#I tear down one wall of red string theories

[delphiniumarchangelmoon]

Oddly specific hobbies I think stardew valley characters would have

Sebastian- have you seen those custom doll videos? The ones where they like… rip the heads off Barbies and tear the hair out and re-build them? Scrub the faces off and repaint them? The intersection between artistic and morbid REALLY screams Seb to me I don’t know why.

I think Emily has a collection of succulents but she will only keep like, one category of them. She has every variety of a single type of succulent and that’s all she grows.

Look me dead in the eye and tell me Abigail doesn’t have the most baller isopod collection in the entire republic. I’m talking dairy cows, rubber duckies, the local native species, you name it. She has her own experimental crossbreeds. And this is no modifiedWalmart plastic container situation oh no, these guys live in massive glass terrariums with plants imported from each variety’s native location. She sells feet pics to buy isopod supplies. They live like kings.

Don’t ask me why but I feel like Shane was big into gravity falls while it was airing I feel like he was a big theory guy. He had a conspiracy board on his wall with red string and everything. He’s still chasing that high to this day (no one tell him about arg’s he would never recover)

The wizard is really good at Tetris. Like, ‘people you watch YouTube essays about’ good at Tetris, but he’s not a competitive person so he doesn’t go to events or anything.

Pam is a candy crush girlie buy my silence

I think Haley and Alex watched too many ghost hunting shows as kids and the moment they had their own money they bought like, a spirit box and an oujia board and whenever they’re bored and home alone they do like, seances n shit but they think it’s really silly so they giggle the entire time

Elliott collects shoes, like unwearable ass shoes. Huge platforms, glass heels, vintage boots, stuff that don’t match anything he owns. Just because he can.

Sam has the “adhd 10,000 hobbies curse” but the one that confuses people the most is his HUGE nail polish collection. He literally only ever paints his nails black for the ~rockstar vibes~ but he has this just BUCKET of polishes. He swatches them individually on those fake nails you see people use in nail art videos and he has a little notebook where he writes down how many coats it takes to be opaque, how long it took to dry, if the color matched how it looked in the bottle, etc. and then rates them on quality. it started as him trying to find a good set to gift Haley for her birthday but he ended up just becoming really hyper focused on it and now he has a literal catalogue of nail polish. It’s only a matter of time before he starts trying nail art to make use of them all but only time will tell if it sticks long enough for him to get good at it.

Harvey watches the most absurd soap operas. Even ones in languages he doesn’t know. Not even with subtitles he’s just here for the vibes

[see-arcane]

“Aw, the new episode disproved all our Extinction theories. Now what? :(((“

You make NEW THEORIES.

Pick up your heads, conspiracy kings, your red string is falling.

That being said, some points:

- How did the Extinction get in the party without being explicitly invited during the big I Open the Door speech in 160? Did Terminus have a +1 option for its kid? Did it not matter who/what Jon called over as long as he performed the act of summoning as an avatar marked by so many Fears? Speaking of!

- Jonah said Jon needed to be marked by ‘all 14 Fears.’ When the hell did Jon get marked by the Extinction? Was the act of trying so desperately to save the world multiple times enough to count? OR:

- Suppose it really was only 14 Fears who came through the Door. Okay. Then that would mean the Extinction was ‘born’ in the Changed world post-ritual. (Congrats by the way, Terminus, wish I’d been at the baby shower.) Meaning such a thing could potentially happen again. Because, honestly?

Do you really think Extinction was the only manmade Fear humanity was worried about?

- WHO ELSE REMEMBERS THE LINE ABOUT ANGUS STACEY DYING WHILE TRYING TO REVISE SMIRKE’S LIST OF FOURTEEN FEARS FROM THE EMMA AND GERTRUDE EPISODE?

- Do the Fears have a baby name book? If not, here’s some suggestions:

The Slaughter births the Tyrant: Fear of dictatorship, a dread of no one having fought back when they had the chance, so now the stranglehold of the Ruler and their Soldiers own and bludgeon every second of living.

The Corruption births the Pharmacist: Fear of both desperately needing The Cure and falling just short of being able to pay for it, or, almost as worse; Fear of a perpetual cycle of sacrifice in order to just barely afford The Cure…which never cures permanently, of course. Why create a medicine that nixes an ailment forever when there’s such profit to make in letting the sick scramble to pay for a lifetime of pills and needles?

The Lonely births the Populace (alias the Mob): Fear that someday, there will just be too many damn people in the world and everyone will devolve into gluttonous brutality when resources run short. Hint. Hint.

The Buried births the Vista: Fear that you will never enjoy the things or services you provide for others, often represented as a never-resting crew of nametagged or hard-hatted laborers being whipped into constant servile motion, tearing up and perfecting landscapes, gentrification, bowing and nodding when the People-to-Be-Served spit and beat them, the victims’ feet and hands gone bloody and bone-baring with perpetual toil.

The Stranger births the Factory: Fear that there is neither time nor need for an identity at all. Not in this economy, not on this schedule. You are a cog. You have a Station in the Factory, and you are lucky to have that much. Aren’t you, Valued Employee #276?

The Flesh births the Flaw: Fear that you will lose what you have. Fear of amputation, of disfigurement, of scars, of deformation, of any wound that does not have the decency to kill you, but only leaves you an unfinished jigsaw puzzle of anatomy, there to be politely turned away from whenever you hobble down the street.

The Desolation births the Consumption: Fear that all you have made and done for yourself will be stolen. Not destroyed, but ripped away from you outright, stamped and caged and branded as something else’s creation. A Fear that can extend even to you, with just a signature and a handshake like a shackle, you can be eaten and hoarded and made a possession of something so much More than you ever could be or could hope to fight if it wanted something of you.

The Dark births the Vice: Fear what is done in the Dark. Probably an evolved version of the little kids’ infant dread. Fear not just of the monsters in the gloom, but of each other. Of being betrayed (ala Callum) by a friend, tripped up so that the monsters will prey upon them as the traitor gets away. But no one can see each other—everyone is anonymous, both blameless and villains. Better trip them up first, better safe than sorry, no one will know they did it anyway…

The Vast births the Edge: Fear of humanity reaching the limits of space and knowledge and discovering that what is waiting for us is something horrible. A wretched, crushing Truth of finiteness. We have found every answer and crevice of the universe and they are horrifying.

The Web births the Entropy: Fear that everything is chaos, that no amount of planning or preparation will save us. We are as helpless as the dinosaurs were against the K-T Event.

The Spiral births the Cipher: Fear that you are a flat, static nonentity. A machine mistakenly born as a human being, chewing your daily cud, thinking beige thoughts in your tiny beige room, staring at the TV screen that plays shows you don’t even remember turning on, melting into the carpet nap, the plaster, the amoeba-like maw of the couch. You make nothing. You do nothing. You are nothing. Madness would at least be some sign that you are more than a pointless, static un-person. But you aren’t mad. You’re just here to breathe and eat and sleep and void your bowels and stare at screens.

The Hunt births the Huntsman: Fear of chasing a quarry you desperately need and never, ever catching it. Less the mighty Wolf and more the starving dog, frantically loping after a bone with a nibble’s worth of meat on it. The bone is held in the hand of a guffawing human hanging out the window of his car, hitting the gas every time your feeble jaws comes close to the bone.

The Eye births…well. I honestly can’t see the Eye needing to sprout anything from itself. It’s just there to be the Axle the Fears revolve around. The Watcher is a happily childless spinster Fear in my mind, at least for now.

[insomniac-dot-ink]

The Silence of the Next Universe

When we finally build a window to the next universe over, no one will speak to us there. Dr. Camry had a hard time convincing anyone it was even that. Skeptics said she was pointing it in the wrong direction—gazing out into the next solar system or snagging on an old tv show transmission. She had to record it for weeks, tearing her hair out and pointing at the screen and everything that looked like our universe, but wasn’t. The dust settled more slowly. The light refracted more brightly. The people walked with a sloping gate of one extra vertebra.

They look like us. We think they’re human, human in their own sense. And they won’t talk to us. 

We motion and hand signal and tap on the walls and flash morse code at them, holding up letters to the screen and slowly mouthing the alphabet. Newer interns point at themselves and yell their own names, louder and louder like that might break the distance between dimensions through yelling. The residents of the next universe walk on. Some older scientists attempt conversation using color theory and wolf howls—just in case, you know? Just in case they howl like wolves, I suppose.

Desperation breeds fools of everyone and Dr. Camry’s team dearly wants that Nebula Prize. I do too.

We know they see us—the people who are not quiet people—their brows pinch together, and their lips purse and they walk a little faster. The screen is in some kind of hallway. There are gray walls of wide smooth panels and corner-less ceilings, a modernistic sensibility for the palette of someone partial to drinking unsweetened cereal milk.

At the very least, we’ve determined what kind of space the window is pointed to, it's some kind of communal corridor. Who builds an interdimensional flatscreen in an indoor crosswalk is the next question, but at least there’s a variety of people (who are like us, but not). Families with fathers and mothers holding strangely gangling toddles pass by along with people in red blazers going to work or grandmas in fleecy sweaters getting home from the store or early morning joggers passing toward stairwells or gyms with sweat-slicked foreheads. 

We’ve never seen their shoes which somehow bothers me. 

There is something familiar about their angular outfits and chin-length bobs, something I could imagine coming into style in our universe in maybe 10 or 20 years. And they won’t talk to us. They don’t even want to look at us.

Most nights, I dream of windows. When my shift ends and I leave our watch room which feels tinier and tinier by the day, and lie down for the mandatory rest, there are windows. Windows that open into skies blue as dreams or else clouds purpling at the edges or a watery green color I haven’t imagined yet. Birds that float instead of fly, cobbled streets and pools and people that tell me their name. Tell me your name.

They whisper back, Welcome, hello, we’ve been waiting for you.

Still, the days string together, and they don’t say that.

We’ve determined they can hear us even if they must keep the volume on low or whatever else they do to ignore us when we’re playing elephant trumpeting or whale noises directly into their universe. We play the classics at first, orchestra performances and opera singers.

Now, after everything and all the write-offs of a failed project, I play love songs. Pop music on missing your baby, Christmas classics, and weepy waifs singing about broken hearts. We dance sometimes and write in our notes: They seem to like Cher. 

There’s a blonde in the next universe over, tired-looking and walks at a speed of a small tractor that flattens fields in its wake. She looks at us sometimes when we play music, and I dream about that too.

I play the love songs a little louder, just in case they don’t howl like wolves, but also have music about wanting to be with you tonight.

Still, the people in the next universe over don't talk to us—even after we found them, begged them, cried out to them. Even after they built their own screen first. We found their frequency, Dr. Camry to tuned into it all those years ago, and they built that screen. Or at least, that’s what we assumed.

I was there on our last shift.

I was humming along to a Dark District ballad called Love that Only Grows—modern music which would make old Dr. Louis excommunicate me from every science convention into the outer districts.

The blonde appears, the one that walks like she has somewhere to be or else something to get away from. We call her Lady B, just as have nicknames for the old man called Whiskers Laury and the woman with smudged mascara we call Divorced Juliet. 

Lady B glances toward the screen. I maybe smile a little dopily and sing louder, “she’s a flower, a bloom, a love that only grows!”

Lady B’s eyebrows skyrocket. She wobbles in place and straightens up with her spine with an extra vertebra. Maybe they have the exact same song in their universe. Or maybe I finally sang loud enough.

My heart squeezes and her eyes meet mine. They are brown like oak trees (do they have oak trees?) and lashes long enough to make wishes on (I hope they have wishes in that universe). Her pupils expand slightly and her eyes are just like ours.

I smile; she doesn’t smile back. She nods, one small jerk of her head, eyes fixed on something behind us. Behind us. And then she’s gone. She must have ducked or ran or I blinked too long, but it almost seems like a magic trick, there one moment and gone the next.

And perhaps they have altruism in the next universe over.

I am still high on everything about the way her eyes caught on me when I turn. My smile slowly falls. There something behind us. Caught in the glass of the far door there is a glowing faint reflection. A reflection that’s maybe always been there-- on their screen, or just beyond our own, or in every screen in all the universes. There isn’t a hallway in that reflection of people who are like us but not, or a reflection of our tiny dark room with papers spread out and my own slack face. It doesn’t blink.

An eye peers back.

Staring from within the reflection, large, singular, unblinking and yellow as moons and dogs and smoggy morning air. Robotic in ways, utterly unreal. We realize too late that perhaps all those people we’ve tried to talk have already met other universes. We realize, too late, too late, that maybe it isn’t us they don’t want to talk to.

We realize, too late, they didn’t build that screen.

------------------------

Heya, I write spooky stories but also Sapphic romance. Get a copy of my Sapphic urban fantasy collection here. If you enjoyed the story, leave a tip either here on Tumblr or Ko-Fi, thank you!

[scramble-crossing]

While Kariya and Uzuki have never been immensely popular characters when it comes to analyzing the series or its worldbuilding, I think it’s almost criminal how little talk there’s been of the potential in a dynamic between them and Minamimoto. 

Just think about it. These are three characters who are close in age facing the same insane situation, who have all developed their own radically different way of dealing with the strange new world they’ve found themselves in. Uzuki follows the rules. She does her job and she does it well, single-mindedly focused on rising through the ranks and gaining recognition and authority. Kariya is her foil, yin to her yang. With his “smell the concrete roses” and his love for the freedom his Harrier position allows him, he couldn’t care less about the sink-or-swim nature of the Reaper’s Game or its system of power. He’s the stubborn, steadfast rock in the middle of the raging river that’s stringing Uzuki along, and that’s exactly why they have such a fun and interesting dynamic.

And also why Minamimoto is the missing member of their trio, change my mind. 

Minamimoto is a lot like Uzuki in the way that he’s completely and utterly engrossed in the pursuit of “victory”, even to the point of self-destruction (Uzuki to a lesser extent, obviously, but she’s still shown to push her limits to the point where Kariya needs to gently encourage her to admit defeat before she hurts herself). Both characters have a lot of pride, but they vary in how much power they actually have to back it up, not to mention where they choose to focus it. Mina does not care about doing his job well. He guns for top position using his wits and brute strength, tearing the Reaper’s Game apart at the seams in the process. And in doing this, he completely turns Uzuki’s world upside-down. Suddenly, her position doesn’t matter. Her and the players are on equal standing once the taboo noise gets out of hand, something that visibly shakes her. While she clearly doesn’t care for Minamimoto, and she and Kariya have a few back-and-forths over their asshole coworker, the fact that we never get to see them interact and be exposed to their opposing worldviews is honestly disappointing. We get a bit more in Neo, but not much. Uzuki still doesn’t like Mina, and he barely seems to acknowledge her beyond calling her and the other Reapers “garbage”. 

This is especially irritating when you consider that Uzuki’s actually gotten results since the first game, whereas Mina needed the whole of Neo just to get back to where he was after Coco pushed the big, shiny, sigil-shaped reboot button on him. RIP Minamimoto’s sick sleeve tat, you will be missed.

I want so badly for the series to go more in-depth with how these characters view each other. Does Uzuki, deep down, admire or even envy Minamimoto’s brazen disregard for authority, especially during the Shinjuku Reaper’s takeover with all of its political and moral red tape? Does she ever wonder if she might’ve taken a similar path had she developed the physical power to back up her ambitions? Why does she even care about rank in the first place? Is it just survival, or is it something more?

Likewise, I can’t help, but wonder if Minamimoto has ever considered whether or not Uzuki might be useful to him in some way, like Konishi was when she lowered the barrier blocking the path to the Composer. If he’s willing to effectively babysit a bunch of high schoolers for a week just to test a theory, how far would he go if there was a chance that Uzuki could get him closer to Joshua?

And then of course, there’s Kariya. The fact that Minamimoto and Kariya never once have a substantial interaction despite Kariya being one of, if not the only person to ever openly show some kind of admiration for Mina (not somewhat-tolerable Neo Mina, I mean off-the-walls first game Mina) is just not fair. 

As I said before, Kariya is totally different from both Minamimoto and Uzuki in the fact that he has absolutely no interest in gaining power or moving up in the ranks. He’s good at what he does (the first game’s manual even goes so far as to call him “a perfectionist” who “takes great pride in his work”) but he’s perfectly content where he is, even going so far as to actively reject promotions. He prefers the easy, simple life of walking the streets, playing games with Uzuki and having her buy him food when she loses. He couldn’t possibly be any more different from them, and Minamimoto, especially. 

Except for one fact: They all love Shibuya.

No matter their ulterior motives (or lack thereof), these three characters all work together at the end of Neo in order to save the city. In that moment, their goals align. They cooperate with each other. There are few disagreements and no big scuffles, they all know what they have to do and do it without much complaint. 

What I want for a threequel is a similar situation. I want these characters to be forced into a situation where they share a common goal, but for their different personalities, worldviews, and ambitions to drive them apart at every turn. 

I want Uzuki’s hesitation to break the rules and risk her career to have large and entirely avoidable consequences that Kariya does not immediately forgive. I want her to look at Minamimoto and, in a moment of weakness, seriously question the system she’s worked so hard to maintain. If the higher powers could erase them and their city at any time without any provocation, then what’s the point? If the system can be cheated and bent to their will, is complete and utter anarchy the only solution? I want Kariya’s laid-back optimism to turn into complacency. I want him to be somehow culpable in Shibuya’s near-destruction so that spitfire Uzuki has to yank him into action (because lets face it, Kariya has yet to be given a real flaw that makes his relationship with Uzuki equal. He balances her out, but she has yet to really balance him). And more than anything, I want Minamimoto to have to actually rely on other people and his relationships with them! So far, most of his relevant dynamics have been with people who he has some degree of power over (like Neku and the Wicked Twisters). How does a total ego maniac react to being paired up with people who he is (gasp) on an equal level with?

I guess in short, Uzuki and Kariya have a fun dynamic that I hope becomes more relevant as the series progresses. I enjoyed the new cast of Neo a great deal, but going forwards, I hope the twewy team focuses more on fleshing out pre-existing characters rather than adding a whole slew of new ones. If we could get a game that has them clash against each other and Minamimoto, three characters who are extremely different, but surprisingly similar in small and unexpected ways, I think that would make for a fantastic character-driven narrative that gives Kariya and Uzuki a bit more depth, and rounds out Minamimoto’s character, no matter which way the team decides to take his arc.

(TLDR: I think a twewy threequel should explore more of the dynamic between Kariya, Uzuki, and Minamimoto in a way that compares and contrasts their very different worldviews and forces them to change as people. After all, that’s the whole message of the series.)

