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whatacaitastrophe · 10 months ago

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Is It Over Now - Chapter 8

Previous Chapter

Chapter Song Inspiration: "Burn Butcher Burn" - The Witcher, Season 2 Soundtrack (performed by Joey Batey)

Chapter Warnings: suicide attempt

Spotify Playlist: Here

Chapter Notes: if you have read this fic, liked it, reblogged it, or left comments THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. keep the comments coming bc i love hearing your feedback (and like tinkerbell, i need applause to live).

Chapter 7: I've Also Survived, No Thanks to You

After The Netherbrain was defeated, Astarion thought he was going to get a break from adventuring and life on the road. Life, however, appeared to have other plans. As he’d expected, when the tadpole was evicted from his brain, Astarion lost his ability to walk in the sun. His loss of the sun was probably the only reason he wasn’t exactly ready for the battle against the illithids and The Netherbrain to be over. The sun began burning his skin as soon as it was high enough in the sky, so he could not even help get Fallon back to The Elfsong, running towards the sewers as fast as he could so he could get there through The Emperor’s old hideout.

He was the person who spent the first tenday of Fallon’s mental breakdown at her bedside, because unlike his companions, he couldn’t exactly go anywhere (that, and he didn’t want to with Fallon being in the state she was in). The early days were days Astarion never expected that Fallon would ever remember because of how upset she was. He’d never seen the elven woman like that before, and it scared the shit out of Astarion to see someone he’d always believed to be so incredibly strong and unshakeable become a catatonic shell of herself.

Astarion only ever left her when he needed to feed and always made sure that Fallon was not alone while he was gone. On one of the last nights he stayed with Fallon, she almost died on his watch. No one was available to cover for him, and there was no way Astarion was going to feed on his friend, not when she’d barely eaten enough to keep herself alive. So he took the risk; he bade Fallon goodbye and promised to be back in an hour. Upon returning, he found Fallon in the kitchen, swaying from malnourishment, mixing a potion together. It only took Astarion a few seconds to figure out what she was attempting to make, he could smell it. When he stopped her…he’d never seen her so angry before.

“Astarion, I swear by the nine hells if you do not give that back to me I will murder you.”

He believed her, too, but he also knew that laying her hands on him would take more strength than she currently possessed. “Murder me then, darling, because I’m not going to let you do this.” He told, and tossed the mixture out the window.

“Get out,” she growled. “Get out, I hate you. I never want to see you again.” Fallon yelled at him through sobs. He knew she didn’t mean it, but he still flinched as the words spewed out of her mouth. Astarion took her in his arms and held her. She raged against him for a moment, but her anger slowly dissolved and eventually they were sitting on the kitchen floor while Fallon simply sobbed.

After that, Astarion knew what he had to do. He got a hold of Karlach through the sending stones they all possessed now and beckoned her to the suite. Much like Astarion, Karlach could only travel by disguise in the dead of night these days, and therefore she was the only one of Astarion’s companions who would truly be able to keep watch over Fallon twenty-four seven until she got through the worst of it.

It was that moment that brought him to The Sign of the Dreaming Dragon, an inn in Iriaebor, three months later. Not being able to travel during the day anymore made things infinitely more complicated, so traveling the seven hundred or so miles along The Chionthar to get here took far longer than Astarion would have preferred. Coupled with the fact that he was tracking someone, it meant he spent a couple of days in the towns he passed through along the way; speaking to people in seedy taverns, listening in on conversations to hear if an overly talkative wizard has passed through.

The pieces of The Crown of Karsus had fallen into pieces in The Chionthar when they defeated The Netherbrain, and if he was going to find Gale of Waterdeep, traveling along the river would be the fastest way to find him. Rivers have currents, and Astarion was not only certain that all of the pieces of The Crown hadn’t conveniently fallen to the same place, but that the river sent them along their way and out of Baldur’s Gate. All Astarion could surmise from his travels was that he seemed to be four days or so behind Gale at every turn. That said, he had yet to run into the wizard, and now that he’d made it to the last real city along the river, Astarion was beginning to worry that Gale already found the crown and went…wherever it was that he had to go next. Elysium? Gods, Astarion had no fucking idea how to get there, so this truly was the last chance.

When he stopped into The Sign of the Dreaming Dragon just before sunrise to claim a room and have a drink, the last person he expected to find immediately was Gale, sitting in a corner booth with a glass of wine and a book. Astarion smirked as he sidled up to Gale’s table and slid into the seat across from Gale.

“Is this seat taken?” he asks, and Gale nearly jumps a foot into the air, having been so engrossed in his book he didn’t even realize someone sat down at his table. It takes a moment for Gale to realize that the vampire is truly sitting across from him, and he just stares at Astarion in stunned silence.

“So this is how you render the great Gale of Waterdeep speechless,” Astarion muses, reaching for the half empty bottle of wine on the table and taking a swig directly from it.

“Astarion, please, this is a decent establishment.” Gale scolds.

“Ah, he speaks! How have you been, friend? Are you god yet? Did you get everything you ever wanted?” He asks Gale, tone dripping with sarcasm and displeasure.

“What are you doing here, Astarion?”

“I’m fine, by the way, things have been just lovely since we saw each other last. I can’t walk in the sun anymore, we were all given Lady and Lordship titles by Ulder Ravengaurd after saving the world. It happened just days after you left, such a shame you missed the ceremony–”

“Astarion, please, my patience is very thin as of late. What do you want?” Gale sighs, exasperated by his visitor already and it’s only been thirty seconds.

“Fallon sends her regards, by the way– well, assuming she’s still alive. I’ve not heard otherwise yet, so I assume she’s still breathing.” Astarion sneers.

At the mention of Fallon, Gale freezes, and he slowly sets down his book as fear begins to bloom on his face. “What’s happened to Fallon?”

“Oh nothing, darling, she only tried to kill herself the last time I saw her–”

“WHAT?” Gale raises his voice and the small number of patrons also up at the present hour whip their heads around in Gale’s direction and the wizard shoots them an apologetic look and a wave. “What happened?” Gale asks, his voice lowered.

The bartender realized Gale was no longer alone, and he approaches the table with another glass. Astarion thanks him and takes the bottle again, pouring the remaining contents into his glass. He takes a sip and leans back against the booth. “You happened, darling.”

Gale stares at him in confusion, trying to find the connection between himself and Fallon’s attempt. “How is that possible? I’ve not been in Baldur’s Gate since–”

“ Exactly , Gale. You left , and she’s been a gods-damned mess ever since,” Astarion snaps. “Did you really think that you could just go off to find your precious crown without so much as a goodbye and she’d just be okay with it?”

“I did say goodbye–”

“You call that little speech you gave her a goodbye? For someone so intelligent you are really, really stupid,” Astarion laughs coldly. “After everything she’s been through, after everyone she’s lost, and how much she loves you…I simply cannot believe you thought that was a sufficient enough goodbye. Hells, I can’t believe you left in the first place. None of us could.”

Gale stares at Astarion angrily. “Did you come all the way here just to yell at me for the choice I made, or was there another purpose?”

Astarion presses his lips together in a thin line. “You need to come home, Gale.” he demanded. “The woman you claimed to love more than your precious Mystra is an absolute disaster without you, and the fact that I found you tells me you haven’t succeeded yet. Go home to Fallon. She needs you.”

Silence falls between them and Astarion’s eyes remain on Gale’s face.

“I have succeeded.”

Astarion blinks once. Twice. “I’m sorry, what?”

“I’ve succeeded. I found the final piece today. You actually caught me on my final night here. I leave for Elysium tomorrow afternoon.”

Now it’s Astarion’s turn to stare in disbelief. “You– I just told you that the woman you love is miserable without you and your response…is not to tell me how much you miss her and still love her…but to correct my assumption that you’ve failed? Power really does change people.” Astarion scoffs.

“Of course I love her, and I miss her terribly, I shouldn’t have to defend that to you.” Gale replies haughtily.

“Except you do, Gale, because she’s a fucking shell of a person right now, it’s entirely your fault, and you’re more concerned about that I called you a failure!”

Gale scowls, and Astarion shoots him a satisfied look. Astarion hit a nerve. Good. “I can’t, Astarion. Come home that is. Not yet. Once I go to Elysium and ascend to godhood, I’ll be able to fix everything.”

“You’re a disgrace Gale. You’re a disgrace and deluded if you really think becoming a God is going to fix this. This was a waste of my time.” Astarion downs the rest of his wine and stands.

“Always a pleasure, Astarion; and to think the first thing I was going to do upon my return after reuniting with Fallon was going to be to tell you I’ve discovered a way for you to walk in the sun.”

Astarion freezes. He turns around slowly. “What?”

A smug smile appears on Gale’s face. “I met a vampire during my search for the pieces of the crown. He was walking in the sun, in the middle of the day.”

Hook, line and sinker. Gale has Astarion’s attention again and the vampire sits back down. “How?”

“He wouldn’t go into details, but the vampire was from Asha. In Velrea. He belonged to a coven with the ability to walk in the sun.” It couldn’t be possible. Surely Gale was playing with him as some sort of payback for berating Gale on Fallon’s behalf.

“It’s true, Astarion. You may think me to be the villain right now, but I would not lie to you about this. Tara even found me a book that proves the vampire was telling the truth,” Gale slides the book he’d been reading across the table to Astarion. “It’s all in there. Take the book if you want.” Gale smugs.

Astarion feels fury flowing in his veins as he snatches the book off the table. He hates the fact that it’s Gale of all people that just happened upon this information as easily as breathing. “This changes nothing, you know,” he glares. “Go home, Gale. Forget the crown, forget Elysium, and go the fuck home.”

With that, Astarion retreats to the bar to obtain a room for the day so he can begin his own trek home once dusk falls.

Despite the revelry happening around them, no one in their current group look happy. They all just stare at Gale. For the most part, he looks the same. The biggest difference is there is an incandescent glow surrounding him now, one he only could have gained by becoming a god. Fallon can’t stand the way her heart reacts when she looks at Gale. He’s still as handsome as she remembered, and there’s a part of her that wants to run to him and embrace him in the way she had Karlach. The other part of her wants Halsin to turn into a bear and rip him to shreds so she never has to see him again.

Astarion takes her hand, lacing his fingers with hers and he gives her hand a squeeze. Gale’s eyes drop to their linked hands, his nostrils flaring. Wyll is the first to speak, with a fake smile plastered on his face. “Need I remind you all that we are at a ball, hosted by my father, and I would very much like for us all to not end up on Page Six of the Baldur’s Mouth Gazette tomorrow.” He walks over to Gale and gives the man a strong handshake and claps him on the shoulder. “I can’t say I’m pleased to see you, mate, but for the sake of my father I will most certainly pretend for the next several hours.”

One by one, the rest of Fallon’s companions do the same. They each take turns greeting Gale like they’re happy to see him, even Lae’zel puts on the closest thing to a smile she can muster. Astarion remains at Fallon’s side until they’re the only ones who haven’t acknowledged Gale in the way the public would expect. Fallon reluctantly lets go of Astarion’s hand and the vampire gives her a look of concern. She merely nods her head by way of saying “I’m fine,” and she walks over to Gale.

“Fallon, dearest, how I’ve missed you.” Gale’s voice is soft, and Fallon’s heart aches at the look in his eyes. It’s the same adoring look he’s always given her, and Fallon hates the way it makes her feel. She wraps her arms around Gale’s neck, and unlike her friends, the hug she gives him is genuine, because Gods, even if she hates admitting it, she has missed him. Gale hugs her back tightly. For a moment, she and Gale are the only two people in the room as she breathes in his familiar scent and her mind wanders back to happier days. They stay like that for perhaps a beat too long and someone clears their throat behind her.

When Fallon turns around, she almost misses the hatred in Astarion’s eyes before he changes his expression so he too can greet Gale as the rest of them have. “So, um, where’ve you been, Gale?” Karlach asks awkwardly. It’s a good question, one Fallon is certain they’d all like the answer to, no one more than she. Gale smiles brightly at them like nothing is wrong. Whether it’s because he believes that or he’s simply doing his part to keep up appearances at Wyll’s request, Fallon cannot tell.

“That, my dear friend, is a story for another occasion, as it is quite the tale,” he claps his hands together. Just then, Duke Ravenguard and his wife take to the small platform where an orchestra is set up to welcome everyone and wish them a happy Winter Solstice. The band begins to play a lively tune, and the duke takes his bride by the hand and leads her to the dance floor to begin the celebrations. Slowly, others trickle in to join them, until some of the only people in the room on the dance floor are the heroes of Baldur’s Gate.

