#I guess???????? Unsure if this would be in the ship category

[tumbleweedsthesecond]

I hc topher as achillian so I'm always open to him having a crush on Joan being genuine in some way but half of me thinks it is half of me thinks it isn't. It could be either I was kinda looking forward to him liking her(I think he does kinda). I think when he has crushes its usually not out of genuine falling head over heels in love which is especially weird when everyone else in the show is basically like that. But I also like interpretation that he's just trolling Abe in a way because lets be real that arc was nothing but a plot device. Even if he did like joan I don't think he'd be so invested in it, he literally smiles when he tells her she isn't in the group and when they set lose snakes(these are highschoolers they don't have to be head over heels in love I wouldn't even say he loves her). I wanted to add the lyrics but couldn't cause it kept crashing when I tried. Its just one interpretation I have of it cause he's a satire character basically.(how he's written not the way he views himself I think he'd try to make his crush seem more than it is its ironic he never really interacted with her before much in s2) Its not supposed to be that he faked everything to her I think he's genuine when trying to be nice to her letting her in the group which is funny cause he says stuff like 'you're clearly craving companionship you have no friends!!' And stands there afterward smiling like he's genuinely helping her. I think the love part is where he'd be faking most of it cause he can fight his attraction to that white woman. Either way he'd probably just lie and say he never liked her if he really did. Flew over your head part is cause she doesn't know about it anyway I read way too into this I love yapping

Their relationship isn't too romantic to me that doesn't mean he doesn't like her in a way canonly. Anyway maybe grayromantic

Or maybe he doesn't like her I mean idgaf any interpretation could work really

[mystar-girl57]

“Us against the world.”

Neteyam x Reader

Summary: With you and Neteyam finally coming of age and being seen as adults to your clan having completed your inkinmaya, you learn of the new responiblies that come with it. The two of you start to grow apart, being so caught up on your tasks. One day Neteyam is granted a break and the two of your are able to escape for some time. But we all know that paradise cannot last forever.

Warnings: Overworked Neteyam, mentions of struggling/ranting, implied character death at the end, let me know if i missed anything.

Category: Fluff to Angst

Dictionary: yawne: beloved || Oel ngati kameie: I see you

Wc: 2.1k

==========

These past few moons have been a whirlwind for you and Neteyam to say the least. With two of you completing your ikinmaya and now being recognized as adults there were now responsibilities to carry out. Jake was often taking Neteyam around camp and outside to the forest, giving him teachings on how to be a strong and proper Olo'eyktan. What to do to keep peace, how to keep The People safe, especially with the Sky People returning, all of this and more. You on the other hand were being torn all over the place trying to figure out what your purpose was.

You were either with Mo’at and Kiri, working with the herbs and ointments, how to perfect your remedies, be in touch with Eywa. Or you were trailing behind Neytiri and the other warriors of the clan, huntings for food, scouting for Sky People and their Recom Avatars that could be prowling around your home. “All the training you can get is good.” Your father would remind you should he ever hear your complaints about exhaustion or how annoyed you were with all that The People expected of you. But the one thing that seemed to bug you the most, and Neteyam too was how far apart you had gotten. Would you ever be as close as you use to be when you were just babes? Or had that friend ship crumbled and turned to ash?

==========

“Neteyam. Neteyam!” The boy’s head snapped back up, his attention returning to his father who stood with his arms crossed in front of his chest while his tail flicked with annoyance. “Boy, are you listening to me? You’ve been zoned out staring at that blade of grass for the last ten minutes.” Jake scolded. Neteyam instantly broke his father’s gaze and looked down at his hands that were picking at some grass. “Sorry Sir.” He apologized, his voice holding its usual meek demeanor to it when confronting his father. Jake ran a hand across his face and let out a sharp sigh. “What’s going on? You’re obviously distracted so come on out with it.”

Neteyam shook his head, unsure what to say. He did not know why he had been so disconnected as of late, usually he was in tune with his father’s teaching, soaking up every word the Olo'eyktan had to say. Neteyam was hungry to learn he truly was, but he was finding it difficult as of late to focus. “I don’t know sir.” He responded honestly, turning back up to Jake. “I’m just finding it hard to concentrate, I guess it might be because I haven't had a break from your teachings in so long?”

Neteyam watched as his father’s expression changed just barely leaning to a frown and instantly the eldest Sully son wanted to take back what he said. “But its not an excuse sir I know. I’ll do better to concentrate.” He added but Jake shook his head raising his hand for his son to stop speaking. “No you’re right son, you’re right.” Jake sighed, remembering his wife’s words of ‘Let them be kids’ “We haven’t had a break from this in a while, why don’t you take the day or something. Go for a fly, be back before eclipse.”

The Sully boy could not believe his ears at what his father was saying. Never once had the stone hard Marine suggested his son to take a break, be a kid. He figured that his mom must have said something. But despite this, Neteyam was hesitant to leave, wondering if there was a catch but Jake simply gave him a pat on the back and a gentle nudge toward camp.

==========

When Neteyam arrived at High Camp his first mission was to find you. Oh how it had

been so long that you and the teen had just said ‘hi’, let alone see each other but Neteyam marked it off as one of the sacrifices he had to make as the clan’s future Olo'eyktan.

Thankfully, finding you proved to be easy as today was one of the days that you stayed in camp helping Mo’at and Kiri. The moment that Neteyam peeked into the tent and sat you sitting there with your tail tucked around you, gossiping with his little sister whilst grinding something up in the mortar with your pestle he felt at ease. Neteyam cleared his throat while he stepped into the tent getting yours and Kiri's attention. “Well hello there stranger, remember we exist?” Kiri instantly teased, rising to her feet to hug her brother. Neteyam rolled his eyes, looping his arms around his sister’s waist. “Forgive me, I was kept away, busy with more important tasks.” He teased back, Kiri giving him a look of mock offense.

You couldn’t help but giggle at the sibling’s interaction. The sound of your laugh brought Neteyam back and he remembered why he was here. “Kiri, do you think you could spare y/n for the afternoon?” His sister made it look as though she was thinking as she pulled away from him and made her way over to you. “Oh I don't know,” Kiri looked down at you from where you sat then back to Neteyam, “maybe.” Neteyam raised a brow, neither understanding or apperacting his sister’s antics. On any other day maybe he’d have more patience but he was desperate to spend time with you. “Kiri.” He sighed using what his siblings teased him in calling his: Olo’eyktan tone. “Oh fine!” Kiri put her hands up, “But really it’s up to y/n if they want to go.”

Neteyam’s eyes fell on you, silently asking what your choice was and you nodded with a grin. “Give me a few moments to clean up and I’ll come join you.” At your words, the boy couldn’t help but let his teeth and canines show as a smile grew on his face. With a quick nod (and Kiri shooing him out) Neteyam left the tent to call his ikran. As the magnificent creature came swooping down, landing in front of him, a familiar chirp caught his ears causing them to perk up and Neteyam didn’t need to turn around to know it was you calling your own companion.

“You forgot your visor skxawng.” You teased, petting your ikran when she landed in front of you. “Hard for me to remember when you always bring it.” Neteyam snarked right back as he took the visor from your hand and slipped it onto his forehead. “I depend on you.” “Oh trust me,” You smirked, gracefully hoping up onto your ikran and tipping down the visor, “I know.”

And with that, your ikran rose up to its feet before tipping and falling backward. The two of you free fell in the air for a good ten seconds before flipping over and flying forward, Neteyam in your wake.

==========

The two of you lost track of time while flying. You had no set course, you just followed the sun while swooping around, diving and chasing each other. It was times like this that were most dear to you. Both you and Neteyam knew that these outings were going to become more and more rare but whenever the teen boy was with you he felt like he could be himself. He didn’t care how cliche it sounded. Neteyam knew that whenever you were near he could let his guard down, drop the Olo'eyktan act and just be a kid.

“Should we land for a moment and rest?” Neteyam called out to you, watching you race a head, dive down and come up by him. “One of these mountains should have a good water spot.” He suggested once you were side by side. “Lead the way Mr. Olo'eyktan.” You grinned. Neteyam rolled his eyes at the nickname, “I told you not to call me that.” He grumbled, ears down in annoyance but you just kept grinning all the same. Nothing could deter you when you were with him. You could be as silly and goofy as you wanted with Neteyam and he would just laugh and shake his head. No judgment or scoldings came from him when you were yourself.

The two of you while close in age and sharing similar interests were night and day in comparison when you were acting like yourselves. Neteyam was very calm and collected, having a good laugh every now and then. He made sure to be more cautious, the look before jumping type. You however would take the plunge without a second thought. Who cares if there are rocks at the bottom? You would deal with it later. Any time that you would you loved to let loose and dance and flip about. You were the sun and Neteyam was your moon, feeding off your light and energy, keeping him going.

==========

“This seems like a good spot,” You announced as your ikran touched down on the green grass, Neteyam’s landing next to yours. Just as the teen had said there was a nice grassy spot with a pool of water and decent tree coverage.

You dismounted, swinging your leg over and hopping down, rubbing your ikran’s forehead waiting for Neteyam to get off before coming over to him and gently grabbing his wrist, leading him over to the bank to sit. The grass was soft underneath your fingers, your tail swaying gently behind you as you sat.

“So tell me,” You looked over to Neteyam, the two of you sitting shoulder to shoulder, “How has the Olo'eyktan training coming?” Instantly Neteyam winced and shook his head, picking a blade of grass out of the earth and fiddling with it. “I don’t know,” he sighed, “I want to make Dad proud of me, happy that I’m his son. I train as hard as I can, i watch after Kiri, Tuk and Lo’ak.” He groaned, “Do not get me started on Lo’ak. I know he wants Dad to notice him but he keeps going about it the wrong way, it is only pissing him off, then I get in trouble. And dad says, ‘Don’t take the heat for his messes.’ Well when I don’t I still get the heat for them its just-!” Neteyam took a deep breath, unable to think of the words. Neteyam was frustrated, something he wasn’t able to reveal often but when you gently took his hand in yours he instantly was brought back to the present turning to look at you.

“I can not say that I know what you’re going through,” You admitted, being the middle child of three, “I know from watching my sister though that the burden of watching after your siblings, having all that pressure can be crippling, along with you now having Olo'eyktan duties but.” You squeezed his hand and looked up at him, your ears perked. “From what I see you do, you are doing amazing. Your siblings hold you in such high regard, you already have the clan's respect and trust that you’ll protect us in the future. To be so young you’re doing so good.” You reached up to cup the side of his face, “I’m proud of you.”

At your words Neteyam’s eyes pooled with tears and he had to look up at the sky to keep them from falling. You chuckled softly and wrapped your arms around his waist pulling him down into a hug which he instantly reciprocated. “You mean the world to me yawne.” You whispered into his shoulder.

After several moments, you pulled away and Neteyam wiped his eyes and nose, still sniffling. You breathed out a small laugh and cupped his face with your hands once more getting him to look at you.

“Oel ngati kameie” you whispered, putting your foreheads together, your tails subconsciously entertaining. “Oel ngati kameie.” Neteyam whispered back.

For once in his life the teen felt that he had learned what his dad called: happiness. Everything felt perfect, just the two of you in your own little paradise, ready to face the world together.

But sadly, what neither of you would expect, would be the war to come in just a few months time. Humans versus Na’vi, machine versus water, the one battle that defeated the two of you.

[toh-tagteam-au]

Is Hunter still going to be aroace in your au?

EDIT: I’m going to be sticking with Aro Hunter going forward, and I appreciate all the replies to this post! I’m keeping this up for personal reference, but just a heads up I’m no longer unsure. 

Original answer below:

----

Im glad you asked this because I've been wanting to make a separate post about this since Labyrinth Runners but I kept chickening out. Apologies for the wall of text in advance.

Full disclosure + some context before I get into it: I really like keeping Tag Team as close to canon as I possibly can. It's why towards the beginning of development I kept certain plot points open ended. I'm lucky that I didn't have to retcon any comic parts that were already posted pre-season 2b (the next few updates would have been ruined by some of the reveals in Hollow Mind, so I'm kind of glad I waited).

I never really expected Hunter to get into a relationship/hint at attraction at all back when it was season 2a, so I was comfortable having him be aroace since the chances of it being conflicting with canon were slim. I was in the group of people who were like "there's no way his character arc would have that much time/it would be rushed/wouldn't make sense if it did happen" etc. Plus, I'm aro myself. I was kind of excited to do a storyline that sort of reflected my own experiences with attraction and lack thereof. And I liked the ships that fandom brought forward, but I wasn't expecting them to move past the crack-ship category. So again, I felt secure in my canon-compliant-ness of Hunter's aro-ness.

But season 2b introduced the REALLY INTERESTING concept of Hunter and Willow actually being canon somehow. Or at least Hunter being attracted to her in some way. I was fascinated. Their actual canon dynamic is GREAT!! Teen soldier who was introduced as a hard-ass gets blushy at a school girl who can and would kick his shit in and is implied to not even think of him romantically yet. Not to mention the whole narrative catharsis at seeing a clone of Caleb, notorious husband of a witch, also falling for a girl. I love it SO MUCH!

So that brings me to an unfortunate choice I was sort of hoping you guys would help me with?

On one hand, I love Hunter and Willow. I love that they're implied to be a potential thing and that they'll have more dev in season 3. Their dynamic is my jam and it makes so much literary sense that they'd have chemistry, not to mention it just brings out the best in both of their developments in canon (Willow being a nervous shy girl with no self esteem turning into someone who can and will kick the emperor's ass to save her friends, Hunter being a heavily abused high ranking child solider turning into a blushy mess in front of a strong girl). I just love it. Nothing about his sexuality has come up in-comic so far, so I wouldn't have to retcon anything to make that a thing in TT.

On the other hand,,, I've already said that TT!Hunter is aro on this blog. I've sort of built up/mentioned this pseudo-romance arc he was going to have around the Grom episode. A lot of you seemed super excited about him being aro back when I first mentioned it, and I don't want to disappoint you guys and fake you out by being "surprise!!! he's allo!!!" I guess I could have him be Demiromantic or just ace to keep that vibe of aspec, but I don't want it to feel like a consolation prize either.

So it's this unfortunate back and forth between me really liking Willow and Hunter/wanting to keep things as canon as possible, versus sticking to what I've said out-of-universe in the past. I kind of get the sense that both options have their own baggage – I'm unsure if the aro hunter vs hun//tlow discourse is as intense as my dash makes it out to be since I try to avoid it and I generally like both options, but choosing one kind of feels like I have to choose a side. So I wanted to ask you guys what you think/want to see.

Feel free to reply to this post, say ur opinions in the tags, or send me asks on what you think. I probably won't respond to all of them, but I'll definitely read them all and take them into account.

[thunder-at-dawn]

Old Memories

Word count: 2,474

Summary: Late in the night, the king receives an unexpected visitor, who attempts to help him remember his past.

I spent way too much time writing this goodbye

warning: this is a sfw tickle fic! don’t read if that makes you uncomfortable :]

OH also if you tag as ship i will block you <3

Why couldn’t he remember?

It was a simple question that burned in his mind.

Why. Couldn’t. He. Remember.

Eret sighed, sitting on his throne as he reflected on past events. It was late at night, he should probably be sleeping right now. However, his mind was racing with thoughts of Foolish, the peculiar totem-shark hybrid that he had previously befriended. He was kind and comedic, but his talk of a “wither cult” in a previous conversation had swarmed Eret’s mind.

It was incredibly frustrating. He had asked other people on the server, and none of them have heard of a wither cult. Even Phil had no clue what Eret was asking him about.

Maybe there were books that had the information that the king was looking for. Maybe there was something in his castle. There was no way that this was just...erased from history. There had to be something.

With a yawn, Eret stood up from the throne and equipped a torch in his left hand, as the castle could be quite dark in some areas at night. The king wandered through the halls until he approached an area of the castle that acted as a small library.

This room had bookshelves that were lined along the walls, as well as a table with chairs in the center of the room. There were also some bookshelves that started at the walls and then expanded out into the center of the room. Everything was lit by one hanging lantern in the middle of the ceiling.