[thebigbadbatswife]

One Single Thread Of Gold Tied Me To You

Summary - Everyone is tied to their soulmate with a red thread tied to their wrist. All except Y/N’s, who’s thread is gold. Tired of waiting for her soulmate to come and find her, she decides to go and find them. It doesn’t go quite how she expected it to.

Warnings - A little angst

[A/N] -��This is a soulmate au where you and your soulmate are attached by an unbreakable red thread (or, in this case, gold), tied to your wrist. This was inspired by the song 'Invisible String' by Taylor Swift.

Word Count - 4k

As the early morning sun slowly filtered into your room, through your blinds, you carefully examined the thread attached to your wrist. Everyone had one; it was your link to your soulmate. Yours was different to everyone else though. While everyone had red, yours was gold. As you turned your wrist, it caught the sunlight and glistened a little.

Everyone you knew had always been fascinated by it. As was nearly every stranger you met. Why was it gold? What exactly made you and your soulmate so different to everyone else’s? Questions you had often asked yourself as well. Why were you two so different?

Your family had a theory that whoever it was, they were rich. Very rich. That was surely the reason it was gold. Nothing else made sense to them. Meanwhile your friends were completely convinced that your soulmate was some kind of God.

“Come on, Y/N! It’s the only thing that makes sense!” Tracey said before taking another sip of her third glass of wine. Her usually bright emerald eyes were glazed over from all of the alcohol. “Why else would it be gold?”

“You gotta admit, Tracey might be drunk right now, but she has a good point!” Skylar joined in. She took her brown eyes off the blonde and looked over at you before continuing. “Oh! What if your soulmate is like Wonder Woman or Superman or something! How cool would that be?”

You rolled your eyes and took a sip of your own glass of wine. “Stop it. You’re both being ridiculous,” you had told them because they really were being ridiculous. There was no way your soulmate was a member of the Justice League, let alone an Amazonian Princess or the Man of Steel.

You were, of course, curious of your soulmate yourself. Who wouldn’t be curious of the person they’re destined to end up with? But you didn’t think up the crazy theories your friends and family liked to come up with. Instead you wondered things like, what kind of hobbies do they have? What’s their favourite colour? What type of music do they listen to? Were they a cat person or a dog person? And other things like that.

Another thing about the thread that tied you to your soulmate was that, while everyone could see the thread around your wrist, only you and soulmate could see where it led. While you had always wanted to follow it, you had decided that it would be better to focus on having a decent job and place to live first.

During that time a small part of you had hoped that maybe your soulmate would come looking for you, but since they clearly weren’t, maybe you should? After all, you had a well paying job and a great apartment, so why not? Every job was legally required to allow people time off to go search, so that wouldn’t be an issue. It was paid time off as well so you didn’t have to worry about money. You also had a car so you wouldn’t have to spend a shit ton of money on travel. At least, you hoped you wouldn’t. In truth, for all you knew, your soulmate could be in a completely different country. Now that would certainly complicate things.

Shaking that thought away (because there was no way fate could be that cruel), you got out of bed and set about putting the wheels in motion that would allow you to start following your thread

‘ Welcome to Gotham City! ’ the sign read as you drove past it. When you had told those close to you, your plan, they had been super supportive. Now, if they knew where your thread had lead you, you doubted they’d be as supportive. Hell, even you were rethinking things now. Out of all the cities for your soulmate to be in, it just had to be this one.

How did you know it was this city that they resided in and it wasn’t just another stop along the way? It was hard to explain, but you had a feeling deep within your gut, almost like a sixth sense that just yelled “Yep! This is the place!”.

You felt extremely uneasy as you drove through the city. It was night-time as well which did absolutely nothing to help. Honestly, of all the times to arrive in Gotham, night-time was definitely the worst. Well, there was nothing you could do about that now, you just had to keep on going, so you did.

The golden thread snaked through the gothic city and went from the “posh” part of the city all the way to the worst part of the city. The buildings were run down and most of the windows were boarded up. Each turn you took there were shiftier and shiftier characters on every corner. You started to get the feeling that you really shouldn’t be here. Plus you were starting to wonder if you really wanted to know who your soulmate was if they were hanging out in neighbourhoods like this.

You brought your car to a stop in front of a particularly dark and sinister looking alleyway. A particularly dark and sinister looking alleyway that your golden thread lead straight into. Coming to this part of this city was already a bad idea. Continuing to follow that thread to what had to be your certain doom was even worse. Yet, at this point in your mission, you were pretty much committed.

You couldn’t help out a quiet and very nervous laugh as you climbed out of your car. ‘ This is fucking insane ,’ you thought as you stepped out of your car. Before shutting and locking it (though you doubt that would do much to protect it in this area), you grabbed your pepper spray. ‘ I really hope your worth all this .’

As you followed the thread down the alleyway, you heard a sudden loud bang. A gunshot. You stopped in your tracks and you could feel your heart pick up its pace. Your thread lead in the direction the shot had come from. ‘ I really hope you weren’t involved with that .’ Taking a deep breath, you continued down the alleyway.

The alleyway lead out onto another street. There was a small crunching sound as you stepped out onto the street. Taking a step back, you looked to the ground to see what you had just stepped on. The ground was littered with small shards of glass. Looking up, you figured the shards of glass were from the bulbs from the streetlamps. Something had broken them. It didn’t take you long to figure out what, or rather who ,was responsible.

Further down the street, taking on group of ten men, was none other than Gotham’s Caped Crusader. The Batman.

You quickly ducked back into the alley you had just left. You then carefully peered around the wall, so you could watch the fight. You were well aware of the fact that your thread was leading straight toward the fight. Which meant that your soulmate was involved.

You watched the fight intensely, both intrigued and terrified to figured which one of the men was on the end of your thread. There was a voice in the back of your head praying hardcore that it was the hero in the centre of the fight.

Batman was a blur of black and dark grey as he rapidly made his way through the group of men. With a variety of different punches, kicks and gadgets, he made short work of them. During his combat flow, you followed your thread with your eyes and a small gasp left you as you realised who the other end was attached to.

Holy fuck. You’re friends had, kind of, been right. While your soulmate wasn’t Wonder Woman or Superman, like they had suggested, he was apart of the Justice League’s ‘Big Three’. Your soulmate was Batman . At least now you knew why he hadn’t come looking for you. He’d been busy saving the world.

Now you had to figure out how to approach him before he ended up disappearing into the night.

Exiting your cover, you took your thread between your finger and thumb and gently tugged on it a couple of times.

Batman looked at his end of the thread curiously as your tugs had gotten his attention. Then his head drifted upwards, following where it lead till his eyes settled on you.

If he was shocked, he didn’t show it. He just stood there, his eyes never leaving you. Part of you wanted to cower away from the intense stare, but you willed yourself not to. He was your soulmate, and you weren’t a criminal,  you had no reason to be afraid.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he said, finally ending the silence between you. His voice was deep and almost robotic sounding. Probably some sort of voice modulator to help hide his identity, you figured.

“In Gotham? Yeah, this place really sucks,” you replied, thinking about all the things you had heard about this city, “but I came here to find my soulmate; to find you.”

“You shouldn’t have.” His voice was sharp and serious as he spoke. He also sounded irritated at your sudden appearance, which caused you to frown. That couldn’t be right… could it?

“What?” You hated how meek and pathetic your voice sounded, but you couldn’t help it. Wasn’t this supposed to be a happy moment? One of the happiest in your life in fact. Instead you felt like you were being scolded rather than meeting the person who was supposed to be your other half.

“I didn’t want to meet you. Now I suggest you go home. It’s not safe here.”

What? You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. There was pressure behind your eyes and your throat tightened. You took a shaky breath as you took a step backwards away from him. It quickly sunk in that the man you’d been destined to be with, the man you had thought about since you were old enough to understand the concept of a soulmate, wanted nothing to do with you.

“I-I’m sorry I disturbed you.” Your voice broke as you fought back the tears that threatened to fall. You weren’t going to give him that satisfaction. You then turned around and ran back toward where you had left your car.

As fast as you could, you started your car up and made your way to a safer part of the city. It didn’t take you long to find a somewhat empty parking lot to park in. Once the engine was off, you screamed and aggressively slammed against the wheel as you let the tears freely fall.

You felt like a complete and utter fucking idiot. Of course he didn’t want you. You’d probably just get in the way of him saving the world or something like that. Besides, what was that article you had seen a few months ago? Something about Catwoman and a relationship between the two? While it happened very rarely, some people in the world had been known to reject their soulmate because they had found someone they deemed better. Is that what had happened? Whatever the reason, you could feel your heart breaking.

You had used to think that, out of all the members of the Justice League, Batman had been one of the cooler members. Now all you could think was that he was a massive jerk.

Maybe it was your own fault for romanticising the whole thing and thinking that your meeting would be something out of a fairytale. Apparently fate was far crueller than you could have ever thought it to be.

Bruce watched as she ran away from him, back down the alleyway she had come from. A small voice in the back of his head told him to go after her. To grab her, hold her close and apologise, tell her that he hadn’t meant it. He ignored it and headed off in the opposite direction, back to where he had left the batmobile.

Over his comms, he heard a barely audible sigh and he could easily picture his butler and lifelong friend shaking his head in disappointment. No doubt he was going to get an earful once he got back to the batcave. Well it certainly wasn’t the first time.

As the batmobile pulled up in the batcave, he could see Alfred waiting for him. ‘ Here we go ,’ he thought as he got out of his car and removed his cowl.

“I don’t want to hear it,” he stated as he walked past him and toward the batcomputer. He set his cowl down on the desk. Even as the words left his mouth he knew he had wasted his breath. If there was one thing that Alfred had done consistently since Bruce had started down this path, it was letting him know when he disagreed with something he did.

“Was that really necessary Master Bruce? She’s come all of this way…” Alfred started, but ended up trailing off. There was a small moment of silence before he continued. “You know, I remember a small boy who couldn’t wait to go out there and find…” Before he could finish what he was saying, Bruce promptly cut him off.  

“What would you have me do, Alfred?!” His voice echoed off of the cave’s walls and disturbed some of the bats still hanging on the ceiling. Bruce gestured toward his equipment and the display cases that held some rather badly damaged batsuits. All of them testaments to injuries that had come far too close to killing him. “Would you really have me force this life on to her? The dangers, the no guarantee I’ll come home…” He took a deep breath and rested both his hands on the surface of his desk. “She deserves so much better.” His voice was quiet, but still easily heard in the, almost, silent cave.

“With all due respect, sir, I believe she should be allowed to make that decision, not you,” Alfred replied before leaving the batcave, not giving Bruce a chance to respond.

He looked in the direction of the stairs that lead up into the manor. The direction that Alfred had headed in. Was he right? Should he be leaving it up to her to decide what she wanted? But with all the dangers he faced nightly… No, it was better for him to stay far away from her.

Over the following week Bruce found himself distracted. It didn’t matter where he was, what he was doing, he couldn’t focus. And considering what he did once night fell over Gotham, to say being unfocused really wasn’t good was a complete understatement of the situation. He had been having far too many close calls recently.

He couldn’t get it out of his head. The way she had looked at him as he told her he didn’t want to meet her, that she should leave. Alfred’s words echoed in his mind and he found himself questioning the decisions he had made that night. Something that Bruce rarely, if ever, did. Everything he did was meticulously planned and there was never any doubt when he made a decision. Was this what happened once you met your soulmate and rejected them?

Bruce was sure that the rest of the Justice League had taken notice. With how off beat and slow to react to certain things, it would be hard not to. Of course, if they had, none of them had mentioned it to him. Apparently they knew better. For the time being, at least. He was sure it wouldn’t be long before they did try to pry into his personal life.

Which lead him here. On the roof of the building opposite of Y/N’s apartment building. He hadn’t needed to do any extensive research to find her, or learn her name, because he had been in this exact spot a couple of years ago.

Two years ago Bruce’s own curiosity had gotten the better of him. He blamed Clark and his soulmate, a reporter by the name of Lois Lane, for it. He had seen them one too many times in the Watchtower together and had found himself wondering who exactly his soulmate was and what they was like. As a result, he had gone looking for them. Not because he wished to finally meet them, but so he could make sure his soulmate was safe and happy. And she was, so he had left. Only ever checking up on her every now and then to make sure she had stayed that way.

He looked down at the golden thread that came out of his gauntlet and lead down toward the apartment he’d been watching. Both as Bruce Wayne and Batman he had made sure to keep it well hidden. With its unique colouring he couldn’t allow anyone to see it. It would be all too easy for his enemies to find her if they did see it.

He knew that by being here he was easily undoing everything he had done to keep her safe, but, then again, had she not done exactly that when she had tracked him down in Gotham? Besides, and while he would never say it out loud, Alfred had been right. It should be up to Y/N to decide whenever or not she wanted all the baggage that came with him being in her life. Baggage that had driven more than one person from his life…

He shook that thought from his head and got up from his crouched position on the roof. Bruce then leapt from the roof and allowed himself to fall for a couple of seconds before opening up his cape and let it catch the wind that was rushing past him. He silently glided over to her apartment’s balcony.

Y/N was in her apartment alone. She was sat on her sofa, the light from the tv was the only thing illuminating the room.

Bruce was unsure of how exactly to go about this. Back in Gotham he had originally thought of approaching her as Bruce Wayne, but quickly discarded it. Bruce Wayne showing up at an out of the way apartment building was sure to garner attention. As would Batman using the front door, so the balcony had seemed to be the best option. But now that he was here, he wasn’t entirely sure it was.

Should he just knock? That seemed like the best way to go about this. It was going to scare the everloving daylights out of her, but he could deal with that.

He gently rapped the glass of the balcony door with his knuckles. As he had expected, Y/N leapt up from her seat. A bowl and the contents of the bowl followed her and scattered across her carpeted floor. She spun around and when she saw him, the look of shock on her face quickly turned to anger. Her eyes narrowed and he swore that glare would be enough to make even the toughest of Gotham’s thugs would cower at its intensity. Maybe she would deal with his life better than he thought.

After a minute of glaring at him, she turned around and walked toward the lightswitch. At the same time, she gestured for him to enter.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing here?” she demanded as soon as he had entered the apartment and shut the door behind him. The rage in her voice was evident and Bruce was sure he could cut the tension in the room with a batarang.

“I came to apologise,” he said, his voice gentle despite how distorted his modulator made it sound. Y/N scoffed immediately. He didn’t blame her. If he was in her shoes, he wouldn’t believe him either. After all ‘Batman’ wasn’t exactly known for making apologies.

“Yeah right.” She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.

“I’m being truthful. I… I shouldn’t have said what I said. It wasn’t right.”

“Then why did you say it?” A fair question and one he had an answer to. Before he even said it, Bruce was aware how cliché it sounded.

“I wanted to keep you safe. This life isn’t for everyone.”

“So without even meeting me, you decided that it wasn’t for me.” She shook her head. “That’s not your decision to make!” she yelled at him.

“I know. It’s been pointed out to me before.” In fact that night in the cave wasn’t the first time Alfred had told him that. “But that’s why I’m here now. To give you all the information you need to make that decision.”

You listened intently as Batman explained the dangers of the life he was leading. The dangers that effected the people in his life in one way or another. He also made it a point to reiterate the fact that when he left at night or was summoned by the Justice League there was no guarantee he would return. You asked the occasional question, but for the most part you just listened to him to talk and let his words sink in.

You got it. You understood the very clear concerns that Batman had about this whole thing, they concerned you as well, but you weren’t about to let it deter you. You wanted to know your soulmate. Even if it ended horribly, like he was saying it would, you felt it in your core that you would regret not knowing him, especially if the worst truly did happen. And you told him so.

“Even if you’re not wearing a mask, this life is dangerous. Anything can happen.”

“Anything could happen to me when I leave my apartment each day.”

The superhero life wasn’t special in that regard. As you spoke, your voice was a lot calmer than it had been earlier. In fact, as he had spoke and explained you had found your anger slowly fading. You still wanted to slap the jerk superhero before you, but that was a considerable downgrade from your overwhelming need to deck him when you first saw him standing on your balcony.

“It won’t be easy.”

“I’ve never backed down from a challenge before.”  

You admired his commitment to deter you, but it wasn’t going to work. You were too stubborn to let it. Something you were positive he was learning very quickly.

“There’s nothing I can say to convince you that this is a bad idea, is there?”  

“Nope.” You made sure to pop the ‘p’.

Batman sighed deeply. You watched as he looked away from you and toward the golden thread that linked the two of you together. You could almost hear the gears in his brain turning as he thought. Then he was looking back up at you.

“In that case then.”

You watched as Batman brought his hands up to his cowl. Your eyes widened and you couldn’t help the small gasp that left you as he removed the cowl and revealed his identity to you. Bruce Wayne. While you didn’t live in Gotham City, you were well aware of Gotham’s favoured son. You would’ve had to have lived underneath a rock to not know who he was.

And apparently your family had been right on the money, literally. Not that you cared about the money, you weren’t superficial like that. Personality was far more important than the material items someone may or may not have. In your eyes, at least.

You both stood in silence, his blue eyes studying you, probably trying to gauge how you were going to react. To be truthful, you weren’t entirely sure how to react. Except maybe…

“Well, it’s… it’s nice to meet you Bruce Wayne. I guess this is the part where we forget about what happened and start over?”

“If that’s what you want.”

“It is.”

Yeah, sure, this was probably going to end horribly, but you were looking forward to the adventure that lie ahead.

[inkrabbit]

I'm still here...

Very quick drabble I needed to get out or else I was going to explode. Not tagging this either so only the poor mfs who follow me get this stupid shit.

Summary: He knew. After years of being dead, everyone forgot ol’ Mary Goore. No amount of screaming, crying, or even bargaining would help. He knows. He’s tried.

Word count: 669

You know, in theory, dying and becoming a spirit sounds pretty fucking cool. But after a while of being stuck with no one else to talk to, it gets boring. He couldn’t do anything. He couldn’t say anything to people who have come in. He tried his hardest, but no one ever responded. The most he got was “Wow, it’s cold in this spot.” and they would move elsewhere.

He knew. After years of being dead, everyone forgot ol’ Mary Goore. No amount of screaming, crying, or even bargaining would help. He knows. He’s tried.

But when two men finally stepped into the old abandoned house, loaded up with gear that made them look so stupid, he couldn’t stop himself from being hopeful. They looked like your average amateur ghost hunters, talking into their phone as it recorded. Their jokes are awful and none of them hit, but he gets the gist of what they want: any sign of ghost activity.