“Well, I need a drink.” Shadowheart declares, and Lae’zel nods. Halsin and Wyll follow along behind them and Karlach looks to Fallon. “You okay, soldier?” She asks and Fallon nods. “I’m fine, go.” She promises. The tension among the three left is palpable, and Fallon wishes she could turn into a small animal and disappear.

“You know, I could use a drink as well. Care to join me?” Astarion asks her, extending his hand to her.

“Actually, I was hoping I could perhaps have the honor of your first dance this evening,” Gale interjects. “So we could perhaps have a moment to talk.” Fallon looks back and forth between the two men, her mind reeling as her heart splits in two directions. She knows what she should do. What she wants to do is another matter entirely, and what she wants to do is hear whatever it is Gale has to say so she can be done with it. Fallon tentatively takes Gale’s hand. “Of course, Gale, it would be my pleasure.”

Gale beams at her and starts to lead her to the dance floor. Fallon looks over her shoulder at Astarion, and the look on his face…well it’s absolutely the most heartbreaking thing she’s ever seen, and she sends him an apologetic look, hoping she can convey how sorry she is and her intentions by accepting Gale’s invitation. Based on the way his face contorts when they make eye contact before he storms off to join their friends at the bar, the message was not received.

The next song begins and Gale turns to face Fallon and takes her waist. They begin to move to the music, an easy waltz, and Fallon can’t tear her eyes off the man in front of her. “I knew the moment I saw you again it would take my breath away, but the way you look this evening…I don’t think there are words for how beautiful you are.” Gale compliments her, and Fallon’s heart beats faster in her chest. She smiles at Gale.

“You said you wanted to talk?” She reminds him as they take another spin around the room.

“Yes, yes of course. Forgive me, I merely wanted a moment to drink you in after only seeing your face in my dreams for so long,” he squeezes her waist. “I wanted to tell you I’m sorry. I realize my absence couldn’t have been easy for you, and I shouldn’t have left the way that I did. You mean a great deal more to me than the way I treated you, and I should have asked you to come with me.”

The words coming out of her former lover’s mouth are ones that Fallon has been waiting to hear since the day he left, and despite all the healing she’s done since, all of the moving on, hearing she didn’t deserve that treatment from the person who caused her pain himself lifted a weight off of her chest.

“Why did you do it, Gale?” She asks quietly. “Why did you leave? What did I do so wrong that you chose the crown and power over me?”

A hurt (or was it guilty?) look forms on Gale’s face. “Sweetheart, you did nothing wrong. Absolutely nothing. Leaving to seek the crown without you at my side will always be the greatest mistake of what will now be a very long life. I never loved the crown or the power more than you. I wished to seek it out to be worthy of you, to be worthy of your love. I just went about it in a terrible way, and I see my mistake now.”

They do another spin, and Fallon’s eyes soften. It wasn’t always the nightmares that woke her up in the night. Sometimes it was moments like this, where she finally heard the words she’s been waiting to hear for a year, and Fallon can feel her resolve to hate this man dissipating with every honeyed word out of his mouth, even if she hasn’t forgotten the way he destroyed her. She would never be able to forget that. “I know I’ve caused you a great deal of misery, and I don’t expect this to be resolved in one evening. Far from it, because there is so much more I need to tell you,”

The next song begins, and they keep dancing. “I know I don’t deserve an iota of your forgiveness, but there were forces at work I wasn’t prepared for, that I never could have predicted. Can we please go somewhere? Just the two of us?”

As if on cue, Astarion appears by their sides, ready to cut in. “You may have gotten her first dance, wizard, but I intend to have her second.” He says cooly, the look in his eyes daring Gale to deny him. Gale, thankfully, does the gentlemanly thing to do and relinquishes Fallon from their dance, stepping back. “Enjoy, my friend. I’ll be at the bar should anyone need me.” Gale bows slightly to them both and starts to walk away, but suddenly, he stops. “Oh! Astarion, before I forget– I found another book about Velrea, if you’d like to have it. Assuming of course that you’ve not been to Asha already and found the solution to your problem.”

Astarion goes rigid, freezing in place on the dance floor, and Fallon looks back and forth between the two halves of her heart in confusion. “Astarion, what is he talking about? How does he know about Asha?”

A smug grin appears on Gale’s face. “Oh, has your new beau not told you how he learned about what waits for him in Velrea?”

“Gale,” Astarion growls through gritted teeth. “If you say one more fucking word I will rip out your throat.”

The rest of their companions must have sensed trouble from across the room, as it is not long before the other five appear and Wyll and Halsin are guiding Gale and Astarion off of the dance floor with Fallon in tow. “Gale, what are you talking about?” Fallon frowns deeper once they are out of the way of people still trying to dance.

“I mean it, Gale, shut the fuck up.” Astarion warns again.

The grin on Gale’s face is no longer smug. It’s downright wicked , and he looks directly in Astarion’s eyes when he speaks to Fallon. “Astarion sought me out several months back. He knows about Velrea because I told him.”

Before anyone has a chance to prevent it from happening, Astarion lunges at Gale. He tackles the wizard to the ground with ease and punches him squarely in the jaw.

Halsin heaves a heavy sigh and looks at Wyll. “I’ll take my twenty gold back now, please.”

Chapter List

#baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #gale dekarios #gale #gale of waterdeep #astarion #astarion x tav #bg3 fanfic #female tav #astarion fanfic #gale fic #gale fanfic #baldur's gate 3 fanfiction #baldur's gate 3 fanfic #astarion x gale x tav

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cebwrites · 2 years ago

Text

handling an overly emotional partner (Law, Zoro, Bepo)

a/n: when i tell you i literally stopped mid-drawing to write this bc i didn’t want to lose the inspiration-- i’ve been fielding some shark week nonsense lately so i figured the best remedy would be some comfort fluff from my favorite boys, enjoyyyy 〒▽〒

masc reader, he/they law word count: 1.5k

Law

They are in NO way prepared to handle any of... this

Depending on what stage of life he’s in (especially when they were younger), Law might outright call the whole thing off - but typically they’d just hand you to Pen or Shach and go hide/ruminate in his room

It’s definitely something to get used to - but something worth doing if he’s already created a bond worth keeping with you

Realistically, Law would know; it’s not like you’d spring into a blubbering mess out of nowhere the moment you two started dating and it’s unlike them to just go on a date with a stranger on a whim

So he’d at least be aware of your emotional turbulence, and knowing that, would still fall in love with your little idiosyncrasies and personal charms - doesn’t make any of this that much easier though

Expect awkwardness, rigidity, your captain fighting the urge to flee like a skittish leopard cub, but above all please know that Law’s trying their best that they love you because by god they wouldn’t be doing this for anyone else

It’s important to note that they’d never make fun of you for this, even as a light hearted “joke” - you’re a sensitive guy, more than most, and that’s just how it is - nothing else to say about it

As they mature into adulthood and your relationship with him becomes far more comfortable Law drops the unease, they’re a lot less clumsy with your emotions and learn to navigate them with care because that is what they feel in their heart of hearts for you, after all

Something got too scary during movie night? Cuddle up close dear, he’ll hold you through the rough bits and kiss your forehead until it’s over or accompany you in your room if it’s more than you can handle

Breaking a glass? It wasn’t your fault and it’s not the end of the world, accidents happen and even though Law isn’t keen on the idea of you getting cut on those shards, they do find the odd bits of clumsiness here and there to be endearing - c’mon, he’ll help you pick up the pieces

You saw a baby animal or even Bepo doing something too cute and you absolutely can’t help yourself from tearing up? Well, that’s... oh come here already, you can weep into their shoulder but just don’t get snot on him, alright?

Zoro

Zoro is and can be a lot of things - pigheaded and woefully directionless at the worst and best of times

But he’s not stupid, at least not when it matters

He’s blunt and tactless, definitely, but Zoro’s somehow just had an inkling for sniffing out people’s inner feelings much like his captain

Not immediately, no, it does take some time; but once he feels that there’s something amiss, he comes right out with it

Zoro would get the feeling you were hiding something - your vulnerability, that was never really a secret when you joined the crew but as you took a growing interest in and once you were with him tried to diminish because you were afraid he’d think less of you for it - and after a day or two he’d ask

You’d try to divert from the topic, weasel your way out of talking about this before your tear ducts betrayed you, but soon your face would bear streaks and now Zoro really needed to know what was going on

He’d wait patiently as you explained yourself, bearing no judgement or even mild annoyance the more coherent your words became as you calmed down, furiously wiping your eyes and still avoiding his gaze, though

After you finished, he’d hold your shoulders gently, trailing his fingers up your arms in a wordless show of asking for the permission that you grant him easily, always

Zoro would be a little irked deep down, that this was the kind of man your (unconscious) mind thought him as, the kind of person that would turn his partner away just from a show of human emotion and some saltwater

For all his shows of machismo and overt masculinity, Zoro would never. Ever, question your manhood for crying. Sadness, joy, fear, and anger are all your feelings and you have full right to feel them. So what if your feelings move you intensely enough to tease?

Is it not masculine in and of itself to know one’s own heart and express it however he please? It’s more than most men he’s seen and Zoro’s more than happy to cut down anyone who has a problem with that.

Bepo

Two peas in a pod, you and Bepo, none on the ship are more alike than their resident youngest sweethearts

You’d both cry over anything and everything if possible - it goes without saying that Bepo would never judge you for being emotional either, and even on the very unlikely change that the sweetest, kindest bear you knew did harbor those feelings for what ever reason, well... glass houses and all

Cuddles are abundant between you, at first it’s to comfort after a lousy day, then it’s over crummy interactions, and eventually you just want an excuse to hold each other

You tear up at someone raising their voice at you but strangely feel an immediate heat in your chest when someone does the same or is just plain mean to Bepo, your soft-spoken, loving (not so) little Bepo

You try and stand up for him only to shrink and cling to your boyfriend when the offending party turns to glare at you so Pen, Shach, and/or Ikkaku have to step in, but the sentiment is greatly appreciated nonetheless

Bepo would simultaneously praise you for your bravery and downplay the need for protecting him, he is a big strong bear after all, and you’d tut - patting his nose to watch it scrunch up as you tell him that those people had no right to be talking that cruelly to him, so of course you have to defend your darling boyfriend

Bepo would blush and try to hide his big ol’ snout in the crook of your neck, rolling you both over onto the bed and sparking a fit of laughter in the process until your captain thwacks the wall dividing your room and their office with the end of a broom handle in a clear gesture to keep it down

Bepo won’t admit it, but he secretly finds you super cool when you defend him like that and it makes his heart do jumping jacks knowing you care for him like this; not that he doesn’t think you love him otherwise or won’t tell his boyfriend that he’s super cool for other reasons, it’s just this specific one

And Bepo gets his moment to shine one day when you’re on a walk with him one night, stars shining bright on this sleepy little town - a stray pup runs up to you and you can’t help but sob when the poor thing eats the food you buy it out of your palm, Bepo crouching alongside you but seemingly more frightened of the brave little puppy than it is of him because he doesn’t want to scare it away

While you smile and assure him that your new canine friend wasn’t going anywhere (no way Law was going to let a dog into the Tang, though), an older man stumbles out of the local tavern hurling insults about crybabies among other things as he staggers towards you

Before he can get within a meter of you, however, Bepo stands back and bellows the loudest roar you’ve ever heard come out of him, let alone sound

Although the two of you have to book it once the rest of the neighborhood wakes up with their pistols thinking it’s another snow beast attack, you’re laughing the entire way back to the ship and once Bepo stops covering his face in embarrassment, you’ll replace those lovely paws with your kisses

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bubbles-for-all-of-us · 2 years ago

Note

So I was wondering if you could do like a Joel miller fanfic where reader ends up like el and is infected but not? And the reason this happened is bc Joel and reader were dating post outbreak but like during the outbreak Joel thought it be better if reader went with Tommy and all that jazz but how Joel and Eli find out is reader asks el how long she been infected and she says how ever long and reader kinda grins and say something along the lines of ‘damn a few months? Lucky try being infected for 2 years’

I as always switched thingies around but hey it's still along the lines. 😌🤍

You had been watching the newcomers for some time. It was natural that the town was slightly uneasy, especially since it had been quite a while since anyone new had arrived in Jackson. Naturally, people were scared of infection spreading or some unnecessary fighting breaking out. New people also meant that dynamics in work groups would have to change. And most weren't too eager to welcome new people for that reason alone.