While it was a small library, there had to be something on the history of withers. Eret believed that this wouldn’t be something that would disappear without warning. He scanned through the bookshelves, looking for anything that could be useful, when something caught his eye.

“The History Of Withers: An Analysis.”

The black hardcover book sat on a bookshelf next to the table. It had a fairly large spine, and Eret knew it would be packed with research. He set the torch on a nearby wall, then reached towards the book. However, what the king didn’t expect to see behind the book’s place on the shelf was two emerald eyes greeting him.

“AH!” Eret yelled in surprise, dropping the book and covering his mouth.

A soft chuckle was heard as a familiar friend emerged from the other side of the bookshelf. “Haha, sorry about that! Did I spook ya?”

A small groan left Eret’s mouth as he checked the clock momentarily. He wasn’t exactly mad or annoyed, just shaken up. “Foolish...it’s nearly one in the morning! What are you doing here?”

“Just passing through the area!” The totem nodded. “I was wondering if you could have any spare lapis that you weren’t using? I need some for my summer home.”

“...Yeah, I should have some in a chest on the second floor in the tower left to the entrance of the castle.” The king said after a moment of thinking. “Grab as much as you need.”

“Got it! Thanks, old pal!” Foolish said before turning to leave the room.

“Old pal.”

Every time that nickname was brung up, Eret felt like he was being stabbed in the stomach.

Why. Couldn’t. He. Remember.

“...Foolish, wait.”

The other turned back around. “Yeah?”

“Can you...” Eret paused, struggling to find the right words. “Can you come back in here with me when you’re done? I wanted to talk with you about some stuff.”

“Oh, sure! No problem, buddy!” Foolish nodded with a grin before walking out the door and out of sight.

Once Foolish had left, Eret let out another long sigh, leaning down to pick up the book that he had been scared into dropping. The king mustered his strength to lift the book onto the table, as it was heavier than it looked. After taking off his crown and setting it on the table, Eret sat down, starting by looking through the table of contents.

Behavior of Withers. Wither Powers. Myths and Legends. Nothing about a wither cult. Damnit! Why was this so hard to find?

Myths and legends...maybe a cult would fall under that category? He flipped to the page where the section started, skimming through the first few paragraphs.

“I’m back!” Eret looked up to see Foolish making an entrance. The totem pulled out a chair and sat next to Eret. “You said you wanted to talk?”

“Um, yeah. That, and I want you to stay here and take a break from building.” Eret nodded.

Foolish groaned, slouching in the chair. “But Eret, I want to build! I have so much energy, I could build so much right now.”

“You’ve been building almost daily ever since you got here, you need to take time to rest.” The king rolled his eyes with a smile.

“...Fine.” He sighs, playing it up and not actually upset. Well, he was a little bummed, but Eret was right, he needed to rest. His eyes averted to look at the book on the table. “What’cha looking at?”

Eret looks up as his friend, then back at the book. “Well, I wanted to do some research on what you mentioned to me a while ago. About...a wither cult.”

Foolish blinked in surprise, before leaning over and examining the book. “...Myths and Legends? No, that’s not right.” Without hesitation, he stood up and started quickly flipping through the pages. Eret let out a small gasp of surprise, but didn’t question anything. After about a minute, Foolish sat back down. The book was now open to a page with some gibberish writing as a chapter title.

“I...What?!” Eret examined the page, unsure of what information it had to offer. “Foolish? How did you-“

“Eret. I’ve been alive for years, I’ve had plenty of time to do some light reading.” The totem interrupted, a sarcastic tone in his voice.

“Whatever you say.” Eret mumbled, starting to read the first paragraph. Despite the title, this section of the book was in english, and started with talk about an ancient being named Ronan. Foolish looked over his shoulder as Eret repeated the words from the book into his head.

“Anything of memory coming to you, old pal?” Foolish asked out of curiosity.

“Old pal.”

Damnit, that stab was there again.

“...No. I can’t recall any of this at all.” Eret said calmly, trying to hide his frustration. “So, apparently we fought against this...this Ronan guy and his army of cultists?”

“Yep! That’s the guy! Leader of the Wither Cult. Never liked him, still don’t like him.” Foolish nodded. “...You’re sure you don’t remember anything?”

“Nope.”

“Hmm...that sucks.” Foolish’s eyes averted to the lantern on the ceiling. “We had some epic battles. Definitely worth remembering, I’d say.”

Eret raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Yeah! You were pretty good with a sword back in the day.” He nodded, then sighed. “I just wish you could remember it all.”

“You and me both.” The king agreed, looking back at the pages of the book.

“Back then, it was awesome. On the battlefield, we were a force to be reckoned with! With your sword and my lightning, we were unstoppable.” Foolish spoke, reminiscing about the past. “And even when we weren’t taking down a cult, we were still pals! We would practice sparing together, go on adventures, scale mountains, and...”

Eret looked up, taking notice of his friend trailing off. “...And? And what?”

Foolish paused, looking around at the castle walls. “Eret...are these walls soundproof?”

“What?” That was quite the peculiar question to ask. However, Foolish was a peculiar character, this was nothing new. “I don’t believe they are, why do you ask?”

“Just curious.” Foolish shrugged, before standing up from his chair. “Alright, I need you to stand up for a second.”

Eret obeyed, standing up and pushing his chair in. “Are you...taking me somewhere?” He asked.

“Good guess, but no. I’m gonna bring up some old memories, but you have to trust me. Do you trust me, Eret?” The king nodded, and a small smirk grew on Foolish’s face. “Okay, now I need you to lift up your arms, above your head, and close your eyes.”

“I need to what?” Eret asked, intrigued, but clearly confused.

“I promise you, just trust me on this one.”

Eret hesitated, then closed his eyes while slowly moving his arms upwards. “What are you going to do, arrest me?” He asked sarcastically, letting out a chuckle.

“Hmm, no.” Foolish shrugged, stepping closer towards Eret. “Instead, I’m gonna do...THIS!”

Eret’s eyes shot right open after Foolish’s plan was put into motion. His arms shot straight down as he could feel the hallows of his armpits being scribbled upon. “W-WAIT! Fohoholihish what are you dOHOHING?!” He asked, his voice filled with small snickers and giggles.

“We used to have tickle fights all the time back in the day! Don’t you remember?” The totem asked.

“Nohoho, I dohohohon’t!” Eret said back as the other once again shrugged.

“Really? Aw man, I guess I’ll just have to help you remember!” He grinned, moving his hands down to Eret’s sides, causing him to double over laughing. Eret tried to get away by slithering out of his grasp and moving closer to the floor, but Foolish was quick to lightly tackle him onto the ground, scribbling at his sides and stomach.

“The old “sneak onto the ground” strategy, eh? Nice try, but you’ve already used that against me tons of times back in the day! Don’t think I don’t know your hidden plans!” Foolish grinned, teasing the other.

“DAHAHAMIHIT!” Eret shouted, the laughter spewing out of his mouth and filling the library. He wanted to be quiet and not risk anyone waking up, but it was just too hard with Foolish absolutely destroying him at the moment.

“Remembering anything now?”

“Mahahaybehe I could thihihink and fohohohocuhuhus wihihithohout youou TIHIHICKLIHING MEHEHEHE!” Eret’s laughter pitched upwards when Foolish started to stretch and knead at the kings hips. Who knew some tickling could reduce a powerful ruler into a squealing mess on the floor? Foolish knew, and he had been waiting for the perfect time to use this information to his advantage. He didn’t even want anything like a confession of some sorts, or something like that. He just wanted to see his friend smiling again!

“Wait, I know just what will jog your memory!” Keeping one hand on Eret’s hip, Foolish hovered the other one over the king’s ribcage. Eret, who’s laughter had died down a little bit, immediately noticed this.

“Fohoholish. Foolish.” Eret tried to sound intimidating, but the giggles escaping from his mouth made it hard take him seriously. “Foolish, no.”

“Foolish, YES.” He now hovered both hands over Eret’s ribs, anticipating him for what was next to happen.

“Foolish, I swear. Do not.” Eret repeated. “Foolish. Wait, we can talk this out. You don’t need to do this. You don’t- Foolish wait. Foolish- Foolish wAIAIAIHAIT!”

Wheezy cackling filled the air as Eret’s worst spot was targeted. Foolish skittered his fingers all over Eret’s ribs, playing them like a piano to see what spots were the worst. Anytime Foolish spot found a good spot, he would zone in on it and drill his fingers into the spot, making Eret’s laughter even louder, higher-pitched, and wheezier than before. After switching to scribbling at his stomach once again for a couple extra moments, Foolish stopped, giving his friend the time that he needed to breathe.

“You doin’ okay, old pal?” He asked with a grin, laying down next to Eret on the castle floor. “Hopefully I didn’t overdo anything.”

“No...yohohou’re fihine.” The other looked at the ceiling, still a bit giggly.

“Old pal.”

That stabbing feeling. It wasn’t there anymore.

Foolish frowned, just a bit. “So...nothing came to you during that? No memories?”

“No memories.” Eret repeated with a breathy sigh. A silence formed between them for a moment until Foolish spoke up again.

“Y’know, honestly? Who cares about old memories?”

“...What?”

“I mean, sure, we can dwell on the past. Or, we can look forward to the present and future.” Foolish continued. “Obviously, I want you to remember stuff as much as you want to, but maybe, for now, we should focus on making new memories instead of focusing on old ones. We could have our adventures again, and you hopefully won’t forget about them this time!”

“I...I suppose you’re right.” Eret nodded, sitting up after taking enough time to catch his breath. “It would be nice to know more about what happened back in the old days, but...it would also be nice to focus on what’s happening in the world now.”

“See? Exactly!” Foolish agreed, standing up and reaching a hand out to help Eret off of the floor. “We can make a ton of new memories, like how I just wrecked you.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll definitely remember that, so you should watch your back.” Eret chuckled, playfully sending a jab into Foolish’s side. The totem yelped in surprise, instinctively backing away. Another silence formed between them, both registering what had just happened into their minds.

“...Oh! Well, would you look at the time! I have to get back to building, it was very lovely talking to you Eret!” Foolish sputtered out, turning around and heading towards the door.

“You shouldn’t be building this late at night! You can stay here and rest more!”

“Nope! Nope Nope Nope. I’ve already rested enough.”

“Are you sure about that?” Eret playfully raised and eyebrow and started to follow the other.

“Yes, I’m very sure. Bye Eret!” Before the king could get a chance to speak again, Foolish closed the door on him. Eret let out a small laugh under his breath, waiting for a moment until he opened the door.

“Foolish, wait, relax.” He said, watching the totem hybrid turn around as he was leaving. “In all seriousness...thank you for stopping by. It really means a lot, even if it was at one in the morning and I may have waken someone up.”

“It’s no problem, Eret. Anytime, I’m happy to help.” The other nodded. “Just call me over if you need anything in the future.”

“Of course...” Eret paused before finishing his goodbye. “I’ll see you soon, old pal.”

Foolish paused, a soft grin forming on his face. He couldn’t remember how long it had been since Eret had called him that.

“Right back at ya, buddy.” He said to the other before waving goodbye.

And with that, Eret closed the door and headed back into the library. He had no idea what time it was. What he did know was that he had more knowledge about the wither cult than he previously did earlier that night, a stronger bond with his old friend, and the knowledge that in the morning, someone might tell him about hearing strange laughter in the middle of the night.

[joezworld]

📁

Specifically, any headcanons of the Sodor Engines interacting with the internet, or the internet in general?

For some reason, I’d imagine that podcasts and the like are popular among vehicles in general.

That is a question that I've been working on for some time - because I'm workshopping my own Tornado headcanon (and boy oh boy does she use the internet a lot) - but I have some ideas for the Sodor engines as well: 

Henry is probably the most "plugged in" engine on the island, weirdly enough. One of his drivers gave him an iPod back in the early 2000s, and kindly preloaded it with a bunch of torrented music.

 BTW, that works because all the engines are now equipped with automatic train warning systems, and the little on-board computer has a USB port - as a nice side effect it allows music players to work with the engines in the same way as bone-conducting headphones do. The computer also acts as some kind of computer interface, which I am not going to explain how that works because Jesus Christ I don’t know how it does either.  

 Henry has managed to upgrade his iPod a few times since thanks to hand-me-down units from NWR staff, so he eventually got his buffers on a wifi-enabled iPod Touch and now downloads new music from the station wifi. He does listen to podcasts, but as every other engine will tell you, you could show Henry ten thousand new and exciting songs from the best artists in the world, and his top ten played songs are still going to be Genesis, Phil Collins, and Yes. Bear considers it a win that he managed to convince Henry to regularly listen to Rush after a mere twenty years of convincing. 

 Mavis and Daisy listen to a very interesting program called The News, because as stated elsewhere, they invest a shitload of money and need to be on top of things. Thomas and Percy wish that Daisy would use headphones or something similar to that, instead of listening to Bloomberg TV at loud volumes in the middle of the night. Toby frankly doesn’t mind, as it’s very nice to be kept up-to-date on the outside world.  

In a move that surprises no-one, Bill and Ben have a podcast where they talk about whatever they think about at that moment - usually horse-racing, investing, and clay mining. As such, they have a wide audience, almost none of whom know that they’re that Bill and Ben, as their podcast is audio-only.  

 In an also unsurprising move, Edward and BoCo have been made very much aware that Bill and Ben have a podcast, but are still unsure as to what the hell a podcast is, despite being frequent guests on it.  

Of the main line diesels, only Bear has shown any real interest in the internet, and was immediately put in charge of the Amazon Alexa when a unit was installed in the diesel shed. He also has an iPod that he got for Christmas a few years back. (The NWR has a very good personal  electronics recycling program called give it to Henry, he’ll make use it.)  

Bear does listen to podcasts as well as music, but his choices are so insufferably boring that even Henry refuses to listen to them. (I don’t really listen to podcasts - despite making one - so insert the most boring podcast you can think of here.) 

 As for other internet uses... 

Gordon is very up-to-date on the newest social media trends - somehow - but only really cares when he is involved. He won’t admit it, but he’s been trying to figure out how to work a camera/selfie stick for some time so he can start up his own Instagram account. So far he has been unsuccessful, but one day he will manage it. 

 James has had an ongoing feud with his own Wikipedia page for about a decade now. The article sourced most of its information about his construction off of some out-of-print book about the L&Y. The book in question is accurate about James’ class, but not James himself - as he was a prototype engine. There’s no other primary sources available, so the very dedicated Wikipedia mod who created the page won’t change it - no matter how much James complains that he was there! He knows what happened! 

Every now and again a TTTE fan blog/tumblr will make a post about hypothetical “ships” of the Sodor engines. Most of the time it’s shipping the core characters like Gordon and Henry, much to Gordon’s bafflement and Henry’s amusement! 

Only one blog (a ttte fan tumblr by the curious name of @mean-scarlet-deceiver  ) has gotten it right. Henry actually reached out to congratulate this blogger, but was unfortunately mistaken for a very dedicated roleplay account.  

James is very annoyed by these blogs, as they have never once correctly guessed who he is “shipped” with! He has tried several times to be seen in public with Delta, but these events have never gone as planned - the “best” instance is when Edward rolled by at exactly the wrong moment, leading to months of speculation that JamesxEdward was the ship to look out for! 

Thomas, being a generally oblivious sort of engine, was totally unaware of the online fan community around the TV show until he started getting actively harassed by vloggers and Instagrammers in the early 2010s. He’s fine with it now, but it was a deeply unusual experience for most of 2012.  

Toby has developed an unexpectedly popular following on social media following his collab with Stormzy. His official twitter is huge now, with over a million followers, even if he has no idea what to do with it. He posts rarely, but usually manages to make an incredible post when he does.

No-one is sure who told Oliver what a “fan-production” is, but if you manage to get ahold of him for any period of time and ask him nicely, he will lend his voice to your TTTE fan-project, so long as it isn’t about [INSERT TERRIBLE SOCIAL/POLITICAL VIEW(S) HERE]. This means that he has 100% voiced dramatic readings of NSFW Fanfics before, which is always an absolute riot to spring on people unannounced.

