royal apartments that also offered a large set of rooms for Rhaegar.

“You’ll have to wait until the morning. No one, except for those on an approved list, are allowed in.”

“Go back to your rooms.”

Kafele wanted to slam their heads against the wall for the disrespect they showed to a High Priestess of R’hllor.

Alizah was used to such rudeness though. It would not be the first or last time that a man has talked down to her.

“That’s enough, Jir.” Lady Lyanna Baratheon spoke up from behind Alizah and Kafele. Her face was like beautifully carved stone and just as cold as she glared at the guards. She had two other guards hastily catching up with her as if she had outrun them. The swelling of her belly did little to stop her from being faster. “These are our honored guests sent from Prince Rhaegar’s own wife.”

They bit their lips and obey their lady even if they didn’t agree with her.

Lyanna smiled at the two. “I’m so sorry about that. Lord Robert has become so protective since finding out about the baby.”

“I do not blame him, Your Grace.” Alizah bends forward in a small bow. “I’m afraid I carry bad news with me. Something that I know Prince Rhaegar needs to hear right away.”

Nodding fiercely, Lyanna leads them up the hall.

When they arrived to Rhaegar’s own room, loud voices could immediately be heard coming from his partially opened door. Lyanna froze, arm out to stop Alizah and everyone else from stepping closer. Instead she cocks her head to the side to listen.

“When were you going to tell me?! Did you know all along?”

“Prince Oberyn, please settle down.” The second voice belonged to Rhaegar. Alizah closed her eyes and focused on straining her hearing.

Oberyn Martell laughed mirthfully. “You’re not king yet, Rhaegar. So don’t tell me what to do. Did you know your wife was alive this entire time? Did you know when my men died alongside your’s? I had to learn this from a fisherman!”

“I just found out. I promise. Three strangers from the Red Temple in Volantis arrived but a few weeks ago.

Things go quiet for a few moments and Alizah began to believe the confrontation over until the Dornish prince spoke again. “What about Elia? Why would I continue to stand by you?”

“I’m sorry about Elia. I did believe my wife to be dead. You heard my genuine anguish. But she is alive and our marriage is still valid. I will make things right by you. We can make something work.” Rhaegar adds firmly “And don’t think my father will not go after Dorne. They all know we’re backed up by Sunspear. All it would take for him to wipe Sunspear off of the map is a war ship filled to the brim with wildfire jars and one good archer.”

“He can possess all the mages he wants, but we all know that King’s Landing itself will be the victim of his wrath.”

Prince Oberyn needed something else to make up for the loss of the crown for his sister.

Alizah pushed past Lyanna’s arm and walks forward to the door. It’s easily pushed open, startling the two blue-blooded men that had been submerged in a heated argument. “Gentlemen, if I may.”

Almost in relief, Rhaegar sighed out “Lady Alizah. This is Prince Oberyn of Dorne. Oberyn, this is the High Priestess Lady Alizah from the Red Temple.”

Pursing his lips, Oberyn takes in the small lady in front of him. While her face was very odd, it was not unpleasant; the roundness of it gave her a childlike appearance. At once, Oberyn knew she was blind from the odd way her eyes didn’t move. “I have met many of you priestesses during my travels in Essos.”

“We number in the thousands.” Alizah smiled at him. “I’m sorry for eavesdropping, but I heard that you want compensation.”

“And what does R’hllor’s church offer?” He asked while crossing his arms in front of him. “Are you rich in gold?”

Even with the dark depths of blindness, Alizah turned her face to where a small fireplace hummed with fire. “Is gold what you desire?”

Her voice. . . There was a change in it that made Oberyn bite down on his tongue. What strange magic did this girl wield? Those black lips of her’s must have whispered hundreds of spells. Such lips reminded Oberyn of the sorcerers that were infamous in Qarth. Now they had truly terrifying powers.

”If it’s a substitute husband for your sister, something can always be arranged once Prince Rhaegar and Princess (y/n) take the throne. If it’s indeed gold you want, then that can also be offered to you once the war with Aerys is won. Right now though, there are other things to be worried about.” The height of the flames rose, much like she had done when Rhaegar first met her. “I had a prophetic dream. Someone is trying to prevent (y/n) from leaving Asshai. Her ship was sunk and I fear for her if we don’t act fast.”

There was little Rhaegar could do to hide his excitement. His immediate reaction would have been to get Robert and ready their fleet. But. . . There was King Aerys. Unpredictable and dangerous Aerys who could set all of King’s Landing aflame in wildfire at any moment. Matters in Essos still weren’t resolved. Rhaegar had wanted to have Aerys disposed before (y/n)’s arrival so he could hand her the crown of the queen. His queen.

This could be his way to amend leaving her alone at death’s door. He could right his wrongs.

“If I leave and Aerys tries something. . .”

Her smile curled into something a little more devious that had Rhaegar shivering despite not being cold. “R’hllor has eyes everywhere. Spies are in no short supply. You will have to put a certain degree of trust in me though. Which for men like you may be extremely difficult.”

Oberyn looked to the Westerosi prince, weighing his options. Dorne was already involved. There was no going back. If Rhaegar spoke the truth, then Oberyn should take his apology and move on.

The light on Rhaegar's face at the mention of his wife made Oberyn crumble in defeat. He'd known that Rhaegar was still deeply in love with (y/n) and only accepted Elia as his new bride grudgingly.

“My men and I will stay behind.” Oberyn nods, now formulating a plan. “I’m sure Lord Baratheon will want to stay as well to protect his land and keep an eye to the capital.”

Rhaegar grinned and pats Oberyn on the shoulder. The joy radiating off of his face was contagious as Oberyn easily returned it with the same confidence. To Alizah, Rhaegar beamed. “We’ll arrange a meeting this instant. Lady Alizah, we will provide ships for (y/n) and sail out as soon as we can.”

Aerys could have struck the head off of the messenger that trembled before his crazed glare. “What do you mean, you can’t find Varys?”

Helplessly, the young man looked around him for any sort of ally. Eyes immediately shot to the floor, not wanting to meet his pleading gaze that begged for mercy.

The members of the Small Council looked equally guilty when Aerys ordered him to be wheeled away to the dungeons.

Ser Gerold Hightower, Commander of the Kingsguard, kept his face neutral for it was the only thing to save him from treason now. The rest of the Small Council would be found equally to blame if King Aerys found out about helping Varys out of King’s Landing. As the Spider claimed, it was part of the plan and utterly essential that he flee for the time being. He’d received a letter from Storm’s End where he kept in touch with Rhaegar Targaryen’s army. This was not an easy feat as the entire city was under strict lockdown.

The City Watch was told to use brutality if necessary. Fear gripped the capitol with iron fingers. Ships were banned from leaving or entering Blackwater Bay. The threat of hunger was quickly flamming that fear into anger.

Many nights, Gerold could hear the fighting outside of the Red Keep’s walls. Citizens frustrated and fed up with the Mad King that would sooner kill them all than do the right thing. Rumors even of the mass production of wildfire had leaked to the populace.

Ser Gerold found Aerys’ eyes heavily on him. They were mere pinpricks against the areas of red that should be white. How long had it been since he had slept? He’d have to make sure to speak to the Grand Maester to add some milk of the poppy to his next drink just to knock him out for a few hours.

“Send the word out. The Spider is to be found. Dead or alive but I want his head. Don’t come back to me until either his head is in my hands or your’s.”

Fine by him. Ser Gerold stiffly bows before leaving the musky Great Hall. His gold cloak swished behind him. There would be no use now in sending word to the City Watch. Varys was already out of the city. Had been for several hours. As secretive as he was, Varys told them that once he arrived to his destination he would send a letter. One of his little sparrows would be delivering it.

After Aerys asked Varys to find an assassin to send after Rhaegar, the infamous Spider began weaving his intricate web and readied himself for the weeks to come leaving up to his exodus. He did leave some instruction for the rest of the Council members. Well, they were each told separately. Everyone had their role and jobs during his absence to prevent the king from destroying the entire city. Which by the looks of it was an impending reality if they didn’t do anything.

Before leaving, Varys revealed the thousands of secret passageways that ran through the Red Keep. For things pertaining to their criminal plotting, they were to use them to find the forgotten chambers that held the various dragon skulls that belonged to Aerys’ ancestors.

After exchanging his gold cloak for a black one, Ser Gerold sweeps through the corridors with silent steps.

As was expected, the others had shown up as soon as King Aerys dismissed everyone else in the Great Hall. All that shouting had worn him out and forced him to retire for the evening. Better to have him shut up in his rooms so the most important men in Westeros could slip away.

In front of the large skull that once belonged to the Black Dread stood his fellow council members.

“I’ll give it to the Spider, he’s quite smart.” Master of coin, Lord Qarlton Chelstid pathetically grumbled out. He rubbed his hands together not for warmth but to relieve his nerves. Out of everyone, he had been the most difficult to really trust. Jaime once told Lord Hightower how he thought Lord Chelstid was a cravenly man that would reveal his belly when danger came. Varys’ patience was their saving grace in having Lord Chelstid agree to the plan and assure his loyalty that he would not tell a soul.

“Well of course the king would want him tracked down. It was inevitable.” the Lord of Tides corrected him. While all had benefited in some way from Aerys’ decaying sanity, their good fortunes would not continue if the people of the capitol rioted or if Aerys blew them all up with his wildfire.

Having done his own scheming against Rhaegar, Lord Staunton -the master of laws- was forced to swallow his pride too. He didn’t look forward to the day when Rhaegar would come and claim the throne as king. Staunton grimaced at the fact that he would have to beg on his hands an knees for forgiveness.

They all would. Prince Rhaegar was no longer the boy they had known. Word had spread fast of his cruelty on the battlefield. The news of (y/n)’s supposed death had come to an utter shock to the prince. Enough to change him thoroughly and in the most twisted way.

If they were to gain his mercy, it would come at a great cost.

“And now comes the second phase of Varys’ plan.” Gerold Hightower turned to the Grand Maester Pycelle. “Did he take the milk of the poppy?”

He nodded eagerly. “Oh yes! Every drop and he did not suspect a thing. He should be asleep for some time.”

In unison they let out a sigh of relief. “Well then, gentlemen, let us make our way then to those blasted pyromancers.”

Nervous at the prospect of bumping into the hordes of angry civilians, they would take the utmost care to travel through the city. It’s said that those of the Alchemist Guild worked in the underground of King’s Landing where they could perform their work safely.

Well, as safe as they could considering the material they worked with. Added the danger of making thousands of jars containing wildfire. They were mass producing the destruction of King’s Landing.

First and foremost they had to be stopped and the remaining wildfire dealt with. Many jars were used in the recent assault against Rhaegar’s forces. By the demand of the king though, the numbers were soon replenished and multiplying. Already many of the apprentices and even one master pyromancer had been killed from the production process. They wouldn’t be the last casualties.

Taglist:

@boywivlove

@esposadomd

@domoron

@yentroucnagol

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@bregarc

[liveforjeongin]

Hiii!! I loved the doc that you wrote! Can I request number 12 and 41 with Lee!Chan and Ler!Felix please and ty

p.s your amazing

How To Cheer Your Chan Up (1/7)

Awww, thank you anon, you're so sweet<3

And thanks for request<3

-tickle fic, if you don't like that you can keep scrolling

requested by: anon

warnings: cheer up tickles, kinda short imo😭 (I'm sorry)

Prompt 12, list #1: “Come on, let me see that smile!”

Prompt 41, list #1: “I’m gonna tickle the sadness out of you!”

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Skz were preparing for their upcoming comeback. It wasn't a secret for anyone that's such a stressful and hard task, but the members always succeed in that and were getting used to it, so they were fine

Excepting for one of them, Chan

As the leader and producer of the group, he had his head in so many things, too much this time. He really wanted this comeback to be perfect, at least in terms of the music

He was trying to deal with all the stress and the pressure he was having all by himself, and honestly, he was doing pretty good so far, until one day

3racha were all on the studio, finishing the last details for their title track "Lalalala"

It was Chan's turn to record, it was all going well til one part. Chan was having some problems to find a tone for that specific line, and that was getting him so frustrated

"Hyung, do it how you think if sounds good. No pressure" Changbin, who was directing the recording, tried to comfort him

"I'm... Trying" Chan said, with a sigh of frustration with himself

"We know, hyung, but it's okay. No pressures, we have the whole day if that's necessary" Hannie said

About 20 minutes later, Chan got to find a tone that sounded... Decent for him, so he decided to keep it, he'll fix it later

3racha went back to their dorm, where they found Felix, watching a dorama with Hyunjin in the couch of the living room

"Oh, hi hyungs~ Hi Hannie~" Lix waved at the three members of 3racha, and snuggled up more on Hyunjin

"Hi Lix~" Changbin waved him back, ruffling his hair a bit and then walking towards his room

"Hey baby~" Jisung did the same as Changbin

Chan, otherwise, waved the younger in a sad mood, still thinking on what happened in the studio minutes before

Lix obviously noticed that his aussie brother wasn't feeling all good, so him, in his sunshine nature, was decided to help Chan feel better

He just had to know how

Chan walked to his room, locking it without talking much more to any of the kids

"Hyunjinnie, do you mind if I go for a second? I need to talk with Chan hyung" the freckled guy asked

"Sure Lixie, I'll pause the drama and wait for you"

"Thank youuu" Lix hugged Hyunjin a bit, walked towards Chan's room (wemissthem) and knocked on the door "Hyung?"