Yet staying away got harder once you noticed how the kids had practicality isolated Ellie from their afternoon activities. She would always sit on her own, playing with her fingers, waiting for the man who she came here with to come by so she could run off. "You fancy a sandwich", the girl quickly turned your way, shaking her head. "I think you should eat it, I didn't see you eating anything today", you tried to encourage her by unwrapping the paper rapper from around the sandwich. "It's okay, dad made me breakfast", so dad, you thought to yourself, "Still think you should eat this. I'm known for making the best sandwiches here". A slight smile tugged on her lips as she took the sandwich away from your hands, thanking you quickly.

You two started to form a bond in the following weeks. You made sure that she was more involved with other kids, always standing by so she wouldn't feel all alone and Ellie had started to warm up to you to the point where even after all the kids have gone home, she would linger by your side as you two talked. She was a talkative kid and gosh did she have an option about everything. But you loved that about her, that still not crushed hope about the world.

You also met Joel. He had come looking for her when she hadn't returned home on time and found you two sitting by the strawberry patch laughing. Joel stopped in his track instantly. Sure, he had seen Ellie smiling, and had heard her laugh but this seemed a lot more wholehearted. He always feared that one thing he couldn't give Ellie was a mother figure. Yes, he could be the protector, he could keep her safe, teach her a thing or two, love her the best that he could but... Every girl needed a mother.

"Joel, come by, the strawberries are so ripe", Ellie shouted at him, waving her hand happily. The moment he found you smiling at him, Joel could swear his heart nearly burst. He didn't remember the last time someone looked at him like that. So he inched closer, looking over Ellie quickly, making sure she wasn't harmed in no way before he sat down beside her. "Joel Miller", the male held out a hand to you. You let out a light laugh, "Oh, I'm aware, heard quite a lot about you", Joe instantly turned to Ellie who was happily smirking. No, he didn't want to know what that little monster had told you. "Y/N Y/L/N, happy to finally properly meet you", you shook his hand, before encouraging him to eat.

So now Joel made sure to always stop by to pick Ellie up. While it truly was just an excuse to see you. Soon most of your evenings were spent at their place as you taught them some easy recipes to cook. Because all the two of them knew was how to warm up canned food and with all the fresh produce it was a shame to only eat canned ravioli.

"So... are you two coming to the gathering tomorrow?", you three sat around the table eating. Jackson always had these town gatherings. Lots of baked goods, warm drinks, music, lights, and dancing. A way to keep humanity going in a way. But also a chance to form stronger bonds, and ensure that everyone was well and taken care of. "Joel hates things like that", Ellie said bluntly, earning a light kick from Joel from under the table. "Not true, we were coming", he said firmly, "Didn't you just yesterday...", "Eat the vegetables, kid", Joel said firmly, "Are you coming?". You nodded your head, "Responsible for one of the stands actually. Need to build it still, but my hammering skills...", you trailed off, laughing slightly. "I can do it for you, tell me what you need. I'll build it", Joel insisted. Ellie looked up at him curiously, the eager side of him when it came to you making her rather suspicious. And well making it obvious that the old man liked you. "Oh I wouldn't want to bother...", "Nonsense, I would be happy to help and Ellie can also help, right?", Joel shot the girl beside him a look and she quickly turned to you nodding, "Just not promising that I won't eat most of it". You let out a laugh that the two of them joined instantly. The warm feeling builds up in your chest.

Joel was at your door early in the morning the next day, starting on building the stand while you and Ellie twirled around the kitchen. It was the closest Ellie and Joel had been to normality since the outbreak. The closest they had felt to home. And watching you gently kissing the side of Ellie's head while she poured flour into the bowl, making Joel's heart beat just a little bit faster. A happy smile spread on his face.

And the day truly had been so much fun. Joel wasn't in the front lines of it all, choosing to stand more to the side as he watched over the two of you. Handing out slices of pies and smiling at people walking by. All so calm and wholesome until Ellie reaches up for the upper box that held the rest of the baked goods you two made. Her sleeve moved down her arm, revealing the bite mark on her skin.

A shriek echoed through the square. People instantly started to back away. Fingers pointed at Ellie, "Infected", someone shouted. Some of the guards rushed over with the guns. You moved closer to Ellie, pushing her behind you, and her trembling hands reached out to hold onto you. "Move to the side, Y/N, we need to shoot her", Ben the morning guard said coldly, motioning with his gun for you to stand to the side. You saw Joel walking closer to you two, a gun in his own hands, aimed at the grounds. "Lower the guns, all of you", you said firmly, glancing between the males, "Lower them before someone gets hurt".

You felt Ellie pressing her head against your back, you didn't even have to look at her to know that she was probably crying. "Think about it, they have been here for months. The site is healed. If she was to turn she would have already", you said calmly. The last thing you needed was for the mass panic to break out. You caught Tommy's eyes, the knowing look there didn't seem to soothe you. In a way, it seemed more like a silent plea to not do it.

"I don't want to shoot you too, Y/N", Ben said. Joel instantly stepped closer to you, face drenched in rage. And you knew that if he truly wanted to, he could kill them all in the blink of an eye before they even placed their finger on the trigger. "She's not infected, Ben", "How would you know that? I haven't been working my ass off for some little infected shit to take it all away", he bit back, motioning to the other guys to surround you. "Pick your fucking words carefully or I'll blow out your brain", Joel barked at him. And the moment the two of them aimed their guns at one another you ripped your hand out of Ellie's grip, pulling the side of your shirt by your neck to the side. A couple of gasps came from around you, "Cause I've had this for over two years, Ben, and as you can see I haven't eaten your brain. Even if now it sounds fucking delightful now".

You turned around, taking a hold of Ellie's hand. Quickly wiping away the tears that had already dampened your cheeks from the awoken memories. You placed a hand on Joel's arm, quietly asking him to lower the gun and just come with you. You knew that if they were going to shoot you, they would have already. So you wrapped your hand around Joel's arm, tugging lightly. Before Joel finally budged. Continuously looking over his shoulder as you three headed back home.

The moment the door was closed behind you. Joel kneeled in front of Ellie looking her over just how he always did, before bringing her closer to his chest. You stood there staring ahead of yourself. You never imagined that you would be in a position like this. Never imagined that you would have to let more people in on the secret and now most of Jackson knew.

You felt a gentle hand being placed on your shoulder. You shook slightly but once you met Joel's concerned eyes, you just stepped closer, wrapping your arms around his torso, letting him hold you just for a moment. Letting his warmth seep into your body. Ground you. Make you feel safe once again. "You're also immune?", Ellie's voice made you lift your head from Joel's chest as you nodded your head. "It happened while I was out on patrol with Tommy and Maria. I begged them to shoot me but they refused. They left me there alone and... I just...", you trailed off, Joel's hand ran up and down your back. Closing your eyes for a moment you tried to steady your breathing, "I never turned and then I found my way to Jackson after a month. They haven't told anyone what truly happened".

Ellie inched closer to you, wrapping her arms around your middle. You moved your hands to run through her hair, "They won't touch you, I promise", you spoke softly. "Your scar is cool though", she muttered and you couldn't help but let out a laugh. "Try hiding it for two years though. A nightmare", you admitted, leaning back into Joel's chest. His arms held onto your sides tenderly. As he places a loving kiss on the side of your head. Now well aware that he had you both to protect. No matter what it took. He was going to keep you both safe.

#bubble with bubbles 🫧#joel miller x reader #joel miller imagine #the last of us imagine #the last of us x reader

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sieglinde-freud · 1 year ago

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but what if the entire lucina gang were sent to fates instead of just 3??

ANON IM SORRY THIS TOOK ME LIKE FIVE YEARS TO GET TO i got the ask and i was like “omg i literally have something in my notes about this i’ll pull it up when i have time” and then i just fucking forgot. sorry. and then i remembered again. and then life started like rapid fire punching me in the face. but im here now im answering it now im so sorry anyways its probably gonna be long and unorganized so cut

okay anyways so i think there’s a lot of different ways you can implement the second gen into fates and firstly my favorite and also the most stupid way to do so and also what i have in my notes is to split em all up between the four nohrian royals. they all get three new retainers from bumfuck nowhere and it makes no sense and it creates the worst dynamics ever. i assigned them like this:

xander: inigo, kjelle, laurent

camilla: severa, noire, yarne

leo: owain, cynthia, nah

elise: gerome, brady, lucina

and then morgans not there bc they throw off the even split but i think in that case, maybe corrin gets both of them? i think thatd be cute. anyways i’d be willing to move any of them like im not that attached to these placements, but i quite like the potential lord retainer dynamics that happen here. kjelle and laurent might seem a bit too similar to xander in terms of stoicism but hear me out. i think raging feminist man hating lesbian kjelle being tossed to work under xander would be fucking hilarious. you know how inigo almost beat xander in that match? guess who’d wipe the floor with him. and then i think laurents like. like laurent is normal passing. but you see he also has the pent up rage of an bullied 13 year old soon to be if not corrected incel and i think having that be explored with xander would be actually fucking hilarious. imagine one day xander is just like “hey laurent can you do something for me?” and laurent, whos been dealing with reeling back in inigo and kjelle (and uh. maybe peri if shes still here i havent thought that part through) and is absolutely sick of everyones bullshit just snaps and goes “NO! NO I FUCKING CANT!” and everyone in nohr just has this feeling of unease. something in the universe just broke.

and then with camilla i was like “well who would she dote on the most” and i picked noire and yarne. i can understand why yarne might be controversial because he is not a cute girl HOWEVER consider that he IS a cute rabbit. very cute. and hes terrified of everything all the time. i think camilla would find that charming and i think he would be terrified of her but also like. extremely devoted?? like i think he’d respect and look up to her a lot. just. just let me do that twenty feet away from you. please (lonqu!yarne????) but also i think theres very motherlike aspect to camilla that i think could eventually break through yarnes anxiety if she just started approaching him a little differently. and also the fact that shes one of nohrs best warriors and would murder anyone who comes close to harming him would probably help feel a little more secure in not dying. like it wouldnt fix him but it might help. and then noire is similar except she IS a cute girl and also i think camilla would be insanely into her talisman persona. make of that what you will i dont know but also going back to camilla as a motherish figure so obviously all of the future kids moms kicked the bucket meaning they all lacked proper mother figures for a good chunk of their lives, but noire never really had a proper mother figure… at all? bc bad timeline tharja was fucking abusive! so i think if she could find some of what she was missing in camilla, whether of not its particularly healthy i dont know but i think if she could that’d set up something interesting between them. theres also the fact that camilla and tharja are slightly similar in their callousness, only that camillas isnt aimed at her allies like tharjas sometimes is. i think that could actually end up being really comforting for noire in an oddly familiar way. healthy? debatable. but… interesting. DO YOU GUYS SEE MY VISION AM I INSANE

and then leo. ok im iffy on these guys like i could move them. but i think cynthia would be a nice retainer for leo to have bc i think they could have a fun “woah youre so cool! like a real hero” “im not the hero you think i am or want me to be” conversation and that wouldnt require cynthia to be his retainer to have but i think it would be nice. im not sure he’d send her on the same missions he sent odin on because shes not cosplaying as the worlds greatest mage (… or is she… no i dont think she’d abandon her pegasus) so theyd get on a lot easier at first. nah is here because i wanted to give leo a break and also i think leo being curious about a manakete thats similar but also not too much similar to corrin would be interesting. idk tho this is my least favorite placement. would be willing to switch.

and then for elise’s new retainers its interesting because shes the only nohr royal who didnt get an awakening kid so. ive given her three new ones. ger bear is here bc i think itd be fucking hilarious. yes, maybe itd make more sense to put him with xander or leo. i dont care though. i want him to bow down to the littlest princess of nohr, nohrs absolute sunshine, blah blah blah. also i think it’d be good for him. dude needs some sunshine. brady i was a little iffy on. i almost placed him with leo and im not sure where i prefer him actually, but i stuck him with elise because i think in some way, elise might, at first glance, remind him a bit of his mother. and kinda like with noire im not sure if its the healthiest way to go about his grief because elise is evidently not maribelle, but i think it could be a fun little arc for him to go through to try and break that image and learn to not project everything he wished maribelle couldve done for him onto elise. bradys a real funky guy i want him to go through some turmoil. and then lucina is here because i love their warriors support conversation and i think lucina being around elise could be so incredibly healing to the part of her that never got a chance to be a kid. and elise is a really fucking smart character yk i think she’d catch on really easily to how much lucina represses and try to bring it out of her. actually this goes for gerome and brady too i think she’d see a lot of her siblings in them and try to bring out as much of their childishness as she can because FUCK!!! these bitches are SAD!!! send help!!

this au is incredibly unrealistic and jambled but i just like thinking about it. i have no idea how this would affect the plot of fates. nohr’s army just gets a huge fucking power boost i guess???? they could probably kill anankos on their own. i believe it. but im quite honestly not all that interested in the giant plot i just like thinking about how the characters might interact and change. the nohrian royals and the awakening gen are just. so insane. and i didnt even bring up the rest of the fates cast (this post is fucking LONG ENOUGH) but i will be thinking. oh yes i will be thinking.