Every room they walk into, Mary follows. They comment about how cold it is and he wishes they would just take the fucking hint. But it’s not enough for them. So he moves over to the old wooden table that had been left behind long before he died here, and he uses all of his strength to move it. It spooks the men, but they brush it off.

“I’m right here!” Mary cries, getting closer to them. “Can’t you see me? Can’t you fucking hear me?! I’m right in front of you!”

And still, he follows them as they move further into the house. He watches as they clear a spot in the middle of the floor and one of the men reaches into his backpack. A Ouija board. The guy has a fucking Ouija board. They set it in front of them, one lighting a candle as the other scrolls through his phone, trying to figure out how to work it. Okay. He could play along with this. Anything to get them to respond and help.

“Is there anyone here with us?” the scrawnier man asks. Their fingers rest on the planchette. Hyping himself up, Mary rests his own fingers on it, using his energy again to push the planchette towards yes. The two seem spooked.

“Stop fucking with it!” the other man cries.

“I’m not!” Mary doesn’t have time for this. It’s getting harder to concentrate with his mind racing. He moves the planchette. First to M, then towards A. He spells out his name, watching as the men stare down in horror.

“This isn’t happening… you’ve gotta be playing some joke! Come on. Where’s the string?”

“I’m not doing anything!”

“Bullshit you’re not!”

He wants to scream. This isn’t what he had wanted.

“Just help me!” Mary takes a swipe at the scrawnier man and, to his surprise, his short nails make contact. Red welts rise up, looking like it’s close to bleeding and the man shrieks in pain. He watches him as he scurries away, his body trembling. Is that all they wanted? Was that the fucking evidence they wanted?

He steps forward, taking another swipe. More marks. The other man is panicked, trying to drag his friend upright. They’re both screaming, words jumbling together as they fall all over each other. It’d be funny if Mary didn’t feel all of his hope quickly draining.

They leave the Ouija board behind, and when Mary tries to follow them out the door, it’s like he’s hit by a wall and it knocks him down. He should’ve known. Tears prick at his eyes as he stands up, his hand balled into a tight fist as he slams it against the wall.

“Please!” he sobs out. “Just let me go! I’ll fucking do anything!” The sobs finally bring him down to the floor as he rests his forehead against the only thing standing between him and his freedom. “Please. Please.” He brings his knees up to his chest, burying his face in his arms. “I’m still here.”

[callemreine]

Ok here goes nothing

Guilty Tears 5 wtf

@not-exactly-laborious

!! This is mostly just pointing out details in the background that are too far into the shadows to be seen clearly !!

CW // basically just a narration of the video / biblical references / blood / swearing

The video starts with Thomas on the staircase showing the mess similar to the ones in WTIT. When he goes down the staircase, we clearly see the storybook from Roman's video. So its either Remus is causing this string of nightmares where the episodes of Guilty tears take place or Remus just keeps the book around to remind Thomas about how Roman's story goes to prevent him from believing any "deceptions Roman puts up or displays him"

"But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ."(2 Corinthians 11:3) Im not that religious but I tried my best to find the meaning of this verse. Basically the "I" is Paul who was afraid that the false apostles were just as deceitful as the snake that tempted Eve and that they disguise theselves as servants of righteousness like how Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

I dont know who the "I" could be from the sides. But I do think that its either one of the dark sides, including Virgil, or Thomas. And the "false apostles" are the light sides because they act as if they are important and always helps Thomas in a good way, but in reality, they're just as worse as the dark sides and puts Thomas down the same way as the others do(?)

I edited it to look more brighter and also to see the word the blood forms on the blinds. It clearly says "UNHELPFUL" Also for a moment, I kinda see Janus as the shadow cuz theres a little bump on the side of the head which might resemble as his hat. Or maybe not and its just probably just some random person XD

Im also kinda confused on why Thomas didnt go up to see who it was cuz thats kinda what he did in WTIT in the closet scene

Theres the "BE GOOD" that I couldnt really say much about... Who wrote it? Could be Remus. Could be someone else seeing that Remus might have not done anything yet based on what he says at the end of the video

Ok now here is where things kinda gets more confusing. Theres Logan's monitor from the first episode and Patton's cutout from the third episode right behind the monitor. This reinforces the Remus creates the nightmares theory or the Remus keeps things as a reminder for Thomas(or for the sides) theory. Also the closet door is open with green light referencing WTIT once again. It kinda made me think that this is the mindpalace of the darksides for some reason.

The knocking continues but it switches from the window to the front door. Its very clear cuz I was wearing earphones and theres this thing where the audio moves around that makes it seem like its coming from a certain direction

Now I need to emphasize the difference between these two photos. The first one is when we first pan to the bookshelf. The second one is right after the glitch from the phone. Now I would like to direct your attention to the barely visible area on the right side of the two images. The wall went from wall color to red after the glitch. I zoomed in and there were some random scribbles that I probably stared at for far too long. The only thing I could make out was the word 'proud' and a very very vague 'I hope' just above it. I promise Im not crazy, its just far too late for me to be awake. But here I'll show you

Oh and theres Virgil and the oatmeal and Nico's number from WTIT or whatever /j

Theres not really much I could point out anymore that is significant from that point on other than how fucking creepy Remus was at the end. Though there is a part of me that believes that none of this(and the others' videos) was Remus' work and that he just materialized the other sides' fears but not actually making his own intrusive thoughts to scare Thomas with his own intention. Hence, his dialogue at the end

Also if the shadow isnt Janus, then Janus isnt anywhere to be found in this episode. And I dont really know what that implies. Gosh Im so excited for his turn

Me: *makes an analysis*

Also me: *hyperfocuses on a wall*

Its fucking 2 am

[kalena-henden]

From Doommates to Bloommates

There’s a lot of wonderful symbolism in Doom at Your Service. I’ve really enjoyed reading everyone’s theories on the red string of fate, whether Myul Mang and Dong Kyung will be deities or humans together, and if this is at least partly a story written by her friend (ita the parallels between mm/dk and the ill-fated loved triangle are getting strong). 

There is a theory which I haven’t seen exactly yet. That the Flower the Goddess is waiting to bloom is actually Dong Kyung, who has been living in a suspended state of survival until her terminal illness brought doom into her life which awakens how much she truly wants to live. There are many reasons for Dong Kyung to be the Flower. First, she is human and therefore meant to be part of the Goddess’s garden. Second, she brought the flowers back to life in Myul Mang’s world. Third, like the potted plant, she has not been growing in life. For a long time, she has been taking care of everyone else but not herself. She has also stunted her emotions to survive which is most prominent in not allowing herself to cry or feel the true impact of what has happened to her over the years. We get a literal representation of this emotional state in two visuals: the ocean which cries for Dong Kyung and the marble which represents Dong Kyung’s frozen ocean of tears she can’t shed herself. One of the main things that needs to happen for Dong Kyung to grow and bloom into the Flower she was meant to become is to fully accept her emotions and eventually let herself cry so she can truly live. She’s not going to get there with smooth sailing. She needs obstacles to push at her defenses and bring her walls down. There is more pain to come.

There is another big hint that Dong Kyung is the Flower in both the titles and the marketing of the show. First, let’s look at the titles.

Here in the black and white garden of the Goddess we see Myul Mang the Butterfly fly in (see far right column). 

After Myul Mang and Dong Kyung shake to seal their contract, they are enveloped in the red string of fate which births a large flower bringing a full range of colors (aka emotions) into the world.

At the end of the titles, the butterfly comes to rest in the bloom of the flower as the camera pans out to show a spectacularly colorful garden sunset with a man and woman holding hands (both whom look similar to our two main couples). This is the endgame: the butterfly and flower are meant to be together just like the romantic couple.

This pretty clearly shows that Myul Mang is butterfly and Dong Kyung is the flower. 

Furthermore, in the latest TVN twitter posts for their big kiss both in the text and video of the tweet they have 4 emojis to represent the moment:

Flower + Butterfly + Rain + Kiss = Dong Kyung and Myual Mang kiss in the rain

They started off wanting to bring the world doom but they will end it wanting to watch it bloom. They’re going from Doommates to Bloommates.

[cinnaminsvga]

Sweeter than Strawberries | Jungkook

→ summary: at euphoria bakery, seasonal changes also bring seasonal menu items. when you find out that your favorite strawberry shortcake milkshake was phased out after the end of summer, it takes only one puppy eyed look from you for jeon jungkook to make it for you anyway—just don’t tell his boss about it, alright?

→ genre: bakery!au, s2l, fluff → warnings: none unless you count the fact that i’m writing shy!jungkook again :^D, we love mutual pining in this house ex dee → words: 4.5K → a/n: this was commissioned by @ihatemathanal​!! i was super stoked to write this bc it’s really cute and sometimes it’s nice to just write happy fluffy things every once in a while (aka zee is turning into a fluff writer jfc) it got a lil longer than it was supposed to, but that’s bc i got carried away lol anyway i hope you guys enjoy!! (ps: this also works for the bgw bingo so... tyg for s2l fics!! let’s get it!!)

For the most part, the beginning of autumn is usually your favorite time of the year. When the tree leaves begin to yellow and the air gains a significantly colder bite, this signifies the end of pit stains and sweaty thighs and the start of sweater paws and chapped lips. Above all, you are most excited, of course, for an excuse to gorge yourself on steaming mugs of hot chocolate, paired with delicious mountains of warm gooey brownies.

For the most part, these are all things that often get you excited for the coming chill. What you do not think to remember, however, is that while these seasonal changes bring more good than bad, there still remains a little snag: a small oversight, if you will. As businesses all over the world begin the annual transition to the colder months, so does your favorite bakery across the street from your university. After all, summer ingredients grow scarcer as the year nears its end, so it’s understandable for bakeries to switch up their menu to keep up with both the supply and demand.

What does any of this have to do with anything? Well, long story short—

Your favorite strawberry shortcake milkshake is about to get phased out. No, scratch that—it’s already been phased out, right from under your very nose, no less!

You shouldn’t have been surprised, really. You have always known it was a specialty drink; your best friend had even been the one to introduce it to you just near the end of your summer classes:

“This is Euphoria Bakery,” Namjoon had said with a smile, waving cheerily at the two boys manning the till. You heard him chuckle in amusement when your eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, staring longingly at the sweet treats and baked goods lining the display case.

Namjoon had stolen your attention away, however, when he pointed to the chalkboard menu on the wall. As it turned out, the bakery also doubled as a cafe, serving the usual coffees and teas while also making the occasional specialty drink for different seasons or holidays. The chalkboard was decorated beautifully, the menu items written out in neat cursive with tiny little doodles littering its margins. On one of the boards, there was a new drink item being advertised in bold pink letters—a great summer treat!—or so it said.

“Jungkook-ssi, can you get me and Y/N a strawberry shortcake milkshake? Extra whipped cream for me, please!” Namjoon called out to one of the boys, startling the younger of the two. The boy, Jungkook, must have been busy fiddling with the cash register that he hadn’t noticed your arrival.

“N-Namjoon-hyung? Sorry, I was just busy counting the money—” Jungkook stopped short in his speech, his tongue getting caught in his mouth when his eyes landed directly on you. He had made a strangled sound, like he had swallowed his spit too quickly and was struggling to regain his composure. “H-Hello?”

You realized belatedly that he must have been greeting you, as you had been distracted by his fidgetiness. His nervousness was cute, if a little bit contagious; you couldn’t help feeling anxious too, like your heart was missing every other beat, even though you had no reason to be. “Hello! My name is Y/N. It’s my first time coming here, but Namjoon says your new summer menu item is really good? I wanted to try it out for myself.”

Jungkook nodded, still staring wide-eyed at you as if in a trance. You expected him to start... well. You weren’t an expert on how bakeries or cafes are run, but you were pretty sure he should’ve started doing something after you had spoken, perhaps ring up your order on the register, or start working on your drinks. Instead, he’s still frozen in place, like he’d somehow short-circuited within the last two minutes.

It seemed you weren’t the only one who noticed his odd behavior because the man working with him suddenly pushed Jungkook to the side, a brief smirk flashing across his face before it was quickly replaced by a more subdued, professional smile.

“Sorry about him. He’s usually my best baker, but sometimes he can get a little... distracted when he’s confronted with sweet things,” the man said nonchalantly, but it seemed that his innocent-sounding comment had embarrassed Jungkook greatly.

“Jimin-hyung!” Jungkook whined, stomping his foot not unlike a bunny. If you squinted a little bit, you could definitely see the resemblance.

Namjoon, who had been quietly watching everything unfold, chose that moment to pipe up. “Oh, I see. I didn’t know you had a type, but after thinking about it—” Namjoon shot a surreptitious glance at you, before turning back to Jungkook with a teasing grin, “—I can definitely see why.”

At the time, you had no idea what was going on, mostly confused as to why Jungkook had suddenly become so red-faced while Namjoon and Jimin giggled like a couple of high school girls. It seemed like you were somehow the main reason for his embarrassment, so you were quick to poke Namjoon in the stomach, effectively silencing him.

“Hey! Stop teasing the poor boy. He’s just being nice,” you said, pointing a soft smile back at Jungkook. “Sorry about him. I’m sure you’re an excellent baker, judging from how wonderful and cute all these cakes on the display look.” Somehow, your praise had only made Jungkook’s cheeks brighten even further. He cleared his throat as if to say something in response, before changing his mind and scuttling away to the back room instead.

“I’m going to start making your milkshake! D-don’t mind me!” He called out from behind the door, causing Jimin to finally break down into raucous giggles, nearly doubling over from his own mirth.

“Aish, that kid. He never learns, huh…” Jimin sighed, but the smile on his face is kind—the sort of fond look an older brother might have for his kid brother. He turned back to you and Namjoon with that lingering softness as he rang the two of you up, before chatting idly with you as you waited for Jungkook to finish making your drinks.

“I’ve never seen you around, Y/N-ssi. Jungkook—sorry, I meant I definitely would’ve noticed you if I did. You go to the same university as Namjoon-ssi, right?” Jimin asked, flipping a pen between his fingers with incredible dexterity. You were slightly distracted by that, faintly jealous of how his short fingers could somehow manage such a feat.

“I—yeah, I do. I’m assuming you’re also a student?”

“Yep. I actually met Namjoon-ssi when we took that one music theory class together. I was handing out flyers for this bakery after class and he happened to be one of the first people to actually come,” he said, winking at Namjoon. You watched with much interest when your friend turned a faint shade of pink, his hand coming up behind his neck—a signature tick of his whenever he was feeling shy or nervous.

“I-It was nothing… I mean, your seasonal drinks are always so good! I remember your old snowman-shaped donuts with the raspberry filling? I still dream of it sometimes,” Namjoon sighed, eyes going glassy for a moment.

Jimin laughed, his eyes crinkling into cute little crescents. “Oh, stop it! I remember how you’d come here even after we stopped serving that donut and you’d beg us to make them again.”

“And yet you never did, even though I know you have the ingredients to make them,” Namjoon pouted, but there’s endearment dancing in his expression.

You chuckled, shaking your head in disbelief. “I never pegged Namjoon as a sweet-tooth guy, so this is honestly all a very big surprise to me. I should be pumped for this milkshake then, huh? Hopefully, you aren’t just hyping it up and I’ll end up disappointed.”

Before either Namjoon or Jimin could retort, Jungkook had reappeared from the back room with two large cups in hand, almost tripping over his untied apron string but managing to get to the counter in one piece.

“Here you go. I hope you won’t be disappointed when you try it,” he said, gaze averted downwards when he hands you your cup. Your fingers grazed each other for a second, nearly causing both of you to drop the drink like it was on fire.

“S-sorry,” you laughed it off, feeling your ears get a little red from your blunder. You pointedly ignored Namjoon’s arched brow, no doubt enjoying your sudden shyness. Without waiting for him to get his own cup, you casually tear off the straw wrapper and take your first sip of the drink.

“So?” Jungkook asked after a while, watching with bated breath as you take a good gulp of the milkshake. “How is it? Is it worth the hype?” You don’t speak for a moment, further aggravating the two bakers as you carefully chewed on the bits of strawberry in the drink.

“This—” you said, speaking slowly for increased dramatic effect. You could hear Namjoon groan beside you, used to your need for unnecessary anticipation. Even as you paused for a moment longer, you could already feel the smile creeping up your face, unable to completely hide your giddiness. “—is fantastic. Show-stopping. Best thing since sliced bread! I could live on this shit alone.”

Jungkook released a breath he didn’t know he had been holding, chuckling in relief as you began to completely devour the treat in mere minutes. “I’m… really glad you like it,” he said with a wide, toothy grin. You were so immersed in your drink that you missed the way he sighed softly, hand gently cradling his chest where his heart would be.

Namjoon had taken his own sip as well, sighing dreamily as the creamy and sweet flavor overtook his palate. “Truly the best drink in existence. If I was a Twitch streamer or some shit, I’d promote this regularly for free.”

His comment made Jimin giggle softly, but his gaze is trained on something else entirely. “I’m flattered, but maybe don’t promote Y/N’s cup, over here. We don’t typically have strawberries and hearts doodled all over our cups,” he said, smirking slyly.

Lo and behold, your cup did have small doodles littering its sides whereas Namjoon’s was just a plain white paper cup. “Oh,” you said, blushing furiously when you finally noticed. Your flush was nothing compared to the one on Jungkook’s cheeks, however. The two of you refused to make eye contact after that, both of you trying (and failing) to silence the amused snickers of your respective friends.

Despite that slightly embarrassing (and heartwarming) experience, that had marked the start of your love for the tiny bakery and their special strawberry shortcake milkshake. You returned to Euphoria Bakery as often as you could throughout the summer, even going to visit it without Namjoon most of the time. You would even occasionally go out of your way to visit the bakery, even after your summer classes had ended and there was really no reason for you to be around the area.

It also didn’t hurt that the boy behind the counter was especially cute, with his big doe eyes and melodic laughter that always got your heart beating erratically in your chest. It hadn’t taken long for you to admit to yourself that you had a not-so-tiny crush and every visit to the bakery only made you fall deeper for him.

Namjoon has assured you that Jungkook clearly has a crush on you too, but you’re quick to shut him down. It is one thing to be shy and awkward around a girl and another to have a crush on the aforementioned girl. As you visited the bakery more and more, you do notice that Jungkook is more reserved when it comes to other female clientele, although, dare you hope? He does seem a little bit more… nervous, when he talks to you, but that could be your lovesick eyes playing tricks on you.

Never mind the fact that he only ever seems to leave cute doodles on your cups alone, but that could just be a coincidence, right? After all, he can hardly hold a conversation with you when you try to speak with him, always eager to rush to the backroom to make your drink.