After a couple seconds of silence, Felix heard his hyung's voice "Come in"

Lix opened the door of Chan's room and saw Chan layed on his bed and wrapped up in his blanket, looking like he just stopped crying

"Hyung... What's wrong?" Felix asked, kneeling down next to the bed

"Nothing... It's nothing, Lix, don't worry about me" Chan smiled a bit, a fake smile of course, and Lix knew it

"Chan... Don't lie to me. There's something bothering you, tell me what it is"

Chan sighed and some tears started to run down his face as he talked "I'm... Frustrated with myself. I didn't do good enough today at the recording..."

"Awww, hyung..." The younger hugged his hyung, trying to reassure him a bit "I'm pretty sure you did your best, you always do, that's what matters"

Chan just cried in his dongsaeng's hug, knowing he could trust him

After some minutes, Chan started to calm down, and the tears stopped to fall

Lix pulled away from the hug and smiled down comfortingly at his hyung "You better?"

Chan sighed "Yeah... I think a bit... Thanks, Lix" smiled faintly at the younger

Lix patted Chan's head "That's good... Now, no more crying, alright?. Come on, let me see that smile!" Lix poked his hyung's side, causing him to shudder and let out a small giggle

"Fehelix! Don't"

"Awww, but you look so cute giggling~" started to poke Chan's sides repeatedly

Chan blushed a bit at the younger's teasing, giggling at the pokes, but not moving. He would hate to admit it, but this was exactly what he needed, and was really thankful with Felix for doing this

"I'm gonna tickle the sadness out of you, hyungie!" Lix started to wiggle his fingers on Chan's abs, knowing that was his death spot

"N-NOHOHOHOHO FEEHEHEHHEHELIX DON'T! NOHOHOHOHOT THEHEHEHERE" Chan burst into laughter and started to squirm wildly, which just got worse when Felix started to use his other hand to change between squeezing his sides and his thighs

"But you look so happy now, hyung!" Even though Felix was teasing him, and he knew he was driving Chan crazy, the younger really looked so innocent

Until he started to wreck Chan's sides

"OKAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAY FELIX FELIX YOU CAN STOP NOHOHOHOOHHOW!" Chan squealed out

"Mmmmm... I don't think I'm doing~"

Felix just kept wrecking Chan's sides and abs, making the older go crazy

"FEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHELIX! FELIX I BEHEHEHEHEHHEHEG YOUHUHUHU! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA PLEHEHEHEHHEHEASE NO MOHOHOHORE! I'LL SMILE I'LL SMIHIHIHIHIHILE! I WON'T BE SAHAHAHAHHAHAHAD I PROHOHOHOHOHOHOHOMISE!" Chan stated before his laugh went silent

Felix kept on tickling him for a couple seconds more before stopping, he didn't want to kill his hyung after all

He rubbed the older's sides, in order to ease the ghost tickles he was feeling, and hugged him again "You okay? You're not sad anymore?" The freckled boy looked up at his hyung, hoping he's feeling better

Chan was breathing hard and letting a few more giggles out, overwhelmed by the sensation yet, but it's not like he didn't like it... "I'm fine, Lix, and not sad anymore, thank you for... That" Chan replied with a big smile on his face, ruffling his dongsaeng's hair a bit

Felix smiled at his hyung and, after a couple seconds, he left his room, going back to the living room with Hyunjin, they absolutely needed to end at least that episode of the drama

Meanwhile Chan... Fell asleep pretty soon, with a happy smile and feeling warm inside. Felix really knew how to cheer him up

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HELLO WORLD, I'M NOT DEAD😻

I'm so sorry I haven't post in a lot, I'm grounded so the only way I get to write is at late night when my parents are sleeping😭😭😭

Plus, motivation left me for a while, but here we are😻

Anon that requested this I'm so sorry for making you wait a lot💔

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the fic :3

[bubble-popping]

day 41 with more punznoblade :P this time with plot perhaps? (help i just wanted to make a stupid joke but then writer brain kicked in)

The sun was just barely peeking over the horizon when Techno made it downstairs. He'd awoken up to an empty bed, cold and lonely, but the sweet smell of cocoa and tang of oranges reassured his anxious self-doubt. Phil sat at the kitchen table, mug in hand. He smiled warmly upon seeing the piglin hybrid, seemingly ready to greet him when his brow creased and his lips quirked. "Woah, mate, what happened to you? You get mauled by one of the hounds?"

Techno paused in the doorway and reflexively reached up to touch his shoulder. His skin was littered with bite marks and round bruises, all colored angry reds and purples. (Not to mention the scratches down his back, but Phil obviously couldn't see those yet.) He glanced over to where Punz was standing by the stove, flipping pancakes and tending to cuts of bacon, dressed in Techno's shirt that hung off his lithe form. His ears bent backwards, only slightly down-turned. Embarrassed, Techno had come to understand.

"Uh, yeah. Close enough." With a barely held back smirk, he trudged by the older man to embrace the wolf hybrid from behind, and chuckled when he heard Phil choke on his tea.

"Mornin', honey," Techno murmured into the crook of their neck, just loud enough for those adorably large ears to hear.

"Good morning," they quietly replied, tilting their head to rest against his.

"Gave me a lil scare, ya know."

"Cuz I wasn't there when you woke up?"

"Ya know I need my cuddle bug..."

Punz scoffed, but Techno could feel the heat crawling up to their face. "Should I have left a note?"

"No," Techno laughed softly, pressing his lips to his cheek. "Jus' teasin' ya."

"Go sit down and wait for your pancakes," he huffed, pouting.

"Love youuu," Techno sang, nosing at his neck where he knew the smaller one was ticklish.

"Get off! I gotta focus." Punz tried to shy away, but Techno wouldn't let him go that easy. In fact, he held them tighter. The furiously wagging tail told him everything he needed to know.

"Not 'til ya say it back."

"Techno!"

"Say iiit."

"Alright, alright, I love you!"

"There, see? Was that so hard?" After one last kiss to their temple, Techno finally released them to join Phil at the table.

Phil was the only other person that knew about their real arrangement for two main reasons. First, Techno trusted him more than anyone, so he knew he'd keep silent about it. And second, his crows were simply everywhere. Even if Techno tried to hide the relationship from him, one of his chatty corvids would spill the truth.

Plus, the guy seemed to have an ancient, otherwordly wisdom in his old bones that meant he just knew those sorts of things. When Techno revealed it, he merely said, "Yeah, I figured."

But, no one beyond that. At Syndicate meetings, since Techno introduced them as the secret member Harpocrates, they remained at a safe distance; careful to refrain from lingering gazes or obvious gestures.

And it was so much more difficult than Techno anticipated. Keeping his hands to himself knowing how soft Punz's fur felt, knowing how it made them melt and smile in a way no one else ever saw. He really wasn't good at keeping secrets like this.

"So, what made ya come over so early, Phil?" Techno decided to break the comfortable silence, only mildly distracted by the slight sway of Punz's tail as they divided the food onto individual plates.

"Ah, yes, that." He dug around in his coat for a moment before producing an envelope from an inside pocket. "One of my crows told me you got some mail."

"Someone actually sent something?" Punz piped up, bringing over the three plates of chocolate chip pancakes and bacon. At the mouthwatering sight, he could almost forgive them for leaving him alone earlier. Almost.

"I told ya it wasn't a waste of time." Techno smirked at them.

"Yeah, yeah. Brag all you want." He waved him off, taking his own seat.

"Let's see what it's about then, huh?"

[read-alert]

Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett

Finally got around to the first Witches book! When I first started Discworld, I had heard that it's best not to start at the beginning because not all 41 books follow the same characters anyway and the first couple of books aren't quite as good as the rest of the series, so it's best to already love Discworld when you get around to them. So I asked my followers on my main blog what book I should start with, and someone suggested Wyrd Sisters, which I have since realized is the second book in the Witches subseries, and I had wondered ever since then why someone would recommend I read a specific subseries out of order, and I finally got to find out! This one really doesn't have all that much in common with Wyrd Sisters other than having Granny Weatherwax.

But Granny isn't the main character in this book, it's Eskarina Smith, the Discworld's first ever girl wizard, in a very clear metaphor for women in STEM. I really liked Esk, she's a fun and precocious kid, and I really hope we see more of her. I don't remember any mention of her in later books I've read, but hopefully I've just been reading the wrong ones and she'll show up more in the Witches or maybe Rincewind's series. Unfortunately, I think the metaphor is a bit stymied by having such a large portion of the book be the journey to the Unseen University, rather than showing Esk's struggles to be admitted or taken seriously once she's there. What was there of that was well written, but I wish we had spent more time with that than traveling.

That said, I did quite enjoy Granny trying to teach Esk witchcraft before giving in and helping her become a wizard. I love the way witchcraft works in Discworld where yes, there is real magic involved, but 80% of it is just listening to and taking care of people and doing what needs to be done. The contrast with wizardry being academic and esteemed works well with the metaphor of traditional men's and women's work while not devaluing women's work and- to an extent- making it clear that those gendered roles are a result of tradition, not ingrained, bioessentialist aptitudes. However, I do have to say "to an extent" because Esk only becomes a wizard because she was destined to as a result of the way she was born. Which inherently works against the metaphor and carries the implication that Esk is special and 99% of women are in fact better suited to "women's work." This is helped by the ending of the novel with the acknowledgement that the gendered divide is wrong and opening the doors to future women wizards, and I recognize that destiny is just a staple of the fantasy genre. Nonetheless, it still rubbed me the wrong way. I vaguely remember a boy witch in one of Tiffany's books at least, so I'm glad the divide will continue to be broken in later books. I hope we'll see more women wizards as well.

Granny feels off from what I know of her from Tiffany's series, but that makes sense. This is Granny's first book, and Tiffany's are some of the last Discworld books in general, so of course she'd be a bit different. I still quite like her, my only real note is that I very much dislike the hints of romance with the Archchancellor. "A woman, well accomplished in her field, who never felt the need to marry meets a man who warms her heart" is such a tired trope that makes clear why the term amatonormativity was used by the feminist movement before aromantics. Thankfully, I don't recall any mentions of this romance in later books.

I do also have to note the usage of an anti-Romani slur in the middle of the book. It's not the first time I've come across a real world slur in a Discworld book, but the anti-Arab slur in Jingo at least felt like it was there for a reason, to make the reader pause and actually think about the themes of the book with the whole book being about racism. I don't think it was appropriate or necessary, but it was at least there for a discernable reason. This one wasn't. I did make a post complaining about it and got a reply that the word has been changed to "travelers" in later editions, but 1) changing the line to be about travelers kidnapping children still makes it obvious what racist stereotype is being evoked- again, for no reason that I can see that contributes to the themes or story - and 2) I listened to an audiobook that was released in 2022 and it was still there.

It was a fun book, but definitely contributes to the "early Discworld books aren't as good" idea and has its fair share of problems. 3⭐️

[4townie]

Road to 4☆TOWN

part 41 | part 42 | part 43 | part 44

“Hey, S—” Jesse paused as his brother just stormed past him. “What the…”

“Oh don’t mind him.” Danny waved a hand. “He’s just feeling a little insecure about his life.”

Jesse narrowed his eyes. “What does that even mean?”

“Check your calendar.” Danny nudged him. “His senior prom is a few weeks away.”

“Awwww, that’s adorable. Prom is such a magical experience…if you leave early.” Jesse sat beside Sean on the couch. “What’s bugging you about it? Can’t find a date?”

“No, I have a date.” Sean averted eye contact. “It’s just getting around Mom. And everyone else for that matter…”

“Oh come on, she’s not gonna stop you from—” Jesse froze. “Why would you need to get around everyone else?”

“Ugh, it’s so embarrassing.” Sean blushed and covered his face.

“But you’ll feel so much better if you just say it out loud.” Danny encouraged him with a smile. “This is our safe place, remember?”