There is a series of slice-of-life TTTE fanfics on Ao3 that have been written with such accuracy and innate railway knowledge that people are sure it was written by a Sodor engine, but nobody knows which one.

The Culdee Fell Railway has very active Instagram, Twitter and YouTube accounts, with all of the engines and coaches showing up regularly. It’s about the closest any of the railways on Sodor have come to what those outside the UK would call “normal locomotive social media”.

The Skarloey Railway has social media accounts too, but they don’t really feature the engines in any meaningful way, instead being used as a normal service announcements page.  

 The SR is a real working railway that doesn’t rely on tourism money as much as the others do, so they get a bit of a pass here.  

 The Arlesdale Railway has Twitter and YouTube, which didn’t usually get a lot of hits until 2020, when Ivan and Amanda Farrier started badgering the staff to make some videos just to alleviate some boredom. So far the most popular videos on the channel are a front-mounted camera video of the entire line slow-tv style, Bert explaining how steam engines work, and a video of Mike complaining about Justin Bieber for a solid half-hour.  

 That’s about it as far as Sodor goes, but before we’re done, I want to take a moment to talk about Tornado, because I have some fun ideas for her... 

First of all, we need to establish that Tornado is very young. Her construction only started in late 90′s, and she was steamed to life in 2000, putting her firmly into the “Zoomer” category. Add in the fact that she was built by a bunch of old men who didn’t really know how to treat a new engine, and she was raised much more like a human than a locomotive - I’ll get to this much more in the proper Tornado Headcanon post, but what this means here is that when social media started being a thing in the mid-to-late 2000′s, the people at the A1 Trust decided that they needed a young person to run things like Twitter, Facebook, and Myspace... and, well, Tornado was the youngest person in the trust by a large margin.

I should state here that in the rest of the world, locomotives are on the internet at roughly the same level as humans are, so there’s plenty of equipment to connect a phone/computer/camera to an engine - being English, the A1 Trust didn’t know how common it was, but they managed to get it up and running just the same.

 So Tornado has very quickly become attuned to the internet, just like any other teenager would. (yes, let’s let that settle into our minds for a moment - Tornado is barely old enough to drink in the US!) Quite naturally that means that she knows social media inside and out, and is actually quite a proficient social media manager for the trust, managing all of their social pages. More than one person who has complained about the trust on twitter has unknowingly been complaining to Tornado herself! 

 “On the internet, nobody knows that you’re a dog Engine”. 

 Tornado has her own personal social media accounts too, but most/all of the time she gets mistaken for a very dedicated role-player, as the general perception of British Locomotives is that they don’t tweet. This has resulted in some amazing reactions from podcast hosts (because, as you might expect, Tornado is very knowledgeable about steam traction in the 21st century, and tweets about it often, so train podcasts want to talk to her) when she gets invited onto video calls, turns on her webcam, and is met with screams from people who suddenly realize that her profile picture is accurate.  

 By far the best instance of this is when she was invited onto a video call with a railfan podcast. She was at the NRM at the time and managed to convince them to let her use their Skype setup. A wide-angle lens was needed because she was on the turntable in the Great Hall, so that podcast quickly got sidetracked when her webcam was turned on and revealed Tornado, with Mallard, Evening Star, City of Truro, and Green Arrow visible behind her. Whatever the original topic was quickly got thrown out in favor of a 2-hour Q&A with some of the most famous engines in the UK. 

[thewildwaffle]

The Gardener - Part 3

Continuing from this story     Part 4

How the human had managed to land this hunk of junk without getting themselves killed was some stroke of dumb luck. That was clear the moment Nipti pulled the drat thing into the shop. It was even more clear as he crouched into it to look at the ship’s meager engines. He’d had to teach himself the basics of small engines and different machines he used around the various gardens. However, that didn’t mean he was any sort of expert, especially when it came to something as big as a ship’s engines. That being said, even he could tell that the ship was going to need parts. A lot of them. “What is this- uhg, is this being held together with tape?!?” That was not up to any code he knew of. In fact, the more he saw of this ship the more he realized it was less of a ship and more of one giant collection of safety, engineering, design, and who knows what else protocol violations! This was hopeless. At least, for Nipti. He was a gardener after all, not a mechanic! Not to mention he still had his chores to do today. He sighed as he straightened his back and stretched. Well, might as well head back to the green garden. Make sure the human hadn’t gotten into anything too dangerous. They may be from the same planet as many of his specimens, but that didn’t mean they were completely immune to their dangers. And also, maybe he could get them to help out with his chores there if their offer to do so was genuine. Nipti carefully retreated from the trash scrap the human called a ship and started up the hoverbike. When Nipti arrived back at the Green Gardens, he didn’t see the human. He watched the raspberries, waiting to see moving branches or signs of their presence. The leafy plants only moved gently with the wind. Where had they gone? As Nipti parked the hoverbike, he noticed the pails the human had retrieved from the supply shack. They were filled with red, purple, and golden yellow fruits. Well, nearly full. The human must have eaten about half of one of the buckets. Or maybe they just had finished picking and put the bucket with the others. Nipti looked up and around again for where the human had gone, now a little worried. They said the raspberries were fine for them to eat, he hoped they hadn’t been overestimating their ability to process the xylitol in them. Maybe they were sick and had to lie down. But where?

“Marley?” Nipti called out. He kept telling himself that the human was fine. They were from Earth, they knew these plants potentially as well or even better than he did. He wasn’t sure why he felt so worried. He decided it must just be that he really, really didn’t want to deal with a sick or injured human in his gardens. That was definitely a good reason after all. “Marley?!” “Over here!” he could just make out their voice farther back in the foliage to his right. He gave a small sigh of relief, then shaking his head, donned his protective gear, and headed toward the sound of the human’s voice. He wondered if maybe they had found something else edible. That might be nice. Until their ship was fixed or a replacement procured, it was looking like they’d be here a while and he wasn’t quite sure what humans ate. Raspberries were one thing, but surely they needed more to their diet than that. As Nipti carefully pushed aside bushes and plants that he noted looked like they were in desperate need of trimming, he twisted his way into where he had heard Marley’s voice. As the human came into view, he stopped dead in his tracks. His plants. They were torn out of the ground, their scraggly, branching roots spreading out every which way except down in the dirt where they belonged. Plant after plant in the clearing looked like they’d been ripped up, bunched together, and thrown down. It was like something out of a horror story. “My plants!” Nipti cried, rushing forward and grabbing the human as they tried to pry up another specimen. “What have you done?! Why would you do this to my plants?!” Surprised, Marley released the plant they’d been pulling at and fell back onto Nipti who in turn fell back and landed on a pile of pulled vegetation. “Dude, what the heck? What was that for?” Marley rolled off of Nipti and pushed themselves back up onto their knees. “What was that- what do you think that was for?!” Nipti gestured at the carnage around him. He frowned down at the small crushed bunch of flowers his plants had started sprouting. Such a waste! Such a tragedy! Perhaps he could replant some of them, it might not be too late for some. “What, do you mean the weeds?” Marley’s eyebrows lifted at different angles as they looked between their mess and Nipti’s devastated expression. “I thought you’d be happy. You have quite an infestation of garlic mustard, you know.” “Infestation?! I planted these! What do you think you’re doing by ruining my garden like this?” Marley frowned and stared at him for a moment. “You mean you meant to plant these? Like, on purpose?” “Of course I did! You know I get plenty of tourists who come through my gardens and step on things here or pull a plant there, but never, in all my time, have I ever had someone go as far in their destruction as you, you monster!” The human looked hurt, and perhaps a bit unsure of themselves for a moment. They looked around the clearing again and their eyebrows squinted together. “Nipti, I’m sorry about angering you. I was trying to help.” Before Nipti could cut in, Marley held up a hand to silence him. “I do have one question though. Or actually two. First, how many of these did you plant?” Nipti frowned. What? What did that matter? He looked down at the crushed plants beneath him again. Then around the clearing where there were more piles all around, and more still that hadn’t yet been picked. “A little more than half a dozen or so.” Marley nodded. “Second question. How long ago did you plant them?” Nipti turned his attention from the numerous plants around him to Marley. The realization was starting to dawn on him, but it was slow coming so far. “About two and a half solar cycles ago.” Marley nodded as if that was that. Nipti, still not quite understanding what the human was getting at and still not quite ready to let go of his anger and shock, stood back up. “What does that matter? You still had no right to ruin my gardens as you did.” Marley’s eyes did a small spin in their sockets as they too got to their feet. “This garlic mustard propagated this much in that short amount of time. I’m saving your garden. I know a noxious weed when I see one.” Nipti’s retort stopped in his throat. What? “Noxious weed? What do you mean?” Marley gestured to their surroundings. “Noxious weeds. They’re what happens when a plant that’s taken out of their native environment and put into a new one where they turn invasive and can cause damage or even kill native plants or wildlife that compete for resources. They can destroy ecosystems if left unchecked.” Nipti frowned as Marley bent down to grab one of the plants by the roots. “Garlic mustard can choke out undergrowth and releases toxins into the soil that kill vital networks of fungi that other plants and trees need.” Marley ripped off a handful of triangular leaves. “They’re edible though, so I guess there’s that.” Nipti nodded slowly as he took it all in. “Noxious weeds,” he repeated quietly. “But if they’re that bad, then why do they not completely overrun all of Earth?” Marley arched their back in a stretch and leaned on a nearby shovel. “Well, they try. The places they’re native to have the right conditions where they’re naturally kept in check. Outside those conditions, they put their survival mechanisms to use and overwhelm ecosystems that aren’t adapted to deal with their tactics. People try to fight them and cut ‘em back, but sometimes it becomes a bit of an uphill battle.” Nipti silently gasped. Battle? Were the humans really at war with the plants from their own planet? He looked around at the clearing they stood in. Well, he supposed it did kind of look like a battlefield of sorts right now. Marley looked around as well and exhaled. “I don’t think they’ve done too much damage yet though. We’ll have to keep an eye around the area though. Garlic mustard seeds spread on the wind, but I don’t know how many of these have gone to seed just yet.” They walked to another patch of garlic mustard, pausing at the large pile they fell in earlier. “Do you have a place to put these? Like a bag or something? I can eat some, they’re still pretty young, the bigger ones I’ll have to cook the cyanide out.” “Cook the cyanide out?!” “Yeah, I can add them to a stir fry or make a sauce or whatever out of those. We just need to get them out of here.” Nipti sized up the number of large piles of pulled plants. This was a lot to take in. First, his garden was torn up, then he was told that the plants growing there were trying to kill his other plants, and now he has to figure out a way to clean all this up and prevent some plant infestation? He had done so much research when selecting specimens for his garden, what soils were necessary, watering information, light, humidity, pollination needs, on and on and on. He looked into everything he’d need to make sure every plant in his garden could thrive. He just never realized that some plants would go on to thrive at the cost of killing off other plants. He provided everything they needed, after all, there was no need for that. But the plants didn’t know that. They were created on Earth, a known category three death world. Survival of the fittest was hardwired into their DNA, and no luxurious life in his or anyone’s garden was going to change all that. “I’ll go get some bags and wagons to carry these,” he turned and headed back in the direction of the hoverbike. “Oh, before you go, real quick,” Marley called out. Nipti turned. “Did you happen to notice anything… odd about my ship when you were looking it over?” Odd? Nipti wondered. Odd was the least to worry about with that ship. “In my honest opinion,” he responded, “your ship is a piece of junk and you’d be better off selling it for scrap and parts. If there are any working parts left that is.” Marley made a low noise that sounded like a mix between a growl and a whine. “That bad, huh?” “I’ve never seen anything so malfunctioned before in my life.” The human’s shoulders dropped. They looked so sad, like a fledgling kuipik that’s forgotten where its den was. Nipti sighed. “If you really have it in to fix the drag blast thing, you’re gonna need a complete overhaul. Those do not come cheap, nor am I anywhere near qualified or capable of doing anything more than a tune-up. You'd have to hire a mechanic. And a good one at that.” “How much are we talking?” “Almost as much as it would cost to buy a ship that size new.” “Ouch.” Marley closed their eyes and tilted their head back up to the sky. After a silent moment, they nodded and began pacing. “Okay, okay. I’ll figure that out. In any case, I’m going to need money, and lots of it then. More than what I’ve got now, that’s for sure.” They stopped. They stared at the pulled plants around them. Nipti didn’t have much experience with humans and their wildly varied expression, but even he could see that Marley was thinking hard. After a few tiks, they nodded. “Nipti? You said you have a lot of tourists pop in, right?” “I do. They can be a real pain in my tail most of the time.” “I don’t suppose those tourists would mind a bite to eat while they peruse the gardens.” Nipti narrowed his eyes. Marley continued “And if they didn’t bring a snack, or if they wanted to sample some exotic foods while visiting exotic plants, made by what may be to them an exotic alien, they might be willing to pay some real tourist-trap level prices.” “I don’t know if I like where this is going.” “It’s just an idea,” Marley stopped pacing. “Like you said, fixing my ship isn’t going to be cheap. I know you love your gardens and having a human literally fall from the sky suddenly be your problem wasn’t part of your plans, but I’m willing to help you with your plants and dealing with tourists, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get my ship fixed. Maybe I can kill two birds with one stone?” “I’m going to assume that’s an Earth idiom.” “Yes it is.” Nipti sighed. Putting his head in his hands, he slid his slender fingers over his nasal ridge. “Okay. That may be a good idea,” he conceded, “but as of right now, it’s just an idea that needs a lot of thinking through and careful planning.” Marley’s face split into a toothy expression, the corners of their mouth turned upwards. They raised their hand up in a fist, except their opposable fifth digit was extended upwards. He stared at them. They stared back. “I’ll go get those bags then,” Nipti once again turned back toward the hoverbike. Thankfully, he had left it in the sun to recharge. He had already made more back and forth trips from his workshop and quarters to the Green Garden today alone than he had any time in recent memory. And by the looks of all the garlic mustard he would now need to transport, he would be making a few more before the day was done.

Part 4

[voids-colourful-creations]

What It Means - Ace Attorney Fic

Rating: T Category: Gen Pairings: Nothing romantic, but focusing on the family relationship between Trucy and Phoenix Word Count: 2k Warnings: discussions of abandonment

Trucy explains to Apollo and Athena what it really means to her to have Phoenix as her daddy.

 She looked out the window, her eyes tracing the cars below, reflected in the glass. “Athena,” Trucy said, voice just slightly off, still refusing to look either of them in the eye. “Did Daddy ever tell you the story of how I got adopted?”

Read on Ao3

It was a quiet day at the Wright Anything Agency, most were, and Phoenix had stepped out to grab some case file or another. It was in that little time frame, a short break while he was gone, that Apollo got around to asking a question that had been on his mind for a while.

He sat on the couch that faced Phoenix’s desk, opposite Athena and Trucy on the other. Athena sat on the right, and while she insisted she was doing work, Apollo could clearly see her playing some idle game or another on her holographic screens. He wondered how she ever thought she was hiding it when the screens were translucent.

Trucy sat on the other side of the couch, legs dangling over the couch’s arms as she shuffled up a pack of playing cards she was rehearsing some new trick with. He wasn’t quite sure of the details, but as long as it didn’t risk him losing a limb, he figured it probably wasn’t important. Trucy would probably ask him to watch the trick’s successful execution within the next few days or so anyway.

“Hey Trucy…” Apollo said, voice cutting through the comfortable silence, disturbing the ease. “Sorry if this is a weird question, it’s probably coming out of nowhere, I’ve just been wondering for a while…”

He trailed off, but Trucy was already responding.

“Sure, Polly, go for it! But if it’s about any of my magic tricks, those are secrets! I can’t tell you any of those, you should know that by now!”

She laughed and shook a finger at him, as though he were a misbehaving kid. While she was clearly having fun, Athena appearing amused as well, Apollo kept a serious expression on his face.

“It’s just… this sounds weird, but I’ve always wondered why you call Mr. Wright ‘daddy’.”

He hated how awkward it sounded, but how on earth was he supposed to ask that naturally?

Trucy just laughed again.