Your visits usually consist of making idle chit chat with Jimin after greeting both him and Jungkook. The younger boy often dips the moment he sees you through the glass door, automatically going to prepare your favorite summer treat without even having to ask for your order. He never stays to stick around long enough to make conversation, as he eventually excuses himself to do some chore or another. During one of your trips, you tentatively asked Jimin if Jungkook was avoiding you, to which the blonde boy just laughed heartily at your query.

“Don’t worry about it, Y/N. He’ll come around eventually; he’s just nervous. Don’t tell him I told you this, but…” he trails off, peeking over his shoulder to make sure Jungkook wouldn’t accidentally overhear him. When he turns back to you, the smirk on his face is equal parts amused and mischievous. He looks a little impish, though you aren’t sure if he’d take that too kindly. “Jungkook always stares out the door, waiting for you to arrive. I’ve caught him red-handed far too many times for it to be a coincidence.”

Your cheeks flush warmly at his words but don’t say anything after that. You suppose all you can do is wait for him to start warming up to you eventually, and you hope the day comes sooner as the summer days grow shorter and shorter.

Of course, that day does come eventually, but probably not on the day you wished it would happen.

Like all good things, summer comes to its close and so does the summer menu options offered at Euphoria Bakery. Jimin had already told you a week beforehand that your favorite strawberry shortcake milkshake would get phased out as soon as July hit, but you refused to listen. You had hoped that as his regular customer and friend, perhaps Jimin would make an exception and prolong the milkshake’s lifetime for your sake, but it seems that Jimin has made it clear that friendship and business are two separate entities that he will not allow to coincide.

“Please Jimin? Just one more time? I’ll even settle for a small size,” you beg, your entire body draped over the cashier counter like the pathetic plebeian that you are. Thankfully, since you have made it a habit to pass by the bakery when it’s close to closing time, there aren’t any other patrons left to judge your pitiful display. Unthankfully, that also means Jimin is free to flick you on the forehead with no holds barred, leaving a large red welt where his finger hits.

“I already told you that I won’t budge, not even if you licked my Balenciagas. Besides, we’re out of strawberries anyway.” Jimin huffs, rolling his eyes at your pained whines as you grasp your head in agony. “Oh stop it, will you? I didn’t even hit you that hard.”

“I beg to differ, hyung.” Jungkook pipes up, startling both you and Jimin. Jungkook is usually content to wiping down the glass displays or tables while he passively listens to the two of you bicker, humming occasionally to indicate that he’s still listening, so it comes as a small surprise whenever he does decide to speak up. He must have noticed this too, as his ears quickly begin to redden as he scrambles to finish his sentence. “I-I mean, hyung might have small hands, but his finger flicks are no joke. You could break someone’s skull with that thing.”

“Who are you calling small, huh?” Jimin growls, but the playful smirk on his face tells you that he’s just teasing. He pulls Jungkook in a headlock, who surprisingly doesn’t seem all that bothered by the fact that Jimin is actively trying to block his windpipe with his strong forearms. “Take it back!”

“Never,” Jungkook wheezes, effortlessly removing himself from Jimin’s grip. He dusts himself off, not even breathless. “Also, why’d you lie to Y/N like that? We still have strawberries in the back. How else would we make our strawberry jam tarts?”

Jimin squawks indignantly, folding his arms. “How dare you sell out our company secrets! I could fire you for that!”

Jungkook scoffs, bumping Jimin with his hip. Jungkook must also not know his own strength, because he accidentally causes Jimin to stumble a few steps back, nearly toppling over one of their bread racks. “You’re joking. If you fired me, no one would be able to make the bagels in the morning because you never know how to proof them correctly.”

“Slander!” Jimin hisses, pinching Jungkook’s side in retaliation. You and Jungkook laugh at his childish pouts, but the older boy can’t hide his own mirth for too long. “Fine. You can stay. But you,” he points at you this time, eyes narrowing with suspicion. “You better not seduce my boy over here to make your strawberry shortcake milkshake. I have eyes and ears everywhere.” He drags his finger to the corner of the walls, where there is—

“There’s nothing there?” You follow where he’s pointing, but all you can see is a stray cobweb that Jungkook must have missed while dusting this morning. “Am I supposed to be looking at something?”

“Jimin is thinking of installing surveillance cameras soon. He’s convinced that someone is trying to steal his banana cream pie recipe.” Jungkook shrugs. He slings an arm around Jimin’s shoulder, glaringly delighted when their height difference becomes even more apparent while he stands close to him. “Anyway, I promise I won’t get ‘seduced’ by her, or whatever you want to call it. Why don’t you head home early for tonight? I’ll close up and I’ll try to convince Y/N to try our other pastries as a replacement.”

You open your mouth to try and protest, but Jungkook sends you a cheeky wink, making sure that his boss doesn’t catch him in the act. Bemused but interested to see what he’s up to, you decide to keep quiet and wait for him to continue.

“Don’t try and think you’re being slick here, buddy,” Jimin says, closing in on Jungkook’s personal space by pressing his chest against his. “If I see that you break the bakery code and serve her that drink… There will be consequences.”

Jungkook rolls his eyes, sighing dramatically as he gently pries the smaller man away from him. “Yeah, yeah. I got you. No funny business, I promise. Now get out of here, hyung. Leave the rest to me.”

Jimin gives him one last firm look before squinting warily at you, lips pursed tightly. “No seducing,” he repeats, wagging his finger at you. He unties the apron around his neck, throwing it haphazardly at the coat hanger on the back door where his jacket was hanging. He folds it over his arm and points at the corner of the ceiling with his free hand once more before exiting through the front entrance, the soft bells hanging above the doorway tinkling in his wake.

When he’s gone, you release a breath that you hadn’t realized you had been holding. “Well, that was easier than expected. I didn’t think you’d be able to get him to leave. He must trust you a lot, huh?”

Jungkook shrugs. “Nah. He’s just lazy. He hates closing the bakery and will jump at any opportunity to go home early.”

You nod. “Seems like him.” There’s a beat of silence. “So… How much seducing am I gonna have to do to get my milkshake, huh?”

Like you guessed, Jungkook immediately turns red at your words, spluttering and stammering over his spit for a few seconds before managing to come up with a reply. “O-oh, there’s no need for that. I was gonna make the drink for you anyway.”

“But what about the quote-unquote consequences?” you ask, still worried that you might be getting Jungkook in trouble. You’d rather have your arm cut off than have him get punished, no matter how small it might be.

“No need to worry about that. Jimin might pretend to be a prickly old man sometimes, but he’s mostly just full of hot air,” Jungkook snorts, shaking his head in amusement. “He’ll just make me treat him to some skewers or something. He’s just teasing.”

“If… If you say so? I just really don’t want him to get angry with you…” you say, voice turning small as you tried to reign your embarrassment in. “I know I made a fool of myself just moments ago and begged like a baby for the milkshake, but I was just exaggerating…”

“Something tells me that you aren’t, but let’s pretend for your sake that you are,” Jungkook says. You huff indignantly at his teasing, but you’re more overjoyed by the sight of his cute bunny smile. You had only seen it in passing a few times in the past, but seeing it directed at you is an entirely different experience. Because of you, your mind helpfully supplies.

He heads over to the backroom to begin preparing your drink, but he keeps the door open this time so you can see him even from behind the counter. You can mostly only see the large industrial ovens and bread racks filled to the brim with all sorts of pastries proofing for the night, but you do catch a glimpse of the sole blender near the back. Jungkook grabs the glass jar first and then walks over to the fridge just out of your sight, most likely to grab the ingredients needed for your milkshake.

The bakery is mostly silent, save for the sound of Jungkook moving and assembling everything. You rack your brain for some sort of conversation starter, as the atmosphere between the two of you has begun to return to its usual awkward state as you skirt around each other, unsure of where either of you stands. You might have known him for a while now, but today is the most you’ve ever spoken to him and the tension is palpable.

“So.” You clear your throat, heart beating a mile a minute in your chest. “I… guess this is going to be the last time I have this drink, huh?”

The sound of Jungkook chopping on the cutting board pauses for a second. You can only see his left shoulder from where you’re standing, but you can see it tense even then. “I… I mean, will you stop coming over to the bakery if it is the last time?”

There are so many things you want to say all at once, but the words somehow get caught in your throat. You want to say that you love coming to the bakery to see them (though it’s mostly Jungkook if you’re being honest) and that the strawberry shortcake milkshake had just been an excuse to visit for a while now. You want to keep visiting for as long as they’ll have you—but you don’t know how to say it without hot humiliation running down your spine. You don’t want to weird him out by confessing to him all of a sudden. And so, you clam up, not knowing how to respond.

When Jungkook throws in all the ingredients in the blender, he doesn’t turn it on immediately. He tilts his head to the side, not fully looking at you but giving you a view of his beautiful side profile. You see his Adam’s apple bob for a moment, his tongue poking out to wet his lips before he speaks. “Because… If that’s how it’s going to be, then maybe… buying a couple of skewers for Jimin won’t be so bad.”

You freeze. “What? Are you saying that...”

“I’ll keep making the drink for you, even if it’s not on the menu anymore?” Jungkook finishes, turning fully to face you. There’s a shy grin on his face, coupled with the ever-present pink flush high on his cheekbones. “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. We’ll have to be sneaky about it, though. You’ll have to come to the bakery only when I’m closing so that he doesn’t catch us but otherwise…” He scratches the tip of his nose, looking embarrassed. “If… If you’re fine doing that, I mean.”

It feels like an eternity before you can remember how to function like a regular human being again. Your insides feel like molten lava and you’re certain that your internal organs have begun to self-destruct right after that super-effective hit from Jeon Jungkook, super baker boy extraordinaire. It’s mind-blowing how effortlessly cute he can be, making you realize belatedly that his quiet demeanor over the past few weeks had been a blessing and not a curse. If he had been this sweet with you from the get-go, you’d surely be melted butter on a sidewalk by now.

“I would love you—I mean, I would love it if you did that for me, actually.” You stammer, resisting the urge to punch yourself in the tit. You’re thankful for the lack of mirrors at the bakery, for you are positive that you must look like the devil’s blazing red testicles at this point.

“Great,” Jungkook smiles softly. He turns the blender off, pouring your drink into a paper cup. “Oh, before I forget…” He grabs a marker from the small tin can near the cash register, and you watch as he quickly scribbles a few hearts around the circumference of the cup. “There we go. Now it’s done.”

As Jungkook hands your drink to you, you’re hit with a moment of déjà vu when your fingers brush just like the first time you had met. You sense the same familiar shock of electricity when you touch, but instead of pulling away like before, Jungkook surprises you for the third time that day.

When he’s sure that you have a secure grip on your cup, he grabs your free hand with his, unfurling your fingers until he can get a hold of your pinky. He curls his pinky into yours, linking them together with a bashful smile on his lips. “There. Now we pinky promised to each other.”

“Y-yes. Of course,” you mumble, giggling lightly when he still refuses to let go. “I pinky promise.”

.

.

.

Five minutes away from Euphoria Bakery, Jimin sits quietly in his parked car, his figure hunched over the small screen of his phone as he chuckles loudly to himself. There is a tiny video of two people, a boy and a girl, with their hands held together. Despite the quality being grainy and warped, Jimin needs no confirmation as to who those people are; he’s always known, after all.

“All according to keikaku.” He whistles happily, already salivating at the thought of all the skewers Jungkook will have to buy for him.

[thelowlysatsuma]

alright dipsticks, hear me out

taz balance au where everything is the same except that lucretia and barry have each others’ farspeech frequencies

it all starts about a year after lucretia voidfishes the plane. she’s poking around goldcliff, hoping to find some way to con some rich shit into paying for her gigantic moon base, when she runs — literally runs headfirst — into some bespectacled nerd in denim

barry, for his part, doesn’t know why this complete stranger is offering to buy him lunch as an apology for spilling his Fantasy Starbucks all over his oldass shirt, but he sure as shit isn’t complaining. especially when something, something about this kid feels so... familiar

in a spur of the moment decision, lucretia gives him her farspeech number. barry doesn’t think anything of it at the time

...anything, that is, until he’s rising, spectral and flickering, over his battered corpse, and he begins laughing hysterically, tears glimmering in long-gone eye sockets. he may not have lup back, but he’s got his little sister.

so they start texting. is barry furious at lucretia for what she’s done? sure, a bit. but he understands her logic, and his temper is soothed when she point-blank tells him that she’s going to help him find lup. they may be working against each other as far as the relics are concerned, but if lucretia can locate at least one more shred of her former family, then by god is she going to. barry understands, he thinks, and so they help keep each other a little less lonely over a long ten years

lucretia keeps barry updated on how the other birds are doing, as best she can. they rejoice together as magnus and julia take back raven’s roost, and when glamour springs is shadowed by a mass poisoning barry has to do everything up to physically restraining lucretia from beating the ass of whichever motherfucker did that to taako. wait, he tells her. physical pain is temporary. a lich, on the other hand, is in a prime position to make some douche’s life a living hell. lucretia grins and offers to fund his plots in any way she can.

barry, for his part, keeps lucretia up-to-date on the search for lup. they have matching little cork boards in their respective offices, each filled with maps and theories and half-baked what-ifs. they aren’t any closer to finding out what happened to her, but they will. they have to.

speaking of things happening, barry is the first one to find lucretia after wonderland. he hadn’t been able to reach her for a month, and so when he feels the enormous surge of pure magical despair explode outwards from the felicity wilds, he transports himself there as quickly as he can. he finds his baby sister at the centre of a mile-wide crater, twenty years older and countless sacrifices poorer, and he holds her as gently as he can without physical hands, and makes her promise to never deal with wonderland again. fuck, he’ll get the animus bell for her, he doesn’t care. he just can’t see lucretia in that state ever again. (never again, that’s what they told themselves, in a group huddle late one night the dawn of cycle 66. he’d failed her once. he couldn’t do it again.)

as she builds up the bureau, lucretia starts getting questions about her best friend on the stone. lucas asks her point blank who it is one day early in their acquaintance, and she answers “b- uh, b-j” “that tells me basically nothing. what does that even stand for?” lucas demands. “uh,” lucretia says, “🅱️amazing jrace”

thus begins a fine tradition of bureau employees trying to get any info they can on the mysterious “bj”, including his actual name. so far some of the top answers they’ve gotten from madame director include “bitchin jackass” “burger joint” “beetlejuice” and “banjo jimboree”. once, robbie asks her if he’s her secret lover, and lucretia has to summon a bucket before retching in disgust, which puts paid to that particular theory fairly succinctly

barry, for his part, adores these rumours. he keeps asking if lucretia will lift the lich barrier, just for a day, so he can come and stir up even more shit. lucretia, while admittedly very tempted, denies.

when he finds out that lucretia has been telling bureau employees that the red robes are evil, barry is understandably insulted. the next group of regulators that touch the ground are covered in fantasy cheez whiz for the duration of their mission.

lucretia gets him back by replacing all the denim in the jeans at his base with silly string. barry moves bases, and the prank war escalates

(no one has the courage to tell madame director that her hair has been turned rainbow at the last candlenights party. privately, lucretia thinks she looks bitchin)

every now and again, lucretia will text barry in a panic. these texts tend to look like this:

“barry.” “barold aid me” “barry I fucked shit up real good this time” “barry” “barry” “barry I was at the fantasy Olive Garden and the waiter said ‘enjoy your meal’ and I said ‘you too’ barry kill me n o w “

barry can and will mock lucretia mercilessly for this. he also insists for weekly video updates on fisher and junior.

he also has biweekly fantasy skype sessions with davenport

booyah: I saw a woman so beautiful I started crying???

bear-old: oh mood

booyah: and then I hired her and her son (who’s a little bitch) to work on my secret moon base and I think I’ve made a terrible mistake???????

bear-old: oh my fucking god this is why I don’t trust you to stop the apocalypse

when the thb start working as reclaimers, barry demands weekly updates on them, as well. it goes about as well as you’d expect

booyah: magnus ate the philosopher’s stone

bear-old: he fucking w h a t ?

booyah: he used the glutton’s fork, and he ATE the philosopher’s stone. taako and merle used stone skin and stone shape to get the damn thing out. happy fucking candlenights.

when barry finds out that taako’s DATING the fool who’s been chasing after him wile e coyote style for over a decade, he loses his s h i t. he and lucretia have a girls’ night where they bitch about taako and eat shitty chocolate to cope

bear-old: you HIRED a BABY???

booyah: he’s ten! that’s plenty old. and he’s certainly competent, seeing as he found my organization when even you couldn’t.

bear-old: creesh please. please do not Irreparably Fuck Up A Small Child

booyah: hey, at least I’m not the one who threw him off a moving train!

bear-old: I never threw anyone off a

bear-old: lucretia

bear-old: who

bear-old: who in your employ threw ANGUS MCDONALD, a LITERAL CHILD, off of a MOVING. VEHICLE?

booyah:

booyah: taako

bear-old: fucking fantasy CHRIST

(they have quite a few girls’ nights eating shitty chocolate and razzing on taako, actually)

team sweet flips goes to the director’s office one day to give a status report and find her red-eyed and coughing. she says she has allergies. the cute cat video barry just texted her on her stone, however, begs to differ

lucretia preps the boys for refuge, yes, but her mind is filled with texts and tomes and the letters “l u p” carved into a bureau wall. she passes countless sleepless nights with barry on the line, trying to decipher what it all means

but they emerge from the woven gulch unscathed, and that can only mean one thing: wonderland

she doesn’t tell barry where she’s sending them. she can’t let him interfere out of some misguided attempt to save her from the place. her texts grow few and far between

she doesn’t have to tell barry. he knows

the day they get sent out, as lucretia breaks down in her office, surrounded by a dizzying vastness that could envelop her very being if she would just let it, her stone buzzes.

four words: I’ll keep them safe

and then?

well, then it’s the end of the world

(but when lup emerges from her decade-long cage, phantasmal and resplendent, lucretia and barry share a look)

(and when the hunger is consuming the only home she knows and she’s flying out in one last attempt to face is, barry is on her stone)

(and when the dust settles and they’re finally, finally free, when the world hears a story and a song and former and current bureau employees alike learn just how important the mysterious “bj” really is, when lucretia looks at the wreckage of her life’s work and home and family — when all that happens, barry is the one to beckon to her with open arms.)