#anon im so fucking sorry #but thank you for giving me the opportunity to be a lil stupid and insane about what goes on inside my notes app #if u guys are wondering if i have any semblance of a plot for any of this the answer is no #i didnt have a single other thought while writing this like this is me typing exactly what hit my brain and how it hit #no idea if its even understandable #asks

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xoxoavenger · 2 years ago

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Hi, how r u?

I had a fluffy idea for the Christmas writing challenge.

How about a Luke Skywalker (or whatever sw character you like) x fem reader where they are having to share a bed on a cold night winter day. And she’s just so gentle and soft to him, always respecting boundaries and making sure he knows that he’s loved? Like Imagine softly caressing his cheek and he just confesses right then and there because hes so touch starved and melts under her touch

I think this is too confusing and sappy. And too late lol

Thank you for reading this 🤍

I used poe bc I love him and he deserves to know this

Need Your Warmth

pairing: Poe Dameron x Fem!Reader

word count: 1461

warnings: i didn’t proofread at first and literally posted this with (insert creature) in it so that’s lovely

12 Days of Christmas Masterlist

main masterlist

Poe was three minutes away from shooting his own foot just to warm it up.

That's how cold it was. And he was about to do it, too. He was thinking about pulling out his blaster and doing it in the middle of the cafeteria when Y/N wrapped her warm arms around him from behind.

"Hey there, flyboy." She said softly, and Poe felt his whole body warm with her touch, even through all the layers.

"It's a good thing you're here. I was about to shoot my own foot." He told her, trying not to frown as she took her arms away and sat down right next to him, close enough to feel his body heat.

"Why exactly were you going to shoot your own foot?" Y/N asked, digging into her soup before it got cold. Poe had finished his soup awhile ago, but he still had a good chunk of his break left.

"It's freezing!" Poe exclaimed, letting himself chuckle a bit when she laughed.

"Have some of my soup." She pushed the bowl to him, and he had no time to tell her 'no' before she was talking again. "You're just a warm Yavin boy, aren't you." She teased, and Poe felt his cheeks heat at that.

Why was he like this?

"You got me." He said, pushing the bowl back over to her. She smiled as she took another spoonful.

"Have I?" She smirked, and Poe just scoffed and looked away.

"How long is your break?" He asked, heart skipping when she raised her eyebrows at him.

"Poe, we have a mission in, like, an hour." She told him when she swallowed the last of her soup, and his eyes widened.

How could he have forgotten?

"Right!" He chuckled, looking down to BB-8, who was miraculously quiet and just staring.

"Are you alright?" Y/N asked, so genuinely Poe wanted to take the emotion and shove it straight into his heart.

"Yeah! I just - I have to do a couple things." He got up, letting out a quick breath when he almost tripped but gracefully caught himself and was able to play it off.

"Okay," She smiled, taking a bite of her bread and waving. He waved back, trying just a little too hard not to act awkward. He turned and practically ran out, hitting his head on his hand as soon as he turned the corner.

"That was a disaster, wasn't it?" Poe asked his droid as they made their way to the hanger. BB-8 let out a couple encouraging beeps, and Poe sighed.

"Thanks, buddy."

"How is it even colder on this side? I didn't know it could get any colder." Poe said between his chattering teeth. He and Y/N's mission was simply figuring out where the people inhabiting the other side of the planet stood - were they with the Resistance, or the First Order?

"Well yeah, our side is in summer." Y/N said with a small smile, pulling a scarf out of her X-Wing and wrapping it around Poe before closing the hatch.

"You're kidding, right?" Poe's face was too serious for Y/N to not laugh at, and she walked ahead of him and out of the small hanger they had clearance to land at.

After a couple hours, the sun was low in the sky and it had gotten somehow colder. By now, even Y/N was starting to get a little chilly, so she knew Poe had to be absolutely freezing.

"We should head back." She told him, turning to see him actually shaking. "Maker, Poe, are you okay?" She was in front of him in half a second, pulling his hat over his ears and pulling her gloves off to place her warmer hands against his cheeks.

"Yeah," He chattered, and Y/N just shook her head, already feeling his cheeks like ice. "Let's just make our way back to the ships." He began to turn, but she grabbed his arm.

"We can't go back with you like this!" She pulled her gloves back on, then looked around.

"What?" Poe sounded absolutely floored by this idea. "What do you mean?"

"What, you think you'll be able to pilot like this?" She asked, grabbing his hand and holding it up. It was shaking, and he knew his bones had been so frozen that he wouldn't be able to make quick maneuvers if he needed to.

"What about BB-8?" He tried to ignore the look Y/N was giving him.

"Poe," She said carefully. "BB-8 is a droid. He'll be fine."

"What are we going to do then?" He asked, but instead of answering Y/N just grabbed his hand and marched over to the closest house that had smoke rising, meaning a working heating system.

"We're going to stay here, obviously." She answered, knocking on the door before Poe could protest.

"Hello," A Togruta answered the door, smiling nicely at them both. Y/N smiled back while Poe just stared. He was pretty sure his mouth was frozen.

"Hi! Me and my friend, we're not from here, and we really need a place to stay tonight. We can't make it back to our home." Y/N explained, then leaned in to the Togruta. "He doesn't do well with the cold." She whispered. Poe had no chance to respond, instead being pulled into the small home.

"We only have one extra bed. I hope that's alright." The Togruta walked around, finding extra blankets before leading them to a small room, the only thing in there a bed. She set the blankets down on the bed and then smiled at them both. She smiled and then left the room.

"I don't have to sleep on the bed. There are a lot of blankets anyway," Y/N shook her head at Poe’s words, grabbing his hand before he could take the blankets.

"If you don't want to share the bed, I'll sleep on the floor." She told him, giving him a soft smile. As much as she wanted to cuddle up with Poe, she would never force it on him. She never saw Poe interact physically with anyone else unless he came back from a close mission, so she wasn't sure what he was comfortable with.

"No, it's not that I don't want to, it's just, I didn't know if you would be okay with that." He said, his voice light as he tried to convey his feelings without actually saying them.

"I'm fine with that." She smiled, letting go of his hand and beginning to spread the blankets out on the bed. "Besides, if we share the bed, we can share body heat. It will make you warmer." She said it like she didn't care, like the thought didn't make her heart race.

It made Poe's heart bruise his ribs.

"Right," He nodded, finally feeling the heat of the room in his face. It was still freezing, but it was much warmer than it was outside.

"Alright," She sat on the bed to remove her boots, and Poe sat next to her to do the same. "I'm gonna take off my outer layers." She told him, smiling and making sure he wouldn't feel uncomfortable. He just gave a tight smile and stood to do the same.

Once the two were in their under layers, Y/N turned the light off and the two awkwardly got into bed across from each other.

"Are you okay with this?" Y/N asked, and Poe felt so loved because Y/N was always checking in on him, wether it be something small or something big.

"Yeah," He shivered, waiting for the moment that their body heat did it's job and finally warmed him.

"You're still shivering!" Y/N put a warm hand to his cheek, which wasn't icy anymore but was still cold. She scooted forward, making eye contact the whole time to make sure he wasn't uncomfortable at any point. "We can share body heat," She suggested, as if she were asking what he wanted for breakfast.

"That sounds nice." He admitted, letting himself reach out for her. She was so warm, Poe was confused at how someone could be this warm on a planet like this. "How are you always so warm?" He asked, feeling bad when she squirmed at his cold hands.

"I don't know. I'm glad I am, though." She told him, trying to relax. She put a hand on his face, warming him again.

"I'm so glad you're here." He whispered, eyes closing as his body began to warm for the first time in what felt like forever.

"Me too." She whispered back, blushing when he tangled his legs with her's.

"I love you," He said softly, not even noticing until a couple seconds later. Her breath caught as his eyes widened.

"I love you too." She told him, smiling as he relaxed once more.

"Good, that's good." He closed his eyes and pulled her close. "Because I'm gonna need you to be my heater."

tags: @avada-kedavra-bitch-187 @roxaya

#poe dameron x reader #poe dameron #poe x reader #star wars #star wars x reader

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votederpycausemufins · 1 year ago

Text

We're back with another chapter of Surprisingly Familiar. And I'm posting on here first rather than Ao3 bc it is not loading :')

The first two sections had a lot of backstory, so i tried to have less of that in the last section.

“Try it again. You’re making the curve too round.”

“I’m trying!” Grian huffed as he traced a small spiral in the air. “Can’t we just go back to the easier stuff?”

Grifter had called Grian over for some more magic training. Unlike before, where it had just been along the lines of using magic to do basic spells that anyone with magic could do, he was now insisting Grian work on using magic more specific to Listeners. Apparently it meant drawing the sigil of the Listeners with magic. Something that was apparently very particular.

“Sorry, but no. One of my friends has been looking into your situation. He thinks we can get you back to your time, but that there’s a bit of a time limit on that.”

“What?” Grian stopped to look over at Grifter. “Like, there’s a certain time that it can be done, or what?”

“Like, if you stay in this time too long, eventually you will never be able to get back to your time at all. I’m not going to try and go through all the ‘temporal explanations’ because I don’t really understand it all myself. But he was connected with Evo, so he knows some time stuff.”

Grian nodded a little at that. If it was another Listener who had worked with that world, then they would know about messing with time. Probably. Grifter had mentioned what it was about at one point forgetting that Grian didn’t remember that world.

“From what I can tell, the longer you’re out of your time, the more you connect with this time. Technically there’s always actually having you travel back to the past and then reconnecting, but then it becomes a lot more difficult. There’s a report of some people who had actually made a time machine that tried to just take it back an hour or so, but instead sent themselves back to before the Watchers and Listeners even existed as groups.”

“They… they did?” Grian nervously asked. If that was how bad it could go, then maybe Grifter was right to worry about taking too long.

“Yeah. They eventually got back, but dismantled the machine not long later, as they should have. Essentially, as long as the world still thinks you’re from whatever time, most methods can use you as a focus point. Because something most people don’t consider is that you can’t just travel in time. If you went back even a minute, well, the world moves along in the universe over time. Unless you can tell me the exact moment you got sent here, it would take a lot more work to figure out.”

“Well, I was asleep when it happened, so I can’t help there.” Grian replied, trying not to sound angry at Grifter, but he was frustrated at the situation.

“Exactly. So, if you want the chance to hop back in time and use magic to save Taurtis, we need to kinda rush through training.”

Grian sighed before looking back to where he was working. “Can we at least take a small break first? It’s a lot more exhausting.” Out from the ground stood two spikes of bedrock. Each one was from managing to successfully draw the sigil. While it took a lot of energy, it seemed to be from boosting Grian’s magic, his magic’s color shifting from purple to green.

“Hmm, alright fine. It won’t work well to hurt yourself.” As soon as the words were out of Grifter’s mouth, Grian flopped onto the ground to rest. He had his eyes closed, something Grifter was happy about so that his frown wouldn’t be seen.

Grifter had gone back to try and get some more help with the Grian situation, only to find that a certain someone had figured out how to get into Hermitcraft. That, along with the group of Hermits that were trying to get into this world- well, half hermits, half family, which made it even worse- certain plans needed to be sped along. Lying about Grian potentially getting stuck in this time was just one way to help move things along. Plus, Grian wasn’t actually from the past, so he couldn’t get sent back home. So it would be easy enough to claim something or other had delayed them just long enough that now the easy way was gone. It would probably be best to try and frame it as being Astrid or Flora’s doing. Sure, Grifter adored Flora, but she was getting far too close to Grian, so if he had to throw her under the bus to make sure he could finish this plan, he would.

“Hey Grifter?” Grifter looked up to where Grian was lying, glad to see his eyes still closed. “Is it okay if I hang around the castle for a bit once we’re done here?”

“Of course. It’s technically your castle as well. Any reason why?”