“Well I’m not going to call him ‘Mr. Wright’ like you and Athena do! He’s your boss, not mine, Polly! Or did you forget?”

She laughed and winked, and Athena laughed along as well.

“Come on, Apollo,” Athena chimed in, “What kind of question is that supposed to be?”

Apollo frowned, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Oh, cut it out. That’s not what I meant. It’s just… Isn’t that a childish thing to call your dad? I mean, you’re sixteen, I thought you would’ve grown out of it by now or something.”

Athena shot Apollo a glare, sans malice, as she waved her screens away.

“Don’t listen to him, Trucy! You’re still young, call your dad whatever you want!”

Apollo would’ve stuck his tongue out at Athena but he refused to stoop to such childish things, so he settled for glaring at her instead.

“Geez, chill Athena! I’m just telling the truth, it’s not like it’s a bad thing. I’m just wondering. It is kinda childish, you have to admit.”

It was Trucy’s turn to cross her arms now, over her legs as pulled them down and tucked them close to her chest.

“It might be, I guess. Though, I don’t really care, that’s not why I call him that.”

Athena’s eyes widened and Widget lit up yellow.

“Wait, wait, wait. Trucy, you actually have a reason? Huh, and I thought Apollo was just going off on a conspiracy theory.”

“Hey! Give me a little more credit than that!”

Trucy laughed at their antics, but it didn’t go unnoticed by either of the others that it was missing the spark it had previously held.

Apollo started to feel a pang of regret.

“Well, kinda?” She said, holding a smile that was beginning to waver. “I mean I guess I have a reason, but I also sort of don’t? It’s… complicated, I guess.”

Trucy stood, walking past the table and over to the window next to her father’s desk. Apollo and Athena both watched her, unsure of what they should say, if anything.

She looked out the window, her eyes tracing the cars below, reflected in the glass.

“Athena,” Trucy said, voice just slightly off, still facing the window, still refusing to look either of them in the eye. “Did Daddy ever tell you the story of how I got adopted?”

Athena nodded, then remembered Trucy couldn’t see her.

“Yeah, well… a bit? Boss said I didn’t need to know all the details, but he said he adopted you right around the time he lost his badge. He was defending your father, I think, but then he disappeared. I don’t know much more than that.”

Trucy nodded, still looking out the window.

“Yeah… that’s pretty much it. I don’t have to explain to you guys what it feels like… knowing you don’t have parents. No one to look out for you. It was only two weeks, way shorter than what either of you have had to deal with, so I guess I shouldn’t complain, haha…”

Athena bit the edge of her lip, unsure of what to say, but Trucy continued.

“Zak Gramarye, Shadi Enigmar, whatever you want to call him.” She said, waving her hand nonchalantly, “He ran away. Disappeared, really. The only end appropriate for a magician. And it’s not like I even have the right to be upset over it, I helped him do it.”

She said those words as if she was horrified with herself, dropping her hand to grip the edge of the desk, then let out a breath, soft and shuddering slightly.

“He left… and he never came back. But before long… he, my new daddy that is, called me into his office.”

Trucy paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts.

“I remember the look on his face when he told me… ‘no living relatives’. And I remember even clearer… what he looked like when he said would take me in, instead.”

Trucy laughed a little, but it was hollow, empty.

“Did you know it was only supposed to be temporary? Just until ‘daddy came back’. Well… guess who never showed up?”

She raised a hand to her eyes, wiping away tears that neither Apollo or Athena could see.

“And the funny thing is… I should be upset. I am upset… but not in the way I’m supposed to be. Because every time I think about it… Every time I get scared… w-worry that I’ll be all alone… a-again… I remember what Daddy told me.”

She raised her head just a little higher as she spoke, eyes closed as she quoted her memory.

“‘You can call me ‘daddy’, if you’d like. It doesn’t have to be today, or anything.’... That…. is what he said. And I, a foolish child, accepted it the second he said it.”

Trucy lowered her head again.

“He was so willing to just… let me into his family. Just like that. Before he knew about the Gramarye gift, before I had done anything for him but caused him misery. A-and I was pushy and upfront, I wanted him to be my dad right away, and I’d just lost the first. Maybe that makes me a horrible daughter, willing to abandon someone that quick. Maybe I just really wanted him to like me. I leapt at the chance to be someone's daughter again like I was jumping to a life raft off a sinking ship. Maybe… I was scared that someone would leave me behind again. But the thing is… Daddy never did. It was supposed to be temporary, just until Zak Gramarye made his return. And when he never did, Daddy never said a word. He just kept on caring for me, kept on loving me.”

Trucy took a deep breath in, shuddering again, stronger this time. It was sounding more like a sob.

“It’s different for him, I’m sure. But the moment he told me I could call him my daddy is the moment he became mine, to me. The moment he told me he’d be there for me, like a daddy should be. And every moment after that… even if he was busy, even if things were desperate, no matter what.”

Her voice was choked now and Athena knew she was crying, the same tears she knew were stinging Trucy’s eyes beginning to sting her own. The sound of Trucy’s pain pierced her like a knife slashing through her heart.

“He always comes back.”

Trucy’s voice cracked on the final words, and by now Athena had already stood up, closely followed by Apollo.

“I should probably tell him all this someday… but for now it’s just my little secret. Can you promise me you’ll keep it?”

When Trucy finally turned to meet Apollo and Athena’s eyes, she found both of them looking at her with equally teary expressions as her own.

“Of course.”

“Absolutely.”

Trucy smiled, and it was real this time.

Athena opened her arms, and before she could blink, Trucy had hopped off the desk and into her arms, gripping her tight in a hug. Athena held Trucy close, feeling the slight shake of her body as she hugged her securely. It wasn’t long before another set of arms, Apollo’s to be sure, joined in the mix.

They stayed there for a moment, Apollo and Athena holding Trucy, protecting her from anything outside that might harm her, though of course, nothing was there.

And then, as soon as it had begun, Trucy let go, and the hold gently dissolved.

“I’m alright, I really am. I’m still scared, sometimes. But I know Daddy will be there for me. And you’ll be there for me too… I hope.”

“Of course we will!” Athena cried out, and it took her a moment to realize that Widget had called out the same thing.

“Athena’s right. Widget too. We’re here for you, Trucy,” Apollo added. His voice was more stable than either of the girls, but he couldn’t hide the slight tremor in it from Athena.

“Thank you. Both of you,” Trucy said.

And as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand once more, Phoenix stepped back inside the office, files in tow.

“Hey gang, I’m back!” He called, smile dropping as his gaze landed on his daughter scrubbing the tear tracks off of her cheeks.

“Trucy! Are you alright? What’s wrong?”

He rushed forward, eyes scanning over Trucy’s body for any signs of physical injury.

“Nothing! Everything’s fine, Daddy!”

There were still tears at the corners of his daughter's eyes as she looked up to her father’s concerned face with a smile. He reached down, opening his arms to allow Trucy to hug him, which she gladly did.

“Are you sure?” Phoenix continued, shooting a worried glance at his employees over Trucy’s shoulder. “Apollo, Athena? Should I be worried?”

Athena shook her head.

“All good here, boss!”

Apollo twisted his bracelet around his wrist as he spoke.

“Nothing to be worried about.”

It was their words that allowed Phoenix to relax.

“Well if Apollo says it’s nothing to be worried over, then I’m sure it’s all fine,” He said, the teasing in his tone reassuring the others in turn.

He straightened as Trucy let go, smiling as he went.

“Alright then, is everyone good to get back to work?”

Athena pumped a fist, Trucy grinned, and Apollo crossed his arms over his chest with a smile.

That was answer enough for Phoenix.

“Great. Let’s get back to it!”

And back into the quiet sort of comfortable the office had previously been in they slipped.

As Trucy returned to practicing card tricks, Athena glanced at Phoenix, pretending to be tidying her desk as she did.

She couldn’t say for sure if Trucy was right about one thing… if Phoenix really did see his Trucy as a daughter later in their relationship rather than sooner. But as she watched him pull the locket out of his pocket to look at the picture inside, she was confident Trucy had been right about the other.

He would always come back for her.

[end]

[elmidol]

Error: Program Not Found - Eleven (NSFW)

Summary:  You are in charge of programming the droids that work most closely with both General Hux and Kylo Ren. Unbeknownst to you, each of these two men have it in their heads that your relationship extends beyond the workplace. This causes things to escalate quickly when your two apparently secret boyfriends compare notes on their respective partner who is far too similar for their liking.

Read on AO3

Chapter Warnings: sexting; masturbation

“The world is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.” - Eden Phillpotts

 Eleven: Golden

 Eddard was entrusted with caring for TeeArr during the meeting with the First Order supplier. He was one of the few you knew for a fact would be capable of handling the droid’s personality quirks without it interfering with his duties. As for the MSE droid, you had temporarily disabled it until your return. This was the safest route given its glitches and previous programming errors. Along with General Hux, Kylo Ren, Aelin, and you, the three other members to join were among the top in their fields. It did not escape your notice that Captain Phasma was absent and that there was not a representative for the stormtroopers. The issues regarding subpar equipment that the stormtroopers faced were near identical enough to what Kylo Ren and First Order officers had dealt with. Thus their presence would have been redundant. Regardless there were a handful of stormtrooper guards that were assigned to the ship and officers, although this was nothing different than what was to be expected.

 The ride on the Command Shuttle had been somber, limited conversation passing amongst the group. Kylo Ren did not utter a single word, whereas General Hux confirmed that you were comfortable in your seat before speaking with the officer seated on his left. Aelin dozed off and on. He leaned his head on your shoulder during sleep, an action that caused you to smile and relax as well. Though you did not lose consciousness, you were able to get ample rest and thus feel refreshed once the Command Shuttle had landed on the planet’s surface.

 Four humans met the entourage that you were a part of to offer salutations from their superiors prior to providing the location of the rooms that had been made ready for the duration of the stay. There were two or three beds per room aside from the two single-bed accommodations that were naturally for General Hux and Kylo Ren. Aelin was quick in offering for you to bunk with him. Grateful for this, you accepted with a smile and headed with him towards the room while one of the four humans--they had not given their names--led you once more. It was unnecessary and, in your opinion, bothersome that you were not allowed to walk alone. The rooms all shared a common area that was secluded from the remainder of the building and wherein all members of the First Order could speak.

 It likely has surveillance, you thought, lips pinching together at the sense of violation that rolled through you. Properly private communications would take place via messages on datapads, although this could well be accomplished in the common room to offer body language as an additional form of communication.

 “Do you think they will charge us for room service?” Aelin asked after his stomach growled rather noisily. You blinked while considering his question. Those hosting the meeting were being generous with providing a place to stay without charging the First Order; they were buttering you all up, however you sincerely doubted that they would spend more credits than necessary to secure the deal. This was about profit.

 You shrugged. “I would ask General Hux if food has entered any of their discussions.” Aelin gave an exaggerated sigh that had you rolling your eyes and shaking your head. He could be theatrically dramatic when he wanted.

 After you deposited the bag that you had brought with you for the duration of your stay on the floor by the bedside table, you knelt in front of it and began to rummage through your belongings. This setting allowed one to dress in nonstandard clothing while not in the meeting. There was no way that you were going to give up the chance; it was a rare occurrence since you had started working for the First Order. You selected a shirt and lounge bottoms, bundling them into your arms and then walking into the bathroom to change. Aelin had already plopped down on the bed he would be using for the stay. He had discovered a menu on the small round dining table that was tucked off in a corner of the room. You trusted him to learn if food was to be included as well as pick a location to eat if it was not.

 Once dressed, you settled down on your bed with your datapad, which had been blinking to indicate a new message. Aelin was working on acquiring more information regarding food since thus far he had been offered mixed messages. He left the room just as you rested your head against the bed’s headboard. Your fingers worked quickly on typing in the passcode for your device; you had added this as a precaution now that you were on planet and away from the increased security offered by the First Order when on their bases or ships. The majority of your project notes were locked away with your other possessions rather than being brought to this planet. When the message was brought it, the sender was anonymous. You furrowed your brow at that. Few possessed your contact information on the server.

 With a roll of your shoulders, you decided to play along with whoever had sent the message upon reading its contents.

 [There is time to play between work hours. Can you guess my favorite beverage?]

 Your tongue flicked along your lips, wetting them, and you narrowed your eyes while contemplating your answer. If this was General Hux, it would be tarine tea. If it was Kylo Ren, you were unsure. Worse, if it was someone else completely, you did not want to participate in this game. You toyed with your lips, pinching them between three fingers, tapping them, and at last releasing them. A light clucking noise issued forth as you pushed your tongue against the roof of your mouth. There was no reason that you had to give an immediate answer, however you were curious just how swiftly the individual would respond in turn.

 [I was debating catching up on some R&R between work hours. A pop quiz may not fall into that category.]

 It was not an outright rejection and should serve its purpose of deterring the individual from contacting you further unless they were serious. In which case your belief that either General Hux or Kylo Ren were behind this would be more substantiated. There was no shying away from the thrill that developed at the thought of flirtatiously messaging with either of those men. You were more in your element over the messaging system, more in control, and the ability to duck out of it should things prove too intense was less awkward than dismissing yourself when face to face. The relaxed atmosphere of the planet, of this room that you were sharing with Aelin, further allowed you to feel at ease with this idea. You found yourself dreading proof that it was neither General Hux or Kylo Ren that had messaged you.

 Aelin called through on your comm unit while you waited for a reply. The sound of its chime had caused your limbs to jerk towards your stomach, and you rolled your eyes as you recovered from having been startled. “Still unsure if food is included and I’m famished. I’ll bring back something for the both of us. You can pitch in for breakfast.”

 “That sounds just fine,” you replied whilst tapping your finger against your datapad. Another message had come in, albeit from a different sender. In place of Anonymous the sender was Unknown. You squinted. “What is the most popular beverage on this planet?” There was a pregnant pause before Aelin offered the response of a tea that was made from an indiginous fruit. “Would you mind bringing me one?” There was no question as to why you wanted it, only an affirmation that he would purchase the drink if it was readily available wherever he went for food.

 Disconnecting from the conversation on the comm link, you brought up the message from the new sender. It was similar in tone to the one from Anonymous, and you considered that they might be one person rather than two.

 [Our hosts have ensured periods of idleness. How shall we indulge ourselves?]

 It would not be difficult to copy the message that you had sent to Anonymous as the reply fit this message as well. The idea that it was lazy prevented you from resorting to that. You were touchy on such matters ever since you had to endure being tested by Kylo Ren when it came to the training droids. Bitterness threatened to flood through your veins at the memory, and you shoved those thoughts aside, opting to instead focus on the message and what reply you would compose. It would have to be similar to the previous one, you thought. Not an outright rejection, but also not something completely warm and inviting. You puckered your lips forward into a sort of fish-faced expression while beginning to type.

 [The lapses in work offer opportunities for rest and brainstorming. Responding to questions is not high on my list of activities.]

 You bit down on your bottom lip. That text was rather rude in tone. You debated deleting it then shrugged and sent the message. Not two seconds later you received a new message from Anonymous.

 [Forgive me, I had not realized that I would be intruding on your rest.]

 The line was afforded a sarcastic tone in your mind as you read it through twice. It was suggestive of either man still, which did frustrate you. They were similar but different. This was another motivation for engaging at all; your conflict could be settled with interactions that had nothing to do with work. There was no risk of kissing them, of them kissing you. Your next response would have to be a little warmer unless you wanted the individual on the other side to end communications.

 [There is a high probability that I am hangry, which leads to increased irritability when questioned on beverages. The most popular drink on this planet is a fruit tea, did you know that?]

 You clicked the send button and preempted the incoming reply from Unknown by immediately afterwards returning to the inbox.

 [What if the inquiries revolve around the projects that have you brainstorming?]

 This individual was tenacious and not easily swayed. It was nice, you thought. You needed someone who could deal with you on good days and bad. Your workload oftentimes increased without proper notice, and as such you were stretched thin mentally and emotionally. Until recently, you had never snapped at either General Hux or Kylo Ren. That would have been entirely unprofessional. Perhaps suicidal in the case of Kylo Ren. You suppressed a giggle at the thought; it had been an electrifying experience in the training room that day. Your lips tingled at the memory. Next your throat as your mind conjured up the other man that had recently kissed you.