“So both of you know something I don’t?” Jesse raised an eyebrow. “Honestly, Sean, just spit it out. I’m sure whatever it is probably isn’t as big a deal as it seems.”

“Except it is a big deal!” Sean groaned. “My prom date’s name is Alex. Short for…Alexander.” He got quiet. “I’m gay.”

Jesse stared at him silently. “I think I missed what the problem is.”

“YOU—” Sean grabbed a couch pillow and screamed into it. “How are you being so cool about this?! If I told Mom, she’d kick me out in a heartbeat. Hell, even Danny got a little weak in the knees.”

“Hey, hey, that was because I skipped lunch.” Danny corrected him. “I totally accept and support you. And your boyfriend is cuter than you.”

“He’s not my boyfriend!” Sean blushed intensely.

Jesse laughed at them. “It’s cute how much you’ve both changed in the past few years. You seem much more relaxed and happier than before.”

“Well…that’s because we’re spending more time with you.” Sean said quietly. “After you moved out, we were just kinda stuck alone with Mom all the time. It was rough being on our own.”

“But it’s okay now because this is pretty much our second home.” Danny shrugged with a smile. “I like the three of us all being together again. I missed it.”

“Yeah.” Jesse sighed. “Me too.”

There was a moment of sentimental silence between them.

“Are you really just okay with this, Jes?” Sean asked nervously. “I’d understand if you’re not. It honestly took me a long time to be okay with it.” He frowned. “I had a hard time admitting to myself the real reason my last three relationships fell apart. I didn’t wanna believe what I was feeling was real.”

“Awww, Sean, you know you’ll always be accepted here.” Jesse assured him. “I wish I would’ve known sooner. I could’ve introduced you to—” He paused.

“Oh my god…” Sean’s eyes widened. “Which member is it?”

“Member?” Jesse’s eyes shifted nervously. “Who said anything about a member?”

“You know you’re a terrible liar.” Danny grinned. “I could just start naming them and see what happens.”

“Nope, I’ve already said too much.” Jesse moved away from them. “It’s not my information to share. I wanna respect their priv—DAMMIT!”

“So it’s more than one of them?” Sean got excited. “Are they dating each other? Is it…—”

“Daddy?” Marcel rubbed his eye as he came out of his room.

“Squishy!” Jesse held out his arms. “Come say hi to your uncles and save me from this conversation.”

[jjgrace42]

Symphonies: Chapter 41

Read on AO3

First Chapter — Previous Chapter — Next Chapter

Sure Fire

Minato paused where he was smothering the fire, glancing at the person joining him. "Tsunade-sama. Is Dan-san resting?"

"Yes." She grunted as she sat. "He'd much more precise with heart surgeries than I am, but he got a bit too close to chakra exhaustion for my liking."

"He's incredibly impressive." He sat back, letting the wood smolder for just a little longer. "As is Kyoko-chan. I've never seen a medic that skilled so young. You've done amazing work with her."

Tsunade laughed, leaning back for a brief moment and tugging her ponytails loose. "I wish I could take all the credit. But honestly, I don't know where she gets most of it from. Sometimes she just knows things I haven't taught her yet, and it's a surprise every time."

He shrugged, chuckling at the familiarity. "Mine do that, too. Kakashi probably the most, but Obito and Rin also. Occasionally, Obito will mention or do something he's learned from his father or his clan, and it's usually something I've never even heard of because it's a clan technique."

"I haven't gotten much of that from Tiny," she mused. "Excluding her sharingan, of course. But most of the stuff she does or knowns isn't necessarily clan exclusive. It's just . . . ." She waved a hand. "I know what I was like at that age, and it wasn't that."

Despite the one combat that had gotten his own student badly hurt because of one of Kyoko's mistakes, he'd been almost overwhelmed by the skill Obito's sister had displayed. Even more overwhelming was her apparent camaraderie with the hardest to reach of his students. Kakashi barely seemed to hold a grudge, and other than that one failure, the two worked in near perfect sync during combat. He had to wonder just how much they actually trained together, because that kind of synergy didn't just happen overnight. "She's got some growth to do, but she's good on a team."

"She hasn't had much practice with that. Which is unfortunate, since teams are a Chunin Exams requirement."

"I know that problem." Minato glanced back at the tent where their students were resting. "I've been trying to get Kakashi an exception to be allowed to participate in the Exam's team portion even though he's already a chunin. Without a third person for that section, Rin and Obito can't even try for the promotion."

"Hmm." Tsunade leaned forward, elbows resting on her knees. "I've been considering Kyoko for the upcoming Exams, and it sounds to me like she needs two teammates while your students need one."

"You . . . can't be serious."

Her face set. "I'm very serious."

Minato scrambled for some kind of understanding, because— "She's five. Even Kakashi wasn't a chunin at five."

"The Exams are in a few weeks, and she'll be six by that point." Tsunade sighed loudly. "Just— Sleep on it, Namikaze. I'll make sure the fire's out before I bed down."

Minato knew a dismissal when he heard it. He got to his feet and dusted off his pants. With one last nod to her in the dim light, he moved away to the tent. He ducked inside and paused.

Kakashi dove back down to his pillow so fast that Minato worried he might have hit his head. Kyoko, however, met Minato's stare straight on. She was sitting lotus on her bed roll. She was on the other side of Rin and Obito than Kakashi but clearly turned in his direction. After a couple seconds, her gaze slid to Kakashi, who had his back to Minato and was doing a very poor imitation of sleep.

"Kakashi, I know you're awake," Minato murmured, stepping fully inside and dropping the tent flap. "Were you two listening?"

Kyoko didn't answer right away, tossing Kakashi a look that Minato couldn't quite read. Then she said, "Yes. But for what it's worth, I'm not surprised Shisho's considering the Chunin Exams. I've mentioned it to her."

"Hmm. And you, Kakashi?"

Kakashi sat up. He turned towards Minato, gaze sliding away for a moment before meeting him straight on. "I don't think I would be allowed to do the Chunin Exams again. So Rin and Obito do need someone else."

Minato sighed. "I know. I'll think about it. Get some sleep." He glanced towards Kyoko. "You, too."

— — — — —

"Finally!" Obito cheered as the Village gates came into view.

"He's almost more excited than you," Tsunade murmured to Dan, dragging a tired hand down her face.

"Doubtful." Dan had had a spring in his step for the past several miles. "Do you think she'll be waiting for us?"

"Probably. She's too much like you."

Dan grinned at that, and Minato barked out a laugh. When they'd sent a hawk back to Konoha a few days ago, Dan had included a letter to be delivered specifically to his niece about their expected return. He'd been buzzing with excitement for a week now about Academy graduation and, therefore, his niece's team placement.

Now that they were almost—finally—to the Village, he turned his attention to his students for one last look-over before their arrival. Obito's seemingly never ending energy was lagging for the first time the entire mission. Even then, he was still out ahead of the group and comedically playing up his relief. Rin was just a couple steps behind him, shoulders slumped from the exhaustion of their trip even while she laughed at Obito's dramatics. Minato himself was just behind his oldest two students, Tsunade, and Dan. Which meant—

Minato glanced back over his shoulder. Sure enough, his last student was bringing up the rear with the friend Minato hadn't known he had until she'd shown up for ramen. But as an outsider looking in, he'd learned some—still less than he would like—about the two during the mission. Which meant he wasn't too terribly surprised to catch Kakashi and Kyoko quietly training together as they walked. He was surprised that the training seemed to be cracking and reshaping rocks in their palms using only chakra. Neither had a complete mastery over it, though Kyoko was clearly far newer to the technique. The most surprising part of it was definitely the fact that she was an Uchiha, and Uchiha were fire-natured. And—he'd thought this a lot in the past few weeks—Kyoko was five.

Minato shook his head and decided not to comment on it. At least all three of his students were alert enough to be able to stand through debrief with the Hokage.

Dan's niece was, in fact, waiting for them at the gate, and she joined them on their walk towards the Tower, excitedly rambling about her new team. She apparently knew Kyoko, too, because the younger girl seemed like she'd expected it when she was dragged into the conversation. She—Shizune, he found out once she'd excitedly introduced herself—separated from them as they reached the Hokage's Office, promising her uncle she would wait for them.

Once the doors had closed, the Sandaime looked up from his paperwork. He looked more tired than Minato had ever seen before, but he still found it in him to smile at their team. "It's good to see you've all returned safely."

"Hokage-sama," Minato said, bowing before he stepped up to put their completed mission scroll on the desk.

The Sandaime picked it up. As he unrolled it, he ordered, "Report."

Minato stepped back in line with the others and began his verbal report. Once he'd wrapped up, the room fell into silence as the Sandaime looked over the scroll.

Finally, the Hokage looked back at him. "Minato, Tsunade's message said she got your permission regarding the Chunin Exams?"

Minato glanced towards Obito and Rin, who looked excited and nervous respectively. He hadn't talked to them about the Exams since before Tsunade had brought up her own thoughts. "Yes, sir."

"Good. I don't see any reason why that wouldn't work." He nodded to Tsunade. "Your student will fill in the gap on Team Minato for the Exams. Both of you will need to indicate that exception on your forms when you fill out your Exams applications."

Obito snapped towards Kyoko. "You're going to join us in the Exams?" he asked, all grins and not seeming to register that his sister didn't look surprised. She did, however, grin in kind when she was dragged into a hug.

"Ah, and Tsunade," the Sandaime said, looking amused, "you might want to lend some advice to Orochimaru. He gained an apprentice during this past round of graduations, and most of the teaching input he's gotten so far is from Jiraiya."

Tsunade snorted. "I'll hunt him down before his mind gets poisoned too badly."

Minato chuckled and was about to come to a weak defense of his sensei when he caught sight of Kyoko's face. Her grin had vanished. The way her eyes had darkened was so similar to how Kakashi had looked during their early months as a teacher-student pair that Minato could feel his skin crawl. She pulled back from her hug with Obito and turned towards her sensei with a mild smile. Minato blinked. It had been so very brief that he almost doubted it had been there, but for a moment . . . .

For a moment, he had sensed just a hint of killing intent.

— — — — —

First Chapter — Previous Chapter — Next Chapter

[getyourpaybackwithsomepayback]

based on @loiteringandlurking ‘s post :)

his post; “hs au javey where Davey (in a fit of frustration and sensory nightmares) takes off his shirt in the changing room during phys ed (…) cue jack stepping into the room right as davey's shirt comes off and immediately turning the other direction because oh my god is it disrespectful he's so fine fuck am I meant to look is it okay to look does he have abs????

and davey's like 'hey .... jack .....'

and jacks like 'IMSOSORRYWAITNOIDIDNYMEANIJUSTTHOUGHT' and Davey has to physically take a step back (…)”

Fuckin… gotta get this damn shirt off, the tag is fuckin scratchy and- I need this off Davey let out an annoyed hiss as he scrambled to get his shirt off in the empty locker room.

The PE teacher was yelling at the earlier class to finish their laps, and Davey was plugging his ears as not to overwhelm himself more. Unfortunately, taking off a shirt with your fingers in your ears is a surprisingly difficult task.

Davey finally unplugged his ears for less than a second, basically ripping his shirt off in that time. As he threw the fabric off of him and over his head, he let out a sigh of relief and stretched his spine, reaching towards the ceiling. 

He picked up his shirt off the dirty changing room floor, holding it as though he was scared of it. He looked around, coming down from the overstimulation, and noticed he was still alone. He could still hear the gym teacher yelling at the last class, and he didn’t want to subject himself to the berating he’d surely get for forgetting his PE shirt in the boys locker room.

He sighed and grabbed his phone, clicking “Jack Kelly” in his contacts.

The phone rang twice before his friend picked up, and Davey whispered into the mic; “Hey jack, sorry no time for formalities, can you grab my shirt from the locker room? My lockers D122, the code is 5-41-17, thank you bye!” He spoke quickly, then hung up.

Jack was confused, but complied. He grabbed the mentioned athletic shirt from Davey’s locker, going to the stalls to hand it to him.

“Davey?” He asked. No reply.

He thought he should check the changing room, but didn’t really suspect Davey would be in there.

As he turned the corner of the changing room, his eyes widened at the sight. There Davey sat, shirtless and gnawing at his nails anxiously. Jack didn’t notice the first bit until he was walking towards Davey and pulling his hand away from his lips gently.

“Dave, we talked about this-“ he paused, blushing “uh. Uh, where’s your shirt?” He asked awkwardly.

“Oh, sorry. Can I have it?” Davey asked 

Jack was preoccupied, noting every detail on Davey. He had abs. That was very much something Jack wouldn’t expect from Davey. “Er- yeah, sure.” He was still staring at Daveys abs as he spoke, accidentally dropping the shirt in his stupor.