“Flora and Astrid are busy.” Grian lied, badly enough that Grifter could tell.

“Sure they are. What’s really going on?”

Grian hesitated before answering. He could tell the truth, at least part of it, but either way, it wasn’t great. “It’s just… uh…” He tried to wrack his brain for something to say that wasn’t exactly a lie, but wasn’t a truth either. “I saw some of Flora’s family. And their grandmother tried getting close. She… she looks a lot like what I remember from Mum, but at the same time not. And I don’t like that I can remember more of someone that isn’t Mum rather than Mum herself.”

“Ah, yeah I can see how that’s hard to deal with. So I guess they’re spending more time there?” Grifter asked, not looking further into Grian’s answer. Grian gave a small shrug, not really saying no, but also not saying yes.

“I don’t know. I guess I’ve also just been around you a lot, and then around Flora and Astrid, but I haven’t really been near the people who are going to be my husband and kids.”

Grifter couldn’t help but light up at that. Unlike Flora and Astrid, Sense and their boys knew exactly what was going on and could help steer Grian in the ‘right’ direction. “Oh well that is a very easy fix! I’m not sure about the boys, but Sense is probably just busy with redstone and needs a break.”

“So, I could spend some time with him?” Grian asked, getting a nod from Grifter before getting taken away to see the redstoner. It took a little bit of hunting before the pair finally found him working in the castle, indeed doing some redstone engineering. He didn’t notice them immediately, too entranced in his work, but eventually Grifter snuck over and grabbed Sense, making him jump at first before giving a small laugh when seeing who it was.

“To what do I owe this surprise?” Sense asked after noticing that Grifter wasn’t alone and had brought Grian along.

“Well Grian brought up the fact that you two haven’t gotten to interact much, so I figured you two need some one on one time!” Grifter explained, and Grian was surprised when Sense’s smile actually fell. For a moment, he seemed almost scared before it morphed into simply just surprise.

“I uh, I thought you two would want to interact more yourselves?” Sense offered, looking between the two avians again. “Or perhaps all three of us? Or what about the boys?”

“The boys are busy with their own things right now and if I’m not training Grian with magic, I’ve got admin duties to deal with. The regular stuff is already enough but the added bits for helping Grian have made things almost overwhelming, so the backlog piles up when I work with him.”

Grian felt a little guilty at Grifter’s explanation. It was probably that Sense was upset that all Grifter’s free time was being spent helping him and not with Sense. And now he needed to spend that time with a younger version of Grifter that didn’t know him as well. “I don’t have to if he doesn’t want-”

“Oh nonsense! Seesee will be perfectly fine, right?” Grifter asked Sense. “But if he doesn’t think so, I’m sure I can convince him.” And Grifter leaned in to whisper something into Sense’s ear. After a moment, Sense nodded and Grifter smiled. “Well that settles it! You two have fun! Bye!”

Grifter left in a blur after giving Sense a quick kiss, leaving only a feather or two behind with Grian and Sense, having them stand there awkwardly for a number of moments before either of them moved, that being the redstoner getting back to his work. At least until Grian stopped him again.

“Uh, what exactly are you working on? If you don’t mind me asking?”

“I do mind, actually.” Sense replied before pulling away to go back to work. “I’m sure Gri will be too busy to notice if you stick around or not, so you’re free to leave.”

“I’d rather stick around.” Grian spoke up, not even asking if Sense minded this time. “And Grifter mentioned you should take a break from whatever you’re doing, and you know, he’s me, and either way, I think you should too.”

There was a pause before Sense said anything more. “I’d rather not.”

“Please? Just for a little bit?” Grian pleaded, then paused before asking a question. “Do you not want to be around me because of the chance I’ll change the past?” When Sense didn’t reply, Grian continued. “Look, I’m not going to lie, I am going to try and save Taurtis no matter what, but that doesn’t mean I can’t make sure I find you too. Honestly I’d love it if we were able to boot Sam out once and for all and you could be there instead.”

“Is that so?” Sense asked, which pulled a smile from Grian.

“Oh yeah of course. I’m sure you’ve heard plenty about him from Grifter, but he was a giant asshole, still technically is for me, but hopefully I won’t have to deal with him too much longer. And I could maybe also make sure to have you around if I knew what you were doing back then.”

For a moment, Sense actually considered the possibility before remembering how it was just impossible outright. Grian wasn’t really from the past, so he couldn’t go back and change anything. But Grian wasn’t supposed to know that, so he had to play along. After thinking it over a few moments, Sense huffed and pulled himself out of his machine, wiping redstone dust onto his pants before walking towards where he had left his dress shirt and suit jacket. An action that made Grian realize the redstoner was only wearing a tank top above the waist. While he was still covered, Grian averted his eyes anyway for decency, at least until he could see Sense finish buttoning his shirt out of the corner of his eye.

After Sense pulled his jacket on, he went for his tie before realizing it had been caught by his machine at some point and had been shredded up. “Ugh, great. Do you mind if we head to our, er rather, my room so I can grab another tie?”

“Nah, it’s fine.” Grian shrugged before starting to follow behind Sense. “Sorry about that one.”

“It’s not like you could have stopped it from getting destroyed.” Sense waved Grian’s comment off. “And Grifter wouldn’t have repaired it anyway.”

“Really? Why not?”

“He’d prefer me to cycle through my whole collection. I just find it easier to stick with one and our ways of organizing them are different. The last time I went through wearing ties, I found Gri with ties strewn about the room, arguing that patterns shouldn’t be sorted with colors unless the patterns were the same color or whatever.”

“Well I’ll try not to freak out over your tie sorting.” Grian said, crossing his fingers that whatever he was about to see wouldn’t be such a visual travesty.

When the pair reached Grifter and Sense’s bedroom, Grian was reminded of when he had first woken up there. Well, other than the fact that it looked a bit more messy than it had however many days ago. He wasn’t sure if it was due to Grifter being so busy, or if this was how it normally looked and they had just made it look nicer for Grian. Honestly he could see it going either way.

Sense went over to a pair of folding doors and slid them open, revealing the mass of ties hanging inside. For the most part, they were indeed sorted by color, but Grian’s eyes immediately caught on a few ties that looked like they were out of place. As Sense thumbed through the ties in the cooler section of colors, Grian pulled out a tie covered in blue and purple patterns, though the base of the tie itself was a red color. After putting it back, he found what seemed to be an orange tie covered in multicolored flowers that also made it look out of place grouped with other normal orange ties.

As Grian continued to look over the ties, Sense finally picked out another generic looking blue tie, putting it on. As he started to try and close the closet doors again, Grian stopped him, instead pulling out a tie that was a dark green, one that reminded Grian of the magic Grifter used. “Here, why don’t you wear this one instead?”

“I’d rather not.” Sense said after looking at the cloth, pushing it back towards Grian. “I’m perfectly fine with the one I’ve got.”

“But you were just wearing blue!” Grian complained, pulling the tie Sense had on away, finding it easy since he hadn’t managed to actually tie it yet. “You’ve got so many colors here! Wear something else!”

“I prefer blue.” Sense argued, pulling a different one from that colored section. “Blacks and whites are too bland and I like a little splash of color, and Grifter isn’t a fan of me wearing purple, so we agree on blue.”

“What? What about all the other colors?” Grian asked, gesturing especially to the gradient of pinks all the way to greens and even dipping into cyans. “Even a light blue might be nice.”

“I have my reasons for not wearing those other colors as well.” Sense said, attempting to close the closet again, but being stopped by Grian forcing them to stay open, shocking Sense by the fact that it was through magic.

“Then how about you tell me and then I can choose one for you that you might like that isn’t boring.”

Sense glared Grian down before relenting and sitting on the bed. Grian smiled at the action before turning back to the closet and going through the ties. “So I assume greys fall under the same category as blacks and whites.”

“Of course.”

“Okay, What about browns? I don’t see many of those?” Grian looked back over to Sense, wanting to hear about that.

“Leather ties aren’t exactly comfortable to wear.” Sense began to answer. “And I just don’t tend to get many gifts of brown cloth ties. It’s either something colorful or greyscale to be ‘classy’.”

“Well, red ties could be classy too.” Grian lightly argued, pulling out one that matched his feathers.

“Well red is a difficulty for me.” Sense argued. “Not only am I told it clashes with my eyes, but cleaning redstone from it is a pain. Not to mention the fact that my… other self tends to use that color.”

Grian looked up. “You mean like how with Grifter and me and-” Grian hesitated, not recalling off the top of his head what Sense knew about Grifter.

“How you’re from Wels, yes.” Sense agreed. “The two of us have interacted in the past, so I prefer to make sure we don’t overlap, so I don’t wear red.”

“Well how about pink?” Grian asked. “It’s different enough from red, right?”

“A certain someone I hate very much is fond of pink and I will never get over that fact.” Sense crossed his arms. “Potentially, pink would be fine otherwise, but I would burn those things if Gri wouldn’t get upset over it.”

“Okay, good to know.” Grian quickly pushed the pinks away along with the reds. “Orange?”

“Too close to red and yellow and I don’t use either of those.”

“Oh. Wait, why not yellow?” There was silence to Grian’s question, making him look over at Sense and ask again. “Why don’t you wear yellow? It’s… not because of me, right?” Grian’s feathers ruffled, remembering the amount of times that Sam plucked his yellow feathers because he wanted them for himself, since ‘Taurtis is always wearing blue and gets some of your blue feathers, I want some yellow ones!’. The memory made Grian shudder before he remembered where he was. “If I- if Grifter gets upset-”

“He doesn’t get upset if I wear yellow.” Sense finally spoke up, though he was staring at the ground. “I will not wear yellow. I can’t. There’s-” He cut himself off as his voice caught in his throat. “I used to, but then things happened. So I don’t anymore.”

“Can I ask what happened?” Grian asked softly, pushing the ties back in place. He couldn’t help himself when he sorted a green tie out from the yellows and into the dark greens. He needed to do some sorting to help scratch that itch he felt looking at the mess. But after he put it in its new spot, Grian pulled his hands away from the gray tie and grabbed a light blue one before handing it to Sense and closing the closet.

Sense took the tie and put it on, waiting until he had tightened it around his neck to say anything more. “Well, I guess you did already ask about my past. Probably around the time you’re from, I ended up in a… situation.” Grian could tell that it was something Sense didn’t want to fully elaborate on, so he wasn’t going to pry on what the situation was exactly. “I ended up with someone who… he wasn’t quite as bad as Sam I wouldn’t think, but it was a similar problematic friendship.”

“That’s… not great. I’m guessing they’re the reason you don’t like yellow?”

“Sort of. I just… remember an argument we had where for reasons I won’t specify-” Sense immediately clarified, making Grian nod that he wouldn’t ask about those reasons. “-that the fact that I was wearing a yellow tie at the time was actually a large part of that argument. I know that sounds idiotic without the context but-”

“Me hating rabbits sounds idiotic without context. I’m sure a lot of things can sound idiotic or bad or whatever without context. But that made you swear off yellow?”

“Uh, no actually.” Sense continued. “Not entirely. I-” He paused again, a quick laugh escaping before he said more. “I’m not sure what it is, but I’ve lost a lot of the people close to me when yellow has been involved.”

That caught Grian off guard. “Wait, really? That seems weird.”

“Well, there was of course the argument I had with… my ex friend. But after him, I still wore yellow ties for a while. It’s part of why I have so many, even compared to my large amount of blues.”

Grian had to admit, there were a large amount of yellow ties when he had looked. He figured part of it was because if Sense wore mostly blue, those tended to get destroyed one way or another, so there weren’t quite as many as he would have ever owned. “But then something happened again?”

“My father liked yellow as well.” And despite the fondness in Sense’s voice, a chill ran through Grian as he immediately realized the mention of losing people and referring to his dad in the past tense meant that they were dead. “I liked the idea of matching him and I was even gifted a number of ties from him. But because of that, I couldn’t stand to see myself in that color anymore because it just made me think of him. And how I still never managed to do anything about it.”

“How did he die?” Grian asked, not expecting an answer since it seemed Sense was torn up enough talking about it vaguely. But he was surprised to actually get an answer.

“He was murdered.” Sense answered, venom in his tone from how angry he was now, any sadness completely gone. “And unlike the others, he wasn’t brought back since that would oust our new ‘admin’. Not like this wasn’t our third one anyway. And I couldn’t do anything against that hack and his stupid obsession with trying to destroy his brother’s server. Not to mention the fact that he’s apparently coming here.” And then the angry frown curled into a smile. “Well, this isn’t Helscraft anymore, Grifter’s the admin. And you’re not going to be the only hacker around this time.”