 [That might be helpful. What if all projects aren’t work related?]

 You curled your toes at the thought of potential responses to that. As time dragged on you were realizing that you wanted to flirt more openly with Kylo Ren and General Hux on this messaging system. You wanted them to say something that would take your breath away. You could reciprocate here where you were safely hidden behind a screen. Maybe the two of them realized that already. Perhaps that was why they had reached out in this way. It was them, wasn’t it? The idea that it was anyone else made your stomach churn. If it was, though, you could pretend. How stupid would that be, you thought as you again rolled your eyes. You did not want anyone to catfish you. Did not want to emotionally open up in this way only to be hurt.

 The responses arrived at nearly the same time as one another. You stared at them in the inbox without opening either. Was the same man--person in general--behind both accounts? If was the two of them, separately, messaging you, which did you prefer? Enjoying both was such a problem. You shoved away that negative line of thinking and opened both messages, each taking up half the screen.

 A: [Yes, I had heard. The tea itself is said to be rather sweet. Is that something you prefer?]

 U: [Are any of the non-work related projects to do with self-improvement? Your physicality, perhaps.]

 Two very different responses that were both flirtatious in your opinion. You glanced at your comm link then the chrono that was in the room. Aelin could return at any moment. Your mouth watered at the thought of food. You did not salivate any less upon looking once more at the messages. You readjusted your posture so that the screen of your datapad was not easily visible to anyone who might come through the door.

 To A: [I will, hopefully, learn soon enough if it is something I prefer. Are you opposed to sweets?]

 To U: [Should I be offended that you find my body in need of improvements?]

 Your heart stuttered in your chest at the thought of how they might respond. The questions you posed would hopefully assist you in determining which man was which. You were under the assumption that Anonymous was General Hux and Unknown was Kylo Ren. That being said, you clearly had a skewed perception of how they interacted with others given that you had not known they considered themselves in a relationship with you. It would be just your luck to have their identities swapped.

 A: [I am not opposed to them, nor do I seek them out. I eat to sustain myself. If you recall, the First Order is not rich in food beyond basic provisions.]

 U: [I was leading into the benefits of sex.]

 Your jaw dropped as you read the reply from Unknown. This individual was a lot more forthcoming than you had believed either of them would be. Heat seeped into your cheeks, and you found yourself pressing your legs together. How far were you willing to go with these chats? At one point in time you had been engaged in a long distance relationship. Sexting, masturbating over video and/or voice chats, you had done it.

 To A: [I will have to indulge quite a bit on this trip between meetings then.]

 To U: [That is quite forward of you. I am less concerned about insult than I was before.]

 The next message you received was voice-based from Aelin to inform you that he was waiting for the food to be prepared. The delay in his return would be approximately half an hour. Your heart stuttered in your chest here. Licking your lips, you decided to not wait for a response from either sender. Some might consider your behavior scandalous. It hardly mattered when they proved that they would gossip no matter your true actions or intentions. There was no way you were going to let that stop you from enjoying yourself here.

 To A: [If you were able to have your way with me, what would you do?]

 To U: [What position would you want me in during sex?]

 It felt like all air had been siphoned from your lungs the minute both of those messages were sent. A shiver ran down your spine. This was not regret so much as anticipation. You waited with bated breath for the answers. Each second that ticked by drove you insane. It was counting down the time you had left until Aelin showed up. Maybe counting the minutes then hours that you received no response at all. Would you get written up? Be rightfully accused of abusing the messaging system?

 A: [I would restrain your arms behind your back while you were on your knees, my cock in your mouth.] You slipped under the covers, bending your knees and parting your legs, to give you some form of privacy should Aelin enter before you were done. Your fingers danced along the hem of your bottoms. [I would fuck your mouth, but I wouldn’t cum in it. I would shove you onto your back, keep your arms pinned. Open up that tight cunt of yours with my fingers and tongue. Taste how wet I make you.] Swallowing thickly, you slid two fingers along your slit, feeling your body responding to the words you were reading as much as your own touch. [Then I’d fuck you so hard you would barely be able to stand. You’ll feel so empty when I’m not inside of you.]

 “Fuck.” You dragged your juices up towards your clit, circling it, letting it slip away from your touch before pinning it between two fingers.

 U: [Bent over the table so that I can fuck you while those annoying senators and businessmen watch. You’ll be an incoherent mess as you cum on my cock.]

 The second message had been shorter, yes, but it had given you as vivid an image as the first. You closed your eyes while picturing both scenarios. Moving back and forth between the two. General Hux restraining your wrists with a belt, his cock down your throat as you moaned around him.

 You moved your fingers into yourself, thrusting them slowly, curling and uncurling just the tips.

 Next it was Kylo Ren using the Force to keep your arms in place. You would be completely unable to move as he held onto your head with both of his hands and pounded into your mouth.

 You added a third finger while imagining, in alteration, the two men bended you over the table during the meeting. All faces were blurs, the very idea almost too much for you though it made you hot all over. Arousal flooded through you in electrifying waves. You slid your other hand under the sheets to toy with your clit without removing the first from inside your cunt. You fucked yourself harder, picturing them. Their thick cocks inside of you, your walls clenching around them. Words of praise spilling from your lips in sloppy, incoherent whines. You gasped aloud, rolling onto your front, onto your knees, and burying your face into your pillow, your fingers moving faster and faster. You could feel yourself growing closer. Could feel the scream of pleasure that threatened to erupt.

 Darkness crept along the corners of your vision, your eyelids fluttering repeatedly as the dam of pleasure broke and you spilled around your fingers. You moaned loudly into your pillow then bit down on it. Muffled yourself as best you could, riding out your orgasm, rocking your fingers against your clit to prolong it. Your body trembled at the additional stimulation. All the while your mind kept the pictures of General Hux and Kylo Ren fucking you playing and replaying. The memories of how their mouths felt on you. You collapsed against the mattress, rolled onto your side. Curled enough to locate your datapad, which continued to display both messages. It also showed the time. Aelin would be returning any minute.

 Feeling only partially satisfied, you went into the bathroom to clean yourself up. After returning to the room, you lifted your datapad and typed out a quick message that you copied and pasted for both.

 [Thank you. I needed that.]

 The heat in your body had not fully abated when you exited out of the messaging center. There was no more time to recover, however; you could hear Aelin’s footsteps on the other side of the door. Could smell the delicious food that he had brought with him. You hoped that Anonymous and Unknown would send you more messages while you were on the planet for the meeting.

[rookie-ramsey]

Baby Blues, chapter 2

Description: MC and Bryce can handle just about anything. Hopefully, pregnancy and parenting fall into the “just about everything” category.

Pairing: Bryce X F!MC

previous chapter

Emily found a highly-rated OB/GYN not far from Edenbrook. For now, she wanted to keep her pregnancy a secret until she was ready to announce it to the world.

She scheduled an appointment for a day when she had a half shift, taking care to arrange it during Bryce’s lunch break so he could join her. He met her in the atrium and followed her outside. 

Slipping her hand into Bryce’s, Emily gave it a squeeze. “It’s just a block away. Since it’s a warm day, I thought we could walk there and grab some lunch on our way back.”

“Sounds like an amazing lunch time adventure.” Bryce kissed her cheek as they walked down the sidewalk. 

It only took them a couple of minutes to reach the OB/GYN’s office. Emily opened the door and checked in. A moment later, the nurse called her back and questioned her to fill out her new patient paperwork.

Emily held the clipboard and skimmed over the papers, filling them out as she went. Once she was done, she handed the clipboard back to the nurse. “Here you go.”

“Thank you. Dr. Tahan will be with you in just a minute.”

Nodding, Emily took a seat on the exam bench. Once they were alone, she let her gaze fall on Bryce. “It feels a lot different being a patient.”

“Yeah?” Bryce nodded. “I’ve gotta say, it feels a little… weird. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.”

“You’re not upset, are you?”

“No! Of course not.” Bryce shook his head fiercely. “I’m not gonna lie and say I’m not freaking out a little, but I’m not upset at all.” He leaned over and gently squeezed her knee. 

Relaxing, Emily rested a hand over his. A knock on the door caught their attention, and a moment later her doctor entered.

“Hello,” she greeted, shaking each of their hands. “I’m Dr. Tahan. Why don’t we get started?”

“Sounds great.” Emily leaned back on the exam bench and rolled up her shirt. Dr. Tahan spread the gel on her stomach and started the machine. She pressed the wand to Emily’s stomach and moved it around until an image formed on the monitor.

Emily reached over and took Bryce’s hand. He laced his fingers through hers and squeezed gently as they watched. Finally, Emily could see a fuzzy shape on the screen.

“There’s your baby.” Dr. Tahan angled the monitor so they could see. “I would say you’re around seven a a half weeks pregnant.”

“Our baby looks… like a blob.” Emily lightly touched her stomach. “We’re doctors, so I should have expected this, but… it’s hard to believe there’s something in there.”

“Mm hmm. Would you like a copy of your very first sonogram?”

She nodded. “Okay.” When Dr. Tahan handed her a wipe, she cleaned the gel off of her belly and lowered her shirt. A minute later, Tahan handed them a print-out.

Bryce leaned over Emily’s shoulder. “A picture to commemorate.”

“Mm hmm.” Emily carefully tucked the print out into her purse. They checked out and booked her next appointment before they left the doctor’s office. “We still have some time. Let’s grab some food.” 

They stopped at a diner on their way back to the hospital.  When Emily sat in a comfortable booth, Bryce sidled up next to her. 

“Hey.”

“Hey, yourself.” Emily grinned. “This whole table, and you sit right next to me. I love it.”

“Yep.” Bryce put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close for a kiss. Soon, a waitress took their order. 

As they waited, Emily drummed her fingers on the table. “I know it’s still months away, but January will be here before we know it.” 

Bryce nodded. “Guess it’s a good thing I got that three bedroom apartment after Keiki moved in. The extra bedroom is just gathering dust.”

“We can turn it into a nursery.” Emily settled a hand on her stomach. “Did you tell Keiki she’s going to be an aunt?”

“Not yet.” Bryce shook  his head. “I thought we could do that together since she’s obsessed with shipping us.”

Emily chuckled. “That helps break the news.” 

“It does. She’s always trying to give me relationship advice. It’s creepy.”

When the server brought them their lunch, she started eating her burger. She sighed softly, taking a slow bite. 

“Before long, I’ll be stuck with healthy food for nine months. I’m gonna enjoy every bite of this burger and make it count.” 

Bryce grinned. “You’re adorable.” 

Shaking her head, Emily dipped a fry in ketchup. “That’s you.”

“I didn’t deny that. At least we know this kid is gonna be ridiculously cute.”

“Duh.” Emily stole a fry from his plate. “I think your fries taste better.”

Bryce’s lunch break ended entirely too soon for their liking. He paid for their lunch and walked back to Edenbrook with Emily, stopping for a soft farewell kiss. “Gotta go back to cutting people open. Enjoy the rest of your time off.”

“I’ll try. My shift starts in two hours.” Emily kissed him back before they parted. She watched Bryce disappear into the building. Unsure of what else to do, she walked to a nearby shopping center. She found a baby store and lingered outside for a moment before she entered. 

Surrounded by baby clothes, toys, and furniture, Emily suddenly felt a little overwhelmed at how much they would have to buy. She browsed the aisles, her gaze softening as she took in everything. 

Already, she felt her wallet shrinking as she perused the baby clothes and toys. A particular onesie caught her eye. Immediately, she grabbed the gray onesie, admiring the stethoscope printed on the front. 

How was she not supposed to buy it?

Emily made her way to the checkout and paid for it before she had a chance to buy anything else. She left the store and checked the time. Her evening shift didn’t begin for another ninety minutes, so she browsed a few more shops before she reported to Edenbrook. 

She made her way through the halls and to the locker room, keeping her bag from the baby store concealed. When she reached the locker room, she tucked the bag safely into her locker. She snapped a quick picture of the stethoscope onesie and sent it to Bryce, grinning when he soon responded with a heart eye emoji. 

Laughing quietly to herself, she changed into her white coat. She closed her locker and reported downstairs for clinic duty.

next chapter

Tags: @elephant9998 @mvalentine @fortunatelywaywardsandwich @whatchique @achalantspitfire @lahellacute @virtuallytakenby @oofchoices @dang-lahela @miss-whit12 @drakeismyweakness @sitsoncornflake @a-tragical-tale​ @bitchloveskcbaseball​ @laceandlula​ @paulfwesley​ @bloomingsivan​ @anotherbeingsworld​ @vamped99​ @datynasuha​

[impishnature]

Stray Feelings

AO3 Fandom: Gravity Falls Rating: G

A/N: Thanks anon! I hope you enjoy this <3 Also I think the prompt speaks for itself. Theres Feral!Ford and there’s fluffy animals.

.

Stan wasn't meant to be gone this long.

There was a strange atmosphere around the Shack as Ford paced, quick sharp steps and tapping fingers. Stan had a routine. He may not realise it but he did. Through the week he probably knew; get up, get dressed, work, go out on the porch to relax or in front of the TV if the weather was rough, sleep, rinse and repeat. That was simple, it made sense and Ford could integrate himself easily enough. At the weekend, or on days off, it was calmer and things could change if he only asked, Stan happy to jump at the chance to spend time together. But certain things were always the same, Stan got up, made himself a warm drink and sat on the porch for half an hour before coming in to make them both a breakfast that set off the rest of the day.

Only.

Stan hadn't come inside yet.

And deep down there was a voice laughing at him that it was nothing, that Stan was just taking his time and that was that. It was his day off, he was allowed, he didn't have to jump to Ford's whims and fancies.

But the much louder voices were the ones that itched to check up on him, to make sure he hadn't gone past the barrier or done something equally reckless. The alarm bells that clogged up his throat and set his heart racing so that he couldn't call out and get him to come back inside. It wasn't like Stan to deviate, he was a creature of habit and kept himself to himself, straying from the pattern set off too many warning signals for him to ignore.

And so he paced.

And the time Stan took outside stretched and stretched.

Until the 'what ifs' and awful cackling laughter got too much and he propelled himself at the door, brain ready and expecting a threat.

"Jesu- Sixer!"

The door cracked against the wooden wall and Stan yelped like he'd shot at him.

Ford blinked, the light outside blinding in it's intensity as he scouted for a threat in the distance, too amped up to wait for them to adjust. He could feel Stan in his peripheral, stumbling up from the floor and it only added to his anxious, heightened senses.

What was he doing down there?

"Easy, Ford, what's going on? What's happened?" 

Ford frowned, finally turning to him as he groaned and stood up properly. He darted to his side, lifting him up and depositing him into the porch chair to another disgruntled yelp at his manhandling. Had he fallen? Why hadn't he called out for me?

Stan slapped his fluttering hands away, gently but still frustrated. "Sixer, I'm fine! Just tell me what's happened." His eyes were soft, searching Ford's face as he loomed above him. "I can't help if you don't tell me, Ford. Breathe." 

"I-I-" Ford stared back at him, head tilting ever so slightly. It was easier to breathe now that it was obvious Stan was OK, and that meant the words flowed just that little bit easier. "You- uhm-" 

And suddenly everything felt that much more childish and unnecessary.

The laughing, cackling voice from before suffocating the paranoid voices.

Paranoid.

"Nothing. Doesn't-"

"Oi. Don't do that. Whatever it is, it matters." 

But did it really?

He didn't want Stan to worry about him more than he already did.

"Ford."

But perhaps that ship had already sailed.

"I- that is-" Ford huffed, scrubbing at the back of his neck as he stood up. "You were taking longer than usual."

Stan raised an eyebrow, though there was a strangely sheepish tilt to his mouth that he couldn't quite hide. "O-oh?"

"You usually, uhh, you tend to only stay out here for a little while-"

Understanding dawned on his brother's face and Ford's heart sank guiltily. "Or I tell you if I'm going somewhere, don't I? Shoot, sorry. I just lost track of time."