“Fuck, sorry. Just- Just, you’re like… really built.” He blurted out, picking up the shirt and handing it to Davey.

Davey stood up to pull on the shirt, giving jack a short-lived sight of him. Davey was moderately confused at jacks comment, but laughed it off.

“Mhm- uh, I’m gonna… I have homework, or, uh, bye.” Jack mumbled, flustered from the experience and sprinting out of the room.

Later, in Jacks room “studying”

“He had abs! I’m telling you, he’s just-“ jack let out a pathetic scream as he rambled to his friends, Kathrine and Crutchie.

“We know you’re hopelessly in love. But did you have to stare at him for that long? God, you’re absolutely simping for that man.” Katherine rolled her eyes. Crutchie nodded in agreement.

“I’m not- I’m not whatever that word was! I’m just impressed, is all. He’s not the type’a guy I’d expect to have a fucking 6-pack.” Jack muttered.

“Just get some balls and ask him out already. Who knows, you could be seeing him shirtless in a different setting.” Crutchie said suggestively.

“Asking people out is scary! Especially Davey. He prolly has a girlfriend.” Jack replied defensively.

“No? He’s gay. And single. And what are you? Gay and single. Match made in heaven. Ask him out, ditwad.” Katherine commented.

“Maybe.” Jack said simply.

“Yes.” Crutchie responded.

“Yes.” Katherine added.

“Maybe.” Jack repeated.

“Two months, then we tell him ourselves.” Katherine comprimised

“Four months.” Jack demanded

“Three and you ask him out if we have to tell him for you.” Crutchie butted in.

“Fine.” Jack relented

“Mhm.” Katherine nodded calmly.

(End fic)

[saralovesyouu]

“When light meets blue.”

Starting your last year of Kamome Academy’s Middle School Divison (KAMSD), not really surprised that you can still seen these spirits roaming the halls not interested either, until rumor spread of this ghost that asks if you remember them. You can’t help but get curious. Luckily for you, Kou unintentionally comes to the rescue. Excited, he drags the dead photographer to you, and you meet. You were happy to have finally found the spirit, but surprised and shocked was all that fogged your mind when you realized it was Mitsuba.

(A/N) : We’ll call your aunt Autumn, just cause. Oh, and I proofread it.

Prev. >> Next

You struggled to get yourself out of bed, feeling something heavy on your chest. You knew what it was, ever since Mitsuba‘a death you always felt it weigh you down, preventing you from healing and moving on.

Not that you wanted to anyways, you were afraid if you were to move on, you would forget all about him.

Still, you needed to get up for school. It was your first last day of middle school, so really nothing more out of the ordinary could go wrong than the usual.

You got up, after a few more minutes of laying stiff. Getting up and dressing up for school. You made your way to the kitchen, in no particular rush. Feet dragging across the wooden floor.

“Oh good morning.” Your aunt, Autumn spoke turning around to glance at you before turning back to face the stove.

“I’m making some pancakes, so just sit there and they’ll be ready in a moment.” She added, flicking her wrist and flipping the pancake on it’s uncooked side.

You hummed, as if to say ‘okay’ but then quickly rushing out for your shoes. You sped back into the kitchen and sat down on a chair near the kitchen island. Slipping on your shoes and tying them, you sat down patiently waiting for your aunt to finish fixing up breakfast. It wouldn’t hurt to check my phone real quick, you thought, grabbing it out and unlocking it.

You noticed you had a few messages from Kou, and opened them to see what he had to say while your were sleeping.

—

Kou

Did you fall asleep already?

Make sure you wake up early for school, I don’t wanna be alone for the first day.

Hello?

10:37 p.m.

—

You snorted, rolling your eyes.

—

(Y/N)

Don’t stress it, but maybe I should stay home. — 6:34 a.m.

Kou

Your so mean to me ☹️ — 6:34 a.m.

(Y/N)

I’m kidding, I’m just gonna eat and I’ll be on my way. — 6:35 a.m.

Kou

You better, that’s what you said when we went to that cafe with Teru. — 6:35 a.m.

(Y/N)

You didn’t wait that longg — 6:35 a.m.

Kou

You made us wait 20 minutes cause you kept seeing this old lady in your room. — 6:35 a.m.

(Y/N)

To be fair I had a reason, I was creeped out. — 6:36 a.m.

Kou

I guess so, but shouldn’t you be used to it already? —6:36 a.m.

(Y/N)

She was chanting in some foreign language 😨 — 6:36 a.m.

—

“(Y/N),” your aunt called “breakfast’s ready.” she followed up, sliding you a plate with a few neatly stacked pancakes.

“Thanks.” You responded, getting up the grab some syrup and a glass of milk.

You quickly ate your food, checking your phone again.

—

Kou

Suree 😟 — 6:36 a.m.

(Y/N)

Shut up I know where you live — 6:41 a.m.

Kou

And I’m under your bed <3 — 6:41 a.m.

(Y/N)

HWAT — 6:41 a.m.

WHAT. — 6:42 a.m.

Kou

I’m kidding, I’m outside your door hurry up. — 6:42 a.m.

—

“Heading out already?” Your aunt asked, slipping her shoes on and grabbing her purse.

“About to.” You replied, putting your plate in the sink.

“Thanks for the breakfast mo- oba. It was good.” You quickly corrected yourself.

“It’s okay, you can call me mom I don’t really mind. Have a good day at school (N/N).” She smiled opening the door and she paused.

“Oh! (Y/N), your friend is here so you might want to hurry up. You can wait inside sweetie.” She said, inviting Kou inside.

“Thank you.” He said with a smile as he entered, seating himself on the couch.

“Give me a second I just need to grab my backpack.” You shouted as you ran up the stairs.

As you rushed upstairs you heard a faint voice, but not faint enough for you to not recognize.

“(Y/N).” It echoed, making you stop in your tracks.

You knew that voice from anywhere, and quickly turned around.

Nothing.

You were met with an empty corridor, nothing was there. You sighed, going up the rest of the stairs to grab your backpack. Once you did, you ran downstairs and stopped in front of Kou.

“Ready?” He asked.

“Ready.”

There were kids crowding the entrance, students from all grades scattered throughout the perimeter.

“So many people..” you mumbled, feeling a bit uneasy.

“First day jitters?” Teru asked coming from behind you both.

“Probably.” You replied.

“We’ll do just fine, don’t worry (Y/N)!” Kou assured, putting a hand on your shoulder.

“Just make sure not to embarrass yourself too much Kou.” Teru teased, making you snort.

Kou groaned, mumbling something along the lines of “you guys are so mean to me I swear”.

Just then the bell rung, making the what looked like mountains of students flood into the different schools.

“Well, I have to head over for student council, but stay out of trouble you two.” Teru said, ruffling Kou’s hair and patting your back as he walked off.

“C’mon we should be heading in too.” Kou suggested.

“Yeah probably, let’s go.” You agreed, following Kou into the doors of the middle school.

“Hey Kou! (Y/N).” Yokoo called out, running after you both.

“Oh hey.” Kou spoke, turning around.

“Did you guys grab your schedule’s yet? What’re your classes?” Yokoo asked, walking with you two.

“We were just going to, come with us.” You suggested.

“Oh, okay!” He agreed, tagging along with you two.

.

.

“Oh sweet, (Y/N) you and I have the same first period!” Kou cheered.

You let out a celebratory cheer knowing you wouldn’t be alone for your first class.

“Woah really what class is it?” Yokoo asked, peaking over Kou’s shoulder to look at your schedule’s hopeful that he would be with you two.

“Awh man.. I have science first.” He sighed in defeat.

“It’s okay! Cause look we have gym together afterwards.” You tried to reassure him.

“Well at least that’s good—“ Yokoo added, but the bell rung a second time as he finished.

“We should really get going now.” Kou insisted, turning around and rushing towards class.

“Kou Minamoto, wait for me you jerk!” You complained running after him.

.

.

“Welcome to your last—“ the teacher was cut off by your entrance.

“Oh, have a seat wherever there’s a free spot.” She ordered, “As I was saying, welcome to your last year of middle school.” you and Kou quickly rushed to a desk in the back and sat with each other.

“We made it.” He whispered to you with a smile.

“Woo!” You silently cheered with a chuckle.

“Right after this we’ll be going to the gym for an assembly, they’ll tell you a few things then we’ll come back here and we’ll do a few ice breakers to get to know each other better.” The teacher explained.

The rest of the school day went by fast, but you weren’t complaining. You groaned as you stretched your arms above your head. “Long day?” A voice asked.

But when you turned around no one was there. Of course, you weren’t really scared. Just curious.

“Helloo?” It spoke again.

You kept looking around till you looked up.

“Hey.” It greeted with a smile.

“Hi-“ you squeaked in surprise.

“Hey (Y/N), thanks for waiting—“ Kou paused when he saw it.

A ghost was floating right over you. He had choppy dark brown hair, and amber eyes. There were two orb-like objects floating along side him—one red, one blue.

Kou gripped his spirit staff tightly, looking for the perfect moment to strike.

“Got ya!” Kou swung, hoping to hit the ghost with it.

But he missed.

“Missed! Your too slow.” The ghost teased, before running off.

“Why you little—!” Kou sighed in defeat.

He looked over at you and you offered a nervous chuckle.

“Well, we should start walking home then.” He said after clearing his throat, ignoring the whispers and stares that were now on and about him.

“Yeah..” you agree “let’s go.”

.

.

The walk home wasn’t silent, you two ranting about the teachers who were nice and those who were absolute assholes. You told Kou how you would see spirits in the halls, and he groaned about how you should have called him immediately. You guys finally ended it as you two stopped in front of the road separating your houses.

“See you then. Tell Tiara I say hi!” You call as you walk across the street.

“I will!” He shouted back as he rushed inside.

You felt the wind ruffle your hair, feeling someone else’s presence. But you knew your aunt wasn’t home for at least another hour.

“Hello?” You called, turning around with a hand on the door knob.

No response.

You just shook your head “it’s probably nothing” you thought, opening the door and closing it shut behind you.

Slipping off your shoes at the door, you rushed up to your room to rest, being absolutely exhausted from the long first day of school.

—

“(Y/N)...” you heard a voice whisper, but you fell asleep before you could check what it was.

“(Y/N), wake up!” It echoed.

“Why can’t you hear me?” The voice trembled.

Your eyes shot open, as you were in some place you couldn’t remember falling asleep in. So there was only one clear answer.

You were dreaming.

And you knew where you were, more importantly. You knew when this was.

The day you were supposed to help him make his mother curry for her birthday.

He planned to wish his mother a happy birthday by cooking curry for her, which you knew she would love.

But in the midst of running to buy the missing potatoes in winter, he died in an accident on the road while on the way for potatoes and it would become the last day that you, and more importantly, the last time his mother would ever see him.

You could barely make out the blurred out face of Mitsuba, mumbling something inaudible to your ears. The silence was so deafening, you tried talking to them, but it was as if you were invisible.

And you knew you were.

You were just so desperate to talk to him again. At least one more time. All of a sudden the silence was broken, and there were screams.

Except, these weren’t screams of joy or any type of excitement.

They were of pure horror. Agony.

You were petrified as you saw the scene in front of you.

There was Mitsuba, laying lifeless on the cool pavement.

You choked out a sob as it all settled into your head. You shook your head in shock, you’ve had nightmares before, but never like this. Never vividly showing these scenes, especially of those you knew.

You felt sick, fighting the urge to empty your stomach at the view.

And that’s when you woke up.

Crying and sweating, you sobbed.

The lights turned on, revealing your worried aunt Autumn.

“Oh god, (Y/N)! Are you okay?” She said, rushing over to hug you.

You sobbed in her arms. You explained to her your nightmare, the gruesome scene, the horrifying screams. She looked so upset that she couldn’t do anything to help but just listen.

“Shhh.. it’s okay honey. I know it hurts. Well, actually I don’t know. But it must be rough losing someone you were close too. But you should know he’s in a better place now right?” She assured.

“But what if he isn’t? What if he’s out there, confused and scared. Unable to cross over?” You wailed, hiccuping as you did.

“But,” your aunt said “what if he’s perfectly fine. And in a better place?” she tried to sympathize, knowing you were hurt.

“I don’t know.” You croaked, your throat hurt from sobbing, and you eyes hurt from all the crying.

“Here, tell you what.” She said, getting up.

“I’m going to go get you some water, and I’ll come back and I can talk to you until you fall asleep. You can tell me about your day at school? How about that?” She suggested, stopping at the door waiting for your response.

“Okay.” You hiccuped, wiping away the remaining tears.

She gave you a quick smile, before rushing downstairs to grab a glass of water.