(they’ve been beside the other for a hundred and ten years, after all. that’s not gonna fucking change now.)

anyways yeah folks barry and lucretia texting au play with me in this space

@littlemisscritical @thatcoldfeeling and you know what? @herbgerblin what the hell

[octo-cutie]

Red Strings and Things

Prompt: You and your soulmate are connected by a red string on your pinkies which appears once you meet each other.

Summary: Tooru is concerned about the increasing number of his peers that have found their other half. After a brief meltdown, Tooru realizes that his string has become visible. Now the only question is who? And once he finds her, is it really his other half?

Pairing: POV Oikawa Tooru x f!Reader Genre: Fluff, little bit of angst,  a little toddler violence Warnings: Deliberate misspellings in the beginning because Oikawa and Iwaizumi where 6. Neither of them knew proper grammar and Iwaizumi had just lost his front tooth. Violence from Iwaizumi (Pushing, hitting, throwing things at Oikawa)

Side Note: I’ll be referring to Oikawa as Tooru because I’ll be referencing his mom and his sister a lot.

This is my contribution to the Soulmate AU Collab for Celestial Archives! I love love love this AU with all my heart and I secretly believe in the red string theory anyways....

It was his sister who had explained to him why the vermillion string was tied snugly around his left pinky finger. He hadn’t been older than 6 when she pulled him into her lap as she played with his hair one Sunday afternoon in the summer. There was a calming breeze in the air and the temperature that day was just right for blue popsicles in the sun.

“Everyone has one of these strings tied around their pinky finger that connects them to their soulmate.” She had said picking up his hand and holding it up against her own. Tooru looked at their hands (his were signifigantly stickier than hers) as his older sister held them together and saw the cotton fibers of his vermillion string slightly blowing and bending in the wind.

“Wahs a solmat?” He asked as popsicle dribbled down his chin. His sister was quick to wipe it up with a napkin as she explained it in a way only a 6 year old could understand.

“A soulmate Tooru, is the person who shares the other half of their popsicle with you. Except you’ll share a lot more than just a popsicle you silly goose.” She said giving him a sisterly squeeze.

“But we shared a pohsisle” He said with a pout. “Are you my solmat?”

“No Tooru I’m your sister. We shared a popsicle because there was only one left.” She said as she picked him up. Tooru curved his mouth into a large smile.

“Is it Iwa-chan?!”

“I don’t think so goose. If he was than you wouldn’t see your string anymore.”

“Oh.”

That night while everyone else was asleep, Tooru climbed out of his bed and made his way towards his school bookbag and dug out his crayons and paper. In his short span of 6 years he knew plenty of people and according to his sister this string wouldn’t disappear until he met his soulmate. So it wouldn’t hurt to make a list of people he knew.

It wasn’t his parents, or his sister, and it wasn’t Iwa-chan. It couldn’t be anyone in his class either or his teachers. But it was very difficult to count all the people he knew with only ten fingers. At his little desk he sat working in his notebook until his parents found him asleep with the glitter glue in his hair, and a marker surrounded by a puddle of drool.

Later that week Tooru and his best friend Iwaizumi Hajime were in the living room watching a kids television show. It was far too wet to go out and explore like they had originally wanted to but this show about trucks was incredibly captivating. As soon as the commercial break aired, two pairs of little feet flew down the hall towards the bathroom to relieve themselves after inhaling large glasses of lemonade.

“Hurry up dumb face! The thows gunna thart thoon!” Iwaizumi said through his lisp caused by his recently lost front tooth. Tooru blew a raspberry back at him as he washed his hands in the sink. Reaching over to turn the faucet off, Tooru noticed the vermillion string that was darker due to the water that had run through its fibers.

He carefully jumped off the stepstool and opened the door to a grumbling Iwaizumi who promptly dragged Tooru by the arm back to the pillow fort they had spanning the contents of the living room.

“Iwa-chan! Wait I have a question!” Tooru exclaimed as they climbed through the tunnel they had set up to make it seem more like the train station they watched on television.

“What ith it thoopid-head?”

“Don’t call me stupid! I have a question about your solmat string!” Tooru said with tears in his eyes. Iwaizumi was always his hot headed best friend but words hurt ok?

“What about it?” Iwaizumi asked situating himself on his stomach and munching on some of the crackers they had taken from the kitchen. Tooru began to fiddle with the knot at the base of his finger as he asked is question.

“Is it still there?”

“Of couthe it ith. Itths thill bright pink!” Iwaizumi said holding his pudgy toddler fist in the air as he stuffed his face with more crackers. Tooru couldn’t see it but then again only the individual or their soulmate could see it.

The conversation ended there as the colorful ads where now replaced with the post-commercial jingle which brought their eyes back to the screen. It was distracting from the difficult world of soulmates which continued to plague his mind.

It continued to bother him into the next couple months now that he was in first grade. He was part of the big kid group at school because he could tie his shoelaces and he knew how to read short chapter books. His handwriting, according to his teachers, was so similar to a girls that they had accidentally begun to call him Oikawa-chan like they had with his sister.

Iwaizumi had laughed at his predicament one to many times before Tooru pushed him out of his seat with a loud huff. The only thing it did was earn Tooru a spot in the corner during recess while Iwaizumi got to go play outside.

Instead of crying like he usually would, Tooru used this chance to think about the girls in his class. He knew most of them (if not by name then by some other part. Like cookie girl who gave everyone cookies when she had them) and he couldn’t recall seeing their strings. He’d gotten in trouble the other day when he swore on his Alien pajama set that he’d seen Izuna’s string and had tackled her to the ground only to realize that she had colored her nails red with a sharpie.

He’d spent a lot of time in the corner that day.

It was frustrating to Tooru that he couldn’t find his soulmate when it seemed like everyone else had. Though in reality his teacher had already explained to him multiple times that most soulmates don’t find each other right away.

“It just takes time. I still haven’t found mine and I’m 24.” She said with a bright smile. Tooru’s eyes bugged out of his head and he started to wail about how he’d never find them.

First grade was interesting in that aspect....

As the years progressed, Tooru slowly became less and less concerned with his soulmate and his string due to the increasing popularity that was coming his way. Once he’d entered middle school, he and the rest of his male counterparts had started to notice their female classmates as more than just friends. He’d even started up a relationship towards the end of his 3nd year in Junior High with a lovely girl named Sora who shared his love of volleyball.

His first love had been short and sweet. They had bonded together over volleyball, and spent their lunch times and weekends playing together or watching volleyball tournaments much to Iwaizumi’s chagrin. It wasn’t until the last week of school that Sora had come to him with large tears welled up in her eyes.

The tell tale sign of her now visible burgundy string only told Tooru what he’d known from the start. They weren’t soulmates.

Tooru had congratulated her with a large fake smile and given her his best as he headed off to practice. But he couldn’t help but feel the annoyance itching at his skin. It wasn’t fair! How had nearly two-thirds of his classmates already found their other half?!

Iwaizumi noticed the attitude that Tooru was throwing around the court that day. His warm up serves were more aggressive, he’d snapped at both the coaches and had been forced to sit out for an entire practice game due to his attitude. As he watched one of the first years, Kageyama, replace him as the setter for the last game his mood only worsened.

“If you hadn’t lost your shitty temper with the coaches you wouldn’t have had to sit out.” Iwaizumi grumbled as the two of them picked up the stray balls that had wandered away during practice in the now mostly empty gym. Tooru merely grunted and bent over to grab a ball at his feet.

Unfortunately another hand reached downwards too...

“Oikawa do you maybe think you could help me with my sets sometime?” An eager Kageyama asked as he wrung his fingers together. Tooru looked up from the ground with a darkened look in his eyes before lunging at the poor unsuspecting kid as a growl ripped through his throat.

“YOU GET OUT OF MY FACE! I WILL NOT BE REPLACED BY A-”

A terrified Kageyama was rescued from the hands of an angry Tooru by means of Iwaizumi who barreled the two of them into the wall. Kageyama took this chance to run off before he was attacked once more.

“SHITTYKAWA GET A GRIP ON YOURSELF!” Iwaizumi hollered into his friends face as he gripped Tooru’s shirt. Angry tears welled up in Tooru’s eyes as he pushed Iwaizumi away from him and buried his head in his arms as choked sobs left his body.

“I’m one of the only people who hasn’t found their soulmate.” Tooru choked out much to the chagrin of Iwaizumi who scoffed.

“Really?! This is what’s made you so shitty today?! Dammit I thought you had a real issue.” Iwaizumi growled as he threw more volleyballs into the carrier. Tooru wiped his eyes and looked at his bug loving friend.

“It is though Iwa-chan! It’s a real issue! Even you’ve met yours!” Tooru snapped pointing at Iwaizumi’s bubblegum pink strand that had appeared a little less than a month ago.

As much as Iwaizumi wanted to berate him for having unnecessary tears over something that everyone experienced in life, he sighed and found himself comforting his idiot friend instead.  

“It takes time shit-head. You’ll find them eventually.” was all he mustered before pulling the setter up from his crouched position and pulling him towards the gym storage room.

Iwaizumi pulled and pushed Tooru through the school and back towards their homes while the boy moped towards the sky. Iwaizumi pushed him up the steps and knocked on the door. A few moments later, Tooru’s mother opened the door.

“Oh hello- Tooru what’s the matter with you?” She asked pulling her son and Iwaizumi into the house. With a quick apology for intruding, both boys began to remove their shoes and Iwaizumi explained what had happened.

“Tooru you know well and true that finding your soulmate is more than a matter of waiting for them to show up. It also takes the maturity of the heart and the maturity of the mind. This is a perfect example of why you haven’t seen your string.” His mother scolded. Iwaizumi nodded along with every word that left his “auntie’s” mouth.

Tooru merely trudged upstairs and into his room with a huff and a harsh closing of his door.

His room was still dark from turning the light off before he left for school and his bed unmade from running out of time. Letting his backpack fall off his shoulder her slumped onto his bed and stared absentmindedly at his pinky finger.

He could see the vermillion strands bounce slightly with the pulse of his heartbeat underneath his skin.

His mother was right though, he thought as he drifted off to sleep. Someone with his emotional maturity skills was bound to wait a long time for their string to appear.

Tooru’s mindset completely changed once they entered high school a few months later. His looks and his charming personality were a massive take with most of his peers and he quickly developed a fanbase that followed him everywhere. They packed the stands at the volleyball games and inflated his ego tenfold.

“With all these lovely fans of mine why bother with a soulmate?” Tooru announced at a study session with Iwaizumi and two other boys they’d met on the volleyball team, Hanamaki Takahiro and Matsukawa Issei.

“Fuck you and your fanbase.” Iwaizumi grunted as he kicked Tooru gently in the ribs while texting his girlfriend.

“Leave me alone Iwa-chan!” Tooru said with his dramatic ass laying on the ground. Matsukawa threw a piece of popcorn at his head.

“No he’s right. Your fanbase is obnoxious.”

“Not you too Mattsun!”

But Matsukawa was right in the sense that the obnoxiousness of

Tooru periodically began to date members of his fanbase here and there not really caring when they broke up with him due to him neglecting them for volleyball.

It wasn’t until his third year when his current girlfriend shrieked and smacked him in the arm that he realized his life had changed.

“You didn’t fucking tell me you found your soulmate already you jerk!” She snapped before running off in tears. Tooru blinked in complete confusion before looking down at his string. It still sat there visible to him but...

Wait-

“IWA-CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!” Tooru shrieked as he sprinted across campus to find his best friend. The thudding of his heart beneath his ribcage only heightened with the belief that his string truly had been revealed and he was closer to finding his soulmate.

Unfortunately for Iwaizumi who had been having a rather romantic moment with his girlfriend, found himself groaning out of annoyance at Tooru’s loud and heavily breathy interruption.

“What the fuck do you want Shittykawa?! I’m kind of in the middle of something!” He called out not facing the trembling, hyperventilating figure of his friend. With a kiss to his girlfriend’s cheek he sent her off with a gentle love-tap on her forehead and a promise to see her later before dragging a babbling Tooru off.

“Ow ow! Let me go Iwa-chan! It’s important!!”

“It better fucking be you fucking cockblock.”

“Can you see my string?” Tooru blurted as he shoved his pinky finger into his friends face. Iwaizumi blinked before looking at his friends newly visible string.

“I- I can see it. This is what was so fucking important?!” Iwaizumi growled as he gripped Tooru’s wrist and crossed his arms. Tooru gaze burned with a fire that Iwaizumi only ever saw on the court when they were a singular point away from the winning one.

“It means I found them! I found them!” Tooru cried out in happiness cradling his hand and walking off with a lovelorn look on his face.

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes and texted his girlfriend to meet up with him again before lunch was over.

Tooru couldn’t concentrate the entire rest of the day. He stared absentmindedly at the string on his finger and spent the rest of his class doodling what he thought his soulmate looked like or what they should do for their first date.

His instagram now showed off to his friends and fans that he was infact on his way to finding his love and the texts bewteen his mother and sister about it only fueled his excitement. For his fanbase however, the sight of the string caused many girls and even some boys to hate the color of their own strings that now were clearly not a match to the vibrant vermillion color.

But the question everyone wanted to know was who had triggered the appearance of his string? And why had it taken them so long to find him?

Unfortunately for Tooru it seemed that although the universe had finally thrown him a bone, his search for his other half continued to plague his days in high school. His peers who had their strings exposed matched each other but not to his. For three years he focused solely on Volleyball and finding the other half of the red vermillion string that now dangled freely from his pinky finger.

“I don’t even know when it showed up! Kimi-chan just smacked me across the arm and I ran off to find Iwa!” Tooru exclaimed when yet another person asked him if he knew who it was.

No he didn’t. Yes he’d asked around. No he didn’t have any positive leads. The same three answers to the now most commonly asked questions that he heard aside from questions about volleyball.

The search only grew colder and colder as the end of the year grew closer and closer. With the loss to Karasuno at the Inter-high semi-finals eating at the strings of his heart, he threw himself into his studies and watched the match between Karasuno and Shiratorizawa with anger and resentment towards his former teammate and his rival Ushijima.

The loss of Shiratorizawa to Karasuno nearly made him smile after years of ridicule by the universe. To watch the miniscule look of despair cross through Ushijima’s usually stoic face alleviated some of the pain that he felt of not being on the court.

As he and Iwaizumi cleared out of the stadium he felt a sharp pain in his pinky finger, almost as if the string around his finger was tightening. Using his height to his advantage he whipped his head around to see a head of h/c hair walking away from him pulling at her right pinky finger....

That bore a familiar vermillion string.

“Excuse me! Please I need to get through!” He called out shoving people out of the way trying to reach the angel who had seemingly evaded him for years and years and years.

‘She’s here. She’s here. Just one more step. Faster! Get to her! Please!’ His brain screamed at him as he reached out for the elbow hidden beneath the Orange and Black of Karasuno Highschool. The contact of his hand with her elbow cause both of them to jolt with an extreme burst of energy causing her to turn around with her large e/c eyes looking at him with extreme awe. Swallowing slowly the girl looked at Tooru with stars in her eyes.

“Are you...”

“I think I am...”

Tooru moved his hand from her elbow to connect their hands finally joining the dangling parts of their strings together for the first time in a beautiful heart shaped knot. The vermillion color that had once nauseated him now amazed him as he tentatively wrapped his arms around the frame of his better half for the first time. Tears welled up in both sets of their eyes as they held each other tightly.

“I thought everyone was humoring me about my string.” She whispered as she inhaled through teary eyes. Tooru stroked his hand through her hair inhaling the slightly peachy scent mixed with a hint of cream.

“But you’re here now... I’ve found you after all these years. My name is Oikawa Tooru. I’m a third year at Aoba Johsai.”

“I’m L/N Y/N. I’m a second year at Karasuno High School.”

They finally separated and looked at each other with bright beaming smiles. Joining their hands together, Tooru led the girl out of the stadium with the premise of their first date of many to make up for the years they’d spent separated.

To Tooru, Y/N was truly his other half. Her personality complimented his in every aspect. He’d learned that her hobbies included watching volleyball, charcoal art, and babysitting her new baby brother. She’s allergic to pine nuts, and wanted to visit the Amazon Rainforest to sketch exotic animals before going to University for Primary School Education. She had tried out for the volleyball team but had to quit during her first year because her brother had been born.

He told her of his dreams to play volleyball on the professional level and about his nephew Takeru. He shared his fears and insecurities about the Karasuno volleyball team specifically Kageyama. He couldn’t stop himself from spilling information that even his closest friends didn’t know. It was like she already knew everything about him and like he knew everything about her.

As Tooru walked her to the bus station, Y/N asked for a photo together.

“I don’t want to wake up and find out it was a dream.” She confessed shyly as they exchanged numbers and waited for the bus. Tooru’s already fluttering heart increased as he held her warm hands in his.

“It’s not a dream. We’ve finally found each other and I will always be at the other end of this string. We may be separated now but we have our whole lives ahead of us. One day I’ll be playing professionally and I’ll have you by my side every step of the way.” He explained, “Of course if you’ll have me.”

“I will Tooru.” and with those words, she placed a lingering kiss on the swell of his cheekbone. It was natural for her and his response was a flavorful kiss on the forehead.

“A kiss on the lips is what we’ll get when we meet again.” Tooru murmured into her hairline. The sounds of the bus approaching pulled them apart and they separated once again, the knot coming undone.

The string had never felt so heavy on his finger now that they had left each other, Tooru thought as he walked home with a content smile on his face and his hands in his pocket.

A few years passed and the correspondence between the two was still flourishing as though they had only just met. Quick texts turned into hour long conversations and phone calls turned into falling asleep on facetime. When he was offered a position on the San Juan Men’s Volleyball team in Argentina he immediately went to visit a jewelry shop.

Tooru called Y/N and arranged for the two of them to meet at a fancy restaurant. The weight of the end of their strings lifted as they knotted together once more and Tooru announced the news that he was heading to San Juan.

“Before I go however, there is one thing I need to do. I want to marry you Y/N. We’ve only just found each other after years of being separated and it’s like I’ve finally been given a drink of the coldest water to soothe my aching body. You’re my other half. The better part of me. And I can’t let you go again.” Tooru confessed on one knee with the black padded ring box opened to show a perfectly carved ring with a tiny ruby heart.

A squeal and a thump confirmed his answer as those around in the restaurant watched the newly engaged couple hold each other tightly.

The wedding was set for later that winter before Tooru had to leave for Argentina. As they joined hands for the first time as a newly wedded couple, Tooru watched as the vermillion string turned bright gold.

As he danced with his new wife and held her close he whispered a tentative ‘I love you’ and forgave the universe for all the hardships he’d gone through.

After all, there’s always more to life than red strings and things...