“Uh, what do you mean?” Grian asked, making Sense look up and shake his head, having gotten completely lost in his own thoughts.

“Oh, nothing. Just, apparently Gri and I’s old admin isn’t happy about us being here. To the point he’s even involved his brother and a number of wels to try and mess with us. Not to mention bringing along my other self.”

“Really? That’s not great, is it?”

Sense huffed. “Well, if Grifter can’t handle it, it won’t be, but I’m sure he’ll be able to.”

Grian patted Sense’s shoulder comfortingly before the redstoner pulled him into a hug. Grian almost pulled away, but then hugged back. Right now, it seemed like Sense needed it, and he didn’t want to take that away from him. And as they stood there, hugging one another, it hid as the light blue tie seemed to dull as a grayish purple started to coat it instead.

Everyone was just sort of standing around, not sure how to react to what they had just seen. After the jungle had faded away, half the group rushed to check on the other half. Mumbo had quickly gone to look at Grum while Phil and Techno were worried about Wilbur. Paul went to help Doc recover from the whiplash of getting his cybernetics back while also dealing with his heightened hybrid instincts, and finally Xisuma went to go to Tommy’s side.

What had thrown everyone off was Tommy flinching at Xisuma, but not from his reaction to Xisuma but rather Xisuma himself. X found himself dressed in armor that wasn’t his bee themed set, nor his regular set of green. Instead, he was dressed in a gray while standing to the side of the group was the familiar armor he normally wore, but currently being worn by Evil X.

The confusion wasn’t helped as the moment Xisuma called to his brother, they had unfrozen from whatever shock they had been in, running off across the end islands the group had found themselves on. Which left them to their present situation, at least until Phil finally pointed out that they would need to gather blocks to follow Xannes, since he was the only one of their group who could fly.

Doc was helped to sit down, not currently able to help out, but after that, everyone started to work on mining, save for Xisuma, who was staring off in the direction Evil X had gone, and Tommy, who went to Xisuma’s side. “Are… are you okay?”

“I should be asking you the same question.” Xisuma replied, not taking his eyes off the horizon. “You’re not injured from anything that was in the jungle, right?”

“Yeah. I mean, I don’t really remember much after I got separated from you guys. I think I got knocked out pretty quickly. Uh, should we assume this is him going through it now?”

Finally Xisuma looked away and down at Tommy. “I’m.. not sure. I think if it’s not, it’s something of mine that he doesn’t like.”

Tommy glanced towards where he had last seen Xannes in the distance. “Why was he wearing your armor? Mumbo said that was yours, right? Is it because you two are clones?”

Xisuma looked shocked before looking at Tommy again. “What? Clones? Who said we were clones?”

“NPG mentioned he was your clone or something. Cuz Mumbo didn’t know if you were siblings or he was a clone or what.”

“He’s my twin brother, not a clone.” Xisuma clarified. “I suppose it’s because the two of us look so much similar as opposed to…” the admin trailed off as he looked towards where Wilbur and Techno were, Tommy following his gaze and knowing what he meant. “I believe it’s probably because we have matching scars as well.”

Tommy looked back to Xisuma, realizing he couldn’t see through the visor of X’s current helmet to see the scars he knew were present underneath. It was a set of four claw marks that sliced over Xisuma’s face, going over his left eye in a way that impressed Tommy with the fact that the eye itself seemed unharmed.

“I think I remember you mentioning you got them from a dragon?” Tommy asked. Xisuma had shown off the scars to him back when he was still relatively new to Hermitcraft, trying to find ways to connect with Tommy. He had also given a summary of how he got them to Tommy, but he hadn’t really cared at the time.

“Yes, an Ender Dragon. I had managed to bring one into where our family lived and it attacked, leaving Xannes and I with our scars.”

“You think this might be about that?” Tommy asked, vaguely remembering the story a little better now that Xisuma had given the summary again. “I know you lived in the end, but the dragon’s there and now we’re there.”

“I… If it’s for me, potentially” Xisuma admitted after some hesitation. “Evil X liked to taunt me with it. There was one time where he brought in dragons to try and destroy Hermitcraft.”

Tommy shrugged. “I mean, I honestly was worried that we’d end up in a destroyed Hermitcraft at some point, either from you or me. The fact that this is just the boring ass end is pretty good in my books. And one dragon versus all of us looks pretty good in our favor!”

The wince Xisuma gave was hidden behind his helmet. While he knew Tommy was trying to help reassure him, X was also worried about Xannes being on his own and potentially ending up on the other side of whatever they might be fighting. He almost said something about it too, but then the pair of them were called over to help with bridging in Evil X’s direction to try and catch up, and to also talk about what situation they were probably in.

“So, why is he wearing your armor?” Grum asked as they were halfway across a void gap between the islands. No one was completely sure if the void was really there, but no one was fully eager to find out. “And why are you wearing that instead?”

“Well uh, that’s a really long story.” Xisuma replied, his feeble attempt to avoid the topic pretty obvious to the others.

“C’mon X, everyone’s bearing their truths to the world, it’s your turn now, innit?” Tommy asked, lightly elbowing Xisuma.

“Well, I suppose the simple answer is that armor used to… belong to him.”

“Seriously?” Mumbo asked, turning around in shock and having Paul barely grab him in time to keep him from falling off the bridge. “It was his? I can hardly believe him ever wearing anything other than red. Even with all your different armors, he’s kept the same style.”

“Since Hermitcraft, yes, but that wasn’t the case in the past.” Xisuma hesitated before saying anything more, enough that Tommy tried taking back his previous statement, saying the admin didn’t need to actually say anything. “No, you’re right. Especially because I think I know what this is all about.”

“This isn’t about when you banned him that one time, right?” Tommy asked, since he had already heard the story not too long ago. “I could just tell them if you don’t want to.”

“It’s something different.” X stepped onto the next island they reached, turning back towards the group. “As you know, Xannes and I are voidwalkers. That’s essentially the term for End based humans similar to netherborn, aetherkind, and if you want to be specific about it, terrans.”

“Which is what most of us are.” Phil said, gesturing to the group. “Not sure if he counts though.” And that time he pointed to Grumbot.

“I am Robots Georg, an outlier that should not be counted.”

“I’ll pretend I know what that means. Anyway, you were saying X?”

“Well, despite the name, voidwalkers can get what is known as void poisoning. Similar to how despite being in a dimension filled with water, you can still drown, and even netherborns can be susceptible to lava and fire in the right conditions. Some more than others, I know Tango constantly forgets his limits, not to mention-”

“We get the picture.” Techno cut Xisuma off. “Your point?”

“The last time Xannes and I were in these respective armors, there was… an incident.”

“What are you even doing with your life? The family business? You never cared about that before!”

“I care about it now, isn’t that enough? It’s not like you’re taking it up, so someone has to.”

“I’m doing something better! Something our parents can be proud of.”

“You know, you don’t get it, do you? What you do doesn’t matter to them.”

“And I’m sure you know that sooo well, huh? You’re just trying to kiss up to them by taking an interest in what our family has done for generations, huh?”

“Well I’ve been getting good at it, Starting out in the overworld is a little pain but-”

“What, can’t handle a little bit of sunlight or something? Or maybe you can’t stand wearing that suit, huh? Wish you were home where you could be out of that stuffy thing? Just lounging around in bed being a good for nothing waste of space?”

“You take that back!”

“Why should I? Isn’t that all you are?”

“I’m not! It’s not like you’ve been around, I’ve been putting plenty of work in.”

“Sure you have. So much compared to me, right? Except I’ve actually been busy. The reason I haven’t been around is because of all the work I’ve had to do. All the training I’ve had to do.”

“Stop it, you’re pushing me too close to the-”

“And once I’m done, I’ll be able to do just what you can but even better. It’ll be simple and easy. All I need to do is pop in a few commands-”

“-Look we might-”

“-pop into the End and just-”

“Xisuma!”

“Wh- You?!” Tommy looked shocked, realizing that Xisuma was being the jerk in the story, not Xannes.

“Yeah, I agree with Tommy. “ Doc spoke up. “Sure, you did a lot of pranks back in the day, especially with Biffa, but that sounded kinda cruel. You sure you’re not embellishing it to sound worse than it was?”

Xisuma winced. “No, I was an asshole back then, no way around it. I… our parents seemed to constantly put me above him to the point it got to my head. Both in the idea that I was better than him, but also that I could just keep being at the top of whatever I was doing. Around that time was when I first looked into admin classes. Suddenly there were people better than me and… well I took it the wrong way at first. I was so used to our parents putting Xannes down that… I came back to do the same.”

“Wow… yeah you were an asshole.” Tommy agreed. “How the fuck did you manage to come out of it like this?” And Tommy gestured to all of Xisuma.

“Well, for one I ended up dropping out of the class and didn’t again until after Hermitcraft had started and around the time Generik’s residency was starting to look shaky. But the main reason is what happened next.”

“Which was?”

Xisuma sighed. “The two of us both ended up falling, though Xannes managed to keep us from completely falling into the void. We were still stuck on a low outcrop from an End island with no easy way up. Not to mention our suits were damaged.”

“Xannes! Your suit!”

“Huh? Oh, it’s just a tear in the back, no big.”

“The fabric’s almost completely gone! How the hell did you manage that?! Do you have any idea how hard stuff like that is to repair?!”

“Oh, that’s what you’re concerned about… Thanks. Good to know the fabric is so much more important than my well being.”

“Well you’re the one who got us stuck in this mess.”

“Me? You’re the one who pushed us in here. I’ve been living here and could have been just fine with a respawn, but you’ve been away at your fancy school, so it wouldn’t have been as nice for you.”

“Then why not let me fall?”

“I could have. If you want I could still push you in!”

“Then do it!”

“...No. I’m not the only one who had their suit damaged.”

“What are you- my helmet!”

“See, at least I can stitch back together my suit.”

“You mean make Mom do it for you.”

“No I don't. I know how to sew. I learned even without Mother’s help.”

“Calling her that won’t make her dote on you.”

“I know that! Look, can you shut up for just… five minutes. Unless you want the void seeping in faster.”

“We did actually stay there quietly for a while, and at one point they even pulled their suit off to start fixing it. They didn’t exactly have the necessary tools on hand, but that actually made it a little more impressive. I had been worried about them not wearing it though, since there’s a reason we wore them even in the End.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re coughing too much. Take your helmet off so I can see.”

“I said I’m *cough* fine! Don’t touch me! *cough*”

“‘Suma, c’mon, let me look!”

“Fine! Whatev- *cough* -ever.”

“Shit, this is bad.”

“What *cough* do you mean?”

“It’s already black. We still don’t know if anyone’s coming, and if they are, how long it’ll take. If they knew you were back then maybe-”

“So? *cough* They’ll notice you’re gone and *cough cough* come looking. How *cough* long are you usually out?”

“... Take my helmet.”

“What?”

“Put it on you derp! You need it more right now. Unless you want to die.”

“What about *cough* you?”

“I’ll just wear yours to make it take longer. They’ll show up soon enough, so it should last me until then.”

“No one showed up for hours. I’m not sure how long it even took because the two of us passed out before then.” Xisuma finished in a somber tone. “Turns out a near death experience really shakes up how you see things. And apparently my own armor was more damaged than I thought, because at some point Xannes switched ours up to make sure it would stave off the void poisoning for me. And he was right, I recovered fairly quickly, but he didn’t.”

“But I mean, he’s alright now, right?”

“I guess.” Xisuma answered, though he didn’t sound sure. “It was after that that they started being a bit more angry and violent towards me.”

“And a side effect of void poisoning is a sort of… unpredictable blind rage, right?” Paul asked. “The void causes a weird decay in the mind, similar to what zombifies creatures, but practically irreversible.”

“Right. And so I just wonder if maybe his current situation is my fault. If I hadn’t started that argument-”

“Well it sounds like your parents were jerks too!” Tommy said, cutting Xisuma off and making Phil wince. “If they hadn’t treated you like a perfect golden child and him as a scum of the… End, black sheep, then it wouldn’t have happened, right?”

“Well, yes, but-”

“Tommy’s right.” Techno spoke up this time. “And look, I’m not trying to use it as an excuse for any of us, but sometimes the actions we take are influenced by others in a way that the blame can be placed on them. It depends on the actions themselves, but in this case it doesn't seem like your fault.”

“The Wither were totally yours though.”

“And I said I’m not using it as an excuse.”