And true to her word, she returned with said glass of water, sitting beside you on your bed. She stayed with you until you felt comfortable enough to go back to bed.

“Thank you, mom.” You smiled gratefully.

Shocked, and honored, she smiled warmly that you would consider her your mother.

“Good night sweetie.” She said, switching the lights off and heading to bed herself.

The next couple of weeks were strange. You kept hearing these voices, usually that wasn’t something out of the ordinary, but this time something was different. They sounded like him.

You sighed, leaning your chin on the palm of your hand. You buried yourself in your thoughts, thinking about what it meant. But you couldn’t come up with a logical reason.

It wasn’t until you heard the start of a new rumor that you were forced out of your thoughts. You always listened to them, just to tell Kou about them since you knew he liked to investigate them.

“Have you heard?”

A bunch of ‘no’s’ and hushed giggled responded as people crowded around to listen to the latest rumor.

“I’ve heard from my sister who’s friend with Aoi that the entrance to the middle school is haunted!” The girl gushed.

“They said there’s ghost that haunts the middle school lockers, grabbing people as they change their shoes and asking them "Do you remember me?".” She explained in a hushed voice, earning a few silent giggles.

“Do you remember me?” You pondered.

You thought it sounded a bit stupid, but nonetheless you were curious.

.

.

You continued on with your day going off to tell Kou immediately as the bell for lunch rang.

“Kou!” You called, making said blonde boy stop in his tracks and turn around.

“There’s a new rumor, did you hear about it already?” You asked.

“Maybe, what’s this one about?” He asked as he walked with you to eat in the cafeteria.

“Supposedly there’s this ghost haunting the middle school entrance. All I heard is that when you’re going to change your shoes it asks you ‘do you remember me?’.” You explained.

“Supposedly?” He asked, sitting down with you at the nearest table.

“Did you see it yet or?” He added on another question as he took out his lunch, thinking it’d be a good idea to start eating while they waited for Yokoo and Satou.

“No, not yet. I kind of want to though.” You confess.

He raised an eyebrow, taking a bite from his lunch.

“Since when were you curious about a rumor?” He asked as he chewed.

“I..” you stopped yourself.

Truth was, you didn’t even know why.

“..don’t know.” You muttered, a confused look etched on your features.

“If you want we can investigate it together?” Kou suggested, taking another bite.

“I would, but I promised Satou I would sign up for some cooking class with him.” You whined.

“Oh alright.” Kou said.

He paused.

“Want me to keep you updated?” He offered.

“Would you?” You asked hopefully.

He knew he couldn’t say no when he saw that ambitious glint in your eyes.

“Sure.” He smiled.

“You’re a god send Kou!” You exclaimed excitedly as you hugged him.

Soon after, Satou and Yokoo arrived, and you all talked about whatever it was that was on your minds.

The bell rung shortly after you all had finished eating your lunches, and wished each other all your good byes as you separated to go to your next class.

.

.

Kou walked off with Satou and Yokoo after gym, heading to the entrance to change shoes.

“So hey, did you hear?” Yokoo asked, a bright smile on his kind features.

Before Kou could reply, he continued.

“They say the entrance the middle school is haunted! When you’re changing shoes, the ghost will grab your arm and then it’ll say, ‘Hey’” Yokoo explained but something seemed off.

Something echoed. And suddenly Yokoo felt chills.

He quickly turned around to face Satou.

“Woah, cut it out Satou!” He yelped a bit startled.

“What? But I didn’t do anything.” Satou mumbled a bit confused.

Yokoo let out a confused ‘huh?’ before asking “Then—“ he never got finish his sentence, a cold, ghostly hand grabbed hold of Kou’s wrist.

“Did you forget about me?” It whispered, making Yokoo and Satou both shout in terror.

They ran off in fear, leaving Kou with the supernatural being. Kou smirked, grabbing the ghost’s arm.

“You’re haunting the wrong guy!” And with that, he threw whatever ghost it was.

It hit the wall with a loud thud. He walked up to it, slamming his foot against the wall right beside it.

“So the rumors about you were true, damn evil spirit.” Kou spat.

“I’m gonna capture you and— um—“ he paused as the ghost was more visible.

His eyes went wide when he saw a boy in uniform, pink hair and pink eyes with a green hue in it.

He didn’t know what to do, so he did what anyone not Teru would do.

.

.

“Hey kid,” Hanako greeted, looking over at Kou.

“What ya got there?” He asked curiously.

“He’s an evil spirit who was causing trouble at the school entrance, and I caught him!” Kou exclaimed triumphantly.

Hanako hummed.

“And your going to exorcise him.. now?” He asked, making the poor ghost shake his head frantically in fear.

He would’ve yelled if he could, but his mouth was tapped shut.

“Uh..” Kou muttered, rubbing his neck a bit.

“I stopped doing that kinda thing.” Kou explained.

He perked up again with a smile.

“So!” He began “I was wondering.. there’s gotta be some other way we can deal with the problem right?”

The ghost sighed in relief, but it was short lived when Hanako stared intensely at the spirit.

He pursed his lips before standing up again.

“Well he’s probably here cause he has some unfinished business right?” Hanako asked.

“So maybe you just need to finish that for him?” He suggested.

The ghost turned pale, even more if possible.

“Of course!” Kou exclaimed.

“Now that we know that, this should be easy!” Kou cheered excitedly.

“Let’s go evil spirit! We’re going to go take care of your unfinished business!” Kou beamed.

He ran out, dragging it along.

He stopped for a moment.

“That’s right I told (Y/N) I’d update her. She’d probably want to come too!” He exclaimed.

Kou looked down at the panicked ghost and smiled.

“We have to make a quick stop first!” He explained, rushing off with him which earned a few stares from others.

.

.

“Okay, wait here.” Kou ordered, as he ran out to go look for you.

He finally find you at your locker, and dragged you away without a word.

You yelped in shock, “What’s this about?”

“Found it! Hanako said we should help it so I thought you’d want to join.” He said smiling at you.

You grabbed your phone real quick, noticing it’s after school hours.

“Wait! Let me just text my aunt real quick that I’m staying with you for a bit.” You say, stopping him.

Kou was basically jumping up and down with excitement as he waited for you to text her.

—

(Y/N)

Hey mom I’m gonna stay with Kou after school for a bit, he found this spirit that I asked him to find out more about. I’ll be home later! — 3:31 p.m.

Mom [aunt]

Okay but be safe, don’t be later than 7 alright? — 3:31 p.m.

(Y/N)

Okay! — 3:31 p.m.

—

“Alright let’s go!” You cheered, quickly turning off your phone and practically running down the halls with him.

“Wait, let me just go put my things in my locker. I don’t want to be running around with it.” You said, he nodded and went to go walk to where he left him, knowing you’d catch up.

“Okay! Tell me about this unfinished business of yours! We’ll solve it in a flash! And you can go happily get the hell outta here and go to the next life!” Kou cheered.

He bent down to remove the tape from the ghost’s mouth and he winced. He looked curious when the ghost didn’t talk, and was about to speak again when he did.

“Shut it you hella lame traffic safety earring boy.” The ghost spat, looking at Kou so intensely, that if Kou wasn’t standing he’d feel small.

To say Kou was shocked was an understatement, he didn’t think that the boy in front of him would say something so vulgar. I mean he looked so innocent and weak sweet.

“What do you mean traffic safety?” Kou mumbled.

“Your brain’s already been in an accident, spun around a million times and died.” Kou spat back.

“That stupid earring!” The ghost boy scoffed.

“Taking advantage of my delicate frame to have your way with me!” The ghost wailed dramatically.

“I know what you’re up to! You’re gonna rough me up, all because I’m such an adorable little ghost guy!”He continued.

“What? No I’m not!” Kou retorted.

“Like in those dirty videos! Like in those dirty videos!”

You were on your way back, but hesitated to continue.

That voice, it couldn’t be.

Could it?

Taking a few shaky steps forward, your breath hitched.

It really was him.

“Oh there you are (Y/N), I—“ Kou paused.

“Are you okay?” He asked worriedly.

You had started crying.

“Mitsuba?”

(A/N) : Lmao I’m tired. But I didn’t want to stop until I finished a few chapters knowing I procrastinate a whole lot so I tried to write as much as I could before my motivation died down. Also I’m not sure if that’s how Mitsuba actually died, it’s just what I’ve read cause I don’t know much of his character aside from his girly look and overconfident cocky personality. But from what I read, that’s supposedly it? If I’m wrong please correct me. Hope you liked it. :)

[teamfreewill58]

As I watched this most recent episode and possibly one of the last of JJK (season 2 ep: 41) the only thing that ran through my mind the whole time I watched it was the animators. The animators comments of being burned out, of feeling sick of being sick, of not being proud of their animation---everything I've seen and heard so far about what is going on in MAPPA's walls---and I couldn't help but think of all the JJK episodes/chapters that it was this episode. How fitting and how loudly it screams at us. The feeling of dread, horror, panic, seeing that destruction and all of the people who die and all I could think of was how strongly this represented the animators right now. Being ravaged and destroyed and not even cast a glance by Sukuna (MAPPA) as they are bursting into flames and being cut apart because all Sukuna (MAPPA) sees is what he wants and how much he's getting fed in this fight. The line work being messy and kind of off and wild, while I know its mostly due to the animators conditions, still fits. It is making a statement and carving this devastation into our bones.

And then to see Yuji at the end, unable to do anything, powerless, having to relive everything that just happened in rapid fire, and the look on his face....how in this moment he's the animators, and us, who don't want this, who feel like they can't do anything and they need to leave but in a way also can't really.

I adore the animators at MAPPA, they are some of the most talented animators I have ever seen in my life. I love many of the shows that they have animated and I love what they have given us, but they and others, do not deserve to be treated this way. They shouldn't be wondering how they are going to pay rent, or starving, or so exhausted and burned out that they look like Yuji does at the end of this episode. I want them to be taken care of. And if that means that JJK gets paused for a while then good. I will wait.

Look at what these amazing, creative, talented, passionate people are able to do for you when they are in such poor conditions why not take a second and think about that. If you treated them like the people they are, don't you think you would get amazing art you couldn't even fathom?

I have signed the petition and I am staying as up to date as I can, financially I could never support these wonderful people, but things need to change. The anime industry should and does know better than this and these passionate creators need and deserve to be treated better than this. This is their lives and their jobs. But no one's job should come before or at the cost of their life.

I hope JJK is paused, I hope the mangaka speaks out. I hope there is change for these wonderful men, women and non-binaries. They deserve the world because look what they've brought to life in ours.

I love the Maleovent kitchen subbing and they better never ever take it out because it is such an important tag now.

[snowdice]

Big Bang Editing Story [Day 125]

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

My Master Post Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25 Part 26 Part 27 Part 28 Part 29 Part 30 Part 31 Part 32 Part 33 Part 34 Part 35 Part 36 Part 37 Part 38 Part 39 Part 40 Part 41 Part 42 Part 43 Part 44 Part 45 Part 46 Part 47 Part 48 Part 49 Part 50 Part 51 Part 52 Part 53 Part 54 Part 55

We probably won't finish the epilogue tonight, but let's see!

Chapter 56 (Thomas)

“Good day for a picnic,” Helen commented as she handed over the basket Thomas had requested from her a few days before. He was taking Logan, Patton, and Virgil to the cliffs today and it was perfect weather for it. Spring was truly here, which meant that those of Thomas’s duties that had laid dormant over the harsh winter were about to start up again.

The world had been on pause for a bit considering no armies or agents from any kingdom could get through the snow the last few months, but the concerns of last fall were showing their heads once again.

Thomas had just gotten word a day ago that the queen of Lamir had routed out a second assassin hiding in her ranks over the winter. The assassin had been sent shortly after it was made clear that the queen wouldn’t bow down after the assassination of her mother. Luckily, the assassin sent for Queen Cecil had not managed to complete her mission during the winter months.

While there had been no similar attempt on Prijaznia soil, Thomas couldn’t help but feel it was only a matter of time now that the snow had melted. They were already working on increasing security in the coming weeks and, though it was doubtful an assassin had managed to hide in the castle all winter without revealing themselves, they’d be closely scrutinizing all of the newer staff members.

It would be a stressful time in the coming months, which is why, despite everything Thomas needed to do, he was still going to take his son and his son’s friends on a picnic today. Logan had already started taking on royal duties as of late, but he still hadn’t taken them all on quite yet. Considering this was last summer before Logan was of age, they should at least try to take advantage of it where they could. Patton was a year younger, but the sentiment held for him as well.

Then there was Virgil. Despite their best efforts, they still didn’t know enough about Virgil, but Thomas was fairly sure he’d never had a summer to enjoy until now.