________________________________________________________________

So I know that my contribution was added much later but I had experienced some personal issues and this laid dormant in my drafts for a while. Thank you to @elixhirs for the beautiful banner and to @toorusushijima​ for hosting the collab by @celestialarchiveshq

[bloomvalyria]

I received a request for some sparxshipping, so I thought I’d give you some super old sparxshipping content! Since I’ve been getting so many questions about the whole “where did baltor go at the end of broken pieces?” debacle, I thought I’d share the idea I’d originally settled on back in 2016/2017 before scrapping it. It was a good idea in theory, but the deeper I explored it, everything very quickly fell apart. Nonetheless, please enjoy this scrapped rough draft material!

The room was oddly reminiscent of his pocket realm, slightly easing my tense muscles. It was enormous with a towering ceiling and tall walls lined with grand wooden bookcases. Dust coated the furniture and lightly lilted through the air. A great window overlooking the surrounding woods was perched on the other side of the room. The clear glass allowed an ample amount of moonlight to pour onto the hardwood floors. My gaze however was locked on a different light source flickering in my peripheral vision.

My Dragon Fire flared when I turned to look at the bright orange glow. Despite my distance, I could feel the intensity of the flames dancing in the fireplace. Its warmth combined with the pale moonlight gave the room an eerie yet annoyingly romantic vibe. Two stiff-looking arm chairs loomed before the fire, creating elongated shadows that stretched across the floor.

Easily able to sense the dark presence awaiting my arrival in the seat furthest away, I froze. My feet refused to take another step, petrified at the thought of approaching my host.

You can still turn back, my subconscious hastily whispered. He betrayed you. He lied to you. You owe him nothing.

That last statement prickled me. In spite of everything that had unfortunately transpired between the two of us, I owed everything to him. Without him, I never would have found Oritel and Miriam, nor would I have been able to revive Sparx. Even after our fight on Linphea, he’d still helped me achieve the one thing I’d wanted since discovering who I truly was. I may not have wanted to, but I owed it to him to at least hear him out.

Taking a silent, steadying breath I continued my approach to the ominous chair.

“No one would blame you.”

I nearly lost my footing as a familiar, deep voice echoed through the air. Coming to a halt, I felt the strength of the dark presence grow, fully announcing himself. A shadowy figure of a man lifted itself out of the furthest chair, startling me. He was shrouded in darkness until he stepped closer to the fireplace.

Baltor’s sharp features appeared more prominent in the harsh light of the flames. His piercing grey eyes stared deeply into the burning embers, and I couldn’t stop myself from wondering if it was on purpose. It was an odd sight to see him without his signature coat. Then again, his entire ensemble was much more relaxed than I was used to seeing. His normally regal attire was replaced with a simple pair of dark trousers and boots, along with a half-buttoned up, white-collared shirt. I had to mentally chide myself in order to stop staring.

“To be frank, I half-expected you not to come.” Baltor continued. He moved his arm up to rest against the mantle, attempting to look nonchalant.

I glowered at him. “I don’t remember inviting you to snoop through my thoughts.”

A small smirk tugged at his lips. I hated that it nearly made me swoon. “I don’t need to use our connection to read your thoughts, Bloom. You remember what I told you about your eyes.”

An annoyed frown instantly crossed my face as I fought the shiver that arose from hearing him say my name. Shoving my hands into my coat pockets, my fingernails dug into my palms. Resisting the urge to throw a punch at him, I decided saying nothing was my only good option. I considered testing my luck, but the dull throbbing that had suddenly emerged in the back of my skull greatly discouraged it.

“I’m more than aware that I’m the last person you want to speak with.” he said, redirecting the conversation. “All I ask is that we sit down and discuss this.”

“I’m not sure what else needs to be discussed.” I replied, deadpan. The darkness took over much quicker than I’d anticipated. “You knowingly faked your own death. You didn’t contact me at all for months to let me know that you were really alive. Then, you magically reappeared wanting to pretend everything was okay. And, when I asked you why you waited so long to find me, you fed me nothing but a string of bullshit lies.” I paused, dramatically. “I don’t believe I missed anything.”

My response was enough to finally pull Baltor’s gaze away from the fire. The concern pooling in his eyes made my stomach twist with butterflies. However, the darkness worming its way deeper into my brain fought viciously to counteract it.

“Bloom,” he said, calmly, “I understand that you’re angry with me. You have every right to be.” To my amazement, he took a daring step in my direction. “But I know that’s not you.”

The throbbing slowly began to subside, to my shock. I wasn’t sure what made it retreat, but I wasn’t going to complain. Regardless of how truthful my outburst was, the guilt that followed was immense.

“Sorry,” I uttered. “It’s been a bit out of control lately, what with the move back here.”

He nodded. “Understandable. This is your home, and you want it to feel like your home. Living on Sparx is certainly going to be an adjustment for you.”

“An adjustment is one way to word it.” I mumbled, quickly growing exhausted. Running a hand through my tousled hair, I slumped into the seat next to the one he’d previously occupied. The leather fabric wasn’t particularly comfortable, but I needed a place to sit down. Baltor followed suit.

For a while, we merely sat there, glancing at each other. Neither of us seemed to know what to say. All of the snarky, clever remarks I’d conjured up in my head had vanished. Every emotion I’d felt over the last year was a swirling melting pot in my chest. I had a million questions for him. For so long I’d been deprived of the answers I so desperately desired, and now that my opportunity to receive them had finally arrived, I was speechless.

Baltor shifted forward in his chair, looking as if he was about to break the never-ending silence. My Dragon Fire sprung to life with adrenaline, warning me that I needed to speak before he did. My irrational fear of how well he could redirect a conversation was too strong.

“Where were you?” I blurted, cutting Baltor off.

A sad gleam sprouted in his eyes. Still, he didn’t answer. I could see the cogwheels turning in his mind, scrambling to muster up a convincing excuse to push my question off till another time.

“Where were you?” I asked again, fury dripping into my voice. My fingers dug into the leather of the arm chair, trying to still their shaking.

Baltor ran a hand down his face, immediately seeming more exhausted than before. Hearing the question aloud seemed to drain him. “Bloom, I know it’s not what you want to hear,” he began, hesitantly. “Nevertheless, I do believe that particular question is one we should wait on discussing.”

Steam poured from my ears. My cheeks burned red with pent up rage. “No!” I shouted, unable to contain myself. “We are not pushing this off anymore! I’m not asking you to do something outlandish, Baltor. I just want to know the truth!”

“I want to tell you, Bloom. Trust me, I do.” Baltor argued. “Considering how you almost crossed into dark territory only a few minutes ago, telling you would only be detrimental.”

Tears welled up in my eyes, and I could already begin to feel the pads of my fingertips rapidly heat up. “How would that be detrimental? That doesn’t make sense!”

“Bloom, I’m serious.” he warned. “You don’t need to know.”

“Oh, come on, Baltor! What is so difficult about being honest with me? Where could you have been that’s so bad that you’d have to lie to me about it?”

“The Under Realm.”

His interruption made my heart skip a beat. My rage instantly diffused, morphing into a state of shock.

The name sent a chill down my spine as it echoed through my head. Flashes of memories presented themselves front and center, reminding of my time spent there. As always, none of them were pleasant ones.

“What?”  

Baltor clearly didn’t want to continue the conversation; however we both knew I wasn’t just going to drop it after that revelation. “When I found out you were alive, I went to the Under Realm,” he affirmed, slowly dragging out his words.

The thoughts racing through my head were a jumbled, cluttered mess. I kept waiting for my instincts to kick in and react like they usually did. Yet, this time, the longer I sat there I only became more confused.

No logical reason for why he’d be in the Under Realm came to mind. I couldn’t think of any unfinished business he could possibly have there. Even if he did, that still didn’t explain why he’d suddenly decide to act on it when I was in recovery.

Maybe you’re overreacting, my hopeful conscience reasoned. He didn’t say which part of the Under Realm. He could’ve been in Downland for all you know.

I was doubtful. If he’d been in Downland, there was no reason for him to hide it from me. Baltor was well aware of my history with the Under Realm, and if he truly went there, he’d only avoid telling me about it if he went to one particular place. “You were in Shadow Haunt.”

A short sigh slipped past his lips, but no words followed.

White hot anger flashed in my chest. “Baltor, were you in Shadow Haunt?” I asked again, my fury slipping into my voice.

“Yes,” he said. “You broke my curse. I’d hoped to return the favor.”

I stared at him, wide-eyed as the complicated puzzle pieces began to finally make sense. “You went there to try and reverse the effects of Darkar’s curse?”

“It was a long shot,” he indirectly confirmed. “Shadow Haunt seemed the perfect place to, at the very least, begin to search for answers. Since that was where the curse originated, I figured there had to be some information lingering there; possibly somewhere in the wreckage of the palace.”

He suddenly went quiet, acting as if he was finished with his tale.  

“I’m guessing you didn’t find anything?” I inferred, feeling a wave of disappointment.

Baltor shook his head. “I searched for days. I didn’t leave a single stone unturned in that damned place, but there wasn’t a single trace that remained.”

My heart sank in my chest. I knew better than to hope for good news, yet something in me still grabbed onto it. I so desperately wanted to be free of her that I couldn’t help but hope.

“Although, I was able to sense someone else’s magic.”

My gaze flew over to him. A mix of fear and hope twisted my insides. “Who else could be there? It was abandoned. The authorities searched every inch of it to make sure no one was hiding.”

“Well, as it turns out, they didn’t do a particularly thorough job.” He hesitated, looking as if he was debating his next words. “One of Darkar’s minions managed to survive the attack.”

The entire universe came to a halt. Bile rose in my throat.

“I believe you called him Avalon.”

[sunshine-shitposts]

Twenty Second

Sunnie takes Dio out to dinner, unusually happy for some reason, and they enjoy good food together. Pure fluff.

TW: some drankin

=

Nights in the suite were usually lazy, with Sunnie either gaming or watching movies with Dio. He enjoyed their time together, and watching her slowly open up was quite rewarding.

Tonight, however, she was in her room.

He didn't question it as he read a particularly interesting book Sunnie had given him: The Elegant Universe, which discussed something called string theory. It was incredibly well-written, and he was about to turn another page when he heard her hum brightly as she opened and shut her bedroom door. She began walking down the hallway, some nonsense tune she'd invariably made up floating through the air.

She sounded like she was in a good mood.

She then stood in front of him, grinning widely and twirling the blue carabiner that she had her keys on with her finger, her other hand fisted on her hip.

"I'm in a good mood!" Sunnie said happily.

Ah, so she was.

"So," she continued, bouncing on her heels, "You should get dressed. We're going to my favorite sushi place."

"We are?" He asked, an eyebrow quirked upwards.

She nodded. "We are!"

And that was how Dio, dressed in a soft black button-up shirt (the first few buttons undone, of course), black slacks, and some new shiny shoes he'd purchased, was in the shotgun seat in Sunnie's oddly spacious little blue car.

The music in the car, in contrast with the heavy rock music he'd heard her playing in her room from time to time, was bright—some infectious dance tune that had her head bobbing and body swaying in time with the beat as she drove, smiling excitedly as she softly chanted "soosh, soosh, soosh" at various intervals. Dio wondered what exactly it was that had made her so happy, but chuckled amusedly as she bounced in her seat and pulled off onto a ramp heading north, and the music changed to something lower tempo, but still electronic. She hummed along with it, and a little while into the song, she began to giggle.

"Aaaaaah, here it comes, here it comes!!" She wiggled, and began singing with the music, "I promise to build a new world for us twoooo, with youuuu in the middle…"

And then the song exploded into bright, excited pulsing and drums, and she danced in her seat accordingly, grinning widely the entire time. He was impressed with her apparent skill at seat dancing while driving, he had to admit, but seeing her express her happiness so openly and so genuinely brought a smile to his face as well.

Fifteen minutes later or so, she'd pulled off the highway and onto a street that led them to what appeared to be a group of stores that were predominantly Asian, with a large grocery store that seemed Asian in nature as well. There were at least two dim sum restaurants that he could see, what looked like a small Korean bank, among other things like salons and cell phone stores. Sunnie took a left and drove to the outer section of the shops and neatly parked the car.

"We're here!" She chirped, shutting the car off and unbuckling herself, getting out of the car.

"A nice and easy drive," Dio remarked, exiting the car as well.

"Ever been to a revolving sushi place before?" She asked, shutting her car door.

Dio followed her as she trotted excitedly across the parking lot and through the light autumn rain to a door beneath a lit sign that said 'Kitsune' with a cute brushstroke fox next to it. "I have not, little bird," he hummed, "What's the occasion, if I may ask?"

"Oh, I got the courage to shut Vinh out of my bank account today," she laughed, face absolutely beaming, "so the meal's on me!"

He looked at her with a sly smile on his face. Good for her.

They reached the door, which Sunnie pushed open and they walked through, but not before Dio caught various people who were milling about in front of the stores and restaurants gawking at him–good, he always did love a little ego boost. The young man in all black at the front welcomed them and Sunnie happily gave her name ("Green, party of two, booth reservation!") and an employee came up to receive them and guide them through the restaurant.

It was dimly, yet warmly lit, the wood stained beautifully and the seats padded with dark leather, and, to his mild surprise, a winding conveyor belt throughout the main room. On the belt, plates with sushi covered by clear domes snaked their way around the room at a casual pace. Most of the seats were bar-style, but Dio saw, as they walked, several booth tables tucked away towards what seemed to be the beginning of the conveyor line.

The waitress sat them down at one of the booths and placed two drink menus on the table.

"Hi there, m'names Marissa, and I'll be helpin' you tonight!" She said in a sugary sweet voice, "Have y'all been here before?"

"I have," Sunnie smiled back as Dio inspected the moving plates with interest, "I'll explain it to him."

The waitress nodded. "I'll be back in a second for your drink orders!"

As she turned and left, Sunnie patted the table happily, turning his attention from the plates making their way past them to the small woman across from him. "So! Figure out what you wanna drink–"

"I already know what I want, my dear. Explain to me how this," he pointed his clawed finger up and twirled it around in a few circles, "works."

"Oh! Well, here's the revolving part of 'revolving sushi'," she said, gesturing to the moving sushi plates, "They're under these domes, see, but all you gotta do is grab the plate right here, under this little spot–" she reached up and grabbed a plate with her thumb under a semi-circle cutout on the dome, and the dome easily lifted up and she pulled the plate away and to the table, sliding it to Dio. "When we're done with it, we slide it into this spot down here," she pointed at a slot at the base of where the table met the wall, "and it tallies up the cost based on the number of plates. Simple?"

"Delightfully so," he responded, taking a pair of chopsticks out of their paper packaging, "Do you want one of these…" he looked down at the sushi in front of him and tilted his head.

"Kappamaki," Sunnie told him, getting her own chopsticks as well, "It's just a cucumber roll, nice and refreshing. But you can have those, I have a little ritual to carry out first…" she sat up on her knees and looked at a touch screen, scrolling through options and making a selection, "I always start out with niku udon. You make the selection on here and it comes to you on the linear conveyor belt above the sushi one. They have things like karaage, ramen, and you can also order specific sushi if they keep vanishing by the time they get to you, but since we're near the front of the line, that won't be a problem."

Dio picked up his first piece of kappamaki and popped it in his mouth, the bright crunch of the cucumber just as refreshing as Sunnie had said it would be.

"Is it good?" She asked, eyes sparkling, and he nodded.

"It is indeed," he responded, reaching for a shallow dish and pouring some soy sauce for himself, "If all of the choices are of this quality, tonight will surely be a feast."

Sunnie laughed. "No worries there, big guy, they're all really good, from what I know."

Marissa came back around and took their drink orders—Sunnie ordered a lemonade, and Dio opted for 'an entire bottle of your most expensive sake', and when Sunnie shot him a glare, he added sweetly, 'to celebrate'—and by the time their drinks arrived, Sunnie's niku udon had zoomed towards them on the linear conveyor belt. It was in a smallish stoneware bowl with handles and a second bowl on top, which she unclipped and removed to reveal a savory-looking broth filled with thick noodles, thinly sliced beef, scallions, and what Sunnie said was a 'kamaboko slice'. Dio smiled as she said an excited, "jaa, itadakima～su!" and immediately began digging into her dish, and he poured himself his first glass.

"So," Dio asked, sipping the sake, "Is this a date?"

She choked a bit on her udon, and he laughed as she swallowed, her face red and brows furrowed.

"Asshole!!!" She gestured accusingly at him with her chopsticks, "That noodle nearly went up my nose! Fuck you!!"

"You can take your time answering, dear, I don't mind."

"It's not that!! It's—you say things that throw me off!!"

He grinned smugly. "I do?"

She slammed her elbow on the table and pointed right at him, rising on her knees to stare him down closer. "Don't be a little shit. You know you do," she growled, narrowing her eyes at him.

His grin only widened, and his canines glinted in the low light.

"See??" She slapped the table, pointing again with eyes burning just as bright as her blush, "See??? You DO know!!!"

Dio laughed again, eating the second piece of kappamaki. "I do."

Sunnie sat back in her seat, leveling him with an intense glare before slurping down more udon and tearing almost viciously into a piece of beef, grumbling to herself.

"...So, is it a date or not?"

"No!!"

"If you say so."

"It's just to celebrate, and you're my friend. So I brought you," she stated, slurping up more noodles.

"Why not ask your other friends? You've said that you miss them," he asked, not taking his eyes off her as he pulled another plate of sushi without even glancing at the type.

Sunnie paused, brows furrowing in thought. "It's… I mean, it's just that you're basically the first person I can really share my whole life with." He raised an eyebrow, smirking, and she flushed again. "Not like that, Dio. Like… you know what's going on in my life. A lot of them don't, because I don't want to involve them. I don't have to hide that from you."

"You don't have to hide anything from me, Sunshine. Not your scars, not your bruises, not your Stand," he said softly, "Though at this point, I feel like it's in your nature to hide."

She stared at him blankly, tapping the end of her chopsticks on the table for a few seconds before breathing in, looking at her bowl, and slowly breathing out. "...You're not wrong." She slurped up the last noodles in her bowl, picking it up and draining the broth. "I've had to hide parts of myself my entire life. You know, 'don't tell people about what you can do, Sunnie. They wouldn't understand. People might try to hurt you'—remember, we're in the south. I'm not sure how much you know about things down here, but we've got an oddly high number of megachurches, especially in this area. There are plenty of people out there who, if they knew, would probably want to try to exorcise me. Not to mention, my parents worked for years to be able to adopt me. I overheard them a few times; they were scared I'd be taken by like, the government or something. I couldn't put them through something like that."