“How about we stop talking and just find Evil X!” Grumbot practically shouted, pointing off into the distance. “There’s lots of lightning that way! So they must be there! Let’s go!”

“So, that was your dad, huh?” Jrum spoke up as the block he was trying to lift with magic fell back down the pixel or so he had managed.

“Yep! That’s Papa! He’s really really really nice and I love him lots and lots!” Vee replied with the biggest smile on her face. “He adopted me, and then my sister, and so now the three of us are a big happy family! Well, maybe not big, but definitely happy!”

Jrum couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Vee at the very least seemed innocent enough, or maybe the better word was oblivious. Her dad had been working with Grifter and somehow hadn’t realized that something was wrong with Grian. Or, well, it sounded like he did know, but completely trusted Grifter with any lies he told. But that was what Vee was saying, and she had also fallen for Grifter’s lies, so who knew, maybe her dad wasn’t lied to, but both he and Grifter were lying to her.

And then there was her sister, which made Jrum more sure that they were all just lying to Vee. He remembered that comm call. He knew the voice on the other end. It sounded like his dad, but simultaneously not. It had to be Grifter then, right? Vee had even said it was Grifter. And he was there through Vee’s sister’s comm. The same sister that was apparently dating Grifter’s niece. They all had a connection to Grifter, so there was no way none of them knew what was going on.

“Ooo! Lookit! You’re doing it really well!” Vee exclaimed, making Jrum realize he had moved the block up a full meter this time. He was a little surprised by that, since he hadn’t even been paying attention to what he was doing, and now that he was focusing on the block, it fell once more. “Aww, don’t worry! You’re doing really really well!”

“Whatever.” Jrum huffed. “You know, you keep bringing up that your dad adopted you and your sister, right? And in that one meeting you mentioned that she had a brother that sucked?”

Vee’s smile disappeared. “Yeah… he was really really bad.”

“Mind telling me?” Jrum asked. They had figured out who Flora or Fleur was supposed to be, but Astrid was still a little up in the air, and since she was around Grifter and maybe also around Grian, it was important to know about her too.

“Um, well…” Vee hesitated, kicking at the ground. “Nightmare was-”

Vee didn’t get a chance to continue, Jrum immediately recognizing the name. “Nightmare?! Her brother is him?!”

“Y-You know him?”

“Know him?! It’s because of him that my brother got kidnapped by Tommy’s stupid hels! And then it turned into a whole mess with Grifter getting involved and hurting my family! And then Grifter came back and made everything worse!”

“Eep!” Vee yelped, and Jrum looked over to her and the spike of bedrock that had appeared from the ground, pointing at her face. Jrum was shocked to see it, looking himself over before looking back up to essentially growl at the spike. Surprisingly, it seemed to react to his growl and disappeared into the ground a moment later. “You g-gotta be careful with that.”

“Yeah… sorry…” Jrum responded, though distracted. Things kept happening when he was angry, so maybe- “How much do emotions affect magic?”

“Uh, a lot?” Vee answered, though she didn’t seem confident with her answer. “Uh, they can help with focusing it. Papa helped me train with music and he said it was because uh… the emotions of the sounds help with how you feel, ‘n then it works as a guide for what you want the magic to do!” That time she started unsure, but slowly got more confident as she spoke, which helped reassure Jrum. Especially when she followed it up with a little magic demonstration of her own.

“So because I keep feeling angry and frustrated, stuff keeps happening for me? Do I just need to be constantly angry?”

“Oh no no no.” Vee quickly waved her hands to stop Jrum. “It’s just stronger stuff makes it react more when you’re new to it! Even sometimes when you’re not new to it cuz Papa has had it happen too. Uh, it’s kinda like when I got scared and then made those boxes.”

Jrum remembered the bedrock that trapped Ren. And then he thought more to his own dad, and the times his magic had acted up when it seemed he was feeling some sort of intense emotion like anger or fear. He could even remember one time when Grian was really happy and that had caused some sudden magic. Jrum almost made a comment about it, but then paused. When he had been trying to eavesdrop on the conversation Phil and Paul had had, way back when the latter had first arrived. He had made a comment about knowing Jrum was listening in to their conversation. He hadn’t known how the man recognised Jrum had hacked his way in, but Paul seemed to know enough magic that if Jrum was using magic instead…

Jrum focused once more on the block in front of him, reaching out and managing to lift it once again. This time he was actually controlling it when it got a block higher, and still when he pushed it left and right before it finally fell on its own, Jrum finding himself a little tired.

“You did it!” Vee exclaimed, jumping up and down before tackling Jrum with a hug. “We should show Papa! Oh wait, he’s busy. I could message Astrid! But she might be busy too. Grifter is-! Grifter is bad, we said that. Uhh… Well I think we should tell someone!”

“Yeah whatever, let me see who’s available.” Jrum rolled his eyes, trying not to smile with how infectious Vee’s joy was. He was easily able to send a message to the world chat, getting an answer not too long later from Joe, who was apparently happy to be available. Jrum thought he would be more involved in whatever important stuff the Hermits were up to, but Jrum also supposed that Vee was already pretty comfortable with him. “Joe says we can meet up with him. Let’s go.”

Vee was bouncing again as they left to meet with the Hermit, finding him a small distance away from the meeting room at what seemed to be a newly set up table and chairs for the three of them to hang out at. “Howdy there you two. I heard you had somethin’ to share?”

Jrum couldn’t get a word out before Vee answered for him. “Jrum’s doing Watcher Magic! Like he could do a little before, but he’s doing a lot better now! He did block moving! C’mon, do it again!” Jrum sighed before moving a new block a bit, though not nearly as much since he was still tired from before, and running over there hadn’t helped him regain any energy.

“I need some redstone.” Jrum panted, surprised when Joe handed some over. “Why do you have-?”

“Well someone pointed out that you might need some since you were doing a lot of work. Well, technically multiple someones, as it was recommended you get somethin’ to eat followed by gettin’ pointed out you tend to eat minerals like redstone, especially since that helps with chargin’ you up.”

“Uh, thanks then.” Jrum ate the redstone before getting some more from Joe, which he put in his inventory to save for later and make sure he didn’t use it all up in one sitting.

“No problem at all.” Then Joe looked towards Vee. “Yes?”

Jrum looked over to Vee as well, finding her fidgeting where she stood. “Um, are you still mad at me?”

“Mad at you? Now what gave you that impression?”

“Well, when you visited me when I was at Stress’ place, you got really upset.”

Jrum saw as it took a moment for Joe to remember what she meant. “Ah, that. Well I’m sorry for makin’ you think I was mad at you. You had just caught me off guard with what you were talkin’ about, and I suppose that surprise came off as anger which you thought was directed at you.”

Jrum was a little taken aback. Joe caught off guard? That never happened. Or well, it could definitely happen, but he had the uncanny ability to always seem to know what was going on when things were serious, like with the current situation. He was a little worried for a second that Joe could be lying, but he didn’t seem to have a single tell that he could have been.

“What had you been talking about?” Jrum asked, looking between the pair.

Vee opened her mouth, seemingly to answer, but was stopped by Joe. “It’s not somethin’ that’s exactly common knowledge. Part of why I was so surprised she knew about it.”

“But Papa said Listeners get to know about it! And shouldn’t Watchers too? And Jrum’s one.”

“And I’d have to agree with you on that part.” Joe replied. “But I believe you mentioned you’re still trainin’, and that seems like the thing to wait ‘til you’re fully fledged to learn about.”

Vee huffed and crossed her arms, slumping in her chair. Jrum looked between her and Joe, now even more confused and wishing he weren’t in the dark about… whatever they were discussing. “Can I at least get some vague clue about what it was?”

“You could, but I believe if you learn a little, you’ll want to know more, so nothin’ at all may be best for you.”

“What if I promise I won’t ask anything else?” Jrum suggested, trying to also give pleading eyes to Joe in hopes he could be convinced. “At least if it has any connection to what happened to Dad?”

“Well, I suppose it does.” Joe started to speak, getting Jrum hopeful. “Alright then. But you’re promising you won’t go lookin’ into it, alright?”

“Yes! I won’t! I’ll just imagine my own answers or whatever!”

“Okay, and Vee, you better not help him along.” Vee nodded, staying silent and even pretending to zip her lips. “We happened to get on the topic due to how Grian ended up messed with due to the mixin’ of magic from he and Grifter. Magic from Watchers and Listeners mixin’ together’s got a special term. And that term comes from when it first happened, specifically on a rather large scale. Despite that, it’s a little bit taboo to talk about the incident itself, and Vee happened to mention somethin’ implyin’ she knew about it more than most.”

“Oh. So like… how Dad talks about stuff when he was younger, and so everyone kinda just says that it’s when he was in highschool, but not any specifics?” Jrum offered as a sort of comparison. Especially since he and Jrum didn’t know as much about that time as the other Hermits did, so it was a similar situation for Jrum himself.

“Now I think that’s a fine comparison.” Joe complimented the bot. “Includin’ the part that he’s probably the one who should be tellin’ you about it. Or someone else older than you.”

“Vee’s older than me.” Jrum pointed out, reminding Joe that he was literally only a year old due to being a robot. “So she could count.”

“Now I’m sure you know that isn’t what I meant.”

“Yeah, I was just joking.” The bot huffed. “I said I wouldn’t ask about it more.”

“Um, mister Joe sir?” Vee carefully spoke up, hiding a little when Joe looked over to her and said she didn’t need to use formalities like that. “Why can’t you just help his dad? Because you’re… a thing I can’t say to Jrum.”

“Hey, I know he used to be Herobrine.” Jrum pointed out before pausing. “Well, I mean he technically still is? He goes by Joe now, but was it just a name thing, or is it a concept or-”

“The nuance of that matter isn’t a highlight of this discussion right now.” Joe said to keep Jrum from overthinking things. “As for your question Vee, despite any connection I have to what you tend to refer to as Hels, my involvement in this situation isn’t one that was ever foreseen as direct involvement. That being said, the situation also isn’t one that everyone is so sure it is.”

“Wait, what do you mean it’s not what we think it is?” Jrum asked. “My dad has been kidnapped and based on what everyone is saying, he’s missing a gigantic chunk of his memory. How is it different from that?”

“Jrum has a point! Why’s it not that? Is it because Grifter is trying something we don’t know about but you do?”

“Grifter’s involvement isn’t exactly what’s causin’ it to be something else. And as far as the Hermits and you are concerned, it is what you think. But there’s plenty of other people involved.”

Both kids looked confused before Vee gasped. “The other Watchers and Listeners! Or at least the Listeners, I don’t think Grifter could lie to the others as easily. But he must’ve done a bunch of lying to them! And… and Astrid and Flora and everyone was with him too! They’re being lied to as well! I need to call Astrid again so she can help!”

“Now slow down. I believe you already did talk to her about that, now didn’t you?”

Vee frowned. “Well, yeah, but now we know more so she needs to know more!”

“Vee’s right.” Jrum agreed. “But also shouldn’t do it yet, because she mentioned something to me.” Joe gestured for Jrum to continue after the bot paused for a moment. “You know how Vee keeps mentioning she and Astrid were adopted? Well, apparently before Astrid got adopted, she lived in the Hels version of Tommy’s server because her brother was the admin. Her brother was Nightmare, Dream’s Hels.”

“Now that is something we didn’t know yet.” Joe conceded. “Vee, you said your sister didn’t get along with her brother when you talked about her at the meeting, right?”

“No, he was really mean! He hurt her and Flora and her whole family and even tried to do it to me once. He was just as mean as my mom was.”

“How much does your dad know about Nightmare?” Joe asked, Vee answering that he probably knew more than she did. “Alright, I’ll need to go back into the meetin’ to tell the Hermits and others about that, you two take some time to rest before you go back into trainin’ alright?”

“That sounds like a good plan to me.” Jrum agreed before standing up, stretching, and then starting to go towards a nether portal. “If you need us, we’ll be at Daddy’s base. Dad’s portal is too dangerous.”

“Perfectly good reasoning.” Joe nodded, waving just before the two were whisked away by magic into the Nether.

“Uh, Jrum?” Vee asked shortly after they had stepped out of the portal and into the hub. “Did it seem like he knew more about what’s going on than he said?”

“Huh? Oh, well, Joe is always like that. I think it’s a mix of him being so old, being a poet writer whatever, being a Hermit, and probably five other things.” Jrum shrugged. “Plus, he probably does but doesn’t want to tell us just yet because they want to know more about it themselves, or because we’re younger. Or heck, maybe even both at the same time.”