“Thanks for prepping lunch for us,” Thomas said to Helen with a smile.

“No problem,” she said waving them off. “I put in some of Virgil’s favorites.”

“Great,” Thomas said. “Do you know where the kids are?”

“Patton said they were going to go pet the cats, so I’d guess they’re in the gardens.”

Thomas thanked her again and told her to have a good day before exiting the kitchen. There was a nearby door that led straight towards the part of the gardens Patton and Logan had always favored. He figured they’d either still be around there, or they would have wandered towards the stables by now knowing that they’d be taking horses to the cliffs. So, he decided to simply walk the normal path from the door to the stable, hoping to find them.

His prediction ended up being hilariously correct. They were indeed on the path Thomas had chosen. It was clear they (or at least Logan) were attempting to make it to the stable. However, as was typical, a portion of the party had been waylaid by whimsy.

Logan was standing further down the path, arms crossed and frowning as he watched his friends. Patton and Virgil were surrounded by cats. Patton was sitting down, holding two of them in his lap and watching Virgil’s legs being swarmed by the rest of them, maybe two dozen in total.

Virgil looked confused, but not unhappy about the presence of so many cats. He was leaning down to try to pet them all.

Logan met Thomas’s eyes as he approached and waved a frustrated hand at the two of them. Logan couldn’t help but smile.

“Virgil fed one of them,” Logan complained as though he wanted Thomas to somehow go into the past and prevent this crime.

Patton and Virgil looked over at Thomas, noticing him when Logan addressed him.

“You’re going to make Princess Marisol jealous,” Thomas said. Logan frowned at Thomas as he used the ‘Princess’ label for the cat.

“Princess Marisol decided not to come,” Virgil said with a shrug. He continued to pet one of the cats.

“She’s probably sleeping on my pillow,” Logan said, sounding grumpy.

Thomas just chuckled. Princess Marisol was technically Logan’s cat, at least that’s what the kids said, and she did spend much of her time in the royal rooms. However, she was very clearly actually Virgil’s cat. Virgil just spent a lot of time in the royal wing as well.

In fact, Thomas still didn’t know where Virgil was supposed to be sleeping. He and Mr. Deknis had gone so far as to tail him a couple of times, but he always ended up sleeping in Logan’s room those nights.

Knowing Virgil, he might just sleep in the walls. Though that still did not answer the question of where his parents or guardians were. They still had not figured it out. Thomas would assume he was an orphan who’d snuck onto castle grounds for safety, but Virgil had told Mr. Deknis during their first meeting that he was supposed to be in the castle, and it had not been a lie.

Then again, it had slowly become apparent that Virgil was good at dodging the multrum’s powers. It was starting to seem more likely that he’d somehow inserted a second meaning into his answer to Mr. Deknis that night than he somehow had some ghost guardian no one was able to locate working in the castle.

“She deserves the pillow more than you,” Virgil said, bringing Thomas’s thoughts back to the situation at hand. The look of audacity on Logan’s face made Thomas chuckle.

Thomas cut in before it could become a fight. “I could get Princess Marisol a pillow, so she doesn’t sleep on yours. Or we can get you a new pillow if you’d prefer, Logan.”

“It’s not about the pillow for her,” Logan argued. “It’s about her inflated sense of superiority.”

“She deserves it,” Virgil declared. Thomas could tell he was just trying to rile Logan up, and Thomas was sure Logan knew it too, but still his son reacted exactly in the way Virgil wanted him to.

“You have enabled and encouraged this behavior from the start!” Logan seethed.

“She’s a princess.”

“She is not a princess!”

Patton shook his head while squeezing the cats in his arms, completely used to this behavior. He ran a chin idly over one of the cat’s heads while watching the argument.

“We’re never going to make it to the picnic at this rate,” Thomas said to him, “and after your mother made all of this wonderful food.”

“You’re the dad,” Patton said. “Make them stop.”

And, of course, Patton did just mean that he was Logan’s dad with that statement. However, when he glanced back up at the silly argument still going on between his son and the cat covered boy, it did almost look like a fight between siblings.

Especially with the dark hair and stubborn but mischievous look in Virgil’s eyes, Thomas could almost imagine the boy being his own child.

He shook away the thoughts and glanced at the picnic basket in his hand.

“We do have a lot of food in this basket,” Thomas said, pitching his voice up so that Logan (and more importantly) Virgil would hear them clearly.

Virgil immediately turned to look at him, abandoning all interest in antagonizing Logan to look at the basket curiously.

Thomas was never sure if he should be amused or worried about how food motivated Virgil often was.

“What’s in the basket?” Virgil asked.

“I’m not sure,” Thomas said. “Patton’s mom made it. We’ll just have to see once we get to the picnic area.”

Virgil nodded in understanding and began to gently extract himself from the droves of cats. Logan rolled his eyes, but didn’t seem inclined to continue the argument he’d been dragged into. Virgil and Patton got to their feet, and they continued on their way towards the stables.

The horses Thomas had requested be prepared for their trip were already in saddles, though the stable hand who had been handling Mr. Apples seemed a bit dirtier and more exhausted than the rest.

The stable hand seemed as happy to hand Mr. Apples over to Virgil as Virgil was to have Mr. Apples handed over to him. Thomas received Bella with a smile and Logan and Patton got their own horses as well.

The cliffs were about half an hour's ride from the main castle. There was a mostly well-maintained path to them, though it was easy to get lost if one didn’t know the way. Mr. Apples knew the way perhaps better than Thomas himself and seemed annoyed by the fact that Thomas was trying to lead the way. Virgil and Thomas ended up side-by-side whenever the path allowed it to placate him.

Thomas still marveled at how willing Mr. Apples was to let Virgil ride him, especially when he tossed his head in Thomas’s direction, a horse’s equivalent of giving Thomas a stink-eye.

“Are you excited for the picnic?” Thomas asked the boy beside him.

Virgil glanced over at him and nodded.

“I am too,” Thomas said. “It’s always beautiful this time of year. I’m glad I could find the time to take you all there this year.”

“Are you very busy?” Virgil asked curiously.

“I am king,” Thomas reminded, “and now that the world isn’t snowed in anymore things will be busy.”

“With the war?” Virgil asked.

Thomas paused for a few seconds. “Yes,” he confirmed. “With the war, but you don’t need to worry about that.”

“Why shouldn’t I?” Virgil asked.

“You’re just a kid,” Thomas said.

“I’m 14,” Virgil said.

Thomas glanced at him. “Exactly,” he said, “a kid, and luckily, you’re in a place that can afford you the luxury of being one.”

“What do you mean?”

“The war has been mainly fought on Mocnejsi soil in recent years. Our boarders have held strong against invasions. Unless something goes horribly wrong suddenly, it would take a long time for the main conflict to get here. The only real threat in the castle would be assassins sent after me personally.”

“Right,” Virgil said. There was an awkward pause in conversation before he spoke again. “You’re winning the war then?” he asked.

“Something could always happen,” Thomas said, “but for the most part, yes, we have quite the advantage right now.”

“Oh,” Virgil said.

Thomas shook his head as they were coming up to a narrowing of the path. “Anyway, today is a day to not think about war. Today we’re going to have a lovely picnic and do some bird watching.”

“Right,” Virgil agreed from behind Thomas as Bella took the lead (to Mr. Apples discontent.)

When the path widened again, Thomas did his best to direct the topic to lighter subjects and soon they made it to the cliffs.

Chapter 57 (Virgil)

Virgil had never been to a picnic. At least, that’s what Patton had informed him when Virgil had described his past experiences of eating outdoors. Logan had agreed even though he’d admitted that the definition of “picnic” was only eating a pre-packaged meal outdoors which Virgil had done plenty of times.

From what Virgil could tell, the main difference was just how much stuff one brought to a picnic.

In addition to the basket full of food (that Virgil still hadn’t gotten to look in yet), the king had brought a large soft quilt that he had Logan and Virgil spread out on the ground for them all to sit on.

Patton and Logan had also packed some things themselves to bring along. Logan had brought along a book to read, and Patton had brought along a board game (thankfully not checkers but something Virgil did not recognize). Virgil hadn’t brought anything (except for the fire knife he was definitely not supposed to have and was definitely not letting the king see) because he hadn’t known he was supposed to bring things. He wouldn’t have known what to bring anyway.

The blanket was soft and a much better alternative to sitting on the ground, especially because, while there was grass at the top of The Cliffs, there were also a good number of rocks.

The king set the picnic basket in the middle of the blanket once it was spread out and then lowered himself down to sit on one side. Patton quickly followed him, already fiddling with some of his board game pieces, though he wasn’t setting it up yet. Virgil highly doubted that Logan was going to be allowed to read his book unless Patton eventually got bored of the game.

However, they would, hopefully, be allowed to make use of the basket the king had brought along.

Virgil followed the king and Patton’s lead and got to his knees on the blanket across the picnic basket from the king. He peered at the basket curiously.

He didn’t quite know what picnic food was, but Patton had told them they’d be getting ‘picnic food’ and he was very curious about what that meant.

King Thomas smiled at him. “Let’s see what Patton’s mom packed us, huh?” He reached for the basket and flipped it open as Logan sat next to Virgil. “There is a lot more food than usual in here,” the king said, sounding amused. “Let’s see.”

He began to pull out packaged food and glanced in each package to identify it before setting it out.

“We have a few types of mini sandwiches,” he said, putting them down, “and some pasta salad.” He set down the bowl.

“We also have… er something else.” He showed it to Logan.

“They’re hot cauliflower bites,” Logan said instantly upon seeing them. Virgil perked up in excitement. That was one of his favorite foods.

“Ah,” King Thomas said, but shrugged and set it down. “We also have two desserts apparently: cookies and mini apple pies. That last one’s a bit extra for a picnic.”

“They’re very good,” Virgil said happily.

“And we also have.” King Thomas paused, looking confused. “Chicken alfredo?”

“Yes!” Virgil said.

“Why do we have chicken alfredo for a picnic?”

“It’s a Virgil picnic,” Logan groaned. “She packed us a Virgil picnic.”

“Hey, at least momma sent us something too,” Patton said.

“I think I’ll stick to sandwiches for today,” King Thomas said. He looked at Patton and Logan. “Do either of you want…?”

“No,” Logan said. Patton shook his head.

The king nodded and offered the entire covered bowl of chicken alfredo to Virgil. “Here, this one’s yours,” he said.

“Really?” Virgil asked tentatively. It wasn’t exactly strange for people here to offer him food, and he’d expected and anticipated getting to eat on this venture, but the king of the country offering him an entire bowl of his favorite food was something else.

“It’s not really my idea of a picnic food and you seem excited for it,” King Thomas said with a warm smile, still holding it out.

Virgil took it reverently. Despite the time it had taken to get to the cliffs, the bottom of the container was still warm. Virgil assumed it was one of the heating spells the kitchen sometimes used.

“Thanks,” Virgil said, setting it in his lap.

“Of course, Virgil,” the king said.

The bowl was enough for four people to have a little bit, but for one person it was a lot. Still, Virgil was offered a little of every other food in the picnic basket (and he ate a good number of the hot cauliflower bites).

“Where do you put all of that?” the king asked when Virgil finished polishing off the chicken alfredo bowl.

Everyone else seemed to have finished eating long before Virgil, though Patton still had a small plate of grapes, and he occasionally popped one in his mouth. King Thomas was currently setting up the board game they’d brought on the blanket between all of them.

Virgil shrugged in answer to his question. “It’s good,” he said, “and I don’t want to waste any of it.”

“You know we can just take the leftovers back to the castle and eat them later,” King Thomas said. “You don’t have to eat it all now.”

Virgil just shrugged again, watching as the king set out a group of 8 figures on the board.

“Here, which character do you want to be?” the king asked Virgil, gesturing at the group of figures. Virgil had not noticed the figures were different at first glance. They were all copper colored and about the size of his thumb, but they had slightly different shapes. He squinted at them each carefully, finding they all looked like people, but with different clothing. Some worse pants and some skirts, a few had hats, and one was even carrying a book.

After a few moments, he pointed at one that looked like it had vines wrapped around its arms and was wearing a floppy hat that almost covered its eyes.

“That’s the druid,” King Thomas told him with a grin. “Good choice, and luckily not one that anyone usually fights over.” He glanced at Logan who didn’t react to his father’s gaze. He just plucked the figure clutching the book off the board for himself.

Patton and the king picked pieces for themselves. Patton picked one with an apron that kind of reminded Virgil of his mom and the king picked one that was in a suit of armor before putting the other 4 figures away.

Unlike checkers, this game wasn’t just for two people, and so no one had to sit watching people play while bored out of their mind.