Dio watched her like a hawk as she reached up and grabbed a plate of three pieces of sushi before they passed by. "I didn't grow up with a Stand, actually," he said, pouring a little more sake into his cup, "I've never considered the implications of having such abilities from birth. It must have been hard to navigate, as a child."

Sunnie shifted in her seat, popping a piece of nigiri in her mouth and chewing for a moment before swallowing. "I mean, yeah, sort of. When you're a kid, imaginary friends aren't that weird, and the shit you say gets written off as you being over-imaginative. I only started understanding Windy's power and that no one else could actually see her when I was like, four, and by the time I was five, I knew to keep her hush-hush. I felt like a freak. Like in some way, I could never truly get to know anybody." After taking a long sip of lemonade, she sighed. "It's kind of alienating, y'know. There was always something that I would know but I couldn't say. I couldn't really be honest with my classmates."

"Was keeping such a big secret from them difficult for you?"

She shrugged. "I read a lot of comic books as a kid. Superheroes and stuff, y'know? And a lot of them had to keep secrets too. I always thought Superman's design was a bit basic, but I figured that if a country bumpkin journalist nerd could grow up without people knowing he could fly and shoot lasers from his eyes, I could do it too, so to speak."

He figured that made sense. As they took a few minutes to eat, he found himself looking back up at her over and over, before another question made its way out of his mouth before he could stop it.

"So," he broke the silence, an interested twinkle in his eye, "Tell me, aside from your spectacular secret keeping, how did you handle being a child with superhuman abilities?"

Sunnie, who was sipping her lemonade from a straw, nearly choked on her drink with snorting laughter. "Fuck, dude are you kidding? I was a menace!!" She grinned widely, snickering to herself. "So I have these family members, right? They call themselves Catholic, but they're this… like, really extreme…? I don't know how to describe it, but fuck I hate them. Except for one, she's kinda crazy in a good way. Anyways, so like," she settled back in her seat, absolutely beaming as she recalled the past events, "Carrie Anne, who's like my dad's cousin or something, she likes to pinch your cheeks and baby talk you and be weird and shit, so one time when we were staying over at their place when I was, like, six, I had Windy start to move things here and there. Small but noticeable, you know? A picture frame turned backwards, some flowers on the other side of the table. It drove her nuts. She rushed us out and cut the reunion short so she could try to get an exorcism or something."

Dio let loose a deep laugh. "Was it just them that you bothered?"

"Fuck no! Imagine, you're a wild child with the ability to not only control wind, but to also pull the sickest pranks of all time. That's exactly what you gotta do!" Her eyes sparkled mischievously. "At that point, it's an obligation. Rolling pencils off desks, tripping people I didn't like, just small little ways to make things fun and amusing for myself."

He leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table and resting his chin on the top of his interlocked fingers. "Just small?"

"I mean, I did lose control a couple of times. Once when I was in second grade, some third graders made fun of one of my friends, so I climbed on top of the giant cement tube on the playground and waited to ambush them when they walked through it. We got into a fight, three guys against me, and after scrapping a bit with them, I blew them all off of me when the teachers ran up to separate us. It wasn't that bad, but it just sort of… happened."

"Heat of the moment?"

"Yeah." She ate another piece of sushi, chewing it thoughtfully before swallowing. "No one got hurt. Well, besides their pride. A girl a whole year younger than them took them all on. It was the talk of our grades for like a week. They didn't talk shit after that, though." She looked at him curiously, her head tilting to the side. "I know you're like, evil vampire man and all, but have you ever done anything dumb with The World?"

He hummed, eyes narrowing mirthfully as he took another sip of sake. "I once scared a French man shitless by repeatedly moving him down the stairs in stopped time when he'd try to ascend."

She barked out a laugh. "No one should hold that against you. He was French."

Dio chuckled, shaking his head.

The rest of the dinner was spent with good food and good company. Finally feeling full, Sunnie chose plain cheesecake as a dessert, and Dio indulged in some as well, at his companion's insistence. After the bill was paid (Sunnie's eyes bugging when she saw the price of the sake, then sighing and telling him 'You're lucky my job pays well, asshole'), they left the restaurant and drove back, the remaining sake in a brown paper bag that Dio happily carried. The return trip was spent conversing as well, music playing in the background and the occasional bout of Sunnie spitting frustrated curses towards particularly poor drivers.

When she crossed the threshold into their shared suite, Sunnie happily kicked off her shoes and took off her hoodie. "That was a fucking good meal," she hummed, satisfied.

"Indeed it was," he agreed, taking his shoes off as well and mussing his hair, "Here, little bird," he added, holding the bag with the sake out towards her. She looked at him and then the bag, surprised.

"Oh?"

"A gift," he continued, "A celebration of your new slice of freedom."

Her eyes met his again and her expression was blank for a moment before her face soured comically. "So you had me buy my own gift, basically."

"Yes," he chuckled as she took the bag from him, rolling her eyes.

"Welp. It's the thought, I guess. I'm gonna drink some of it, then." Placing her backpack on the hook she'd installed, she swept off to the bar. "You want a glass, big guy?"

"No thank you, dear," he responded, sitting by his favorite arm of the sofa and grabbing The Elegant Universe back up, opening to his bookmark, "I've had my fill for tonight."

"Right-o," she signaled, getting a small cup and heading towards the sofa as well, "How d'ya like that book, by the way?"

"It's quite fascinating, if I'm to be honest," he said, shooting her a dazzling smile, "Greene has a fantastic way with words."

"He does!! He's a lot like Carl Sagan, in that sense," Sunnie grinned back, pouring herself a bit of the sake and downing it easily, eyebrows raising. "Wow, smooth. But like, Greene is able to speak about complex scientific concepts in a very accessible way. It's something I strive for, especially when I was a STEM teacher. You can't introduce people to the wonders of science if they can't understand what the fuck you're saying."

"I suppose not," Dio nodded, "Is there any reason why you chose this book in particular for me, though?"

She shrugged, a sheepish look on her face. "I mean, you are from an alternate dimension. I thought it might interest you."

He considered her explanation for a moment, then tilted his head, amber eyes glittering with appreciation. "You thought correctly."

The next hour and a half was spent discussing various scientific topics as Sunnie made her way through some of the sake, relaxing more and more as time progressed. Her cheeks were beginning to become rosy, the tip of her nose a cute pink, and her words were blurring slightly into each other—but only a bit.

"See, so that's like, what I've always wanted to do," she stated matter-of-factly, chomping down on another sea salt and vinegar chip. "It's dumb but I wanna do it."

Dio shook his head as he looked up, shoulders shaking lightly with laughter. "Navel bacterial cultures," he said, amused, and she immediately puffed up to defend herself.

"It's interesting!! Everyone's belly button microflora is different!!" She thought for a second, and her eyes lit up. "Probably their ass cracks, too!!!"

Dio let out a deep and resounding belly laugh. "Darling," he said once he caught his breath, "I don't know how many willing volunteers you would get for a swab of their ass crack."

"I could do it if I paid 'em," she said indignantly, a smile on her face nonetheless, "Money. S'the great motivator."

"That's true," he hummed, laying back against the corner of the sofa. There was a comfortable silence for a minute between them before Sunnie spoke again.

"Happy fuckin' birthday to me," she mumbled happily as she took another long swig of the sake, finishing her cup, and Dio's eyes shot up to her, surprised.

Birthday? Did he hear correctly?

"It's been an insane journey around the sun this round, but I'm in a better place now, I think," she continued, eyes unfocused, "Better job, I'm away from that shitbag… Yeah, I'd say I'm doin' pretty well."

"Why didn't you say it was your birthday before, Sunshine?" Dio asked, confused. She just laughed warmly and waved her hand dismissively.

"Naaaw, well it isn't much of a big deal, is it," she responded, getting up to pour herself a glass of chilled vanilla rum. "Just another rotation around our closest star, another year on this complicated ball of rock… time passes. I get older. That's just how it is."

She walked back over to the sofa and took a drink of her rum before plopping back down.

"Hey, Dio," she looked at him expectantly, "Can we watch a movie?"

He regarded her for a quick moment before nodding. "Of course, darling."

"A horror movie?"

"Anything you wish."

She grinned and turned the TV on, pulling out her phone and switching to one of her apps. "Good, 'cause I have a good one. It's called Coherence. I mean, it's not horror horror, but it's a thriller. Horror themes. Sci-fi, too. It's an excellent low budget film." Her phone connected to the casting device, and Windy popped out, switching the lights off before returning into Sunnie. Dio was mildly surprised, however, when Sunnie scooted right up against him, snuggling into his side as she took another few gulps of rum. The movie began to load, and she looked up at him, cheeks flush from drink and contentedness. "Thanks, man. Tonight's been great."

Strange woman.

"It's always my pleasure, Sunshine," he replied, smiling. She hummed and turned to the TV, settling comfortably against Dio, who huffed a small laugh and brought his arm around her as the movie began to play.

The Twenty Second of October.

He'd make note of it.

[ithoughtthiswastwitterbutfr]

WandaVision episode 7 spoilers

My notes of the episode I would now like to state (before I start the episode) I don’t think the Metispho theory is going to happen anymore I believe it’ll be something or someone else.

Title: Breaking the fourth wall

It would be Wanda breaking back into her legitimate/original reality instead of ours since she created her own within that.

Ahh it’s starting

Vision isn’t next to Wanda when she woke up

The kids game controllers keep switching years.

Billy said his head hurts I’m assuming all the voices from everyone else are crowding his.

The show is definitely set closer to our time maybe the early 2000s or 2010.

The milk box is changing years as well and she said she’s not sure what it’s about. But this is first time we’ve seen her eat since episode one,

The hex is now huge. Hayward is planning on launching something knowing him it’s a weapon.

Vision has woken up next to the city’s and recalls that he was pulling apart. He’s also confused on why Darcy doesn’t

Darcy is doing her individual interview and she is an escape artist maybe this means she’s gonna get out.

“Don’t believe anything that man said he is not your uncle,” Wanda after the twins asked what uncle P meant about rekilling Vision. She said she had no answers.

“I’m starting to believe that everything is meaningless,” She’s clearly breaking down way pass her breaking point which is why she was comfortable saying something like that in front of the twins.

Agnes knows she’s going crazy hint the cutting her own bangs comment.

The twins don’t want to go with Agnes because they think they need to take care of Wanda,

Things are glitching back to older decades and she had to manually switch it back then the infamous “I’m fine,” Laughing.

Monica and Jimmy found out that Hayward was trying to bring Vision back as a weapon which is why he was so upset when Wanda was able to bring him back

Finally

So now they’re saying that they need to warn Wanda.

They found the rest of the SWORD agents wait nvm those are their contacts

They said they’re loyal to Monica just like they were to her mom interesting.

They got the tank she need to safely re enter the hex.

Darcy has been freed from the spell. Darcy punched the circus

She admitted she doesn’t know who the imposter Pietro is or if her kids are safe.

Wanda’s losing control over her powers the house keeps changing.

“I don’t understand what’s happening why it’s all falling apart and why I can’t fix it,”

Interview guy: “Do you think maybe this is what you deserve?” 

“What?” Wanda “Youre not supposed to talk?” Shes loosing control over the citizens as well I suppose.

She’s depressed so the commercial about antidepressants is a given but the line “ A unique antidepressant that is made to anchor you back to your reality,” Is what has me confused on which reality they’re referring to. Nvm “Or the reality of your choice,”

One of the side is more depression which I think she was depressed outside the HEX before she made it and when she made it it just brought her to the depression she’s in now.

“Nexus because the world doesn’t revolve around you or does it?”

Agnes still has the bunny from the second episode

Billy said I like it here because you’re quiet Agnes on the inside. I haven’t moved on yet but I think he’s saying he can’t feel the pain inside her like Wanda’s grief is in her control and my default in the rest of Westviews citizens but he can’t feel the pain in Agnes maybe because the control isn’t there?

Tommy “ do you think our moms okay?”

Agnes looks around confused before saying “ oh for sure you don’t have to worry about your mom she’s a super mom,” Then it cuts to her interview saying “Ralph says I sugarcoat things,”

Still mentioning Ralph but even in their house we haven’t seen them.

Monica has a SWORD suit on made to contain her but now that’s shes her pure energy what’s gonna happen?

She said this is there last shot. What does she know that makes this the last shot because from what we know she can go back in whenever with the equipment she was given.

The exterior of the hex is becoming equal to the vehicle so it was half of it was rewritten before shot back out.

Monica knows she can make it through and as she goes through you can see different stages of her life and here the dialogue of her in Captain Marvel before her mom goes to space with Carol.

“Maybe I could fly up and meet you halfway,” Younger Monica. 

She’s now screaming no I think she’s being rejected back out maybe because this time she isn’t being sucked in.

All of her phases and ages were pushed into her bodies and her eyes glew blue.

She can see all the energy in colors coming off the powerlines the whole world was in like pastel colors pink purple and blue. Before she blinked her eyes and it went back to normal. She’s getting her power exciting. She took her sword suit off because she doesn’t need it.

“So Wanda killed me?” Vision

“Yes, but it’s not that simple you asked her to do it,” Darcy.

“Why would I have done that?”

“To save the universe well half of it,”

“Did it work?”

“It did. Until the bad guy rewind time and killed you himself.”

She’s catching him up on his life before Hayward took him apart possibly wiping him. I can’t tell if Wanda or Hayward wiped him. Since he was so scared about not remembering anything before Westview before he gets his summary now. 

“I came back and died again?”

“And Wanda had to watch,” After Darcy said that you could see the pity in Vision’s eyes.

Vision’s interview: “I believe Wanda is creating these impediments to stop me returning home,”

Yeah she’s created another one the construction workers stopping them from getting home.

Vision said he was a body made by Ultron and an AI named Jarvis but what is he now?

Darcy said she thought Wanda just like flipped a switch and brought her back but she doesn’t understand why he dies if he leaves.

“What I do know is I’ve seen watching WandaVision for the past week and the love you two have is real,”

Vision seems conflicted at that.

Monica made it in and when she came into the house Wanda was taking the Nexus antidepressants and she is confused on how she got in.

She begins to blame the drones and missles on Sword which that was then but then she blames Pietro on them and Monica claims Pietro wasn’t Swords doing.

Everyone including Dottie is watching Wanda use her powers to hold Monica in the air. They all seems stunned but not really surprised

“All you do is lie!”

When Monica hit the grown energy surrounded/protected her and her eyes were blue again. Wanda was definitely shocked by whatever powers she developed.

“The only lies I’ve told are the ones you put in my mouth,” Monica walking towards Wanda.

“Careful what you say to me,” Wanda as she conjures up her powers as a way to threaten Monica.

“Do it then,” Monica said knowing she probably wouldn’t do it. I think she knows Wanda wants help she just doesn’t want to leave her kids and Vision behind. “Take me out,”

“Don’t let him make you the Villain,” Monica talking about Hayward who’s going to tear Westview down to get Vision back.

“Maybe I already am,”

Agnes sees this go down and goes outside. Monica talks about how she isn’t scared of Wanda she already lost her mom and that was the worst thing that can happen. She said she can’t bring her back then she says. “I can’t control this pain anymore,”

Which is Wanda’s situation entirely her pain got so out of control her powers made up for it. Monica and Wanda share an understanding.

She broke through to Wanda I could see it in her eyes but then Agnes came over and said “Young lady, I think you overstayed your welcome,”

Agnes doesn’t want Westview to end she can’t let it end. I’m assuming she said something to do with the creation. Agnes is manipulating Wanda to thinking what Agnes wants is what she wants but it’s not. Wanda was going to shutdown Westview until Agnes came and led her away. 

As soon as Wanda was back inside the rest of the citizens went about their day.

There is kids where did they come from? I’m still confused on that.

Now Vision is starting to understand what Wanda went through he’s realized how much stuff she endured he endured it too but he said it felt like it happened to another person. I feel like he’ll be less harsh now. Or stop trying to shut it down as hard I’m not sure yet.

He ended the interview saying “I need to get to my wife,”

Agnes brought Wanda to her home.

Wait how is Yo Gabba Gabba on the TV when thats a nickeloaden show. That wasn’t really related I was just confused.

The music has gotten scary as Wanda looks around.

“Where are the twins?”

“Oh they’re probably just playing in the basement,” Agnes said seemingly wayyy to calm for the twins to be possibly missing she knows something.

There are vines all in Agnes’s basement and there’s wind blowing it’s like a maze. There’s a book it looks like a spell book. Yep it was.

She came down to find Wanda stroking Sir Sratchy

“Wanda, Wanda. You didn’t think you were the only magical girl in town, did you?” She just admitted to being Agatha Harkness.

She is the villain I’m sure of it. Her and Hayward are both the villains. I’m just not sure why she needs Westview to stay up and running.

Wanda has red or scarlet waves that show her powers and Agatha or Agnes has purple waves.

Her eyes are purple and she’s going into her head.

Agatha is getting her own show theme sequence called “Agatha all along,” It’s going through the decades it’s switched to. Her waves are purple and she has the power to manipulate peoples mind I’m assuming. That’s how she messed with Herb after fixing the talent show.

OHHH MY GOD

people thought the twins brought back Pietro or Peter after seeing their mom upset but it was Agatha.

Agatha was the interviewer who asked “Do you think maybe this is what you deserve?”

She’s not only playing physical tricks and changing the actual physical surroundings in Westview she’s doing mind tricks.

“Who’s been pulling every evil string?” The chorus.

“She’s insidious,”

“So perfidious that you haven’t even noticed and the pity is,”

“It’s too late to fix anything now everything has gone wrong,”

“Thanks to Agatha Naughty Agatha,”

She admitted to killing Sparky which I think I commented on a few eps back.

But the “it’s too late to fix anything”might be why the times period keep changing along with the house because she’s already lost control of her powers she can’t get control back now. “now that everything has gone wrong,” 

A lot of suspicions people had including myself have been comfirmed Agatha is the villain. But that’s only from the inside we still have Hayward to worry about.

WAIT THERE END CREDITS THIS TIME.

It’s Monica trying to break into Agatha’s basement as soon as she opened the door from the outside. Her eyes might’ve changed a bit but there was purple waves from Agnes in the vines. I can’t tell if Monica eyes are blue from her energy or purple from Agatha’s influence.

But a man caught her and said “Snoopers gonna snoop,” At first guess I randomly said Tommy all grown up but that’s unlikely now I’m thinking it was Ralph. We wouldn’t know because we haven’t seen him all season though. Wait that we Peter/Pietro that’s how he got back there so fast.