“Huh. Okay I guess that makes sense.”

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6ninaph9 · 4 months ago

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(after my break, i'm back babyyyyyyy)

Very quick doodle page bc i miss my children ❤️💙

Been rewriting the fantasy world, which is both incredibly fun and oooooh boyyyyy stressful...

The reason why i took the break was:

I wanted to focus on some other artistic endeavors (while away i might have became a drag king, upsi)

i really didn't like the world of the story bc it always felt too MEDIVIAL FANTASYtm... so i took some time away to try figure out whatkind of world do i actually want to write and set these characters loose in - and i think I've finally found it :))

Gonna try posting here more, idk how much more it will be, but i just miss writing and i want my children to finally get the story they deserve!!

See you soon-ish... i hope... i still have a drag show to organise next month!

Bonus:

a doodle i forgot to post here when i went on break

#NinaPH #TTT #ocs #myocs #mystory #mywriting #mybook #digitalart #Clementine #Max #mybeautifulchaosbeans #justtheirliladventures #howtheyhaven'ttornthetempletothegroundyetistherealproofofthegods #mewhoismakingthefantasywordrealizingicanmakeitwhateveriwantnotjustgenericmedivalfantasy:surprisedpikatchface

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rarepairnation · 8 months ago

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hiiii denethor anon here!! wow you’re really IN IT now (denethorposting). not to add more fuel to your anger but last week i saw someone say they hated denethor. and i just realised god they don’t get him even on tumblr do they. since then i’ve been silently fuming in rage. anyway… i am very Very Intrigued by both your faramir-goes-to-rivendell-au and denethor-thorongil relationship (if you ever want to write another 800 words about this, i am here for it 👀) and this line “each of them sharpens himself upon the whetstone of the other…” fuck. fucking insane actually.

unfortunately i won’t be replying for several days (i’ve had to keep my phone in another room to keep myself from getting distracted) . my exams have started AND i’m going through some shit irl :( it’s alright tho i’ll have more Faramir and Denethor Hours soon <- chanting this constantly haha. but i am with you when denethorposting IN SPIRIT okay. oh and can we please please please have denethor december? 🙏 bye will be here soon after my exams (that will be after the 23rd march i’m afraid)

hiii denethor anon <333 i am SO sorry this is so late truly attempting to figure out how to write AND see my friends AND do things like clean my apartment and go to the grocery store while working The Job...it has eaten my life. and this week my regular coffee shop switched their hours bc i live in my old college town and they are on spring break and it has sent me directly to hell. the death of My Routine…i have coped by INCESSANTLY denethorposting on tumblr dot com. i am somehow EVEN MORE in it than i was when you sent this ask. i hope you enjoy me being truly crazyinsane whenever you get a chance to look at all those posts lol. would love 2 hear your thoughts on them. but ANYWAY as always it is so lovely to see you, i'm sorry things have been tough but truly with my whole heart i bestow upon you the strength of denethor's sixty-year psychic war (with none of the associated madness) to make it through. looking at the date i hope you are free now.

here is the mandated readmore because i have never met brevity in my whole life. u said write another 800 words and i took that as a challenge um this post is like 2000 words. well...back on my bullshit

i mean this with all the love and joy in my heart but i laughed so much. no my dear friend they do not get him on tumblr. they have not gotten him on tumblr from the beginning. if you have been spared the incessant tomato jokes i truly…[crying] I Wish I Were You So Bad. this guy doesnt even know about the tumblr denethor slander (POSITIVE) (YEARNING). its the trenches out here for real. i just live in my little bubble with me and you and like four other mutuals/Denethor Understanders and that is it.

speaking of denethor and the rivendell au. i miss the days when i was working on the faramir-in-gondor scenes. emotionally it felt like dying but i kind of knew what was going on. now i am in rivendell taking and failing this history of middle earth exam. and i am so very….the next time we see denethor for real is in return of the king. now girl…how will i survive another 80k words. i miss my boy my dear darling my tortured victim of the narrative. and according to the paragraph i just wrote faramir does too but is Refusing to admit it to himself<3

im also RIDICULOUSLY torn on how i want to resolve his arc. now just between you and me. and anyone who bothers to click that read more. I DONT WANT TO KILL HIM I WANT HIM TO LIVE. GOD I WANT HIM TO LIVE. I WILL WRITE YOU A THOUSAND HAPPY ENDINGS. except its not a happy ending its a you are not allowed to die you are forced to contend with your choices you must keep living ending. because he will always be tragic no matter what. but its ALSO a you can rest now you can be at peace son of gondor you have won your war. all you sacrificed has been worth it. you have given your all when that's what duty asked you for and it has been enough. and that makes my poor heart weep.

like on one hand the idea of resolving his storyline with faramir.......the opportunity for some kind of reconciliation, some kind of understanding between them...god. delicious. i know in my heart that faramir comes home and IS the lord that denethor once dreamed of being. not playing at it...he is high and lordly and gentle and the world bends around his will and he knows exactly what to bow to and when to stand his ground and his powers are honed to a keen edge that he uses with the utmost care and. AUGH. he walks into the citadel the IMAGE of his father. it makes me feel FERAL. and how would denethor react to that. man.

BUT ON THE OTHER HAND HOW DO I END THE STORY. like. LOL. do u know what i mean. likelihood of me being able to just have a triumphant coronation and tie it all up with a bow is soooo small. the narrative contortions i would have to go through. to have denethor accept that and still be in character. Girl....no thank u <3 so we havent worked THAT out yet. like how much of the madness and despair do i want to put into the narrative. We Shall See. IM not politically savvy enough to get real into the weeds with it all so im kind of rotating just. a beautiful set of reunions with the fellowship. eowyn and faramir get engaged. boromir and faramir see all their dreams of a gondor restored come true. we skate over the political minefield and deeply navigate the beginnings of denethor and faramir's relationship in this new world. and among it all, within it all, is hope, and a new dawn. and curtain.

i got distracted but re: we are in rivendell. it IS kind of fun to think about the themes and narratives. i am pushing my Let Faramir (And Denethor) Be Numenorean + Let Numenoreans Be Weird agendas so so sooo hard and i am having the time of my life with that specifically. birds follow him around and pick up the tunes he sings. he hears the voices of the people he loves in his head. he falls into a river and after having a breakdown about it promptly decides that The River Is Testing Him And He Has Passed. he gets to rivendell and INSTANTLY knows that there is someone Very Like Him Here (its elrond. the elrond-elros-faramir connection has me FROTHING at the mouth. faramir looks at elrond and sees his father and sees every statue of elros in minas tirith and Knows that this here is the son of earendil, gil-estel, his brightest north star. elrond looks at faramir and sees his brother, his dear dead doomed brother, and every numenorean descended from him and all their sins and all their glories and yet, kind as summer, sees beauty and knowledge and a strange quiet man who carries all the weight of his country on his shoulders and yet knows him, knows the legends; perhaps the blood of numenor is not yet spent in the south)

i just think that Every Elf that meets faramir along the way is like woah...hold up. there's something up with THIS guy! men ARENT supposed to do that! not anymore anyway! galadriel is Lowkey Threatened by him. and isnt that beautiful. woman who could be queen of the earth sees god's special chosen boy and goes hang on a minute. Fuck. i think they work out their shit by the time the company leaves lothlorien but like...just thinking about how faramir lowkey blamed her for boromir's death in rotk! idk how their dynamic is exaclty gonna manifest but there's definitely some sort of similar mindreader2mindreader tension!

AND. um the idea of faramir travelling with the fellowship discovering that maybe...well. he has never wanted to be a warrior but he has been honed into a blade anyway. by his father and by necessity. and perhaps for the first time in his life...outside of gondor he does not need to be all that. he can be mithrandir's pupil without censure he can be scholarly and witty and cunning - he is all these things, in gondor. but there he has to be them, and now he can discover that yes, this is what he wants to be. and he has never let his father and the expectations of his position STOP him but there is always a weight, there is always the knowledge that your actions are disapproved of, and being away from that for a while is i just think. really good for him. see above re: he comes home the image of his father in a gentler time. keep honking im sitting in my car crying about denethor ii twenty sixth steward of gondor.jpg (<- my greatest creation PLEASE click the link lol)

ALSO IM THRILLED YOU LIKED THAT WHETSTONE LINE LOL i kind of blacked out when i typed it on the page. i think truly the crazy thing about denethor and faramir is that they SHOULD understand each other. they know so much about each other and yet are so incompetent at actually putting it to any good use towards, you know, improving their relationship. faramir is incredibly emotionally intelligent AND can read minds AND has taken so many of what he probably views as denethor's worst traits and turned them to gentler uses. (im talking about his powers but im ALSO talking about that thing he does when he encounters frodo and sam where he plays woe is me my brother is dead and i miss him sooo much to get on their good sides. yes of course he misses boromir more than anything else in the world. no he is not above using it to his advantage. and we see the SAME THING when gandalf and pippin come to minas tirith. hey isn't it crazy that both of them use boromir as a. manipulation chip. even after he's dead. hey thats kind of fucked up actually!) and denethor is…well denethor is denethor. ok im mostly messing around and thought that sentence was funny. i think he Knows most everything that goes on in faramir's head and yet Wilfully Chooses to interpret it in the worst ways because its just soo....very I Thought I Raised You Better Than That/I Honed You To Be My Blade Stop Defying Me. and despite all that the Problem is that they understand each other right up until they don't. they know how THEY feel about each other (incredible love that they can only express in the worst ways/think they're expressing only to be spurned by the other) but cannot POSSIBLY imagine that the other feels the same way.

ive gone on for SO SO LONG ALREADY LOL but. what do i have to say about denethor and thorongil. not enough and too much all at once. they're so toxic and awful for each other they're MADE for each other they're beautiful narrative parallels they're homoerotic besties they're bitter rivals they're pawns in a proxy war they're locked at all times in a psychic psychosexual situationship. um the enemy of my enemy is kissing me with tongue. idk i have more symbolism and actual analysis especially of the denethor-ecthelion-thorongil Issue. but we are just getting into it. so i will start with the situations bc i have two angles for this. on one hand i do think it is very fun if they constantly homoerotically circle each other for years and years and never do a THING about it. like...this is a stitching up wounds wiping blood off each others faces battle couple/situationship situation that THEN turns into a ridiculously high functioning political rival partnership bent together over books long into the night catching each others eye in council meetings using their very real disdain for each other for Manipulation Purposes and getting uh. SO hot over it. like.....Do You Know What I Mean. just. truly unresolved sexual tension THROUGH THE ROOF. it DELIGHTS me. they are always putting themselves in situations. and then NOT making out about it. AND THEY CAN READ EACH OTHERS MINDS!! THE WHOLE TIME!! SO THEY KNOW EXACTLY HOW MUCH THEY WANT EACH OTHER AND STILL ARENT DOING ANYTHING ABOUT IT!!! like thats just really good. but on the other hand.......the idea of just an absolutely terrible beautiful toxic rivals with benefits codependent situationship. i hate you so much and you know what we DO need to make out about it. every time they fuck it is a power play and they are having SO much fun with it. they will both start arguments with each other (AND IN PUBLIC TOO) just so they can fight and make up. the mind reading...Oh You Know What I Mean. taylor swift voice we had this big white city all to ourselves we blocked the noise with the sound of i need you and for the first time i had something to lose! logically thorongil is not yet in his grubby ranger era but the idea of him being dirt smeared all the time and hanging out with prim proper polished denethor. in the fic (which does exist and DOES follow the second model) theres a scene where hes just chilling with his head in denethor's lap and denethor is actually rather delighted and devoting ALL of his copious braincells to pretending not to be. Man. well never say im not a slut for contrast. and now the rest of what i could say is simply straight up redacted for indecency so it is time for this post to be over. the last thing i have to say is that it absolutely ruins denethor's life forever when thorongil up and leaves. sometimes a situationship....anyway. MUCH LOVE TO YOU AS ALWAYS yes we will have denethor december i already have an url saved.

#from the inbox #Anonymous #denethor anon #WAIT I PROMISE ILL TALK MORE ABOUT DENETHOR AND THORONGIL NEXT TIME BUT THE POST WAS ALREADY TWO THOUSAND WORDS #I HAD TO CUT MYSELF SHORT A BIT. I HAVE A LOT MORE TO SAY LOL #i hope this ridiculously long post made up for the THREE WEEKS it took me to reply<3 #denethorposting #<- funnily this IS the url i have saved. for denethor december. life is beautiful

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