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They played a practice round so Virgil could figure out how the game worked, though honestly it wasn’t that complicated, so it wasn’t really necessary.

The theme of the game was all about stealing. They were supposed to steal special tokens from other players as well as characters in the game and the first person with 20 tokens won.

The other three players argued that stealing was not the point and not the main mechanism of the game, but considering Virgil was consistently winning the entire time, he would argue they were just playing it wrong. He managed to collect 20 tokens before anyone else. In second place at this time was Logan with 9 tokens.

Logan insisted on continuing to play the game to determine 2nd and 3rd place, so Virgil ended up watching them play for a bit. Virgil didn’t mind sitting and watching other people play this game, mostly because he still had the joy of victory running in his veins.

Thomas was definitely going to lose, he noted. He kept wasting his money feeding the nonplayer characters who lived on his lands. Virgil didn’t mention this faulty strategy to him in case Virgil ever played him again.

When Logan took too long thinking about his next move, Virgil took in their surroundings.

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He’d been a bit too distracted by the prospect of food and then trying to understand (and then win) the game to truly take in The Cliffs. They were settled a good distance away from the cliffside but Virgil could still see how quickly the edge dropped off. He couldn’t see the large river he was told was at its base from where he was sitting, but he did see a few of the promised wild birds (including doves) flying around. The king had promised they’d bird watch for a bit, and Virgil figured that would happen after the game was over.

A cool spring breeze brushed across Virgil’s face, and he put his hand in his hoodie pockets to warm them. Instead, his fingers hit something icy cold.

For a moment, he didn’t remember what it was. The crescent shape of it was familiar when he put his hand over it, but he had never felt it cold before.

It was the protection charm: the first charm Virgil had ever made with Logan so many months ago. It was meant to ward off small threats as well as warn you about larger threats by changing temperature…

It had always been warm.

“What?” Patton asked, having noticed Virgil suddenly tense. Virgil, despite how he drilled into his friend’s heads to stay alert had gone soft. He’d let himself be distracted by a full belly and warm blankets and fun games.

He didn’t answer Patton. He filtered the other boy’s worried face out as well as Logan’s face as he glanced at him and the king’s still focused on the game for now. He filtered out the picnic blanket and smell of food still lingering in the air and the vine covered figure set in the middle of the board on the winner’s space. He filtered out the sound of the breeze and the breath of his companions and the distant chirping of birds.

And he heard a whoosh.

Chapter 58 (Patton)

If Patton hadn’t already been looking, he probably wouldn’t have had any idea what happened.

Everything had been fine. Virgil had been sitting cross legged, idly watching the conclusion of the game they’d been playing when his posture had suddenly changed. Patton had looked over at him only to see an expression on his face he didn’t recognize, but it didn’t seem good.

“What?” Patton had asked, but the question didn’t seem to register to Virgil.

Logan had glanced up confused and also noticed Virgil’s face. He’d just opened his mouth to also ask what was going on when chaos descended.

Virgil was suddenly moving, crashing into King Thomas who hadn’t even looked up to see something was wrong at that point. Patton realized after the fact that Virgil had swiped up the board of the game they’d been playing as he jumped over it, the pieces previously stacked on it scattering all over the blanket. There were three thumps as some things hit the thick board, imbedding themselves into the surface.

When Virgil discarded the board in favor of the picnic basket, Patton saw there were small darts in it oozing a dark black liquid. The parts of the board they touched were dissolving, the grass under the new holes beginning to wilt rapidly.

Logan seemed to notice the oozing liquid the same moment Patton did and was quicker to realize what it was. He grabbed Patton’s arm and yanked him away from the board so hard he almost dislocated Patton’s shoulder, not that Patton was too worried about that. He scrambled away from it when he realized what it must be himself.

He could hear the sound of glassware smashing above them. Logan and Patton had rolled off the blanket in their quest to get away from the smoldering, melting board and apparently Virgil had pulled the picnic blanket fully over the king at some point.

Virgil himself was now gone from where he’d been the last time Patton had looked and it took him a moment to figure out where the boy had gone. The person who had been shooting poisoned darts at them had been drawn out of the wooded area they’d been hiding in by Virgil’s attacks.

They were cloaked in dark green from head to toe, explaining why they’d been difficult to spot when they were in the woods. Whoever they were, they were significantly larger than Virgil, possibly an actual adult or almost adult assassin, but they were also clearly a long distant fighter. They had not been expecting resistance let alone resistance in the form of a so quick he was almost a blur fellow assassin.

They had a bow strapped to their back, but they hadn’t had a chance to get it. Instead, they were trying to fight Virgil off with an arrow they’d managed to draw from their quiver. Virgil, meanwhile was lunging at them with a broken piece of plate in one hand and the picnic basket in the other.

Virgil dodged out of the way of the arrow striking towards his arm, though Patton didn’t think it was because he was afraid of getting scratched by an arrow, but because it may also be poisoned tipped.

Virgil was distracted by dodging for long enough that the older assassin managed to hit him in the face with the arm not holding the arrow.

He went down, but he took the older assassin with him, sweeping their legs out from under them. Patton hadn’t noticed (his mind working too slow for how fast they were moving) but they were on a slight incline. They went rolling in a tangle of arms and legs towards the edge of the cliff and skidded to a stop only a few feet away.

Virgil ended up on top, his piece of broken plate in his hands. He moved to slash it across the other assassin’s throat and managed to draw blood, but the assassin’s fist came out to shove at Virgil’s chest at just the right moment, causing the strike to veer off course and slice across the assassin’s cheek instead.

Virgil jerked to the side to avoid a second strike to the chest and went back for another slash. The other assassin rolled to the side as he did and the plate only managed to nick their ear. The point of the motion hadn’t been to dodge, however. They were lunging for the arrow they’d dropped a few feet away while they’d rolled. They grabbed it with their right hand and in the same motion stabbed back behind them towards Virgil.

Virgil rolled to avoid the hit, already slashing up with his plate as the assassin turned back towards him.

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He didn’t hit them this time but his swipe managed to stop them from stabbing him when they tried again. They shoved themselves back to avoid Virgil’s swing, putting a bit of distance between them. Both of them managed to make it to their feet during the momentary reprieve, but both also stayed crouched, eyeing each other.

They both lunged towards each other at the same time. The assassin went for a stab to Virgil’s neck with the arrow, but Virgil was already ducking down. This time, he wasn’t going for a kill shot. He grabbed the assassin’s wrist and at the same time drove his piece of plate into the assassin’s arm, slicing down from the elbow to wrist. The assassin spoke for the first time, cursing in a language Patton didn’t recognize as they were forced to drop their arrow.

Virgil took a moment to kick the arrow away from the assassin and it ended up falling off the cliff.

However, this pause gave the assassin enough time to regroup. Despite their arm bleeding profusely, they still decided to use it to backhand Virgil across the face viciously, leaving a long line of their own blood across his face.

Virgil lunged back forward, but the assassin was able to get a leg between them, kicking Virgil squarely in the chest and sending him flying back a few feet parallel to the cliff’s edge.

The assassin went to grab their bow and another arrow from the quiver still strapped to their shoulder.

Virgil, however, apparently went for another weapon too and he was much faster with a knife than any archer. A knife appeared in his hand, having been strapped to his ankle and was embedded into the assassin’s chest before they could even full remove an arrow from their quiver.

The assassin promptly burst into flames, fire catching their clothes (and from the smell of it their skin) ablaze. Panicked and dying, they stumbled two steps to the side. They stepped directly off the cliff.

There was a second of silence. They heard the sound of the body hitting the ground far below and then the flap of wings and screeching as birds below fled from the startling sound (and possible soon to be forest fire).

…

“Uh, Virgil?” King Thomas said. He had managed to get the blanket off his head at some point. When, Patton didn’t know, but seeing any of it was probably enough.

Oopsie.

Chapter 59 (Logan)

Logan and Patton had been useless during the fight, but that may have been for the best. Considering the skill differential when it came to fighting (and that differential had never been as clear as it was in this moment), that was probably for the best. They likely would have just gotten in the way.

The moment Logan’s father spoke, however, they both jumped into action.

They both knew their jobs in a situation like this. Patton pushed himself up to his feet ungracefully and all but sprinted over towards Virgil. Logan, on the other hand stood to face his father, putting himself very purposefully between the man who had no idea what was going on yet and the boy who was two seconds away from remembering what was going on.

“I can explain,” Logan said.

His father was still sitting on the ground. “You can explain,” he said slowly, “how Virgil just threw an assassin off a cliff.”

Logan thought pointing out that Virgil hadn’t thrown anyone off a cliff and instead had set them on fire with a magical knife causing them to walk off a cliff, would not be useful in this moment. He glanced back briefly towards where Virgil and Patton were standing and then turned back to his father. “Yes.”

“And what would that explanation be?”

Before even starting to speak, Logan found himself making large dramatic ‘explaining hand gestures’ that he’d thought he’d long since trained himself out of. When he was younger and in trouble, he always used to give himself away as guilty by being overly expressive with his hands (and arms).

“So,” Logan said. He was still not able to stop the hand motions. “Virgil was an assassin. He came here to kill you last fall, but he accidently went to the wrong room in the royal wing. Patton and I were having a slumber party and caught him in the act. Then we reformed him and now he doesn’t kill people anymore.” He paused and glanced back, remembering the body that had just toppled off the cliff. “Er, uh, he doesn’t kill people who haven’t shot poisoned darts at people recently anymore?”

“What?”

“Look,” Logan said. “You’re going to have to tell him you’re not going to execute him soon. Patton can only keep him from bolting for so long.”

“Execute him?” his father asked.

“Well, he was a Mocnejsi assassin sent to kill you,” Logan said.

“Virgil is a Mocnejsi assassin,” his father repeated as though to confirm he’d heard him right.

Logan had thought the Mocnejsi was implied. “He was,” Logan confirmed.

“Why does that make more sense than any other explanation I’ve come up with for him?” his father asked while pinching his brow. Logan took that as rhetorical. Then, his father looked at him again. “He’s 14.”

“Yes,” Logan said, “I’m also pretty sure this is the first person he’s actually killed while not under a blood compulsion, so you really need to tell him he’s not going to be executed.”

His father seemed to actually absorb Logan’s request this time. He finally looked over Logan’s shoulder at Virgil, concern crossing his face at what he saw. “Right.”

He moved to step around Logan then, and Logan let him. Logan turned to watch him slowly approach Patton and Virgil, his hands out in a placating manner. He stopped a few feet away.

“Hey,” his father said. “That was a bit scary, huh?” Virgil looked at him, eyes wide and darting around like they did when he was looking for an escape. There wasn’t much of one being so close to the edge of the cliff.

Logan would worry he’d contemplate throwing himself off of it in a bid to escape if Patton wasn’t clutching him to prevent that. “You did a good job.”

That seemed to give Virgil pause, his eyes focusing on father. “Good job?” he asked.

“Yes, well,” father said with a small smile, “judging by what those darts are doing to the grass and how far we are from any supplies for counter potions, I think you blocking them probably saved my life. So, I think a good job is in order.”

Virgil did not respond verbally, though he tilted his head like he did when he was thinking through the steps of a potion.

His posture changed enough that Patton released him cautiously, taking a step away.

“But,” Virgil said. “I’m an assassin.”

“Yes,” Father said. “I could tell by how that fight just went.”

Virgil shifted his weight. “I came here to kill you.”

His father spread his arms wide. “Yet, here I am,” he pointed out. “You’ve had me alone multiple times including once in a secret room possibly no one would have ever found. Plus, you saved me today. I think that more than makes up for the intentions you had months ago.”

“Does that mean you’re not going to send me to prison?” Virgil asked. “Or execute me?”

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“No, of course not,” his father said.

Virgil eyed him, still slightly warry.

“I promise, Virgil, you’re fine.”

“Dad wouldn’t lie,” Logan interjected. Virgil looked over at him and then back at Father. He nodded slowly.

“Good,” Father said. “Now can we get a bit further back from the edge?” He glanced at Patton. “You too, Patton.”

Virgil and Patton both stepped towards him, and he herded them far away from the edge until they were at the edge of the surrounding forest. Logan followed as well.

“Can I touch your face?” Father asked once they were sufficiently away from the cliffs.

Virgil nodded and father pulled out a handkerchief. He carefully wiped the blood off Virgil’s face the best he could (most of it was not Virgil’s) and inspected the boy’s split lip and already bruising eye.

“Is your chest alright?” Father asked.

Virgil nodded. “Yeah.”

Father considered him. “Enough to ride back to the castle.”

“It wasn’t that bad of a hit,” Virgil insisted.

Father studied him for a moment longer. “I’ll choose to believe you for now,” he said. “We should get back to the castle as soon as possible just in case this is not an isolated attack.”