"No, no." Ford held up his hands. "I still overreacted."

Stan shrugged, an apologetic smile still on his face. "Well, perhaps next time I lose track of time, you'll remember this time."

Ford tried to smile back but he knew it wasn't fully working from Stan's expression. "Hopefully."

"Or you could always join me- maybe with less fanfare next time." Stan's smile turned more mocking, a sibling grin beginning to stretch from ear to ear.

Ford groaned. "Don't give me that look. But yes, next time, I'll- do my best to just check on you."

Stan shrugged. "Suit yourself. It's very calming out here in the mornings." 

Ford stared at him for a few moments. He'd always assumed this was Stan's quiet time, away from the world, away from- well, him as well. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Good." Stan's face brightened, as if he'd just won an argument before his face fell again and suddenly he began searching at his feet. "Shoot. Wait, where'd it go?"

"...Stan?"

Ford watched as Stan almost forgot he was there, head snapping to him for a second before going back to his search. "Oh, right, well I did say I lost track of time. I kind of got distracted." He started making a strange noise with his mouth, soft clicks and pursed lips. It was a sound Ford was sure he'd heard before, but given all of his travels, everything had become jumbled together into a mix of signals, either angry or pleasant. This one came under the pleasant category at least, though his hackles still raised ever so slightly at the thought of another creature being on their porch that he hadn't even noticed.

He stayed silent, watching Stan's shoulders lock up even as he continued his hunt.

"So, right- this little thing came padding up to me while I was sat here. And I was going to come in and talk to you! But  I didn't know what your thoughts were on strays and the like... so I was trying to come up with a good way to broach the subject and-"

He was starting to get agitated, and Ford couldn't have that. 

It felt like he'd started this downward spiral.

"Slow down." Stan flinched and Ford hated it. "I didn't mean- just tell me calmly-"

A soft mew punctuated both of their words.

Ford watched as Stan leaned over as far as he could, a little pink nose peeking out from under the porch seat. 

"There you are!" 

He placed his hand within reaching distance, the little nose sniffing at his fingers before warily popping a whole head out and glancing up at Ford with worried eyes and downwards ears.

Ahh. He'd spooked it.

He squatted down beside the seat, hoping to appear smaller and less threatening, as the small creature shimmied it's way out of it's hiding spot and rubbed against Stan's hand, still watching him carefully. It was a skinny little thing, he could almost see ribs, but it seemed happy enough at the attention Stan was doting upon it. It was grey, though he was unsure on how much of that was dirt versus actual colouration, with short tufted little whiskers and big ears that it had yet to grow into. It mewed at him again, tiny teeth making their presence known as big brown eyes continued to stare at him. 

"See? It's just a kitten." Stan's face was locked onto the little thing as if it were Mabel at her cutest. One of his fingers was big enough to scritch it's chin and it seemed happy to sit there and bask in the attention. "It stumbled out of the woods when it heard me. Even fell over half way along the trail like the kids did sometimes when they were too excited to just walk." He cooed at it ever so softly, Ford wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't heard it. "And- I don't-" He frowned, eyes darting to Ford. "Guess I've always had a thing about looking after strays."

Ahh.

Ford could understand that.

After everything, he could see Stan doing that.

Besides, as much as he had to fend for himself in his travels, and his hardships had been innumerable, sometimes you just couldn't resist helping someone or something else in need as well, regardless of the danger it put you in.

Ford put his hand out slowly to the kitten, extending the olive branch and waiting patiently for it to accept or reject him. It at least looked curiously at him from behind Stan's hand. "What were you worried about?"

Stan swallowed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I-I dunno. I mean, it is your house and your rules so. I guess I was scared you'd say no and I'd have to try and hide this little one on the porch so I could still feed 'em."

Ford was mildly offended. "It's our house." Stan looked at him strangely at that. Oh, had he never actually said it before? "It is." 

Stan continued to stare before his smile widened again. "Alright, it's our house. But that still means it has to be a joint decision on looking after this little one until we find it a good home."

"Hmm..." Ford gave the kitten a joking once over as it slowly plodded over to him. "I mean it doesn't seem like a threat."

Stan snorted, Ford grinning along with him as he achieved what he'd hoped. "I swear to god if I find you running tests..."

"Well, you can never be too sure." Ford continued to smile as a cold, wet nose hit his finger, but his eyes trailed over to a little wonky tail and skinny legs. "Though I think any tests would be to check how healthy this little guy is."

"There's a vet for that."

"I'm better than a vet."

Ford could feel the eye roll he received but his focus was fixated on the little creature that was now too filled with curiosity to be cautious. It sniffed his hand, and then his coat, continuing up until both front paws were on his knees and a little face was stretching up to sniff his. He leaned down, letting the small creature continue its ministrations, scoping him out in a way that made him oddly proud but also oddly protective of the little child that didn't seem to understand that he could also be a threat.

He scooped the little thing up, pulling it into his chest. There was a soft yelp and more searching eyes as Stan started to tell him off but then the kitten relaxed, curling up into his arms against his chest. His heart was still beating fast from the earlier worries and the strange conversation but as the kitten relaxed against him, he could feel the tension easing.

It evaporated entirely when a soft purr emanated from the tiny body, slipping into his chest and warming him from the inside out. 

"We're keeping them."

Stan beamed, fist pumping ever so slightly like they were teenagers again. "Yes! I'll go out later and grab some food and see if anyone's looking for a kitten-"

"No."

Stan paused. "What?"

"We're keeping them." 

And with that Ford stood up, kitten still in hand and walked into the house, happily rejoicing at the peace the small creature was giving him as it purred in his grasp.

He heard an exasperated and confused voice behind him as Stan tried to catch up. "...Well, alright then. Guess that's that decided-"

He was sure Stan wouldn't mind.

After all, it had been his idea in the first place to look after the stray.

And they both knew deep down that once you were family to Stan, that was it for life.

He could pretend all he wanted, he'd have never been able to give the kitten up once he was attached to it.

And Ford was pretty sure from his earlier arguments and that fond expression he'd worn that it had already happened.

Yeah, he was sure Stan would forgive him.

[palettememoriesofyou]

Hey! I can finally send in the ask I've been thinking about. Can you share a memory you have with Roxas? It can be good, bad, silly, romantic, whatever comes to mind first!

There’s so many I can choose from, it’s hard to pick just one… 

Let’s go with the time leading up to when he became my boyfriend. It’s a little good, bad, silly, and romantic all in one. But there’s a bit of context that goes into this. Roxas and I had been really close friends for a while and I think we had both hinted to each other of our feelings and desire to take our relationship to the next step more than once. It probably would’ve happened sooner, but Roxas was… confused about some things at the time. 

It was during a bit of a trifling time for us. I told Roxas that I never learned how to ride a bike before, so he surprised me one day with a brand new bike and decided to teach me. It was a cute surprise turned sour when I ended up spraining my ankle pretty badly. Bad enough that Roxas had to take me to the hospital, anyway. My dad found out and he was livid. He was already weary of Roxas because of his lineage, but the fact that an idea of his resulted in me getting hurt was the last straw. So he pretty much said I wasn’t allowed to hang out with him anymore. Probably needless to say, but I was not happy about that.

 Still, Roxas and I kept talking. We would stay in touch on the phone and we would video chat each other every night. We’d even fall asleep on the calls together and wake up the next day still in call. We wouldn’t even hang up unless we really had to. Like, I’m pretty sure we broke some kind of record for hours spent in a call together. 

That distance was starting to kill us, though. I think we both were starting to realize just how much we missed being together physically. Those innocent late night talks gradually became a little spicier as time went on. A little deeper… a little more intimate. Until one day, I decided enough was enough and told him to come over after my dad left for work. 

While I didn’t want to fully admit it to myself at the time, in hindsight, I invited him over because I wanted to take our relationship to the next level. I had gotten to know him so well by that point that I think I already subconsciously viewed him in the same category as I would a boyfriend. Even if we didn’t exactly have the title quite yet. So, I guess I figured it was time we consummate our relationship. I think Roxas felt the same way, even if we both pretended to act like it would just be an innocent get together like usual - deep down, we knew why we were there and what we wanted to do. 

Still, I wasn’t going to be caught dead confessing first, so I let Roxas take the lead and just prayed it went where I was hoping it would go. He seemed a little nervous, but ultimately he was the first to admit his feelings. That took the weight off my shoulders and I was able to admit that I felt the same.  

I’ll never forget it. We were sitting on my bed and our proximity was slowly but surely closing. Our lips were inches away from brushing against each other before my dad ended up barging into my room just before anything could happen. Gosh, my heart must’ve been racing a million miles a second. Dad was furious and it looked like he was close to physically assaulting Roxas had he not gotten away in time. 

I was just as livid as Dad, though. Looking back, I guess I understand a little more. It was a betrayal of his trust, and I feel bad, but at the same time… I was sick of having my life lived out for me. I was done with lacking the freedom to actually do whatever I wanted to do. So, I lashed out at him and it really put a strain on our relationship for a bit. 

Around that time, Roxas had finally gotten a hold of a gummi ship and he was ready to travel to other worlds like he always dreamt of. He called me and asked if I wanted to leave with him. I did, but I was still unsure. Dad was already mad enough, I couldn’t imagine how devastated he would’ve been if I left. But something happened that changed my mind… 

Xion. 

She ended up coming to my house and encouraged me to take up Roxas’s offer. Apparently, she had just recently confessed her feelings for Roxas but he couldn’t accept them because he told her he had fallen for someone else. It didn’t take too much rocket science for Xion to figure out that it was me. Even worse, Roxas told her there was a time when he did consider the possibility of being in a relationship with her, but assumed Xion only saw him more like a brother. But the fact that Xion had a chance and just didn’t take it was what really hurt her the most. With teary eyes, she told me not to waste my opportunities like she did. That I should seize the moment and go for what I wanted, or else I’d become regretful like her. I think that was when Xion became my best friend. 

I was running out of time, though. Roxas had to leave Destiny Islands at a certain time if he wanted to stay on schedule, so I had to hurry. I took a shower, packed up a few things, and wrote my dad a letter telling him that I loved him, but that I wasn’t going to stay trapped in my room all day because of his paranoia… 

And I ran. 

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. I was sweaty, my heart was pumping, and by the time I finally met Roxas at the point where he told me to come once I made my mind, I was hunched over, breathless, and barely conscious. 

That was when I laid it all out. I told him not only that I had feelings for him. Not only that I cared deeply about him. Not only that he had become my best friend. That he had become one of my greatest support systems. My rock. The one I confided in the most. The person who could make me laugh but also stimulate my mind with our in-depth conversations....

But that I loved him. I loved him so much. God, I love him. 

And with a smile that’ll be drilled into my memory bank forever, he took me into arms and we sealed the deal with a kiss. 

“Took us long enough,” he said. 

[snekatiemmlpnf]

For the character list thingy, Milo?

Oh, you mean son boy?

Thanks for the ask!

Favorite thing about them:

Really, just how cheerful and optimistic he is. Despite everything around him that can go wrong going wrong, he has such a positive and happy outlook on his life. Literally nothing brings him down, he’s friendly to everyone, and overall just a great person, even while he also still has his moments of frustration (”Mr. Chase, I’m flattered. but no.” or “No, we are not the pizza delivery guy.” or “...Yes, that’s me...”) But this makes him more human, you know? Plus, it’s great when he’s willing to stand up for himself, like when he calls out the octalians for abducting him instead of just nicely asking for help.

Just the fact that anyone else in his position wouldn’t be able to handle it, but he not only handles it, he thrives and lives in it, and he’s so enthusiastic, and the kind of person who would just light up any room he walks into.

I also love how helpful he is? When dealing with Murphy’s Law, he always makes sure everyone else is safe first, and he’s willing to risk his life to save the octalians, who he barely knew anyways. He didn’t live on that planet, he had no obligations to it and its people, but he’s so kind that he’s happy to do it, and to face down something hundreds of times worse than he’s every had to deal with.

(I guess the right answer to this question is everything.)

Least favorite thing about them:

I’m going to be honest, I have almost no answer to this one? I mean, he’s so great overall. I’d say that if I were to meet him in real life, he seems like the kind of person who would expend a lot of my social energy. High energy people are just kind of hard to keep up with. (Plus, I would never be able to handle Murphy’s Law) but these aren’t things I dislike about him or people in general, so I don’t know...

Favorite line:

I mean he has a lot of great lines?? I do like this one from Family Vacation:

Mr. Brulee: “We’re going to die!”

Milo: “Only eventually.”

Or:

Zack: “Lightning never strikes twice”

Melissa: “Milo’s been struck twice”

Milo: “Both times on my birthday!”

OR:

Melissa: “Careful, Milo. Remember the last time you "maybe-if-I"-ed? They have to call in the national guard.”

Milo: “I know. I got to hold a grenade launcher!”

I think for all three of these quotes, it’s because of just the sheer amount of enthusiasm he has for/in spite of the situation at hand.

Brotp:

Him with pretty much everyone? He’s so good to people and has so many friends. Him and Zack and Melissa of course, but also I love when he interacts with other side characters, like Mort and Chad, or Lydia (which was why Escape was a great episode). I’ve also said this before, but I want him and Bradley to talk things out and become at least begrudging friends.

Otp

I don’t really ship Milo with anyone, like at all. Some content I see of him + Amanda I don’t mind and it’s cute in show, but frankly I don’t have any ships. (Almost always, the younger the character, the less I ship them.)

Notp

Eh I don’t mind seeing it on my dash, and sometimes it’s cute, but I’m not a fan of him and Melissa or him and Zack, because I really just see them all as friends. Not really a notp, since it doesn’t make me angry or anything like that, more of a “I much prefer platonic relationships anyways” sort of... “eh”tp?

Random headcanon

He becomes a time agent when he grows up! I think this might fall under the “au” category, but I really like this headcanon, especially since Doof’s only twelve years away from being Professor Time/ inventing time travel officially. But between him being unsure of what he wants to be in Worked Day, and all the time travel shenanigans he has with Cav and Dakota, I can really see this happening.

Unpopular opinion

I haven’t really seen any opinions I disagree with? If I have, I can’t remember it, oof. Maybe I should have people throw opinions at me until I find one I disagree with

Song I associate with them:

Is it too much of a cop-out to say his theme song?

Actually wait this is great, how about Yakety Sax just because there’s a few instances in show where there’s yakety sax-esque music playing during Murphy’s Law shenanigans and I also adore the song

Favorite Picture:

This moment was just so out of left field, I nearly lost it the first time I watched the scene. I like how Milo just casually has a cattle prod on him? Any eventuality, I guess.

[wholetmewrite2020]

1, 2, 8, 9, 14?

1) what is your favorite “problematic” ship?

Ooof depends on the fandom I guess? like, Toothcup is my OTP in httyd, tho I guess Lightcup is more “problematic” since she tried to kill him.  I’m unsure what could be the most problematic of all of my ships; like some of them are some flavor of problematic but idk what is the “most.“ I would leave in Toothcup/Lightcup since this blog is mostly httyd anyways.  Dzamie if you are curious, I could tell you my ships of other fandoms in dm.

2) what is your favorite “problematic” polyship (ot3, ot4, so on)? Lmao, I guess in this category for default goes lightoothcup and lightoothcupstrid. 

8) a character you think did nothing wrong but fandom demonizes?

...Ok this is hard, because I don’t think I had seen this happen in any fandom I have? Well back to httyd, I guess the Light Fury. Don’t get me wrong, she did some bad stuff; but in general critical people say she is to blame for the separation of Toothless and Hiccup, saying that she manipulated him, when in reality is none of that.  Toothless decided all of this by himself; hell in less than 5 minutes of them meeting each other, LF attacks Hiccup and Toothless let her. Toothless could had put his foot down any time, and he did nothing. Let alone the fact that LF was willing to meet Hiccup before the Climax of the movie; and Toothless and Hiccup took the decision to stay separated, she didn’t make that decision, those assholes did it. 

She did some stuff wrong, but the critical side of the fandom demonizes her way too much. 

9) a character that did a lot of things wrong in canon that you think fandom woobifies?