[writingthrones]

the northern dragon- part 9.

PART 9: FIRE AND ICE.

TAGS: @psychosupernatural , @xleviiiix , @ashtronomyyyy , @starkbelova,@5aftermidnight , @makapaka11 , @mxxkscreate-write , @scorpiosmalfoy,@harrison-shot-first , @art-flirt , @jessyballet , @vaexvictis ,@callmeconceited , @cassiopeia-barrow , @the-three-eyed-ravenclaw , @iirelynn , @aspiring-fangirls-world , @emmaelizabeth2014 @dyanna-corona , @donttellany1iusetumbler , @whatwhyc-c , @moadvx , @simplyfandomish , @daenerysstuff , @coltonparayyko , @not-really-a-cool-story , @bitch-imma-head-out , @stormi-ames , @dyanna-corona  , @theboyzuniverse , @thatting , @aroyaldarknessblr , @hollyj42xx​ , @katsukis-bitch​ , @youcanfightthehurricane​ , @siphonersalvatore​ , @toomanyfandom-s2​ (feel free to shoot me a message if you’d also like to be tagged!)

DESCRIPTION: the world thought that just 2 dragons survived, that house targaryen was missing its third head. but there was another– the youngest, the final child of the mad king and queen rhaella. of course, she was almost part of the near extermination of her house. but the honorable ned stark, unable to watch a babe be murdered for crimes she did not commit, rescued her from an awful fate. instead, she grew up amongst wolves within the walls of winterfell.

NOTES: i'm sorry for disappearing for a while, life got crazy but i’m happy to see how many of you are so supportive and still excited to see read this story! i apologize that this chapter is so short as i’m still easing back into writing this and want to make sure nothing sounds out of character for what i’ve established thus far. i’d also love to hear your feedback/suggestions because i want to hear what you all want to see!

WARNINGS: none! just a short chapter.

You stared at the eggs in disbelief, having to run your fingers against each one’s scales to prove to yourself it was real. How could this make any sense? As far as you knew, no one inhabited the island. The usurper’s brother had left. It was just you, Jaime and your crew. So where did they come from? Who left these candles? None of it made any sense.

And yet, that did not faze you. This is what the dreams meant, this is why I’m here, you thought. Across the sea your sister had acquired dragons and now so would you. Were you two to ever team up, you’d be unstoppable.. but you had to push the thought from your mind. You were already a queen and you had people back home that you needed to return to and fight for. But you wouldn’t leave these eggs here, no, they were your destiny. You weren’t sure how but you were absolutely going to watch them hatch and grow.. by any means necessary. Continuing to caress them, you tried your best to make out their appearances in the dim candlelight.

One appeared to be black as night with just hints of grey that streaked across. Another looked as if it was entirely a deep blood red color. The final egg was what looked to be silver with markings you swear looked purple-ish in hue. All you could do was marvel at their beauty seeing as you were completely clueless as to how they could be hatched. The stories of what happened with your sister only ever really said that it was a miracle with absolutely no details. Oh, how you wished you could speak to her, not just for this but to know that you weren’t alone. A Targaryen alone in the world is a terrible thing.

You stared at them until you became exhausted and curled up on the hard floor beside them, hugging your furs close to your body for warmth. That night there were more dreams, just as you expected-- you hoped they’d come and tell you how to hatch these. But this dream was just as cryptic if not more so than the others. A great, roaring flame seemed to burst and out they came, three small dragons who each looked just as the egg they’d come from had. Next thing you knew, each was clung to you. One hung on your shoulder, another perched on your head and the final one being held in your arms like a child. Each one of them was yours and yours alone, you could feel it, there was an instant bond that you knew was impossible in breaking. You couldn’t picture your life without them anymore, like they had always been there. The one that you held in your arms looked up at you, letting out a small yelp that tugged at your heart strings. Just as you were about to respond, you woke up.

Sitting straight up, you gasped for air and felt beads of sweat drip down from your forehead. The dream was telling you that you needed to get to them but you couldn’t figure out how. That’s when you heard footsteps descending down the stairs. No! You needed to be alone. “NO!” you shouted, certainly loud enough for who you assumed to be Jaime to hear you. “VISENYA--” he called out, but you immediately cut him off. “LEAVE ME, PLEASE! PLEASE, JAIME! I NEED TO BE ALONE!” you cried desperately. Then you heard the steps retreat back up. Breathing a sigh of relief, you looked at the eggs. They looked like stone but you knew a life was growing instead.. maybe they had been growing all this time just waiting for you to come home.

It was hard to decipher what your dream had meant but it became clear that fire had to play some part in hatching them. There was your words.. fire and blood, they said. Fire and Blood. It was the key to all of this, you decided. A great fire must roar, just like in your dream, but blood also needed to be shed. Your own, perhaps? It was something you’d gladly give. You’d give anything at this point. Sighing, you basked in the silence where the only noise to be heard was the soft crackling of the candle flame. Your eyes swung back and forth between them all, wondering if they would look just as they had in your dream and if they’d cling to you in the same way. Would they bond to you and only you?

After another day of being completely entranced, you drifted off to sleep again. Your body felt weak. You hadn’t had any water or food since you’d arrived but you couldn’t tear yourself away from them, as if even a moment spent away meant that they’d die and it’d be all your fault. There was another dream, as to be expected at this point. In it, the great fire roared again with your eggs visible in the middle of it all. Testing your theory, you sliced a deep wound in your hand with the blade you kept with you at all times and squeezed the blood into the flame. At this point, your hand was blatantly in the fire but it did not burn. In fact, it’s warmth felt good. But as you waited, nothing happened. No matter how much blood you shed, the eggs stayed as still as stone. So what was it? What was the secret to this all? As your frustration built, you were awakened once again.

Immediately, you looked to them. “What is it you want?” you asked. “I need you,” you added desperately. You hadn’t even known what you had come to Dragonstone for but now that you did, you couldn’t leave without them. Nothing and no one could get you to leave their side until you’d figured it out. So you were going to do everything you could possibly think of. But first, you needed to build the flame-- that much was clear. What would come next was unclear but the large fire that they would sit in was absolutely necessary. So, you pushed the candles together so that their flames would combine, but still that was not nearly enough. Then you came to your knees again, scanning the ground. Was there some way to make a large fire? There had to be, right?

Yes. There was a liquid that coated the ground around the candles and eggs that you somehow hadn’t noticed before. Once again, you weren’t sure where it all came from but it didn’t matter to you. This was how you’d do it, something in your gut told you so. Hesitantly, you took one handle and lightly dipped its flame down into the mysterious liquid and it immediately ignited. You scrambled back as it quickly became out of control. The flames began to lick at your feet and while it melted the bottoms of your shoes, you felt no pain. Seems the whole “blood of the dragon” thing was real after all. What else could explain the fact that fire did absolutely nothing to you?

So, the fire grew larger and large until it engulfed the eggs and the surrounding area. You could see them sitting there just like it had been in your dream. But you knew that spilling your blood over them would not help you. So what else was there to do? What blood must you give and how? You stuck your fingertips into the fire, head tilted with curiosity. Then it was your whole and arm with absolutely no feeling besides an honestly comforting warmth. It was calling to you, just like before. So you did what felt right and walked into the flames more and more until you were at the center with the flames raging all around you. You gathered the eggs in your arms and held them close to your body.

THIRD PERSON POV.

Jaime had been anxiously sitting at the large table that seemingly once served as a room meant for plotting war moves. The house markers left behind were proof of such. That’s when he heard a large explosion come from the dungeons beneath him. His heart began to race and he took off, fearing the absolute worst. What had she gotten herself into down there? He knew that he should’ve just come down regardless. She was being reckless in keeping him away and he just let her.

He raced down the stairs hoping that it wasn’t as serious as he thought. But he was wrong. When he reached the bottom, he could see a completely out of control fire and no Visenya in sight. “VISENYA!” he screamed out as he came running closer. He could see the figure of someone standing at the fire’s center but that made no sense. Even if someone were to be burning alive in front of him, he would hear their screams of agony or watch them collapse. No one could stand there silently while skin melted from bone. Then, the fire exploded into an even larger flame and he, of course, jumped back. But then it completely died out.

As his eyes adjusted, it appeared as if the figure were still standing in the same spot. But how was that possible? Was this some strange nightmare? It must’ve been because this made no sense. The figure came closer and as it did, it looked as if it were some grotesque, amalgamated humanoid. When he finally saw, though, it was even more shocking. Dim light cascading down from the stairwell just barely lit what stood before him. There stood Visenya, soot covering her skin but seemingly no wounds, with dragons. One had perched itself on her head, another on her shoulder and one she held cradled in her hands. “Wh..” He was at a loss for words.

“I told you I needed to be here for a reason. The reason was them. They needed me,” she said. “I..” He still couldn’t figure out what to say and instead began to hurriedly take off his furs to cover her exposed body. But as he nearly her, the small creature let out what would’ve been a growl had it not been so little. It startled him yet she never flinched. Instead, she turned to look at the one who had made its place on her shoulder. “It’s okay,” she said softly. Nudging the creature down her arm and cradling it the way she had the other, she nodded to Jaime. He cautiously placed the cloth around her shoulders and she adjusted to wrap them around herself before holding the dragons close to her again. Without a word, she started back up the stairs and Jaime followed closely behind.

BACK TO READER’S POV.

They were here. You stepped into the flames, offering yourself to its mercy and when they died down, so did the old you. You had been reborn in that moment with your very own dragons as proof of it. Y/N would always be your name but you felt a whole new connection to Visenya. The woman you had been named after was a dragonrider and you would be one too. You wanted to embrace the dragon while still loving the wolf. And you would. When you returned to the North, you vowed to proudly present your dragons and make sure that no harm came to them. You vowed to yourself not to fear what the people might say. But you had also made a vow to the people to stand at their side and fight with them. Who could turn down a little extra help, right?

When you reached the room you’d been staying in, you let each of them onto your bed while you found something to wear. After dressing, you sat on the bed with them, gently caressing each one. You had decided that silver dragon with accents of purple would be named Vhagar in hopes that she would grow as big and strong as the one who came before her. The one who was entirely red would be called Raela for the mother you never knew. And finally, the black one with streaks of grey would be Nederys for the man who had saved your life. It felt right.

You nearly pinched yourself as you watched them coo at one another, finding it so hard to believe that this was reality. The world had thought that the dragons were gone but you and your sister had proven that not to be true. With any luck, this was only the beginning.

There was a light knocking on your door followed by a quiet voice, “Visenya?” Jaime inquired. Tearing your gaze away from the creatures, you opened the door and tilted your head slightly. “Yes?” you questioned. “Are you.. are you okay?” he asked, seemingly at a loss for words. “And why wouldn’t I be?” You had never felt better, in fact. You had spent most of your life hiding who you were and now you were embracing it.. thriving, even, as you embraced your Valyrian roots. He looked utterly shocked and the sight made you grin. You had completely bursted out of your shell-- no longer the “lowborn” girl who hid away back in Winterfell. You were a Stark, a Targaryen, a Queen and now a mother to your own dragons. “Well, you did step out of roaring flames..” he replied with a dry chuckle.

Yes, you did. Yet you had remained unscathed, save for the clothes that had been burned away and the soot that had covered your skin. “It was what they needed,” you said simply, looking over at the dragons on your bed and each of them tilted their heads curiously. You couldn’t help but to smile. “I suppose it is..” he replied, sighing. “Have you finished what your mission here? Are we returning to your husband now?” he asked, one brow quirked. “Which, if I may, I don’t see the northmen being too thrilled about their queen returning with, well-- weapons. Fire and ice don’t mix well.” He wasn’t wrong, you knew that.. but it didn’t change the frustration that his statements caused you. 

“No,” you replied sternly. For someone who had been pushed the side most of her life, you wore confidence quite well. “There is still much to be done.”

[takebullshit]

About Louis recommending Gerry Cinnamon’s new album...

Not to be that person, but... The lyrics are LOUD. (and the songs are great, go check them out! P.S.: everyone’s already freaking out because if Louis sang one of the songs, his accent would be thick) 

About my thoughts on each song (of course, regarding Larry):

"Canter" 

The song is about living your life to its fullest, about going after what you want. It also kinds of follows the same storyline as Miss You/a bit similar to Always You as well. It’s about going out, partying and everything, but at the end, you miss that one person and it’s all that really matters.

Some of the lyrics: 

“Because the hardest part of the game isn't even playing the game, it's caring enough to care about the things that you're doing”

“They tell you it's no easy, they tell you that it's hard They tell you it's impossible to mend a broken heart The lead role in a tragedy pretending that it's art”

“I coulda write a stanza and put you in a song, detail all the times when you were right and I was wrong Flashbacks to the only place I felt like I belonged You'll never be a king when you're acting like a pawn”

"War Song Soldier"

What I understand from this song is about someone who starts a war with their songs, who use their music as a weapon sort of.

“Now my mouth is a gun Ima let my words rain down”

“I could write a song and pretend it's worth my time”

“Every night we hide Between my dreams and rhymes”

"Where We're Going" 

This one talks about someone who makes mistakes and wishes for another place to live with the happiness the other person is giving them.

“But it seems that in the end I fuck up everything and it's killing me”

“There'll be another place for you and me Endless time, love And nothing really matters, really”

“Rolling in directions that I don't believe Pretending that I'm someone that I'll never be, I will never be I could never be” (!!!)

"Head In The Clouds"

THIS ONE. I swear, it suits larry so much. It’s basically about someone who’s “on the top of the world” and feel lost, unsure of how to act and end up acting like a fool most of the times. To completely understand the feeling, I’d recommend you to listen the whole song and pay attention to the whole lyrics, but there’s a few parts that can sum it up pretty well:

“More late nights of the same old shite than you care to remember”

“You're on top o' the world (...)  They tell you nothin' is free”

“Havin' your fun with two weeks in the sun” (mostly here because I like the reference/coincidence with the “they never go longer than two weeks apart” theory)

“Now you're caught in a game you don't know how to play”

“Where you hide all the things you don't want to be hearin’” “You try not to fight it, so you try to be cool but then act like a fool You don't know how to hide it 'cause it feels like a dream”

“You're still stupid enough to know that you can't run forever On your mind every day ‘cause the pain goes away anytime you're together”

“I don't know if you're really in love but I have my suspicions”

"Dark Days"

Okay, another LOUD one. It’s about having a relationship going through “hard days”, but also using the other’s person strenght (refered as “light”). Also, it talks about the other being a moon beam and about having sun rays and all I could think about was the post I saw saying Louis’ the sun and Harry is the moon.

“You were a moon beam in the sky”

“Longing for the day, I threw myself into your light unthreatened by the night”

“Nothing stays the same but still the world is turning, at least there's some things never change”

“Dark days, these are dark days, but I heard that there's an easier way These are the best days that you're ever gonna have”

“Dark days, but I got sun rays 'cause I know that there's an easier way to love” (!!!)

"The Bonny"

I have a feeling this is something more familiar to Louis, if he relates to the song in some level, mostly because of this lyrics:

“For the people that you loved and lost That you never got to tell goodbye”

"Sun Queen"

This is a nice one, about fame and being in a band, also about a lover that is refered as “The Sun Queen” (that connects with Louis, as he’s always called “sunshine” by the fans and has references to it in Harry’s songs as well).

“Sing my songs, never thought I'd make it this far (...) Lived my life, I can prove it 'cause I got scars”

“She said she had a thing for James Dean and the music from the 50s”

“Faded memories of a young team”

“Fakes in bands only wanna get wasted They wear nice clothes but they'll never even taste it Ripped off songs, first you copy then you paste it”

“The boy's got soul but he musta misplaced it”

"Outsiders"

This one is a quite dark one, in my opinion. I feel it as a song about the demons in your head, even not believing your partner’s love for you anymore. I don’t know if there’s different meanings, but the main feeling I get from it is someone being reluctant about going to places because they feel out of place because of those demons in their head.

“I got some bright ideas (...) and it burns inside”

“I don't wanna come in cause beneath this smile I'm dying on the inside”

“I don't care if I win, it's a sin”

“I spill my guts again I cut my heart out in a piss stained field While you scream don't shout Till I believe again My heart is open But my fates still sealed”

(Maybe if Louis relates to that would be in a sense that he’s opening up, but he still can’t change his “fate”, even if he’s letting down his guard. And that he’s vulnerable, but he needs to be convinced about love again.)

"Roll The Credits"

This is very sad break up song. Since we all assume they broke up at least once, according to their lyrics, it also can be related to it, it’s a pretty strong break up song.

“It's over, so why do you need me to answer your questions like we're still alive” “I told ya, all your words they mislead me to think cause our bodies ain't broken our hearts might survive”

“The tracks of your tears let me know that you've cried”

“Roll the credits there's no happy ending The monsters got over the wall and tore us apart Pull the curtain there's no use pretending”

"Mayhem"

I got a feeling this song it’s originally about cheating or something like that, but can also be seen as someone making a mistake and (again) about feeling lost. (quick comment that this song is amazing, my favourite from the album)

“Mayhem in your eyes”

“I spat on the pavement ignoring the demons inside”

“Home is where I belong I promise I'll do no more wrong I might even sing you a song”

"Six String Gun"

I feel like this is about using the music as a weapon again, trying to be truthful to yourself but feeling alone. Talking about Louis, I guess it relates to the same way of “War Song Solider” and I thought of “Only The Brave” listening to it, so idk.

The lyrics are amazing and pretty short, so here they are:

“Well I try to be an honest man I do my bit when I can I might fall but I have my fun Sometimes I feel I'm the only one With a six string gun The world's on fire and the gods know it So we don't pray anymore Our eyes burn in a red hot sun Sometimes I feel I'm the only one With a six string gun”

"Every Man's Truth"

Even if I don’t think it’s exactly Larry related, it criticizes the society as a whole so I guess it’s valid (also wouldn’t let only one song out). Also, another great song either way, it’s worth checking out.

A little bit of the lyrics:

“Odds on That the world is run by criminals And we're all controlled by subliminals Consuming like our minds are haunted By the things we didn't need but wanted”

Well, those are the songs in the Gerry Cinnamon’s album, “The Bonny”.  Check the album, it’s great!

I feel like we tend to listen to and recommend songs based not only on how much we appreciate it, but also how much we can relate to it. So, I’m not affirming Larry is real because of those lyrics, I’m just saying that, since I believe Larry is real and it is, I believe Louis can relate to the songs in a intimate level since he talks about how lyrics are important to him.