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“We don’t work in teams,” Virgil informed them. “They worry we’d get emotionally attached and not complete our missions.”

“I can understand why they would say something like that,” Father said, letting just a bit of his scorn come through, “but still, we should be on our way.”

With that, he put an arm on Virgil’s back to guide him back towards where they’d left the horses.

“Huh,” Logan said to Patton as they began to walk behind them. “I thought we’d be in more trouble for all of this.”

His father paused at overhearing that, turning to look at them over his shoulder briefly.

“Ah,” said Logan with a grimace. “I see.”

“It’s been nice being your friend all these years Logan,” Patton said solemnly. “Too bad we’re both going to be locked in our rooms for the rest of our lives.”

“Until your 50s with good behavior,” Father informed them blandly.

That was… probably fair. They did allow an assassin to freely roam the castle for months without telling anyone. The fact that his father was now watching that assassin like a hawk to make sure he wasn’t more injured than he was saying, did not change that fact.

Logan couldn’t find it in himself to regret it.

[hallothere]

41 with... Lothrandir maybe? 👀

41. Panic attacks (and tw for associated content)

Alone was easier, most of the time, as opposed to being around other people. This is it, this is the thing that kills you. It's here, and it's coming and there's no stopping it now. Other people often had tells that were hard to stomach. A raised eyebrow. Alternatively, a frown. Techeron's face would pinch and his brows would crease up while he fought back the urge to use the 'And what's making you think that?' he asked when schooling. It's over. Feel that? That's death. That's already here and it's not stopping for you.

When he was alone, he could lie down, press the heels of his hands into his eyes and counting his breathing. Sometimes for an hour, sometimes less. He would have a quiet place to cry or to be sick. Being sick... that was one of the worst.

You're already dead. You just don't know it. But you'll feel it. You're feeling it all the way to the end.

The worst one in memory was with an audience. Here's the rest of your life. You're the last one. What's it going to be like, however long you have left, to be without them forever? He'd been bound, standing, feeling his heart hammering into the wooden post while the Wizard cocked his head. Amused. You know what you saw before you left. Dead. That was the sound of them dying. And he's told you the ways it happened, some of them. Do you even want to think about it? Can you afford not to?

He'd blacked out that time. He'd wept, never more thankful that the fear always dissipated on waking.

But he didn't always have the luxury of sleep. It's not really over. It's a trick, just one more in the downward spiral. You're on borrowed time. At least now you won't be alone when it hits. Be on your guard, and maybe you'll see it coming, however much good that will-

"Dagoras."

Lothrandir stood just outside the circle of the fire. There were a few Ithilien Rangers with mugs of ale, Rohirrim with mead, and the appreciative exchange happening between them. Dagoras turned and found his face. He didn't frown.

"Lothrandir. Need anything?" he asked as if he couldn't guess.

"If I could tear your from the revelry for a moment-" he paused to look at the assembled company and grinned, "-We won't be long."

Dagoras sighed heavily, for the benefit of the assembly. Lothrandir saw the mug go down to the log seat unfinished, saw Dagoras' face steel a second before sliding back into unconcerned acceptance.

"Keep my seat warm, will you? I'm getting too old for cold nights." It meant nothing. Everything. Past the line of tents and behind the heavy trunk of a culumalda, Lothrandir pushed his face into his hands.

"It... it is over? The War? The generals, at least, please tell me something is ended--"

Dagoras' face seemed to droop in recognition. Not in resignation, or reluctance. Compassion. Pity.

"The worst of it, yes." He spoke softly even for their relative isolation. "If the evidence in the air isn't enough, the evidence in your heart either-" here Dagoras set a hand on his shoulder and Lothrandir held onto it right back, "-then we can trust Mithrandir. Frodo cast the Ring into the fires of Doom, and that much has ended things. You saw him too, did you not? He wasn't some trick of the light. Mithrandir, too, seems glad, and we all know there's precious little that causes that these days."

Lothrandir managed a laugh. His eyes stung, and his head hung there a moment longer while the words sank in.

"Tell me again, then." Dagoras spoke up after a moment. "Like you did in Pelargir. Name the fear, that I might know it and dispel it."

Lothrandir took a deep breath. "That... that we didn't really win. That I have.." He swallowed hard. Dagoras didn't interrupt. "...That I have you all back, and I'm going to lose you. That orcs are going to sweep down from that hill over there and cut us down to a man."

Dagoras paused to look at the hill. "It's a worthy concern, don't mistake me." He pulled Lothrandir to his side, facing the hill, but did not insist Lothrandir look. "It's wise to be vigilant, but our Ithilien cousins scouted the hill. They did find trolls- turned to stone- and a few orcs trying to scavenge their caches. Our friend took care of those. Every hiding place of the enemy on that hill has been scattered. Better yet, the Eagles have taken great delight in picking off stragglers. I think I overheard Gwaihir compare them to fleas."

Lothrandir laughed again, deeper, and Dagoras ran a hand down the back of his head to his shoulders, again and again. Lothrandir felt something like a skittish horse, but didn't move to complain.

"Thank you" he said.

"Come find me any time. Any time at all, Lothrandir." Dagoras continued to tend to him like a frightened foal without complaint. "Or, if I'm not there, try one of the others." Lothrandir stiffened, and he felt it. "At least sit with one of them. For a minute- I'm not asking you bare your heart." More quietly, he continued, "Radanir is much the same. You may bristle, but he will try to help in his own way."

Lothrandir remained still for the measure of a few more breaths. Then, he straightened. He clasped Dagoras' hand tightly.

"Thank you." He repeated. We're alright. We're going to be alright.

[keef-a-corn]

Dat’s right, people, it’s time for ‘Keef watches TFP and you just get the notes!’

This is for season 1, episode 15: Shadowzone

I write down the timestamps, but I watch Transformers Prime on Stan (an Australian streaming service) so they may be slightly off.

ALSO! I try my best to note points for every character, but tend to get a little caught up by Bee (although I think I do a pretty good job with the notes regardless) so do be warned.

~~~~Transition~~~~

00:12 - parallel between Megatron in the last episodes and Starscream now.

00:46 - Megatron noticed the parallel too.

01:10 - one of those moments where being a smexy bicth comes second to his job as a doctor.

01:19 - honestly, Knockout not pushing it shows just how well he knows Starscream.

01:33 - I thought the dark energon was necessary because Megatron needed energon, but his body was no longer comparable to accept anything other than dark.

~intro~

03:04 - I hardly even noticed Bee was there.

03:10 - the thinker.

03:16 - But Megatron was dead during the Skyquake episode. He wouldn’t know that Skyquake would require dark energon. Understandable why they’d assume it’s Megatron, but why would they assume Megatron’s there for Skyquake?

04:03 - this girl is on fiiiireeeeee + giving off ‘friends on the other side’ rn

04:18 - shut up, the way way Bee looks at Optimus and the cheetah meme have the same energy.

04:22 - so they truly are skipping over that angst? It appears I have a future project.

04:23 - Ratchet is the only one who doesn’t put on a game face when he’s addressed. We know why, but it’s nice to note.

04:30 - there’s something so perfect about the way Optimus jumps straight to explaining his decision and turns around to face Ratchet while doing so rather than pulling a classic ‘yes, because we need you’

04:35 - Once again, refreshing to see a character assigned to a position they’re not traditionally assigned to, but still showing passion and respect.

04:39 - How did Bulkhead not realise Miko was up to something?

04:42 - She’s drawing Optimus fighting Megatron.

04:46 - Glad to know someone’s paying attention.

04:52 - I love the way the bots walk, especially Optimus and Bee. There’s something so proper and powerful about it.

05:06 - LMAO

05:14 - Let’s pretend that Arcee couldn’t hear them.. why wouldn’t they yell out to her so she could stop Miko or close the ground bridge before Miko got there?

05:22 - Miko, Miko, Miko… frustrating af.

05:44 - they all have similar walk cycles, but none sync up.

05:53 - Bee dropping back as they walk along could be multiple things, him getting protected, acting as rear support, could also be because he’s the smallest but is walking at a similar pace to the others, meaning he’s covering less ground. Obviously I could be overthinking it too, but if we go that route these notes are completely useless.

05:55 - If you pause it at the right time Ratchet’s head makes it look like Optimus has a huge ass. (Unfortunately I did not screenshot it at the right time)

06:06 - my dude didn’t think to even ONCE call out to the bots and go ‘just so you know, we’re here’

06:18 - that would be my worst nightmare. Don’t have FOMO, just care about my phone.

06:25 - HO MAMMA

06:34 - the fading between the red and purple is so seemless and a nice detail

06:41 - I just need this screenshot to be witnessed. Why is he standing like that?? WHY DOES HE STAND LIKE THAT FOR SO LONG?

06:52 - this line’s so confusing when you forget that his arms are apart of his wings when he’s in his vehicle mode.

07:16 - AHHH THE HEAD TILT!!! Seeing that we’re looking at them from an angle, Bee’s most likely behind Bulkhead, meaning he cannot actually see the humans, but can hear them. + everyone else’s reactions tooooo!

07:27 - While everyone else looks at the ground bridge, Bee looks at the others before the bridge.

07:30 - Ratchet looking fabulous rn.

07:33 - 1. The way his voice echos is a really nice touch. 2. Ratchet using the same tone a parent would rn has me cryin.

08:06 - Starscream went into the ground bridge around the same time the kids did. Why wasn’t he caught?

08:14 - the longer that shot went for, the more I laughed.

08:26 - As soon as Starscream pulls out the dark energon it plays Arcee screaming ‘Tailgate’. Starscream has nothing to do with what happened to Tailgate. I think they were just reusing the sound from when Airachnid killed Tailgate and forgot to edit out the voice line. Upon evaluation, I do believe they’re different sounds. I don’t know why her voice line plays.

08:51 - Bee’s so cute until he breaks the fourth wall. + height difference my beloved.

09:03 - I don’t understand how the bots weren’t affected. Let’s say Starscream got to the otherside, but they kids didn’t, fine. But the bots were still caught in the explosion?

09:26 - You know that would be absolutely traumatising.

10:09 - … what was the point of insulting him?

10:14 - This is what makes it really confusing. How did Skyquake get caught in the shadow zone, but the other bots didn’t??

11:16 - Karma’s a bicth, ain’t she? Jack and Raf didn’t deserve it, but Miko totally did.

12:00 - God do I hate Miko rn. + Aw, Raf’s reaction

12:45 - Yes. In the rocks that are apparently not with you in the Shadowzone.

12:51 - you can hear Optimus trying not to show his panic and worry��� and failing.

12:56 - Father and Son right here.

12:58 - with mild Confidence ‘what if you (or we) call them?’

13:35 - Not ‘nothing’. He picked up. He’s alive. It’s that there was no response.

14:05 - kinda disappointed that they didn’t have any other way to message the bots. Feels like there should be a way for the bots to message them and they message the bots, especially for situations where silence is necessary or Bee has to tell Miko or Jack something.

15:38 - Decepticons have parts to spare.

16:10 - Starscream’s arm is enormous compared to the kids.

17:23 - how does he get it open??

17:27 - *mwah* beautiful line delivery.

17:40 - god these line deliveries are stunning.

17:44 - It’s like the shot at the start.

17:46 - why does Starscream have the Crystal out?? What if Knockout saw?

18:35 - Love how either thought the other would be able to tell what Ratchet was saying.

18:47 - saying that as if common sense wouldn’t tell us that if they changed any part of it something would go wrong.

19:02 - aren’t they in a canyon? Isn’t that like one long strip??

19:31 - why would it be yours??

20:15 - glad the plan worked so seamlessly.

20:18 - Why wasn’t Bee sent? He’s Raf’s guardian after all.

20:31 - HOLY SCRAP LOOK AT HOW PRETTY IT IS!

20:34 - There’s literally no reason for Bee not to be(e) present.

20:39 - agreed. Repeat that and also apologise.

20:45 - Optimus smilinggggg

21:04 - a logical assumption.

21:10 - hc is that Knockout promotes self care for everyone (autobots included, but he’s careful when he does it.)

21:18 - I know Skyquake’s a zombie and all, but I feel bad for him.

———————

And that was Shadowzone!

It was alright. I’m not one for the human focused episodes, but it’s alright and a good way to introduce the Shadow Realm (despite how confusing it may have been.)

I thought the way Optimus was portrayed in the episode was good, showing how he cared for the children despite not really being allowed to express worry for their safety. I will admit that Bulkhead, Arcee and especially Bumblebee’s reactions to their charge’s going missing were too weak from any standpoint.

I thought that the Starscream plot line was quite weak as well and I don’t really understand what they were going for.