Hmmm, perhaps Valka? This is an odd choice because Valka is my favourite, but a lot of people (and the fucking narrative) justifies her bullshit without holding her accountable enough. Ok perhaps this is mostly in the narrative of the story than the fandom, but idk is the only example I can think of.  Like, even before she decided to never come back; Valka was still a terrible mom. There was a fucking invasion of dragons in the Island, and Valka left Hiccup in a fucking tower without anybody taking care of him.  I know mothers shouldn’t stay as wife and mothers forever, but hey if your son is literally months old and you see dragons attacking, shouldn’t your main concern be him?  Let alone that she left him alone in a fucking tower; she really didn’t have anybody else to let him be with somebody? Or at least let him in the Mead Hall (since is inside the mountain it makes sense dragons would have a hard time getting there)? 

Not to mention that the “You and your father almost die that day, all because I couldn’t kill a dragon” makes 0 sense. Think about it; why Cloudjumper attacked? Because an axe suddenly appeared in front of him. If Valka had tried to really harm Cloudjumper, Cloudjumper would had killed her right there; Valka most probably than not has no idea how to fight dragons since she never wanted to, and Cloudjumper is massive; there is no way Valka could kill Cloudjumper like that. If she attacked, it would had ended with her being killed, and Hiccup perhaps dying on the cross fire. 

Neither Stoick or Hiccup would had been in more danger with her around, sure she cannot protect either of them, but she being out of the picture leaves them with no protection anyways. 

Plus, she learned that dragons weren’t bad, how come she didn’t get curious why the dragons were attacking Berk, when it became obvious they naturally don’t do that? She never got curious what the fuck was happening back there? 

Listen, my biggest fantasy since I was 11 was to one day move to another place, and never talk to my family ever again. Since Stoick and Valka are so different, plus the age gap (Valka was in her 20s in the flashback of Baby Hiccup, while Stoick was in his 30s; it would not be a surprise if they got married while Valka was a teenager or so); I really don’t think Valka or Stoick were so in love, most probably Stoick was head over heels with Valka; and Valka, who was ostracized by everybody and had somebody finally looking at her like she wasn’t a pest, feel something for him solely in the fact that he was the only one threating her nice, and the fact that she could be pressured to say yes because she is already almost an outcast, imagine if she has the nerve to reject the Chief.  Combine that with having a child in your twenties and I firmly believe Valka was not happy with that life; even if she loved Hiccup; that live wasn’t the one for her.

But she is not a good mother, neither a good wife; is okay if she isn’t, but the narrative and a big chunk of the fandom says the contrary, and that drives me nuts. 

I remember one fanart of Astrid admiring Valka like she was a legendary hero; and then after the analysis of someone, I realize that if somebody could be pissed at Valka, could be Astrid. 

Astrid life was the war, if you consider the series canon you will know that Berk was incredible important to her, her family was important for her, and she wanted to be a great warrior and help to protect the island she loved.  Valka literally said “fuck off” to Berk, she left for them to live a war, despite the fact that she hold the key to stop said war; heck if Valka came back perhaps her uncle could still be alive. How many bloodshed would had stopped if she tried to check on them?  Astrid considers family and Berk the most important, Valka is the opposite; that alone should leave some conflict. 

Ok this got extremely long, but you get the idea. 

14) favorite “unproblematic” ship?

...Heather and Astrid count? Is the only thing I can think of. Thanks for asking Dzamie! I would be sure to leave you some questions as well. 

[fatalism-and-villainy]

L, P, W

L - Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your faves (chars you’re neutral on are fair game, as are chars you dislike)

I don’t love Thingol (or, like, Doriath in general) but I do appreciate Thingol-in-CoH. He was willing to take Túrin in as a child! He was dedicated to justice and hearing all sides of the story rather than blanket condemning him even after Túrin killed one of his subjects! Also the way he responds to Nellas saying “i was sitting in a tree” with “others have done so, but not felt the need to tell me of it” is so cute.

P - Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas)

Little known fact about me (or maybe it’s not that much of a secret, idr if I’ve talked about it much) - I don’t like AUs. Modern/crossover/etc AUs don’t hold much interest for me, and canon divergent AUs are kind of a mixed bag - I’ve certainly had daydreaming universes that involve me picking and chooses which parts of canon I’m preserving and which parts I’m modifying/chucking out, but that’s still not something I’m seriously interested in writing/reading, or something I think of as interacting with the source material in any meaningful way. And when canon disappoints me, or has plot points i find distasteful, or what have you, I tend to much prefer approaching that through a meta/analytical perspective. (And I think there’s a sentiment in some corners of fandom that meta “isn’t as good,” or that making an AU when canon doesn’t satisfy you is better, more creative, more transformative, etc, so I do have a (probably irrational) resentment towards the concept.

That’s a lot of long-winded killjoy-ism that you probably didn’t sign up for when you asked the question, so that said - I want some kind of AU where Wen Qing doesn’t die/stay dead, because.... there’s really no reason for her to be dead! Her brother gets to come back from the dead twice!

Also, this probably falls more into the category of “crossover” than “AU” (it’s hard to keep them straight sometimes in my head), but I would love to incorporate the concept of “drift compatibility” into the concept of cultivation somehow. Cultivation techniques that you can only do with another person with whom you are drift compatible.     

W - 5 favorite ships and 5 kinks you like best for said ships

Unsure if this is meant to be “kinks” as in, sexual things? or just “kinks” as in “things you like/that please your brain,” the way people sometimes use the word? I’m secretly boring and vanilla, and the kind of D/s stuff I enjoy characters engaging in is very much.... hard to categorize in the genre of “kink,” for some reason? And also not applicable to all ships. So I guess I’ll make this a combo of the two definitions:

 Finrod/Curufin - patronage! object exchange (which imo can have sexual connotations for the Noldor)! Philosophical discussions that devolve into Mind Games!

Túrin/Gwindor/Finduilas - As a trio they’re honestly so nonsexual. Not permanently, but in the time frame in which they interact (speaking of AUs...) Mutual support, the ability to show vulnerability in ways you can’t with anyone else, challenging each others’ preconceived notions about the world

Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji - WWX’s noncon kink that’s sort of surface-level Ironic and Playful but is actually based in multiple layers of trauma and problematic gender identifications

post canon Wei Wuxian/Nie Huaisang - very insinuation and implication-heavy political discussions in which they constantly dodge around each others’ probing questions because they Don’t Trust Each Other Anymore, that eventually devolve into passionate makeouts (I have a particular taste!)

Jin Guangyao/Lan Xichen - JGY BEING LOVED AND SUPPORTED BY THE KINDEST AND GENTLEST PERSON IN THE WORLD, also D/s play that they’re both faintly uncomfortable with but heavily turned on by at the same time 

[jamesbuchananxsteviegrant]

I Forgive You | Steve x Bucky x Reader (Angst)

Category: Angst (Suggested) Age: 15+ Trigger Warnings: N/A Ship: Bucky x Steve x Reader Summary: Reader Gets Seriously Hurt During The Civil War Battle Request: N/A Contains Spoilers for: Captain America: Civil War Word Count: 2,169

---

“I’ve got a seventh member for us.” Steve states to the team, his eyes falling across everyone who are giving him their undivided attention.

Steve Rogers, James Barnes, Wanda Maximoff, Clint Barton, Sam Wilson and Scott Lang.

“You kept that a secret.” Bucky comments, raising a brow at his best friend, surprised that he didn’t tell him beforehand.

The captain shrugs and looks away.

“What’re you hiding?” James instantly asks, noticing the discomfort in the blond’s eyes.

“Nothing, you’re about to meet them.” Steve’s voice is calm but Bucky knows there’s something wrong.

The door opening catches everyones attention except Bucky’s as his eyes remain fixated on his long-term friend.

“Sorry I’m late; where were we?” Her voice greets.

Steve glances at her before looking back at Bucky, watching his eyes widen and his jaw drops. Slowly, his head turns to meet the content expression of (Y/N).

“No. Not a fucking chance in hell is she fighting.” The Winter Soldier spits, snapping his gaze around to Steve once more.

The woman groans and furrows her brows, striding over to the man. She grabs a large fistful of his hair and yanks him up out of his seat, turning him so he’s facing her, their faces inches apart.

“Listen close and listen hard, Sergeant: you do not get to tell me what I can and cannot do. You do not get to tell me what battles I fight and which I don’t, and you sure as hell don’t get to give your input to Steve instead of me.” She states, voice scarily calm.

His blue eyes look deep into the depths of her own, unsure of what to say.

*** flashback ***

“Rogers.” (Y/N) greets, grabbing her glass of Apple Juice from the kitchen counter.

“Sweetheart. How’re you doing?” The blond asks, glancing around the apartment she’s staying it.

It’s nothing pretty. Trashy as hell and looks like a dodgy motel room, but she doesn’t care.

“Not bad, but I think the more important question is: how are you?” She responds, taking a seat on the arm of the green sofa. “It’s not like you to come for a casual visit nowadays whilst you’re busy saving the world, you must be after something.”

Steve laughs and shakes his head, (Y/N) also smiling.

“I do like to see you too, you know? I don’t just use you.” He assures her.

“I know, Stevie.” The woman winks, taking a sip of her juice. “But on this particular occasion, I’m gonna guess that you need something from me, so what is it?

And so Captain America explains the situation with SHIELD and their current predicament.

“Tony still think Buck killed his father?” (Y/N) asks.

“Well, I haven’t exactly told him that it was you.”

“You should.”

Steve shakes his head.

“You and Bucky were under the same control. You have the same trigger words, you were locked in the same facility. Regardless of who killed Tony’s father, you nor Buck had any control over it.”

(Y/N) shrugs.

“Does Bucky know you’re here?”

“No, he’d kill me for asking you to get involved.” The super soldier chuckles, prompting a laugh from the woman too.

“Yeah, he would. Well, I’m in.” She nods.

“(Y/N), you don’t have to-“

“Steve, you and Bucky are all I have left. You’re the only reason I’m alive, I will fight alongside you both until the end of time.”

The man takes a step toward her.

“God, I wanna kiss you.” He growls.

“I don’t think Bucky would mind if he was here.” She giggles, standing up and sitting her glass aside as the two collide in a heated passion.

*** flashback end ***

“I can’t lose you.” Bucky mutters, his tense body now loosening.

“You won’t.” (Y/N) promises, the man pressing his lips to hers in response, arms going around her body to hold her firmly against him.

“I hate you sometimes.” He groans against her.

“I love you too, James.”

///

“BACK UP!” Tony shouts to his team amidst the chaos on the airfield.

“What? Why?” Natasha responds but does at told.

“Something’s not right. He’s too calm, too laid back. There’s something we don’t know,” He comments, sceptically.

“Go for it, sweetheart.” Steve manages to mumble into his earpiece, prompting the woman stood up on the tower in the distance to throw out her power.

Connecting to each individual on the enemy team, she manages to weaken everything they have as much as she can. (Y/N)’s power is the ability to weaken others but in return she weakens her own strength to the same amount.

She shuts down Tony’s suit, empties Natasha’s guns and removes almost all her physical strength, removes the strength of Black Panther and shuts down War Machine. Finally, she removes all of Spiderman’s web from him.

“The hell is this?!” Tony shouts, meanwhile, (Y/N) drops to her knees and catches her breath, so weak that she’s unable to hold herself up.

“A little something I put together when I knew I was tired of fighting a battle nobody can win. We’re both two equal teams so I had to win somehow.” Steve explains, shrugging his shoulders.

Before anymore can be said, the fight continues, but it’s merely seven minutes in when Wanda’s eyes furrow and she’s looking around.

“Where’s the Panther gone?” She asks.

The team all look around for a moment, managing to shove their opponent away until a scream catches their attention, both teams turning to look in the direction and eyes widening at the sight of (Y/N) with the Panther’s claws in her throat. Her eyes are wide and she’s right on the edge of the tower.

“NO!” Bucky screams.

No-one can believe the sight.

“Tony, what the fuck did you order him to do?” Steve spits, not taking his eyes off of the girl.

“I- I just told him that you’re the enemy.”

“SHE KILLED MY FATHER!” T’Challa yells, not caring about anything else. “AND YOURS, TONY!”

“What?” Iron Man mutters, removing the mask of his suit.

“It wasn’t her fault, she was under Hydra’s control, Tony.” Steve interferes, not elaborating much as he’s more focussed on the woman.

“T’Challa, nobody needs to die.” Natasha attempts, but he shakes his head.

“She doesn’t deserve to live.”

“No offence but why isn’t she fighting back?” Peter, Spiderman, quizzes.

“Her power weakened all of you but in return she took the hit as well. She gets weakened by the equal amount she weakens if that makes sense, and she weakened you guys to the core. She can’t even keep herself upright.” Captain explains.

Clint takes a deep breath and slowly raises his loaded bow and arrow, aiming it perfectly at the Panther’s neck, just beside (Y/N)’s.

“Just gonna send him to sleep.” He mutters before releasing the arrow. T’Challa has no time to respond as it hits, knocking him out immediately.

The claws are ripped from (Y/N)’s throat and her body falls forwards, no energy to grab the wall and stop it.

“TONY, GRAB HER!” Bucky yells, sprinting toward the tower he knows he won’t make it to her in time.

“SHE REMOVED THE POWER TO MY SUIT!” Iron Man responds, all of them running at this point.

“(Y/N)!” Steve practically screams.

“I GOT HER!” Wanda calls, throwing her arms out and managing to reach (Y/N) with her power, slowly lowering her body to the ground.

“Thank you.” Bucky manages to whisper before dropping to his knees beside the woman.

Her eyes are barely open and her breathing is failing.

“You’re alright. It’s alright, (Y/N), you’re gonna be fine, alright?” The Winter Soldier blurts out, stroking the hair from her face whilst Steve attempts to stop the bleeding on her neck.

“I fucked up, didn’t I?” The woman whimpers, choking on air.

“No. No, no, no, no, you didn’t fuck up. You did amazing, you did perfectly, okay?” Buck continues, panic taking over him.

(Y/N) chokes for a moment and can’t help the blood splattered from her mouth.

“I love you, James Buchanan Barnes, you know that?” She manages, forcing a smile before glancing at the other super soldier. “You too, Grant.”

Her voice is supposed to be teasing as she mocks the Captain’s middle name, and he’d normally laugh, but right now he can’t. His head shakes.

“You know we love you, sweetheart. So fucking much. You gotta stay awake till the medics get here, alright?”

“Tony,”

Iron Man snaps his head down to meet the pale face of (Y/N).

“Your father was an incredible man.” She whispers, watching his eyes widen. “Wanna know what his last words were?”

He keeps quiet, looking at her for an answer. A disheartened smile appears on her lips.

“He told me he forgave me.”

“I forgive you too.” Tony instantly responds but (Y/N) shakes her head.

“Don’t forgive me just because-“

“I’m forgiving you because it wasn’t you. Hydra fucked up you and Barnes.” He states.

“Thank you for forgiving Bucky.” She smiles.

Before she can say anything else, her eyes become unfocused and the grin on her face slowly fades to a half-smile.

“(Y/N)?” Bucky questions, eyes wide once again. “(Y/N)!”

Steve well and truly can’t believe his eyes. He’s speechless. His mouth opens and closes in shock.

“The medics are on their way.” Vision comments.

“This ends now.” Natasha spits, voice low and tears in her eyes as she looks down at her fellow associate.

Steve glances up at her and then shifts his gaze onto Tony.

“I told you not to get her involved.” Bucky seethes, staring at the unconscious eyes of his girl.

///

A groan escapes (Y/N)’s lips as she feels the pain and aches across her body.

“(Y/N)?”

“Sweetheart?” Two voices call, simultaneously.

She hums in acknowledgement but her eyes are still too heavy.

“Come on, (Y/N), come back to me, doll.” Bucky’s hand is holding hers tightly.

Him and Steve have swapped over watching her non-stop for the last week she’s been under and they were just about to swap again when she moved.

“Buck…?” Her raspy voice whispers.

“Yeah, doll, it’s me, I’m here.” He responds. “Stevie’s here too.”

Thoughts all come running back to the woman as she hears her other lover’s name.

“Stevie…” She whimpers.

“Hey, sweetheart. Can you open your eyes for me? For us?”

With a desperate force, her eyes flicker open, instantly wanting to close them again as she’s blinded by the light.

“There you go, hey, doll.” James murmurs, watching as she properly wakes herself up.

First it’s all white, but then she makes out the wires and the sound of beeping. Then there’s the faces of the two men she loves the most.

“Buck… Stevie…”

“Hey, sweetheart, you’re back with us.” Cap smiles.

“I love you.” Bucky instantly tells her, feeling tears form in his eyes all over again.

Her eyes meet his and she smiles.

“I love you too, James.”

“God, I love you so fucking much. I thought I’d lost you.” He mutters.

*** flashback ***

“SHE COULD BE DEAD, STEVE! SHE COULD BE FUCKING DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!” James screams at his lover, not caring about anything else in that moment other than the fact that (Y/N) stopped breathing.

“YOU THINK I DON’T KNOW THAT, BUCK? YOU THINK I DON’T KNOW THAT HER GOD-DAMN BLOOD IS ON MY HANDS?! I FUCKING LOVE HER AND I LOVE YOU AND I WOULD RATHER DIE MYSELF THAN LOSE EITHER OF YOU!” Steve retorts, running a hand through his hair and leaning back against the wall as he attempts to catch his breath.

The man’s heart is racing at, what feels like, a thousand miles a minute.

“Stevie…” Bucky mutters, calming himself and approaching his lover. “Come here.”

The pair embrace and Steve can’t help but hide his face as he feels himself tearing up.

“I could’ve killed her, Buck. I could’ve killed our girl.”

“Hey, no, stop that. This isn’t your fault, Steve. She’s a capable fighter and we know that or else you wouldn’t have brought her out, okay? We didn’t know that T’Challa would go that far.” James hushes, holding the man close to him.

“I love her so much, Buck. So fucking much.”

“I know, I know.”

*** flashback end ***

“Takes more that a pussy cat to kill me.” She jokes, forcing a laugh despite the pain.

The two soldiers chuckle but shake their head.

“Don’t weaken yourself so hard again, sweetheart, please.” Steve pleads, (Y/N) forcing a smile and shrugging.

“I needed to do everything to stop you guys getting hurt.” She murmurs. They both shake their heads.

“We can take a few hits from pretty boy Stark, doll, but you need your strength.” Bucky assures the woman.

“I’m sorry.” She whispers.

The two heroes shake their heads.

“You have no reason to apologise, sweetheart.”

“None at all, doll, we’re just glad you’re back with us.”

“I’m glad to be back too.” (Y/N) smiles, squeezing the hands of her partners as they release the few tears.

[we-are-only-halfway-home93]

Come and Lay the Roses 12- If I Had A Voice- [Ivar x OC]

Summary: Aaline reveals her past traumas to Ivar. 

Characters: Ivar x OC, Bjorn x Torvi, Ubbe x Margrethe, Hvitserk x Thora, Sigurd x OC, Ragnar, Lagertha

Warnings: Arranged marriage, violence, sex, torture, language, discussion of past rape 

Word Count: 2991

Ch. 11

“I wish that you never know the pain of having a voice and not being able to use it.”

~ Sohela Chatterjee

“Left! Left! I said left!” 

Ivar lowered his gloves and glared at his wife. She huffed and rested her hands on her hips, exasperated.

They had been training regularly for the last two weeks. They had opted out of a traditional honeymoon for obvious reasons but they needed to keep up appearances. They made sure to keep themselves out of the public eye for the last two weeks to feign wedded bliss when really they’d been boxing for most of it. 

They’d built up a rapport in their training regime. It was easier for them to trust each other in the ring. They dropped away all pretenses and could just be themselves. 

With Ivar’s experience, he was able to provide Aaline with some insight that she was unfamiliar with. She had never fought professionally and kept it strictly about training. Ivar loved the performance of the sport. He lived for the broadcasting and the publicity of the whole thing. If it wasn’t for his hips he could’ve had a lucrative professional boxing career. 

Aaline had never strived for a career in boxing. It was simply a way for her to defend herself. She had learned early in life that the best way to protect yourself was both physically and psychologically. Once she picked up boxing, she’d felt a level of empowerment that she hadn’t felt before. She was able to take her life back.

“Why do you ignore me, huh? I’m trying to help you.” Ivar growled. She rolled her eyes and turned away, bending at the waist to pick up her water bottle and take a long swig. Ivar huffed and leaned back against the ropes, watching her. 

He’d been wondering, for the months that he’d known her, why she’d taken up boxing. She had mentioned that she wanted to know how to defend herself and he understood that he really did. Some of the most talented fighters that he knew were women. Lagertha herself was a force to be reckoned with. 

Deep in his gut, he knew that there was something in her past that drew her to self-defense. Her instincts to fight him when he approached her without warning. Her threats of physical violence when she felt threatened. She had alluded more than once to being touched without her permission. 

Ivar was not stupid. He worked in a crime syndicate that participated in various illegal activities on a regular basis. Women were attacked all the time for their connections to powerful men. The thought of his wife having fallen under that category brought up strong feelings of violence. He wanted to hurt someone. He wanted to cause pain.

This was not a feeling that he particularly cared for. He hadn’t ever felt this before.

His brothers didn’t need protection. They were more than capable of taking care of themselves. He was young when his mother died and it had happened so suddenly that he would’ve been unable to protect her no matter how hard he tried. His brothers were responsible for the protection of their wives. 

This overwhelming urge he had to protect his wife was foreign and he didn’t know how he felt about it. 

“What made you want to learn to box, Aaline?” He asked. He tilted his head to the side and watched her with calculating eyes. She dropped the water bottle from her lips and kept her eyes focused on the wall over his shoulder.

“Why do you want to know?” She asked. She brought her hands down by her sides and licked excess water from her lips. He shrugged and a small smile graced his face. She looked away.

“You told me you wanted to learn how to defend yourself so,” He brought his hands up in a kind of shrug and brought them back down, the ropes springing back against his weight. She trailed her eyes over his face, trying to determine his motivation. She shook her head. 

He sighed and licked his lips. “Come on, Aaline. You are my wife. We’re supposed to tell each other things. We’re supposed to trust each other.” She snorted and shook her head. His face fell and he narrowed his eyes. His shoulders tensed and he stared at her under his brow. 

“What, you don’t trust me?” She snorted again and shook her head.

“I don’t trust you as far as I can throw you. You haven’t done anything to show me that I can trust you.” She gestured her hands out towards him before dropping them down at her side with a reverberating smack. 

He rolled his eyes. “I didn’t let your father walk you down the aisle. I had Ragnar do it instead.” He shrugged and continued before she could open her mouth to speak. “I insisted that we skip father-daughter and son-mother dances for,” He gestured back and forth between the two of them. “Obvious reasons. I told you that my father thought death would be better than living life as a cripple.”

“You’re not a cripple.” She said. He hummed and ignored her. 

“The point is, I have done several things that imply you can trust me so,” He nodded towards her. “Trust me.” 

She continued to look unsure so Ivar rolled his eyes in a fashion that would make the queen bee’s jealous and sighed with a drama rarely seen off the stage. “I’m torturing Aethelwulf.” She cocked an eyebrow but otherwise remained emotionless.

“I’ve had him for,” He shrugged, mentally calculating the days that he’s had Aethelwulf. “I don’t know, weeks, at this point. I’m trying to get information but he’s being fairly tightlipped.” He took a deep breath through his nose and pointed at her. “I enjoy it, too. Did you know that?” 

She blinked slowly at him before nodding once. He hummed and trailed his eyes over her frame. “I’m sure that’s not news to you at all.” He took a deep breath and looked away, suddenly unable to bear any look of rejection that flashed across her face. 

“I know there’s something wrong with me. I’ve always known. I get a thrill out of the violence and danger of my work. I enjoy it when we have to go head to head with anyone. I prefer it when my father resorts to physical violence as opposed to psychological manipulation. It’s more fun that way.

“I never killed cats or wet the bed. I wasn’t abused or neglected. I’ve always enjoyed violence. I like to hurt people but only when they’ve slighted me.” He rolled his eyes and gestured vaguely off the side. “Or my family but mostly me.” He missed the slight smile that came to her lips. He was too busy looking away from her to see it. 

“Everyone else doesn’t matter. They’re insignificant unless they threaten my family. Then they’re expendable.” He looked at her finally and shrugged nonchalantly. It looked like he didn’t have a care in the world and couldn’t care less if she agreed with him but inside he was terrified that she would run screaming from the room.

Aaline watched his eyes swirl with a multitude of emotions. His admission wasn’t nearly as difficult as hers was about to be but she supposed she owed him. This was a partnership after all and he wasn’t wrong. They needed to trust each other and how else did you build trust? By sharing secrets.

“When I was sixteen, I was attending my third boarding school in eight years. After my mother died, my father shipped me off to European boarding schools to keep me out of the way. Either that or to avoid interacting with me. Either way, I’d seen my dad a handful of times in the eight years since he’d sent me to Europe and most of those times was when I got into trouble and had to be transferred out.

“At that point, I’d built a nice little reputation for being a trouble maker and an outcast so I didn’t have any friends. People tended to stay away from me because of my reputation but that didn’t stop the richest kids from trying to get a rise out of me. 

“For the most part, it was easy to ignore them. I tended to avoid confrontation unless someone put their hands on me or purposely sabotaged me in some way. When I was a ten, a little girl had been picking on me for two years, upping the ante until she claimed my art project as hers.

“I had spent weeks on it, working all through art class to complete it, perfect it. We had the same initials, A.J., so when it was time to turn in the completed projects, she took mine and broke hers, claiming my project as her own. She got an A and I failed.

“So, for the next few weeks I started,” Aaline gave a hesitant shrug and squinted like she was trying to come up with the right word. “Scaring her, I guess. First, I sent her black roses. Then I started taking her things, keeping them for a day or two and then returning them in worse condition. I put roaches in her desk, I stole her math workbook so she failed an entire section of math class. 

“It was a boarding school so we slept in dorms. I snuck into her dorm and put gum and glue all in her hair. She had beautiful, long blonde that she was super proud of, and the headmistress had to cut it all off.” Aaline smirked, giggling as she recalled the memory. “She looked like a boy.”

She sighed and shook herself. “Anyway, she suspected it was me for a long time and her hair was the final straw. The deputy headmistress brought me in with her and she accused me of doing all those things to her. They couldn’t prove it and I said as much. They didn’t like that so they did the next best thing besides expulsion.

“They called my father, he flew out and they told him I needed to be transferred out by next semester. I could finish my exams early and start at a new school for the new semester.”

She shrugged. Her face was impassive and blank of all emotion. “So I did. That was the first time I was transferred out. I transferred again when I was twelve and then when I was sixteen.” She stopped and looked away. He could see a new shine in her eyes and braced himself. 

“When I was sixteen, I was in my third boarding school. People avoided me for the most part. I got called a few names, heckled in the halls but nothing serious. Halfway through the first semester this boy, Domonick Benjamina, started following me around. I ignored him at first, didn’t take him seriously. He was friends with a lot of the people that harassed me regularly so I didn’t give him the time of day but he was persistent.”

She shook her head and looked down at her clasped hands. Ivar kept himself still across from her, afraid any movement would scare her away like a rabbit in the brush. “He left me little notes in my locker, gave me origami roses and swans, sat next to me at lunch.” She looked up at Ivar. “He even bought me flowers once. Red roses which,” She pursed her lips and hummed. “Have never been my favorite.”

Ivar let a small smile come to his face but didn’t say anything. She pressed on. “Around Christmas time, he asked me out on a date. Naively, I agreed.” Ivar felt a cold sense of dread creep up the back of his neck. Ice settled low in his belly and he felt his fingers tighten on the ropes.

“He took me off campus to a fancy restaurant. I had never been off campus for dinner. I preferred to keep to myself so it was a welcome change. We had dinner, took a walk, and then he took me back to his car.” Her voice cracked at the end and she cleared her throat. Ivar tried to swallow but his tongue felt like sandpaper, grating the back of his throat.

“He opened the back door of his car and I was confused. He winked at me and told me to get in. I started to get nervous and tried to go around him but he wouldn’t let me. He grabbed my arm and pushed against the car. He told me to get in or he would leave me in the woods to walk the fifteen miles back to campus alone. 

“I told him to let me go or I’d scream and he said no one would hear me. He slammed me back against the car when I pushed him away and I hit my head. I was dazed and the sky was spinning but I felt him shove me into the backseat.”

She swallowed thickly and crossed her arms over her chest, hunching forward. “He raped me. When he was finished, he drove me back to campus and told me I was a great lay.” She looked up at him and Ivar could see the anger and the pain rooted deep in her eyes. He could also see the strength and power inside them. 

“The next day, I went to the headmistress and told her what had happened. She asked me if I kept the clothes I was wearing and when I said yes she asked me for them. I gave them to her and she said she would get in touch with the police.

“I should’ve known she was lying. She didn’t ask me who did it, she didn’t ask for any details, she didn’t call the police right then and there, she didn’t ask if I needed to go to the hospital, nothing. She just asked for my clothes and sent me back to my room.”

Ivar sucked in a sharp breath and looked away. His body was trembling with rage. “It wasn’t until after winter break that I asked her about it. She said the police couldn’t find anything to corroborate my story so they had no choice but to drop it. I told her she was lying and she said that there was no point in pursuing it. No one would believe me and I would just be ruining a young man’s life.” 

Ivar shook his head and stepped off the ropes. She reared back and he held up his hands in surrender. “Thank you, Aaline, for telling me what happened to you but I’m afraid I need to go hit someone.” She gave him a shaky smile before he stalked out of the ring.

~*~

Ragnar watched his youngest son rage throughout the living room. He had already broken two chairs and a china cabinet. He’d punched three holes in the drywall and left scuffs on the floor that Lagertha would throw a fit about. 

Ivar had stormed into the room where he and Björn had been exploring the deal they’d made between Aelle and Ecbert. He began screaming about Aaline being assaulted and mistreated. He’d gone on about getting vengeance and finding the man who’d raped her and making him hurt as much as she was. 

Ragnar and Björn listened with patience and let Ivar express himself. It was when he reached for the table that Ragnar had to stop him. 

“Ivar! Enough!” Ivar froze, trembling in front of the table. He was drenched in sweat and his breathing was deep and uneven. 

Björn held up placating hands and stared at Ivar like he was a wounded animal. “Son, I realize that you are upset about this but,” Ivar cut him off. 

“Did you not hear what I just said? My wife was raped and no one did anything about it. She told people and no one believed her.” Ivar pointed an accusing finger at his father. “You did not see what I saw in her eyes. You don’t know.” 

Ragnar hissed like an angry cat and Ivar stepped back. “Did you stop long enough to let her finish? Do you know what she did to him?” Ivar narrowed his eyes but didn’t speak. That was enough for Ragnar to know that he didn’t wait. He didn’t know what Aaline had done to Domonick Benjamina. 

“She ostracized him from his friends. She made him out to be a pervert. She sent pictures out to all the girls in school and made it look like he was sexually harassing them. She shared secrets that people had told him. His friends dropped him, three sexual harassment charges were brought up against him and he was asked to leave school. 

“He had to finish school in public education because no boarding school would take him and he couldn’t get into any Ivy League school. Last I heard, he was working a desk job in his father’s company because he didn’t have a degree to work higher up and no other place would take him because of his history.

“This didn’t stop with high school, son. She maintained her vengeance until she felt his life had been properly ruined. She sent him black roses every month that she ruined him. They only stopped coming when she felt he had been properly punished.” 

Ragnar sat back and looked at his son. 

Ivar glared down at the glossy surface of the table, his hands resting on his hips and his breathing noticeably calmer. Sweat still dripped from his brow but he was no longer shaking with rage. 

He looked up and Ragnar was not surprised to see the familiar steel that coursed through Ivar when he set himself up for a mission. “Well, I’m afraid that’s not good enough.” 

Ragnar couldn’t help but smile.

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